Cherokee Culture

Cherokee Culture. . , Turkey Gorget , The stiff wing feathers of the Turkey are used to fashion arrows. The tail makes a wonderful fan. The beautiful iridescent bronze, brown, and black body feathers were woven into warm water-repellant cloaks. These large birds furnished an important source food and were highly regarded in Cherokee culture. Long before the arrival of Columbus, this design depicting two turkeys was carved into a shell disc and worn as a pendant around the neck of a prominent person. Such chest ornaments have come to be called gor'jets., Booger Mask , Booger masks were purposely made ugly to represent what the Cherokee considered their enemies, invaders, foreigners or outsiders. The masks would contain horns, vicious teeth, other animal features or have grimacing mouths. After white men arrived, the Cherokee started making masks having large eyebrows, mustaches, beards, and bald heads to represent their new white enemies, Traditionally, the masks were printed and decorated with natural dyes or paint from plants, roots and walnuts., Stickball , Many Eastern tribes played variations of this very rough game, which is the origin of the modern sport of Lacrosse. The Cherokee name, A-ne-jo-di, means "small brother of war" and is played by two opposing teams. In earlier times it was used to settle serious disputes and players were often seriously injured. The ballsticks are split from hickory and bent into a hoop at the top, which is laced to form a racquet. Only the sticks may be used to pick the small deerskin ball off the ground. Once the ball is in the air, it may be caught and carried by hand (sometimes carried by mouth) around goal posts at opposite ends of the field., Buffalo , The American bison was not just on the Plains, it once occupied many areas of the Southeast, where herds were not as large as those in the West. They were sometimes referred to as "woods buffaloes" The Cherokees gave high honor to the animal as a provider for the People. The buffalo furnished not only an abundance of meat and other products, it was much valued for it's warm robe, a highly sought-after trade item. Long after this species had been eliminated from the Eastern Cherokee territory (late 1700s). the buffalo continued to be celebrated in tribal songs and dances, using horned masks and relics from the creature known as Yunsa., Female Cherokee Dancer , Tied to her legs and partially hidden by her long, full skirt, she wears the shells of many box turtles with seeds and stones sealed inside, These leg rattles, and the women and girls who wear them, are known as "shell shakers." The sound they make adds a trilling accompaniment to the singing of the male dancers., Rabbit , The Cherokee believed that each animal had an appointed station and duty. The rabbit was the messenger to carry all public announcements and usually led the dances. He was also the great trickster and mischief maker. The rabbit is the most prominent in animal myths, where he is depicted as a trickster, deceiver and generally malicious, but often beaten at his own game by his intended victim., Eagle Dancer , In the old days, both the golden and bald eagles lived in the Cherokee country. These great birds have long been represented in tribal art and are associated with the color red. Much admired for their keen eyesight and powerful gift of flight, eagle feathers, skins and talons are prized for use on ceremonial equipment and regalia., Baskets , With their many forms and uses, baskets are a significant aspect of Cherokee culture, providing information about daily life, ceremonies and trade practices. Made almost exclusively by women, they were woven of rivercane (a Native American bamboo species) that once grew in thick canebreaks along all the Southeastern waterways. Traditional dyes for these baskets were made from black walnut, bloodroot and butternut., Twilled baskets , Twilling appeared as early as A.D. 600-900 and utilized an over-and-under technique with two or more weavers, producing a variety of zigzag, diamond and diagonal patterns. , This example is a burden basket using oak splints. Designed to carry heavy loads, such as food harvests, the burden basket was worn on the back and secured with a tumpline, or strap, around the chest., Doubleweave baskets , One of the oldest and most complicated basketry forms is the doubleweave, basically two baskets, woven one inside the other, and joined with a shared rim. , This example is dyed in black walnut and pokeberry, with traditional chief's coffin and arrow point designs. It was taken to London in 1725 by Governor Francis Nicholson of South Carolina., Honeysuckle Baskets , Combined with white oak or maple, these were woven by Cherokee women beginning in the 19th century. They represent a departure from the traditional forms because they were woven from a non-indigenous plant material and the pattern was overlayed on the basket rather than woven into it. These decorative baskets were made to sell rather than to serve a dally or ceremonial purpose. , This example is a contemporary basket, with the traditional cross motif., Pottery , The first pottery was made on the coast of what is now Georgia and South Carolina between 3000 and 2500 B.C. Indicating that archaic people were changing from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled, agricultural existence. Clay pots, needed for cooking, would have been too cumbersome for traveling. By the beginning the Woodland Period, c. 1000 B.C., settlements had increased and with them the knowledge of pottery-making techniques. Clay from river banks was tempered with sand, crushed quartz, or plant material, then coiled and shaped by hand to produce vessels for daily use and for ceremonies, Decorative methods for Cherokee ceramics include incising with a pointed tool, stamping with a carved wooden paddle and impressing with fabric and corn cobs, The finished pots were placed in a fire pit where the intense heat turned them a variety of colors from gray, olive, and brown to red, yellow and beige. The characteristic gray or black smudged surface was created by the wood smoke., Qualla Phase pot, , with applied rim added for strength and pinched between the fingers, incised designs produced freehand with a pointed tool, and punctates, or tiny holes, made with the end of a hollow cane or reed. Qualla phase ceramics represent definitive Cherokee pottery and date from the early 15th century to well into the 19th century., Wooden Paddles, , with carved designs, were used to stamp designs on pottery. The variety of rectilinear and curvilinear designs demonstrated the artistic sense of the carver., Pot sherds and effigies , Include a variety of paddle stamped designs: , 1.& 2. Mississippian - 1250 A.D.