Existence and Culture Through Different Eyes

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw. A fitting quote to describe the comparison of two different cultures’ views on creation. A giant exploding calabash or a giant hole in the Earth, both are two explanations for the creation of the world conceived by two very different cultures. The first creation myth about a giant calabash originates from Hawaiian culture and the second creation myth comes from the Hopi. These two cultures developed in very dissimilar geographic locations which influenced what they believed and how they viewed the world. The two tribes’ ideas on the creation of the world have many similarities and many differences that can be traced to their native cultures.
Hawaiian natives’ culture revolves around the towering volcanoes and the ocean surrounding the islands. The inhabitants of the Hawaiian islands are descendants of ancient Polynesians who ventured across the ocean in double-hulled canoes. These ancient Polynesians had highly developed navigational skills and would use the sun, stars, and wave patterns to find their way. Many times entire villages would travel out on these double-hulled canoes, and one such group found the Hawaiian islands and decided to settle there. Hawaiian culture still exists today and was able to be preserved and adapt more easily than other native cultures due to it’s isolated location. The Hawaiians believed that in the beginning there was only chaos and within the chaos there emerged a great void which spawned Kane, the god of creation. Within the void Kane took a giant calabash and threw it high into the air where it broke into two enormous pieces; one becoming the Earth, the other the sky, and the seeds became the stars. After the creation of the Earth and sky, Kane divided the many realms such as earth, sky, and sea to various other gods to look after. Kane then wanted to create a great chief and told the other gods to collect materials to construct this great chief. Eventually they found a mound of rich, red clay which Kane fashioned into the figure of a man and breathed life into the figure, this figure became the first man to walk the earth.
The Hopi people lived in the regions of northern Arizona, southern Nevada, and California. They were desert dwellers and as such had to adapt to living in the arid conditions. They appear to be the descendants of the Anasazi, which might have been a tribe that branched off from the early Aztecs. The Hopi developed a ceremonial calendar which aided in their survival in a place with little sources of reliable water. They lived in pueblos which consisted of multiple stories and was constructed from mud and stone. Hopis are still around today and can be separated into two different groups, one being the traditional group which preserves old practices and culture and the new group which interacts with the outside world and puts less emphasis on maintaining ancient traditions. The Hopis believed that in the beginning there were only two gods: the sun god and the Earth goddess. The sun god controlled the sky and the Earth goddess ruled over the underworld. Nothing lived unless these two willed it to live and they decided that there should be more gods to share their labors. The sun god then divided himself into many other gods who ruled over various domains. After this the sun god and earth goddess chose to create the earth and place it between the heavens and the underworld. Next the sun god thought up all the different animals and plants of the world and the earth goddess molded them from clay. They then chose to create a creature in their image to lord over the rest, and this creature was formed from clay and became the first man. The earth goddess then lead all the newly formed creatures through the underworld and out through a giant hole in the ground called a sipapu. Thus the world was inhabited by animals and men.
These two tribes may have lived in completely different regions, but their stories of creation have some similarities. The main similarity that can be pulled out of the two stories is that both revolve around all powerful being(s) creating the Earth, all it’s creatures, and plants as well as other gods to manage the various realms of the Earth. A reason for this could be due to their regions being mainly one thing or another, such as the Hopi living in the desert would have had their lives influenced greatly by the sun and the earth because in the desert there isn’t much more than that around. While on the other hand the Hawaiians’ lives were greatly influenced by many powerful forces such as the ocean, sun, and volcanoes which would lead them to believe in a force that controlled all of these powerful aspects of nature. The next obvious similarity is the creation of life through clay, in both myths the omnipotent beings used clay to create animals and humans. The reasoning for the Hopi to have clay as one of the ingredients for life is that it was the main item used in their own constructions and crafts whether pots or housing. The Hawaiians have clay as an ingredient for life in their story most likely because on the islands clay was also a useful building material and provided a sturdier construction opposed to something else such as sand. A third similarity would be the idea that the gods chose man to be the lord over all other creatures. In both stories the gods wanted to create an animal that was to be the “great chief” or “lord over the rest” and this animal was man. They both must believe that men are the highest form of life on the planet and that they were created in the gods’ image. This belief could come from man’s resourcefulness and ability to adapt to different surroundings as well as dominance over most wild beasts. Man’s ability to somewhat conquer nature, in their minds must be the inheritance of some of the gods’ divine power allowing them to make use of the rest of the gods’ creations. Although there are many correlations within the stories, subtle and obvious distinctions between the two can be made.
The differences between the two stories can be attributed to the different regions the tribes lived in, the effect of isolation on the two tribes, and the influence of their ancestral origins. The first difference that appears in the two stories is the formation of the Earth. In the Hawaiian creation myth the Earth is formed after a calabash is thrown and one of the broken pieces falls and forms the Earth. However, in the Hopi story of creation, the two beginning gods create the Earth together from clay. This is a prime example of geographic influence on the two cultures. The Hawaiians had access to various fruits and vegetables one of which being a calabash which is a gourd-like fruit found in tropical regions. This fruit was probably an important part of their diet or could be used in many different ways. The Hopi just used clay to form the Earth which is probably due to clay playing such a big role in their life in terms of housing and overall usefulness. They didn’t have any particular fruits that could be seen as important enough to be used in forming the Earth like the Hawaiians had. Another difference is the Hopi having an underworld and the heavens versus the Hawaiians’ great void. The Hopi’s belief in an underworld and the heavens might be influenced by their somewhat distant ancestors the Aztecs. The Hawaiians’ great void and chaos is an easy way to explain the universe and creation of the first god. Due to the Hawaiians’ isolation they weren’t as easily influenced by other legends like the Hopi might have been.
The two cultures’ differences can be distinguished in their stories, but their likeness is also prevalent in their myths and a deeper understanding of the origins of the two respective tribes becomes visible through each creation myth. Their creation myths are definitely stemmed from their history, location, and what their societies placed importance on such as the calabash for the Hawaiians and clay for the Hopi. All people whether ancient or modern, Native American or European, seek an explanation for life. Many people use it as a way to give purpose to their lives; an explanation for their past and as a reason for their future.