What were
the Cherokee people like before the white man came? How did they live?
What did they eat? What were the Cherokee beliefs and habits? Our research
into the old books and articles have revealed the following. We have taken
nothing for granted, and have searched for verification of everything.
In most cases we include the source and page number. If you know of material
that should be included, please advise us of it, to : email: oukah2@yahoo.com
WHEN CHEROKEES WERE
CHEROKEE
compiled
by
Oukah
and
Lee Ross MacDonald
1st Edition, March 26, 2001 Last change 8/28/2001
Our research has convinced
us that it was over by 1880 -- that is, by then all the people of Cherokee
blood in the Oklahoma area were living just like their white pioneer neighbors
around them. There was nothing Cherokee left. There were no more clans,
no council meetings, no teaching of the young in ancient Cherokee ways,
because by then nobody alive knew anything about it. It only takes one
generation (who are not taught) for it to be gone forever, and that time
had passed. The previous generation had just been moved (mostly through
the Trail of Tears) from their ancestral grounds east of the Mississippi
into what is now the northeastern part of Oklahoma. The times had been
hard. Many had died. Very little, if anything, had been passed on by word
of mouth. It was gone.
Fortunately, some of the old
ways had been written down... not enough, but some. It seems impossible
that the names of the seven Cherokee clans (which controlled all Cherokee
affairs) cannot be accurately ascertained today. There are a half dozen
lists of them, none of which totally agree.
And, late in the 20th century,
we never found a person claiming Cherokee blood (even the ones who can
prove their Cherokee ancestry, and have a registration card to prove it)
who ever heard of a Cherokee "king", much less can give you the
names of even one. The genocide had worked -- whether deliberate or due
to cruel circumstances, knowledge of ancient Cherokee life ("before the
white man came and ruined everything") was gone. .
All the living Cherokees of
the last century ever heard was this "chief" crap (chief is an English
word which became a generic term, like "moccasin" and "tomahawk")
but it is not Native American at all, in any language. It was not in general
use, or official use, by the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, etc.
until into the 19th century, about the time they wrote their constitutions
in the 1830's. Until then, the Cherokees were presided over by an Oukah
(uku, ukuh, ookuh) which was always translated as "king", the Creeks, Choctaws,
Alabamu's, etc (Muskogeean) by a "Micco", always translated as 'king".
Young Cherokees today tell us
they grew up being told they were an "Indian" belonging to a "tribe". They
should have been told they are a "Cherokee" belonging to a "nation".
Introducing an "oukah" (king)
to them has been an almost impossible task, and introducing them to some
truth of their own heritage has been like beating our heads against a stone
wall. What little they do know is all wrong, produced by "old wives tales"
made up at the moment, bad western movies and worse comic strips. Yet they
clasp that poison to their breasts, not knowing it is poison and is killing
them. It is their lies, and it is all that they know. Still, we
have persisted in trying to teach some of the truth that we know, and have
uncovered, and discovered. We do so again with this work, which nobody
else has seen fit to produce, or has known enough about to produce. Here,
below, is the best we can do, along with as many sources as we can name,
or feel necessary to prove the point.
Lee MacDonald, Editor, Triskelion Press
Cherokees of North Texas, Inc.
"The clan was the most
important social entity to which a person belonged. Membership in a
clan was more important than membership in anything else. An alien had
no rights, no legal security, unless he was adopted into a clan. For example,
if a war party happened to capture an enemy and the captive was not adopted
by a clan, then any sort of torture could be inflicted upon him. But if
he were adopted into one of his captors' clans, then no one could touch
him for fear of suffering vengeance from the adopting clan. The rights
of clansmanship were so fundamental they were seldom if ever challenged."
(Hudson, 193,194)
Sometimes Cherokee citizens
would choose to "adopt" a person from another nation or tribe - somebody
who was not Cherokee by blood. This was because of friendship, for great
affection was sometimes forged between those of alien nations. Some Cherokee
women had Creek friends, for instance, and sometimes named their children
for them, which accounts for some Cherokees ending up with foreign names
(names that were not Cherokee in origin). These adopted Cherokees were
given the same protection and privileges of any other member of the clan.
So it can truly be said that membership in a Cherokee clan could be either
by birth or adoption, both carrying the same weight, and no distinction
being made between the two.
ADOPT A RELATIVE: "This seems to point to a custom
which has escaped the notice of earlier
writers on the eastern tribes, but which is well known
in Africa and other parts of the world, and is
closely analogous to a still existing ceremony among
the plains Inds. by which two young men of
the same tribe formally agree to become brothers, and
ratify the compact by a public exchange of
names and gifts." (Mooney, 493)
Private adoptions were
not unusual, and the selection of someone as a "particular friend" was
a very serious matter, to last a lifetime. This was usually "symbolized
by a complete exchange of clothing and sometimes of names as well. It lasted
throughout life, binding the Ind. at least, in loyalty to his special friend,
and often it was the means of saving" a whiteman's life. "This custom is
reflected in the name of 'Judd's Friend' which was applied
to the great warrior Ostenaco; and it may be hazarded, too, that the devotion
of Atta Kulla Kulla, who which Captain John Stuart owed his escape from
the Fort Loudoun massacre, was an exhibition of Ind. loyalty to a "special
friend". (quoted, Rothrock, 16)
ADORNMENTS & JEWELRY
Some of the ornaments
made of stone, bone, shell and copper hint of 'ancient ideas of adornment'.
"Bone bracelets were made from animal rib bones, the backbones of
snakes were sometimes strung on cords to serve as ready-made necklaces.
Among other odd items strung for necklaces were bear and bobcat eye teeth
and turtle thigh bones. Some of the bone ornaments were decorated with
engraving. Marine shell and copper ornaments have occasionally been found
but were rare because the shells had to come from the distant Gulf of Mexico
and the copper from the Lake Superior region. Small shells were merely
perforated, while large conchs were cut up and made into beads of various
sizes." (Lewis & Kneberg, 30,31)
"They strung turkey bone
beads around their necks 'in such manner that the breast was frequently
nearly covered with beads'". (Hill, 23) Longe & Payne.
"The carving and engraving of shell
was another art in which the late temple mound builders excelled....
dug from the walls of large marine conchs, the disks range in diameter
from an inch and a half to seven inches. Two small holes, drilled close
together near the edge, indicate that they were worn suspended from necklaces,
with the concave surfaces showing elaborately engraved designs.
"The cross design, which was used
frequently, represented either the four quarters of the world or the sun,
since it was occasionally surrounded by a sun circle motif.
"Another design with a central symbol
composed of three radiating whorls surrounded by a pattern of concentric
circles had the scalloped edge that completed the design. Variations of
the central symbol, called a triskelion, are also found in the Old World
where they appear on many different objects.
"Animal motifs also were present on
the gorgets. An intricately balanced design was formed by a coiled rattlesnake
with gaping jaws. Pileated woodpeckers, wild turkeys and spiders were depicted
with a combination of realism and stylized art. All of these creatures
-- snakes, birds and insects, figured in mythology..."
Beads: "One reason for the
profuse use of beads as ornaments was the fact that they also constituted
a medium of exchange and could be made useful in that capacity at a minute's
notice, besides furnishing visible witness to the standing and credit of
the wearer." (Swanton, #137, 481)
"Lavish use of shell
beads -- as many of ten thousand have been found with a single skeleton
(in the excavations). Small fresh water and marine shells, unaltered except
for perforations, formed necklaces or were sewn into garments and headbands.
Beads cut from the cores of marine conchs were used in the same manner
and also for legbands, belts and wrist cuffs. While most of these beads
were small, having disk, globular, and tubular shapes, others were as large
as walnuts. ... "Fresh water pearls, skillfully perforated with very small
drills, were another source of beads. One (excavated) necklace contained
a thousand pearls, and individual examples a half inch in diameter have
been found... The fabulous size and beauty of the pearls... impressed the
early Spanish and English explorers who, seeing in them a possible
source of wealth, secured as many as they could by barter." (Lewis &
Kneberg, 111,112,113)
The two main types of
beads are the tubular and the disk. ...Disk-shaped beads were generally
cut from bivalves and pierced. ...beads have been found made of shell,
bone, clay, antler, stone, copper, and trade beads (the latter of white,
blue and green glass, obtained after the white man came).
Beads (Sacred): Every
shaman was in possession of sacred beads, some red, some black, some white.
One way these were used is explained in the chapter of the Ball Game. Beads (Wampum): "Under
the classification of shell beads, perhaps those commonly known as
wampum may be considered the most important. During the early days of white
settlement in the northern continent wampum was a recognized medium of
exchange, or, when arranged on strings in a particular order as to color,
served in the conveyance of intertribal messages, or, when woven into a
form known as belts, played an important part in the ratification of treaties.
In personal adornment, the belts were very effective. Woven into the form
of collars, or on strings as necklaces, ear-pendants, or wristlets, they
were more commonly used.
"The wampum to be discussed ... is
to be understood as having the form of small cylindrical shell beads, averaging
about a quarter of an inch in length by an eighth of an inch in diameter
--- the wampum in mind is the cylindrical kind which was made in two colors,
white and purple. The quahog, or hard-clam (Venus mercenaria), furnished
extensively the material for the manufacture of both colors of wampum,
although other shells of a suitable nature, such as the columellae
of the conch, were used for the white beads.... (Orchard, 70)
...the large clam is too old
and tough for food, and the smaller, younger clams are the ones usually
seen. It was only the large, inedible clams that had a shell thick enough
to have a purple band of three-eights of an inch thick, or thereabout.
"If this Wampum Peak be black
or purple, as some Part of that Shell is, then it is twice the Value. This
the Inds. grind on Stones and other things ..., but the Drilling is the
most difficult ... which is managed with a Nail stuck in a Cane or Reed.
Then they roll it continually on their Thighs with their Right-hand, holding
the Bit of Shell with their left, so in time they drill a Hole quite through
it, which is a very tedious Work. (Lawson, 194)
.... they "had nothing which
they reckoned Riches, before the English went among them, except Peak,
Roenoke, and such like trifles made out of the Conk-shell. These
past with them instead of Gold and Silver, and serv'd them both for Money,
and Ornament....
"Peak is of two sorts, or rather
of two colours, for both are made of one Shell, tho of different parts;
one is a dark Purple Cylinder, and the other a white; they are both made
in size, and figure alike, and commonly much resembling the English Buglas
(bugle beads), but not as transparent nor so brittle. They are wrought
as smooth as Glass, being one third of an inch long, and about a quarter,
diameter, strung by a hole drill'd thro the Center. The dark colour is
the dearest, and distinguish'd by the name of Wampom Peak. The English-men
that are called Ind. Traders, value the Wampom Peak, at eighteen
pence per Yard, and the white Peak at nine pence." (Beverley, 58,59)
Copper... was the rarest of
the materials used for ornaments and was probably the most highly prized
because of its scarcity. Its only use was for small beads that added bright
accents to necklaces of white shell beads." (Lewis & Kneberg, 50) (see
Earth materials)
Belts: "The belt was
very frequently made to combine decorative with utilitarian functions like
the head band or necklace. LeMoyne (1875, p. 14) indicates what looks like
a bead or pearl belt worn for purely ornamental purposes..." (Swanton,
#137, 523)
Bracelets: "Cherokees wore
bracelets on their arms and wrists... " (Timberlake, 75). Some bracelets
were made of wampum and other beads, such as pearls. Others were made of
deer bones, bleached and smoothed. After the white traders came, there
was an enormous interest in obtaining silver bracelets for both the upper
and lower arms. These were almost always requested as gifts from the Cherokee
men visiting Charlestown, especially wide silver bracelets for the upper
arm.
