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Running head: CHEROKEE INDIAN CO-CULTURE 0

Cherokee Indian Co-Culture

Kelsey Day

COMM 263

The Cherokee Indian culture is a co-culture located in the United States. This culture is rich in history, and the bloodline of several Americans, including myself, can be traced back and linked to the Cherokee. With unique attributes such as their religion, language, music, and many others, the Cherokee Indian culture truly stands out as one of the original groups of people found in the United States, with an acknowledged history dating back to before the 1700’s.

To begin the process of explaining the Cherokee culture, I will first discuss religion, as it makes up a large portion of what defines a culture. Like most Native American tribes, the Cherokee were not Christians. However, there were a few similarities between the two religions I came across. Catherine Albanese (1984) tells how fire and water are held as major symbols for purification in the Cherokee culture, due to the derivation from the earth. Both fire and water were deemed pure, as they both came either directly from the earth or from earthly materials (Albanese). In Christianity, fire and water are also symbolic. As a Christian myself, I know these two are symbolic for purity and are demonstrated through water baptism and often the referral to “fire and brimstone” or “being saved by the fire”.

Often times in the Cherokee religion, their mythology would be acknowledged and involved. Albanese explained how myths focusing on the animal world and the human world would play crucial roles in the ceremonies the Cherokee would perform. For example, if a tribe was struggling to catch fish, they believed they had angered the fish and would hold a reconcilable ceremony in hopes of regaining the fish’s help and trust. Mythology and nature played a heavy role in their religion, and most ceremonies and religious affairs were centered around their relationship with nature and the myths derived from it.

Music was another part of the Cherokee culture, and was knitted into their ceremonies and everyday life. Traditional instruments included the panpipes, flutes, whistles, and percussion instruments (Duncan, 2011). The percussion instruments were mostly drums and rattles, and were often accompanied by dancing. The Cherokee men would sing lead in all the songs, which often consisted of a phrase repeated four to seven times, followed by shouts or whoops (Duncan). The songs were commonly sung during their ceremonies to honor nature and animals as a sign of respect and gratitude. Another traditional style of song was a prayer sequence, where the entire tribe would sing their prayers to the greater beings (Duncan). Music was also used when working, as a call and response sequence. When the women would harvest crops in the fields, they would often sing to each other to pass the time (Duncan). Music was as much a part of everyday life as it was their religion.

Language is another big contributing factor to a culture. The Cherokee Indians had their own language, much like every indigenous group located in the United States. Although lacking a particular name, and often just referred to as “Cherokee Language”, the language was extensive and used by tribes inhabiting modern day Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and other states (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). The Cherokee were also one of the first American Indian languages to have devised a system of writing. It was called a syllabary, because each of the graphic symbols represented a syllable (Encyclopedia Britannica). A half-Cherokee Indian by the name of Sequoya came up with the syllabary from 1809 to 1821 which consisted of 86 symbols and little inspiration from the English (Encyclopedia Britannica). Through this writing system, the once dubbed “savages” were showing signs of progress and civilization in their culture.

A fourth attribute to culture is recreation. A large part of everyday life for any culture is what is done for fun, and the Cherokee are no exception. The Cherokee Indians had several ballgames they played. Most ballgames were played with clubs or rackets, and were typically hosted in a field. The object of such games were similar to those of which we play today; get a ball into a goal using a club or racket (Krus, 2011). During such games, it was not uncommon for a player to be seriously injured, as the competitors would wrestle and fight to gain control. Shinny was a dramatically less violent game, and involved hitting a ball into a goal designated by a post or blankets. Whereas most ballgames with rackets were predominately played by men, Shinny was played mostly be the women of the Cherokee tribes (Krus).

A final aspect I will discuss in the Cherokee culture is how their family system was set up. The Cherokee had a Matrilineal Kinship System, where people trace their descent through their mother instead of their father (Norfleet, 2016). In the Cherokee culture, one’s relatives were those from their mother’s side. A clan system was also intact, and children would fall into their mother’s clan when it came to separation (Norfleet). Women held a heavy amount of unspoken power and respect in the Cherokee Indians, and influenced the family aspect of the culture greatly.

As one can see, the Cherokee Indian culture goes beyond the stereotypical view of Native Americans. The religion, music, language, recreational activities, and family set up are all contributing factors to the culture, with many others added into the mix. The rich history of the Cherokee Indians provides Americans with a better understanding of one of the co-cultures existing in our nation today. With white Anglo-Saxons being the dominant culture, I believe a better understanding of the cultures around us will lead to a better tolerance, and overall acceptance, nationwide. The Cherokee Indians are a beautiful co-culture, and they deserve acknowledgment beyond what they are getting.

References

Albanese, C. L. (1984). Exploring regional religion: A case study of the Eastern Cherokee. History Of Religions, 23(4), 344-371.

Duncan, B. R. (2011). Cherokee music. Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopediaofappalachia.com/entry.php?rec=51.

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (May, 2016). Cherokee language: North American Indian language. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cherokee-language.

Krus, A. M. (2011). Bridging history and prehistory: The possible antiquity of a Native American ballgame. Native South, 4(1), 136-145.

Norfleet, P. (2016). Cherokee social norms. Cherokee Families of Rusk County, Texas. Retrieved from http://cherokee1838.tripod.com/cherokee_society.htm.