- 1500 A.D. , 3. Qualla sherd with rectilinear stamped surface. , 4. Plain-surface pot decorated with an applied human effigy face. , 5. Effigy animal, most probably a dog. This animal, molded from clay, could have been ornamentation on a pipe or possibly used to illustrate a story., Complicated Paddle-Stamped Pottery , displaying late Mississippian curvilinear designs characteristic of Lamar phase ceramics, (mid 14th - mid 18th century). Ceramics of this type are present at Spikebuck/Quanassee and other sites in Clay County. This may represent a merging of North Georgia ceramic traditions with pre-historlc and historic Qualla phases. New artifacts that indicate this influx of other ideas include stone discoidais, clay pipes and stone celts., Gorget , Gorgets (pronounced gor-jets) were pendants or breast ornaments with two pierced holes to hang from a necklace. They were made from coastal conch shells or copper obtained through trade and from elaborately carved designs ranging from geometric shapes to depictions of animal, insect, and human forms. They were employed variously as "passports" allowing passage through warring territories, as funerary objects, and as decoration., Spider , This gorget represents a classic ancient motif of an eight-legged spider with cross and circle incised on shell. The spider is traditionally represented with its head at the bottom of the design, indicating a state of repose. In Cherokee mythology, the water spider is believed to have brought the first fire to humans., Petroglyphs , North Carolina's rock art is an important record of prehistoric culture. Petroglyphs, or designs carved or chipped in stone, were probably sacred and from a complex indigenous spiritual and ritual belief system. The petroglyphs pictured here are located along the banks of the Hiwassee River and may have been created as a warning, telling passersby that the eddies and whirlpools within this river location are the passageways into the Underworld, where mythical creatures like the Uktena dwelled, and should be avoided. "We believe some of the iconography is recognizable and diagnostic to the Mississippian Period (Ashcraft and Moore 1998:61), and possibly the early Qualla (AD. 1300-1500) and middle Qualla (A.D, 1500-1700) manifestations of the Cherokee (Rodnig 2008:34-37)"., Humanistic Figure , The ancestral Cherokee legends often describe beings that are mixtures of both man and animal, or animal beings that possess traits of many different animals. These beings are able to pass between worlds and possess special powers. The figure depicted here may be the representation of a supernatural being and is probably part of a broader story being told by the petroglyphs., Water Panthers , The images shown here may be those of Underwater Panthers known within the mythological traditions of many Southeastern Native Americans. Powerful creatures of the Underworld, they were often described with the traits of several animals including the scales of a serpent, feathered wings, and the antlers of a deer., Spirals , The spiral is an important symbol to Southeastern Native Americans that may have had several meanings depending on where it was and what direction it circled. Some of its earnings might include a water symbol, coiled serpent, or Upperworld or Underworld entryway. Other Interpretations may be that of the sun, or the indication of life's beginning, renewal or the circle of life. The oval or circular marks in varying sizes are thought to represent population counts in surrounding areas., Projectile Points , A stone or antler bone was used for chipping and flaking to shape a spear, dart or arrow point, The size of the point and the length of the shaft determined its primary purpose. Projectile points are often named for the area where they were excavated or for the farmer on whose land they were discovered. These examples we found in Clay County., Points depicted here are: , 1. Palmer: 7000 -8000 B.C. , 2. Kirk: 6000 -7000 B.C. , 3. Kirk: 6000 -7000 B.C. , 4. Morrow Mountain: 3000 - 5000 B.C. , 5. Savannah River: 1000 - 3000 B.C. , 6. Yadkin: 1000-1200 A.D., Grooved Axes , were produced in many sizes and hafted onto handles bound together with hide, or with a wood such as hickory that bends easily when green., Celts, , which date from the Early Woodland Period, had pointed, triangular blades and served as an all-purpose woodworking and digging tool., Chunkey Stones, , elaborately carved discoidais, were used in the game of chunkey. The disk was thrown across the ground and players would attempt to throw their spears closest to where it landed. In Cherokee mythology the chunkey game was also used for the purpose of divination. The game dates to the Mississippian period, broadly defined as A.D.800-1400 and is associated with mounded communities like Spikebuck /Quanassee. These stones belonged to the village and were kept in the council house., Atlatl weights, , boatstones, birdstones, and banner stones were developed to provide extra heft to a spear thrower, or atlatl, the precursor of the bow and arrow. This tool dates to the late archaic period, broadly defined as 8000-1000 B.C., Pipes , of great beauty and intricacy were carved from stone and made from clay by the Cherokee for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. This pipe, with its bird head, could be associated with the medicine of the Bird Clan. Pipes were often decorated with animal or amphibian effigies., The Seven Cherokee Clans , The Cherokee people line in groups of family members, a matrilineal clan system in which people belong to the cans of their mothers. Each clan is run by a council of grandmothers who make the important decisions and sit in judgment of those who break trial laws., AniGatogewi (Wild Potato Clan) , protectors of the earth, and farmers and gatherers of the wild potato, used to make flour and bread., AniGilohi (Long Hair Clan) , teachers and keepers of traditions; peace chiefs usually came from this clan., AniWahya (Wolf Clan) , warriors and war chiefs; they were protectors of the people and the only clan that could kill a wolf, using special ceremonies and wolf medicines., AniWodi (Paint Clan) , keepers of the flame and makers of red paint used for war and ceremonial purposes; the tribal medicine men and wise men usually came from this clan., AnaKawi (Deer Clan) , deer hunters and trackers, tanners and seamers, and keepers of deer medicine; they were fast runners and foot messengers., AniTsiskwa (Bird Clan) , keepers of the birds, sacred feathers, and bird medicines; they were skilled in the use of bird snares and blowguns for hunting., AniSahoni (Blue Clan) , keepers of the medicinal herb gardens and all children's medicines; they were known for the medicine made from a blue-hued plant called blue holly.