Thesis on "American History the Huron Creation Story"

Thesis 4 pages (1445 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

American History

The Huron creation story is a story of brothers and sisters living together, and eating only a single basketful of corn everyday. One day, one of the sisters got tired of having to reap these corns everyday so she decided to simply cut down all the cornstalks. Having angered her siblings for ruining their subsistence, they decided to drop her through a hole in the ocean. The wild geese who were aware of a body about to fall, gathered closely and the woman fell gently on their backs. After getting tired of having to carry the woman in their backs, they looked for someone who will do the task for them - then came the turtle. A toad later came with a mouthful of dirt which the woman sprinkled in about an arm's length from where she was lying. The land then grew around here where she eventually walked on. The toad also gave the woman seeds of all the plants that can be reaped. After some time, she got lonely and wished for a child. She found a twin which she eventually took care of. The elder of the twins made all that is found in the earth, including the living beings. The other twin then wanted to create beings as well, so he created the monkeys (Rushforth & Mapp, date, pp.1-2).

Examining closely, we can find significant components in the Creation story that are also significant in the cultural lives of the North Americans. The ruin of the siblings' means of subsistence which deeply angered them leading to eviction of their own sister reflects the crucial role the corn had to these people. By and large, the corn signifies their economic well-being. Animals such as the geese, the turtle, and the toad also played significant roles in the Creation story. Hence, the magnitude of importance Huron people give to their ecological resources cannot be downplayed. Another important aspect that needs to be looked at is the fact that the "creators" in the story are males and females. This is in stark difference to other popular creation myths were the "male/s" played the central (if not the only) figure as "creators." This has important implications in the way we see the male-female power structures of this society.

Winthrop's 1630 sermon on the model of Christian Charity opens with the theme of predestination as he says that God created some people rich, poor, powerful while others bear opposite profiles. The creation of this diversity and variety showcases God's glory and wisdom. Moreover, it is through this that God can manifest his power to moderate and restrain the wicked. It also through this diversity and variety that men will find the need for his brothers and sisters - these differences knit the people in the Bonds of Brotherly affection. The rich and the poor will help one another and guide each other to the path of Justice and Mercy. Hence, we should all treat each other as friends. As Christians have signed in a covenant with God, they are to strictly impose upon themselves the articles of faith as well as the percepts of moral law which can be summed up in treating one's neighbor as yourself. It is also the duty of Christians to give, lend, and forgive. At the end, Christians are expected to improve their lives (through brotherly cooperation) and to be of even greater service to the Lord (Winthrop in Rushforth & Mapp, n.d., pp. 125-128).

Winthrop's sermon can be seen as a mere justification of the status quo glazed my moral and religious fundamentals; hence can be branded as a conservative ideology. It is an ideology because it blinds us from the fact that socio-economic diversities are results of concrete economic conditions. Structurally, this strategy can also be taken as almost inevitable since during Winthrop's time of writing, his flock is undergoing such a crucial social transformation - they were crossing America. In this time of history, there was great need to strengthen, establish, and spell out their fundamental values. As these people are faced with great need to re-establish and re-institute themselves in a different setting, social solidarity needed to be heightened more than ever; hence the emphasis on brotherly affection and unity. At that point, there was no room for liberal and… READ MORE

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