Iroquois Myth: The World on the Turtle's Back

The World on the Turtle’s back

1. What Group of Native americans created this myth? Iroquois Indians

2. What is a myth? A traditional story with supernatural beings or events that explains how some aspect of life came to be

3. What is the setting?Who lives in the sky-world? The beginning of the world: unpeopled world and Sky-World God people who were like the Iroquois

4. What two characters are introduced in lines 7-8? A man and his wife in the Sky-World

5. Describe the great tree. What does it symbolize? Tremendous tree that had grown forever; had roots spreading along the floor of the Sky-World Tree of Life

6. How does the woman leave the sky-World? What does she hold? She falls through a hole in the floor Roots from the Great Tree

7. How does the myth explain the beginning of plants? Plants grew from the roots of the Great Tree when she planted them

8. From where do the roots come that the woman plants in the world? From the Great Tree in the Sky World

9. Who visits the girl after she has grown up? A man who may be from the Sky World, perhaps he is the West Wind

10. What causes the death of the twins’ mother? What are the positive and negative affects of her death? Left-handed twin is born through her armpit. Positive- her grave grew food plants that were important to the Iroquois Negative- Right-handed twin blames left-handed twin for her death

11. What does the conflict between the twins symbolize? The “birth” of the struggle between good and evil in the world

12. Paraphrase lines 113-114. The good and bad represented in the twins is present in all humans.

14. What are some of the living things that each twin created? Right- deer, squirrel, porcupine, berries, fruits, and other food plants Left- mountain lion, weasel, bear, briars, poison ivy, poisonous plants, medicines for good (doctoring) and evil (witchcraft)

15. How are lines 103-104 ironic? The grandmother favored the twin who had killed her

16. List a simile from the paragraph beginning with sentence 172. When the sun rises from the east and travels in a huge arc along the sky dome, which rests like a great upside-down cup on the saucer of the earth…

17. How is the grandmother’s transformation after death appropriate? She becomes the moon that resides in the realm (night) of the left-handed twin, her favorite twin

18. Which twin lives in the sky-world? Which twin controls “the world below”? Right-handed Left-handed

19. How do the people show their appreciation for both twins? Daytime rituals to honor the Right-handed twin Nighttime dances and songs to honor the Left-handed twin

20. From this myth what did you learn about the Iroquois’ attitude toward nature? They respect nature and the balance of nature.

20. From this myth what did you learn about the Iroquois’ importance of food, games, and rituals? Corn, beans, and squash are their important crops; they enjoy the game of lacrosse and rituals to honor/celebrate

20. From this myth what did you learn about the Iroquois’ beliefs about good and evil? Good and evil are balanced in the world, both are needed

Iroquois Myth: The World on the Turtle's Back