The Iroquois Creation Story
The creation of the earth and human life is seen in similar ways between most people, but the details are not all the same. There are some similarities and differences between the creation stories of the Native Americans, specifically the Iroquois Creation Story, and the book of Genesis from the Bible. The main idea of the creation is the same between both, but there are differences in the details.
In the Iroquois Creation Story begins by explaining that there are two different worlds, the lower world and the upper world. The lower world was in great darkness and in the lower world there was darkness and monsters and there was also the great monster. Mankind lived in the upper world. A woman from the upper world was about to give birth to twins, before she was able to give birth, she sunk down to the dark world. She gave birth to her twins, then died moments later. One of the twins possessed good and gentle qualities and was named Enigorio, meaning the good mind. The other possessed rude, disrespectful qualities and behaviors, and was named Enigonhahetgea, meaning the bad mind. The good mind wanted to make the dark place better, and bring light to it, but the bad mind wanted it to stay the same. The good mind decided to create a world of his own. He took parts of his mother’s body and created orbs, that were then turned into the sun, moon, and stars. This was to regulate days, nights, months and years. He created creeks, rivers, and animals. He created two images of dust on the ground and turned them human, creating them in his image, and gave them life. The bad mind did not like what his brother was creating so he decided to create high mountains, falls of water, and reptiles that could injure humans. He tried to create mankind but was unable to. Because he was unable to create mankind, he was envious of his brother, so he challenged his brother and whoever won would govern the universe. The good mind agreed and defeated the bad mind in his challenge and crushed him into the earth the bad mind’s last words were that he would have equal power of souls of mankind after death. He then sunk down to eternal doom and became an evil spirit.
In the bible, the book of Genesis begins with the creation of heaven and earth. God firsts creates light. He then created water, sky and land. The land produced plants and trees, which produced fruits and seeds. He made light for both day and night, which were the sun and the moon, he also created the stars. He created creatures of land, air and water. He then created man in his own image. He planted a garden and placed the man there. He was told they could eat anything from the garden except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil. While the man was asleep, he took his rib and created woman. The man’s name was Adam and the woman’s name was Eve. The serpent deceived Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and told her that if she does this, she will be like God, so she ate from it and offered some to her husband Adam as well. When the Lord found out they had done this he was very angry at the serpent and the man and woman and banished them from the garden.
The Iroquois story and the book of Genesis are very similar. The Iroquois story starts by explaining the two worlds, the lower and the upper. The two worlds are similar to Genesis because it starts with the creation of heaven and earth, and later, the creation of hell. In the Iroquois story, the birth of the twins, the good mind and bad mind, is quite different from the book of Genesis, in relation to the way they came about, but the good mind would relate to God, and the bad mind would relate to the serpent, or Satan. The way that the good mind created the earth is very similar to the way that God created the earth. He created the sun, moon, and stars, water and land, as did God. In both stories, man is created from dust, but in Genesis, God creates man from dust and woman from the rib of man, whereas in the Iroquois creation story, both man and woman are created from dust. The way that God and the good mind encounter the serpent and the bad mind are both different. The good mind is challenged by the bad mind, he defeats him and banishes him. In Genesis, God sees that the serpent has deceived the man and woman and led them to sin, and banishes him. In the end, they both banish the bad mind and the serpent. The Iroquois Creation Story does not say how sin was brought into the world, or if the Native Americans believe in sin and if it is just considered evil, but in Genesis, it is explained that by Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they went against God’s word and brought sin into the world.
Both of these stories are very similar to one another. The way that it is explained that the earth is created is almost exactly the same. The differences are the people who created the earth and how they came to be. The overall concept of the creation of earth, humans, and animals are relatively the same, it is the details such as who created it, how man was made and the beginning of evil that are different. The main idea of both of these stories is that the Native Americans live by their creation stories and believe them to be true and the Christians believe and know that the bible, and the book of Genesis is the truth and live by what it says.
The Bible
Creation of life began when God created man, and woman from the rib of man. A young girl’s life began from humans, born into a loving family, and being the first-born child, a daughter. Moving from place to place and at three years of age another human was born into the family, a girl, a sister to the oldest daughter. Two years after the youngest daughter was born they moved one last time, and lived there for the remainder of their childhood. The young girls did not know much of evil that existed in the world, as they were sheltered by their parents. They grew up to be loving, respectful, and hardworking young women. They were sisters, but also best friends. As they got older, so did their loved ones and as the years went on, the circle of life would take its toll. Loved ones would pass away, but their souls would live on in heaven. There would be no more pain, and no more suffering. New life would be born into the family, so young, and so innocent. As the girls grew up the more they learned about life and the world. They were taught how evil and selfish people could be, and how they will lie, and let you down, they saw this through the imperfect actions of their parents or those around them, but they knew to always treat others with kindness and respect, regardless of how wrongly they treat you. Their family taught them to be Christ like and selfless because God is perfect in every way and all loving to everyone.
The oldest daughter grew up and had to leave her family. She left her sister and they both hated every minute apart. They had to learn how to go about their lives without one another. This was easier said than done. Each of them being on their own, going through difficult times and figuring out their purpose in life, looked to their creator for guidance to help them get through the difficult times. They would ask the Lord “Please be with me during this time of hardship.” They both knew that he was with them wherever they went, and that he always wanted what was best for them and would never harm them, and had a plan for their lives that they did not know. Knowing of their creator’s love gave them peace in difficult times and gave them hope that one day they will be together again, that they will not be separated forever. They knew their creator was always by their side and was always there for them, this gave them peace during hardships, when no human was there for them.
Baym, Nina, et al. The Norton anthology of American literature. A, Norton, 2012.
