CREATION STORIES

TSIMSHIAN 
 (Pacific Northwest Coast)
(copyrighted)

RAVEN AND NOO HALIDZOKS (MOTHER EARTH)
 Raven burst from the mountains. He stretched out his wings. West Wind swooped in and lifted him off his rocky perch.  Soon he had mastered how to fly.  One day as he was flying up the coast he spied a woman standing on the land near the great waters [Pacific Ocean].  He flew down, and called, "Woman, who are you?" "I am Noo Halidzoks [Mother Earth]," she replied. "I have been waiting for you, there is much to do."  Raven looked at her a little skeptically, "Work, you want me to work? I've been entombed in the mountains for so long, I just want to fly free."  The woman raised her hand, and immediately one of Raven's wings folded, she raised her other hand, and his other wing folded, sending him crashing into the ocean, where he squawked and spat out water in a most indignant manner.

"Take this basket of water", she said. "I haven't time to create the rivers, ponds, lakes and streams. You can do it much faster."  Soon, Raven returned with many stories about his adventures. "Take these seeds," she said, placing another basket in his beak, and fly north; stay near where the land meets the water, and scatter the seeds, take them a little inland as well." Raven sped away to do as he was asked.  Soon giant fir trees and many other kinds of vegetation began their travels towards the sun.  

Noo Halidzoks had first created her most powerful children: the earth, water, air and fire; she then created her second most powerful children:  the standing people [trees], plants, grasses and vegetables; she then created her third most powerful children: those that walk on four legs, those that swim, those that crawl and those that fly. Much time had passed, and Noo Halidzoks was beginning to slow down, she was quite aged and very tired from all her work.  She stood talking with Raven one day, who grudgingly had to admit she had done a good job, "Of course, without me," he crowed, "it never would have happened."  Noo Halidzoks just sighed, "it would have happened a lot sooner, if you had not gotten into so much trouble."  Raven looked a little chastened.

Noo Halidzoks had one task left. She laid wood on the ground, and lit it on fire; west wind came in an fanned the fire until it was blazing.  She then boiled some water and into it put some red things, at the end of day one, she created a red male and female; on day two she mixed together some yellow things, and created a yellow male and female; on day three she mixed black things and created a black female and male and one day four she mixed white things and created a white female and male.  She looked at how wonderfully the colours went together, and spoke a long time to her children about their place in the world, how they were the weakest of all she created because they would need everything to live.  She gave them many teachings about looking after the new world, and then sent them away to populate:  red children to the south, black children to the west, white children to the north and yellow children to the east. The story continues...........

More on Thunderbird's Show, Stories of Noo Halidzoks. Enter - Click image to download.

 

 HAUDENNOSAUNNE (IROQUOIS)
 TWO STORIES

Long, long ago, one of the Spirits of the Sky World came down and looked at the earth. The spirit found the earth to be beautiful and created people to live on it. Before returning to the sky, Spirit gave them names:

"To the Mohawks, I give corn,"  To the patient Oneida, I give the nuts and the fruit of many trees. To the industrious Seneca, I give beans. To the friendly Cayuga, I give the roots of plants to be eaten. To the wise and eloquent Onondaga, I give grapes and squashes to eat and tobacco to smoke at the camp fires."

Many other things Spirit told the new people. Then Spirit was wrapped in a bright cloud and went like a swift arrow to the Sun. There Spirit's return caused the other Sky Spirits to rejoice.

In the beginning the new world consisted only of vast oceans.  There was no land. Father Sky and his wife were admiring a beautiful tree - lush leaves and fruit, rich, dark bark.  Father Sky's wife told him that she had a great visions which called for him to pull the tree up by its roots, leaving a large hole in the sky.  Father Sky was sad, for he thought the tree quite beautiful, but he also realized the power of his wife's vision. He wrapped his arms around the tree, gave a might heave, and uprooted the tree.  Grasping hold of part of the tree, the woman looked through the hole, as she stretched a little further, she lost her footing and fell through.

