Explore the Mystery of Native American Creation Myths
Where did we come from?
Ideas and theories about the beginning of the world run the gamut, with different cultures, groups, and religions offering creation stories or myths, and explanations of how different parts of the world came to be.
Perhaps one of the most fascinating of these groups is the Native Americans. Across the board, Native American cultures offer many creation legends, many of which involve sacred caves or underground tunnels.
As we explore the stories offered by Native Americans as to the beginnings of everything, we also wind deeper into the Earth itself.
Apache
The Apache have several myths about creation that involve both gods and animals.
In one myth, Tepeu and Quetzalcoatl think everything into being. Essentially, their thoughts become reality, so they think everything from mountains to trees and the sky into reality. However, when they discovered these creations couldn’t praise them, they made others out of clay and wood. When these beings caused havoc on the world, the gods sent a great flood to wipe them out and start over.
Another of the Apache myths describes the beginning as an awakening of sorts, with darkness turning to light through the actions of a small, bearded man, the One Who Lives Above. They say by rubbing his face and hands, he created the Sun-God, Big Dipper, Wind, and Lightning-Rumbler, to name a few.
Then, after the gods united through a handshake, the Creator directed them to pull a brown ball that had dropped from his hands in all directions to form the Earth, and with the hummingbird’s guidance, placed four cardinal points on the Earth to make it still.
Hopi
While the Hopi have multiple legends, perhaps one of the most intriguing involves the Ant People, who are credited with saving the Hopi not once, but twice.
The so-called “First World” was destroyed by fire — be it an ejection from the sun, volcanic eruption, or asteroid strike, and the “Second World” was destroyed by ice — perhaps glaciers or a pole shift. In both instances, Hopi legends say the tribe was guided during the day by an odd-shaped cloud, and during the night by a moving star. These guides led them to a sky god named Sotuknang, who took them to the Ant People.
It was in the aforementioned subterranean caves that the Hopi found refuge during the global cataclysms occurring above. In this legend, the Ant People are seen as generous and hardworking, giving the Hopi food and teaching them about food storage when they needed it most.
Interestingly, the Babylonian sky god was named “Anu,” also the Hopi word for “ant.” “Naki” is the Hopi root word for friends. So, the Hopi Anu-naki, or “ant friends” may have some correlation with the Sumerian Annunaki.
Sioux
Such sacred caves are also a theme in Sioux legends, regarding a location in the Wind Cave National Park, in South Dakota.
In this legend, the Sioux feared a cave that had wind blowing in and out of it — they believed a breathing giant lived inside, and the giant invoked the providence of the Great Spirit.
However, one curious medicine man is said to have seen a vision from a young Indian maiden, telling him she was the immortal buffalo lady from under the Earth. She told the medicine man to tell the others the cave was a sacred place, and people should come and drop offerings and tokens, which would gain them great herds of buffalo.
Lakota
The Lakota version of events starts with adultery.
In their version of events, Inktomi, the spider trickster, causes a riff between the Sun God Takushkanshkan and his wife, the Moon. Their separation created time. While previously, the gods had lived in heaven, Inktomi and his co-conspirators were exiled to live with the cultureless humans who inhabited Earth.
Upon arrival, Inktomi travels underground to meet where humanity lived, and convinces Tokahe (“the first”) to come to the surface. He emerges from the Wind Cave to find a beautiful place, so he convinces other families to come up.
Tokahe soon figures out he was duped, as “buffalo are scarce, the weather has turned bad, and they find themselves starving.” To make matters worse, he and the other families who settled there cannot return to their home underground, and so must eke out an existence on the surface of the Earth.
Cherokee
Finally, the Cherokee also have several myths that explain the beginnings of the Earth.
In one myth, a great island floated in an ocean, attached to four thick ropes from the sky, which was rock. Because everything was dark, the animals could not see. The Great Spirit told the animals to stay awake for seven days and nights, but most of them couldn’t. However, the plants that stayed awake were able to stay green all year, and the animals that were able to stay awake such as the owl and mountain lion could also go about in the dark.
Another story describes everything being water, and the animals living above it and the sky being overcrowded. One day, a water beetle named Dayuni’si volunteered to explore underwater and found mud he brought back to the surface. He brought back so much mud he created the Earth. As the Earth hardened, they pulled a sun out from behind the rainbow and placed it high in the sky to light the path.
In both of these legends, the animals came first, and the humans second.
Exploring the Connections Between Native American Legends
Without a doubt, the stories and legends behind the beginning of the world vary greatly depending on the Native American tribe attached to them.
However, many of the similarities and links among the stories bring about questions and curiosities about what might lie inside the Earth, and how it affected the creation of the world as we know it today.
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Where Did the Dogon Tribe's Knowledge of Sirius Come From?
The mythology and folklore of indigenous peoples are often dismissed as mere legends or parables passed down to honor elders and teach younger generations lessons about morality. However, some ancient stories appear to challenge modern science, such as the Dogon legend, which includes remarkably precise knowledge of astronomical bodies discovered only centuries later.
The Dogon people, an ancient West African tribe, claim their ancestors were descendants of beings from the Sirius star system, located eight and a half light-years away.
Their detailed understanding of Sirius B, a star invisible to the naked eye, has intrigued scholars and sparked debates about the possibility of ancient aliens influencing early human knowledge, giving rise to what is known as the Sirius mystery.
