Hahgwehdiyu
Hahgwehdiyu AmericaIn Iroquois mythology, the good creator deity; son of the sky goddess Ataensic, and twin brother of Hahgwehdaetgah, the evil spirit. Hahgwehdiyu shaped the sky with the palm of his hand, placed his dead mother's face in the sky as the sun, while from her breasts he made the moon and stars. To the earth he gave her body as the source of fertility, thereby making Ataensic into the earth goddess. It was Hagwehdaetgah who placed darkness in the west, invented earthquakes and hurricanes, and challenged the goodness of his brother's handiwork. At last the twins fought a duel with the huge thorns of the giant crab-apple tree, sharp as arrows. Fortunately for mankind, the long struggle ended in the defeat of Hahgwehdaetgah and his exile to a subterranean realm.
[The entire page is 135 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
