Select the correct answer.
Read this excerpt from the Cherokee creation story "How the World Was Made":
When all was water, the animals were above in Galûñ’lati, beyond the arch; but it was very crowded, and they wanted more room. They wondered what was below the water, and at last Beaver’s Grandchild, the little Water-beetle, offered to go and see if he could learn. He darted in every direction over the surface of the water, but could find no firm place to rest. Then he dived to the bottom and came up with some soft mud, which began to grow and spread on every side until it became the island that we call Earth. It was afterward fastened to the sky with four cords, but no one remembers who did this.
At first Earth was flat and very soft and wet. The animals were anxious to get down, and set out different birds to see if it was yet dry, but they found no place to alight and came back again to Galûñ’lati. At last it seemed to be time, and they sent out the Buzzard and told him to go and make ready for them…
When Earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still dark, so they got the sun and set it in a track to go every day across the island from east to west, just overhead…
This story contains elements of which two types of creation stories?
A.
ex nihilo and world parents
B.
world parents and earth diver
C.
emergence and world parents
D.
ex nihilo and earth diver
E.
earth diver and emergence
D. ex nihilo and earth diver
To determine the correct answer, we need to identify the elements of creation stories present in the excerpt.
In this excerpt, we see that the animals were originally above in Galûñ’lati, and there was water everywhere. This suggests a creation story involving an emergence from water. The little Water-beetle dives to the bottom and brings up mud, which then grows and becomes the Earth. This creation from the bottom of the water aligns with the concept of an earth diver.
Based on these elements, the correct answer is E. earth diver and emergence.