Creation Myth

I'm still working on a story for a friend that I will reveal to you this coming Christmas. In the meantime, I'd like to share another story I wrote years ago.

I've been thinking about a creation myth I wrote in 2005. I had a mythology class that covered Native American, Hindu, Egyptian, and some other cultural mythologies (not including Greek and Roman). I really enjoy reading mythology. During the Native American section, we had an assignment to write a creation myth. I finally found my paper (I didn't have a copy on the computer, so I had to find the hard copy.), and I'd like to share it with you.

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Moth people lived in complete darkness. They constantly flew over water for there was no hard earth. They were too afraid to look underwater to discover its depths because they could not swim and would drown. They asked Sea Turtle instead to dive to the bottom of the sea to see what was there. Sea Turtle swam to the bottom of the sea and brought up mud, creating land on Earth for all creatures.

Moth people then appointed four of their eldest to travel the lands in search of new people. They really wanted light because in total darkness they constantly flew into each other because they could not see.  The four eldest; Akbar, Lingra, Swasta, and Quarmo; traveled for four days to the furthest ends of the world and back. They reported only total darkness. One day a newcomer arrived. Moth people treated Cat with respect for Cat could see in the dark. They honored him, gave him a place to sleep, and entertained him. In return, Cat told them all he had seen in his travels.

"I traveled east, where tall mountains grow with thousands of acres of trees. I traveled west, where hot sands and cacti grow. I traveled north where snow glistens in the dark and cold chills the bones. I traveled south where Otters swim in warm waters," said Cat.

"But have you seen any light?" asked Lingra.

"Yes, in the east, Mountain Lion has a box. Inside this box is Sun covered in velvet. Every morning, Mountain Lion takes out Sun and throws it in the sky, basking the east in light. There, people can work and plant and cook and sew! They wear the brightest clothes with jewels and beads. After many hours have passed, Mountain Lion then asks Eagle to bring back Sun to put it back in the velvet box. The east is then covered in darkness and everyone sleeps."

Moth people were amazed and immediately implored Cat to convince Eagle to steal a portion of Sun so that they could have light. Moth people had been so nice to Cat that he agreed and traveled to the east in four days. He asked Eagle to steal a portion of Sun. Coyote overheard and told Mountain Lion of their plans. Mountain Lion then threw Sun so high that even Eagle could not reach it. Fortunately, since Sun was so high it lit the whole earth.

Coyote (trickster) became jealous that everyone got light that he decided people should still live in darkness. He blew a huge wind that tilted and spun the earth so that not every part of the earth was lit at the same time. While Sun lit half of the earth, the other half lay in complete darkness in which only Cat and Mountain Lion could see.

Moth people were happy for their time with the sun, but they wanted to see during night too. They asked Eagle, who now lived with them, to solve their problems. Eagle had heard of a glowing orb in the west that Scorpion owned. Moth people asked him to retrieve it fort them, so Eagle flew to the west in search of the orb. There, Eagle found Scorpion's two children fighting over the orb because they each wanted to play with it.

"Why don't I solve your problem? I will put the orb behind my back and whoever picks the correct side will play with it first," Eagle said. The rivaling siblings agreed and gave Eagle the orb. Eagle then flew away with the orb and left the angry scorpion children fighting with each other. They were not supposed to play with the orb, so they did not want to tell Scorpion father what had happened. Eagle succeeded in stealing light from the scorpions and bringing it to Moth people.

Eagle returned to Moth people and gave them the orb. They noticed that it only glowed brightly in total darkness. They decided that Eagle should place the orb as high in the sky as he could fly so that wherever Sun did not reach, the orb would shine instead. Since Eagle had give them light, he had the honor of calling the orb Moon.

Now the Moth people were happy because they could see at all hours. They learned how to plant, cook, work, sew, and dance. They cleansed themselves and clothed themselves. They formed social groups and established order among their land. When they became older and near the end of their lives, Moth people were often seen flying in the sky towards the light of Moon where they disappeared.