Sunday, June 10, 2018

Read this creation story: A long time ago, there was a vast expanse of water instead of earth. The animals and trees lived on a level above the water. One day, Wise Badger dived deep into the water to search for mud. Sadly, he could not swim for long and had to come back. The animals decided to send Brave Muskrat to get the mud. He dived into water and swam for a long time. He came up with a small amount of mud. The mud began to expand in every direction, creating an island. The animals waited for the island to dry. They sent Big Crow to keep watch on the island. In seven days, Big Crow returned and informed them that the island was dry and ready. The animals and trees moved onto the island and lived happily ever after. What is this type of creation story called? A. ex nihilo B. earth diverC. world parents D. emergence

The answer to your question is B) earth diver.
In the story, Wise Badger first dives into the water to retrieve the mud. However, he is unable to do so, and, eventually, Brave Muskrat tries. The latter is successful and manages to return with a small amount of mud. The mud soon expands and eventually becomes an island, which the animals live on.
In diver myths, an animal or a human being dives into the waters to retrieve some mud or earth. Eventually, the mud or earth is brought to the surface and expands into a piece of land. The animals and humans then live on the land and proliferate.
Please refer to the links below if you'd like to find out more about diver creation myths. You may be interested in comparing the Abenaki, Iroquois, and Blackfoot diver legends and discovering the similarities between them.
http://www.native-languages.org/earthdiver.htm

https://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_7.html

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