My Myth

In the beginning, there was an old wise king who ruled over the whole earth. He was unhappy because the earth was empty and he and his wife were alone. One day he went to his wife and said, “It isn’t good that we should live alone on this earth. Bring forth children so that we may have hands to do our work.” And she gave birth to four sons in four years, and the king was very happy. His sons were born with beautiful feathered wings and with them they cultivated the earth to their father’s liking. They spread seeds that grew into tall oak trees and provided shade. They planted fruits and vegetables for sustenance, and they made flowers grow.

            When Eldest Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the north for four days, once you have passed over the mountains you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the north will be yours.” So Eldest Brother went to the north, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on the top of the mountain.

            As he rested Wind Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in these mountains.”  Eldest Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home on the highest peak of the mountain.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he replaced Eldest Son’s handsome face with an ugly one, and gave him a hard beak so that he could never kiss his wife. And Eldest Brother lived in the highest mountains with Wind Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the Eagles of the North.

When Second Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the east for four days, once you have passed over the Great Lake you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the east will be yours.” So Second Brother paddled to the east, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on his canoe.

            As he rested Water Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live on this water.”  Second Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home in the depths of the Lake.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he replaced Second Son’s beautiful wings with short fins for the water, and took away his speech so that he couldn’t converse with his wife. So Second Brother lived in the deepest waters with Water Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the wild fish and whale of the East.

            When the Third Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the west for four days, once you have passed through the Dense Forest you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the west will be yours.” So Third Brother traveled to the west, but after only two days he grew tired and rested under an apple tree.

            As he rested Tree Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in this wood with me.”  The Third Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home in the Dense Forest.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he took away Third Son’s feathered wings, and made him walk on four legs instead of two, so that he could not embrace his wife. So Third Brother lived in the deepest forest with Tree Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the wild bear and elk of the west.

            When the Youngest Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the south for four days, once you have passed through the desert you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the entire earth will be yours.” So the Youngest Brother went to the south, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on a sand dune.

            As he rested Fire Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in this desert with me.”  The Youngest Brother saw that she was very beautiful, but he would not take her as a wife because he remembered his brothers’ mistakes. Instead he continued on two more days and found his wife and home. He saw that the wife his father had made for him was very beautiful, and would produce many children.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was overjoyed. So he called to Youngest Son and said, “To you I give all the lands of the earth, and it will be your duty to populate them with your children, and to grow and nourish the land. And I will give you dominance over your brothers and their offspring.” So Youngest Brother lived for many years and his descendants became the inhabitants of the earth.

My Myth

In the beginning, there was an old wise king who ruled over the whole earth. He was unhappy because the earth was empty and he and his wife were alone. One day he went to his wife and said, “It isn’t good that we should live alone on this earth. Bring forth children so that we may have hands to do our work.” And she gave birth to four sons in four years, and the king was very happy. His sons were born with beautiful feathered wings and with them they cultivated the earth to their father’s liking. They spread seeds that grew into tall oak trees and provided shade. They planted fruits and vegetables for sustenance, and they made flowers grow.

            When Eldest Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the north for four days, once you have passed over the mountains you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the north will be yours.” So Eldest Brother went to the north, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on the top of the mountain.

            As he rested Wind Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in these mountains.”  Eldest Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home on the highest peak of the mountain.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he replaced Eldest Son’s handsome face with an ugly one, and gave him a hard beak so that he could never kiss his wife. And Eldest Brother lived in the highest mountains with Wind Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the Eagles of the North.

When Second Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the east for four days, once you have passed over the Great Lake you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the east will be yours.” So Second Brother paddled to the east, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on his canoe.

            As he rested Water Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live on this water.”  Second Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home in the depths of the Lake.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he replaced Second Son’s beautiful wings with short fins for the water, and took away his speech so that he couldn’t converse with his wife. So Second Brother lived in the deepest waters with Water Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the wild fish and whale of the East.

            When the Third Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the west for four days, once you have passed through the Dense Forest you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the west will be yours.” So Third Brother traveled to the west, but after only two days he grew tired and rested under an apple tree.

            As he rested Tree Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in this wood with me.”  The Third Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home in the Dense Forest.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he took away Third Son’s feathered wings, and made him walk on four legs instead of two, so that he could not embrace his wife. So Third Brother lived in the deepest forest with Tree Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the wild bear and elk of the west.

