The Huron's Divine Woman

 

 

Like many Native American religions, the Huron belief in a Divine Woman Creator reflected a worldview of interconnectedness and a spiritual relationship to the Earth. The Hurons were Native Americans who, in the 1500s numbered close to 45,000 (by the mid-1990s there were about 2,700 left). They occupied a land networked by rivers and lakes between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario in Canada, named "Huronia" by French explorers. Their explanation of cosmic and world creation stemmed from their environment and social order.

The Hurons believed that, in the beginning of time, there was only water and water animals. One day, the sky ripped open and a woman fell out. The water animals recognized that she was Divine Woman, and set about making a place for her to sit. (Huron social organization began with extended families and "matrilineal" clans--that is, the mother's bloodline determined clan membership.) When Divine Woman fell through the sky, she connected the spirit world to the Earth.

Turtle held the woman on his back and instructed the other animals to dive down and bring up soil. Some animals dove too deep and never returned. Other animals returned, but with no earth. At last, Toad returned with a small amount of soil. Divine Woman patted the soil down on Turtle's shell and that was enough to start the Earth. From that day forward, according to the story, Turtle has been holding up the world.

On this world, Divine Woman created land animals and people to keep her company. When she died, Divine Woman was buried beneath the soil. The plants that grew above her offered all the nourishment necessary to sustain life for generations to come. Thus the Huron creation beliefs reflected and supported the tribe's long-entrenched matriarchal society. 

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