Combs: "Antler and bone,decorated
with carving and engraving, wee used for ornaments as well as tools. Large
engraved antler combs that resemble the ones worn in the hair by Spanish
women may have served the same purpose...Combs were sometimes used in hand
weaving to tighten the weft strands." (Perdue, Tribes, 48)
Ear Rings: "The ears
are slit and stretched to an enormous size, putting the person who
undergoes the operation to incredible pain, being unable to lie on either
side for near forty days. To remedy this, they generally slit but one at
a time; so soon as the patient can bear it, they are wound round with wire
to expand them, and are adorned with silver pendants and rings, which they
likewise wear at the nose. This custom does not belong originally to the
Cherokees, but (was) taken by them from the Shawnese, or other northern
nations. (Timberlake, in Williams, 75-76).
Gorgets (Shell):
Beverley, in his 'History of Virginia' says, "Of this shell
(the conch) they also make round tablets of about four inches in diameter,
which they polish as smooth as the other, and sometimes they etch or grave
thereon circles, stars, a half-moon, or any other figure suitable to their
fancy". Adair states, in his 'History of the American Inds."
that the priest wears a breastplate made of a white conch-shell, with
two holes bored in the middle of it, through which he puts the ends of
an otter skin strap, and fastens a buck-horn white button to the outside
of each."
"They often
times make, of this Shell, a sort of Gorge, which they wear about their
Neck in a string; so it hangs on their Collar, whereon sometimes is engraven
a Cross, or some odd sort of Figure, which comes next in their Fancy. There
are other sorts valued at a Doe-Skin, yet the Gorges will sometimes sell
for three or four Buck-Skins ready drest. (Lawson, 203)
"....shell gorgets, are
usually round, although some are squared, and they have two perforations
for suspension. On the concave surface some are engraved, and in North
Carolina the rattlesnake, the cross, and some other designs have been found.
The figures on a few have been designed by cutting away part of the shell."
(Rights, 273)
"The shell gorgets that most
excite our admiration are not the ones with iconographic designs, but those
depicting men engaged in various activities. The drawings are springhtly,
indicating a sense of movement. Men are shown fighting, running, dancing,
playing games, and performing ritual acts...Some of the men depicted have
animal features, perhaps representing spiritual beings or men mimicking
animals. A wealth of information is contained in these gorgets, much of
it still not well understood." Hudson). Gorgets (Stone): These
stone pieces, presumably ornaments for suspension about the throat or worn
on the breast, have two perforations, and the wear of the cords for attachment
is plainly indicated on some of the gorgets. Slate is the favorite material.
Headbands: "For a headdress
they wear a thick skein of thread in whatever color they desire which
they wind about their heads and tie the ends over the forehead in two half-knots,
so that one end hangs down over either temple as far as the ears. (Garcilaso,
17-18)
Of a Natchez headband: "The
crown is composed of a cap and a diadem, surmounted by large feathers.
The cap is made of a netting which holds the diadem, a texture 2 inches
broad, tied as tightly behind as is desired. The cap is of black threads,
but the diadem is red and embellished with little beads or small white
seeds as hard as beads. The feathers which surmount the diadem are white.
These in front may be 8 inches long and those behind 4 inches. These feathers
are arranged in a curved line. At the end of each is a tuft of hair and
above a little hairy tassel, all being only an inch and a half long and
dyed a very beautiful red. (duPratz, vol 2, 201; Swanton, #137, 509)
Of "Mico Chlucco,
the Long Warrior, King of the Seminoles", "a very curious diadem
or band, about four inches broad, and ingeniously wrought or woven, and
curiously decorated with stones, beads, wampum, porcupine quills, etc.,
encircles their temples; the front peak of it being embellished with a
high waving plume, or crane or heron feathers." (Bartram, 499,500)
Leg Ornaments: "Most Southeastern
Inds. wore leggings at times, and beaded garters, made of bison hair,
opossum hair, or other material, were constant accompaniments of these.
"Strings of beads seem sometimes to
have been worn by men even without their leggings..." (Swanton, #137, 523).
It seems that whatever was suitable to hang around their necks, or around
their arms, was also used to decorate their legs.
Other leg ornaments were the terrapin
shells which were strapped to the legs. During the ceremonial dances the
shells were filled with pebbles, which made a rhythmic sound.
Necklaces: 'Four sorts
of neck ornaments are mentioned, necklaces proper, collars, gorgets
of shell, and gorgets of metal. The distribution of the first was most
general or, at least, there are more references to this type of ornamentation."
(Swanton, #137, 516).
Strings of animal teeth... most
frequently came from bears, but bobcat, groundhog, elk, dog, and even human
teeth were combined with them. On some of the most elaborate necklaces
the teeth alternated with marine shell beads which came from the Gulf of
Mexico. Beads were often shaped like flat disks, but some were inch-long
tubes whose performations represent remarkable skill with a very small
drill." (Perdue)
Pendants: There
are some small triangular cutouts of conch shell with a groove near the
apex for attaching string. Pierced pendants of the same material have been
recorded.
Pendants with perforation near the top for suspension
were made of soapstone, slate, and granitic material. Some had notches
on the base or side for decoration.
AGRICULTURE
Cherokees, like other natives of
the Southwest, relied on agriculture for only a part of their
food supply. Hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild
foods, roots, fruits, berries, augmented the cooking pots. Every Cherokee
realized that they were merely caretakers of the land, or "trustee" for
future occupants. To them, no one could "own" the land - they could only
use or abuse it.
Towns were occasionally moved,
and it is possible that this was in part owing to the fact that the land
for these garden plots would gradually become exhausted, as would the firewood
supply. As the town became surrounded by more and more useless land, the
women would have to walk farther and farther to tend their gardens and
gather firewood until at last the town would become an undesirable place
to live.
Fields that had never been used
had to be cleared of all vegetation. Fields that had been used the year
before had to be cleared, in the early spring, of the weeds and cane that
had since grown up. Although agriculture was principally an activity for
the women and children, the initial clearing of the fields, and preparation
for the new planting, was done by the men.
CROPS: "The chief cultivated plants were melons,
maize, beans, tobacco, peas, cabbages, potatoes, and pumpkins." (Gilbert,
316)
CORN: "Inds. in the eastern United
States began cultivating beans at about the same time they began cultivating
the eastern flint corn, at around AD 800 to 1000. The common bean (Phaseolus
vulgaris L.) occurs in hundreds of varieties, including kidney, navy,
pinto, snap, and pole beans. Some of these beans grow on bushy plants,
while others grow on vines, requiring that they be planted alongside cornstalks
or poles. Most of these varieties ripen in about ten weeks.
they "began cultivating squash perhaps
as early as 1000 B.C., far earlier than they began cultivating corn and
beans. They planted the northern species, Cucurbita pepo L., a species
comprising pumpkins and summer squashes. Squash is a good vegetable because
it is relatively easy to grow and it is highly productive. Some varieties
of squash could be stored in a cool, dry place and kept through the winter.
"Corn, beans and squash were
unusually well suited to each other. When grown in the same field they
complemented each other, and in recognition of their basic compatibility
the Iroquois called them the "three sisters"... Corn and beans are particularly
suited to each other, because while corn removes nitrogen from the soil,
beans replace nitrogen, and the soil is therefore exhausted more slowly.
Moreover, beans and corn complement each other in a dietary sense. Corn
supplies some of the protein which is essential for good nutrition, but
it lacks the amino acid lysine, which, as it turns out, is relatively abundant
in beans. Thus when eaten together corn and beans are a relatively good
source of vegetable protein.
"....sunflowers... yielded "large
quantities of oily seeds rich in vitamins. With their hard shells, sunflower
seeds would have been easy to store for use in winter. And considering
the importance of the sun in their belief system, the Southeastern Inds.
would not have failed to notice that the sunflower turns to face the sun
when it rises, and then follows it across the heavens to where it sets
in the west.
Fields were cleared "...of large
trees by girdling them with rings cut into the bark. Before contact they
used stone axes for this, for European steel axes were so superior that
they quickly became one of the items which were most desired. ..After the
girdled trees died, they were either burned or simply left to stand and
rot. Fields that had been used the year before had to be cleared in the
spring of the weeds and cane that had grown up in the past season. Although
agriculture was principally a woman's occupation, the initial clearing
of the fields was done by men.
"The time when crops were planted
depended upon the climate. The first planting of early corn usually
came in March or April; in the northerly parts the first planting usually
came in May. They planted the early corn as soon as the threat of frost
had passed, but they waited another month or so before planting the late
corn because by that time there were wild foods available to deflect the
attention of crows and other pests. Early corn was planted in the garden
plots in and around the town, and late corn was planted in the large fields
in the river bottoms. The garden plots were planted by the women, but the
large fields were planted by both sexes. The labor in the large fields
was communal. Early in the morning of a working day, one of the old leaders
would stand on top of a mound or in the plaza and call all of the people
out to work. Those who failed to come had fines imposed upon them. Before
the Natchez planted seed, they took it to the Great Sun to have it sanctified.
This may have been done in one form or another throughout the Southeast.
"Although labor was communal,
the large fields were divided into individual allotments. Each household
or lineage had its own plot, separated from the others by a strip of untilled
soil. All the people worked together on one plot until it was worked up
and planted, and then they moved on to another. In some cases an entire
field would be cultivated by the people... and its produce turned over
to the chief to use for ritual occasions and for redistribution to people
in need. Planting had a festive quality, and there was always a great deal
of singing and joking. They worked the soil with digging sticks and with
short hoes that had wooden handles and blades made of shell, flint, or
the shoulder blade of a large mammal. The Inds. did not till the entire
field, but instead worked up small "hills" a foot or more in diameter.
This both prevented soil erosion and preserved the fertility of the soil
longer than did the plow-agriculture introduced by the European colonists.
Hills were laid out in straight lines and spaced three or four feet apart
in both directions. Laying out the corn in a regular pattern made weeding
easier later on. In each hill.. they.. made a cluster of four to six holes
spaced about one or two inches apart. Seed that had been soaked for
a day to hasten germination was dropped in, one grain to a hole. A little
hill of dirt was then piled over each group of seeds. Some of the Inds.
carefully planted just four grains of corn in each cluster; others probably
planted more and thinned out the less robust stalks after they came up.
"The kind of soil suitable for
riverine agriculture was scarce, and because of its scarcity, the agricultural
strategy of the Southeastern Inds. was designed to produce maximum yield
from relatively small fields. They accomplished this by two techniques:
intercropping and multiple cropping. Intercropping was the planting of
several kinds of vegetables mixed together in the same field. As
we have seen, corn, beans, and squash complemented each other. The Inds.
planted corn and beans together so that the bean vines grew up they twined
around the corn stalks. In between the hills of corn and around the edges
of the field they planted gourds, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers, and
chenopodium (goosefoot plant) came up wherever they allowed it to grow.
