Cherokee Mythology

Some Important Cherokee Mythological Figures:

Asgaya Gigagei ( Red Man/Woman of Lightening )
Evoked in spells to cure the ill and sick. Capable of changing sex in order to sympathize with whoever it is that is ill. His/Her skin was red in color, which signifies lightening.

Creator ( Yowa ) ( Unetlanvhi) "oo-net-la-nuh-hee"
A divine spirit that has no human form and is not given human attributes/ not personified.
The creator is sometimes referred to as the "Great Spirit", which is a phrase taken from other Oklahoman tribes. Supposedly the name "Yowa" is so sacred that it should only be said by a priest or in hymn. They believed in many different spirits, but only worshiped the Great Spirit as their one God.

Little Deer
The God of Deer. Invisible, and impervious to any hurt ordinary weapons could inflict. When one kills a dear he is supposed to tell the deer that the respects the deers noble sacrifice. Only when the deer's soul is visited by Little Deer will it leave it's body. If respects are not paid to the slain deer it is said Little Deer will track the hunter down and misfortune will befall him.

Moon ( Ge'`yagu'ga )/ Sun ( Su'talidihi' ) or both called ( Nunda )
Some stories tell that the sun was a beautiful and youthful woman who lived in the East, her brother being the Moon lived opposite her in the West. One story says that a man courted the Sun every month in the dark of the moon, always making sure to leave before daylight so that she could not see his face and never giving her his name. She became clever and dipped her hand in ashes, then rubbed it on his face saying that he must be cold from traveling. The next night the moon rose into the sky and his face was covered in ashes. In shame, he tries to stay as far away as he can.

Nunnehi ( Tavelers ) "nun-nay-hee"
Spirit race: also known as "immortals". Friendly towards humans. Very strong beings, sometimes going to battle for the Cherokee's favor- similar in many ways to the Little People. Invisible, but can show themselves to humans. Fond of dancing and music, they supposedly can be heard in the distance. They help lead travelers home.

Rabbit ( Jisdu ) "jeese-do"
The trickster figures in mythology.Usually he was beat at his own game. There are several tales involving the rabbit.

Tlanuwa "tlah-noo-wah"
Giant bird-like creatures of prey. They have metal feathers which deflected arrows. It tended to cause problems for those who lived near it. They could carry away small dogs and children when they hungered. However, it is said to be able to communicate with people. One such tale says that a medicine man climed to the nest of Tlanuwas and threw their offspring over a cliff, where an uktena ate them. Angered at finding their nest empty, the parent Tlanuwas fought with the Uktena.

Uktena "ook-tay-nah"
A horned dragon/serpent. It is said to have been a human man transformed into the form after he failed to assasinate the sun. Deadly monsters."Those who know say that the Uktena is a great snake, as large around as a tree trunk, with horns on its head, and a bright, blazing crest like a diamond upon its forehead, and scales glittering like sparks of fire. It has rings or spots of color along its whole length, and can not be wounded except by shooting in the seventh spot from the head, because under this spot are its heart and its life. The blazing diamond is called Ulunsuti, Transparent, and he who can win it may become the greatest wonder worker of the tribe, but it is worth a mans life to attempt it, for whoever is seen by the Uktena is so dazed by the bright light that he runs toward the snake instead of trying to escape." (James Mooney)
The Ulunsu'ti is said to be a large and transparent crystal with a red streak that runs from top to bottom. It is said that even the conjurer who is in charge of keeping it fears it, and that should the conjurer die they will be buried with it.

Utlunta (Spearfinger)
An ogress who earned the name Spearfinger because her right forefingers nail was shaped like a spear. She was completely made of stone and could not be harmed by arrows or spears. She could assume many shapes though it was common to see her in her normal state, which was that of an old woman. It is said she can control all things stone. Some tales say that Spearfinger would lure children to her and wait till they fell asleep, then she could use her special finger to stab out their livers and consume them. A story says that eventually the Cherokee's caught her and learned that her heart was in her palm, which they shot with an arrow and killed her.

Yunwi Tsundi' (Little People) "yun-wee-oon-stee"
Small humanoid nature spirits. Invisible, but capable of showing themselves- generally in the form of miniature people. Beautiful, with long flowing hair that touched the ground. Frequently help humans, but are capable of using magical powers to harshly punish anyone disrespectful towards them. They tend to be associated with certain areas.


Not a whole collection, just some of the things I found to be interesting. Cherokee mythology is very interesting and I simply wanted to write a bit about it.

Sources:
http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/articles/Uktena/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/cher/motc/
http://www.firstpeople.us/glossary/native-american-gods-cherokee.html
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~wetz0025/tsalagi/pantheon/nonhuman/
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheNunnehiAndOtherSpiritFolk-Cherokee.html

The Story of the Tla'nuwas

(Myths of the Cherokees by James Mooney)

On the north bank of Little Tennessee river, in a bend below the mouth of Citico creek, in Blount county, Tennessee, is a high cliff hanging over the water, and about half way up the face of the rock is a cave with two openings. The rock projects outward above the cave, so that the mouth can not be seen from above, and it seems impossible to reach the cave either from above or below. There are white streaks in the rock from the cave down to the water. The Cherokee call it Tla'nuwai , "the place of the Tla'nuwa" or great mythic hawk.

In the old time, away back soon after the creation, a pair of Tla'nuwas had their nest in this cave. The streaks in the rock were made by the droppings from the nest. They were immense birds, larger than any that live now, and very strong and savage. They were forever flying up and down the river, and used to come into the settlements and carry off dogs and even young children playing near the houses. No one could reach the nest to kill them, and when the people tried to shoot them the arrows only glanced off and were seized and carried away in the talons of the Tl'nuws.

At last the people went to a great medicine man, who promised to help them. Some were afraid that if he failed to kill the Tla'nuwas they would take revenge on the people, but the medicine man said he could fix that. He made a long rope of linn bark, just as the Cherokee still do, with loops in it for his feet, and had the people let him down from the top of the cliff at a time when he knew that the old birds were away. When he came opposite the month of the cave he still could not reach it, because the rock above hung over, so he swung himself backward and forward several times until the rope swung near enough for him to pull himself into the cave with a hooked stick that he carried, which he managed to fasten in some bushes growing at the entrance. In the nest he found four young ones, and on the floor of the cave were the bones of all sorts of animals that had been carried there by the hawks. He pulled the young ones out of the nest and threw them over the cliff into the deep water below, where a great Uktena serpent that lived there finished them. Just then he saw the two old ones coming, and had hardly time to climb up again to the top of the rock before they reached the nest.

When they found the nest empty they were furious, and circled round and round in the air until they saw the snake put up its head from the water. Then they darted straight downward, and while one seized the snake in his talons and flew far up in the sky with it, his mate struck at it and bit off piece after piece until nothing was left. They were so high up that when the pieces fell they made holes in therock, which are still to be seen there, at the place which we call "Where the Tla'nuwa cut it up," opposite the mouth of Citico. Then the two Tla'nuwas circled up and up until they went out of sight, and they have never been seen since.