Week 2: Extra Credit Reading Diary

For my extra credit reading, I read through the Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney. This unit appealed to me because I took a Native American history course during my sophomore year, and I realized that I enjoyed learning about Native American literature and stories.

There were two stories that caught my attention: The First Fire and The Moon and the Thunders

The First Fire was about the first time fire was sent down to the Earth through thunder striking the bottom of a sycamore tree. The animals all over Earth wanted to retrieve the fire so that everyone could enjoy it's warmth and light. Therefore, several animals attempted to climb into the base of the sycamore tree and bring back fire, but failed. It was interesting to read how the animals attempted to catch the fire, yet suffered from sever consequences that are still visible in those animals today. For example, the raven flew too close to the fire that its feathers turned black. The screech owl clashed with a blast of hot smoke that his eyes became red. The hooting own and the horned owl couldn't conquer the soot from the fire, and it left white rings around their eyes. I liked how this myth explained the physical characteristics of each animal through their attempts to obtain fire. In the end, the water spider was able to retrieve fire by spinning a web, and carrying a lump of coal on its back. From there on, there was fire on Earth.

The Moon and the Thunders interest me because it explained how the moon and sun interacted with one another. I love hearing every culture's stories about the moon and sun. The moon and sun are powerful forces that symbolize life, wisdom, beauty, and time. In this story, the sun was a young woman who lived in the east while her brother was the moon who lived in the west. During the nighttime, a man would court the sun, but the woman would never see his face. So one night, she grabbed ash and rubbed in on the man's face so that she could identify who her secret lover was. When nighttime came, she realizes that the moon had dark spots on its face. The moon was so embarrassed that his sister found out that he was her lover, that he vowed to always be on the opposite side of the sun. That;s why the sun and the moon alternate between daytime and nighttime.

The sun and the moon. Source.