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Cherokee Symbols and What They Mean

the largest Native American tribe in the United States. Before being forcibly
relocated in 1838, the Cherokee inhabited land in several southeastern states. The
Eastern Band of Cherokee has headquarters in western North Carolina and
continues to inhabit the traditional Cherokee homeland. The Cherokee have
traditionally sought to live in harmony with nature, and their symbolism reflects this
predilection.
Cherokee Sacred Numbers
The numbers four and seven recur in Cherokee stories, rituals and political
arrangements. In the Cherokee cosmology, the Earth is suspended from the
heavens by four cords, which correspond to the four cardinal directions, north,
south, east and west. In addition, the Cherokee recognize three other directions, up,
down and center, which is where you are. There are seven clans in the Cherokee
nation, and the number seven also symbolizes a level of purity that few can attain.
According to the Cherokee, two animals -- the owl and the cougar -- and five trees -pine, cedar, spruce, laurel and holly -- have achieved this level.
Sacred Animals
In the Cherokee creation story, the animals inhabited an upper world called
Galunlati when the Earth came into being, and they were told to keep watch over
the creatures on Earth for seven days and nights. Only two animals were able to
stay awake for the entire time, and these animals -- the owl and the cougar -- can
accordingly see in the dark. The Cherokee particularly revere the owl because its
eyes are on the front of its head, like those of humans. Because of the owl's
connection to the spirit world, the Cherokee believe it brings medicine to the sick
and that its appearance signifies an impending death. Healers with owl medicine
bring comfort and visions of the future to those on their deathbed.
The Myth of the Pine Tree
One of the Cherokee legends related to anthropologist James Mooney, who lived
among them for many years and collected their stories in his book, "Myths of the
Cherokee," concerns the origin of the Pleiades, for which many cultures worldwide
offer an explanation. In the Cherokee version, seven boys performed a spirit dance,
and all but one rose into the sky to become the six main stars of that star cluster.
The seventh was pulled down by his mother and swallowed by the earth. Every day
the mother grieved at the spot where he fell, and eventually a pine tree grew from
her tears. The Cherokee thus say that the pine has the same nature as the stars and
shines with the same light.
The Cherokee Flag
At the center of the flag of the Cherokee Nation is a seven-pointed star, which
represents the seven clans -- the Bird, Wild Potato, Blue, Wolf, Deer, Long Hair and
Paint clans. Surrounding the star are garlands of leaves and acorns that represent
the sacred fire that Cherokee spiritual leaders have maintained for hundreds of

years. The words, Seal of the Cherokee Nation, surrounding the garlands are
rendered in English and in the traditional Cherokee language. Seven stars,
representing the seven clans, surround the central seal, and one black star, placed
in the top right corner, represents the thousands who died on the Trail of Tears -- the
forced relocation of the Cherokee from the southeastern states to Oklahoma in
1838, part of the "Indian Removal Act" passed by the U.S. Congress in 1830 and
signed by President Andrew Jackson.
Characteristics of the Cherokee
The Cherokee people have lived in the southeast United States for thousands of
years. Despite their interactions with foreigners, and a series of devastating forced
migrations, the Cherokee have retained their unique culture and stayed united as a
people. Their ability to survive is in part due to a unique set of characteristics that
have allowed them to adapt to changes without losing their cultural identity.
Physical
The Cherokee Indians have the distinct physical characteristics associated with
Native Americans. This includes high cheekbones, a bent nose, reddish brown skin
tone and coarse, dark hair. Almond-shaped, heavy eyes are characteristic of
Cherokee Indians, a trait that is due to an extra fold in the eyelid. Sometimes
Cherokees have crooked fingers, especially the little fingers. Another physical
characteristic is hidden behind the teeth, a ledge that gives the teeth a shovel
appearance. An inverted breastbone is also common, a trait that leaves an
indentation in the chest; it is sometimes called a "chicken breast." All of their unique
characteristics are due to genetic mutations that have been passed down through
the tribe over thousands of years. Modern DNA analysis has allowed these traits to
be traced and tracked and can help to identify those with Cherokee or other Native
American blood.
Philosophical
The Cherokee people believe that decisions affecting the entire tribe must be met
and discussed as a group. The Cherokee treat each other with respect and believe
that bad deeds are always punished, so they are careful to avoid committing them.
When the Europeans arrived in the New World, the Cherokee were quick to welcome
them with open arms. They often intermarried with the newcomers and
incorporated their foods, philosophies and languages into their own culture. Their
open and adaptable nature has allowed them to survive as a tribe into the 21st
century, despite the incredible hardships their people have suffered.
Lifestyle
The Cherokee claim to have always lived in the southeast region of the United
States. Their lifestyle was that of an agricultural society. They lived in permanent
settlements along the banks of rivers, raised crops and hunted wild game. The
Cherokee are matrilineal, with the line of descent passing through the mother. Men
were in charge of hunting and fishing while women tended the gardens, growing
vegetables and herbs for both food and medicine. Today's Cherokee people have

