Animals in Creation Stories,

    

     In many myths and legends animals and people could communicate when the world was young. Some cultures even have myths that trace their ancestry back to a specific animal. Totems are sacred animals believed to be ancestors or protectors of their clan. The Native Americans of the Northwest often display these animals on totem poles. In other cultures they are displayed as family crests and a picture of the animal is often drawn on their shields so it can accompany them into battle.

      Many myths attribute the world's beginnings to animals. In Native American Haida mythology Raven found the first humans hiding in a clam shell and released them into the world. The Plains Indians attribute creation to Coyote. After forming man out of mud he spoke all the others into being.

       In many Native American creation stories the earth began when a water animal brings up mud from the bottom of the ocean. There are several variations of these stories. The Iroquois creation myth tells of a great Sky woman who falls out of the sky. She is caught by the animals that send toad to the bottom of the sea to bring mud to the surface. They then stack mud onto turtle's back until it formed the continent of North America. Interestingly these earth-diver myths can be found among the coastal cultures in Asia as well. It is thought that the Native Americans carried these stories with them when they migrated across the Bering Strait.

      The snake also plays a role in many creation stories. Lord Vishnu of Hindu mythology slept in the coils of a gigantic cobra. When he woke up he told the god Brahma that it was time to create the world. The Aboriginal people of Australia tell of a great Rainbow Serpent that emerged from the ground and drew out all of the other animals. Some African creation myths are also centered around a great python like rainbow snake that lies coiled beneath the world and keeps it from falling. Jormungandr, the serpent of Norse mythology, is said to be wrapped around the earth with his tail in his mouth. Legend says that if he ever releases his tail the world will be destroyed.

     The creation myth of the Japanese Ainu people describes the world as a great swamp with nothing but an enormous trout in it. God placed the earth on the back of the great fish and he became its foundation. As the trout breathes water in and out the tides ebb and flow. If he takes too much water in the causes a tsunami when he exhales, and if he flops about too much he causes an earthquake.

      Even the smallest creatures play a role in creation mythology. According to a South American myth, a beetle created the world and then formed people from the leftover grains that had been left behind.

What i like,

      I like to read books and poems. Some day I'M

going to write my own book. 

Writing a book,

    I'm thinking about writing my own book. The only problem is, I don't know where to start. Does

any one has an idea? I like children books and thought about writing children books.

Looking for a home job,

      Hit me up if you come across a job to do from home. I don't really like any thing that people
has on FB. I have tried a lot of stuff people has to offer on FB and they suck. I like shipping or
phone calls. The best way to get hold of me is my email. jean36.com88@yahoo.com

Pic,

Animals Life,

      Sometimes animals stir up mischief. Trickster tales are often passed down orally from generation to generation and often teach a lesson. These tales usually have animals as their main characters. Some common tricksters are the coyote, hare, snake, and monkey. Trickster animals are amoral (neither good guys nor bad guys) and their loyalties are often opportunistic in nature. They are survivors above all else and self serving. Sometimes they portray a hero and a villain at different times in the same story. These animal tricksters often scoff at societal rules and bend them to fit their agenda. Their antics are often foolish and make us laugh.

      If you have ever seen the cartoon Bugs Bunny you know that brains often triumph over might in these tales. Tricksters often overcome any physical limitations they may have with their cleverness like the Brer Rabbit stories of the Southern United States. When Brer Rabbit is finally caught by Brer Fox, he uses reverse psychology to escape what seems to be certain death. "Whatever you do," cried Brer Rabbit, "Don't throw me into the briar patch". When Brer fox throws him into the briar patch he laughs and tells him he was born and bred in the briar patch and hops off. Other popular trickster tales are Ananse the Spider stories from Africa and those of the Monkey King of China pictured above battling Jade Rabbit.

     Have you ever heard that storks deliver babies to people's doorsteps? In many myths and legends animals are mediators between humans and the gods or the natural and the supernatural. In Indian legend each god has an animal they use as a vehicle. Lord Genesha is carried around by a mouse; Durga rides a lion and Garuda a peacock. Often birds, because of their ability to fly, are cast as the mediators. The enormous Thunderbird of many Native American cultures is said to act as a messenger to the Great Spirit in the sky. In Japanese mythology a three legged crow called the Yatagarasu, pictured above, represents Heaven, Human, and Earth. It is said to intercede between the god's and the human race.

     Animals are often portrayed as guardians in myths and legends. They may guard any number of things: gods, knowledge, treasure, heaven, hell, etc. In Greek mythology the entrance to the underworld was guarded by the three headed hound Cerberus, pictured above. He prevented the dead from escaping Hades. According to Chinese legends, the dragon Tianlong guards the palace of heaven and the dragon Fucanglong guards buried hidden treasures.

     Often the gods have the features of animals or take the shape of animals. Zeus took the shape of animals to hide his identity while he pursued beautiful women and Odin could change his shape at will as well. Cernunnos, the Celtic lord of all animals, had the body of a man and the horns of a stag. In Ancient Egypt the crocodile Sobek was the god of fertility and strength. The Indian deity Ganesh has the head of an elephant and the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl is described as a feathered serpent. Nanook, the god of bears, takes the shape of a great polar bear and is said to curse dishonest hunters.

     Have you seen the movie Tarzan or the Jungle Book? The main characters in both stories, Tarzan and Mowgli, were raised by animals. There are many myths where animals play the role of adoptive mother to human babies. The twin brothers Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were ordered to be murdered by their Uncle who wanted no competition for the throne. Legend says they were left in a basket and found by a she-wolf who cared them until they discovered by a shepherd who brought them home. Paris, the destroyer of Troy, was raised by a she-bear after his father abandoned him to die, fearing an omen surrounding the boy's birth. The warrior poet Oisin's mother was transformed into a deer, but still managed to raise her infant son until she was killed by the same druid who had cursed her. His father, the Irish hero Finn Mac Cumhal, found him and raised him. The Roman emperor Octavian banished his wife and twin boys mistakenly believing they were not his. A lioness took one of the twins, Octavian, and raised him as if he were her own cub.

Facing It poem,

Facing It 
My black face fades, 
hiding inside the black granite. 
I said I wouldn't 
dammit: No tears. 
I'm stone. I'm flesh. 
My clouded reflection eyes me 
like a bird of prey, the profile of night 
slanted against morning. I turn 
this way—the stone lets me go. 
I turn that way—I'm inside 
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light 
to make a difference. 
I go down the 58,022 names, 
half-expecting to find 
my own in letters like smoke. 
I touch the name Andrew Johnson; 
I see the booby trap's white flash. 
Names shimmer on a woman's blouse 
but when she walks away 
the names stay on the wall. 
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's 
wings cutting across my stare. 
The sky. A plane in the sky. 
A white vet's image floats 
closer to me, then his pale eyes 
look through mine. I'm a window. 
He's lost his right arm 
inside the stone. In the black mirror 
a woman’s trying to erase names: 
No, she's brushing a boy's hair.