"Multiple cropping was the planting
of two successive crops on the same field in one season. They.. used this
technique on their early corn, which ripened early and was picked and eaten
green. As soon as they could clear the field of the first crop, they planted
another crop in the same field to be eaten later in the season....
"After they planted their corn,
cultivation consisted of "hilling" the corn, keeping predators away, and
keeping the weeds down. After the corn came up a few inches, they.. hilled
it by piling loose dirt around the roots. Corn requires a large quantity
of water during its growing season, but it also needs good drainage so
that the plants do not drown. Hilling helps satisfy both of these requirements.
Furthermore, corn has roots that are relatively weak and shallow for its
size, and hilling helps keep the stalks from being blown over by the wind.
"People stayed on watch in the
fields during the day in order to frighten away bird and animal pests.
At night fires were sometimes built around the fields for the same purpose.
This job of watching the fields fell to old women, or to young boys under
the supervision of old men. Watching the fields was a rather dangerous
and sometimes fatal occupation because enemies would seize upon the watchman's
lack of protection for a surprise attack. (Note: there is not one recorded
incidence that this ever happened.).
"Some... employed a particularly clever
way of keeping pests out of their gardens. They placed poles around the
gardens and on the poles they hung gourd houses for purple martins. Purple
martins not only consume large numbers of insects each day, but they are
also aggressive toward crows and blackbirds, both of which are especially
destructive of newly planted corn... also, some "may also have encouraged
the nesting of swifts and wrens, which also eat insect pests and chase
away crows and blackbirds.
"When the corn was about one foot
high," they "went through their fields with hoes, cutting down the weeds.
Some repeated this weeding several times during the summer, but others
were less meticulous, letting the weeds grow up to compete with their crops.
Each they they weeded the corn, they hilled it a little more, until by
the end of the summer a noticeable mound of earth was piled around the
bases of the Stalks. Some.. "suckered" their corn by breaking off the secondary
shoots which grew at the bases of the stalks. This was to make the ears
grow larger, increasing the yield. In August, after growth had stopped,
the ears of the late corn were bent down against the stalk to keep water
from running into the husk and rotting the corn.
"They harvested this late corn as
soon as it was dry enough, usually in September or October. Each household
or lineage harvested its own plot of corn, though in some places the plot
assigned to the chief was harvested with volunteer labor from the entire
town. They went through the fields collecting the ears of corn in large
pack baskets carried on their backs. In some places each household or lineage
contributed a portion of its crop to the chief's store.
"The last essential step
in raising a crop of corn was storing it and keeping it safe from field
mice and other animals. In some places.. (they).. stored their corn in
cribs raised seven or eight feet from the ground on posts which were polished
so mice could not climb them. The crib itself was plastered inside and
out with mud. The only entrance was a small door which was sealed with
mud each time it was used. They stacked the ears of corn in rows, with
the better corn near the back of the crib, and the poorer corn near the
entrance where it could be used first. In other places ..they.. stored
their corn in special rooms in the houses in which they lived." ... "sometimes...
ears of dried corn "were protected from insects by wrapping each one with
grass and then plastering it all over with wet clay mixed with grass. In
this manner they were able to keep corn from one year to another." (Hudson,
292-299).
FIELDS: "In the spring, women walked "a considerable
distance from the town" to sow fields of "pompions, and different sorts
of melons". They chose to plant when days were longer and warmer and predators
might bypass their fields in favor of other succulent foods. By May "the
wild fruit is so ripe," wrote Adair, "as to draw off the birds from picking
up the grain." After planting time, old women guarded outfields form high
scaffolds that overlooked "this favorite part of their vegetable possessions"
If hungry animals or birds approached, the sentries frightened them away
"with their screetches". It was dangerous work, for human predators came
first to such far-flung fields and "sometimes kills them in this strict
watch duty". Long past the age of farming, older women continued to share
responsibility for food, even endangering their lives to do so.
"Community fields of corn, beans,
and other staples stretched two to four miles beyond the towns. In addition
to small, early corn,... the diversity and sequential planting of staple
foods offered a slender margin of defense against crop failures and pest
invasions. At the very least, seeds from limited crops could be harvested
and stored for the following year.
"Town priests allotted land to each
clan in proportion to their numbers and need. In May, the entire town joined
together to plant under the direction of a chosen leader. They began "fellowshiply
on one End", continuing across each field "till they have finished all".
As they worked "one of their old orators cheers them on with jests and
humorous old tales, and sings some of their most agreeable wild tunes".
Drumming and singing, joking and calling, elders urged on planters while
reinforcing town customs and community solidarity. Everyone, including
chiefs, joined the labor. Though disdainful Europeans usually described
them solely as hunters and warriors, men -- brothers -- also prepared community
fields, clan by clan, as Selu had instructed. Landholdings remained centered
in the matrilineage, cared for by male as well as female members.
"...Farming was a great leveler of
social distinctions. Community lands meant community crops so that "thire
vitols" could be "comen to all people". Portions from every clan's field
went into the "publick Granery", a resource "to repair to in case of necessity".
Since every family contributed, each could claim an allotment if their
own food "falls short, or is destroyed by accidents, or otherwise". The
public storehouse also made it possible to offer hospitality to "armies,
travelers, or sojourners", as well as neighboring towns.
"When fields 'became impoverished',
town members left them 'with one consent' and found a fresh spot to clear
and sow. Old fields then became in important component of a settlement's
changing resources. Fallowing fields were gradually colonized by useful
weeds like poke and by fleshy fruits such as strawberries, maypops, sumac,
plums, and persimmon. Over time, pioneering shrubs and tree seedlings transformed
old fields into patches of secondary growth. Such scrub communities supplied
food, medicine, and dye to gatherers and attracted a variety of animals
and birds for hunters. Bartram journe'd through five miles of such fields
"now under grass, but which appeared to have been planted the last season."
"...Farming skill and fertile soil
produced an "abundance of corn, beans, and vegetables" unless disasters
intervened; but forces of nature frequently injured or destroyed even the
most carefully tended fields. Floods, droughts, or crop failures were reported
several times a decade throughout the eighteenth century, and surely many
'hungary times' went unrecorded... The specter of famine hovered over Southeastern
fields, and farmers of all races and both sexes regularly watched the skies
and felt the soil with anxiety.
"Long memories of early frosts, harsh winters,
spring floods, and summer droughts contributed to a rich complex of religious
beliefs and social behaviors. Townswomen enacted secret rituals to avert
disaster; for example, they disrobed every full moon 'at the dead of night'
to circle 'entirely around the field of corn'. They said 'thanks and prayers
in a series of devotional chaunts' to Selu while they tended corn and weeded
fields. When drought came, women from each clan fasted while men brought
deerskins and meat to the priest. The priest then prayed to the creator
moon and sun, shaking a terrapin shell filled with pebbles to summon thunder
and rain. To avert cold, priests built fire of seven special woods and
sacrificed to the Woman of the East a terrapin shell filled with old tobacco.
In ritual speeches at Green Corn Festivals, priests urged strict adherence
to customs and prohibitions i "Corn, or Maize;... besides
the Stalks bruis'd and boil'd, make very pleasant Beer, being sweet like
the Sugar-Cane." (Lawson, 81)
Several varieties of Apples
are said to make good Cider. In the old days, however, of which we are
concerned, there was little if any fermenting of corn or grape to make
an alcohol. Perhaps the nearest to it was persimmon beer:
A medical student, Rafinesque,
wrote in his Medical Flora in 1818: "The Persimmon Beer is made by forming
the fruits into cakes with bran, drying them in an open oven, and bruising
these cakes afterwards in water. The large variety has fruits as big as
an egg, and deserves to be cultivated on a large scale as a fruit tree".
Another writer gave this procedure:
"Wheat bran is kneaded with persimmons in fall and baked as a pone. The
pones are broken into pieces and placed in a runlet. Warm water is added
and left for about nine days. Wheat chaff or hay straw may be placed in
as a strainer". It should be noted that this straw will aid in the growth
of bacteria and fungi which abound in such a medium as it decomposes.
Another recipe went like this:
Put a bunch of wheat straw above mouth of hopper and then layer of ashes..Next
layer of persimmons to layer of honey locust beans. Put boiling water on
and let seep through. Must have a large ash cake put above the ashes to
act as yeast".
Most made this in a barrel with
a spigot near the bottom. After it fermented they opened the spigot and
let out a little into a cup, it being filtered through the straw. Since
it contained penicillin and gramicidin, no wonder the users of it remained
more healthy than other folks.
ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS
ALTARS
Speaking of the council
house: "Inside, near the center of the floor, was always an altar,
a circular or rectangular platform modeled from clay with a small central
fire basin where the sacred fire burned perpetually." (Lewis & Kneberg,
85).
AMPHIBIANS
"Although the early Cherokees lacked
a notable amount of fish lore, there were a number of myths related to
amphibians and reptiles. Huey and Stupka list seventy-one amphibians and
reptiles found in the Great Smoky Mountain area.
"The common snapping turtle ranged throughout
the region and was commonly found in muddy-bottomed ponds or shallow streams.
Kindred to the snapping turtle were the spiny soft-shelled turtle, musk
turtle, painted turtle, and map turtle. All these turtles were aquatic
species and preferred either a river habitat or slackwater cove. They hibernated
in winter and could be captured most easily in the early spring to November
period.
"Most important of the turtle species,
however, was the land tortoise, or box turtle, which was found at elevations
up to 4,000 feet and preferred a scrubby oak-pine habitat. These terrestrial
animals were very prominent in Cherokee folklore, and were probably more
common in the mountain habitat of the Cherokees than the water species.
The tortoise was considered to have been a great warrior in old times and,
thus, Cherokee warriors would rub the thick turtle legs to their own legs
in an attempt at transferring that sought-after quality (ability to withstand
stout blows). Turtle shells were also used as cups, containers, and hand
and leg rattles." (Goodwin, 75, quoting Mooney and Rights)
"At water's edge, on forest
floors, or in grassy fields, nesting and feeding areas abounded for reptiles
and amphibians. Lizards, frogs, turtles, more than two dozen kinds of salamanders,
and an equal number of snake species populated Cherokee settlement areas.
Important in ecosystems as food and feeders ... they appeared in myths,
songs, medicine formulas, dances, and often as giants in folktales. For
sacred dances, ... women wore leg rattles made from the shells of box turtle..
as the women danced, pebbles clattered rhythmically inside the shells."
(Hill, 24)
For a list of Amphibians and their
habitats, see Index section.
ANIMALS
"...scarcely
any animal was domesticated in the older days. The dog appears to have
been tamed and possibly also the bee, and turkeys were kept in captivity
when young. The chief pursuit of the Cherokee men in the older period was
the hunt. The principal objects of the hunt were bears, deer, bison, eagles,
elk, beaver, turkeys, wild duck, and geese. These animals were hunted for
food and for their hides, feathers, teeth, and bones." (Gilbert, 185)
"The characteristic native
mammals of the area are bats, moles, shrews, raccoons, skunks, weasels,
otters, bears, wolves, foxes, wildcats, panthers, hares, porcupines, groundhogs,
beavers, rats and mice, squirrels, bison, deer, opossum, and a native dog."
