Holy Blasphemy

I’ve been reading some fascinating material to research my upcoming novel. I was already aware of the similarities between the Native American “trickster” god (sometimes called Coyote or Raven). But I was unaware that he also has some incredible similarities to Yahweh of the Old Testament. Basically, Kwatee seems to be a pre-Christian protecting deity, helping humanity deal with the harsh, angry gods of the skies (weather, etc.) He’s a bringer of technology, of fire, that helps humans survive – just like Prometheus and other pre-Christian gods that defied the “sky gods” for humanity’s benefit.

I was surprised to learn, however, that Kwatee is also considered the creator of humanity (he made them from the dirt and sweat of his own body – basically the same as Yahweh’s act in Genesis). Kwatee also warned humans of the flood, and helped them hide underground. In Sumeria it was Enki, against the sky God Enlil.

In the Christian paradigm, God comes down from the sky and is BOTH the harsh tormentor, the weather and seasons, the creator (Yahweh) and ALSO the sympathetic, the helpful, the saving one (Jesus). In this view, an anti-heaven rebellion figure must be seen as “evil” – hence Prometheus was turned from hero stealing fire for humans to Satan “tempting” humans to the fruit of knowledge.

In my reading, Kwatee, Satan and Prometheus (and even Jesus) can be seen as human-sympathetic forces like Enki, who defended humans against the other powerful sky gods.