I have lately been reading the American Indian chronicles on the origin of the world. It’s nice to have a different perspective and I enjoyed reading them. I especially noted one where the beginning of the world is described somewhat similar in fashion to that of the ancient eastern texts on the subject. I can’t locate it now. I will try to dig it up and post it sometime later.
Anyway, according to the Iroquois, initially there were two spheres in the universe or the upper and lower worlds. One was populated by beings that resembled the humans in form and the other one was inhabited by animals and monsters .This later region is said to have been in darkness. By all appearances it seems that the lower of these regions was earth.
The human arrival on the face of the earth happened in this way.
First a female form descended on the face of the waters covering the earth and landed on the back of a tortoise, this tortoise is said to have expanded till it became an island. The female form gave birth to two children. One was called the good mind and the other was called the bad mind (Got-ti-gah-rah-quast, or good mind, the other, Got-ti-gah-rak-senh, or bad mind). The woman died in giving birth to the twins. They opposed or balanced each other and went about fashioning the world for occupation. These two were said to be gods or existences and the emissaries of the Great Spirit or “Holder of the heavens”. The twins were only carrying out the directions of the Great Spirit.
The first work of Got-ti-gah-rah-quast was to create the sun out of the head of his dead mother, and the moon and stars out of the other parts of her body (she could have been made up of some primary matter!). The light these gave drove the monsters into the deep waters to hide themselves. He then prepared the surface of the continent and fitted it for human habitation, by making it into creeks, rivers, lakes and plains, and by filling them with the various kinds of animals and vegetable kingdom.
He then formed a man and a woman out of the earth (strikingly similar to the bible story), gave them life, and called them Ongwahonwd, that is to say, a real people. Meanwhile the bad mind was not sitting idle. He also seems to have created mountains, water-falls, and steeps, caves, reptiles, serpents, apes, and other objects supposed to be injurious to, or in mockery to mankind. Probably Mr. Darwin would not be very pleased with this.
He made an attempt also to conceal the land animals in the ground, so as to deprive men of the means of subsistence. This continued opposition, to the wishes of the Good Mind, who was perpetually at work, in restoring the effects and displacements, of the wicked devices of the other, at length led to a personal combat, of which the time and instrument of battle were agreed on.
They fought two days; the Good Mind using the deer's horn, and the other, using wild flag leafs, as arms. Got-ti-gah-rah-quast, or Good Mind, who had chosen the horn, finally prevailed. His antagonist sunk down into a region of darkness, and became the Evil Spirit of the world of despair. Got-ti-gah-rah-quast, having obtained his triumph, retired from the earth.
The men, divided into clans, spread over the land and had to change their language in the process, they seems to have undergone great hardships and was rescued every time by the intervention of the Great Spirit, appearing to them in the form of a man. This man later decided to reside with people and became their chief and was known as Hi-a-wat-ha.
He seems to have exhibited all the traits of men while he was on earth.
Some Indian tales describe the fearful phenomenon of Ko-nea-rah-yah-neh, or the flying heads. The heads were enveloped in beard and hair, flaming like fire; they were of monstrous size, and shot through the air with the speed of meteors. Human power was not adequate to cope with them. To my mind these looks very similar to the UFO’s.
And there were Ot-nea-yar-heh, or Stonish Giants'. (Does the H.G. Wells story of War of the Worlds come into mind, with its giant robots?) They were a powerful tribe from the wilderness, tall, fierce and hostile, and resistance to them was vain. They defeated and overwhelmed an army which was sent out against them, and put the whole country in fear. These giants were not only of great strength, but they were cannibals, devouring men, women and children in their inroads.
The Indians only rattled against their rough bodies and fell at their feet. And the consequence was, that they were obliged to bide in caves and glens, and were brought into subjection by those fierce invaders for many winters.
They were also molested by a terrific animal which they called Ro-qua-ho--a variegated lizard--a swift runner and strikes very violent blows with its tail, which destroyed many hunters while lying in lurk for them( Robots again?) After a while a pestiferous and annoying creature of the insect kind appeared in the guise of the Ro-tay-yo (a huge mosquito).
Anyway these would certainly delight the theorists of the alien origin of man.
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