(Gilbert, 185)
Prehistoric: "Remains of two elephant
species, moth and mastodon, have been found in the Southeast at Natchez,
Mississippi & at Vero & Melbourne, Florida. (Lewis & Kneberg,
11)
"The Beasts of Carolina are
the: Buffalo, or wild Beef; Bear; Panther; Cat-a-Mount-Wild Cat; Wolf;
Tyger; Polecat; Otter; Beaver; Musk-Rat; Possum; Raccoon; Minx; Watr-Rat;
Rabbet (two sorts); Elks; Stags; Fallow-Deer; Squirrel (four sorts); Fox;
Lion and Jackall on the Lake; Rats (two sorts); Mice (two sorts) Moles;
Weasel, Dormouse; Bearmouse." (Lawson, 120). He then goes on to give detailed
descriptions of each, which you may research if you are interested. We
will touch only on a few.
BEAR: "The flesh of this Beast is very good, and
nourishing, and not inferior to the best Pork in Taste. It stands betwixt
Beef and Pork, and the young Cubs are a Dish for the greatest Epicure
living. I prefer their Flesh before any Beef, Veal, Pork, or Mutton; and
they look as well as they eat, their fat being as white as Snow, and the
sweetest of any Creature's in the World. If a Man drink a Quart thereof
melted, it never will rise in his Stomach. We prefer it above all things,
to fry Fish and other things in. Those that are strangers to it may judge
otherwise; But I who have eaten a great deal of Bears Flesh in my Life-time
(since my being an Inhabitant in America) do think it equalizes,
if not excels, any Meat I ever eat in Europe. The Bacon made thereof
is extraordinary Meat; but it must be well saved, otherwise it will rust....
They are seemingly a very clumsy Creature, yet are very nimble in running
up Trees, and traversing every Limb thereof. When they come down, they
run Tail foremost. ...There is one thing more to be consider'd of this
Creature, which is, that no Man, either Christian or Indian, has ever kill'd
a She-bear with Young.
"...The Oil of the Bear is very Sovereign
for Strains, Aches, and old Pains. The fine Fur at the bottom of the Belly,
is used for making Hats, in some places. The Fur itself is fit for several
Uses; as for making Muffs, facing Caps, etc. but the black Cub-skin is
preferable to all sorts of that kind, for Muffs. Its Grain is like Hog
Skin." (Lawson, 121,122)
"Black bear (yanu, yona)
also held a place of honor. The largest omnivore in the Southern Appalachians,
black bear dwell in deep forests, whose dense understories protect their
young. The primarily solitary adults mate in early summer, and subsequent
pregnancy coincides with the time of greatest abundance of food resources
in late summer and fall. "The she-bear" wrote Adair, "takes an old hollow
tree for the yearning winter-house, and chuses to have the door above"
to protect her cubs. Males make winter beds in "solitary thickets" by breaking
"a great many branches of trees" for the bottom and adding "the green tops
of large canes". In January of alternate years, sows give birth to one
or two cubs, who remain with their mother for a year. Never in a true state
of hibernation, a black bear sleeps intermittently through two months of
Southern Appalachian winter." (Hill, 19,20)
"Bear oil was a favorite food
among both Europeans and Cherokees, particularly after the animals fattened
on Acorns, Chestnuts and Chinkapins, Wild Honey and Wild Grapes. Women
fried the oil, "mixing plenty of sassafras and wild cinnamon with it over
the fire" and stored it "in large earthen jars, covered in the ground".
The oil was delicious, claimed Adair, and also "nutritive to hair". Women
oiled their hair with bear fat as a mark of beauty, and both women and
men greased their bodies with it to ward off insects. Bear claws, teeth,
and bone became tools and jewelry in the hands of artisans. Women also
processed the skins for clothing, bedding, and blankets, and they spun
the coarse black hair into thread." (Hill, 20)
"The animal that fell into
both the human category and the four-footed animal category was the bear,
an animal which is four-footed, but which often walks upright on two legs,
and it frequently eats the same kinds of food men eat. We shall presently
see that the Cherokees used to tell a story about a clan of people turning
into bears, and the bear shows up in the Cherokee oral tradition about
the origin of disease and medicine, which is itself primarily concerned
with the opposition between men and animals." (Hudson, 139)
"The black bear was a valued
game animal in the Southeast, but it was valued in a different way than
the deer. Because the bear has a low reproductive rate, it was a scarce
animal, and the number of bears the Inds. killed was negligible compared
to the number of deer they killed. But where was the deer was killed as
a staple food, the bear was killed mainly for the oil that could be extracted
from its fat.
"The preferred season for hunting
bear was winter, for then the bears were spending most of their time sleeping.
The females were particularly fond of hibernating high up in the trunks
of hollow trees. The Inds. would locate them by finding claw marks on the
tree. One of the hunters would imitate the sound of a bear cub in distress,
and the female bear would reveal herself. A man would then climb a nearby
tree and throw a bundle of burning canes into the hollow tree, and when
the bear was driven out by the fire and began descending the tree, it was
an easy matter for the hunters to shoot and kill it. If, however,
they only succeeded in wounding the bear, all the hunters would run
and climb saplings that were too small for the bear to climb in pursuit."
(Hudson, 279,280)
Bearskins were highly
prized as bed covers, matchcoats (mantles, like capes), their teeth
were always saved as ornaments for necklaces, as were their claws.
"The black bear was commonly found
anywhere from the lowlands and floodplains, all the way to the spruce-fir
uplands -- although generally, it preferred to establish relatively well-defined
home ranges, e.g., females stayed within a ten mile radius of a chosen
habitat, while the male might wander slightly farther.
"The bear sought a variety of
food, and usually preferred chestnuts and acorns, although it was satisfied
with any of a vast array of available grasses, berries, fish, reptiles,
amphibians, honey, fruits, tender under bark, and insects...
"Bears were killed only
after great ceremonial preparation. The bear hunter fasted the entire day
before the kill and considered the entire process an act of reverence,
always asking the animal's spirit for forgiveness." (Goodwin, 70)
Skinning and Dressing: "Cut jugular vein and bleed,
or cut head off. Slice down the middle of the underside from the neck to
the back legs, sliding the knife between the hide and the flesh. Roll the
bear from side to side while cutting until the hide is off.
"With the axe, cut off the legs below
the knees, cut through the breastbone, and cut between the buttocks to
the backbone. Cut the end of the large intestine and strip out the innards.
Cut on either side of the backbone (as in the hog) separating the meat
into two halves. Cut out the hams and shoulders for curing in salt. Cut
the neck, flank, and lower part of the shoulder into small pieces for stewing
at once."
BEAVER: "Bevers are very numerous in
Carolina, their being abundance of their Dams in all Parts of the Country,
where I have travel'd. They are the most industrious and greatest Artificers
(in building their Dams and Houses) of any four-footed Creatures in the
World. Their Food is chiefly the Barks of Trees and Shrubs, viz. Sassafras,
Ash, Sweet-Gum, and several others. If you take them young, they become
very tame and domestick, but are very mischievious in spoiling Orchards,
by breaking the Trees, and blocking up your Doors in the Night, with the
Sticks and Wood they bring thither. If they eat any thing that is salt,
it kills them. Their Flesh is a sweet Food; especially, their Tail, which
is held very dainty. There Fore-Feet are open, like a Dog's; their Hind-Feet
webb'd like a Water-Fowl's. The Skins are good Furs for several Uses, which
everyone knows. The Leather is very thick; I have known Shooes made thereof..
which lasted well. It makes the best Hedgers Mittens that can be used."
(Lawson, 125)
BUFFALO: "The Buffelo is a wild Beast of America,
which has a Hunch on his Back... his chief Haunt being in the Land of Messiasippi,
which is, for the most part, a plain Country; yet I have known some kill'd
on the Hilly Part of Cape-Fear-River...I have eaten of their Meat, but
do not think it so good as our Beef; yet the younger Calves are cry'd up
for excellent Food, as very likely they may be. It is conjectured, that
these Buffelos, mixt in Breed with our tame Cattle, would much better the
Breed for Largeness and Milk, which seems very probable. Of the wild Bull's
Skin, Buff is made. The Inds. cut the Skins into Quarters for the Ease
of their Transportation, and made Beds to lie on. They spin the Hair into
Garters, Girdles, Sashes, and the like, it being long and curled, and often
of a chestnut or red Colour. These Monsters are found to weight (as I am
informed by a Traveller of Credit) from 1600 to 2400 Weight. (Lawson, 120,121)
"The availability of buffalo
must have transformed Cherokee life. By the 1700s, buffalo provided food,
clothing, bedding, war paraphernalia, utensils, and musical instruments.
According to Adair, women "continually wear a beaded string round their
legs, made of buffalo hair" as ornamentation and to prevent misfortune,
thus weaving together concepts of beauty and medico-magic. In winter, "they
wrapped themselves in the softened skin of buffalo calves" with "the shagged
wool inward." Alexander Longe wrote that one of the "great many dances
to divert their king" honored the buffalo. Warriors made quivers of buffalo
hide, and shields of buffalo crania, and war chiefs wore bracelets and
headbands of buffalo skin. Men blew through buffalo horn trumpets and crafted
horns into spoons and scapula into hoes. Women prepared the nourishing
meat, spun hair for thread, and dressed calfskins for the special bedding
of infant girls." (Hill, 18)
"Bison (buffalo) skins
were used for matchcoats (a mantle usually made of animal skins and worn
over one or both shoulders in colder weather). It extended down to the
knees.
COON: Skinning and dressing: Many hunters cut
the jugular vein and bleed the coon as soon as they have killed one to
prevent the meat from spoiling. Then they either bring it home and skinit,
or skin it in the field. It is done as follows:
Ring the hind legs and the front legs
at the foot joint. Split the pelt on the inside middle of both hind legs
from the ring to the crotch.
Repeat on front legs, splitting to
the middle of the chest.
Then split the pelt up the middle
of the underside from the crotch, through the split from the front legs,
and up to the end of the bottom jaws.
Cut around tail on the underside ONLY.
Connect split. Skin out both hind legs, and make a small slice between
bone and tendon and insert a gamblin' stick. Hang the coon up. Take two
small sticks, and grip them together firmly so that the base of the tail
is between. Pull carefully while holding the sticks tightly clamped together,
and the tail will slide off the tail bone. If you want to keep the skin,
be sure not to pull the tail off.
Work the pelt off to the front legs,
slicing the mesentery between skin and muscle when necessary. Slice up
to front legs, and then skin the front legs out. If you want to eat the
coon, remove the two pear-shaped musk glands from under the forearms.
Skin around the neck until you get
to the head. Cut the ears off even with the head. If you make a bad ear
hole, the pelt's value will be reduced by fifty cents. Skin right around
the eyes leaving only the eyeballs. Then go down the snout, cutting off
the end so that the nose button is still attached to the pelt.