integrated in with modern society, and run a number of successful businesses,


including a chain of casinos; however, the Cherokee still have a deep respect for
their roots and many still practice traditional arts, keeping their culture and history
alive. Religious
The Cherokee have always been an intensely spiritual people. A traditional way they
start the day is to face east and give thanks to the seven directions -- the four
cardinal directions, as well as up, down and the center, the place where the
individual exists. Numbers play an important part in Cherokee religion, especially
the numbers four and seven, which are associated with the directions and the
traditional number of Cherokee tribes. Seven is the highest level of spiritual
attainment. The Cherokee believed that of all the animals on the Earth, only the owl
and cougar had attained this level; they are highly regarded by the Cherokee. The
circle is sacred in Cherokee religion and many of the religious dances include
circular movements; however, not all Cherokee today practice their traditional
religion. Some have converted to Christianity and other western religions.

Pillars and Pilgrimage


Long before the pharaohs erected their massive funerary monuments along the
Nile, Neolithic builders convened on a hill in what is now southern Turkey to create a
towering pilgrimage site. Gobekli Tepe, Potbelly Hill, contains at least twenty rings of
carved, standing pillars, chipped and shaped from massive slabs of limestone nearly
12,000 years ago. Some of the pillars are 18 feet tall and weigh 16 tons and all are
covered with elaborate designs of animals -- abstract, symbolic and realistic. The art
is fearsome; vicious scorpions, enraged lions and wild boars are common. Gobekli
Tepe is clearly a center for ritual and pilgrimage -- there is no housing nearby and
the work would have required an unusual amount of cooperation and collaboration
from small nomadic tribes to complete.

The discovery of carvings on a snake-shaped rock along with 70,000-year-old


spearheads nearby has dramatically pushed back the earliest evidence for ritual
behavior, or what could be called religion. The finding, which researchers have yet
to formally publish, comes from a cave hidden in the Tsodilo Hills of Botswana, a
mecca of sorts for the local people, who call it the Mountain of the Gods.
an archaeologist at the University of Oslo in Norway and leader of the study. Prior to
the discovery, researchers had identified signs of ritual practice going back at most
40,000 years from sites in Europe.

Researchers believe that anatomically modern humans emerged from East Africa
perhaps 120,000 years ago. "The difficulty was always this incredible time lag
between that occurrence and any more complex aspect of the culture other than
just basic survival," Coulson says. Although some carved ornaments and wall
markings from another African site are as old as the new find, they seem to have
had no obvious ritual significance.
A chief of the local San people invited Coulson and her colleagues to study the cave
in Tsodilo Hills. They were unprepared for what they found when they entered: a sixmeter-long rock that bore a striking resemblance to a snake, including a mouthlike
gash at the end. "My first words I remember saying are, 'MyHundreds of small
notches, widely spaced in some places and closer together in others, covered the
rock. Entrants to the cave apparently made these markings to enhance the snake
illusion by creating the impression of scales and movement [see picture below].
"When flickering light hits it, it very much looks like the snake is flexing," Coulson
says. Snakes feature prominently in the traditions and the mythology of the San,
sometimes called the Bushmen.

The tips closely resemble those found elsewhere in Africa that researchers have
dated at up to 77,000 years old, Coulson says. Judging from the rare colors of the
stone points and the pattern of fragments, people from far and wide likely brought
them to the cave partially made and finished working them there, she explains.
Some of the stone tips seem to have been burned or smashed in what may have
been a type of sacrifice. Of 22 tips made from red stone, all of them show cracks
and faults consistent with exposure to high heat, Coulson says, and some were
burned white. Other spearheads exhibit chips and marks that suggest someone had
struck the finished tips dead-on, something that researchers have observed at sites
in Siberia, she notes.

Although many of the carvings looked old, more reliable markers of the site's
longevity lay buried in rock half a meter beneath the soft cave floor. In a one-meterwide, two-meter-deep excavation right next to the snake, the researchers
uncovered more than 100 multicolored spear points from a total of 13,000 manmade artifacts.

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