What difference can a story make? What difference does HOW we tell that story make? Through our exploration of the Popol Vuh and the Maya language, we discovered a powerful story that expressed a cosmology, or worldview, through a glyphic language that defies Western conventions for interpretation, even after translated into a greco-roman alphabet we can recognize. The text is divinatory for Maya traditionalists and inseparable from the land from which it originated, “ancestral Maya territory, whose biodiversity and human geography are encoded in the Pop Wuj” (Sanchez Martinez). The story itself and the way in which it is told reveals much about a worldview that stretches the limits of our perspective.
That the limits of our understanding can be challenged and stretched in our world today became clear for me – in living color – in the collected images of public art you all took with Dr. Wray’s LANG120 class. What I learned about Asheville from our study of its public art is difficult to put into words, and definitely cannot be found anywhere in the written stories/histories of the place, though those histories, especially stories that have been hushed or silenced, run through and underneath the art (kind of like Xibalba).
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By unknown Maya artist – Justin Kerr: The Maya Vase Book. Vol. 6, Kerr Associates (2001)., Public Domain, Link
All of the cosmogonic stories we read from the ancient world can have this revelatory and unsettling effect, even ones with which we are familiar. In our discussion of the different themes we noted tensions that were crucial to the process of creation and therefore, crucial to understanding a culture’s worldview far removed from us in time and place. Referring to the Popol Vuh, Dr. Sanchez Martinez points out something I have learned to keep in mind, especially when encountering indigenous narratives:
“Instead of absolute oppositions such as good/bad, light/darkness, life/death, a view of relational mutuality has been emphasized.”
Juan Sanchez martinez
This week, we will examine two more stories (linked below thru Moodle) from the Cherokee, or Anigiduwa, people who have inhabited Western North Carolina “since the beginning.” Like we saw with the Cherokee creation story, animals and beings such as the sun and the moon interact and exist in active relationship with humans. Note the conflicts in these stories and how the conflicts are resolved and by whom. These are both transcriptions from oral tellings, so it may be fun to actually read them aloud and act them out.
We will also examine a cycle of covenant stories from the Hebrew Bible, also calling on a tradition that continues to flourish and hold meaning for many people today. While many of us may be familiar with these stories in a contemporary context, it is important to consider the ancient context for these stories: the ancient Israelites transcribed these stories during a period of oppression and exile within the Babylonian empire (the culture that celebrated the legacy of Gilgamesh, our next adventure). Consider how this situation is reflected in the story, and how the relationships between people and their god reflects a worldview (cosmogony) and particular ways of knowing (epistemology).
In Daughter of the Sun, the sun gets angry and the people work with animals to figure out a solution, with some missteps along the way. In Corn Woman Spirit, the stakes are high as Hunger holds the Corn Woman hostage, threatening all the people with starvation; an unlikely hero comes to the rescue.
In the covenant cycle and story of Isaac, we see Noah and Abraham enter into a relationship with their God that has lasting impact for the Israelite people, and it is also rooted in the land.
For Your Journal
These are sacred stories of ancient lineage that people still consider true and relevant, not just relics of a forgotten past. As you note your observations and questions on these stories, I’m curious what connections you might make between these stories and life today.
- Try summarizing the stories in your own words, noting the major themes and relationships. Illustrate them if you wish!
- What ways of being and knowing do you see modeled in the action and reactions of the characters?
- Think of other stories you may have encountered that offer comparison or contrasts to these stories.
- What insight do these stories give us about the values and worldviews, past and present?
Over the next week, before we meet again, post an excerpt from your journal below, or post a doodle or illustration of one of the stories here.
Ash McKim
One of the things I noticed and thought was interesting in both the Corn Woman Spirit story and the Daughter of the Sun is how many assumptions I make as a reader without noticing it. Like in the Corn Woman Spirit story, I automatically assumed that the raven was a menace based on the stereotypes we see today.
Leslee Johnson
Yes! Noting your own assumptions is the beginning of really seeing a text for what it’s really communicating.
Monica Goedl
I enjoyed the corn women story because it gave us a glimpse of Cherokee society and their perspective. It was interesting to see the way that their gender roles differ and how the tribe was a matriarchal one. It also interest me how the Cherokee saw the importance of animals and people. This can be shown by the raven seeing the corn women tied up and how she was freed because of it.
Leslee Johnson
Good points! It’s interesting to compare/contrast the Corn Woman Spirit with the goddess Ishtar.
Emily Alexander
I really liked the idea behind the cornwoman spirit. It was just refreshing to read about how much the cherokee appreciated their land and the animals. I like the part where they almost shame other cultures for taking the earth and animals for granted. I definitely feel like our present culture should learn from the Cherokee, and I know that my view on the natural world has changed from reading texts like this.
Leslee Johnson
I agree with you, Emily. Have you heard of TEK? Traditional Ecological Knowledge. There’s a growing movement in science that is learning from indigenous knowledge.
Ian Valiante
After reading “he Daughter of the Sun” and “Corn Woman Spirit” as told by Freeman Owle I realize how important harmony with nature is for the Cherokee. I believe more culture’s should place the same amount of importance. We are here because nature lets us be. If the sun were too close or too far we wouldn’t be here, if the seasons weren’t perfectly aligned we wouldn’t be here. After reading I can’t get climate change off my mind, we are destroying the very thing that feeds us and houses us. I think the Cherokee understood the relationship humans have with the earth on another level.
Leslee
Yes, I also think often of climate change when i read these stories and wonder what stories we will make in this time for future generations . . . if stories do have power to shape reality, can we create stories that bring us back in healthy relationship with nature? Whose voices are telling those stories?