Now split the flesh down the middle
from throat to crotch and remove intestines and organs. Cut off the head,
tail, and feet, and soak the carcas in cold water (preferably overnight
unless you have just killed it) to get the blood out.
DEER: "The most important Cherokee game animal
was white-tail deer (ahwi), which gave name to one of the seven
clans (Ani-Kawi: Deer Clan). Deer frequent forest edges and continually
after forest composition by feeding on succulent foliage during spring
and early summer, on woody leaves and shoots in late summer, and on forest
mast in autumn and winter. Dependent on shrubby growth for cover, they
restrict their range to sheltered areas of lower elevations in winter months.
Among Cherokees, extensive hunting coincided with deer concentrations in
relatively small, predictable locales.
"Cherokees utilized virtually all
parts of the deer, which comprised as much as half the meat in their diet.
Payment for tribal obligations could be made in deerskins. Women and men
made deer sinews into string and made entrails into bow strings and thread.
They worked antler and bone into tools, musical instruments, and beads.
Women boiled antlers and hooves for glue and converted small bones into
needles and awls. They tanned hides with deer brains, then fashioned the
leather into clothing or bedding, moccasins or hairpieces, bags or belts.
For dances they fastened rattles on "white-drest deerskin" tied onto their
legs.
"During special ceremonies and at
annual celebrations, the priest sat on one deerskin, which was painted
or chalked white, and rested his feet on another. To assemble a general
council, the "beloved man" (uku) raised over the town house a deerskin
painted white with red spots... "Ceremonial feasts always included ritual
sacrifice of deer tongue. The priest 'cuts 4 other pieces and throws one
north the other south the other east and the other west. After the ritual
offering, he passed the remainder of meat "through the flame of the fire
and then (gave) it to the women to dress for the priest and all others
that pleases to eat of it"" (Hill, 19)
Deerskins provided the
clothing for both men and women. For a woman, a short deer-skin skirt covered
her from the waist to her knees. Ceremonial pouches, such as medicine bags,
were traditionally made out of deerskin, with the hair on the outside.
They were sometimes as large as one foot by two feet, and a half foot thick.
"No deer could be killed indiscriminately
and without proper ritualistic preparation since animals had afterlife
and could be vengeful. Ceremonial observances were made before slaying
the animal, or else the powerful protector of deer and agent of revenge,
the invisible "Little Deer" would condemn the hunter to a life of perpetual
pain by implanting the spirit of rheumatism." (Goodwin, 68)
Skinning and Dressing: "After
killing, remove the scent glands (on the hind legs at the inside of the
knee joint), the testes, and cut the jugular vein immediately. Then hang
the carcass up by its hind legs, and ring each of the back legs below the
knee. Cut down the inside of the back legs to the crotch, cut down the
belly to the center of the chest, and ring the front legs in a manner similar
to the back. Cut down the inside of the front legs to meet the cut in the
chest. Peel the hide off the back legs to meet the cut in the chest. Peel
the hide off the back legs, down the body, and off the front legs up the
neck to the ears. Cut off the head right behind the ears with an axe.
"With the same axe, chop down between
the hams. Cut from the hams to the chest with a knife, and then separate
the ribs using the axe again. Cut down to the brisket with the knife, cut
around the anus, and then remove the entrails. Save the heart and liver
if desired.
"Another method used by local hunters
was to make a diagonal cut just behind the chest cavity about twelve inches
long. The entrails were removed through this cut, which was plenty large
enough and yet small enough to prevent dirt and leaves from entering the
cavity.
Curing: Sometimes hunters would
salt the entire carcass with about 25 pounds of salt, let it dry, and hang
it in the smokehouse. When they needed pieces, they simply stripped them
off and cooked them.
"Others cut the deer into pieces very
similar to those that a beef is cut into (legs, ribs, rump, loin, etc.)
These pieces were either dried in the sun until all the moisture was out
and then put in the smokehouse; put into a fairly thick salt brine and
left; or salted down (about one inch thick) and put in the smokehouse to
cure in the same manner as pork.
GROUNDHOG: Dressing: Skin the groundhog, remove
the glands from under the legs, gut, and soak overnight in salty water.
The hide was often placed in a bucket of ashes over which water was poured.
After the ashes had taken the hair off, the hide was removed, dried, kneaded,
and cut up in strips for shoe strings.
HOGS: Today, hogs are very important to Cherokees,
but the ancient Cherokees did not have hogs before the white man came.
DeSoto was said to have some that he drove throughout his travels, but
they did not come into Cherokee hands until the mid-1700's. They became
very important, very soon, thereafter. Today, Cherokee feasts are "hog
frys" -- but this is not ancient Cherokee, any more than "squaw" and "fry"
bread is ancient native American.
HORSES: The ancient Cherokees, before the white
man came and ruined everything, did not have horses. "Horses were
probably not owned in any great number before the marking out of the horse-path
for traders from Augusta about 1740. The Cherokees, however, took kindly
to the animal, and before the beginning of the war of 1760 had a 'prodigious
number'. In spite of their great losses at that time they had so far recovered
in 1775 that almost every man then had from two to a dozen (Adair, 231)
(Mooney, Myths, 213)
MOUNTAIN LION: "The mountain lion (also referred
to as panther, puma, or cougar) was a religious 'symbol of cunning, strength,
and prodigious spring', and (the Cherokees) would later compare it to White
man who they said 'instead of being satisfied with enough for his present
necessities, and no more, was covetously eager, as the cougar, to pile
around him far more property and substance than it was possible for him
to consume upon himself" (Logan, 55). The mountain lion was seldom killed
by the precontact Cherokees (due to folkloric belief) yet by the end of
the eighteenth century -- after the advent of the European -- the animal
virtually disappeared from traditional Cherokee lands." (Goodwin, 70,71)
POSSUM: "The Possum is found no where
but in America. He is the Wonder of all the Land Animals, being
the size of a Badger, and near that Colour. The Male's Pizzle is placed
retrograde; and in time of Coition, they differ from all other Animals,
turning Tail to Tail, as Dog and Bitch when ty'd. The Female, doubtless,
breeds her Young at her Teats; for I have seen them stick fast thereto,
when they have been no bigger than a small Rasberry, and seemingly inanimate.
She has a Paunch, or false Belly, wherein she carries her Young, after
they are from those Teats, till they can shift for themselves. Their Food
is Roots, Poultry, or wild Fruits. They have no Hair on their Tails, but
a sort of a Scale, or hard Crust, as the Bevers have. If a Cat has nine
Lives, this creature surely has nineteen; for if you break every Bone in
their Skin, and mash their Skull, leaving them for Dead, you may come an
hour after, and they will be gone quite away, or perhaps you meet them
creeping away. ....I have, for Necessity in the Wilderness, eaten of them.
Their Flesh is very white, and well tasted; but their ugly Tails put me
out of Conceit with that Fare. They climb Trees, as the Raccoons do, Their
fur is not esteem'd nor used, saved that the Inds. spin it into Girdles
and Garters. (Lawson, 125,126)
"The opossum is the size of
a European cat; it has a head like a fox's, feet like a monkey's, and a
tail like a rat's. This animal is very curious. I once killed a female
that had seven young clinging to her teats in a most surprising manner.
That is where they develop, and they do not let go until they are able
to walk. Then they drop into a membrane pouch. The ones I saw were the
size of newborn mice. Nature has provided the female with a pouch located
under the belly and covered with hair. When the young are attacked, they
enter the pouch, and the mother carries them off to safety. Opossum meat
tastes like that of a suckling pig. Their hair is whitish, and their fur
is like the beaver's. They live in the woods on beechnuts, chestnuts, walnuts,
and acorns. I have eaten opossum several times while on trips. An excellent
ointment for the cure of hemorrhoids is made of its extremely fine, white
fat." (Bossu, Travels in the Interior of N. America, 198)
NOTE: The Cherokee king's (uku's, Oukah's) crown
was made of 'possum fur -- dyed yellow. "Dressing: Few people bother
to skin the few possums they eat. The prevailing tradition is to scald
the possum in boiling water containing a half cup of lime or ashes. Then
it is scraped until hairless, gutted (it should have been bled immediately
after being caught), the musk glands under the forearms removed, and either
the head or at least the eyes removed. The carcass is then soaked, preferably
overnight, before cooking.
RABBIT: Skinning and Dressing: Some
hunters in this area gut the rabbit as soon as they have killed it. Many
carry it home and gut it that evening, however. They do this by making
one short slash in the belly parallel to the backbone, and removing the
entrails through this cut. At home they skin it, often making a cut across
the middle of the back, inserting their fingers, and pulling both ways.
The legs are lifted out of the pelt as with the squirrel.
"The rabbit (Lepus americanus)
known in Cherokee lore as a "trickster" figured quite prominently in the
mythology, and was especially prized for its meat and skin. The rabbit
preferred a habitat consisting of laurel and rhodendron thickets, and semi-open
tracts surrounded by evergreen trees. (Goodwin, 70)
SQUIRREL: Skinning and Dressing: - The most common
way of skinning a squirrel in the mountains was to ring the back legs at
the feet, and cut around the top of the base of the tail. The hunter than
put the squirrel on its back, put his foot in its tail, grabbed its back
legs firmly, and pulled. The hide would come off just like a jacket right
up to the neck. Then the front legs were pulled up out of the skin and
cut off at the feet, and the pelt cut off at the neck. Usually the head
was not skinned out, but if you wanted to, it would be done about the same
as with the coon. Cut off the head, back feet, and tail. Then gut.
WOLVES: "Next to humans, wolves (wa-hya)
were the foremost predators in Southeastern ecosystems and the totem identity
of a Cherokee clan (Ani-Wahya: Wolf Clan). Wolves pruned animal
communities of young, old, weak, and sick members, which helped maintain
healthy herds and relieved pressure on plant populations. Wolves greatly
reduced small game predation of agricultural fields and gardens, for in
their absence, animals like rodents and rabbits reproduced rapidly. After
feeding, wolves abandoned carrion that then fed scavengers, like foxes,
eagles, ravens, and buzzards.... Wolves affected virtually the entire Southeastern
food chain" (Hill, 18,19)
Wolves
were never eaten, but sometimes the pelts were used the same as other
furs.
"Other mammals held a lesser, but important position
in Cherokee society. Elk, for instance, conceived of as a'wi'e'gwa
(great deer) by the Cherokees, abounded in the floodplains during the summer
months and were probably stalked by lone hunters. Next to deer meat, that
of the elk was preferred to other mammals, as were its horn and skin (Logan,
36)
"Several other smaller mammals...
were important, although not necessarily as food sources, including: beaver,
muskrat, otter, raccoon, porcupine, and mink. All of these mammals generally
were most abundant in the floodplain forests and timbered bottomlands.
"Preferring the deciduous forest habitat
were: chipmunk or ground squirrel, gray squirrel, striped skunk, and woodchuck.
These animals were valuable food sources and were prepared for consumption
in a variety of ways. The ground-hog, for instance, was utilized in a rather
unique manner.... would cook the meat first and then pounded it with a
mortar until a sausage (a'gansta'ta) could be processed.
