Friends Revolution: The Seneca Unseen World

According to the Seneca creation story the unseen world is known as the “world in the sky”. The sky world is home to the tree of life; its roots grounded deep into the soil of the earth. The tree emitted light during the day and darkness during the night.

The world is controlled by a chief and his people consist of celestial beings. Life there was perfect. There was no death and no want for food. It is in this world that good and evil was created according to the Seneca. The unseen underworld so to speak is created when two brothers pulled the tree of life from its roots, causing it to fall inward to the world below.

One brother’s wife looked over the edge and was impregnated by a wind. The brother proceeded to push her over and she became the mother of the underworld. Once there she gave birth to her daughter. She told her daughter she would marry and bear two sons.

One of those sons, the evil on, murdered her. Her remains seeped into the earth and became what the Seneca called, and the Mayans and Inca, the “Three Sisters”, or “Triad of Three Sisters”. The sons then had the capability to create life, good and evil. Like many religions, this unseen world of the Seneca is a place where spirits are in repose and where people, plants, animals, rivers and lakes are created.