Creation myth help

GrantMeredith · 01-27-2008, 06:29 AM

Hello I am a PhD student from Australia. Not sure if I should be posting this here or not. I have recently been reading through some paper and found the following verse.

"When the great eternal Father had created the world and fishes and animals and birds, he still felt a great dissatisfaction. He was lonesome. So he declared, "I shall make a creature like myself, that I may talk with him and he may talk with me." So he created man. But man did not talk, and the great Father was still lonesome. He inquired the reason. "Aha," said he, "I have it: I shall give him a tongue and then he will talk." So he fashioned him a tongue agile and supple and put it in the man's mouth. But still he spoke not. The great One pondered. "No wonder," he thought, "he cannot talk without knowledge." So he endowed him with knowledge. Still man was as silent as the winter night. But at last in a flash there came to the great Father the ultimate solution. "Give him pride." So man received pride, and immediately he began to speak, using his facile tongue to tell all that his knowledge brought to him."

I was wondering if you knew where or if this existed in any form of literature as the author of the article "The Modern Universiy & Speech" does not reference it at all and only alludes to the fact I think it could be from the Winsconsin area?

Any help would be appreciated.
Please answer through here or you can email me at gmeredith@ballarat.edu.au

SheTurtle · 01-27-2008, 11:14 AM

That sounds almost biblical to me.

**Josiah** · 01-29-2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrantMeredith

Hello I am a PhD student from Australia. Not sure if I should be posting this here or not. I have recently been reading through some paper and found the following verse.

"When the great eternal Father had created the world and fishes and animals and birds, he still felt a great dissatisfaction. He was lonesome. So he declared, "I shall make a creature like myself, that I may talk with him and he may talk with me." So he created man. But man did not talk, and the great Father was still lonesome. He inquired the reason. "Aha," said he, "I have it: I shall give him a tongue and then he will talk." So he fashioned him a tongue agile and supple and put it in the man's mouth. But still he spoke not. The great One pondered. "No wonder," he thought, "he cannot talk without knowledge." So he endowed him with knowledge. Still man was as silent as the winter night. But at last in a flash there came to the great Father the ultimate solution. "Give him pride." So man received pride, and immediately he began to speak, using his facile tongue to tell all that his knowledge brought to him."

I was wondering if you knew where or if this existed in any form of literature as the author of the article "The Modern Universiy & Speech" does not reference it at all and only alludes to the fact I think it could be from the Winsconsin area?

Any help would be appreciated.
Please answer through here or you can email me at gmeredith@ballarat.edu.au

The story sounds like it has been modified to fit with a missionary's point.
Many creation stories were modified in this way, so that we would have a frame of reference when the Missionaires were teaching the Christian Religion to the Natives in this Country.

The key word in this story is word PRIDE
It smells like something a Missionary would be trying to DOWNPLAY...
I am very curious to read the rest of this story!

timmy tiger · 01-29-2008, 09:05 PM

It does sound like something that the missionaries would have done. I've never heard it before.

CHEROSAGE · 02-27-2008, 02:17 AM

This is a first for me!!!!

tsuj510 · 02-27-2008, 02:28 PM

It sounds all romantical and what-not..

WhoMe · 02-27-2008, 06:37 PM

Grant,

I have videotaped Native origin and creation stories from many tribes.

In these videotaped interviews, there is not one tribal elder or historian who uses the same EuroAmerican language of eloquence that you have quoted to the readership here on powwows.com.

Since you are wanting feedback...

Please do not get your information from someone whose creation story is not a member of the creation stories tribe because their is too much room for misinterpretation.

Just food for thought.

jaytons · 02-28-2008, 04:43 PM

Its good to hear of the creation stories of each tribe.

tsuj510 · 02-29-2008, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrantMeredith

Hello I am a PhD student from Australia. Not sure if I should be posting this here or not. I have recently been reading through some paper and found the following verse.

