Oddly enough, Native American myth often followed some of the same ideas as European myth, albeit in a totally different way. They had myths about the creation, myths about the great flood, and even myths about Pandora’s box. Of course, they didn’t call it that and the story was markedly different. However, the concept remained the same.
According to Cherokee myth, the box resulted from the actions of the sun and the moon. Here is their version of Pandora’s Box.
Unlike most popular cultures around the world, the Cherokee believed that the Sun was female, not male. She didn’t like mankind because human beings always cursed her for her heat and squinted when they looked at her. They called her names when her rays destroyed the crops and threatened her when she did not allow the rain to refill their ponds and streams.
In contrast, mankind was much nicer to the moon. They smiled at her and made love under her watchful gaze. They even danced and sent sacrifices to thank her for cooling the heat of the sun’s endless days.
Angry, the sun decided to punish mankind by shining even brighter than before. She caused a massive heat wave that destroyed everything in its path; food, water, plant life, animal life, and even the life of man himself.
The Cherokee, in panic, prayed for assistance to fight against the Sun. In response, the Creator sent spirit guides to earth to help.
The spirits turned themselves into snakes and lay in wait for the Sun as she came low to the earth to do her worst damage. But when they struck out at her, they missed and she continued on her way.
However, when the Sun sent her daughter down to earth to make certain that everything was destroyed as planned, the girl ran into the two snakes who bit her, as was their way. When the Sun discovered her daughter dead, she hid behind the clouds and refused to come out, making every day dark and cold.
Now the spirits knew they had made a mistake that must be corrected. Therefore, off they went off to bring the Moon down to the earth. They knew that her capture would appease the Sun so that she might once again shine.
But the Creator cautioned that they must capture the Moon without looking at her, lest she cause them night blindness. He also cautioned that once she was safe inside the box, they could not open the box again until they made it safely back.
The spirits were successful in capturing the Moon in the box and made it back to earth safely. However, they found it difficult to ignore her pleas for release.
“Please,” begged the Moon. “Please open the box for just a moment so that I can breathe. I promise I will not escape. I just can’t stand being cooped up in this box.”
The pleas continued, accompanied by howls of anguish and tears until, finally, the spirits could stand it no longer. “Okay,” they said. “We will open the box just a crack, but you must not come out lest the world be destroyed by the Sun’s disappearance forever.”
“I promise,” cried the Moon. “I won’t try to escape if you just open the box so that I can breathe a bit.”
The spirits lifted the top of the box but a crack before the Moon forced the top to fall off and flew immediately away. With her escape, the spirits knew that mankind had lost their greatest hope.
The Sun continued to hide for quite some time and her tears caused a great flood that washed away much of the earth’s life before she finally abated her grief and, once again, deemed to bring her shining spirit back to the world. Much of mankind perished during her absence, but those who remained never again spoke against the Sun’s heat. Instead they held her in equal esteem to that of the Moon and balance was established on the earth so that all could live together in happiness.
