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Earth Diver Analysis

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Earth- Diver- Creation of Myths
This story go over about which animal is effective in getting a small amount of earth from under the sea. In this creation of myth, “a god or his agent dives to the bottom of this primordial deep and returns with a few grains of sand or a bit of mud from which the earth and the rest of the cosmos eventually arise” (Leonard & McClure p. 38). In an Iroquoian version of earth-diver, Turtle generously offered his back as a care to hold up the earth. Correspondingly, in Indian cultures, the earth island is considered the turtle 's back, which swims in the great sea of water, which symbolizes chaos and disorder. In all versions of the earth-diver stories, cooperation, service, and self-sacrifice bring order into a formerly chaotic universe. One of the most prominent values in Native American culture is harmony. The people of this culture always try to maintain harmony with nature. If someone gets sick, they believe that the harmony is broken between them and nature. This value ties …show more content…

The people of this culture always try to maintain harmony with nature. If someone gets sick, they believe that the harmony is broken between them and nature. This value ties to the story by showing how the Natives connect with the animals, or earth-divers. The myth of earth-divers is one of the most common ways in which Native Americans have dealt with the question of beginning of the earth. There are many earth-diver stories throughout North America, and often certain details of the stories are different. Still the central symbolic theme of the origin of earth come up within a chaotic and formless universe is usually the same. This myth was told to show how the Native Americans believed the earth was created in relation to other cultures or religions. It also shows the alliance between the actual animal that dove down into the sea and the rest of the people who believe in this creation

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