Lecture byManvitha Singamsetty

World Religions01 November 2019

Myths and Origin Stories in Indigenous Traditions

manvitha@gmail.com

Dear Friends of the LIR Program!

I really enjoyed our lecture today, and I enjoyed our interactions on religions, myths, and beliefs. This version of the presentation contains all the slides we used in class today, as well as additional slides pointing to more stories of the Inuit peoples. Included also are some additional resources available on Carleton campus for quenching your curiosity on the topic of indigenous myths and origin stories. I hope you find this informative and useful!

Enjoy the rest of your course, and I hope that our paths cross again soon!

Manvitha Singamsetty

(still the highest scoring word on scrabble!)

Land Acknowledgement

• Colonization

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission – www.trc.ca

• Algonquins of Ontario – www.tanakiwin.com

Map of Algonquin Peoples

Myths have several functions

•Central to communication styles – oral traditions

•Knowledge transfer and sharing

•Central to their worldview

3 myths today

• Sky woman myth of the Haudenosaunee

• Sedna myth of the Inuit

•Dreaming of the Australian Aborigines

Sky Woman Myth of the

Haudenosaunee peoples

Sky Woman

Turtle Island

Sky Woman Installation by Shelly Niro

Sedna Myth of the Inuit

Story of Luumajuug – teaching forgiveness

Inuit creation story – Raven

The following link will lead you to a video of an Inuit narration of their creation story that features a raven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skVdZAjWUNs

Inuit Stories

The following link contains an archive of various Inuit stories.

Enjoy!

https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/stories/020020-3100-e.html

Dreamtime Mythof the

Australian Aborigines

Dreaming or DreamtimeAustralian Aborigines

•Word for the time of creation

• Spiritual dimension of life – the unseen Truth responsible for life

• Source of all life – healing, creativity and renewal

• Source of all existence

Significance of thesemyths

Interconnectedness

Reciprocity

Reverence

Responsibility

Human – Nature Relations Anthropocentrism

Environmental Protection

Resources

Prof. Kahente Horn MillerSchool of Indigenous Studies

Dr. Zoe ToddCultural Anthropology

Resources

This is a highly recommended documentary that talks about the current politics of Inuit

seal hunting.