The UNESCO Workshop on Myth in the World

Aboriginal Canadians have been characterized as religious, young, transient, illiterate, low-income earners, impoverished, incarcerated, disadvantaged, wealthier, and less healthy (Katzmarzyk 184; Peters 138; Spotton and Inquiry 3).
Various cultures put high importance on particular artifacts because of their cultural significance. Although some items were holy or sacred, others signaled force, and still, others had personal contact or association with their bearer. Examples of key objects used by various cultures in Canada include some shields and shield covers, samples of rare rocks, certain clothing, masks and such objects. However, some objects were physical and beyond the control of humans. For example, stars, the moon, and sun may bear cultural significance among certain cultures.
Among the Aboriginal people of Canada, various objects had significant cultural and social meanings. The Innu drum is one of the most significant objects among the First Nations. The drum, also referred as the teuaikan signifies the important continued relationship between the Innu hunter and the caribou (Canadian Museum of History, n.p). The Bear is considered one of the six directional guardians of the west. Sedna, the sea goddess is the guardian of sea creatures including the mammals.
Besides the Innu drum, the Bear and Sedna, other culturally significant objects exist among Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Ritual objects that range from calumets, drums, masks, medicine wheels and medicine bundles were used for ritual purposes (Smith, n.p).
Besides the objects, various events remain to be essential symbols of the Aboriginal people’s culture. The Sun Dance, a renewal ceremony was one of the most significant ceremonies among the Aboriginal people. Sun Dances were performed for various purposes among the Aboriginal people. It signaled seasonal renewal, growth and replenishment and acquisition of mystical powers (Voget 78). The Green Corn Ceremony/ Dance is a thanksgiving, celebration and a religious ceremony that brought Native Indians together to invoke the Great Spirit before they could consume the harvests (Smith n.p).
Besides the Sun Dance and the Green Corn Ceremony, the Sweat Lodge or commonly known the Sweat is a re-purification ceremony which was initiated after members of the native communities realized they were easily influenced by European culture. Also, the Ojibwa Midewiwin ritual is a central event that that occurs among some indigenous peoples (Gadcz n.p). The Ojibwa Midewiwin ritual was a religious and curing ritual based on sacred healing methods (Smith n.p). Also, such winter ceremonies held by Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures were common among the Aboriginal people. These winter ceremonies were feasts held for redistribution of wealth/ reciprocity (Smith, n.p; Cook n.p).
Creation Myth
Among most of the Aboriginal cultures, the Earth Diver Myth is commonly used to narrate the creation story. The Earth Diver Myth is the commonest myth among the Indians (Dundes 1037). In the Earth Diver Myth, the transformer or the diver dives into the water to gather mud through which he forms the earth. An alternative version of the story posits that the transformer orders animals to dive into the primeval water to collect mud for creating the earth (Smith, n.p).
Various narrators and cultures have varying narrations of the Earth Diver Myth. Some narrators argue that Earth was formed from the back of a turtle. Some Aboriginal people use the term Turtle Island to refer to North America, comprising Canada. The difference between the turtle version and the other versions is the creation of earth from the back of the turtle. However, the initial premises about diving are similar.
In yet another description of the Earth Diver Myth, the culture hero rather the transformer sent some animals into the primeval or flood water. The animals had to save some bits of mud or sand to be used in the creation of the earth. However, most of the sent animals fail to save some sand. In the end, a single animal, a crawfish, Mink, Muskarat, Beaver or Hell-diver succeeds to save some sand but floats in the primeval waters from exhaustion. Upon reaching the surface of the water, it is said that the bit of sand magically expanded to fill the earth (Dundes 1037).
Other narrations of the Earth Diver Myth show that the transformer was a supernatural or superior being. God is the superior deity who sends the devil to earth to collect information and sand for creating the earth. Besides being close adversaries, both God and the devil end up in conflicts (Long, n.p).
Some aspects of the Earth Diver Myth are similar with other Creation myths. According to Dundes, two primary aspects of the mythology are similar to other creation stories. First, the aspect of man being created from mud is similar to the Biblical account where man is created from mud. Secondly, the magical expansion of earth from a single speck of sand is similar to other creation accounts (Dundes 1037).
The Greek myth of Orpheus is central to the Aboriginals narration of a culture hero. A majority of Aboriginal People narrate of the hero of Orpheus, the musical legend. According to the Legend, Orpheus was the son to Muse and Oeagrus, the ruler of Thrace. The legend has it that Apollo gave Orpheus his first lyre. It is said that he sang so well that even the trees and animals enjoyed his singing.
Orpheus is said to have fallen in love with Eurydice. Eurydice later succumbed to a snake bite. The death affected Orpheus to the extent that he grieved extensively. He decided to fight for her beloved Eurydice by visiting the underworld. There, he is called to an adventure, one of saving Eurydice and returning with her to the world of the living or the normal world they existed before Eurydice death.
Orpheus is said to have crossed the threshold to the underworld. Here, he encountered numerous tests and such enemies as the ferryman Charon. He would later meet the underworld ruler who after listening to his grief and talent ponders letting Eurydice leave for the world of the living. Eventually, Hades allowed Eurydice and Orpheus to leave on the condition that they do not look back. He had finally won the battle and was on his way home.
Their plans had fallen into place up until Orpheus looked back just as they finished getting out of the underworld. Orpheus action of turning back made Eurydice disappear (Britannica n.p). This angered Orpheus so much that he grieved almost entirely. Eurydice disappearance marked the resurrection stage of Orpheus heroic storyline. It is time to return to a normal world.
Orpheus had failed to follow the simple instruction that would have marked his success. The death of Eurydice had great impacts on Orpheus. He secluded himself from the society. He could not play any longer. His end was soon approaching. In the end, Legend has it that he was torn into pieces by women of Thrace (Britannica n.p; ). The story is typical of most heroic stories with all stages covered in the narration.















Works cited
Britannica. "Orpheus | Greek Mythology." Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Orpheus-Greek-mythology.
Canadian Museum of History. "Civilization.Ca - First Peoples of Canada - Beliefs." Historymuseum.Ca, 2017, http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/fp/fpz4c06e.shtml.
Dundes, Alan. "Earth‐Diver: Creation of the Mythopoeic Male." American Anthropologist 64.5 (1962): 1032-1051.
Cook, Roy. Northwest Coast Winter Ceremonies. 2017. http://soaringeagles.americanindiansource.com/sentinel/NWCoastWinter/nwcoastwinter.html.
Gadacz, René. "Midewiwin." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2017, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/midewiwin/.
Katzmarzyk, Peter T. "Obesity and physical activity among Aboriginal Canadians." Obesity 16.1 (2008): 184-190.
Long, Charles H. "Creation Myth." Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/creation-myth#ref409866.
Peters, Evelyn. "Geographies of Aboriginal people in Canada." The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien 45.1 (2001): 138-144.
Smith, Derek. "Indigenous People: Religion and Spirituality." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2017, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/religion-of-aboriginal-people/.
Spotton, Noelle, and Ipperwash Inquiry. A profile of Aboriginal Peoples in Ontario. Ipperwash Inquiry, 2006.
Voget, Fred W. The Shoshoni-Crow Sun Dance. Vol. 170. University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.