Native American Mythology: It Is More Than Entertainment
People use Native American Mythology everyday for his or her personal entertainment. Little do they know that these myths are more than they're cracked up to be. 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... He shaped them like Indians"(Clark). Secondly, an Apache myth states, "Mythology... 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
Once a myth is accepted by the tribe it was created in, it is hard to contradict the tale. For example, Albert Eistein would be the god of intellect and imagination, and another person may include Bill Gates as the god of computing. Even today, people use myths to explore the culture, its viewpoint, activities, and beliefs. Myths serve as a tool to preserve a culture's identity. Adults, too, can find role models in the stories of deities' strength, persistence, and courage. Every time a story is told it changes, but the ideas and Native American spirits are kept alive and retold. 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. These storytellers must perpetuate the history, culture, and stories of the Native American people. Only the Cherokee "Medicine Man" could cure it (Origin of Medicine). " 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. that way generations from now, many people can enjoy the same legend that you do. boundaries and establishing areas in which the people could flourish" (Bancroft-Hunt, 18). One tale, stating the origin of medicine, said that the creation of medicine came through a Cherokee myth where animals and people communicated freely. 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. An aspect of myths most do not understand is that myths explain the unexplained by satisfying one's need to understand the natural world.
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