Iroquois Mythology



Much of the mythology of the Iroquois (a confederacy of originally Five, later Six Nations of Native Americans) has been lost. Some of their religious stories have been preserved, including creation stories and some folktales.

Hahgwehdiyu is the creator god. He was said to have planted a single maize plant in the body of his mother Atahensic. This plant was a gift to mankind. In many variants of the creation myth, Atahensic (also known as Ataensic) was a Sky Woman who fell to the Earth. She died in childbirth and her body fertilized the earth so that her granddaughters could grow many things.

Hahgwehdiyu has an evil twin brother named Hahgwehdaetgan.

Gaol is the personification of the wind. Gohone is the personification of the winter. Adekagagwaa is the personification of the summer. Onatha is a patron of farmers, particularly farmers of wheat. A giant named Tarhuhyiawahku held the sky up.

The Jogah are nature spirits, similar to nymphs and fairies. Ha Wen Neyu is the "Great Spirit".

The first people were created by Iosheka, a beneficent god who healed disease, defeated demons, and gave many of the Iroquois magical and ceremonial rituals. Another of his gifts was tobacco, which has been used as a central part of the Iroquois religion. This god is also venerated in Huron mythology.

The North Wind is personified by a bear spirit named Ya-o-gah. He lived in a cave and was controlled by Gah-oh. Ya-o-gah could destroy the world with his fiercely cold breath, but is kept in check by Gah-oh.

Sosondowah was a great hunter (known for stalking a supernatural elk) who was captured by Dawn, a goddess who needed him as a watchman. He fell in love with Gendenwitha ("she who brings the day"; alternate spelling: Gendewitha), a human woman. He tried to woo her with a song. In spring, he sang as a bluebird, in summer as a blackbird and in autumn as a hawk, who then tried to take Gendenwitha with him to the sky. Dawn tied him to her doorpost. She changed Gendenwitha into the Morning Star, so the hunter could watch her all night but never be with her.

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