Justin Honeycutt
I thought it was very interesting in the daughter of king story that a lot of nonliving things had connections with the living animals and people.
jada smith
I really enjoyed the story of the Corn Woman Spirit! I think is shares some common characteristics with other mythological stories, yet there was one difference that really sets it apart. For starters, this story incorporates the concept of a higher plane of being, or more specifically a type of heaven. Next, the story also involves the active role of animals, which can be seen across the board of mythological stories. However, what set this story apart from the others was the antagonist. Instead of having a person, deity, or animal be deemed as the villain of the story, it is the personification of hunger. I have yet to come across a story that has personified the “evils” of a story, so this would be my first!
Patrick Applegate
I thought it was interesting that out of all the texts we’ve read so far the readings out of the Bible always seems the most concise and to the point. In Genesis Chapter 22 its made clear that reproduction is incredibly important, and gives an explanation for why some people couldn’t have children. This goes in line with basic human needs and wants, but gives Christians another reason to become a parent. The Covenant excerpt details multiple non-scientific reasons for events, such as the rainbow, why you don’t eat raw food, and why some people aren’t fertile. It also shows reasoning for some cultural traditions, such as circumcision, and why only your offspring should inherit your possessions.
Leslee Johnson
Thanks for these reflections on the Hebrew bible, Patrick. Keep in mind that the ancient context in which we examine this text is with the ancient israelites, around the time of the Babylonian exile. Check out this short video for good historical background:
Spencer Chandler
I thought that the relationship between the sun and the living creatures was interesting. In most stories like this, when the sun is personified with feelings and a personality, it seems to be helpful and the humans always like it. It is interesting to see a different relationship dynamic posed in this story.
Leslee Johnson
Good point! Everyone had to work together to make things right in the end.
Cody Whitmire
I enjoyed the daughter of the sun story, and found it interesting that once again we saw a lot of animals and people becoming animals. It shows the connection that they had with the wildlife around them and the amount of respect that they had for the earth and the animal kingdom. I also liked the lengths that they were willing to go to try and atone for and correct their mistake when they mistakenly poisoned the daughter of the sun.
Leslee Johnson
Yes, I think the treatment of “mistakes” in general in some of the indigenous stories we read is very interesting and says soemthing about the culture’s view of human nature.
Riley Johnson
In Thomas King’s talk, he draws a stark line between Genesis and the Indigenous stories. I think the biggest difference that he points out is that in Genesis there once was a world of harmony and hierarchy that transformed into chaos, and in the Indigenous story the world was chaos that is made harmonious through cooperation. Another point that he makes, which I found important to note, was the idea that when different stories are told in different ways, or if one is already considered the “sacred” one, then the truth that a story holds can be easily overlooked or dismissed as not serious. I think this is something that we should all keep in mind moving forward through this class.
Leslee Johnson
I appreciate this thought and agree with you, Riley. I’ve also started to remind myself that all the stories are sacred to people living and making meaning today.
Emily Lamb
The comparisons that Thomas King made between native and Christian stories was very interesting. How God is viewed as all powerful, and there is only one. Then in other stories there are multiple deities, but with limited power. The reflection he made of the competitiveness of within Christian stories. Good over evil vs. Balance. Harmony to chaos, or chaos to harmony. The way he points out that, usually, “if we believe one story as sacred, we see the other as secular”, was very eye opening to me. When it comes to spiritual beliefs, it is very hard to not dismiss anything that you haven’t already accepted as true. It is almost natural to see something as wrong or incorrect if it challenges our pre-existing beliefs, especially when it is with something as personal as spirituality. He also mentioned dichotomy, and how people fear complexity and enigmas. That makes so much sense to me, and I can see how much safety is found in these dichotomies because the grey area can be an abyss. When there is no sure answer, sure label, or absolute fact in a matter it is prone to make our reality feel extremely unstable. Therefore we categorize everything to make it feel more manageable.
Leslee Johnson
Really appreciate your insights here, Emily. What I love about the indigenous stories is that they seem to allow room for the uncertainty and ambiguity of existence. It does make them harder to interpret as Patrick points out below in his reflection on the Genesis narrative.
Joshua Buckner
I found it very interesting how the people interacted with animals. In the Daughter of the Sun, the people decided to send the snakes to kill the sun while in Corn Woman Spirit, they asked the animal kingdom for help which led to the ravens saving the Corn Woman. In both stories, the people needed the help of animals to accomplish their goals or solve their issues which came in some form of a natural disaster.
Leslee Johnson
Nice point! It’s interesting to think about what the stakes are – like you say, natural disaster! starvation and drought.
jada smith
Hey Joshua! I noticed a similar connection between the two stories and that’s something that I’ve touched on in my response. The role that the animals play give off two very different vibes (sly and sneaky versus helpful and supportive), yet they both play a vital role in their respective stories. This is a common theme I’ve realized over the last few classes with the various stories we read being that there are very minimal stories that do not include animals in their stories.
Abby Breeggemann
I think that these stories really allow us to see the value that other cultures put on respecting animals and how we in western society do not put the same level of value on them. For example, in the Corn Woman Spirit story, the Cherokee people ask for the help of the animals and the ravens are able to find the Corn Woman and return her to the Cherokee’s so that they do not starve. The Cherokee people now respect the ravens and do not bother them if they take some of the corn because they know that the raven saved their people from starvation. I cannot think of any stories in western culture where we have had a good relationship with animals, even when looking at the Bible. It is a big difference in our stories and cultures.
Leslee Johnson
I appreciate this observation, Abby! What stands out to me too, is the different situations these two cultures have when it comes to land and a place to call home.