            When the Youngest Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the south for four days, once you have passed through the desert you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the entire earth will be yours.” So the Youngest Brother went to the south, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on a sand dune.

            As he rested Fire Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in this desert with me.”  The Youngest Brother saw that she was very beautiful, but he would not take her as a wife because he remembered his brothers’ mistakes. Instead he continued on two more days and found his wife and home. He saw that the wife his father had made for him was very beautiful, and would produce many children.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was overjoyed. So he called to Youngest Son and said, “To you I give all the lands of the earth, and it will be your duty to populate them with your children, and to grow and nourish the land. And I will give you dominance over your brothers and their offspring.” So Youngest Brother lived for many years and his descendants became the inhabitants of the earth.

Caught by a Hairstring

Alex Figueroa

P.3

August 28, 2012

 

            In this myth we see examples of the importance of food, anthropomorphism, and several fantastical elements. Near the end of the myth, the lazy, unattractive husband gains a lot of new talents taught to him by the chief’s son. Most of these, like catching more fish for the village, or being able to chase more moose, have to do with providing food. He even says that he will “be able to provide the People with much more food to eat.” So this talent is something he wants to learn. There is also a small amount of anthropomorphism when he talks to the whales. This is mixed in with fantastical elements because he uses crushed whale bone to call to them. Another fantastical element is when he uses what could presumably be called witchcraft to lure his wife into marrying him. The hairstring takes on a magical quality.

Creation Myths

Alex Figueroa

Period 3

            This Native American creation myth would be classified as Deus Faber. There is one major deity called “The Creator” or “The Great Chief who lives in the sky, who “created all the animals and birds and gave them their names”. He then left for several days and came back to make humans. This myth is very similar to the Christian creation myth where God created the heavens and the earth in six days.

Lodge Boy and Thrown Away Questions

Alex Figueroa

P. 3

August 27, 2012

1.      This myth shows how important children were to this specific culture. These boys did a lot of good for their community including saving people that had been eaten by the great serpent, and raise their own mother from the dead. All this they did without being given power from an external source. This shows that this culture believed in the power of pure innocence and youth.

2.      Several fantastical elements are shown in this myth. One is that there are still living people inside the stomach of the beast that the two brothers slay. Obviously, in real life they would probably be dead before they even got to its stomach, if it was even a beast large enough for multiple people to be digested at once. Another one is that the boys raised their mother from the dead. This portion of the story isn’t very realistic because they just decide, out of the blue, to bring their mother back to life. Also, that’s just generally impossible. Finally, the Eagle talking to the boys, and pleading for help, is fantastical as well.

3.      By the twelve steps of a hero, the boys are not heroes.  The first step they skip is number three. The brothers never refused the call, in fact, they chased after it, even ignoring their father when he said not to. They also never had a mentor, it seems as though the brothers were born smart and skillful and always knew how to confront their problems. Finally, they were never really in danger of death, and they never left their world or changed environments. So that skips almost 5 steps!

Raven and the Sources of Light Myth

Alex Figueroa  

P.3

August 26, 2012

            This myth has examples of anthropomorphism, as well as the importance of food, and of children. The Raven “was sad for his people”, since sadness is a human emotion, he is showing anthropomorphism. Another example would be when he decided to turn into a seed and wait in the river to be caught, this shows plotting, which is a human action. The importance of food isn’t as obvious a theme, but it’s still there. One of the main reasons Raven goes to find the light is because “he knew without the sun the earth would not bring forth the food the Haida people needed to survive”. Also Raven turns himself into a seed which is a symbol of life. Finally, The importance of children plays a big role in this story. Raven is born to the daughter as a child, and frees the light. He couldn’t have done that if he hadn’t been in the form of a child.

Sedna Myth

Alex Figueroa

P.3

August 22, 2012

            The Native American Myth Sedna is an example of a secretion cosmogonic myth. It explains how water creatures like whales, seals, and walruses were created, “As her bones and flesh fell into the waves, these pieces of her fingers became seals”. This would be classified as secretion because a piece of Sedna is cut off to form something else. It also has examples of anthropomorphism, in that a bird takes on human qualities and marries a woman. You could also say this myth is an example of division cosmogonic myths because the earth divides to create the underworld in which sedna lives and rules.