The topics we’ve been discussing this week in class are very interesting, yesterday we talked about stereotypes that are associated with Indians and their culture, and today we talked a little about religion and creation stories. I for one do not have one set religion. There are so many relgions and beleifs out there, who really knows what comes after this life. However, I enjoyed learning about the creation story some Indian tribes believe is true and how it can affect an entire culture.
One of the creation stories that our professor read aloud to us in class was about a sky woman who was giving birth to twins. And she had dug herself all the way down to earth and had interactions with all of the animals and nature throughout the story. We discussed how this creation story is much different than what most people read in the bible. We also discussed how the creation stories could shape the type of society the people have in that region. For example, in the Indian story the higher power or main focus of the story is a feminine figure, the sky woman. But according to the bible, the creator of all things is a man. In many Indian tribes and in their culture in general, they hold woman to have much power because of their ability to bare children. Perhaps creation stories, or stories in general are linked to this reasoning. The same theme applies to the bible. In the genesis story, the creator is a man. And in European culture when settlers came to the Americas and still sometimes today, the man is given all the power in the home and the woman is looked down upon.
Jonathan June 20, 2018
I completely agree with you Amanda because there are so many different religions and claiming their belief is the correct one, but I find it fascinating to learn about different cultures. I feel cultures are intertwined with religion, tradition, and the way a group of people survive. Learning about the different cultures helps us have the understanding and respect for other people. Also to simply believe one culture or religion is correct, while others are wrong is a narrow and ignorant way of thinking.
I have also read the whole story about the creation story before this class and it is very fascinating. I would suggest reading it because in the story they talk about more about the formation of the earth. In the story it talks about how the mountains , rivers, etc are created by the two boys born from the women.
makayla7 June 21, 2018
I wonder what how different our current society would be if we grew up with and were taught stories like this; how different we would view the world and how different our values would be. In my opinion, if we grew up with creation stories similar to the sky woman, the biggest change in society would be the difference in gender roles. Since we have all grown up with the story of how men have been in power since the beginning of time, if we had grown up with the story of a woman, I feel that either our current gender roles would be reversed or we would truly be seen as equal to men in the present day.