Introduction
A great deal of what we ‘know’ about history is based upon the stories that have been passed down to us through outsider accounts, cultural myths or other avenues. It is argued that by understanding what these myths are, we can begin to understand the ethics of the culture in terms of how the people understood their relationship with their environment, with other people and within their own community.
For example, the Iroquois nation’s creation myth provides a great deal of insight regarding the deep connection these people felt toward the earth as well as some sense of how they viewed the world. Building from what can be or has been inferred from myths such as the Iroquian creation myth, the purpose of the present study is to discover a ‘true’ picture of the Iroquois based on actual fact.
Importance of myth
Much of what we know of ancient culture is brought to us in the form of stories, either the stories of the descendants or the stories of the conquering outsiders. A preliminary look at the myths or legends of the Iroquois as compared to actual cultural values reveals how the stories of the culture have actually contributed to the peoples’ identity formation. Although the research study will begin with an investigation of myth, this will prove to be an essential component of any illustration of this culture.
This portion of the study will use a combination of research techniques. The first of these methods includes a literature review to discover ‘official’ understandings of a specific myth, such as the following discussion of the creation myth. This understanding, including the sense of depth of meaning conveyed by the presenter, will then be compared to the ‘real’ version as it is understood and willingly shared by a descendant of the tribe and discovered through personal interview.
The importance of this aspect of the study will also be discovered through personal interview as it is through the legends and stories that the culture has been preserved and upon which new generations build their identity. This is further supported by literature studies regarding how identity is formed.
In Iroquois creation legend, the world was formed as a result of the combined efforts of the animals which were already there. There are various versions of the story, but the basic concept holds that the nature of the earth is as a bit of mud spread across the back of a giant turtle which floats in the sea below the island of the Sky People (Oswalt, 2008). The versions shift regarding the origin of the Sky-Woman who was the first being to come down to our level of existence. Some reporters say she was the child of the Great Spirit who had become pregnant without having taken marriage vows and was punished by being sent to the lower seas (Klinck & Talman, 1970).
Others suggest she was the wife of a man who became angry that she was pregnant and threw her off of the Sky Island (Iroquois Creation Myth, 1997). There are also other versions that indicate this woman loved the sea below Sky Island and wanted to live closer to it so she started a new people which were the ancestors of the Iroquois people (Hooker, 1996). To prevent her from drowning, the aquatic animals already living in this realm dove down to the bottom of the ocean and brought back mud and muck, but couldn’t hold it together. The turtle volunteered and the mud was spread across his back to become the continent of North America.
The legends vary slightly again in discussing just how the continent was formed, whether it was the animals (Iroquois Creation Myth, 1997), the Sky-Woman as she awaited the birth of her child (Klinck & Talman, 1970) or the twins she bore (Hooker, 1996). These myths suggest a wide range of understanding, beginning with the very basic, literal understanding of the story to an illustration of the natural ‘bad’ nature of the Indian girl to a more sympathetic understanding of mutual benefit and responsibility.
Perhaps the more accurate version of the myth provides a clear distinction between the Sky-People who were magical and the Earth-people who were not. The version reported in the Klinck and Talman (1970) version is considered to be more accurate because it was originally taken at an earlier time (in the 1800s) from a sympathetic and more direct source. This version claims the Sky-Woman gave birth to a daughter and together they worked to build the continent until the daughter became of age. The man who came to marry her turns out to have been the great turtle, making the twins who are conceived a combination of Sky-People and Earth.
The twins are sharply divided with one being good and the other evil, killing his mother during the birthing process and working against his brother in their continuing devotion to building a world with their grandmother. Eventually, the twins fight with each point of contention giving rise to a new people. Because the tones of their voices as they fought shifted and changed, the different peoples who were born in this way spoke different languages. Finally, the good twin overcame the bad twin and forced him underground, where he continues to try to cause trouble by spitting fire from the earth in the form of volcanoes.
Internal knowledge
This creation myth goes a long way toward explaining not only the human role on the planet and their origin, but also many of the natural processes that can cause terror and questioning. The origin of the continent highlights the people’s extreme dependence on the good will of the animals as a means of support and sustenance. Without the animals, there would have been no earth and without the turtle, the earth that is available sinks back under the sea.
Natural events such as earthquakes and volcanoes are explained as shifts of the turtle in his eternally floating state or as attempts by the bad twin to disrupt life on the surface where the good twin was busily making life as sweet as possible for the people. From this myth, it can be inferred that the Iroquois people had a largely benevolent outlook on life in which all life was sacred and to be respected.
They generally lived in concert with their environment and with the other peoples of the continent whom they recognized as their brothers. However, they also understood that sometimes brothers made the fiercest enemies and that sometimes it was necessary to fight with one another in order to preserve the sweet life that the good twin wished them to lead.
As a result of this understanding, it is probable that within the tribe, the people also worked hard to ensure a benevolent peace among them with a reduction in fighting but recognition that sometimes this was necessary. Depending on the version of the myth, it might also be recognized that there is an element of gender relations contained in it, emphasizing both the extreme importance of the woman as the source of all human life and her concern for the population of the continent as well as her lower status as compared with the Sky-Men.
‘Real’ evidence of cultural values
These assumptions can be tested through the development of a professional relationship with a member of the Iroquois tribe, preferably one who chooses to live the lifestyle of his or her ancestors and is knowledgeable about the traditional beliefs. The information required through this portion of the research can be obtained through an interview or two in which questions have been carefully prepared but a great deal of leverage is provided to enable the interviewee the chance to discuss what he/she feels is important to understand about their culture, traditional society or how they have changed from the tribes of the past. If necessary, the focus of the research may be adjusted to reflect what is discovered during this phase of the research or supported by further literature review.
Conclusion
With a basic understanding of the impact of stories on the understanding of the people, it is also possible to discover what can be known of the people through an understanding of their traditional way of life. There are a great deal of available facts regarding how the Iroquois lived beginning as early as the 1500’s. The study will thus investigate the known facts of Iroquois life through the various types of artifacts that have survived to the present or were preserved through other means.
These artifacts include items such as the structure and function of the longhouse, favorite materials used for basic storage and transport of goods and understood styles of living in the form of gender roles and so on. This combination of facts and mythical understandings will thus yield a more accurate image of the people and their way of life than can be discovered through a single, potentially biased, source.
Bibliography
Hooker, Richard. “The Iroquois Creation.” World Civilizations. (1996). Web.
This source provides helpful information regarding the outsider’s understanding of Iroquois myth.
“Iroquois Creation Myth.” (1997). Web.
This source provides some corroborating and some conflicting information regarding the outsider’s understanding of Iroquois myth.
Klinck, Carl F. & Talman, James J. (Eds.). The Journal of John Norton, 1816. Toronto: Champlain Society, 1970: 88-91.
This source provides some of the earliest European understanding of the Iroquois people.
Oswalt, Wendell H. This Land Was Theirs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
This source provides a great deal of general detail about the known facts of Iroquois life.
Richter, Daniel K. Beyond the Covenant Chain: The Iroquois and their Neighbors in Indian North America. PA: Penn State Press, 2003.
This source attempts to take a more pragmatic or objective view of the Iroquois people as a diverse collection of loosely related people which may contribute to a deeper understanding.
Snow, Dean R. The Iroquois. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
This source investigates what is known more specifically about the five tribes and may help guide the research more effectively.