Long, long ago, one of the Spirits of the Sky World
came down and looked at the earth. As he traveled over it, he found it
beautiful, and so he created people to live on it. Before returning to
the sky, he gave them names, called the people all together, and spoke
his parting words:
"To the Mohawks, I give corn," he said. "To the patient Oneidas, I
give the nuts and the fruit of many trees. To the industrious Senecas,
I give beans. To the friendly Cayugas, I give the roots of plants to
be eaten. To the wise and eloquent Onondagas, I give grapes and
squashes to eat and tobacco to smoke at the camp fires."
Many other things he told the new people. Then he wrapped himself in a
bright cloud and went like a swift arrow to the Sun. There his return
caused his Brother Sky Spirits to rejoice.
The Six Nations
Long, long ago, in the great past, there were no people on the earth.
All of it was covered by deep water. Birds, flying, filled the air,
and many huge monsters possessed the waters.
One day the birds saw a beautiful woman falling from the sky.
Immediately the huge ducks held a council.
"How can we prevent her from falling into the water?" they asked.
After some discussion, they decided to spread out their wings and thus
break the force of her fall. Each duck spread out its wings until it
touched the wings of other ducks. So the beautiful woman reached them
safely.
Then the monsters of the deep held a council, to decide how they could
protect the beautiful being from the terror of the waters. One after
another, the monsters decided that they were not able to protect her,
that only Giant Tortoise was big enough to bear her weight. He
volunteered, and she was gently placed upon his back. Giant Tortoise
magically increased in size and soon became a large island.
After a time, the Celestial Woman gave birth to twin boys. One of them
was the Spirit of Good. He made all the good things on the earth and
caused the corn, the fruits, and the tobacco to grow.
The other twin was the Spirit of Evil. He created the weeds and also
the worms and the bugs and all the other creatures that do evil to the
good animals and birds.
All the time, Giant Tortoise continued to stretch himself. And so the
world became larger and larger. Sometimes Giant Tortoise moved himself
in such a way as to make the earth quake.
After many, many years had passed by, the Sky-Holder, whom Indians
called Ta-rhu-hia-wah-ku, decided to create some people. He wanted
them to surpass all others in beauty, strength, and bravery. So from
the bosom of the island where they had been living on moles, the
Sky-Holder brought forth six pairs of people.
The first pair were left near a great river, now called the Mohawk. So
they are called the Mohawk Indians. The second pair were told to move
their home beside a large stone. Their descendants have been called
the Oneidas. Many of them lived on the south side of Oneida Lake and
others in the valleys of Oneida Creek. A third pair were left on a
high hill and have always been called the Onondagas.
The fourth pair became the parents of the Cayugas, and the fifth pair
the parents of the Senecas. Both were placed in some part of what is
now known as the State of New York. But the Tuscaroras were taken up
the Roanoke River into what is now known as North Carolina. There the
Sky-Holder made his home while he taught these people and their
descendants many useful arts and crafts.
The Tuscaroras claim that his presence with them made them superior to
the other Iroquois nations. But each of the other five will tell you,
"Ours was the favoured tribe with whom Sky- Holder made his home while
he was on the earth."
The Onondagas say, "We have the council fire. That means that we are
the chosen people."
As the years passed by, the numerous Iroquois families became
scattered over the state, and also in what is now Pennsylvania, the
Middle West and southeastern Canada. Some lived in areas where bear
was their principal game. So these people were called the Bear Clan.
Others lived where beavers were plentiful. So they were called the
Beaver Clan. For similar reasons, the Deer, Wolf, Snipe and Tortoise
clans received their names.
