TURTLE LEGENDS: PAST & FUTURE?

by Marsha C. Salett, editor

The earth, some legends say, is borne on the back of a giant turtle. Throughout history, turtles have been revered in art, mythology, and customs of diverse cultures around the world.

In creation myths of ancient India, the creator of the world took the form of a turtle in order to hold up the land. According to Hindu lore, the world is a sphere that rests on the backs of four elephants standing on the carapace of a giant turtle. The sacred mountain of Horai, home to immortal beings, was carried on the back of a tortoise in Japanese legend (Alderton 1988). Chinese legend explained that the patterns found on tortoise shells were instructions for irrigation and agriculture etched onto the scutes by the creator of the world (Rudloe 1979).

In the Western hemisphere, too, creation stories of several Indian tribes maintain that the world was created on the back of a turtle. From the Seri Indians of the Gulf of California: in the beginning there was only darkness and deep sea. From tidal waves and turbulence, one day, a giant leatherback turtle arose from the bottom of the ocean. On her back grew plants, then animals, then finally the first Seri people (Rudloe 1979).

The following creation story, entitled "The Earth on Turtle's Back" comes from the Onondago Indians of the Northeast Woodlands. I've summarized it from Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac (Fulcrum, Inc., Golden Colorado 1989).

• Before the earth was created, a vast expanse of water existed where many birds and animals lived and swam. In the Skyland above the waters, where the ancient Chief and his people lived, grew the Great Tree that bore fruits and flowers of all types.
  
  
• One night, the pregnant young wife of the ancient Chief dreamed that the Great Tree had been uprooted. Upon hearing her dream, the Chief declared that such a powerful dream needed to be fulfilled. He and his warriors pulled at the Great Tree until it was uprooted, leaving a large hole where its roots once stood. The curious young wife leaned over the hole, grabbing the tree for support, but she lost her balance and tumbled into the hole, holding only a handful of seeds.
  
  
• The birds and animals of the waters saw her fall and rushed to her aid, for they saw that she could not live in the waters. Two swans held her with their strong wings, while the other animals tried to dive deep down into the waters to bring up Earth for her to stand on. One by one, the animals failed to reach the bottom and grasp Earth. Finally, tiny muskrat succeeded, clutching Earth in her right paw.
  
  
• "Put Earth on my back," suggested Great Turtle. When muskrat placed the tiny bit of Earth on Great Turtle's shell, the Earth expanded until it became the whole world. The swans placed Skywoman on the new Earth. She released the seeds onto the bare ground.
  
  
• "From those seeds the trees and grasses sprang up. Life on Earth had begun." (Caduto and Bruchac 1989).

It's easy to understand human fascination with turtles. Compared to other vertebrates that have skeletons within skin or scales or feathers or fur, turtles -- with their backbones fused to hard shells -- look ancient and solid and invincible. Ancient they are, with origins dating back approximately 200 million years, early in the Mesozoic Era.

Invincible? Hardly. Of the more than 240 species of turtles worldwide, 131 are listed as threatened on the 2000 IUCN [The World Conservation Union] Red List. While we were putting this issue of "Conservation Perspectives" together, Don Lewis, of Cape Cod Consultants (turtle photographer par excellence) sent in excerpts of an alarming news release from the Center for Marine Conservation, dated September 28, 2000. Here are some of the details:

"WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The global extinction crisis is as bad or worse than believed, with dramatic declines in populations of many species according to the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, released today, the most authoritative and comprehensive status assessment of global biodiversity.

"Since the last assessment was published in 1996, the numbers of marine animals listed as Critically Endangered have risen nearly three-fold, with startling increases in the numbers of marine reptiles and fishes........

"In the IUCN Red List system, scientific criteria are used to assign species into one of eight categories: Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Lower Risk, Data Deficient and Not Evaluated. A species is classed as threatened if it falls in the Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable categories.

All seven species of sea turtles have been classified as threatened by IUCN. The Kemp's ridley and the hawksbill are listed as Critically Endangered. A major change this year has been the reclassification of the leatherback turtle to Critically Endangered. Populations of this species have declined dramatically in recent decades primarily as a result of incidental capture in commercial fisheries and intense exploitation of eggs on nesting beaches..........

"For more information on specific species and the 2000 Red List log onto the IUCN website at http://www.redlist.org."

Closer to home, Robert Prescott, director of MAS Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary, pointed out that 12 of the 14 species of turtle found in Massachusetts are threatened. These include the sea turtles listed above:Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) plus the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Threatened non-marine turtles include: spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta), bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii), Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), redbelly turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris), and eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina). Only the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) remain unthreatened.

Jack Rudloe, in his book Time of the Turtle (1979), invented a turtle legend for the present, a story about a spiritual turtle on which we all live:

"Once upon a time man lived in harmony with the Big Turtle and nature. As the turtle drifted endlessly about the cosmic sea in its mindless slumber its shell supported forests and swamps, clean water, and oceans filled with fish, whales, and sea turtles. The air was clean then, and man was just one of the many creatures that lived on the cosmic turtle's back....

"But then man became dissatisfied with living on its shell, and began to change it. In his restlessness, he dammed the free-flowing rivers, built enormous jetports, covered everything with asphalt, and banished the darkness with neon. As he multiplied at the expense of everything else, his cities spread out and covered the swamps. He displaced wildlife, slaughtered the whale, and wasted the turtle. And he's still doing it......"

How will this legend really play out for the turtles? for the environment? Individually and collectively, all of us are writers of the story. Globally, we can advocate for the environment by urging our state and federal lawmakers to pass environmentally sound laws. Public opinion does matter. Just a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Senate ratified the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and their Habitats (IAC). See the Center for Marine Conservation's index of press releases to view other legislation that's important to marine animals and habitats.

Locally, we can work to preserve open space, especially around wetlands and other critical turtle habitat, and to protect our coastline. And finally, as individuals, we can be "green" consumers. The CMC's "What Can I do?" lists for protecting the oceans are valid for protecting many other ecosystems as well.

Literature cited:

Alderton, David. Turtles & Tortoises of the World. Facts on File Publications, New York. 1988.

Caduto, Michael J. and Joseph Bruchac. Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children Fulcrum, Inc., Golden Colorado. 1989.

Rudloe, Jack. Time of the Turtle. Knopf, New York. 1979.

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