"The larger, predatory carnivores,
e.g., bobcat, mountain lion, gray fox, and gray wolf, tended to favor those
biotic zones that attracted the greatest number of small game. All of these
animals had a wide range and were found, thus, at various seasons in many
parts of Cherokee-claimed lands." (Goodwin, 70,71)
ARKS
Little is known of
the ancient sacred arks of the old Cherokee Nation, for sometime before
the white man arrived the Delawares slipped into the sacred mother city
of Echota and stole the precious ark which contained so much of their ancient
history and lore.
Adair tells of an ark he encountered
in a neighboring nation: it "contains several consecrated vessels, made
by beloved superannuated women, and of such various antiquated forms, as
would have puzzled Adam to have given significant names to each. The leader
and his attendant, are purified longer than the rest of the company that
the first may be fit to act in the religious office of a priest of war,
and the other to carry the sacred ark." and,
"The Ind. ark is deemed
so sacred and dangerous to be touched either by their own sanctified warriors,
or the spoiling enemy, that they durst not touch it upon any account. It
is not to be meddle with by any, except the war captain and his waiter,
under the penalty of incurring great evil. Nor would the most inveterate
enemy touch it in the woods for the very same reason." (Adair, 170,171)
"The Cherokee once had a wooden box,
nearly square and wrapped up in buckskin, in which they kept the most sacred
of their old religion. Upon every important expedition two priests carried
it in turn and watched over it in camp so that nothing could come near
to disturb it. The Delawares captured it more than a hundred years ago
(this was written about 1890), and after that the old religion was neglected
and trouble came to the Nation. (Mooney, Myths, 396,397)
"A gentleman who was at the Ohio in
the year 1756 assured me he saw a stranger there very importunate to view
the inside of the Cheerake ark, which was covered with drest deerskin and
placed on a couple of short blocks. A (Cherokee) centinel watched it, armed
with a hiccory bow and brass-pointed barbed arrows; and he was faithful
to his trust, for finding the stranger obtruding to pollute the supposed
sacred vehicle, he drew an arrow to the head, and would have shot him through
the body had he not suddenly withdrawn. The interpreter, when asked by
the gentleman what it contained, told him there was nothing in it but a
bundle of conjuring traps. This shews what conjurers our common interpreters
are, and how much the learned world have really profited by their informations"
(from Adair, 161,162, quoted in Mooney, Myths, 503)
ARROWS
"Arrow pointing
was done by cutting triangular bits of brass, copper, and bone and inserting
them into the end of split-reed arrows. Deer sinew was wound around the
split end and drawn through a small hole in the head and then the sinew
was moistened." (Gilbert, 317)
In 1956, in an excavation site
in Greene County, Tennessee, a two-thousand-year-old arrowshaft was found.
"Although only eight and a half inches long, the cane arrowshaft section
was the nock end. The cane, known as 'switch cane' is a slender, tough
variety that grows in uplands. It was used for arrowshafts by the historic
Cherokee who called it guni (goonee) -- the same word that they
used for 'arrow'. The nock in the prehistoric example was made just beyond
a joint; this prevented the shaft from splitting when the bow string was
drawn taut."
"...Arrows, tipped with ...small,
wickedly sharp points, were deadly weapons capable of killing men and animals.
Other types of points with various stems and notches were used both on
arrows and spears, but the ones used on spears were usually larger. Among
the spearpoints, some were chipped from quartzite. This hard crystalline
rock, which occurs in a range of colors -- milky-white, yellow, dove-gray,
and pink -- required much skill to shape. The... evidently chose it for
its beauty, since flint was far easier to chip." (Lewis & Kneberg,
47,48)
"The process for making implements
such as arrowheads, spears, and knives is described as follows: At the
quarry site the stone was broken out with stone hammers or large boulders.
The desired material was such that it broke with a conchoidal fracture;
that is, when a chip was broken off, a shell or saucer-shaped shallow depression
was left. The rough stone of the quarry was shaped with the hammers into
blades, usually leaf-shaped, with a range of from one inch to one
foot or more in length. These blanks could be transported, in lots of one
hundred or more, conveniently by carriers. Deposits of these have been
found where they were buried near camp sites, in caches, to be dug up later
for finishing. The blanks were specialized by further chipping. Tools of
bone or antler were used for shaping the blades into sharp-pointed and
notched implements. Tradition says that the old men... were the arrow-makers".
(Rights, 266)
"Their method of
pointing arrows is as follows: Cutting a bit of thin brass, copper, bone,
or scales of a particular fish, into a point with two beards, or some into
an acute triangle, they split a little of their arrow, which is generally
of reeds; into this they put the point, winding some deers sinew around
the arrow, and through a little hole they make in the head; then they moisten
the sinew with their spittle, which, when dry, remains fast glewd, nor
ever untwists." (Timberlake, 85)
Triangular arrow
points, called bird points, are very numerous. A popular form in central
North Carolina was the stemmed, shouldered, and barbed arrowhead, one to
three inches long. Favorite materials were the Randolph igneous stone ..and
white quartz was much prized for making arrowheads of fine workmanship.
"They made their Arrows of
Reeds or small Wands, which needed no other cutting, but in the length,
being otherwise ready for Notching, Feathering and Heading. They fledged
their Arrows with Turkey Feathers, which they fastened with Glue made of
the Velvet Horns of a Deer, but it has not that quality it's said to have,
of holding against all Weathers; they arm'd the Heads with a white transparent
Stone ... of which they have many Rocks; they also headed them with the
Spurs of the Wild Turkey Cock" (Beverley, bk 3, 60)
Another writer wrote:" The
arrows are made of certain reeds, like canes, very heavy, and so tough
that a sharpened one passes through a shield. Some are pointed with a fish
bone, as sharp as an awl, and others with a certain stone like a diamond
point.."
Darts: see under Blowguns
ARTIFACTS AND ANTIQUITIES
Abrasive Stones: Of the surviving specimens, some
native stone, particularly traprock material, has grooves, suggesting use
as abrasive material, and certain specimens show apparent wear.
Animal Teeth: Teeth of bear, beaver, and other
animals served as tools, they were also perforated and otherwise specialized
as ornaments.
Arrowheads: see above.
Arrow Shaft-Straighteners: A few stones with grooves
have been found, similar to specimens noted elsewhere, and classed as arrow-shaft
straighteners.
Arrow tools: Short plugs of antler, with blunt
end, some showing use, are classified among arrow-making tools.
Axes: "Axes were made by pecking and polishing.
Unfinished axes show marks of workmanship in this fashion. Granitic stone,
diorite, and other volcanic material predominate. Illustrations show a
variety of shapes, with grooves variously placed. Sometimes the under side
of the ax has been grooved for tightening on the handle. There are several
with double blades. Rough-chipped axes are also represented. Adzes are
rare."
"They cut a slit in a sapling
with a razor-sharp flint or pebble; into this incision, they fitted a stone
cut into the shape of an ax. As the tree grew, the stone became so firmly
fixed it could not be removed from the young tree. The sapling was then
cut down when they needed it. Their lances and darts were made in the same
way." (Bossu, Travels, 127)
Banner Stones: Stones with a hole bored for handle
are classed as banner stones. A problematical form, this type is regarded
as symbolic, an emblem of authority like our modern gavels. The half-moon
or pick-shaped form is the most common, of local materials, including banded
slate. A few are boat-shaped. Winged banner stones, or butterfly stones,
are so called according to the shape. The most striking of these are made
of quartz or quartzite. Unfinished banner stones show the method of boring
the stone, as the uncompleted boring shows a core. A reed or tube twirled
patiently, possibly with the help of a little sand in the opening, could
be used for boring."
Beamers: The leg bone of the deer was shaped into
a tool adaptable for use in tanning leather.
Bird Stone: This is a straight bar, on one end
of which in effigy is the head of a bird, or deer.
Bone & Antler: Awls and needles. Many tools
were made of bone and antler. Most numerous are the awls and needles. Wild
turkey bones and deer horns provided most material. Ends of the implements
were ground down to a point. Many are nicely shaped, although decoration
and perforation for suspension are rare.
Celts: "The series of celts runs from the rough-chipped
implement with narrow edge to the finely polished artifact with broad,
sharp edge. Material is usually of gray or green stone, with some granite
rock and slate. The rough-chipped specimens are mostly of the arrowhead-type
stone. Chisel and gouge shapes are rare."
Discoidals: "Many biscuit-shaped stones are found,
often classed as hammer stones. A pit on either side of the flat surfaces
is usually found. Some are classed as mullers. While there is probability
of such use, many stones, ranging to six inches or more in diameter, are
finely finished and formed with concave or convex sides."
Drills: "Implements with wide base and slender
body terminating in a point served as drills, or could have been used in
making perforations for sewing."
Scrapers: Short implements shaped like arrowheads,
with a wide, blunt edge instead of a point, could be fitted with a handle
and used as scrapers. Some of these are merely chunks of flint with finished
edge.
Game Balls: Spheres in size from marbles to baseballs,
a few of hematite, may be classed as game stones.
Hoes and Spades: "Rough chipped implements that
could be fitted with handles for agricultural purposes are found, usually
on bottom lands or old fields."
Jaw Bones: The preservation of jaw bones of the
deer and some other animals suggests application for some utilitarian purpose.
They could have served as corn-shellers.
Mortars, Anvils, and Nutcrackers: Stones with
concave depressions show use as mortars. On some stones, scars indicate
use as anvils. Stones with pits the size of walnuts have been classed as
nutcrackers, and although this classification is regarded as doubtful,
experiments show that such use is practicable. Some of the mortars have
pits of this kind on the under side.
Pestles and Grinding Stones: Bell-shaped and straight
pestles were used in preparation of food. Grinding stones without handles
served similarly, and small stones of this kind were used in producing
paint material.
Plugs: Knobbed plugs of stone and clay, resembling
bolts, have been found, suggesting ear plugs.
Sinkers: Soapstone and hardstone specimens, both
irregular and symmetric types, have one or more perforations. Some have
a groove instead of perforation. They could have served as net sinkers
in fishing. There are other perforated stones, the use of which is still
regarded as problematical.
Shell: Shells were widely used, and in many ways.
The marine shells include conch, oyster, clam, scallop, and others. The
inland deposits, mostly freshwater shells, with mussel and periwinkle predominating,
are usually found in refuse pits and sometimes associated with burials.
Some of the freshwater shells were used for making shell objects or served
the purpose whole as spoons. The larger portion of the specialized shell
material, however, was marine in origin. Small shells were pierced for
stringing. Olive shells pierced at the end made attractive necklaces, bracelets,
and anklets, when strung. Elaborate ornaments were sometimes outlined with
the marine shells strung in this way and sewed on garments. ...Mussel shells
with notches along the edge appear to be diminutive saws.
Tortoise shells, both terrapin
and turtle shells, were used as cups and rattles. Spears & Knives: The line of demarcation between
arrowheads and spears or knives is not easy to determine. The larger blades
or points that are four inches or more in length are presumably too large
for convenient use on an arrow shaft. Some of the blades show a well-defined
cutting edge.
