about the cherokee origin
The Cherokee belief system is largely built around their creation story, repeating similar numbers and animals throughout their most important oral traditions.
origin story
In the story, the earth does not exist, and instead the animals live in the water. As the rest of the animals grew weary of their cramped space, the water beetle dove to the bottom of the water and found soft mud. The mud began to grow and the earth took shape into a large and flat plane, afixed at the four cardinal points with ropes to a rock. At first the earth was soft and wet, but the buzzard volunteered to fly around it to see if it was safe. When he reached the Cherokee land, he had become tired, and his wings began to hit the ground, and wherever they struck the earth there was a valley, and where they came up there was a mountain. The Earth dried and the animals began to explore, but it was dark, so they agreed to set the sun on a track to rise and set everyday. This is the general basis for the Cherokee creation story.
AnimalsThe animals in the story would become many of the spiritual ancestors of the Cherokee, and shows the nations connection to their land as well as the basis for their traditional belief structure. |
cherokee today
Today Cherokee still pass this legend down orally and is the basis for some of their dances. This tradition has changed through the development of beliefs within the tribe. With the arrival of Christian missionaries and the mass conversion that followed, many Cherokees do not fully subscribe to this belief. However, this story has been preserved as a pillar of the nations identity.