The Iroquois Creation Myth: "The World on Turtle's Back"

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

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

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?

to explain how balance came to exist in the natural world

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

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

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." The animals thought that perhaps there was dirt at the depths of the ocean, but they had never tried to reach the bottom before. One by one they tried to swim down, but their attempts were futile. Finally, the muskrat disappeared into the cold depth of the ocean. After a lengthy amount of time, he drifted to the surface with a tiny speck of earth in his hand. He appeared to be dead, but the animals prayed and chanted, and finally he stirred. The Earth-Diver was successful in bringing forth the soil to make the earth grow. Which sentences from the excerpt best support the idea that the Iroquois valued sacrifice by one for the good of all?

After a lengthy amount of time, he drifted to the surface with a tiny speck of earth in his hand. He appeared to be dead. . . .

Which sentence from "The World on Turtle's Back" best illustrates why the story is considered a creation myth?

The woman placed the dirt on Turtle's back and performed a ritual to create the earth.

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?

They represent the twins that the woman will bear.

According to "The World on Turtle's Back," which best demonstrates the Iroquois view of women?

Women were respected because they helped create and sustain the world.

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." The conflict between the twins continued, and for some reason, the grandmother favored the left-handed twin. The right-handed twin became angry and resentful. He was the truthful twin who always did the right thing. The left-handed twin was deceitful and did everything backward. You could never trust him. The twins represented the two ways of the world which are in all people. The Indians did not call these good and evil. They called them the straight mind and the crooked mind, the righteous man and the devious man, the right and the left. The main purpose of this excerpt is to

clarify what the Iroquois considered the two different sides of human nature.

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

felt compassion for the woman because she was scared.

Read this excerpt from "The World on Turtle's Back." With the deer antler, the right-handed twin demolished his brother. The left-handed twin died, but he didn't die. He was hurled off the edge of the earth by his brother. In this dark world below the earth, the left-handed twin still lives and reigns. The right-handed twin lives in the Sky-World and he is content with the world he helped to create. The left-handed twin lives in the world below. He, too, is content with the world of men. He delights in the sounds of warfare and suffering. These two beings rule the world and look after the affairs of men. During the day people have rituals to honor the right-handed twin. At night they dance and sing for the left-handed twin. Based on this excerpt, it is reasonable to conclude that

neither twin could die because they were immortal gods

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

sometimes good can come from tragedy.

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

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