The Iroquois Creation Story
THE IROQUOIS CREATION STORY
In the beginning, the Earth was entirely covered by a great blanket of water. There was no sun, moon, or stars, and so there was no light. All was darkness. At that time, the only living creatures of the world were water animals, such as the beaver, muskrat, duck, and loon.
Far above the Earth was a Sky-World where the great ruler lived. In the middle of this Sky-World was a huge tree.
One day the Great Ruler decided to uproot this tree. The Ruler then called to his daughter and commanded her to look into the pit where the tree used to be. The daughter did what her father had asked. She saw below her the Lower-World covered with water and surrounded by heavy clouds.
The Great Ruler then told his daughter she was to go to this Lower-World. He lifted her gently and dropped her into the hole.
As she fell through the hole, she grabbed some of the roots from around the hole and carried them down with her. She floated downward. The animals who lived in the Lower-World were frightened as they looked up and saw her body floating down towards them. They began to plan what they would do for the woman when she reached the water. They knew she would need a dry place upon which to rest.
The beaver plunged deep under the water in search of some earth. However, the beaver failed. The other animals watched his dead body float to the surface. The loon tried next, but failed also. Many other creatures took their turns trying to retrieve some earth from below the water, but all failed.
Finally, a muskrat tried to dive deep for some earth. It was thought that he had failed also, but when his body floated to the surface, they saw that he had clutched in his paw a tiny clump of earth.
The water animals took this earth and patted it upon the back of a great turtle. The woman from the Sky-World then landed on the turtle's back. The woman began walking around in circles on the turtle's back. This made the earth grow larger and larger. The woman from the Sky-World then planted the roots upon the turtle's back.
After a time, the Sky-Woman gave birth to a daughter. The woman and her daughter continued to walk in circles upon the turtle's back, causing the world to grow. They lived from the plants and roots they had planted.
One day, after the daughter had grown to be a woman, a mysterious man appeared. No one knew who he was. The daughter was so frightened she fainted. The man then took two arrows from his quiver and placed them across the body of the girl. When the girl awoke, she found she was to give birth to twins.
Even before the twins were born, they argued with each other. As the time came for them to be born, the one twin called the Right-Handed twin was born in the usual way, but the other twin called the Left-Handed twin was so stubborn and caused his mother so much pain that she died giving birth to him.
The twins buried their mother. From her body all living things that grew in the soil received the nourishment they needed. The plants, such as the corn, beans, and squash, were all fed from what was then called "Mother Earth."
As the two brothers grew up, they never agreed on how anything was to be done. The twins had creative powers and made many things and placed them on the earth. The Right-Handed twin created the tail and beautiful trees; such as the pine and the hemlock. The Left-Handed twin stunted some of those trees. He put knots and gnarls into the tree's trunk. He covered some of the Right-Handed twin's creations with thorns or poison fruit.
The Right-Handed twin made the deer. The Left-Handed twin made the mountain lion to kill the deer. The Right-Handed twin made many more animals and always the Left-Handed twin made one to destroy those animals. Beautiful rivers, springs, clear water, high hills, berries, and fruits were created by the Right-Handed twin. And as always, the Left-Handed twin created things like swift currents, suicide root, poison ivy, and poisonous snakes.
Finally, when the twins had completed the earth, the Right-Handed twin created man from some red clay. He put man on the earth to live with the creatures. The world the twins had created was well balanced.
When the twins were full-grown men, their quarreling had not yet ended. They challenged each other to a battle. The battle was to decide who would rule the earth.
They fought on for days. Finally, the Right-Handed twin won the battle. The Left-Handed twin was sent away from the earth and told never to return.
This is the story of why every person has within him both good and evil. No matter how evil a man can become, there is some good within him. And no matter how good a person seems, there is still some evil that exists. The Right-Handed twin still rules the earth and protects mankind, but the evil force of the Left-Handed twin is ever present in everyone.
In the beginning, the Earth was entirely covered by a great blanket of water. There was no sun, moon, or stars, and so there was no light. All was darkness. At that time, the only living creatures of the world were water animals, such as the beaver, muskrat, duck, and loon.
Far above the Earth was a Sky-World where the great ruler lived. In the middle of this Sky-World was a huge tree.
One day the Great Ruler decided to uproot this tree. The Ruler then called to his daughter and commanded her to look into the pit where the tree used to be. The daughter did what her father had asked. She saw below her the Lower-World covered with water and surrounded by heavy clouds.
The Great Ruler then told his daughter she was to go to this Lower-World. He lifted her gently and dropped her into the hole.
As she fell through the hole, she grabbed some of the roots from around the hole and carried them down with her. She floated downward. The animals who lived in the Lower-World were frightened as they looked up and saw her body floating down towards them. They began to plan what they would do for the woman when she reached the water. They knew she would need a dry place upon which to rest.
The beaver plunged deep under the water in search of some earth. However, the beaver failed. The other animals watched his dead body float to the surface. The loon tried next, but failed also. Many other creatures took their turns trying to retrieve some earth from below the water, but all failed.
Finally, a muskrat tried to dive deep for some earth. It was thought that he had failed also, but when his body floated to the surface, they saw that he had clutched in his paw a tiny clump of earth.
The water animals took this earth and patted it upon the back of a great turtle. The woman from the Sky-World then landed on the turtle's back. The woman began walking around in circles on the turtle's back. This made the earth grow larger and larger. The woman from the Sky-World then planted the roots upon the turtle's back.
After a time, the Sky-Woman gave birth to a daughter. The woman and her daughter continued to walk in circles upon the turtle's back, causing the world to grow. They lived from the plants and roots they had planted.
One day, after the daughter had grown to be a woman, a mysterious man appeared. No one knew who he was. The daughter was so frightened she fainted. The man then took two arrows from his quiver and placed them across the body of the girl. When the girl awoke, she found she was to give birth to twins.
Even before the twins were born, they argued with each other. As the time came for them to be born, the one twin called the Right-Handed twin was born in the usual way, but the other twin called the Left-Handed twin was so stubborn and caused his mother so much pain that she died giving birth to him.
The twins buried their mother. From her body all living things that grew in the soil received the nourishment they needed. The plants, such as the corn, beans, and squash, were all fed from what was then called "Mother Earth."
As the two brothers grew up, they never agreed on how anything was to be done. The twins had creative powers and made many things and placed them on the earth. The Right-Handed twin created the tail and beautiful trees; such as the pine and the hemlock. The Left-Handed twin stunted some of those trees. He put knots and gnarls into the tree's trunk. He covered some of the Right-Handed twin's creations with thorns or poison fruit.
The Right-Handed twin made the deer. The Left-Handed twin made the mountain lion to kill the deer. The Right-Handed twin made many more animals and always the Left-Handed twin made one to destroy those animals. Beautiful rivers, springs, clear water, high hills, berries, and fruits were created by the Right-Handed twin. And as always, the Left-Handed twin created things like swift currents, suicide root, poison ivy, and poisonous snakes.
Finally, when the twins had completed the earth, the Right-Handed twin created man from some red clay. He put man on the earth to live with the creatures. The world the twins had created was well balanced.
When the twins were full-grown men, their quarreling had not yet ended. They challenged each other to a battle. The battle was to decide who would rule the earth.
They fought on for days. Finally, the Right-Handed twin won the battle. The Left-Handed twin was sent away from the earth and told never to return.
This is the story of why every person has within him both good and evil. No matter how evil a man can become, there is some good within him. And no matter how good a person seems, there is still some evil that exists. The Right-Handed twin still rules the earth and protects mankind, but the evil force of the Left-Handed twin is ever present in everyone.