Essay Instructions: this is what i have done so far. But you are free to make what ever changes you like to this paper. It needs to be expand into 12-14 pages. If its possible I would like to have a more specific title.
Native American Mythology
People use Native American Mythology everyday for his or her personal entertainment. Little do they know that these myths are not just stories. One should better understand that mythology served to be more than just stories to the Native Americans. Throughout history, Native Americans have used myths and legends to explain life??s mysteries, improve their way of life, and preserve their cultural identity. Beginning with the creation of man and the world, Native Americans have created myths to explain life??s mytheries.
Myths give meaning to life by providing comparable situations to relate to. They relate to Native American??s jealousies and rages, ambitions, and schemes. When one reads of a deity??s experiences, he or she can feel that his own struggle might have a similar cosmic or archetypical significance (Analyzing). According to one myth, explaining how the world and its creatures came about, ??the last balls of mud Old One made were almost alike?K He shaped them like Indians??(Clark). Secondly, an Apache myth states, ??Mythology?K tells of their search for a homeland in which they were helped by the Twin War gods, who traveled the earth and destroyed the monsters, thereby setting the world??s boundaries and establishing areas in which the people could flourish?? (Bancroft-Hunt, 18). Thirdly, an Aztec myth states, [the] Earth goddess, Tlaltecuhtli [was] a fierce beast who ripped a beast in half making one half the earth, and the other half the heavens (sic)?? (January, 140) These creation myths provided the basis for many Native American??s lives and cultures.
One tale, stating the origin of medicine, said that the creation of medicine came through a Cherokee myth where animals and people communicated freely. The only weapon the animals had was to cast spells on Native Americans. Only the Cherokee ??Medicine Man?? could cure it (Origin of Medicine). Legends also provided understanding to modern science as well. Such theories as the ??Big Bang?? were developed for citizens of a village to understand the stars and the moons.
Myths reveal our fate after death, and the reasons for crises or miracles, and other puzzles, yet encourage an aura of mystery. Mythology??s enduring worth is not in its possible historical or scientific accuracy, instead myths are important because they teach and provide explanations to the unexplained. An aspect of myths most do not understand is that myths explain the unexplained by satisfying one??s need to understand the natural world. Myths and legends relate to quarrels, battles, and are created to make the world a place more like a Native American??s home life and communities. ??If [the characters of the myth] act like people, then events are less foreign, thus making them easier to relate to other people??(Analyzing Mythology). Perhaps they can then negotiate with the world as they see the world negotiate with them. They foster this shared set of perspectives, and values.
Native Americans mythologized to satisfy their natural, healthy craving to live in a world that is understanding, but entertaining. Legends are approachable and somewhat understandable by people of any level of intelligence, including people for whom a philosophical discourse would be incomprehensible. Also, they are stimulating to the imagination and feelings, where the effect can be more profound and life changing than that from intellectual comprehension. When legends explain the activities and attitudes of deities, the moral tone implies society??s expectation for the Native American??s behaviors and standards. Such deities exist now that today??s people can relate to. For example, Albert Eistein would be the god of intellect and imagination, and another person may include Bill Gates as the god of computing. Myths offer these role models to children who pattern themselves after heroes, with archetypical characteristics, like Superman or Wonder Woman, in today??s society. Adults, too, can find role models in the stories of deities?? strength, persistence, and courage.
Myths serve as a tool to preserve a culture??s identity. They establish a culture??s customs, rituals, religious tenets, laws, social structures, arts and crafts, holidays, and other recurring events. Through myths people are connected to one another, to their ancestors, to the natural world surrounding them, and to society. In addition, this is one of the ways that many tribes kept their cultures alive; it was not just a collection of stories, but also a collection of their beliefs, their ways, and their lives. Native Americans learned about life, people, and values in a way that cannot be offered by dry historical or philosophical accounts. Myths justify a culture??s activities through their authoritativeness and the respected characters within them. Too, myths grant continuity and stability to a culture. Even today, people use myths to explore the culture, its viewpoint, activities, and beliefs. Every time a story is told it changes, but the ideas and Native American spirits are kept alive and retold. One storyteller said, ??If you retell [a tale], please remember, many of these begin or end in a certain way. Try to keep them as they are?K that way generations from now, many people can enjoy the same legend that you do.?? While some people read myths, the best way to pick up on myths is to hear them from a storyteller, such as revered myth-keepers like John Ax, Swimmer, and Catawba Killer. They tell their stories at museums, festivals, and powwows. These storytellers must perpetuate the history, culture, and stories of the Native American people.
The Cherokee society was well established and organized around a strong sense of community with an oral tradition that maintained its history through myths and carefully protected rituals. Once a myth is accepted by the tribe it was created in, it is hard to contradict the tale. Noam Chomsky noted, ??You can say anything that a thousand other people have said, unquestioned, in the media, and you will get people nodding their heads in agreement. However, if you try to say something contrary to that ??truth?? you spend hours, days, or weeks proving your assertions??. Understanding that the Native Americans have used legends to explain life??s mysteries, improve their way of life, and preserve their cultural identity, one can gain a broad understanding of the purpose of mythology in any culture. Understanding and respecting the Native Americans myth and legends, if done by everyone, will only improve society for the better.
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Champagne, Duane. Native American: Portrait of the Peoples. Visible Ink Press, 1994.
Clark, Ella. Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest, Creation of The Animal People. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1953
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