The Place of Emergence: Tales of World Creation :The Place of Emergence: Tales of World Creation Native American Mythology Stariha


Introduction—World Creation :Introduction—World Creation The primordial environment for almost all tribes is a watery one, from which different beings bring up mud to make the earth. Many different characters make up these tales—true gods and spirits, monsters and dragons, elks, bears, eagles, and other birds, even the trickster, Coyote. The themes of primeval water, determination of the seasons, theft of fire and light, and formation of the four winds are prominent in these stories.


The Good Twin and the Evil Twin :The Good Twin and the Evil Twin Yuma The primeval waters created a mist that became sky. Deep in the waters lived The Creator: bodiless and breathless… he was two beings: twins. The good twin rose, Kokomaht, from the water. Then the evil twin rose, Bakotahl… he was blind (because of Kokomaht). Kokomaht and Bakotahl fought over creation rights, and in rage Bakotahl created a whirlwind that escaped carrying all the sicknesses of the world. Kokomaht made all of the twenty-four kinds of people, saving the white people for last. He sired a son, Komashtam’ho, without the help of a woman to show the people how to live. Hanyi, the Frog, envied Kokomaht and killed him. After giving the greedy white man the horse, Kokomaht taught his last lesson—death. Komashtam’ho finished his fathers work, creating the son, teaching of death and soul, introducing the Yuma to death rituals, flooding and burning the earth, and forming of the Colorado river. Kahk, the Crow, brought and spread seeds.


The Good Twin and the Evil Twin :The Good Twin and the Evil Twin Komashtam’ho changed into four eagles—the black eagle of the west, the brown eagle of the white eagle of the east, and the fourth eagle whose name is ‘unseen’ because nobody has ever caught a glimpse of him. Komashtam’ho kept watch over his people as the four eagles. Bakotahl, the Evil Blind One, is under the earth and does bad things. Sometimes he lies quiet and sometimes he turns over and makes earthquakes. Everything that is good comes from Kokmaht and everything evil comes from Bakotahl.


When Grizzlies Walked Upright :When Grizzlies Walked Upright Modoc Chief of the Sky Spirits grew tired of his home in the Above World, so he carved a hole in the sky and pushed al the snow ans ice down forming Mount Shasta. Sky Spirit walked down from cloud to peak and where he touched his fingers, trees grew. Sky Spirit broke off ends of his stick and through them in the river—they turned into beaver, otter, and fish. He blew upon fallen leaves and they became birds. Then with the big end of his stick he made the rest of the animals, the biggest of which were Grizzly Bears.—they walked on two feet and could talk like people.


When Grizzlies… cont. :When Grizzlies… cont. Chief of the Sky Spirits was happy—he brought his family down and lived on the earth himself on the top of the icy mountain where he built a fire deep in the mountain top (volcano). He sent his daughter up to ask the Wind Spirit to blow more softly, but she did not listen to his warning and was blown away when she stuck her head out of the hole. Grizzlies found her and raised her, and she married the eldest son of the grizzly bears and lived in a lodge called Little Mount Shasta. When the Spirit Chief discovered this, he was so angry he force the grizzlies to walk on fours, begging for forgiveness.


Old Man Coyote Makes the World :Old Man Coyote Makes the World Crow In the Primeval Waters, Coyote was lonely until he met up with 2 red eyed ducks. Looking for stuff underwater, the first duck found a root and earth. Coyote took the root and planted it in the earth and things started to grow. He formed people out of mud, and he made ducks. He met Cirape, another Coyote who suggested he make other animals. Bear was bored, so Old Man Coyote made prairie chickens to dance and grouse to sing and drum. Bear was still jealous, so Old Man Coyote stuck him in a den by himself and made him sleep in the winter. Cirape also urged the division of languages and war, and wife stealing, which Coyote agreed to.


Earth Making :Earth Making Cherokee Earth floated on the water, hanging from four rawhide ropes fasted at the top of the four sacred directions. When the ropes break the world will come tumbling down and the world will die, perhaps because of the white man. In the beginning, all the animals were over the rainbow and it was crowded. They sent Water Beetle down to look around for more room. Water Beetle found some mud which spread in the four directions and made the island, earth, which was flat. The birds kept flying down to see if the mud was dry, finally Grandfather Buzzard flew down and as he was flying his wings created moutains and valleys. It was too dark, so they brought sun from behind the rainbow and gave him a road to travel, east to west. The sun was too hot and burned the crawfish red, so they pushed him up. While making people, Someone Powerful instructed the plants and animals to stay up for seven days and nights—only owl and mountain lion, laurel, pine, cedar, and holly stayed awake—earning gifts of night sight and keeping their leaves all year. Someone Powerful made a man and his sister, he poked her with a fish and impregnated her—childbirth every seven days transferred to a year to stop over population. An Underworld exists with seasons opposite of Cherokee lands.


People Brought In A Basket :People Brought In A Basket Modoc Kumush, Old Man of the Ancients, took his daughter to the underworld ground of spirits where the spirits danced at night and became dry bones during the day. Kumush wanted company in the above world and so put the bones in a basket, bringing them up the path to his world—he slipped several times but finally made it out of the underworld. Kumush split the bones into the different tribes, assigning them characteristics and places. Then Kumush spoke the names and fish and animals that people should eat, and the plants too… as he spoke the names they appeared. He divided the work of the people by making this law: Men shall fight hunt and fight. Women shall get wood and water, gather berries and dig roots, and cook for their families. This is my law.” Then Kumush and took his daughter and built a house for himself in the middle of the sky, where they live even today.