Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Reading Notes: Cherokee Myths Part A

In the beginning of the world, there was no fire. The Thunders sent their lightning to strike a tree, creating fire. The animals saw the smoke and held a meeting to decide who would fetch the fire. The raven volunteered because he was big and strong. When he got near the fire, he was burned and quickly went home. The screech-owl volunteered next. A blast of hot air burned the owl’s eyes, and so he scurried home. The hooting owl was next. The smoke blinded him and the ashes created a white ring around his eyes. He left without the fire. The birds gave up, and so the snake went. He slithered into a hole nearby but was burned by the hot coals and retreated. The great Blacksnake offered to go next. He was suffocated and burned by the smoke. Lastly, the water spider volunteered. The spider spun her web to make a bowl. The spider then went to the fire and gathered a single coal and her bowl. They then had fire from then on out.


Sun of May
From the Uruguayan Flag found on Wiki

A long time ago, several men decided to find where the Sun lived. They set out travelling east, meeting many other tribes. One of the tribes had a man who was on the verge of death. It was custom to bury the women alive with their husband’s dead bodies. The sun lived inside the sky which was a door. It would come out of the door and travel around the arching sky to the west. It was a human figure, but was too bright for anyone to see. They waited for the sun to come out so that they could sneak into the door. One man was crushed by the sky when he tried. The others decided to go home, but were old men by the time they reached home. 

Bibliography:
 Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900). Link

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