Week 11 Reading: Myths of the Cherokee, Part B

Here is a recap of some of my favorite stories from the Un-Textbook unit Myths of the Cherokee

Image Source. The pattern on the terrapin's back is explained in Cherokee myths.

The Terrapin's Escape form the Wolves: One day a terrapin (turtle) and possum go hunting for persimmons together. They find a tree full of ripe persimmons which the possum climbs up and begins throwing fruit down to the turtle. However, a wolf sees this and starts snatching the persimmons out of the air. The possum throws the biggest fruit he can find, causing the wolf to choke. The turtle takes the wolf's ear and begins using it as a spoon. When others see this, rumors spread that the turtle has killed the wolf. Other wolves hunted down the turtle and threaten to boil him, burn him, or throw him deep in a river. The turtle pretends to be most scared of the last option, when really he just plans to swim away! Once in the water, the terrapin's shell smashes against a rock, and he must sew it back together. The scar on its shell remains to this day.

The Crane and the Hummingbird: The two title birds are in love with a beautiful woman, but the woman prefers the hummingbird over the ugly crane. To get rid of the persistent crane, the woman said she'd marry whichever bird could fly around the world and back to her first. She was sure the hummingbird would win because he was so fast, and he did take an instant lead. But the hummingbird needed a long rest every night, whereas the crane kept flying through the night. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say. The crane won fair and square, but the woman couldn't bring herself to marry the ugly crane, so she remained single for life.

The Red Man and the Uktena: Two brothers are out bunting. One begins to set up camping grounds while the other begins looking for deer. Instead of deer, he finds a man wrestling with a great uktena (horned serpent). As the man cries for help, the brother aims his bow at the snake and hits it right in the body. The snake's grip loosens, and the now free man turns out to be the "Red Man of the Lightning." As a reward, he gives the brother a medicine that allows him to always find game whenever he is hunting. He does this by burning the scale of the uktena down to a coal, and then wrapping it in deer skin. The man disappears mysteriously, and the brother is left with the good charm (which works exactly as intended!)