The animals that were able to live in the water, turtle, beaver, whale and many others, looked up and saw the woman plummeting towards them.  "What will we do," they cried. "If she lands, she will drown!" Two swans unfurled their beautiful white wings, flew up and caught the woman; they brought her down where they floated on the waves.  Everyone knew this could not go on for long, for the the swans would tire, and at some point the woman would need to sit down.

One by one the animals swam to the bottom of the ocean to see if they could bring up a little earth.  The big whales tried, the otter tried, animals large and small, all tried.  Finally, everyone was floating on top of the water very tired from all their efforts.  Little Muskrat swam over and shyly said, "I think I can do it."  The other animals were too exhausted to even laugh at the thought.  She took a deep breath and dove as far as she could.  It took several tries, but finally, totally exhausted she floated to the surface with a little earth in her paw. "What will I do with it now?" she gasped. Turtle swam over, "Put it on my back, I have a broad back," he said.  Immediately the land began to grow until it was big enough for the swans to step on shore and let the woman down.  She let go from her hands some seeds that came from the sacred tree she had been holding onto when she fell through the hole.  The land grew and grew and along with it, forests, grasses, plants and vegetables.  it was a wondrous sight, and that is how North America came to be created, and subsequently to be called Turtle Island.

ANISHINABE (OJIBWA)

Gitchie Manitou (Creator) took four parts of Mother Earth (earth, wind, fire, and water) and blew into them using a Sacred Shell [the Megis or Cowrie Shell]. From the union of the Four Elements and breath, original or Anishinabe Man (later known as Way-na-boo'zho) was lowered to the Earth and all Anishinabe peoples came from him. 

Meaning of Anishinabe:  Ani - from whence; nishina - lowered; Abe - male

Gitchie Manitou, sent the wolf to keep Way-na-boo-zhoo, company. Later he ordered Original Man and Wolf to go different ways. The wolf and man (the Ojibway) are thought to be similar because both walked creation, mate for life, have a Clan system and a tribe, have had their land taken from them, have been hunted for their hair, have been pushed close to destruction and are recovering.

As a result of the separation of Wolf and Original Man, dogs (the brother of contemporary humans) are not allowed at sacred ceremonies. Dogs should be kept away from ceremonial objects, such as regalia, pipes, food, as it was thought they could endanger the life of an Ojibwa.

 

MI'KMAQ

Gisoolg is the non-gendered Great Spirit Creator who is the one who made everything. The work Gisoolg in Mi'Kmaq means " you have been created ". It also means " the one credited for your existence".

The Mik'Maq people do not explain how the Great Spirit came into existence only that Gisoolg is responsible for creating the world

Gisoolg created Nisgam  [the sun] to help in heating and lighting the world. 

Ootsitgamoo [the earth] was created by Gisoolg and was placed in a position where it could travel in a circle around Nisgam bringing to the world nights and days; this circular motion would allow Nisgam to safeguard the earth.  Birds, animals and water beings were all made when Ootsitgamoo was created.

Gisoolg sent a bolt of lightening which caused the formation of a human body, thus the first human,  Glooscap was formed out of a basic element of the Mi'Kmaq world, sand.

One day when Glooscap was travelling in the east he came upon a very old woman. Glooscap asked the old woman how she arrived to the Mi'Kmaq world. The old woman introduced herself as Nogami. She said to Glooscap, "I am your grandmother". Nogami said that she owed her existence to the rock, the dew and Nisgam, the Sun. Nogami was the grandmother of the stone family and helped Glooscap with many things.

Glooscap then met Netaoansom who was his nephew. He was very strong and Nogami said that if  Glooscap relied on Netaoansom's strength, he would gain much strength and understanding of the new world.

A woman came to the fire and sat beside Glooscap - her name was Neganogonimgooseesgo, Glooscap's mother.  She came from a leaf and was warmed by Nisgam who gave her life. She brought with her all the colours the world would need; she also brought strength and understanding of the earth's natural forces, its animals and her children, the Mi'Kmaq so that they could learn to live in peace and harmony with one another.

