The Native American Creation Theory of The Earth on Turtle's Back
Earth was only a sky and a great spanning ocean that birds and other animals swam around in. The Skyland, which was inhabited by the ancient chief, his young wife and a few others. In the Skyland was a huge and beautiful tree, it had 4 white roots which stretched to each of the sacred directions, N, S, E, and W, and from its branches all kinds of fruits and flowers grew.
The ancient chief's wife had a dream of the "Great Tree" being uprooted. The chief said that her dream was so powerful that they must do all they can to make sure it was fulfilled. So they up rooted the tree and placed it on its side, there was now a deep dark hole at the tree's former position. The chief's wife wanted to see the bottom, so she grasped a branch to steady herself and leaned over too look down. She saw something glittering down there and leaned a little farther, the branch broke, she lost her balance and fell into the hole. She held on the branch, which contained lots of seeds as she fell.
As she was falling it caught the attention of the Earth's animals, and 2 swans flew up to save her. While bringing her down to the water, the animals, noticed she wasn't like them and wasn't made to swim. After a brief discussion they concluded she had to walk on land, but the only land was far beneath the water. They decided that one of them would have to go to the very bottom and bring up the Earth, so that she would have a place to stand. After many animal attempts a courageous little muskrat vowed that he would reach the bottom or die trying. After the near-death experience, her valiant attempt paid off, she had the earth. Now where were they going to put it, a deep voice said, "Place it on my back", it was a turtle. To this day there are marks on the turtle's shell that were made by the muskrats paw.
The earth, on his back, began to expand until it became the whole world, and the swans brought the Sky Woman down. She stepped onto the new Earth and opened her hand, letting the seeds fall onto the barren soil. From those seeds, trees, grass, and other plants sprang up. Life on Earth had begun.
Earth was only a sky and a great spanning ocean that birds and other animals swam around in. The Skyland, which was inhabited by the ancient chief, his young wife and a few others. In the Skyland was a huge and beautiful tree, it had 4 white roots which stretched to each of the sacred directions, N, S, E, and W, and from its branches all kinds of fruits and flowers grew.
The ancient chief's wife had a dream of the "Great Tree" being uprooted. The chief said that her dream was so powerful that they must do all they can to make sure it was fulfilled. So they up rooted the tree and placed it on its side, there was now a deep dark hole at the tree's former position. The chief's wife wanted to see the bottom, so she grasped a branch to steady herself and leaned over too look down. She saw something glittering down there and leaned a little farther, the branch broke, she lost her balance and fell into the hole. She held on the branch, which contained lots of seeds as she fell.
As she was falling it caught the attention of the Earth's animals, and 2 swans flew up to save her. While bringing her down to the water, the animals, noticed she wasn't like them and wasn't made to swim. After a brief discussion they concluded she had to walk on land, but the only land was far beneath the water. They decided that one of them would have to go to the very bottom and bring up the Earth, so that she would have a place to stand. After many animal attempts a courageous little muskrat vowed that he would reach the bottom or die trying. After the near-death experience, her valiant attempt paid off, she had the earth. Now where were they going to put it, a deep voice said, "Place it on my back", it was a turtle. To this day there are marks on the turtle's shell that were made by the muskrats paw.
The earth, on his back, began to expand until it became the whole world, and the swans brought the Sky Woman down. She stepped onto the new Earth and opened her hand, letting the seeds fall onto the barren soil. From those seeds, trees, grass, and other plants sprang up. Life on Earth had begun.
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