death of george floyd

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Zuni people, U.S. Southwest

(Excerpt of story)

“In the beginning of the new-made, Awonawilona conceived within himself and

thought outward in space, whereby mists of increase, steams of potential growth, were

evolved and uplifted. Thus, by means of his innate knowledge the All-container made

himself in person and form of the Sun whom we hold to be our father and who thus

came to exist and appear. With his appearance came the brightening of the spaces with

light, and with the brightening of the spaces the great mist-clouds were thickened

together and fell, whereby was evolved water in water; and the world-holding sea.

With his substance of flesh outdrawn from the surface of his person, the Sun-

father formed the seed-stuff of twain (entangled) worlds, impregnating therewith the

great waters, and lo! in the heat of his light these waters of the sea grew green and

scums rose upon them, waxing wide and weighty until, behold! they became Awitelin

Tsita, the “Four-fold Containing Mother-Earth” and Apoyan Tä’chu, the “All-covering

Father-sky.”

From the lying together of these twain upon the great world-waters, so vitalizing,

terrestrial life was conceived; whence began all beings of Earth, men and the creatures,

in the Fourfold womb of the World.

Thereupon the Earth-Mother repulsed the Sky-father, growing big and sinking

deep into the embrace of the waters below, thus separating from the Sky-father in the

embrace of the waters above… “How,” said they to one another, “shall our children

when brought forth, know one place from another, even by the white light of Sun-

father?”…

“Behold!” said the Earth-Mother as a great terraced bowl appeared at hand and

within it water, “this is as upon me the homes of my tiny children shall be. On the rim of

each world-country they wander in, terraced moutnains shall stand, making in one

region many, whereby country shall be known from country, and within each, place from

place…”

(Story summary)

Earth Mother grew so large in pregnancy that she had to push Sky Father away

from her. She was so large with progeny that she began to sink into the world waters.

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But fearing that evil might befall her offspring, she kept avoiding giving birth to them.

She and Sky Father discussed the problem. They decided to take the form of

the firstman and woman.

Suddenly a great bowl filled with water appeared nearby, and Earth Mother

realized that each place in the world would be surrounded by mountains like the rim of

the bowl. She spat in the water and, as foam formed, she said, “Look, sustenance will

come from me.” Then she blew her warm breath over the foam, and some of the foam

lifted, sending down mist and spray in great abundance. This was the origin of clouds.

Earth Mother said that Sky Father's colder breath would make the clouds drop their

waters onto her lap as rain, the water of life falling down to fertilize the earth. Earth

would be the place where Earth Mother's children would nestle, be nurtured, and thrive

in her warmth.

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Malakas at Maganda, Philippines

This is the ancient Filipino account of the creation.

Thousands of years ago there was no land nor sun nor moon nor stars, and the world

was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The water was the

kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god Captan.

Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Captan had a son known as

Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their children, so the sea

became the bride of the wind.

Three sons and a daughter were born to them. The sons were called Licalibutan,

Liadlao, and Libulan; and the daughter received the name of Lisuga.

Licalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao was formed of gold

and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weak and timid; and the

beautiful Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet and gentle. Their parents were

very fond of them, and nothing was wanting to make them happy.

After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest son Licalibutan.

The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children, now grown up,

were left without father or mother. However, their grandfathers, Captan and Maguayan,

took care of them and guarded them from all evil.

After a time, Licalibutan, proud of his power over the winds, resolved to gain more

power, and asked his brothers to join him in an attack on Captan in the sky above. At

first they refused; but when Licalibutan became angry with them, the amiable Liadlao,

not wishing to offend his brother, agreed to help. Then together they induced the timid

Libulan to join in the plan.

When all was ready the three brothers rushed at the sky, but they could not beat down

the gates of steel that guarded the entrance. Then Licalibutan let loose the strongest

winds and blew the bars in every direction. The brothers rushed into the opening, but

were met by the angry god Captan. So terrible did he look that they turned and ran in

terror; but Captan, furious at the destruction of his gates, sent three bolts of lightning

after them.

The first struck the copper Libulan and melted him into a ball. The second struck the

golden Liadlao, and he too was melted. The third bolt struck Licalibutan, and his rocky

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body broke into many pieces and fell into the sea. So huge was he that parts of his body

stuck out above the water and became what is known as land.

In the meantime the gentle Lisuga had missed her brothers and started to look for them.

She went toward the sky, but as she approached the broken gates, Captan, blind with

anger, struck her too with lightning, and her silver body broke into thousands of pieces.

