This essay compares and contrasts the Iroquois creation story with the creation story in the book of Genesis. It is meant to give insight into the parallelisms of both.
Most cultures have an idea, belief, or theory used to explain how the Earth was created and how human existence began. Such stories are very sacred to those who believe in them and to those who uphold them to be true. These tales are known as Creation stories. Factors such as individual understanding, personal conviction, tradition, and religion play a big part in the details encompassed within a Creation story as it is passed on from one generation to the next. As a result, there are several different versions and understandings on how all things came to be. Despite this fact, there are surprisingly numerous parallels between Creation stories of different faiths and cultures. Though the specific details are not identical, logical parallels can be drawn between the Creation Story of the Iroquois and that of the Judeo-Christian Faith.
Within the Iroquois Creation story, existence began with two worlds, the upper world and the lower world. These worlds can be likened unto Heaven and Earth within the Judeo-Christian faith. Sky Woman, an important character within the Iroquois Creation story, is a virgin woman who has become impregnated by the West wind and conceives twins. One is righteous and obedient while the other is rebellious and malicious. They are called the Good mind and the Bad mind. The only other known woman to give birth to a child without conceiving through intercourse is Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The name Sky Woman, understood to mean being of the sky, indicates that she resides in an exalted, even holy place. Beings like this are depicted within the Bible as well and are often referred to as angels within the Christian faith. As Sky Woman is giving birth to these children, Bad mind decides to be rebellious and tears through his mother’s side to be born, while the Good mind comes forth naturally. These twin boys can be likened unto Jesus and Lucifer; brothers who had differing opinions on how to carry out the Father’s plan. Lucifer who, like Bad mind, was rebellious and fought against the plan the Father had presented, and therefore was cast out of Heaven. Even the manner in which they left the wound can illustrate similarities between the character and intentions of Jesus and Good mind and Lucifer and Bad mind.
Interestingly, before the birth of her children, Sky Woman sets herself down to rest because she is drained of energy, being big with child. As she rests, she finds that she has been swallowed up by the very place on which she retired. She begins a decent and falls towards the lower world. This is an interesting detail because it appears that a fall was necessary to bring about human life in both stories. This virtual falling from a higher state of being to a lower state of being can be likened unto the fall of Adam. Sky Woman dies of child birth, but then becomes a part of the ground giving life to the soil that plants may grow. This is symbolic of the concept of Mother Earth or of how the Earth is often referred to as being female.
When the twins are grown, they begin the act of creation. Good mind, who is comparable to Jesus, is able to make all manner of wonderful things. “[The Good mind] formed numerous species of animals of the smallest and the greatest, to inhabit the universe …and he formed two images of the dust of the ground in his own likeness, male and female, and by breathing into their nostrils he gave them the living souls” (“The Iroquois” 24). Christians also believe that God made man in his own image. Within the King James version of the Bible, it states directly in Genesis 1:26-27 that, “…God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. This is one of the biggest, most forefront parallels between these separate stories of Creation. The Bad mind is able to cause valleys, waterfalls, and great steeps and is only able to yield lesser creatures such as reptiles (“Iroquois Creation” 24). This is especially interesting because, within the Judeo-Christian faith, Satan appears to Eve in the Garden in the form of a serpent or snake to tempt her to partake of the forbidden fruit.
The similarities between two stories which superficially appear to be very divergent, end up aligning in more ways than one once looked upon more closely. Religion is commonly a very sensitive subject, but perhaps if those of differing faiths were to analyze more deeply the construct of other religions and cultures, they would discover that foreign beliefs do not stray too far from their own. There is a valuable lesson to learn from these Creation stories and perhaps we can, within ourselves, create a resolve to seek understanding over judgment in sensitive realms such as religion, culture, and lifestyle.
Works Cited
“The Iroquois Creation Story.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820. Ed. Franklin, Wayne, et al. Vol. A. W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. 23-25. Print.
Comments