Tubes: Large tubes of hourglass shape have been
found in western North Carolina. Their use is uncertain. There are straight
tubes, some identified as broken pipestems. Finished bone objects of similar
shape are included, and decoration has been noted. Their use for tobacco
smoking and for smoke blowing has been suggested. It is known also that
the shamans used instruments for blood-sucking, and the tube form presents
itself for consideration.
BASKETS
"The Cherokee
excelled in weaving baskets and mats from narrow strips of cane dyed in
several brilliant colors with native vegetable dyes. Intricate patterns
were achieved with various combinations of colors and weaves. Some of the
finest examples of ... weaving are the double-woven Cherokee baskets, made
in the early historical period, that have been preserved in museums." (Lewis
& Kneberg, 162)
"They make the handsomest baskets
I ever saw, considering their materials. They divide large swamp canes
into long, thin, narrow splinters, which they dye of several colours, and
manage the workmanship so well, that both the inside and outside are covered
with a beautiful variety of pleasing figures; and, though for the space
of two inches below the upper edge of each basket, it is worked into one,
through the other parts they are worked asunder, as if they were two joined
a-top by some strong cement. A large nest consists of eight or ten baskets,
contained within each other. Their dimensions are different, but they usually
make the outside basket about a foot deep, a foot and a half broad, and
almost a yard long... Formerly, these baskets which the Cheerake made,
were so highly esteemed even in South Carolina, the politest of our colonies,
for domestic usefulness, beauty, and skilful variety, that a large nest
of them cost upwards of a moldore." (Adair, 424)
There were Back baskets (called
Pack baskets); Bamboo baskets; Berry baskets; Ceremonial baskets; Domestic
baskets; Doubleweave baskets; Grapevine baskets; Honeysuckle baskets (late
period); Red Maple Baskets (late period); Rivercane baskets (early); Serving
baskets; Storage baskets; Trade baskets; Vine baskets (late); White Oak
baskets (late); Willow baskets; and Winnowing baskets for the corn preparation.
Through the years four distinct
basket traditions developed by the weavers themselves: rivercane, white
oak, honeysuckle, and maple. "The rivercane period extends from the earliest
contact with Europeans until the removal, encompassing the era when Cherokees
depended most on cane as a basket source.... The white oak period begins
with removal. ...By the end of the nineteenth century white oak baskets
were as much an index of change as rivercane baskets had been signifiers
of continuity... The honeysuckle period develops around the turn of the
twentieth century... in this strange combination of genocide and preservation,
eroding land and a longing for traditional lifeways, weavers began to make
baskets of Japanese honeysuckle vine... Changing basket forms represent
changing concepts.... Weavers did not relinquish rivercane or white oak
basketry. Rather they incorporated a third material and developed a new
tradition.... The red maple period includes the New Deal for Inds. ...."
(Hill, xvii,xviii,xix)
"For more than a thousand years,
women wove an astonishing array of baskets and mats for scores of uses.
They made them for exchange with friends, neighbors, and strangers, for
food gathering, processing, serving, and storage, and to utilize in ceremonies
and rituals. They kept ceremonial objects and medicinal goods in baskets.
They covered ceremonial grounds, seats, floors, and walls with mats. They
concealed and protected household items and community valuables in baskets.
Basketry was central to women's activities and to Cherokee society." (Hill,
37)
"Before the removal, the material
women used most often for basketry was rivercane (i-hya). Cane once grew
along virtually every kind of Southeastern waterway. Great stands lined
rivers, banked streams and creeks, and radiated from swamps, bogs, and
lakes". (Hill, 38)
"Techniques for weaving patterns
differ in cane and white oak basketry. Cane splits are the same width and
thickness. White oak splits can be any width or thickness. Cane patterns
are made with contrasting weave called twill. White oak patterns are made
by contrasting the size and color of splits. Cane weavers can make an almost
infinite number and size of geometric patterns with dyed splits and twill
weave. In contrast, white oak weavers rely on color... and on the use of
wide and narrow splits in a simple plait." (Hill, 127)
In the old days, Cherokees
did not have handles on their baskets. They carried large baskets with
tumplines. For smaller baskets, Cherokees used flexible handles of thong
or cord. After they were into white oak, however, Cherokees began carving
wooden handles for baskets. The best of them interlocked under the basket
for greater strength and durability.
In the early days, Cherokees did not
have lids for their baskets. Instead, another shallow basket was over the
top, which could be removed and used as a tray or another shallow basket.
"Rib baskets (talu-tsa de-ga-nu-li-dsi-yi)
are made from two relatively wide and dense pieces of white oak, tapers
their ends, and binds them together to make two intersecting hoops that
form a frame. She then whittles ribs in graduating lengths to outline the
basket body and prepares very narrow splits for weaving the ribs together.
By changing the shape of the frame and the lengths of the ribs, the weaver
creates different forms. Rib baskets can have square, round, or bilobed
bases and square, ovoid, or flat-sided bodies. The same technique of framing
rods and interlacing splits produces flat lids...." (Hill, 129)
"While some rib baskets became
identified with particular tasks-- egg, pie, and market baskets -- other
were known by their distinctive shapes -- gizzard, melon, and fanny baskets.
Mallets, wedges, scissors, and nails joined axes and knives in the weaver's
tool kit. Whittling became as important as scraping to complete a basket.
Technologies, forms, and materials long noted but never adopted gradually
became part of the lives of nineteenth-century Cherokees." (Hill, 131)
"The traditions Europeans brought
with them did not include doubleweaving, dyed splits, linear patterns,
detached lids, or twill work. Cherokee baskets did not include carved handles,
attached lids, or whittled foundations. But the most important difference
between the two traditions was that
European basketry did not include rivercane and cherokee
basketry did not include white oak.... Cherokees continued to rely on rivercane
for their primary basket material until removal." (Hill, 114)
"Smaller baskets also have lighter,
thinner rims. The density of the rim... depends on the type of basket...
Like if it's a big basket you've got to have a thicker rim. If it's a small
basket you can have a thinner rim on the outside". (Hill, 321)
"Weaving splits into baskets
was the work of women. Yet, for more than a century, both women and men
have cut white oak trees and have woven white oak splits into baskets.
In contrast to cane basketry, white oak basketry was never identified exclusively
with women. The association of white oak basketry with men as well as women
indexes profound change. It indicates the diffusion of gender roles, values,
and identities and points to the increasing interactions of Cherokees with
white culture, where white oak basketry originated and where men dominated
in private as well as public spheres. Once the province of women, basketry
became common to their husbands and fathers, brothers and sons. For the
first time, the work that had long signified the community and culture
of women became part of the male domain" (Hill, 120)
SIEVES: "Women relied on sieves
of 'different sizes, curiously made with the coarser or fine cane splinters'
for various tasks. They used them to sift wood ashes, seed fruit, screen
nuts, strain oils, sort and rinse foods, infuse herbs, and refine grains.
Sieves enabled women to "produce as fine Flour as any Miller" But Moravian
missionary Martin Schneider found the time involved a distinct problem.
"The richer people " he confided in his diary, sifted corn "thro'a fine
sieve of Reed... but they can scarce prepare as much in a forenoon as they
consume the rest of the day". Brother Martin may have been right. Cornmeal
was the base for so many dishes that pounding and sifting must have occupied
many hours of a woman's day.
"Larger sieves (chatter,
ti-di-a) measured approximately eight inches across and five inches
deep, with checkerweave bases for leaching corn and sorting meal. The smallest
sieves (ga-gu-sti,ha-i-yolugiski) ranged from three to five inches
across and one to four inches deep, with extremely narrow splits and tightly
woven sides. Made to scoop cornmeal and strain parched corn (gahawi-sita)
the small baskets were profoundly associated with the role of women as
sources of generation and regeneration. The sieve represented "a sacred
container which holds the meal of life' a basket that never emptied completely."
(Hill, 53,54)
"Winnowing baskets (saga-i:
flat) were the largest. Tightly woven and as much as three feet across
from convex sides a half foot deep, winnowing baskets enabled women to
separate corn particles, sort beans, and mix dough. Weavers sometimes reversed
the splits in the basket base so that the shiny cane exterior lay faceup.
The smooth base created a slick surface that did not absorb moisture or
snag food particles. And the texture of the reversed splits in the base
contrasted with those in the sides, creating a subtle design." (Hill, 50)
There is a wonderful, big book,
fully illustrated with examples, called "Ind. Baskets", by Sarah Peabody
Turnbaugh and William A. Turnbaugh, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., West Chester,
Pennsylvania. . It is published in collaboration with the Peabody Museum
of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, and it is very valuable
because it LISTS PRICES! (Value guide, 1997). Of the baskets today, they
write: "North Carolina - plain plaiting with oak splints; twill
plaiting ..in river cane; some double twill plaiting. Rims characteristically
are a hoop bound with hickory bark. Oklahoma - wicker plaiting.
Forms: usually square base
with bulging upper walls and round rim, "melon" baskets which are hemispherical
with flat woven lids and splint handles; utilitarian forms for gathering,
processing, and storing grain, etc; narrow-necked, bottle-shaped basket;
fish baskets with thin cane-splint on string handles; trays, sieves, nests
of baskets; miniature baskets produced by the North Carolina Cherokee.
Decoration: North
Carolina-structural manipulation of elements to produce twill plaited
geometric patterns, often with dyed splints; diamond patters are most common
in twill plaiting. Oklahoma- wicker elements brilliantly dyed with
aniline dyes.
Materials:In Manufacture--
North Carolina - usually splints of white oak or basket oak.. some
river cane, or sugar maple splints. North Carolina and Oklahoma -
honeysuckle vine in wicker plaiting. Hickory bark withes are used to bind
hoops in rim finishes of North Carolina baskets.
In Decoration - North Carolina
- fiber usually dyed with vegetal dyes such as boiled root of black
walnut or butternut for dark brown; occasionally dyed light red-brown with
puccoon or blood root; Oklahoma - wicker elements are brilliantly
dyed with aniline dyes.
BEDS
"In almost all ... houses,
of every type, a bench extended around the entire interior next to the
wall, except at the doorway, though in a few of the longer summer houses
such benches or "beds" as they were called, seem to have been confined
to sections at either end... The material of which they were made, except
perhaps for the posts themselves, was of cane. Four or six forked posts
carried long canes over which were laid crosspieces also of cane and above
all were cane mats... Among the Cherokee, however,... other materials were
(sometimes) used. White-oak splints are especially mentioned, and Bartram
says the Cherokee also employed ash splints. Rush mats take the place of
cane mats. The bed clothing, such as there was, consisted of skins of bison,
bear, panther, and other animals.." (Swanton, #137, 422)
"Parents and children slept
on comfortable cane 'mattresses'. They went to sleep with their heads to
the east, the direction from which the sun came. It was not good to sleep
headed west, for trouble and bad spirits came from that direction."
BEES
"...bees were kept for their honey from as
early a date..." . (Gilbert, 360)
Early writers
say that bees were introduced by the Europeans. That may be so, although
it is hard to believe, as those little things have wings that could take
them far, and strong winds could blow them even farther. At any rate, they
spread throughout North America at a rapid rate, and came to be greatly
appreciated.
It was not long before beeswax
became an important item of trade. Beeswax candles were highly prized by
the early white settlers on the East coast.
