Iethi’sótha Ahsonthenhnékha Karáhkwa - Grandmother Moon

Iethi’sótha Ahsonthenhnékha Karáhkwa, our grandmother moon, is a story that has been told many times if you are familiar with the Haudenosaunee creation story. If not, to summarize it begins like this. Once the earth we know was covered in water and all people lived in the sky world (heavens). In the sky world there was a beautiful tree where all good things grew. The tree became uprooted and it made a hole in the sky world which the pregnant wife of the ancient chief looked down upon and fell through because of her curiosity. When she fell through, she grabbed a handful of seeds from the edges of the hole and clutched them in her hand. As she fell two swans caught her and placed her on the turtle's back. From there she knew she needed earth to survive. One by one the water animals tried and failed to get the earth from the bottom of the water until the muskrat, just barely making it, was able to get some earth in his tiny paws. They set the earth down on the turtles back in the sky woman began to dance on it. The earth grew larger and larger until it became the whole world. Not long after this sky woman gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Together they lived peacefully on the turtles back as the daughter grew into a woman. One day the daughter had a dream that she met a man who whispered sweet words into her ear. This man was the West Wind. Soon the daughter of sky woman became pregnant with twin brothers. When the twins were born the good minded (right handed) twin came out the natural way while the evil minded (left handed) twin tore his way through his mothers side, killing her. They buried the daughter of sky woman and from her grew many important plants and medicines. The grandmother then taught the good minded twin how to shape the earth and how to make good things for the humans. When she finished she departed back into the sky world where she watches over us through the nights as our grandmother, the moon.

The full version of the story can be found on pages 15-22 of Heroes & Heroines Monsters & Magic: Native American Legends & Folktales as told by Joseph Bruchac