How the World Was Made

Beginnings How The World Was Made Cheerokee, Retold by: James Mooney “The earth is a great island floating in a sea of water” Long time ago when everything was all water and suspended at the each of the four cardinal points by a cord hanging down holding the solid rock. When the earth grows old and dulls it’s strings will snap and the earth will sink down just to be water again. The Indians were afriad of that happening. There was all the animals above in the Galun’lati, the sky realm. They wanted more space and wondered what was below the water. The little water-beetle voluntered to seek what was below.
He darted for every direction, but no firm place to rest. He went down under and gather mud, which ended up growing on every side until it because as to what we know call Earth. The animals were anxious to go down, they asked the birds to check if it wasn’t too wet and they said that it was still wet. Later, the Buzzard went down, he flew all other and got very tired and his wings began to strike the ground making what we call moutains and the animals thought there would only be mountains so they called the Buzzard to come back. As it dried, it grew dark so they got the sun and set in a track to go around everyday at a specific time.
They took the sun, but it was really hot so they pushed it a little further until it was the right temperature for them to look around. Under this newly found earth was another – where plants grew and seasons were different. There were streams that came down the mountains. When the season would change the water grew warmer and warmer in the fall and in the winter things grew colder and colder. When the plants and animals were made they were told to watch and keep awake for several nights and only the owl, panther and one or two were given the ower to see and to go about in the dark and made the prey of birds and animals to sleep at night. As for the trees, it was the ceder, pine, spruce, holly and the laurel who were given to be always green and to be greatest for medicine. The rest had to lose their leaves every winter. There was only one boy and one girl until he struck her a fish and said to multiply and so she did, but very rapidly that they feared that the world wounldn’t keep up and then so it was made that a women should only have one child a year and so it has been ever since.