"When the great eternal Father had created the world and fishes and animals and birds, he still felt a great dissatisfaction. He was lonesome. So he declared, "I shall make a creature like myself, that I may talk with him and he may talk with me." So he created man. But man did not talk, and the great Father was still lonesome. He inquired the reason. "Aha," said he, "I have it: I shall give him a tongue and then he will talk." So he fashioned him a tongue agile and supple and put it in the man's mouth. But still he spoke not. The great One pondered. "No wonder," he thought, "he cannot talk without knowledge." So he endowed him with knowledge. Still man was as silent as the winter night. But at last in a flash there came to the great Father the ultimate solution. "Give him pride." So man received pride, and immediately he began to speak, using his facile tongue to tell all that his knowledge brought to him."

I was wondering if you knew where or if this existed in any form of literature as the author of the article "The Modern Universiy & Speech" does not reference it at all and only alludes to the fact I think it could be from the Winsconsin area?

Any help would be appreciated.
Please answer through here or you can email me at gmeredith@ballarat.edu.au

Well, I can tell you one thing-our Creaton stories are not "myths"......

WhoMe · 03-01-2008, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsuj510

Well, I can tell you one thing-our Creaton stories are not "myths"......

Thank you for saying this!

01-27-2008, 06:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
GrantMeredith Pow Wow Visitor Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1	Creation myth help Hello I am a PhD student from Australia. Not sure if I should be posting this here or not. I have recently been reading through some paper and found the following verse. "When the great eternal Father had created the world and fishes and animals and birds, he still felt a great dissatisfaction. He was lonesome. So he declared, "I shall make a creature like myself, that I may talk with him and he may talk with me." So he created man. But man did not talk, and the great Father was still lonesome. He inquired the reason. "Aha," said he, "I have it: I shall give him a tongue and then he will talk." So he fashioned him a tongue agile and supple and put it in the man's mouth. But still he spoke not. The great One pondered. "No wonder," he thought, "he cannot talk without knowledge." So he endowed him with knowledge. Still man was as silent as the winter night. But at last in a flash there came to the great Father the ultimate solution. "Give him pride." So man received pride, and immediately he began to speak, using his facile tongue to tell all that his knowledge brought to him." I was wondering if you knew where or if this existed in any form of literature as the author of the article "The Modern Universiy & Speech" does not reference it at all and only alludes to the fact I think it could be from the Winsconsin area? Any help would be appreciated. Please answer through here or you can email me at gmeredith@ballarat.edu.au

02-27-2008, 02:17 AM	#5 (permalink)
CHEROSAGE Pow Wow Committee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: , mo Posts: 1,341	This is a first for me!!!! __________________ BOB

02-27-2008, 02:28 PM	#6 (permalink)
tsuj510 Teen Dancer Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 420	It sounds all romantical and what-not.. __________________ Because of our treaty status, the distinction of being 'Cherokee' is a status of citizenship, not a racial issue.

02-27-2008, 06:37 PM	#7 (permalink)
WhoMe PauWau Coordinator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Land of 370 Broken Treaties Posts: 5,555	Grant, I have videotaped Native origin and creation stories from many tribes. In these videotaped interviews, there is not one tribal elder or historian who uses the same EuroAmerican language of eloquence that you have quoted to the readership here on powwows.com. Since you are wanting feedback... Please do not get your information from someone whose creation story is not a member of the creation stories tribe because their is too much room for misinterpretation. Just food for thought. __________________ "Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture." WhoMe

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01-27-2008, 11:14 AM	#2 (permalink)
SheTurtle Junior Dancer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Greenbelt, MD Posts: 197	That sounds almost biblical to me.

01-29-2008, 09:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
timmy tiger Head Dancer Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: where ever there are babies or children you can find me Posts: 17,412 Blog Entries: 3	It does sound like something that the missionaries would have done. I've never heard it before.

02-28-2008, 04:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
jaytons Pow Wow Visitor Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 7	Its good to hear of the creation stories of each tribe.

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