An elaborate Earth-Maker Story of Creation is a
myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
that comes from the
Native Americans of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, also called the "
Story of Creation." This myth describes Earth-maker creating day and night, land, water, and all living things. Men and women were created out of soft clay into which Earth-Maker "breathed life".He also created the seas with his tears. The creation begins:
''“In the beginning there was no land, no light, only darkness and the vast waters of Outer Ocean where Earth-Maker and Great-Grandfather were afloat in their canoe... Earth-Maker took soft clay and formed the figure of a man and of a woman, then many men and women, which he dried in the sun and into which he breathed life: they were the First People."'' (Kroeber 1968:62).
The entire narrative is printed in the book ''Almost Ancestors: The First Californians'' by
Theodora Kroeber
Theodora Kroeber (March 24, 1897 – July 4, 1979) was an American writer and anthropologist, best known for her accounts of several Native Californian cultures. Born in Denver, Colorado, Kroeber grew up in the mining town of Telluride, and wo ...
and Robert F. Heizer. The (hardback edition) of the book does not identify the ethnic group who believed in this myth, or an exact narrator.
Sources
Kroeber, Theodora, and Robert F. Heizer. ''Story of creation'', printed in ''Almost Ancestors: The First Californians''. New York: Sierra Club-Ballantine Books, 1968, page 62.
Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America
Creator gods
Creation myths
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