The man from the
Cherokee tribe was very old and traditional. He wore
his headdress proudly, along with clothes made from deer hide. His
moccasins were made from deer hide with a very firm sole to protect his
feet. He is a very traditional and full-blooded Cherokee. He told his
story in Cherokee, as that was the only
language he knew. His translator was present but separated from the
four tribal members. He translated loudly in English so the four could
hear.
"We
have the water beetle to thank
for our lives today. For it is he who we sent to explore the other
world at first. For it is her who brought back the mud that gave us
hope for more land."
Before
the water beetle discovered
the mud, all of the creatures lived in a place above in the sky. All of
the land that we know today was water. The land in the sky was very
crowded and all the animals wanted more space. The water beetle
suggested that he should go and look for more land. He was swimming
around for several days and only found water. After days of looking the
water beetle was frustrated and about to return to the sky. Then
suddenly a thought hit him: what about under the water? So the water
beetle took a deep breath and swam as far down as he could. His eyes
were closed tightly and he was running out of breath. Then suddenly he
was stopped by something solid but somewhat soft. The water beetle
quickly realized it was mud and he grabbed some and began to swim
towards the surface. The mud that the water beetle brought up in now
the place which we call Earth. The mud spread quickly and covered about
one third of the surface. After there was land, it was fixed to the sky
with four cords from the four cardinal directions.
Many
birds were sent to explore
the land and determine if it was dry yet. The buzzard was sent down to
prepare the land for the other animals in the sky. He flew for several
days and still the Earth was wet. He became very tired and
landed, the flapping of his wings made a valley and mountains. Then the
animals that
were in the sky began to come to Earth. An unknown creator created
other plants and animals.
Man
came after the animals and
plants, also created by the same creator. A brother and sister were the
first to be created. The brother and sister did not know how there
could ever be more humans like them. One day the brother
smacked his sister in the face with a fish and screamed "Multiply." In
seven days the sister gave birth to her first child. This continued
every seven days until there were too many people. The creator then
stopped women from having babies every seven days. He made the women
only able to have babies once a year. This is the way the way the world
as we know it was created for us. This story also tells our belief
about the creation of human beings.
"Wa-do,"
the Cherokee man
concluded. "Thank you," was the translation.
Author’s Note: I
expanded on the original story for length and clarity.
The original story was kind of confusing and I tried to add to the
story to make it less confusing.I kept the main aspects of the Cherokee
creation story. I kept the water beetle in the story as it was very
important to the story. The basic story line follows the original
story. I added the “creator” because in the original story it just says
that these things were created somehow. I did not like the “somehow”
because it just leaves the reader hanging with nothing to conclude from
it. I think the addition of the “creator” was important to complete the
story. The Cherokee story also included the recurring theme of
the number four in
this story. It even included the four cardinal directions with the
theme
of four. This was not my goal but it worked out that way. I tried to
give a detailed description of the man telling the story at the
beginning. I found a great image that goes well with my description of
the Cherokee Indian. This story fits perfectly into my storybook
because of the connection between the four cardinal directions. It also
has the them of four in it as well.
Coverpage
Story: How the World was Made
Author: James Mooney
Book: Myths of the Cherokee
Year: 1900
Websource. Sacred
Texts Archives
Cherokee Indian. Websoure
Indain brother and sister. Websource
