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Creation Myths: Stories of Coming into Being

The idea of creation is one of the most controversial issues today. In todays society, a
persons background, religion, and beliefs are the main characters that affect what and how you
believe the world was created. From a religious standpoint, each religion has a view regarding
the creation. Therefore, there are many different interpretations of how the earth was created.
For example, Christians view the story of Genesis from the Bible, as how the world was formed.
Liken to Christian views, the Islamic believe that Allah created man. Yet still, many believe in
science and the natural forces, gods or goddesses.
Additionally, mythology is part of every culture. Myths are the result of humankind's
natural curiosity to explain, and pass down through generations that which attempts to address
issues such as the origin of the earth, humans, and animals as well as other natural phenomena.
In How the World was Made and The Theogony of Hesiod each of the stories gives an account of
the creation of the world and how everything in it came to be. However, the Greek and
Cherokee mythological beliefs are vastly different. Ancient Greeks have a strong belief in the
more traditional mythological ways of gods and goddesses, whereas the Cherokee put their
beliefs in the land and animals.
According to the ancient Greek myth, the creation began suggesting numerous gods who
are in a hierarchy, with Zeus being at the top. The story of creation is very theatrical where the
gods seized power from the titans. The Greek culture put a strong emphasize on nature, love, and
philosophy, that they had gods who controlled each of these realms. Unlike the Greeks with a
multitude of gods, the Cherokee Nation embodies the spirit of animals and those elements of
nature to explain how their world was created and how it was going to end. The Cherokee
Nation account of creation is connected to their culture. This myth of creation and mans
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beginnings is prominent in their culture as they believe that they came from animals. In that they
believe they came from animals, the Cherokee are respectful of animals and in many cases
worship them. The purpose of this paper is to compare the creation myths of ancient Greek and
the Cherokee Nations. This paper will illustrate how the Greek and Cherokee creation stories
differ yet, how these stories embody a similar struggle.
THEME(S)
In the beginning of both the Cherokee and Greek myths, it is suggested that at the
beginning of time, there was darkness and chaos. This is shown in the Cherokee myth by the
over crowdedness. It is assumed that the over crowdedness this myth speaks of is that of
disorder and confusion. According to Cherokee culture, the world was primarily a relationship of
proper balance. Balance could not be obtained if there is no shift from chaos to order, from non-
being to being, or from darkness to light. Their myth states that the earth was only held by cords.
It is assumed that the over crowdedness brought fear to the Cherokee people. If the ropes
holding the earth to the sky would break then the world and all living things on it would fall into
the underlying water and die. The breaking of the cords would cause their home and all the earth
to disappear. The Greek myth presents the creation as a list of the early generations and
genealogy of the gods, titans and heroes since the beginning of the universe. The chaos in this
myth is shown as shifting from non-being to being and darkness to light. It then unfolds showing
the universe gods in a power struggle; a struggle between fathers and sons and between male
and female. This struggle can also be seen in the Cherokees version of creation as one can
conclude that the brother is shown to be the master over the woman, since he was the one who
struck her with a fish and told her to multiply.
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The interaction between man and woman in both creation stories are interestingly very
similar. In both, men assume a role of superiority and women are given limited and specific
roles. However, in the case of The Theogony, the dominate figure underestimated the womens
abilities and role not considering how smart or deceptive she is or her relationship with her
offspring. In each interpretation of creation out of the chaos the world was formed as each
culture perceived it. Furthermore, in both instances, sexual reproduction plays a key role in
explaining how the world has come to be the way that it is. This is explicitly mentioned in the
genealogy after Earth, but also plays a role afterwards. Although not directly stated, in the
Cherokee version, the sister had given birth every seven days until it was changed.
The main theme in Hesiods Theogony gives regards to the birth of gods which the title
proposes. The poem represents the creation of gods and the universe and the struggles between
the combinations of the gods' powers. The poem further relate to human, with themes such
as love and desire. The existence of the gods came from sexual desire which is a main concept in
the Theogony. Similar to humans, the gods show affection, passion and agony. In contrast to the
Theogony, the Cherokee Nation myth helped explain the causes of what they experienced daily.
As the story states, it was very much crowded. This statement confirms that for centuries that
land that they lived on was populated by hundreds because the Europeans had forced them out.
While the Cherokee myth of creation tells that when the cords break the people will die it does
not disclose what happens, if anything, afterwards. However, it does reveal much about the
Cherokee respect for nature and the place of humans in a spectrum of living things. For the
Cherokee, humans are equal to plants and animals. They believe that animals had and played a
major role in creating Earth. It is intriguing to wonder whether the myth provided a familiar
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explanation of creation that eased tension between the Cherokees and others, or whether its
starkly different view of home and social order contributed to alienation between cultures.
SYMBOLS
Thus, according to the Cherokee creation myth, the Great Buzzard expanded the land.
The Great Buzzard plays a crucial role in the Cherokee creation myth. Once, all the animals lived
in Galunlati, the upper world, possibly the heavens. The earth itself, at the time, was water. The
water-beetles role in the creation of the earth was to dive into the water and bring up mud,
which will grow into the earth. This suggests that the Cherokee people respect even the smallest
animals. It was the buzzards role to see if there was enough solid ground to support animal life
yet. On one of these missions, a buzzard flew so low that his wings touched the muddy ground,
leaving valleys where he flapped downward, creating mountains, implying that he did not know
his own strength. Another archetype found in the Cherokees version of creation was the
challenge or test for the animals and plants. This archetype appears in the seven-night vigil that
is overcome by certain animals and trees. The animals that prevailed, specifically the owl and
panther was given power to see in the dark. The plants were given the ability to always remain
green and are used for medicine.
In Hesiods Theogony, the goddess Earth borne three sons whom their father, Uranus
hated. Although the legend does not state it, this hatred possibly stemmed from them being of
incredible strength and fierceness. In anguished that their father hid them secretly, mother Earth
appeals for revenge to her children. Revenge was answered by Cronus who castrated his father as
he was about to make love to his mother. Out of this castration, Cronus became leader and the
powerful goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite was born. An archetype similar to that of the
castration of Uranus is the birth of Zeus. Cronus, who had castrated and overthrown his own
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father, Uranus, was afraid that he too would be overcome by one of his children. Instead of
hiding his children away, Cronus ate them. Therefore, when his son Zeus was born, his mother
hid the birth from Cronus and gave him a stone to devour instead. Ultimately Zeus grew up
eventually to overthrow his father and he became king of the gods.
FORM/LANGUAGE
The story of How the World was Made, explains several natural phenomena in story
form. The assumption in telling stories orally in this manner makes the story more memorable.
Some of the natural phenomena explained in this myth, include the birth of the mountains, the
suns movement across the sky, the loss of leaves from trees in fall, and the birth of a child once
a year from women. The language in the Cherokee myth uses a literary technique in that the
storyteller uses metaphors. For example he talks about the trees losing their hair, referring to the
foliage of the trees. Additionally, a water-beetle, Beavers Grandchild, searches the unknown.
While there is no actual voice speaking, it is implied because the animals are communicating
with each other as they wondered what was below the water.
We also see that in both myths the act of separation is used as a key aspect of
creation. Hesiods Theogony illustrates this idea explaining that Earth was separated from
Uranus (sky) through a scheme resulting in separating earth from the heavens while the
Cherokees mythology has them pondering about the water below.