Cherokee Creation Myth

 I was assigned to learn the Cherokee creation myth, which ended up being surprisingly interesting along with all of the others presented in class!

 The Cherokee believed that the world was created after Dayunisi, a water beetle, decided to leave Galunlati, the home of all the animals and plants before the earth was created. Cherokee believed the world consists of several levels including earth, an underworld, and heaven. Galunlati resides in between earth and heaven and over time started to become crowded, the reason for Dayunisi to leave and go exploring. When he reached earth he found that it was covered in water, he swam every direction trying to find something on the surface but there was nothing! So he decided to dive deep down to the bottom where he found soft mud. Each time he would dive and bring mud to the surface which started to pile up, creating the island which we call earth. This island was fastened to the sky with chords at each of the four cardinal points. Dayunisi decided to make a trip back to Galunlati to let the mud harden, after some time went by he had the father of all buzzards check his work to see if it was ready.

The buzzard came to find that it was not quite ready, as the buzzard began to fly over the Cherokee country he began to tire and his wings started to mark the land. When his wings began to flap in a downward motion they created the valleys and when they went upward mountains were then created. He was called back quickly so that the whole world was not covered in mountains.

The animals arrived after the earth had dried but was completely dark so they had to set the sun on track, having to adjust the distance seven times until it was the right height.

The animals and plants were then told to keep watch for seven nights, but many began to fall asleep as they neared that seventh night. Only the owl, panther, and a couple of others were awake by the end so they were given the ability to see in the dark and prey on others. Of the plants only the cedar, holly, laurel, pine, and spruce were awake giving them the ability to stay green. Others were sentenced to losing their "hair" every winter. 

Men came after, at first only a brother and sister were created. After the brother hit the sister with a fish he commanded her to multiply and so she did, every seven days a child was born which started to add up quickly creating the danger of over population. It was then made that a woman should only be able to have one child in a year and so it has been ever since.

The Cherokee fear that soon when the world grows old people will die, and the chords will break. Resulting in the earth's land sinking into the water once again. This creation myth gives etiological explanations for topography, dietary customs, animal talents and behaviors, elements of trial and error, and awareness of the problems with over population.

Pieces of the Puzzle: Beginning

What was first discussed in class and read about in The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony all had something to do with beginnings, and how something began. As most people know, there is a beginning for everything whether it's a beginning of a relationship, career, or even a love of mythology it all had to start somewhere. The thing that I normally wouldn't ask myself is "oh well, where or how must have that began?" I would normally focus on the present but after the first day of class I see myself asking that question more often to really understand the metamorphosis and growth of certain things. This change of mind will not only help me when learning about mythology but will also help in the long run, time being after this mythologies class.

Beginnings seem to be quite important but they are only one piece of the puzzle, the details within a story or description can change the interpretation and outcome drastically. This is usually known as a mistake, when this occurs a variation or new version of the story originally told is created. Normally I would think making a mistake like this would be scorned upon but I've realized that it can add to the enjoyment of a story, but could also add controversy depending on what is being discussed or told. I've also realized how easy this is to do, I witnessed it the other day in class when talking about events in Calasso's book. If a mistake similar to this were to occur in other contexts a person might feel as though they have done something wrong or spoken a lie, which brings me to one of my favorite aspects of learning about mythology because another definition of myth is a false belief or lie. The confusion of the two characters, discussed in class, in my mind is no longer seen as a mistake but just as a new version of a story. I still can't decide if this is good and I'm evolving in a way or if this is a bad thing because it is a lie. Although I find this to be interesting I'm also quite aware that it is beneficial to be familiar with the characters and knowing each one apart from the other. It will be interesting to learn more about what parts really bring these stories together and to learn about the stories themselves.