Hidden Knowledge of Sirius B
The Dogon inhabit an area of Mali in West Africa called the Bandiagara Escarpment, a stretch of sandstone cliffs nearly 100 miles long, reaching up to 1,500 feet high. Taking advantage of the area for its natural protection, the tribe built their homes on the side of the cliffs during the 3rd century B.C. and have remained there since. But it wasn’t until the 1930s that French anthropologists discovered their strangely advanced astronomical knowledge despite maintaining a very primitive lifestyle.
Although the Dogon live in an area more than 2,000 miles from Egypt, they have a history that appears to have some intriguing connections with its famed, ancient lineage that hinted at some connection to the stars.
Anthropologist Marcel Griaule’s study of the Dogon tribe revealed their profound knowledge of the Sirius star system, a key element of their cosmology. While Sirius A, the brightest star in the night sky, is visible without any aid, its companion, Sirius B, a dense white dwarf, was not officially discovered by Western astronomers until the 1970s with the aid of advanced telescopes. Remarkably, the Dogon people had long known not only about Sirius B but also its complex 50-year orbital period around Sirius A.
Even more intriguing is their mention of a third star, Sirius C, which some modern astronomers have speculated about but remains unconfirmed. The Dogon’s awareness of Sirius A, B, and C, including details about their movement and characteristics, has sparked widespread interest and debate about the origins of their advanced astronomical understanding.
Knowledge Preceding Modern Science
Planetary scientist Carl Sagan weighed in on the Dogon tribe and their supposed celestial cognizance by disavowing the idea that it could have come from otherworldly beings. The Dogon were aware of Jupiter’s moons and Saturn, along with its rings, but Sagan said that their lack of awareness of any other planets in our solar system was evidence that they were only reiterating a few pieces of knowledge given to them by their interaction with French anthropologists.
However, Sagan’s cursory analysis of the Dogon did not touch upon the fact that their knowledge of the Sirius star system was represented in 400-year-old artifacts, nor did he acknowledge their understanding of subatomic particles and their theory of the universe’s creation that was similar to the Big Bang.
The Dogon were also very aware of our location within the Milky Way Galaxy and knew of the state of Sirius B, being an incredibly dense and dying star. This curiosity also led them to make further discoveries regarding human anatomy long before Western discoveries were made.
Another unconfirmed part of the Dogon’s understanding of the Sirius system is the assertion that they knew about another star in the Sirius system, known as Sirius C. However, gravitational observations might prove their claim to be true.
An Otherworldly Explanation
So, were the Dogon visited by ancient astronauts? Or did the anthropologists who first studied them carry out an elaborate deception by giving them astronomical insight to regurgitate in front of a camera? Skeptics that agreed with Sagan, like astronomer Ian Ridpath, believed in the latter and that any information the tribe acquired about Sirius was through a European cultural exchange or influence.
There could be another explanation for the Dogon people’s advanced astronomy. Their familiarity with the star system could be related to their cosmic connection. Their ancestors are said to have come in contact with an extraterrestrial race of beings from Sirius who traveled to Earth, imparting their knowledge to the tribe more than 600 years ago. These amphibious beings, known as the Nommos, came from the same star system as the Egyptian god, Isis. In some accounts, the Dogon speak of the Nommos as being non-physical. Purportedly, they appeared only to a small sect of the Dogon tribe because extensive contact with humans would have been detrimental to their well-being.
If this is true, how have they passed their knowledge over the centuries? Every 60 years, when Sirius appears between two mountain peaks, marking a cycle in its orbit, the Dogon people hold a celebration called Sigui. Leading up to the celebration, the younger men of the tribe sequester themselves from the rest of the group for a few months. During this time, they speak in a secret language. Sigui itself can last for long periods of time; the most recent celebration lasted six years.
During these celebrations, the Dogon’s knowledge is passed on to future generations, but there is supposedly secret information regarding their past that has not left the tribe.
Strange Connections With Other Civilizations
Amphibious, godlike beings appeared in other ancient cultures outside of the Dogon. Ancient civilizations from Babylonia to Greece and even Slavic nations depicted aquatic beings in their mythology. One interesting connection that some have drawn with the Dogon is that of the Dogū in Japan. Alternative theories point to statues of the Dogū, whose name is similar to Dogon, that resemble an astronaut or being in a spacesuit.
The Dogū are thought to have arrived in flying ships, bringing written language and many aspects of civilization to the Japanese. Interestingly, in ancient Mesopotamian lore, there is a deity known as Dagon or Dagan, depicted as a merman or fish god—this depiction can also be seen in the Hebrew Bible.
But the Dogon’s connection with Egypt is the most intriguing and a good argument in their defense from the criticism of Sagan, Ridpath, and other pragmatists. The language that the Dogon speaks to describe the Sirius star system consists of ancient Egyptian words that have not been used for centuries. Other similarities between the two cultures can be seen in the way they organized their civilizations, such as the creation of an upper and lower kingdom and a 360-day calendar.
As the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius has captivated human imagination for centuries. Its connection to the Dogon tribe’s ancient knowledge continues to leave us in awe, sparking curiosity and inspiring us to explore the mysteries of their origins. This remarkable connection reminds us of the boundless wonders that our universe holds, waiting to be unveiled and understood.
