Cherokee creation story The earth is a great island floating in a sea of water, and suspended at each of the four cardinal points by a cord hanging down from the sky vault, which is of solid rock. It hung down from the crystal sky. Cherokee Creation Story A Cherokee Legend. When he reached the Cherokee country, he was very tired, and his wings began to flap and strike the ground, and wherever they struck the earth there was a valley, and where they turned up again there was a mountain. Needing space, they sent Water Beetle to search for room under the seas. They were all curious about what was beneath the water and one day Dayuni'si, the water beetle, volunteered to explore it. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. All the animals lived above it and the sky was beginning to become crowded. It was afterward fastened to the sky with four cords but no one remembers this.At first the earth was flat and very soft and wet. ( Log Out /  How the World Was Made, a Cherokee Legend, is excerpted from the book Myths and Legends of the Great Plains, by Katharine Berry Judson, 1913. Kana'tï And Selu: The Origin Of Game And Corn 4. “The earth is a great island floating in a sea of water, and suspended at each of the four cardinal points by a cord hanging down from the sky vault, which is of solid rock. When the earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still dark, so they got the sun and set in a track to go every day across the island from east to west, just overhead. Watch Queue Queue. Long ago, before there were any people, the world was young and water covered everything. They raised it another time, and another, until it was seven handbreadthshigh and just under the sky arch. There is another world under this, and it is like ours in everything – animals, plants, and people – save that the seasons are different. The First Fire 3. They tried to do this, and nearly all were awake through the first night, but the next night several dropped off to sleep, and the third night others were asleep, and then others, until, on the seventh night, of all the animals only the owl, the panther, and one or two more were still awake. It darted in every direction over the surface of the water, but could find no firm place to rest. This video is unavailable. ( Log Out /  To these were given the power to see and to go about in the dark, and to make prey of the birds and animals which must sleep at night. He flew all over the earth, low down near the ground, and it was still soft. When the Earth begun there was just water. In seven days a child was born to her, and thereafter every seven days another, and they increased very fast until there was danger that the world could not keep them. It was too hot this way, and…the Red Crawfish had his shell scorched a bright red, so that his meat was spoiled; and the Cherokee do not eat it. They wondered what was below the water, and at last…”Beaver’s Grandchild,” the little Water-beetle, offered to go and see if it could learn. Origin Of Disease And Medicine 5. How The World Was Made 2. Whenthe animals above saw this, they were afraid that the whole world would be mountains, so they called him back, but the Cherokee country remains full of mountains to this day. When all was water, the animals were above in Galunlati, beyond the arch; but it was very much crowded, and they were wanting more room. We know that the seasons in the underworld are different from ours, because the water in the springs is always warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the outer air. - Cherokee Creation Myth. This was the Great Buzzard, the father of all the buzzards we see now. Long ago, before there were any people, the world was young and water covered everything. Then it dived to the bottom and came up with some soft mud, which began to grow and spread on every side until it became an island which we call the earth. When the earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still dark, so they got the sun and set in a track to go every day across the island from east to west, just overhead. The animals were anxious to get down, and sent out different birds to see if it was yet dry, but they found no place to alight and came back to Galunlati. MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE By James Mooney From Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 1897-98, Part I. Change ). Then it was made that a woman should have only one child in a year, and it has been so ever since.”. Cherokee spiritual beliefs are held in common among the Cherokee people – Native American peoples who are indigenous to the Southeastern Woodlands, and today live primarily in communities in North Carolina (the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), and Oklahoma (the Cherokee Nation and United Keetowah Band of Cherokee Indians).Some of the beliefs, and the stories and songs in which they … At last it seemed to be time, and they sent out the Buzzard and told him to go and make ready for them. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_mythology#Creation_myth Of the trees only the cedar, the pine, the spruce, the holly, and the laurel were awake to the end, and to them it was given to be always green and to be the greatest for medicine, but to others it was said: “Because you have not endured to the end you shall lose your hair every winter.”, Men came after the animals and plants. The earth was a great island floating above the seas, suspended by four rawhide ropes representing the four sacred directions. Water Beetle dove deep and brought up mud that spread quickly, turning into land to live on. When the animals and plants were first made – we do not know by whom – they were told to watch and keep awake for seven nights, just as young men now fast and keep awake when they pray to their medicine. ( Log Out /  When the world grows old and worn out, the people will die and the cords will break and let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The Two Families of John “Old Trader” Benge. [1900] Scanned at www.sacred-texts.com, January-February 2001 COSMOGONIC MYTHS 1. ( Log Out /  Learn how your comment data is processed. At first there were only a brother and sister until he struck her with a fish and told her to multiply, and so it was. http://www.historytools.org/sources/cherokee-creation.pdf. The conjurers put the sun another hand-breadth higher in the air, but it was still too hot. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Watch Queue Queue Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Whenthe animals above saw this, they were afraid that the whole world would be mountains, so they called him back, but the Cherokee country remains full of mountains to this day. When the world grows old and worn out, the people will die and the cords will break and let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again. There were no people, but the animals lived in a home above the rainbow. The streams that come down from the mountains are the trails by which we reach this underworld, and the springs at their heads are the doorways by which we enter it, but to do this one must fast and go to water and have one of the underground people for a guide. Then it was right, and they left it so every day the sun goes along under this arch, and returns at night on the upper side to the starting place. The Indians are afraid of this.

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