The ducks saw the woman falling from the sky and immediately held a meeting. ‘How can we make sure she doesn’t fall into the water?’ they wondered. After discussing the matter, they decided at least to slow her fall. Each duck opened its wings until they touched those of the others, and thus united they lowered the beautiful woman to the surface of the ocean.

Then the monsters of the abysses held a council to decide how to protect this marvelous creature and keep her from drowning. They decided that only the Giant Turtle was big enough to support her weight. The Turtle happily obliged and the beavers laid mud on its shell to make it softer. The woman was gently laid on the back of the Turtle which began to grow until it became a big island.  

After some time, Sky Woman gave birth to two twins. Right-hand Twin created all the good things on the earth, made maize, fruits and tobacco grow. Left-hand Twin created weeds, worms and beetles and all the creatures that harm animals and birds.

All the time the Giant Turtle went on growing, so the world became bigger and bigger. Sometimes the Turtle moved and caused earthquakes. After many years had passed, Right-hand Twin decided to create men and because he wanted them to surpass all creatures in beauty, strength and courage, he drew six couples from the base of the island, where until then they had lived as moles.

The first couple was left near a big river, now known as the Mohawk, and for that reason their descendants were called by the same name. The second couple was ordered to build a house next to a big rock and their descendants are called Oneida. A third couple was left on a hill and has always been called Onondaga. The fourth couple produced the Cayuga and the fifth the Seneca.

The sixth couple was led along the Roanoke River in what is now North Carolina, and that was the origin of the Tuscarora. The Tuscarora say it is there that He Who Holds Up the Sky built his house, he was teaching their people a lot of useful knowledge and techniques. But each of the other five nations would say it is near them that He Who Holds Up the Sky built his dwelling on Earth.

With the passing years, many Iroquois families were also distributed around present-day Pennsylvania, the Midwest and southern Canada. Some settled where the bear was the main prey, and for that reason were called the Clan of the Bear. Others lived where there was an abundance of beavers. For that reason they were called the Clan of the Bear. For similar reasons the Clans of the Wolf, the Dear, the Woodcock and Turtle received their names.

In around 1140, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Cayuga united to form the League of the Five Iroquois Nations, in what is today the state of New York. In 1715 the Tuscarora, coming from the South, were accepted as the sixth nation in the League.

07 February, 2007

This is an excerpt from the Wu Ming collective’s upcoming novel Manituana, which will be published by Verso in October.  For more information visit the book’s website.