What is Native North America (ONONDAGAN): Star Woman and Earth Divers in Leeming's book: The world of myth: an arthrology 3rd edition in p. 34-35
In the Native North American Onondagan myth of Star Woman and Earth Divers, the world was initially covered in water. The Creator then instructed the animals to dive down and bring up some earth, but they were unsuccessful. Finally, the muskrat was able to bring up a small amount of soil, which the Creator used to form a continent. The Creator then placed Star Woman onto the land and told her to give birth to twins, who would become the first humans. The twins grew up and created different tribes on the continent. The myth emphasizes the importance of cooperation and persistence in the face of challenges.
In Leeming's book, "The World of Myth: An Anthology" (3rd edition), he discusses the Native North American (Onondagan) creation myth of Star Woman and Earth Divers. This myth can be found on pages 34-35 of the book.
According to the myth, before the creation of the world, there was only darkness, and the only thing that existed was a great tree. The tree had four roots, each pointing to a different cardinal direction. At the top of the tree, there was a hole that led to the Upper World, where the gods and spirits resided.
Star Woman, a celestial being, fell through the hole in the tree and found herself descending towards the Earth. The animals of the sea saw her falling and quickly rushed to the underwater world to collect mud from the depths. They brought this mud to the surface of the water and placed it on the back of a giant sea turtle, forming a small island.
Star Woman landed safely on this island and began to create everything in the world. She took some of the mud and shaped it into the first human beings. She breathed life into them and taught them how to live in harmony with the world.
However, the world was still covered in water, and there was no land for the humans to live on. The animals, called Earth Divers, took turns diving into the water in search of land. Each time, they brought back a small amount of mud, which was placed on the turtle's back. Gradually, over time, the mud began to grow into a larger landmass.
The Earth Divers continued their attempts until they were finally successful in bringing enough mud to form the continents, mountains, and valleys as we know them today. This allowed the human beings to have a stable and habitable land on which to live.
In this creation myth, Star Woman and the Earth Divers played crucial roles in the formation of the world and the creation of human beings. Their actions transformed the initial void of darkness into a vibrant and diverse world.