Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas

The mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas encompass the many legends and belief systems observed by the diverse native cultures of North and South America. Though these cultures were separated by time and geography, their myths often contain similar elements, such as a reverence for animals and nature, and the belief in a supreme creator deity or spirit. Of course, individual myths were also shaped by the environments in which the specific cultures lived. For example, the peoples of the Arctic regions believed in gods and goddesses who resided beneath the seas, representing their reliance on the oceans for hunting and survival. Some Native North Americans held corn or tobacco to be sacred, while others built their mythologies around the buffalo, horses, or other animals. The belief systems of Central and South America shared many elements with the peoples in the north, but their elaborate mythologies were a reflection of the region’s more advanced cultures.

Background

The first humans arrived in the Americas sometime before 15,000 years ago, possibly as early as 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. For years archaeologists believed that the new arrivals migrated from Asia by way of a land bridge that connected the continents in the Bering Sea. However, recent evidence suggests that many groups may have used boats to follow the coastlines up through northeastern Asia and down through western North and South America. While the travel routes and time period of the first Americans are up for debate, evidence has shown that people were already living across North America and in parts of South America 15,000 years ago.

Over the course of thousands of years, people spread out through both continents, adapting their cultures to fit their environments. The people of the frigid Arctic regions lived a nomadic lifestyle, hunting and fishing for their survival. Those who settled in the woodlands of the northeast and upper midwest were able to grow crops for part of the year and developed societies based on hunting, fishing, and farming. On the plains and grasslands of the lower midwest, people relied on the great buffalo herds to provide food, clothing, and shelter. Agricultural societies flourished in southern North America where the temperatures are warm year round.

In Central and South America where the climates are warmer and natural resources more abundant, the hunter-gatherer lifestyles of the first peoples eventually developed into complex agricultural societies. The earliest-known civilization in the Americas is the Caral-Supe people who lived in north-central Peru between 2000 and 3000 BCE. The Olmec civilization, which thrived in south-central Mexico from about 1200 to 400 BCE, developed the first writing system in the Americas. In Central America, the Olmec civilization was followed by the Maya and the Atzecs. In the highlands of South America, the Inca Empire ruled for several centuries until it was brought down by the Spanish in the sixteen century CE.

Overview

The native peoples of the Arctic regions and North America settled in smaller cultural groups and never formed a cohesive civilization. While many South American cultures developed writing, Native North Americans had no writing systems until the nineteenth century. As a result, mythologies and spiritual traditions were passed down by word of mouth and can vary widely even among similar cultures. The beliefs of Native North Americans are sometimes described as a religion, but a more accurate term would be a sense of spirituality and connection to nature. The indigenous myths are not intended to be taken as doctrine as is the case in more organized religions, but rather as tales of cultural identity and stories meant to teach morals and a proper way of living.

Despite their specific cultural variations, these mythologies share a number of common elements. Many cultures believe in a supreme being known as the Great Spirit, a spiritual force who is above the everyday concerns of the world and is intimately connected to the universe. The name of the Great Spirit varies by culture; for instance, the Sioux call him Wakan Tanka and the Algonquian-speaking peoples refer to him as Gitche Manitou. In some myths, it is the Great Spirit who forms the world and brings humans to life, while in others, he makes separate spiritual beings who are given the task of creation. The creator being or beings typically form the world from water or nothingness, and create the first humans from clay, mud, or dust. In some accounts, humans emerge from a hole in the ground or from a great mound.

In the myths of the Inuit of northern North America, the Raven plays a primary role in the creation of the world. It is said that as the first land began to rise from an endless sea, it was fixed in place by the beak of the Raven. According to an Apache myth, the world was created by the One Who Lives Above who brought light from the endless darkness. This being was also said to have created the Sun-God, Big Dipper, Wind, Lightning-Rumbler, and other divine forces. He instructed his creations to pull a giant ball of dirt in all four directions, thereby forming the earth. Iroquois myths tell of Sky Woman, a mother goddess who was cast out from heaven and fell through a hole in the sky. She was carried down to earth and placed on the back of a great turtle, which became the first land.

Many creation myths are meant to show how the people came to follow a specific way of life. For example, Penobscot legends tell of the Corn Mother, who was the mother of the first humans. When the people hunted so many animals there were none left to feed the tribe, Corn Mother told her husband to kill her and drag her body along the ground. Where her blood and body touched the ground, corn later grew to feed the people. In Lakota Sioux myth, a mysterious woman dressed in white taught the people the sacred mysteries of the earth. When she was finished, she turned into a white buffalo and disappeared. The next day, herds of buffalo surrounded the people’s camps, providing them with enough food and clothing to survive.

In a common Inuit myth, a father and his young daughter, Sedna, lived alone in a house by the sea. Sedna angered her father by either attacking him or rejecting his choice of suitor—the reasons vary depending on the myth. Sedna’s father took her out into the ocean and threw her overboard. As she tried to climb back into the boat, her father cut off her fingers. Sedna sank beneath the waves and became a powerful sea goddess. Her fingers turned into the first sea animals the Inuit rely on for survival.

Many Native North American myths include trickster figures who attempt to outwit others through their mischievous schemes. The trickster is often depicted as an animal, such as a raven, coyote, spider, or rabbit. Sometimes tricksters are portrayed as shapeshifters and having human characteristics. They can either use their wits to outsmart stronger opponents or can be outsmarted themselves for being too arrogant. Another common element in native myths is the culture hero, a figure who improves the lives of the people by bringing them important gifts such as fire or writing. In some myths, the trickster and culture hero are the same figure.

