Cherokee

Cherokee Cameron Cornell Jilli Walch Mary Dickerson

In the beginning, the earth is nothing but an endless sea. All the animals lived in a place beyond the arch. However, this place became too crowded for all the animals and they needed a new place to live. The brave Waterbeetle volunteered to go down to the ocean from Galun'lati to see if he could find a place to stay. He dove into the water and collected some soft mud from the bottom of the sea. When he brought it to the surface, it grew and grew until it became a large island. The island was then fastened to the sky using four cords in each of the cardinal points (Mooney 84, Curnow). At first the earth was very soft and could not support the animals, so they sent down the father of all buzzards to find the perfect spot for humans to live. When he reached Cherokee country, he was tired because he had flown a long way. Since he was tired, his wings would strike the ground, and where ever they struck, a valley was formed. When his wings were lifted, a mountain was born. After this, the animals came down to the earth. When the animals came down, the earth was much too dark, so they brought the sun from behind the arch to create day. It was raised seven handbreadths high to keep it from becoming too hot. Every night the sun disappears because it is going back under the arch. After the animals came the first humans, a brother and sister. The man hit the woman with a fish and told her to multiply, so it happened. Every seven days a baby was born until humans were multiplying too fast. Then it was said that women could only have one child a year, and it was done (Nosotro).

The animals are our cousins (Mooney 248, Curnow). They must not be killed without proper ritual. Animals and humans once lived well together; we are equal. But when we humans began killing them for food, they started a war, bringing diseases and misfortune into our lives. The plants, however, give us medicines. They are our allies (Awiakta, Curnow). To show respect to the animals, a chant must be performed before a hunter kills an animal. In this way, the animal may come to life once again (Speck, Curnow).

The animals were not the only beings in residence beyond the arch. Above the sky vault in the west live the great Thunder and his two sons, the Thunder boys. Their beautiful clothes are woven from the lightning and the rainbow. Priests call him Red Man because that is the brightest color on his clothes. The great Thunders beyond the arch are helpful, and that is why we pray to them, but there are other Thunders living on earth. They live on the highest peaks, and walk on invisible bridges from one peak to another. Unlike the Thunders in the sky, they only wish to cause mischief.

At this time the world was cold until the Thunders made fire in a sycamore tree, which grew on an island. The council of animals wanted it, so it was decided that an animal would retrieve fire from the island. The strong Raven made the first attempt to bring fire back from the tree, but the heat scorched his feathers black. The Screech Owl made the next attempt, but the hot air nearly blinded him. The Hooting Owl and the Horned Owl tried next, but they reached the same fate as the others. Because no more birds offered to make the trip, the little black racer snake ventured out to the island. He tried to reach the fire through a hole near the tree, but the heat and flames scorched his body black. Finally the council held another meeting because none of the other animals would do the job. Water Spider, the smallest of them all, said that she would go over to the island and bring fire back from the island. With that, she spun a basket out of her thread and headed off on her journey. When she returned, all of the other animals were shocked to see a little coal in her basket. To this day we have fire, which Water Spider keeps in her basket (Mooney 86).

Bibliography

Awiakta, Marilou. Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom. Golden: Fulcrum, 1993. Rpt. in Curnow, Trevor, Elliot Shaw, and Brian Gates. "Cherokee Religion." PHILTAR. U of  Cumbria, 1999. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.  nam/cherok.html>.

Curnow, Trevor, Elliot Shaw, and Brian Gates. "Cherokee Religion." PHILTAR. U of  Cumbria, 1999. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.  nam/cherok.html>.

Mooney, James. "Cherokee." The Portable North American Indian Reader. By Luther  Standing Bear, et al. Ed. Frederick W Turner. New York: Viking, 1974.  86-19. Print. Rpt. of "Myths of the Cherokee." 19th Annual Report of the  Bureau of American Ethnology (1900): 86-19.

Mooney, James. Myths of the Cherokee. Mineola: Courier Dover, 1995. Rpt. in Curnow, Trevor, Elliot Shaw, and Brian Gates. "Cherokee Religion." PHILTAR. U of  Cumbria, 1999. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.  nam/cherok.html>.

Nosotro, Rit. "Navajo and Cherokee Creation Stories." HyperHistory.net. N.p., <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. <http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> cw02navajo_cherokee.htm>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Speck, Frank Gouldsmith, Leonard Broom, and Will West Long. Cherokee Dance and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Drama. N.p.: U of California P, 1951. Rpt. in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Curnow, Trevor, Elliot Shaw, and Brian Gates. "Cherokee Religion." PHILTAR. U of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Cumbria, 1999. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. <http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> nam/cherok.html>.