A Brief Overview of the Dine (Navajo) and Ani-Yun Wiya (Cherokee) Stories of Origin

This is a brief overview and comparison/contrast of the "Creation Stories", or "Stories of Origin" of the Navajo and Cherokee peoples that I recently wrote for my history class at ULM.


When studying the histories of cultures around the world, I always find each culture's account of their creation to be fascinating. In these stories one can catch a glimpse, not only of how a people fit themselves into the universe, but how they see the universe at large--its history and its future.

It is interesting to note the similarities and differences in the varying accounts peoples present of the earliest history of Earth. In his book C. G. Calloway offers samples of stories from the Navajo and the Cherokee. These people lived on opposite sides of the Mississippi, yet, in some ways, their stories are not that different.

In the Navajo story of creation one immediately comes into contact with "First Man" and "First Woman", and though many other "people" play a role in the story, these two are the main stars. It is not long after "First Man" and "First Woman" meet each other that they come across a certain male coyote who claims to have existed long before either of them. In response to this revelation, "First Man" sets up Great-Coyote-Who-Was-Formed-In-The-Water above himself, effectively making him a god figure. Finally, a fourth being arrives, interestingly another coyote, and fills the spot of a Satan figure.

The rest of the narrative gives details of all the people's journey from world to world, tells of their sins and explains the causes and effects of a great flood. Seeds, or corn, also carry a major significance and explain where food comes from. These Navajo stories are rooted to in the actual mountains and lakes that surrounded the Navajo people.

The Cherokee story of origination, while considerably less detailed (at least as presented in the textbook), does carry some similarities. Right at the start one meets once again the first man and the first woman. These two are more connected with the gender roles found in Cherokee culture than their counterparts in the Navajo stories, and give us an explanation of why Cherokee society works the way it does. Strangely absent in the Cherokee account is the ideas of "god", though one might argue that "Satan" is still present in the form of the "Wild Boy". Their are examples of sins committed as well that lead to enduring consequences in the world. Corn and other seeds are once again an important part of the narrative as well.

Both of these stories are interesting in their own right. Both provide a better glimpse into the cultures that birthed them. Both are even more interesting when compared against each other.