A Comparison of Myths | A Comparison of Myths

It is often wondered where life came from, where the earth came from, and who the creator was. Today there are several different opinions and facts that explain these philosophies. Different Indian tribes even had their own ideas on creation. But there are many different tribes each with their own beliefs that compare and differ to the next tribe's beliefs.

In many of the Indian tribe stories that explain about the creation of the earth or the creatures that live here today, a flood takes place in some point of their tale. But how the flood comes about and when it happens isn't always the same. In the legend of the Caddo tribe an event took place in the middle of the story that caused the earth to be covered with water. In the story of the Dieuguonis tribe a surge of water never came. Instead of a great flood that wipes out the world, they created mighty, vast rivers so that all of the people were provided with drinking water.

If it weren't for north, south, east, and west we would have no way of navigating or giving directions. The Caddo tribe came about the four directions that we use today when four very tall monsters had the ground beneath them dug out by small animals. The monsters all crashed down on the earth and each of their heads landed pointing either in north, south, east, or west. The Dieuguonis tribe just wanted to be able to describe where someone or something came from. They were in need of direction. So Yukamati named each direction as north, south, east, and west.

In order for humans to carry on in the world they must reproduce. In the Caddo tribe as well as the Okanogan tribe, they clearly state that a human male and female must breed in order to multiply. In the story of the Cheroke a woman gives birth to a child when she is poked by a fish. The fish is most likely male but is obviously not human. The child has all the characteristics of a human being and not even one fin.

We have always wondered about creation and how we came about on this earth. When thinking about it, we know that there is only one possible way that we could have gotten here, but several different beliefs and philosophies are practiced and taught. The Indian tribe stories show us how an unproven theory can evolve and stretch into many different ideas, and how these ideas can correlate and diverge.