About North American Indian Mythology
In the myths of the North American Indian peoples, great gods and divine power are contained in every creature in nature. Flowers, plants, trees, birds and animals in nature all have their own souls, and they are all endowed with mysterious powers. The creation myths of various Indian tribes reveal the origin of the gods contained in all things. In those myths, the world and human beings were either created by animals with divine power, or gods created them with the help of animals. In the myths of the Iroquois tribes, "Atastesik (Awenhay), the first grandmother of mankind, fell from the upper world where animals live, and borrowed some animals (beaver, muskrat, otter, tortoise) ), placed in the Yinghai Sea; among them, the muskrat dived to the bottom of the water, picked up a ball of mud, and placed it on the back of the turtle; the mud ball became larger and larger, which is the origin of land. "In the myth of the Ajomavi people, Coyote and eagle worked together to create the world. "The coyotes made the mountains, but they were not high enough, and the eagles built the ridges. The eagles flew over them, and their feathers fell to the ground, and roots took root, and clumps of trees grew, and the tiny cilia became shrubs and other Some plants." The coyote worked with the fox to create man, and then he went to the west to get fire. In the Algonquin myth, after the world was destroyed by floods, the great god Michabo sent a muskrat to find enough soil to reshape the earth. Later, he married the muskrat and gave birth to humans. The protagonists of these creation myths are all animals, not gods or heroes like Pangu, Nuwa or Prometheus. The animals themselves are gods. They created the world, created humans, and then lived in nature. , living among people, getting along with them day and night, and surviving.
In many Indian myths, humans and all things with gods not only exist, but can also deform and interchange. . The Northwest Indians have a myth called "The Crow Steals the Sun", which tells that a long time ago, there was no light in the world, and the sun and moon were hidden in the house by an old man who lived on the top of the mountain. When the crow hears people's complaints, it wants to do something good for the world. So the crow took advantage of the old man's daughter to drink water, turned into a piece of tiny pine needles, entered the girl's belly, and transformed into a human form. Ten months later, the girl gave birth to a white and fat boy. The boy grew up quickly and was very healthy. One night, the old man and his daughter both fell asleep. The child climbed out of the chimney with the moon and the sun. When the old man found out, he chased after the child. The child ran all the way, somersaulting, and finally had to throw the sun and moon into the sky. , showed his true form and flew away. In this myth, crows have all the characteristics of humans. Not only can they think and speak like humans, they can also become invisible and change. The Slingit people have a myth about the ancestor "Aili": Aili's mother gave birth to him by swallowing a bird's nest. Aili can transform into a bird, wear bird skin and fly in the sky, while his mother can wear duck skin. Skin, swimming in the sea. In Aleut mythology, people can transform into swallows, bears, beavers, and birds of prey. The natural world in North American Indian mythology is not dead. It is full of vitality. All life has soul and divine power. Humans and all things transform into each other in this unpredictable, mysterious and unknown world. There is me in you, and you are in me. .
The blending of man and all things is also vividly represented as the coitus and reproduction of man and other species. Northwest Indian mythology has many stories about "bear husbands" and "dog husbands." A story about a bear husband tells that an Indian woman was robbed by a black bear and was forced to marry the son of the black bear leader and gave birth to two children. A few years later, the woman was rescued and her two children returned with her. And it always retains its human shape. They are strong and powerful and become the heroes of the clan. In a myth about dog husbands, a young woman’s pet dog turned into a human and had sex with the woman. Later, the woman gave birth to five puppies. After some twists and turns, the five puppies all turned into humans and they grew up. Later, with the power of the gods and the qualities of a dog, he became a good warrior in the tribe. These two myths emphasize the equal relationship between humans and animals. Human beings appreciate the ability of animals to survive in nature and revere the souls and divine power of animals. At the same time, humans also desire to have the same special nature and power as certain animals.
The Cherokee Indians have a myth about the cedar: Once upon a time, the Cherokee people just lived on the earth, and they thought that if there was no night, life would be better. So, the Creator took back the night. However, it didn't take long for the weather to get hotter and hotter, making it difficult for people to sleep, becoming more irritable and quarreling with each other. People realized that their choice had gone wrong, so they asked the Creator to take back the day, leaving only the night. The Creator loved humans and felt that maybe humans were right, so he agreed to their request. Not long after, the weather became colder and colder, plants stopped growing, humans were hungry and cold, and many people died. Only then did people realize that they had made a big mistake again, and begged the Creator to let day and night alternate again, so people's lives regained balance. . The Creator created a tree and put the souls of the people who died in the long night into the tree. The tree was called cedar.
The Waskou people have a myth about the elk and the hunter: a young man’s patron saint is a sacred moose, which often helps him, but he is not allowed to kill creatures indiscriminately in order to show his ability. Later, the young man became a very good hunter, but he hunted whatever he needed and never more. However, the young man's restraint was always scolded and ridiculed by his father. Later, the young man changed. He killed more and more people, and even wanted to kill his patron saint.
The sacred moose pretended to fall into the lake. When the hunter went into the water to drag it, it sank into the water with the moose. At the bottom of the lake, the hunter saw a large number of animals he had killed, and they all turned into humans, groaning and complaining there. The divine moose said to him: "You have gone astray. I have decided to leave you and will never be your patron saint again." After the hunter returned home, he fell into a coma for five days and five nights. When he woke up, he desperately talked about his life. The last words: "My patron saint has abandoned me. Therefore, I too deserve to die."