Viewed superficially, creationism stories and the evolutionary science perspective seem entirely contradictory, and mutually incompatible world perceptions. So much field research has been directed towards providing meaningful insights on evolutionism while few academic works have been devoted towards studying Native American oral traditions. Nonetheless, creationism and evolution denial theories have, indubitably, intrigued a number of scholars and ha d in consequence dominated literary discussions. A severe crisis, however, predominates the study of these academic disciplines, more so, in regard to the study of Native American creationism stories: the denial of studies of archaeology and population genetics that may lead to a discovery of a common origin, or a pattern of migration that led to colonization of newer areas. This debate elicits a broader discussion about how scientific understandings of evolution and Native American religious beliefs may be conciliated. This paper, however, does not seek to strike a balance between the two but will devote itself in providing insight on four major Native American stories albeit extensively.
Reflections on Human Origins in Native American Studies
The study of creation theories provides a more significant opportunity in understanding the universal themes and the various cross-cultural motifs. Accordingly, there four major representative myths that dominate Native American literature. According to Francis (2011), the Navajo people of the Southwestern United States trace their origin deep within the Earth’s crust. According to them, there existed an Air-spirit group of people akin to an insect who evolved gradually to form the current Navajo people. This gradual transformation gave way to a structuration of the society into different clans. Consequently, there arose a dispute between the first man and first woman which gave way for the evil Gods to dominate the earth. This conflict was, however, solved when a new equilibrium arrived between the sun and changing women. The events that followed marked an advanced elaboration that was meant to create a harmonious relationship between men and women.
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Pettigrew (2008), asserts that the Aztec and the Nahuatl people believe that the creation process was cyclical and each stage was marked by a cataclysm. Specifically, they trace their genesis to the Ometeotl (god of duality), who incorporated both a man and a woman in the same body. Consequently, he brought to life the four Tezcatlipoca, who among them are the renowned gods of mercy and light. Each of these gods was said to have shown divergent views on the essence of human sacrifice in the Aztec empire which culminated in 1521. The consecutive occurrences of destruction, fertility, and re-formation were primarily associated with an active group of female gods. The previous worlds and suns were then destroyed, and the Quetzalcoatl created the first man and woman by retrieving their dry bones from the underworld. The bones were then fertilized and given life by Quetzalcoatl sacrificing his blood. Mortal human beings among the Aztecs are thus described as macehuales or the deserving ones of self-mortification. Accordingly, they owe their existence to the fifth world and often provide sacrifices to the gods Leon-Portilla and Carrasco.
According to Francis (2011), the Popul Vuh is perhaps the most widely sought-after Native American creation book, partly because it was compiled by some indigenous researchers of a native community in Mesoamerica. The book circulated for a period of more than one hundred years among the Mayan people, until it drew the attention of a Spanish researcher named Friar Francisco Ximenez who translated it to Spanish.
Francis (2011) contends that the Mayan people of Guatemala and Southern Mexico have a similar concept of human duality that pervades other Native American cultures. The shaper or the creator is the origin of life and had various unsuccessful attempts to create the first man. The first creatures did not recognize the deities and also lacked the power of speech. The first pre-human creatures were made out of clay and had an incoherent form of language. Wooden human beings prospered in numbers but were devoid of form, and their movement was lacking. Annihilated in an inundation of resin, they gave way for monkeys’ existence in the world. The final and successful creation of human beings was achieved by mixing cornmeal and water to form a paste and molding human beings from that.
The Cherokee people have an entirely different creation narrative and believe that the earth is a large mass of land floating on water and suspended by some cords hanging down the sky. When the world becomes old, the cords will break, and the people will die while the earth will sink dow n and everything will be water again (Waldman, 2014). They thus believe that water dominated the earth before the earth came into being.
According to Waldman (2014), when everything was water, the animals lived in the Galun lati, a region beyond the arch. The region was, however, very crowded and the animals needed more room to ensure survival. This led them to develop curiosity on what was below the water, and the little water-beetle volunteered to go and explore the region. It darted in all directions over the water but did not find any dry land to rest. It then dived downwards and found some soft mud at the bottom of the water which grew slowly and formed a large mass of land afloat the sea which is the current earth.
Waldman (2014), asserts that the animals waited for the earth to dry and they came down and found the place very dark. They were told to keep awake for seven nights which is a familiar ritual among the Cherokee. They tried to do this, but they were all asleep by the seventh night except the panther and the owl. These animals were given the power to see in the dark and prey on animals that slept at night. Plants such as cedar, spruce, pine, and holly were given the power to be evergreen and produce the most potent medicine.
The man followed the animals and the plants. Initially, the earth was inhabited by two individuals, a brother, and a sister, until the brother hit his sister with a fish and commanded her to reproduce. In seven days, the sister gave birth to a child, and thenceforth a child was born every seven days. They increased in gigantic proportions, and there was a danger that the earth would be overflowing with men. It was therefore established that the woman would be reproducing only one child each year to reduce the reproduction momentum (Waldman, 2014)
In conclusion, this paper has provided some significant insights into various Native American creation stories that dominate the literary discourse. These accounts of the origin of human beings provide deeper understandings that are metaphorical. The creation narratives offer different versions of human origin which cannot, empirically, be all true at the same time. Perhaps what remains of scholars is to invent an interpretive tool that can be used to unify these versions. By and large, though, a study of these creation accounts provides some complementary perspectives on the scientific problems that arise from evolutionism.
References
Francis, N. (2011). The Study of Traditional Narrative and the Science of Human Evolution: Complementary Perspectives. Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, 13(1/2), 108-126.
Pettigrew, D. K. (2008). Native American Creation Myths. Whispering Wind, 38(2), 25.
Waldman, C. (2014). Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Infobas e Publishing.
