The Iroquois Creation Myth: "The World on Turtle's Back" ; English 11A

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." The right-handed twin accused his brother of murdering their mother and their quarrels continued until it was time to bury their mother. With the help of their grandmother, they made her a grave. From her head grew the three sister plants, corn, beans, and squash. From her heart grew tobacco, which people still use to give thanks in ceremony. She is called "our mother" and the people dance and sing to her to make the plants grow. The excerpt suggests that the Iroquois believed that

A - sometimes good can come from tragedy.

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." In the Sky-World was a man who aimed to please his pregnant wife. His wife told him that she wanted some bark from the roots of the Great Tree. Though the husband knew it was wrong, he dug up the roots of the tree for his wife. In doing so, he broke a hole in the floor of the Sky-World, and was shocked to find empty space underneath. He was terrified and told his wife what he did. Which words in this excerpt support the idea that the husband was very devoted to his wife?

A - Though the husband knew it was wrong, he dug up the roots

What does "The Origin of the Robin" suggest about Ojibwa views of the parent-child relationship?

B - It suggests that parents' words were held in very high regard.

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." The birds of the sea joined together to save the woman and they broke her fall. The great sea turtle floated in the ocean and received the woman on his back without harm. The frightened woman looked around and all she could see was water and sky. She felt helpless, but the animals were determined to save her. She told them that if they could find some soil, she could plant the roots from the Great Tree that were still tangled in her hands. Based on the animals' behavior toward the woman, it is reasonable to conclude that the animals

B - felt compassion for the woman because she was scared.

The Iroquois perform rituals to honor the twins in "The World on Turtle's Back," illustrating the Iroquoian belief that

B - the twins are gods and it is important to show them devotion.

In the beginning of "The World on Turtle's Back," why did the husband become "terrified"?

C - He was terrified that he would be punished for marring a sacred tree

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." Without knowing it, the right and left-handed twins built balance into the world. The plant-eating animals created by the right-handed twin balanced out the meat-eating animals created by the left-handed twin. And so the world thrived, and this was good. Which statement best describes the purpose of this excerpt?

C - to explain how balance came to exist in the natural world

Based on "The World on Turtle's Back," which statement best describes the Iroquois attitude toward nature and the environment?

D - The Iroquois revered nature and valued the plants and animals that sustained them.

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." One day, when the girl had become a woman, a man appeared. No one knows where this man came from. Perhaps he was sent from the Gods above. The girl was so filled with wonder to see this strange man, she lost her senses and fainted. The man yielded two very different arrows, and laid them across the body of the girl in opposite directions, then he disappeared. Which statement best describes the significance of the arrows?

D - They represent the twins that the woman will bear.

Read this quotation from "The World on Turtle's Back." "The woman placed the dirt on Turtle's back and performed a ritual to create the earth. She walked around the dirt in the direction of the sun until the earth grew large enough. Then she planted the roots from the Great Tree and continued her ritual to keep the earth growing. Like the sun she kept moving around the earth, in the same direction the people still do in dance rituals today." The main purpose of this quotation is to

D - explain one theory of how the Earth was created from the sea.