Sky Woman , Haudenosaunee

Ajijigayan (Onondaga Nation name)

Woman of the Sky World whose fall began Turtle Island

Skywoman is the woman of the Sky World at the heart of the Haudenosaunee Creation Story. In the telling, she falls through an opening beneath the Tree of Life with seeds in her hands, is caught by water birds, and is carried on the back of Great Turtle, where a handful of earth from Muskrat grows into Turtle Island.

Her story carries teachings of gratitude, reciprocity and the honour owed to women and to the earth. In many tellings she is grandmother of the twins Sapling and Flint, and her seeds and her daughter's grave are the source of the plants that feed the people. It is not one fixed text: each of the Six Nations tells it in its own language and words, and the versions differ.

Ajijigayan (Onondaga Nation name)

No. 289

How to recognise Sky Woman , Haudenosaunee

Great TurtleShe stands on the back of a large, dignified turtle, the first ground of Turtle Island, with dark water all around it.
Water birdsGeese, blue heron or swans, depending on the teller, rise or hover around her as they catch her fall.
SeedsShe holds a small cluster of seeds or a little sprig taken from the Tree of Life, the beginning of the plants that feed the people.
DanceA foot lifted in a gentle dance step, with arms softly open, recalls how she sang and danced in a counter-clockwise direction as the earth grew.
MuskratA small swimming muskrat, or in some tellings an otter, is the one who dove to bring up the first earth.
Tree of LifeA round opening of light high above marks the Sky World, where the Tree of Life stood.
Soft glowIn one Oneida Indian Nation telling the water animals saw a great light in her, so a gentle glow may surround her.

Names and titles

She Who Fell From the Sky WorldShe is called Sky Woman because she fell through the hole in the sky
Danced on Turtle's BackShe sang and danced counter-clockwise on the turtle's shell, and the earth grew
Keeper of the Tree's SeedsShe grabbed seeds from the Tree of Life as she fell
Grandmother of the TwinsIn many Haudenosaunee tellings she is grandmother of Sapling and Flint; in some she is their mother
Helped by Birds, Turtle and MuskratThe animals worked together to give her a place to land and the first earth