Comparison of the Iroquois Creation Story and the Christianity Creation Story
David VanLandingham
Kristy Singletary
American Literature, ENGL 2130
August 24, 2013
Comparison of the Iroquois Creation Story and the Christianity Creation Story After reading the Iroquois Creation story, and although it is very different from the Christianity Creation story, I found them to be very similar in several ways. When diving into religions other than Christianity I often find myself most of the time extremely intrigued, and it is usually difficult to wrap the mind around the fact that people really do believe some of these things and base their lives around it. Reading the Iroquois Creation Story was no different, but it also lead me to the question, “If I grew up in these cultures, is this something I would believe?” Being a strong Christian believer and at times being more of a “western thinker” when it comes to religion, sometimes thinking that the only thing that is correct is what I believe in, has sometimes hampered my ability to be open to new beliefs that may be different. In the Iroquois Creation Story, there is a roller coaster of emotions for myself as a reader who has never really read anything other than Christianity. While discovering that a turtle is believed to have been involved in the creation of the Great Island, which is now, North America and a virgin woman gave birth to twins. I found myself very confused, wondering how someone believes this. This woman was a virgin who was saved and comforted by a turtle after a long fall from the “upper world” and gave birth to twins, Enigorio and Enigonhahetgea, one of which decided to come out her side? However, right then I realized I was guilty of judging too quickly, so I attempted to draw comparisons to the Christian story and was stopped in my thoughts. Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary, so how can I possibly believe that and turn around and say or think that the Iroquois story is not believable? If this story is looked at with an open mind, it is incredibly similar to the
Kristy Singletary
American Literature, ENGL 2130
August 24, 2013
Comparison of the Iroquois Creation Story and the Christianity Creation Story After reading the Iroquois Creation story, and although it is very different from the Christianity Creation story, I found them to be very similar in several ways. When diving into religions other than Christianity I often find myself most of the time extremely intrigued, and it is usually difficult to wrap the mind around the fact that people really do believe some of these things and base their lives around it. Reading the Iroquois Creation Story was no different, but it also lead me to the question, “If I grew up in these cultures, is this something I would believe?” Being a strong Christian believer and at times being more of a “western thinker” when it comes to religion, sometimes thinking that the only thing that is correct is what I believe in, has sometimes hampered my ability to be open to new beliefs that may be different. In the Iroquois Creation Story, there is a roller coaster of emotions for myself as a reader who has never really read anything other than Christianity. While discovering that a turtle is believed to have been involved in the creation of the Great Island, which is now, North America and a virgin woman gave birth to twins. I found myself very confused, wondering how someone believes this. This woman was a virgin who was saved and comforted by a turtle after a long fall from the “upper world” and gave birth to twins, Enigorio and Enigonhahetgea, one of which decided to come out her side? However, right then I realized I was guilty of judging too quickly, so I attempted to draw comparisons to the Christian story and was stopped in my thoughts. Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary, so how can I possibly believe that and turn around and say or think that the Iroquois story is not believable? If this story is looked at with an open mind, it is incredibly similar to the