The Iroquois tale of the Birth of Good and Evil functions as a creation myth for the Iroquois Indian tribe commonly found in modern-day New York. The Birth of Good and Evil tale is not one all-encompassing myth; rather, the Birth of Good and Evil is associated with several key narratives. Some scholars attribute the minor differences in these stories to variations in Iroquois performance and storytelling. However, all tales incorporate the Twin Sons, Good and Evil.
Most Iroquois myths start with Sky Goddess—a mother earth figure who nurtures her children, or in some versions grandchildren—twin boys, Good and Evil. Sky Goddess descends to earth and gives birth to a daughter, Tekawerahkwa. In the one version of the myth, Tekawerahkwa falls in love with a powerful force named West Wind, and they marry. The couple then conceive twin sons—Good and Evil. The birthing stories function to differentiate the natures of the two twins. Good, sometimes called Sapling, is soft-skinned and patient. Good is birthed naturally and causes little pain to his mother. Contrastingly, Evil is hard-skinned, hence his name Flint, and antagonistic. He is impatient to be born and, instead of being birthed naturally, he forces his way out of his mother’s side using his sharp, flint-like head. In the process of piercing his mother’s side and “being born,” he kills his mother. Sky Goddess becomes distraught after seeing her daughter’s death and places her daughter’s head in the sky: this is the creation story of the moon. Sky Goddess gives her daughter’s head, now the moon, control of the waters and appoints it to watch over the earth at night.
Wanting an explanation for her daughter’s death, Sky Goddess confronts the Twins to see who is responsible. Evil blames Good, and the Sky Goddess, believing her deceitful grandchild, banishes Good. Good is then saved by Grandfather Sky, who knows that he has been falsely accused. He teaches Good how to create beauty, giving him complete control over Creation. Upon seeing his brother’s creations, Evil becomes jealous and seeks to undermine all of Good’s contributions to the earth. When Good creates fruit-bearing trees and bushes, Evil creates poisonous berries and plants; when Good makes rivers, Evil creates rapids in those rivers. Evil even creates tornadoes and hurricanes as distortions of other natural beauties. Eventually, Good and Evil face each other in battle and Good is victorious, resulting in the underground imprisonment of Evil.
The contrasting tale explores the origins of America as “Turtle Island”—floating clay on the back of a celestial turtle. John Norton, son of Scottish and Cherokee parents, who was adopted by the Mohawk tribe, recorded this tale in 1816. Before the world exists, a young woman is banished by her father after she is found to be pregnant by an illicit connection. He rips a bush from the ground and throws his daughter down the newly-created hole. At the bottom, she lands on the back of a turtle who has covered his shell in mud and slime to soften her landing. The daughter then begins to mold the earth. After giving birth to her child, she teaches her how to continue molding and expanding the earth, which leads to the creation of people. The daughter is soon wed and becomes pregnant with twins, Good and Evil, who are again birthed differently. Good is birthed naturally; Evil forces his way out of his mother’s armpit, killing her. These twins are called Teharonghyawago, Holder of Heaven, and Tawiskaron, Flinty Rock. When Evil becomes jealous of Good’s creations, a rivalry begins between the two. To spite his brother, Evil imprisons in a cave all the animals Good created. After being informed by a small mouse about his brother’s trick, Good goes to the cave and cracks the rock to release the animals from captivity. In the end, the brothers engage in a battle that progresses across the world. During this contest, the brothers challenge each other in different tones of voice. The languages that people learn differ depending on what tone the brothers used in their region. The myth therefore explains linguistic differences based on tribal geography.
While there is much scholarly discussion regarding the minor differences in detail between the tales, there are also scholars who debate the relationship between Good and Evil. In many tales, the brothers are portrayed as a hero and a villain. Good is the creator of nature whereas Evil is the god of death. Some scholars, however, argue that the relationship is more subtle. Good and Evil represent nature’s opposites: summer and winter, sun and snow, life and death, or day and night. Additionally, some believe that Flint (Evil) is more of a trickster figure than a villain, which would make the brothers’ relationship more competitive than vindictive.
Ashley Szanter
See also Creation Stories of the Native Americans; Myths; Storytelling
Further Reading
Canfield, William Walker, and Seneca Chief Cornplanter. 2011. The Legends of the Iroquois. n.p.: Ulan Press.
Johnson, Elias Fenimore. 2008. Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois: And History of the Tuscarora Indians. London: Forgotten Books.
Parker, Arthur C. 1994. Skunny Wundy: Seneca Indian Tales (Iroquois and Their Neighbors). New York: Syracuse University Press.