"Cherokee" what do you know about them

Cherokee Government

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Cherokee oral tradition tells of a time when the Cherokees were ruled over by a powerful priesthood called the ani-Kutani. When the priests took away a young man's wife, he organized a revolt and all the priests were killed. Since then, according to the tale, the Cherokees have had a democratic government.

Unified by language, traditions, and its clan system, the Cherokee nation had no centralized government or written laws. Towns governed themselves by democratic consensus, and each had its own priest, war chief, and peace chief.

Today, the three-branch government is composed of a chief executive called the principal chief, a legislature called the Tribal Council, and a judicial branch called a tribunal made up of three tribal justices.

Cherokee Houses

 Cherokee Kindred Systems

 Cherokee Language

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The Cherokee language belongs to the Iroquoian family of languages and is related to Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora, among others. According to scholars, the Cherokee language became a separate, distinct language at least thirty-five hundred years ago (1500 B.C.).It is a complex and difficult language; in his Cherokee-English Dictionary, for example, Durbin Feeling lists 126 forms of a single verb.

Cherokee has been a written language at least since 1821, when Sequoyah (c. 1770-1843),produced a Cherokee Syllabary for that purpose. (A syllabary is a writing system in which each symbol stands for an entire syllable. In the Cherokee syllabary, for instance, the symbol "A" stands for the sound "go.") Although Sequoyah is credited with inventing the syllabary, some Cherokees say that the syllabary is an ancient Cherokee writing system which was kept secret until Sequoyah decided to make it public.

The Cherokee language is still in wide use today. Many children still grow up with Cherokee as their first language, learning English when they go to school. Bilingual education programs in the public schools also encourage continued use of the language.

Cherokee Greetings

 Osiyo or 'siyo is usually translated as "hello" and it may be followed by Tohiju?-How are you? or Are you well?. One response is tohigwu-I am well. Wado is "thank you." Howa means all right, or okay. "Man" is asgaya; "boy" is achuja. "Woman" is agehyuh and "girl," agehyuja. "Cherokee Nation" is translated as Chalagihi Ayehli (or Jalagihi Ayehli), using the "Cherokeeized" version of the word Cherokee (with the place ending "hi") and the versatile word ayehli, which can mean "center," "soul," or "nation."

Cherokee Legends / Myths / Oral Stories

 Cherokee Medicine Men and Healing Plants

Sacred Animals

  

The cougar and the owl hold special significance to the Cherokee people. It is said they were the only animals who stayed awake during the seven nights of creation, so to this day they are nocturnal. Cherokee culture associated the spaces on the back of the turtle with the 13 yearly phases of the moon.

Sacred Colors

 The sacred colors of the Cherokee correspond to:

East = red = success; triumph - Red is also the color of the East Wind Messenger, "Ka na ti" which is symbolized by the Thunder Bird. "Ka na ti" is the father of the South Wind and West Wind--thunder and lightning. This spirit being controls time and space. He precedes the Sun each morning to announce her arrival.

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North = blue = defeat; trouble -

North Wind Messenger = black - He is called "Yah wi gu na he da", Long Human being. This being is the spirit of all of the rivers and controls the winds that bring the winter season. He would cause great mischief if not for the watchful eyes of the South Wind and West Wind Messengers which keep him in check.

West = black = death

West Wind Messenger = brown - He is called "Nuh sa wi", the Dark Magician. The West Wind Messenger represents lightning.

South = white = peace; happiness

South Wind = yellow - The name of the South Wind Messenger is "U sa wi", the Light Magician. This spirit being ushers in the summer seasons. Together with his twin brother, the West Wind, they manage the rain, wind and lightning throughout summer and autumn. Together they force the North Wind back to his home after his allotted time.

Green = Clan color for the AniGatogewi, the Wild Potato Clan.

Yellow = Clan color for the AniGilohi, the Long Hair Clan.

Brown = Clan color for the Ani Kawi, the Deer Clan.

Purple = Clan color for the Ah-ni-tsi-sk-wa, the Red Tailed Hawk Clan.

Blue = Clan color for the Ah-ni-sa-ho-ni, the Blue Holly Clan.

White = Clan color for the Ah-ni-wo-di, the Paint Clan.

Red = Clan color for the Ani'-Wah' Ya, the Wolf Clan.

Sacred Places

The Cherokee consider all rivers and streams to be sacred places. Every day began with the going-to-water ceremony, when everyone entered a stream near their village, faced east, and prayed to the seven directions: the four cardinal points, the sky, the earth, and the center—the spirit. They gave thanks for a new day, and washed away any feelings that might separate them from their neighbors or from the Creator, emerging cleansed physically, mentally, and spiritually.