Mythology and Folklore

Last week felt like such a long week as I had a test and essay due. Thankfully it is over, and I can look forward to being less stressed this week. Overall, I enjoyed the reading I had for the week. I do not have much experience reading Native American stories, so reading the California and southwestern collection of stories introduced to me a new culture of readings. I was also excited this week to have done my second story for my storybook. It was the second of three stories and focuses on Artemis. Greek mythology has always been a fascination of mine since I read Percy Jackson as an elementary school kid, so being bale to write my own Greek mythology stories is a fun endeavor. Additionally, I really enjoy being able to read the storybooks and portfolios of other students. Some of the ideas are so creative and out there that I just cannot imagine how my fellow students come up with them. A particular favorite of mine is the Hercules email inbox. I love hoe the website is set up as a ...

This week on twitter I followed The Big Event at OU. I am currently on the Big Event Exec, so a critical part of my job is to spread the message and any events that we have to the students of the university. Twitter is a great to do that as many students are users. Additionally, a Sooner football account called Sooner Gridiron as it keeps me updated with anything to with Sooner football!

The Earthmaker was lonely as he remained in a state of perpetual darkness and loneliness. As he wandered around the darkness, he wondered to himself what he could do to make his surrounds more pleasant. Thus, the Earthmaker set forth to create the world as we know it. He first decided to create the fertile soil so that whoever he may put on this new world could grow nutritious crops to feed themselves. From his neck, he took off some dust and used it to sprinkle the ground of the new world. As the dust gently touched the ground, soil grew rapidly in all directions. With the soil placed down, the Earthmaker decided to bring light to this world. He grabbed the newly ground nd meticoulsy formed a ball of soil. With a fling of his arm, he through the ball into the sky where it soon began to radiate its bright rays. Immediately, the ground responded to the sudden warmth, as if it could sense the beginning of a new friendship. Nevertheless, the Earthmaker knew his work was for from done. He...

Part B of the California and the Southwestern Legends is similar to Part A in that is a collection short stories from the region. Specifically, I read The Boy Who Became A God. It is from the Navajo people of Arizona and New Mexico. The story mentions the brothers are part of the Tolchini, which are a clan of the Navajo. My research failed to bring up any new information of this clan, so perhaps it is a small sect of the Navajo community. I also did look up Wind Mountain and happened to find that it is located in Washington and Oregon. This is interesting as the Navajo are mainly associated with the Southwest and go mainly as north as Utah and Colorado. Regarding the story, it is interesting to see the influence of animals among the Navajo tribe. Sheep, crows, and deer all play a prominent role in the story, particularly the sheep. The sheep, as mentioned in the note before the story, highlights the importance of the sheep among the community. While researching sheep among the Navajo,...

The California and Old Southwest unit of the Native American readings are collection of many myths and folktales. This includes stories from California, New Mexico, and Arizona. In particular, I read The Creation of the World. I was attracted to this story as I had read the story of Adam and Eve from the Biblical unit and wanted to compare the two cultures in how they detail the origin of the world. The Creation of the World centers around not an ambiguous god or lord, but rather a creator named the Earth Doctor. While researching the Earth Doctor, I found no information elaborating on the specifics of this creator. However, the note above the story details how the Earth Doctor is from the Pima people of central and southern Arizona, so perhaps this Earth Doctor is isolated to their community. Regarding the story itself, it is interesting to see how the Earth Doctor chose which parts of the world to exist first. The Adam and Eve story centers around the creation of the first humans. P...