How the World was Made: Native American Symbolism

Reading this story is like throwing me back five years to sixth grade, where our...  English class, I believe? was assigned to create a story that explained how a certain animal acquired its most notable feature.  I was paired with my friend, Blake, and together we explored the idea of how a beaver got its tail.  I won't go into details, as it I'll just be rattling on (but I will say it involved waffles, a hook hand, and temporary blindness); but I said this to bring me to my next point: "How the World was Made" embodies this principle.  While explaining the natural world, it teaches lessons and values that allow children to progress smoothly to adulthood.  In this particular story, however, not as many lessons are taught, whereas explanations are abundant.

In the beginning, the world is floating in a sea of water, suspended by the four cords hanging down from the "sky vault".  Briefly exploring humanity's ultimate fear of the unknown and ultimate end, the story explains how, after all things have died and the earth has grown old, the cords will break and the earth will sink to the depths of the water it resides.  All will be water again--perhaps a symbol of rebirth.  Water is adaptable, and flows as the bringer of all life.  This great sea of water houses many mysteries of the past, and though it is the creator and holder of the world the Native Americans live in, it is ultimately their final resting place.  But even as the earth sinks into its depths, so does the beginning of a new age begin.

As time goes on and the animals above the arch of sky become curious of what the water houses, they send a water beetle to explore its depths.  As it explores, it stirs up mud that eventually hardens to create the earth.  During this time, many different events unfold that causes it to become what it is today, and when the animals finally descended to the earth, they placed the sun in the sky and had it set on a track.  It was too low, however, as it burned the red crawfish's shell.  This spoiled his meat, keeping the Cherokee from eating it.  Obviously, this event is a lesson taught to the young in order to discourage them from eating crawfish meat so as not to hurt them (though I'm not quite so sure on what repercussions would materialize out of its ingestion).

A brief intermission occurs as the narrator goes on to explain the existence of an "underworld" that resides on the other side of the world.  It is viewed merely as a different, unknown place, however, rather than the Underworld of ancient Greek mythology which houses the dead.  To reach the world, one must follow the waters from the mountains and enter the springs, followed by a guide from the underworld while fasting.  This break in continuity is, at first glance, hard to really realize its reason to be included.  I see this as a way of whetting the reader's--and listener's, at the time--curiosity.  While it explains everything, it includes an allusion to the unknown while stating the complicated process into reaching this enigmatic land.  Perhaps back then, it gave the listener something to ruminate, while also allowing he or she to anticipate a new story.

The story comes to a conclusion, telling of how animals were decided upon to see which ones will be nocturnal.  After this, man is at last introduced.  A brother and sister exist, and the man strikes his sister with a fish in order to spur her into multiplying.  As time goes on and multiplication proves to be too much, it is made that a woman can have a child only once a year.  With this, the story concludes.

As a last note, I'll say this:  I was completely dumbfounded by the fact that the brother hit his sister with a fish.  What was the point?  I knew there had to be one, so I decided to Google me up some symbolic meanings of fish, and lo and behold, I discovered the symbol of the fish.  In general, the animal is associated with fertility, femininity, knowledge, and transformation.  The collaboration of the fish and human creation easily makes sense, after this discovery.