TURTLES AND TORTOISES. There is a widespread belief that the earth rests on the back of a turtle or tortoise. This archaic idea is found not only among North American Indians but also in South Asia and Inner Asia. The turtle now appears even as a symbol of the entire universe (e.g., in China). Moreover, according to creation myths involving an earth diver, the turtle, sometimes as an incarnation of the divine being, plays a prominent part in the cosmogony of various cultures.

According to the Maidu in California, a turtle dived to the bottom of the primeval ocean and procured a little soil under its nails. When it surfaced, God scraped its nails carefully and made a ball like a small pebble. The ball of soil then grew miraculously until it became as large as the universe itself. The Yokut narrate how...