The Woman Who Fell From the Sky

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky is a traditional story that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Iroquois tribe. The Iroquois Indians can be predominantly found in Quebec, Ontario Canada, New York and in the central part of America. Oneida, Onandaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarorra, and Mohawk are the 6 nations that make up the Iroquois tribe. They have a matrillineal society which is when a woman had owned property and she got married then the property would remain solely in her control and not to both her and her husband. A person's social status is inherited through their mother and her family's line.
       The setting of this story is in the land of the gods and the woman represents mother nature and the beginning of life on earth. In a dream  that the woman has, her deceased father instructs her to go marry a man that she has never met. After she meets the man and finds out that he is a magician she proposes to him. He puts her through a series of tests and realizes how strong she is mentally and physically and agrees to marry her. Outside of their home was a tree of light that the woman had become extremely fond of, and after awhile she becomes impregnated by it. Soon after the magician become ill and was guided to uproot the tree and persuade his wife to jump down the hole and replant the tree. He is successful in convincing her to jump down the tree and after she does so, life on earth had begun. I enjoyed this story because it offers an interesting perspective on how life on earth was started. This story also shows how men feel intimidated and threatened by a strong female and feel the need to remove her in order to keep males dominant.



Posted By: Onome Okeh