Native American Imagery
Powerful Imagery
Native American storytelling is one of the many traditions that make up their great history. Mythology and the retelling of legends bring the members of tribes together and help shape who they are and what makes up their heritage. The myths “How America Was Discovered” and “The Woman Who Fell From the Sky” are both great examples of Seneca Indian culture because they tie members of the tribe together through their re-telling. The Seneca 's tradition of oratory performance, passing down stories from generation to generation through verbal re-telling, litters their legends with language, perspective, and morality that is specific to their culture. While these two stories were initially told in an attempt to explain where humanity began and how the earth was formed, they are now treasured for their historical significance. It is stories like these that bring strength and character to the Seneca culture. The Seneca tradition of storytelling and oratory performance makes the use of vivid imagery an essential tool in the spiritual connection that the audience feels through the retelling. This spiritual connection gives the myths a deeper meaning, further than the obvious. This spiritual feeling is one of closeness and connectedness to culture and tradition. When the audience can almost see the images of the story being told, the imagery being used fully connects them to the spiritual aspects of the re-telling. In “The Woman who Fell From the Sky”, the Seneca traditions of honoring nature and recognizing the power that it holds is clearly expressed. Seneca refer to “Etinoah, Mother Earth, as a being who is nurturing, inspiring of beauty and the wellhead of human prosperity and happiness” (Bahr 587). Seneca believe humans are part of nature, as can be seen in the fall of the young woman to earth and her apparent oneness with nature. She is described as building “herself a shelter, in which she lived quite contently” (Parker).
Native American storytelling is one of the many traditions that make up their great history. Mythology and the retelling of legends bring the members of tribes together and help shape who they are and what makes up their heritage. The myths “How America Was Discovered” and “The Woman Who Fell From the Sky” are both great examples of Seneca Indian culture because they tie members of the tribe together through their re-telling. The Seneca 's tradition of oratory performance, passing down stories from generation to generation through verbal re-telling, litters their legends with language, perspective, and morality that is specific to their culture. While these two stories were initially told in an attempt to explain where humanity began and how the earth was formed, they are now treasured for their historical significance. It is stories like these that bring strength and character to the Seneca culture. The Seneca tradition of storytelling and oratory performance makes the use of vivid imagery an essential tool in the spiritual connection that the audience feels through the retelling. This spiritual connection gives the myths a deeper meaning, further than the obvious. This spiritual feeling is one of closeness and connectedness to culture and tradition. When the audience can almost see the images of the story being told, the imagery being used fully connects them to the spiritual aspects of the re-telling. In “The Woman who Fell From the Sky”, the Seneca traditions of honoring nature and recognizing the power that it holds is clearly expressed. Seneca refer to “Etinoah, Mother Earth, as a being who is nurturing, inspiring of beauty and the wellhead of human prosperity and happiness” (Bahr 587). Seneca believe humans are part of nature, as can be seen in the fall of the young woman to earth and her apparent oneness with nature. She is described as building “herself a shelter, in which she lived quite contently” (Parker).
References: Bahr, Donald. “Bad News: The Predicament of Native American Mythology.” Ethonohistory. Fall2001, Vol. 48 Issue 4, p587. Parker, Arthur C. Seneca Myths and Folktales. University of Nebraska Press. Jan. 1989. Thompson, Justine. “Native Beginnings.” Scholastic Scope. 1/10/2003, Vol. 52 Issue 7, p12. White, Marian E. “Ethnic Identification and Iroquois Groups in Western New York and Ontario”. Ethnohistory. Winter71, Vol. 18 Issue 1, p19, 20.