 

PLAINS

WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN

A beautiful woman brought secret and very sacred knowledge to the Lakota people. It was said that she first appeared to two young hunters. She was wearing a shimmering white tanned leather dress which was beautifully embroidered with porcupine quills in exquisite patterns. One of the young men was overtaken by lust, and  rushed toward her.  She smiled, and a soft white cloud descended. When it passed, the woman stood alone and the young man was now a pile of bones at her feet.  The second hunter recognized that she was from another world.  She instructed the man to return to his village and set his people to building a huge sacred tent, and to wait for her arrival. When she entered the village,  the people were awed by her presence. Walking seven times around the central fire, she spoke to them, giving them a bag containing a sacred pipe and teaching them the knowledge and ceremonies that went with it. She reminded them of the mysteries of their mother, the earth. As she left the camp she rolled on the ground and came up as a golden buffalo, she rolled again, this time changing to a black buffalo, she rolled again and stood as a red buffalo.  She rolled one last time, and disappeared in the shape of a white buffalo [honouring the four colours of human]. Her final words to The People were to always honour her with gifts and ceremony, and that one day, when they really needed her she would return.

(Note:  Many Lakota feel that White Buffalo Calf Woman returned in 1994 when the first white buffalo was born; since then several other white buffalo along with other white animals of peace have been born.)

ABOUT STORYTELLING: AN OVERVIEW

As  Father Sky continued to turn (meaning as the years went by) and humanity entered the time of the seventh fire, the role of the storyteller began to fade. Humans chose to walk away from spirit and embrace the world of technology. Modern travel shrunk the planet to a manageable size and the humans, as was foretold, began to move to different parts of Mother Earth by boat, planes, trains and automobiles.

Father Sky continued to turn, and again as was foretold, a giant snake wrapped itself around the lower world and eventually with a click of a mouse people could  move around wherever they desired even to the most remote places without ever having to leave the comfort of their own homes. 

It seemed, that this encroachment into unfamiliar cultures and territory included collecting and retelling stories without any real understanding of the culture from which the narratives came. The invention of the printing press further eroded oral storytelling as an insatiable demand was created for story books. The stories became words in books, but the subtle nuances, understandings and beliefs were lost. The stories became 'stand alone' narratives and the connections to the culture from which they came was irretrievably severed.

Unfortunately, today the modern storyteller is seen merely as an entertainer primarily for children, who works for very little (expectation usually being no payment) and simply recites words. A far cry from the once important person who had professional and revered status in the community, for they were for the most part Elders, the keepers of the sacred knowledge, language, songs, ceremonies and context.

The true role of the storyteller is to tell  about a  cultures morals, spirituality, laws, and social values. Using the Oral Narrative as the forum, a true storyteller teaches these values, which passes on knowledge and beliefs to the next generation without judgment or criticism. 

Society needs to re-introduce itself to the full definition of who Storytellers are, the chroniclers of cultural events, and the important function they serve as one of the most powerful voices of change, understanding and warning within the modern world. The Storyteller ties the past to the present to the future. All is connected, it cannot be otherwise for there is simply nothing  new under the noonday sun, it was all foretold at the beginning of the original world, we need only to understand it.

 All My Relations.

For a variety of stories and meanings

                  Animal: A-M   fire               Animal: N-Z fire               

                 Cosmos fire    

 

- MAY YOUR SPIRIT BE STRONG -

HOME PAGE

 

Return to Indigenous Culture Main Page

VOICE@SHANNONTHUNDERBIRD.COM

Note to Gentle Readers: Due to the almost mythical number of SPAM emails Ms Thunderbird receives per month (average: 8,000), she has had to install anti-spam software to save her sanity- be patient and answer the question from IPermitmail;  Thunderbird looks forward to hearing from you. 

TOP