“A people without the
knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”
(Marcus Garvey). The beauty of the story “The Creation” highlights the essence
of Native American history. When you read a history book, you only get a
general view of certain cultures. For example, when you read about the Native
Americans, you only learn of the horrors that was brought upon them and the
hardships they faced during colonization. However, when you read a treasure
like “The Creation” you can understand their culture more than the standard
history book. This story shows three major things for us, it shows that it is
an artifact of history, it teaches us the views that the Native Americans had
for the creation of Earth, and it has a very different approach from a history
book.
First
of all, the story is 100%, without a doubt, an artifact of history and this is
why. It was written by the Native Americans to explain how their deities
created the world and all of its inhabitants. Many people have different
beliefs on how the world was created, according to scientists, it was caused by
some random force known as the Big Bang. According to Christians, the Earth and
the universe was created by God and the Greeks believed that it was created by
the titans. However, the Native Americans believe that a few deities known as
Earthmaker, Coyote, and Meadowlarke were responsible for all of Earth’s
creation. So, on a historical standpoint, it fits perfectly for how different
religions and people believed the Earth was created. It’s very interesting read
the mythology that the Native Americans believed. Mythology is something that
has always fascinated me about history, to learn how different cultures
perceived creation and how different religions differed on their creation
beliefs. There is the one specific passage that really fascinates me about
their beliefs, it states “He stretched it out to where the day breaks; he
stretched it out to the south; he stretched it out to the place where the sun
goes down; he stretched it out to the North Country; he stretched it out to the
rim of the world; he stretched it out!” (Origins and the Way of the World, 25).
This passage is incredible because it really explains how they believed that
the Earth was created. For a little background, they believed that the world
was just one giant ocean/lake and Earthmaker then wanted to create the land.
The reason that this passage stands out a whole lot is because it shows how
Earthmaker went about creating the land on the Earth. Its very interesting
because they believed that the world always kind of existed, but the land was
never there until Earthmaker decided to make it. So, this story is an artifact
of history because it has to tie in with mythology and the history of the
world, which is also part of the Native American history.
The
next thing is that this story teaches us the views that the Native Americans
had for the creation of Earth. This is very important, because without knowing
their views we would all be incredibly ignorant in denying the fact that Native
Americans had this kind of belief. Like it was previously stated, the Native American
people believed that the Earth was created in that way. With knowing their
beliefs, we can have a greater understanding of their culture and their
history. The story states “And then, Earthmaker was standing there alone.
Standing there, they say he went somewhere to the south. He went traveling
along. Afterwards, going across the rim of the world to somewhere near where
the sun floats away, he came elsewhere, into a different part of the country,
traveling always from one place to another. And, when the had gone toward where
the sun rises, he came to a place where he had once turned aside before, and he
stopped and got things ready. Then, he made creatures, two by two"
(Origins and the Way of the World, 28). This quote highlights the beliefs of
the Native American people and how they believed the land and all creatures
were created. With knowing how they perceived creation, we can really get an
understanding of their culture and their beliefs as a people. Mythology is
incredible in this way, you can really learn a lot about a culture on how they
perceived creation.
This
story has a deeper look into the history of the Native Americans rather than a
history book. A history book has a very generic overview of the culture of
different ethnicities. The thing about a history book, is that they are very
matter of fact. A history book is made to say teach people how the history
went, not go in depth on their mythology. The purpose for the history book is
to state important battles or how the colonists stole the land from the Native
Americans, not to state their views on creation. Where the story differs is
that it is a primary source of what the Native American people really believed,
a history book is usually comprised of multiple sources, so it isn’t really known
if they are entirely accurate to the religion that the Native Americans
practiced. If a history book did decide to talk about the Native American
beliefs on creation, they may not be as accurate as we would like. What is
great about the story is that it is most likely a primary source for the
information so we can really believe the story of the creation of Earth as told
by the Native Americans.
Works
Cited
Hicks, Jack, and James D.
Houston. The Literature of California. University of California Press,
2000.
No comments:
Post a Comment