There are many examples of herps in pop culture and mythology from around the world, but I was most intrigued by an Iroquois creature myth which features both a frog and most importantly a big turtle that are responsible for creating the Earth.
According to the myth, there were Sky People who lived in on an island in the sky. No one ever died or was born on this island, so when a Sky Woman became pregnant with twins her husband pushed her off the island and she fell to the Earth. There was no land yet, only water, and the animals who lived there saved her from falling. They wanted to help her so a frog swam to the bottom of the ocean and grabbed some mud for her to live on. They had to find somewhere to put this mud, so the frog put it on the back of a Big Turtle, and this is how the land was created. The Big Turtle became the Turtle Island, which is known as North America.
There are other Native American Tribes that have some variation of this myth, but all of them share the belief that a turtle carried the Sky Woman and it was only with the help of animals that the woman survived.
This myth is rooted in a deep connection the Iroquois have with nature and all animals. Upon further research I found that there are many myths and stories that surround the turtle in Native American folklore. The details of what it represents may vary by tribe, but it is almost always shown in a positive light.
Below are some interesting links about this myth and other Native American turtle myths!
1 comment:
Why do you think turtles are viewed so positively in Native American cultures?
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