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World On Turtle's Back

This document provides a study guide and worksheet for the Iroquois creation myth "The World on the Turtle's Back". It includes definitions of literary terms like myth and symbol, historical background on the Iroquois people, and questions about the story. As the story is read, students are to complete a chart detailing how different things in the world came to exist according to the Iroquois explanation. They are also asked to analyze symbols in the story and compare the Iroquois creation myth to the biblical story of Genesis.

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3K views4 pages

World On Turtle's Back

This document provides a study guide and worksheet for the Iroquois creation myth "The World on the Turtle's Back". It includes definitions of literary terms like myth and symbol, historical background on the Iroquois people, and questions about the story. As the story is read, students are to complete a chart detailing how different things in the world came to exist according to the Iroquois explanation. They are also asked to analyze symbols in the story and compare the Iroquois creation myth to the biblical story of Genesis.

Uploaded by

dkusch
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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English 11 Name______________________________

"The World on
the Turtle's Back"
Study Guide
and Worksheet

LITERARY TERMS

1. myth: (p.1151) _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. creation myth: (p. 1151) _______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. symbol: (p. 1158) ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Iroquois, also known as the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several
tribes of indigenous people of North America. After the Iroquoian-speaking peoples
coalesced as distinct tribes, based mostly in present-day upstate New York, in the 16th
century or earlier they came together in an association known today as the Iroquois
League, or the "League of Peace and Power". The original Iroquois League was often
known as the Five Nations, as it was composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga,
Cayuga, and Seneca nations. After the Tuscarora nation joined the League in 1722, the
Iroquois became known as the Six Nations. When Europeans first arrived in North
America, the Iroquois were based in what is now the northeastern United States, primarily
in what is referred to today as upstate New York west of the Hudson River and through the
Finger Lakes region. Today, the Iroquois live primarily in New York and Canada.
The Iroquois League has also been known as the Iroquois Confederacy. Some modern
scholars now make a distinction between the League and the Confederacy. According to
this interpretation, the Iroquois League refers to the ceremonial and cultural institution
embodied in the Grand Council, while the Iroquois Confederacy was the decentralized
political and diplomatic entity that emerged in response to European colonization. The
League still exists. The Confederacy dissolved after the defeat of the British and allied
Iroquois nations in the Revolutionary War.

AS YOU READ Complete the chart while we read the story.

Things that exist


Iroquois explanation of how it came to exist
in the World

the earth

plants on earth

common
vegetables

good and evil

animals

berries for
animals to eat

poisonous plants

man

night

the moon
CONTENT QUESTIONS

1. What is the source of the roots the woman from the sky planted on the turtle's back?

2. How do the animals help the woman from the sky?

3. Why are the twins in conflict even before they are born?

4. What happened to the twin mother?

5. How are the twins different?

6. What happens to the left-handed twin after the duel?

USE OF LITERARY TERM - Symbolism - Explain the symbolism of each object.

Item Symbolism

sacred tree in
the Sky-World

the left-handed twin

the right-handed twin

the twins together


COMPARISON - "The World on the Turtle's Back" compared to The Bible.

“The World on the Turtle’s Back” “Genesis”

• A woman created the Earth • God created the earth


• Multiple creators • One creator
• There were multiple gods • Nothing existed before creation
• Started as sky world and water • Humans are superior to nature
• Things in existence before the world was • God spoke the world into existence
created • God created everything
• Animals already living on Earth • World created perfect
• Woman falls from the sky • World begins as good, but evil is
• Man does not have authority over the animals introduced later
• Everything is balanced • Structured timeline
• No timeline • Woman created from man
• Coexistence of good and evil • Good vs. Evil
• World created in balance • People made from dust
• World created by accident
• People made from clay

Similarities - Below list at least 5 similarities between each version of Creation

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