Captan then came down from the sky and tore the sea apart, calling on Maguayan to

come to him and accusing him of ordering the attack on the sky. Soon Maguayan

appeared and answered that he knew nothing of the plot as he had been asleep far

down in the sea.

After a time he succeeded in calming the angry Captan. Together they wept at the loss

of their grandchildren, especially the gentle and beautiful Lisuga; but with all their power

they could not restore the dead to life. However, they gave to each body a beautiful light

that will shine forever.

And so it was that golden Liadlao became the sun, and copper Libulan the moon, while

the thousands of pieces of silver Lisuga shine as the stars of heaven. To wicked

Licalibutan the gods gave no light, but resolved to make his body support a new race of

people. So Captan gave Maguayan a seed, and he planted it on the land, which, as you

will remember, was part of Licalibutan's huge body.

Soon a bamboo tree grew up. A bird came and pecked at a hollow bamboo shoot.

When the shoot split, a man and a woman emerged from the shoot. The man’s name

was Malakas (“strong”) and the woman’s name was Maganda (“beautiful).

They were the first parents of the human race.

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The Mayan Creation Story

This is an account of the beginning, when all was stillness, silence, and water.

There was no light, no land, no plants, no people, and no animals. Six deities, covered,

in green and blue feathers, lay in the primordial waters: the Framer and the Shaper,

Tepew and Quetzal Serpent, along with Xpiyacóc and Xmucané. These deities, helped

Heart of Sky, also known as Hurakán, create the Earth. Their spirit essence and their

miraculous power gave the Earth its creative energy. Now the land had a heart, and

they called it Heart of Earth.

To separate the sky from the Earth they planted a tall ceiba tree, making space

for all life. The roots penetrated deep into the nine levels of the Maya Underworld, the

trunk was on the surface of the land, and the branches reached up to the thirteen levels

of the Maya Upper-world. The plants were next created to live on the Earth. And then

the animals were created. But the animals did not speak and could not worship. So the

deities decided to create human beings from mud. But these first humans had no souls

and were not good “keepers of the days.” They destroyed them in a great flood.

The deities tried another time, and created humans from wood. But the wooden

people could not worship either, so they were destroyed. Those that survived are said to

have become the monkeys in the trees. The sky and Earth now existed, but there was

no Sun and no Moon. A vain bird called Seven Macaw claimed to be the Sun and the

Moon. But this was not true. Two amazing Twins, Hunajpu and Xbalanqué, defeated

Seven Macaw, by shooting him with darts.

The Hero Twins were conceived, when their mother, Ixkik’, spoke to the

decapitated 2 head of their father, Hun Hunahpu, who spit on her hand from a cacao

tree. Hun Hunahpu had been killed by the Lords of Xibalbá, the Underworld. The Hero

Twins became great ball players, and to bring their Father back to life, they challenged

the Lords of the Underworld to a game in Xibalbá. The twins were permitted to play the

ball game only after they had survived the dangerous trials set for them in the

Underworld. Using great skill and cunning, the twins won the ball game, and this

allowed their slain father to come back to life as the Maize God.

The Hero Twins left Xibalbá and climbed back up to the surface of the Earth.

They continued up into the sky, becoming the Sun, and the Moon. Now that the Sun

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and Moon were in the sky and illuminated the Earth, the deities created the final form of

human beings using white and yellow corn. Corn is the precious substance that

ultimately succeeds in producing true, and enduring, humans.

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Bible, Genesis Excerpts

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was

formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of

God was hovering over the waters…

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from

water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the

water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” …

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry

ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the

gathered waters he called “seas.”…

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on

the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.”…

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the

night… And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the

day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars….

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the

earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures… God

blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the

seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 …

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may

rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild

animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them…. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful

and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and

the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”…

(How Eve was made)

21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was

sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[a] and then closed up the place with

flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib[b] he had taken out of the man,

and he brought her to the man.

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23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be

called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they

become one flesh.

(This is the account of Noah and his family)

… 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how

corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.13 So

God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with

violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.14 So

make yourself an ark of cypress[c] wood…I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth

to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it.

Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will

enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.19 You

are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive

with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of

creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to

take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for

them.”

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him….

And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth…. 12 And rain fell on the

earth forty days and forty nights… 17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth,

and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose

and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the

water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire

heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of

more than fifteen cubits.[a][b]21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds,

livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all

mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every

living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the

creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only

Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

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24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days… 3 The water receded

steadily from the earth…. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and

your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is

with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so

they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”