Mother Earth

Paula Gunn Allen’s The Sacred Hoop talks about how the creator of the earth and all things was a female. Thought Woman, Beloved Woman, Grandmother Spider; these are some of the names that different tribes call her. I am not a very religious person. I don’t know much about the stories in the Bible. I am under the assumption that most Christians believe that God is male. Yet, most people also are familiar with the term “Mother Earth”. I think that the fact that American Indian tribes tell creation stories with the creator being female makes sense. If we call our planet “Mother” it makes sense that the earth was created by a woman. Now, I am not going to get into my own personal beliefs about religions, creation, etc. but I like the notion that the stories focus on a female creator of Earth.

I really liked the part in Allen’s book where she talked about a particular story, a Cheyenne tale about Maheo, the All Spirit, creating things out of a void (57). The story says that Maheo needed the help from the birds and other creatures because four things had already been created: the water, the light, the sky-air and the peoples of the water. It is a nice idea to think that the earth was created in harmony with everyone as an active participant. It puts a responsibility on us, as a people, to take care of the earth in a more nurturing way. I think in general that people tend to care more deeply for something or someone if they have an investment in it. If people are held responsible for the creation of something then they are also held responsible for the destruction of that same thing. It goes along with the other themes of the book about duality and balance which I hope to blog about more this weekend.