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Background

The Awonawilona Genesis creation myth comes from the Zuni Tribe, who are part of the Broader Pueblo peoples of the area. In Zuni religion Awonawilona was an important deity in the role of creation. He was a supreme deity that existed before anything else. As David Leeming writes:

"Awonawilona is the creator of all that
is. He existed before anything else in
the great dark emptiness of the beginnings.
He conceived himself by thought;
as the container of all things, he created
himself as himself and as the sun
that brought people light, warmth, and
water." ^[1]

Given that Awonawilona was the main deity associated with creation celestial bodies, it necessarily follows that the myth is named after him: the Awonawilona Genesis.