"The Iroquois Creation Story" - excerpt from Sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations (1827) - David Cusick
-A Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island, Now North America; - the Two Infants Born, and the Creation of the Universe-
roughly 3 pages long, single sided, begins with introduction.
Nearly every culture has a creation story, but because the Six Nations had no written language, the first transcript of their creation story was begun by Frenchman Gabriel Sagard in 1623 from the Huron, or Wyandot, a member of the Iroquois. The earliest complete transcription and translation of the Iroquois creation myth was completed by David Cusick, one of the Tuscarora, published in Sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations (1827).
David Cusick was born around 1780 to a Christian father, said to have been a bodyguard of Comte de Lafayette in the American Revolution. Cusick was raised a Christian, the norm of the time, and was noted in the American Secretary of War, Thomas McKenney's The Indian Tribes of North America (1838), after the two met in 1826. He was a doctor among his people, an artist, and an author. He teaches what he maintains as a history of the Iroquois people, rather than a creation myth. With many versions in circulation, this particular version was chosen for the collection because it was written by a native, was written very early compared to other versions, and because it is understandable and accessible to modern readers.
"The Iroquois Creation Story" - Summary
Two worlds exist, the lower world inhabited by the great monster and darkness; the upper world is inhabited by man. Sky Women and Sky Men exist as humanity, and do not sexually reproduce, rather, they asexually conceive. A woman from the second generation of Sky Women is about to give birth to twins, and as what is described as a travail draws closer, her family urges her to lie upon a mattress, to rest up and regain her strength. She falls asleep, and the mattress descends to the dark, lower world.
As she falls, the monsters of the lower world are summarily startled, and decide to collect beneath the point where she will fall. One monster is appointed to collect a handful of earth from the darkest, deepest place, succeeds, and returns to the collection of monsters. Another monster was to retrieve the falling from the dark water, but only the great turtle is able to promise that he can support her weight forever. A bit of the earth is spread upon his back, and the woman lands safely there. The turtle grew continuously and immensely, as did the woman's discomfort. She is overtaken by her pain, and one twin, evilly influenced, decides to be birthed through his mother's side, beneath her arm. The oppositely good twin tries in vain to stop this evil motivation. The mother endures extreme pain during their fight, and the two are born by the forces of nature, the mother dies immediately. They live without a food source, and the twins lived in the darkness of the lower world. The twins became adults as the turtle became an Island, and the twins were named Enigorio (the good mind), and Enigonhahetgea (the bad mind).
The good mind wished to ascend from the dark world, or at least to bring a great brightness to the lower world, but the bad mind only wished for everything to stay the same as it is. The good mind proceeds with his plans, using his mother's head as the base for an orb, which becomes the sun. He takes her body, and creates the moon. Each gives a light to either the day or night, and the extra numerous spots of light (stars) were created to regulate time within days, months, seasons and years. Whenever the light would appear, the monsters retreated, so as to not be spotted by humans. The good mind created rivers and animals to inhabit the Great Island. He then drew two images in the dirt of the ground, in his own image, a male and a female, and breathed life into their noses. They were named Ea-gwe-howe (a real people). The real people were appointed to manage the animals and the land, with thunder brought to water the lands. Vegetation sprouted forth, and there was sustenance for the animals and people.
The bad mind attempted to make people similarly in his own image, but failed, and created apes. He became envious of his twin, the good mind. The good mind gives life to his failed humans, but discovers that his brother is not in harmony with his own ideas of creation. The good mind asks his brother to accompany him to inspect the game animals, but the bad mind becomes so rude and detestable, that the two agreed to a duel of sorts, the winner gaining rulership of of the universe. The good mind falsely states that only by being whipped with flags could his temporal body be destroyed. The bad mind truthfully admits that his kryptonite is deer antlers.
The two appear, and have a two-day long battle, culminating in each using the other's fatal weapon to fight the other, but the good mind is unaffected by the flags. The bad mind is defeated, and his final words were that he would have equal power over mankind after the body died. He sank, and became the Evil Spirit (an idea probably influenced by the Christian ideas of Heaven and Hell, God and the Devil). The good mind repairs the torn battlefield, visits humanity (and in some stories teaches them to plant corn and to pray to stave away evil), and then leaves.
This is a summary of the creation story of the Iroquois.
-Sarah
The bad mind attempted to make people similarly in his own image, but failed, and created apes. He became envious of his twin, the good mind. The good mind gives life to his failed humans, but discovers that his brother is not in harmony with his own ideas of creation. The good mind asks his brother to accompany him to inspect the game animals, but the bad mind becomes so rude and detestable, that the two agreed to a duel of sorts, the winner gaining rulership of of the universe. The good mind falsely states that only by being whipped with flags could his temporal body be destroyed. The bad mind truthfully admits that his kryptonite is deer antlers.
The two appear, and have a two-day long battle, culminating in each using the other's fatal weapon to fight the other, but the good mind is unaffected by the flags. The bad mind is defeated, and his final words were that he would have equal power over mankind after the body died. He sank, and became the Evil Spirit (an idea probably influenced by the Christian ideas of Heaven and Hell, God and the Devil). The good mind repairs the torn battlefield, visits humanity (and in some stories teaches them to plant corn and to pray to stave away evil), and then leaves.
This is a summary of the creation story of the Iroquois.
-Sarah