The people of the southern Plains told a story of a time when the great buffalo herds disappeared and the hunters could not find any food for the people. The trickster Coyote searched for the missing buffalo and eventually found them being held captive by Crow. Coyote changed into a puppy and was taken into Crow’s house by his young son. Crow was suspicious, but Coyote acted like a puppy until he won Crow’s trust. While Crow and his son were sleeping, Coyote freed the buffalo so the people could once again hunt. In a Cherokee legend, a rabbit and deer were preparing to race with the winner receiving antlers as a prize. The night before the race, the rabbit set off to clear himself a shortcut through the brush so he would win the prize. The other animals discovered his trickery and awarded the antlers to the deer.

To the Wabanaki and Mi’kmaq people of the northeast, the figure of Glooskap is both a creator being and a culture hero. In some myths, Glooskap created the first humans, while in others, the Great Spirit created the people and Glooskap taught them the ways of civilization. Glooskap was said to be so large that he made great valleys in the places where he laid down to sleep. In the Iroquois stories of Sky Woman, she becomes the grandmother or mother of Sky-Holder and Flint, twin culture heroes who embody good and evil. In some myths, Sky-Holder represents creation, life, and summer, while Flint represents chaos, death, and winter.

The concept of balance and the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—were important elements in mythologies in both North and South America. To the Lakota Sioux, the directions represent the four winds. The east represents the new day, the south stands for warmth and growth, the north brings the cold winds of winter, and the west represents the setting sun and end of the day. In the cultures of Central America, the four directions surround the cosmic center of the universe, often represented by a central pillar, pole, or other object. These central points, known as an axis mundi, or “cosmic axis,” were seen as the connection between heaven and earth. The great pyramids of the Maya and Aztec civilizations were built on sacred spots that represented the centers of the world.

The people of Central and South America also placed great importance on animals, agriculture, and the spiritual aspects of nature, but their belief systems were more structured that the people of North America. The religious traditions of the Maya were part of their common culture and were built upon the idea of an orderly cosmos. Mayan deities had specific roles, similar to the mythologies of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. Itzamná was the supreme deity and creator god, Ixchel was the jaguar-goddess of fertility and medicine, Hun-Hunahpú was the god of corn and father of the twin deities, Hunahpú and Xbalanqúe. Hunahpú and Xbalanqúe were both culture heroes and trickster figures who killed the gods of the underworld by winning a contest of wits against them.

Religion was so important to the Maya that they dedicated part of their elaborate calendar system to determine which days fell under the influence of specific deities. This calendar system was later adopted by the Aztecs when the Maya civilization collapsed after 900 CE. The Aztecs also incorporated many of the Maya deities into their mythology. According to Aztec beliefs, humans were expected to serve the gods, who sacrificed their blood to create the world. Because of this, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice to keep the sun god, Nanahuatzin, shining in the sky. Ometecuhtli and his wife, Omecíhuatl, were considered the parents of the Aztec gods. Among their children were the creator deities, Tezcatlipoca, the god of night and lord of the north; Huizilopochtli, the god of war and fire and ruler of the south; Quetzalcóatl, the plumed serpent, god of the winds and ruler of the west; and Xipe Totec, god of agriculture, rebirth, and sacrifice who ruled the east.

The Inca Empire of the Andes mountain region of western South America was the last surviving indigenous civilization in the Americas before the Spanish conquests of the sixteenth century. As the Inca built their empire, they absorbed many of the beliefs of neighboring cultures and incorporated them into their mythologies. The supreme god of the Inca was Viracocha, who created the universe, civilization, and time itself. According to myth, Viracocha first created a world of darkness populated by giants made from stone. The giants disobeyed Viracocha, prompting him to destroy that world and create a new one. He populated this new world with people made from clay. The people emerged out of the earth from caves, hills, and lakes. Viracocha was called the Old Man of the Sky and was said to have distanced himself from humans once his work was completed. He was also said to have created the gods, including the three main Inca deities—Inti, god of the sun; Illapu, god of weather; and Mama Kilya, goddess of the moon. Inti was considered the most important deity to the Inca people. In some myths it was Inti who brought the Inca people to their lands, while in others, he taught them about civilization. The god was viewed as a benevolent ruler and was worshiped throughout the empire with elaborate festivals and large temples built in his honor.

Bibliography

Alexander, Hartley Burr. Native American Mythology. Dover, 2005.

Brown, Robert G. “The Great Spirit.” Duke University, 26 Feb. 2014, webhome.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Philosophy/god‗theorem/god‗theorem/node23.html. Accessed 6 May 2019.

Cartwright, Mark. “Inti.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 7 Mar. 2014, www.ancient.eu/Inti/. Accessed 6 May 2019.

Houston, James. “Inuit Myth and Legend.” Canadian Encyclopedia, 4 Mar. 2015, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuit-myth-and-legend. Accessed 6 May 2019.

“Mayan Mythology.” Myth Encyclopedia, 2019, www.mythencyclopedia.com/Le-Me/Mayan-Mythology.html. Accessed 6 May 2019.

“Native American Indian Legends and Folklore.” Native Languages of the Americas, 2015, www.native-languages.org/legends.htm. Accessed 6 May 2019.

Native American Myths & Legends. Arcturus, 2017.

Read, Kay Almere, and Jason J. Gonzalez. Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America, 1st ed., Oxford UP, 2002.

Worrall, Simon. “When, How Did the First Americans Arrive? It’s Complicated.” National Geographic, 9 June 2018, news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/when-and-how-did-the-first-americans-arrive--its-complicated-/. Accessed 6 May 2019.