Each community has their own beliefs about the creation stories. These beliefs determine their beliefs about human beings existence and their religion. The Abenaki and the Thompsons are two Native American tribes that have different creation stories. These stories are usually told by the elderly and meant to be passed on to generations. Comparing and contrasting these two tribes of the Native Americans provides insightful information on these tribes and how each one of them suggests about human and creation relationships.
The Thompsons is a tribe that belongs to the Plains Nation. The tribe lives in Thompson tribal lands between Fraser river and district if Yale. The tribe is still existent although its members have grown fewer over time. The proper name given to this tribe is Nhlakapmuh and has other sub tribes among them. According to the Thompsons, the world consisted of a man whose name was A`taam and a woman who was called lim (Firstpeople.us, 2017). There was a supreme being who lived in the upper world and used to visit the man and woman. There was also the devil that was considered an outcast and lived in the underworld.
One day, the outcast created a horse like animal and directed it to A`taam and lim. The woman said that the animal had been sent by God and even though A`taam doubted it; they went and started speaking to the animal. However, God appeared when they were conversing with the animal and was upset that they were speaking to a devil`s agent. God then pressed the animal’s legs and told the man and woman that the animal would become their servant. God used nearby grass in making the tail of the animal, which made it a long tail. Then god created grass, which he stated would be spread across the land so that the animal can feed on. After God left, the devil came again and cheated the woman to take a fruit, which also the man ate. After the devil disappeared, all the fruits disappeared and some became cones and others berries (Firstpeople.us, 2017). When God came, he was furious and sent the woman to live with the devil. He then took the man and broke his rib and used it in creating a woman. They then became man and wife and had many children since then.
The abenaki is a tribe among the Native Americans that live in some parts of Quebec, Maritimes in Canada, and a region called New England in the US. The Abenaki belong to a larger tribe called the Wabanaki confederacy. They Abenaki speak Abenaki language and are mainly divided into eastern abenaki and western abenaki. According to the Abenaki, there was a great spirit who once decided to create something out of the world. The world was filled with nothing and he felt that it was good to fill the world with life (Firstpeople.us, 2017). The Great Spirit orders the great turtle to come to the land from the sea and become the land. The Great Spirit then created the clouds and felt that everything was happy although he was not sure of the creatures that he would create.
After hours of thinking, he became very tired and fell asleep. During his sleep, he dreamt of animals crawling on land, some on their fours and others on their twos. There were also plants, birds that flew in the atmosphere, among other many creatures. The Great Spirit thought that he was having a bad dream but when he woke up he found that everything that he had dreamt of had come to pass. It was from this dream that everything had fallen in its place and its purpose had come. It is from this story of creation that the Abenaki believe that one should not question their dreams since they are their creation (Firstpeople.us, 2017).
Both creation stories provide a different angle from which each tribe believes in humanity and existence. One major similarity between both creation stories is that there is a superior being who created the universe and all its living things. Both creation stories show how humans are able to interact freely with other animals and how they benefit each other. However, both creation stories are different in showing the relationship between the humans and the creation (Davis, 2014). For the Thompsons, a certain creature was send by the devil and lied to the man and woman while for the Abenaki, every creature existed after a dream came true. This changes how both tribes view creation.
In summary, both the Ebanaki and the Thompsons have different stories of creation, which determines how they both view the universe and its creatures. The Thompsons live in Tribal lands while the Abenaki live in some parts of Quebec, Maritimes in Canada, and a region called New England in the US. Analysis of their creation stories shows how both tribes have different perspectives about creatures but believe in a supreme being that made them come into existence.
- Davis, M. B. (2014). Native America in the twentieth century: An encyclopedia (Vol. 452). Routledge.
- Firstpeople.us, (2017). Adam and Eve. Retrieved from http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/AdamandEve-Thompson.html
- Firstpeople.us, (2017). Creation Story & the Importance of Dreaming. Retrieved from http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/AbenakiCreationStoryandTheImportanceofDreaming-Abenaki.html