"The DeSoto narrative mentions
the finding of a pot of honey in a ... village in Georgia in 1540". (Mooney,
Myths, 214)
"Bees were kept by many of
the Cherokee, in addition to the wild bees which are hunted in the woods.
Although they are said to have come originally from the whites, the Cherokee
have no tradition of a time when they did not know them...." (Mooney, Myths,
309)
BERRIES
BERRIES: Lawson, in the Carolinas in 1700-1702, speaks
of many berries: Raspberries; Hurts (Huckleberries); Piemento (All-Spice-Tree);
Blackberries, Dewberries; Wild Fig; Red Plum; Damson; Winter Currant; Bermuda
Currant; Figs (two kinds) Gooseberry; Currants (white, red, and black);
Mulberry; Barberry; Strawberry; Grapes (several kinds). (Lawson, 98-118)
"Some of the more common and
widespread of wild fruits native to the Cherokee habitat included: blueberry,
deerberry, red mulberry, huckleberry, blackberry, dewberry, flowering raspberry,
red raspberry, mountain blackberry, black-haw, serviceberry (several species)
and strawberry. As virtually ubiquitous fruits, berries in particular proved
a multi-usable substance. Berries could be eaten raw, boiled, baked, dried,
crushed (for cake), mixed with seed meal for flour, pulverized for drink,
prepared as a spice or seasoning agent, and utilized as an active ingredient
in herbal remedies ... it is likely that the wild black raspberry, wild
red raspberry, blackberry, and dewberry, predominated in use among the
Cherokees. (Goodwin, 57)
For a list of Berries and their habitats,
see Index section.
BIRDS
"The bird species of the
area are especially diversified and numerous. Among the more important
can be mentioned tanagers, larks, finches, buntings, creepers, woodwarblers,
pipita, nuthatches, kinglets and goldcrests, titmice, shrikes, vireos,
thrushes, wrens, gnatcatchers, swallows, hummingbirds, owls, buzzards,
hawks, woodpeckers, cuckoos, kingfishers, eagles, ospreys, vultures, cormorants,
pelicans, geese, ibises, storks, herons, cranes, plovers, quail, woodcocks,
snipes, sandpipers, grebes, doves, rails, coots, and pigeons. It was taboo
to kill some species of birds but many types were snared by various means
or shot with blow gun or arrow. Along with quadrupeds, birds were closely
connected with clan names." (Gilbert, 185)
"The most important game bird was
the wild turkey, hunted wherever it could be found. Second in importance
was the passenger pigeon, whose roosts were gathering places for Inds.
hunters at certain seasons. ...Partridges, ducks and geese... Birds' eggs
were probably eaten everywhere... (Mooney, Myths, 302)
"...and other animals,
beside turkeys, geese, ducks of several kinds, partridges, pheasants, and
an infinity of other birds, pursued only by the children... (see Blowgun)
(Timberlake, 71)
Forgotten, or not mentioned, are:
Blue Jay; Lapwing; and Wren.
In "A New Voyage to Carolina"
John Lawson lists the birds he found there, and elsewhere throughout the
old south area. They are: Eagle, bald; Eagle, gray; Fishing Hawk; Turkey
Buzzard (or Vulture); Herring-tail'd Hawk; Goshawk; Falcon; Merlin; Sparrow-hawk;
Hobby; Jay; Green Plover; Plover, gray or whistling; Pigeon; Turtle Dove;
Parrakeet; Ring-Tail; Raven; Crow; Black Birds (two sorts); Buntings (two
sorts); Pheasant; Woodcock; Snipe; Partridge; Moorhen; Red Bird; East-India
Bat; Martins (two sorts); Diveling, or Swift; Swallow; Humming Bird; Thrush;
Wood-peckers (five sorts); Mockingbirds (two sorts); Cat-Bird; Cuckoo;
Blue-Bird; Bulfinch; Nightingale; Hedge-Sparrow; Wren; Sparrows (two sorts);
Lark; Tom-Tit (or Ox-eye); Owls (two sorts); Scitch Owl; Baltimore bird
(oriole); Throstle (no singer); Whippoo Will; Reed Sparrow; Weetbird; Rice
bird; Cranes and Storks; Snow-birds; Yellow-wings. (Lawson, 140,141)
"Water Fowl are, (he continues): Swans,
called Trompeters; Swans, called Hoopers; Geese (three sorts); Brant, gray;
Brant, white; Sea-pies (or pied Curlues); Will Willets; Great Gray Gulls;
Old Wives; Sea Cock; Curlues (three sorts); Coots; Kings-fisher; Loons
(two sorts); Bitterns (three sorts); Heron, gray; Heron, white; Water Pheasant;
Little gray Gull; Little Fisher, or Dipper; Gannet; Shear-water; Great
black pied Gull; Marsh-hens; Blue Peter's; Sand-birds; Runners; Ducks (as
in England); Ducks, black, (all Summer); Ducks, pied, (build on Trees);
Ducks, whistling; Ducks, scarlet-eye; Blue-wings; Widgeon; Teal (two sorts)
Shovelers; Whisslers; Black Flusterers (or bald Coot); Turkeys, wild; Fishermen;
Divers; Raft Fowl; Bull-necks; Redheads; Tropick-birds; Pellican; Cormorant;
Tutcocks; Swaddle-bills; Mew; Sheldrakes; Bald Faces; Water Witch (or Ware
Coot). (Lawson, 141).
"Eagles, ravens, crows, buzzards,
geese, crane, ducks, grouse, swallows, blue herons, wild turkeys, hawks,
woodpeckers, owls, osprey, partridges, cuckoos, and doves populated Cherokee
settlement areas, shaping ecosystems by nesting and feeding, transporting
foods, and fertilizing soil. Passenger pigeons (wo-yi) by the millions
flew through forests in the late fall, bleaching the ground white with
their dung.... Birds redistributed nuts, acorns, and seeds, culled fish,
amphibians, and reptiles, and became food for omnivores. Those birds that
preyed on insects protected forest and fruit trees by devouring crickets,
weevils, beetles, borers, and larvae. Their continual feeding also limited
insect destruction of garden and field crops. Raptors like screech owls
(wa-huhu), hoot owls (u-guku) and hawks (tawodi) reduced
crop predation by small mammals such as moles, mice, snakes, toads, rabbits,
and squirrels." (Hill, 21)
"Women made bird soup (u-ka-mu)
and cooked their eggs (tsu-way-tsi), although Cherokees never ate
'birds of prey or birds of night' who consumed the blood of animals. As
food preparers, women assumed a particular moral authority by maintaining
dietary prohibitions. When traders brought them 'unlawful' food like hawks,
they 'earnestly refused' to cook them 'for fear of contracting pollution'.
"Whenever women prepared meat they
'put some of whatever they cooked on the fire for sacrifice'. They usually
offered 'a little of the best' meat from deer or bear or buffalo, but birds
necessitated a slightly different sacrifice. Women selected one from the
assorted carcasses, 'plucked off the feathers, took out the entrails, and
then put the whole bird on the fire'". (Adair). (Hill, 22)
"...sometimes birds were
put to use without their knowledge... They placed poles around the gardens
and on the poles they hung gourd houses for purple martins. Purple martins
not only consume large numbers of insects each day, but they are also aggressive
towards crows and blackbirds, both of which are especially destructive
of newly planted corn. Some evidence suggests that they... may also have
encouraged the nesting of swifts and wrens, which also eat insect pests
and chase away crows and blackbirds." Hudson, 298,299)
"...for example....
birds that ate flesh -- such as eagles, crows, buzzards, swallows, and
owls -- were abominations and could not ordinarily be used as human food.
The same was true of animals that ate flesh... except for the bear....
(Hudson, 318)
"Birds constituted another
prized source of food and commodity to the early Cherokees. Many species
were utilized.... at least 200 species of birds have been identified by
Stupka in the Great Smoky Mountain region (Stupka, 1963)
"Several other raptorial birds
included: the turkey vulture or buzzard, black vulture, Cooper's Hawk;
red-tailed hawk; broad-winged hawk; marsh hawk; sharp-skinned hawk; sparrow
hawk; osprey; bad eagle, barred owl, horned own, and screech owl. Most
of these large birds either fed or nested in the forested uplands, although
it was not uncommon in the precontact period for many of the transient,
but seasonal species, to move into the flood plains and valley bottomlands.
... In general, owls and hawks were not consumed due to mythological reasons.
Owls, for instance, represented "disguised witches" to the Cherokees and
their cry was a 'sound of evil omen'" (Goodwin, 73)
"Mountain birds and water fowl
of lesser size but of expressed dietary or religious value to precontact
Cherokees included: raven, crow, tanager, white-fronted goose, great white
heron or egret, fly-catcher; ruffed grouse, cardinal; yellow mockingbird
or shrike; chickadee, tufted titmouse, whippoorwill, nuthatch, sparrows,
and turtledove or southeastern mourning dove." (Goodwin, 73)
"After corn and animals
which provided meat and hides, birds were probably next in importance to
early Cherokees. Wild turkeys nested among the trees, particularly in the
river bottoms, in profuse numbers. They were the largest birds in the southeast,
and the most numerous. Not only was turkey meat highly appreciated, but
their feathers were indispensable for ornamental purposes. Some were woven
into large feather cloaks. Some were used for headdresses. Small feathers
were needed for arrows, and the spurs were used for arrowpoints and fishhooks.
Even the bones provided whistles, scratchers, and other implements.
"At some seasons the passenger
pigeons filled the skies, and their nests were raided for the tender young
squabs. The colorful feathers were desired for ornamental purposes.
"The eagle was the most
revered of all birds, and the sacred Bird Clan had it as its symbol. The
killing of an eagle brought a problem to the entire town, for the proper
priests and conjurors had to go into immediate action, saying the magic
formulas, begging the Eagle spirit not to take revenge. Only after four
days of preparation could the feathered carcas be brought into the village,
and was carried around for all to admire by the greatest and most honored
warriors." (quote, source not noted). (Goodwin, 72)
EAGLE: "Cherokees considered the eagle
(awa-hili) sacred, a great shaman, and a symbol of peace. They exchanged
eagle feathers to signify friendship. Timberlake reported that eagle feathers
were so important "they sometimes are given with wampum in their treaties,
and none of their warlike ceremonies can be performed without them". In
the fall or winter, designated warriors hunted eagles for the Eagle Tail
Dance, which was performed to welcome visitors, celebrate victory, and
recount exploits of war. The raptor's power was so formidable that eagle
hunting was prohibited in spring and summer for fear of precipitating early
frost. Unauthorized eagle hunting caused nightmares and illness, endangering
the entire community." (Timberlake). (Hill, 23)
"Among the many important birds
found in Cherokee lands, none probably was deemed as sacred or as prominent
in rituals as the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) especially in
ceremonies pertaining to war. The difficulty in acquiring such a bird was
unquestionably one reason for valuing the eagle so highly. Certainly a
more common bird in the precontact period than today, the eagle remained
chiefly in the ... high Blue Ridge and Unaka-Smoky Mountains, usually nesting
on cliffs, rocky ledges, or in inaccessible trees.
PASSENGER PIGEON: The passenger
pigeon,
