Reading Notes: Cherokee Myths Part A

-
-The earth is floating in a sea of water, suspended by cords hanging down from the sky vault
-When the earth grows worn out, everyone will die and the cords will break
-The earth will sink into the sea
-The animals once lived above the sea, but were crowded
-They sent a beetle to explore what was below the ocean to see if they could find a new place to live
-When beetle disturbed the mud on the ocean floor it grew into earth
-The land was soft and wet, so the animals sent birds to investigate where they could go
-When buzzard went down, the swooping of his wings along the muddy ground created mountains and valleys
-That is why Cherokee country is so mountainous
-When the animals came down it was dark, so they set the sun on a track to go around the earth every day under the sky arch 
-At first the sun was too close and scorched the animals
-They raised it until it was seven hand breadths above the earth 
-The mountain streams lead to the underworld 
-The plants and animals were told to keep awake for seven days
-In the end, the only animals that made it through were the panther and owl
-They were granted the unique ability to see in the dark, to be able to hunt those who must sleep in the dark
-The cedar, the pine, the spruce, the holly, and the laurel trees all stayed awake, so they were granted the power of always staying green
-The other trees would be forced to "lose their hair" every winter

-The first man had a mate created for him
-At first they got along, but then they began to quarrel incessantly 
-The woman set off for the sun land with the man trailing behind
-The sun asked if he would like his wife back and offered to help him
-The sun proceeds to lay different fruit trees in her path to tempt her
-She passes by the huckleberries, the blackberries, and the red berry trees without a second thought
-When she came upon the first known strawberry patch she stopped
-Turning back west, she realized she missed her husband 
-She gathers some of the strawberries and turns around to go back down the path from which she came
-She meets up with her husband and the two embrace joyfully



Fresh strawberries. Source: flickr

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to a Writer in Tights

-
Image
Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Joni and I am from Rockville, Maryland. I originally came to the University of Oklahoma for the ballet program, pursuing a degree in Ballet Performance. My journey began as a six year-old armed with a lot of energy and small pair of pink ballet slippers. I quickly fell in love with the language of the body and have explored a wide range of styles and movement techniques over the years, including ballet, contemporary, modern, flamenco, and tap. I believe that dancers are the visual storytellers of the world and that there is incredible power in speaking through the body. One of the best parts about being involved in the fine arts department at OU is getting to perform; if you've never ventured to the theatre on the North Oval, I highly recommend seeing a show there! During my sophomore year I decided to tackle a second major in International Studies, concentrating on the Middle East. I have taken an array of interesting courses focusing on
Read more

Week 9 Story: Diamond Tears

-
Image
Long ago, a man named Sribatsa and his beautiful wife Ayana set out on a journey to traverse the lands of the earth. The evil eye had been cast upon Sribatsa due to an unfortunate run in with Saturn, the god of bad luck, and he and his wife had decided to leave their home in search of safe lodgings until the eye turned away. But one day as they were making their way through the woods, a horrible fate befell Ayana.  While Sribatsa and Ayana were crossing a river among the trees, Ayana slipped on a rock and fell into the water. She did not know how to swim, but the waters had mercy and did not drown her; her beauty was too rare and too pure to submerge forever beneath the river's rippling surface. The waters instead gently cradled the water-logged woman and placed her on the shore. A group of nearby sailors observed this incident, and believed the woman had special influence over the river. They were envious of her power to control the waters, and kidnapped Ayana to steal t
Read more