Legends of the Flood in the Western Hemisphere Part 1

Many disparate cultures around the world have legends about a world-destroying flood, usually brought about because deities were punishing human wickedness. There were only a few survivors. That in itself seems remarkable, but sometimes the details and their correlations with Noah's Ark and the Genesis Flood are rather startling at times.

There are people who falsely claim that the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh was stolen by the Hebrews who lived not all that far away, but that can be dismissed through the cold light of reason. What about all those other stories?

The Great Flood / Artist unknown / 15th century

The Native American tribes didn't have contact with the Hebrews. In fact, some tribes lived in close proximity to each other but still had different languages and cultures. How did the similarities happen despite cultures, languages and distances?

Like unbelievers presuppose atheism and naturalism, Bible believers presuppose the truth of the Bible. Historical evidence supports the Flood, Noah's Ark, and the dispersion from Babel. From there, it is reasonable to assume that people brought the Flood account with them, but it changed over millennia and cultures. Yet some common elements that match the Bible still exist in many cases.

This is the first of three installments about flood legends in the Americas. The author is Nick Liguori, author of Echoes of Ararat, a book of about 300 legends and runs about that many pages. What we have are several short accounts.

Do you know who the original inhabitants of the United States were? They are known as the First Nations peoples, and they include many tribes spread across this vast land—including the Cherokee, Navajo, Lakota, Delaware, Spokane, Apache, and so many more tribes.

. . . Remarkably, traditions of this global flood have been among over 120 tribes from the continental United States—to say nothing of the rest of the world! . . . 

. . . 

. . . It will be found that the only explanation that will do it justice is the truth of the Genesis record—in light of the sheer volume of these tribal traditions, their antiquity, and the specific details with which they match the Genesis account.

To dive into the full article, click on "Flood Legends from the Americas, Part 1: Continental United States". The second part is here.