The Wahnenauhi Manuscript: Historical Sketches of the Cherokees, Pt. 3
Part three of a document created c. 1890 by a member of the Cherokee Nation.
Historical Sketches of the Cherokees, Together With Some of Their Customs, Traditions, and Superstitions
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
By Wah-ne-nau-hi, a Cherokee Indian
From Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 296, 1966, courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
In early times, the clothing of the Cherokees was made entirely of the skins of animals which they killed in hunting. The Cherokee women became quite skilful in making clothes for their families, when very young, girls were instructed in the art of preparing material for, and making clothing. After dressing, the skins were rubbed and polished until they were very smooth and soft, often nicely ornamented, by painting in different colors; for paint, or dye, the juices of plants were used. The men wore a turban on their heads, their other clothing consisted of a hunting-shirt, leggins and moccasins, all deeply fringed.
The hunting-shirt was worn wrapped tightly around and folded over the chest, fastened with a belt around the waist.
Belts, in later years, came to be very much prized, being worn as an ornament.
They were made of bright colored worsted yam interwoven with white beads, and were several yards in length, so as to fold many times around the body, they were worn tied at the left side, the ends, ornamented with tassels, hung nearly to the knees. Garters, made to match the belt were tied over the leggins below the knees, the tasseled ends left dangling.
The women wore a skirt and short jacket, with leggins and moccasins, the jacket was fastened in front with silver broaches, the skirt was fringed and either painted or embroidered with beads, and the moccasins were trimmed with beads, in many colors. Their hair, they combed smooth and close, then folded into a club at the back of the head, and tied very tight with a piece of dried eel-skin, which was said to make the hair grow long.
The men, in cutting their hair, always left the lock growing on the crown of the head, this was braided and hung down the back. It was called a "coo-tlah."
Both sexes were fond of wearing ornaments. Some wore broad bands of silver on the arms above the elbows, and on the wrists and ankles, they wore rings on their fingers, and in the nose, and ears; I have seen old men with holes made in their ears from the lower edge to the very top. I never saw them wear more than two pair of ear-rings at one time. They liked very much to wear beads around their necks.
Their dwellings were sometimes made by bending down saplings and tying the tops together and filling in between with poles tied with bark and interwoven with cane or withes, and a space left open for a door, also a small opening near the top for smoke to escape.
For winter sleeping room, the saplings were bent quite low, making the hut not more than four or five feet high in the centre; after finishing off as the other, it was thickly daubed on the outside with mud, leaving only a small opening near the ground, large enough for a man to creep through; a large fire, of bark and dry sticks, was made, and when burned up, the ashes and embers were taken out, and two persons crawled in, and, with turkey wings, fanned out all the smoke, and closed the entrance by hanging a skin over it.
This hut was called a "hothouse" and it was sometimes used to steam a sick person in this is the way it was done,—The hot-house being made ready, the invalid was given as much cold water as he could drink, then taken in and left upon the ground until he was in a profuse perspiration, when he was taken out and plunged into a cold water bath.
In their intercourse with all, except most intimate friends, the Cherokees were reserved and independent, though very hospitable and often generous; they preferred to give favors rather than to ask them.
All Indians were called by them, "Yuh-wi-yah-i" which means, "The real People," others were designated by their color, as white people were, "Yuh-wi-na-kah" and black people, "Yuh-wi-kuh- hna-ka."
As before mentioned the Cherokees were given to hospitality. On rude side-boards, in their camps or cabins, prepared food was always kept, and any persons coming in, were at liberty to help themselves, food was always offered to visitors or strangers stopping, and a refusal to partake of it was considered an insult.
The women made bowls and cooking vessels of clay, and the men made spoons and bowls of wood, and spoons of buffalo horn, which were really pretty, as they were capable of being highly polished.
The women and girls prepared the food as is customary with other nations. The principal dish, "Con-nau-ha-nah," was made of Corn, Cuh-whe-si-ta was meal made of parched corn, and was used when on a journey, the hungry and weary traveler on arriving at a spring of water, alights and taking his bag of Cuh-whe-si-ta, puts a few spoonfuls into a cup which he carries for the purpose, mixes it with water and drinks it down, the requirements of Nature are satisfied — and the traveler goes on his way as much refreshed as when he began his journey in the early morning.
The Cherokees also used a drink called "Con-nau-su-kah," it was made of grapes which were boiled, strained and sweetened with maple sugar or honey. Corn was beaten in a mortar to make meal for bread, walnuts, chestnuts and hickory-nuts were often used in cooking, so were different kinds of berries, of which the huckle-berry was the favorite.
The men provided meat, and when game was plentiful, there was no lack of such food.
Boys were taught when very young, to shoot with bow and arrows, to hunt and to fish. Wrestling, foot-racing, ball-playing and corn-stalk-shooting were continually practiced, not only as a pastime, but as a necessary exercise.
Before starting on an expedition, or engaging in a contest of any kind, they were obliged to take medicine, scratch and bathe, the scratching was done with a small instrument having six points, some said the points were rattle-snake teeth, but the one I saw was made of a half dozen pins fastened together with two pieces of wood or bone.
This practice was strictly observed by ball-players when preparing for a "big play"— it was thought to make them brave and strong, and, before the Annual Festival of the Green Corn Dance, which lasted seven days, all must be scratched, none might partake of the feast unless he had performed this operation. After this Festival, green corn and all other vegetables were freely eaten.
At the Stomp Dances, terrapin shells enclosing pebbles, were worn, fastened to the ankles, by the dancing women.
When the English came to America they were peaceably received by the Cherokees, who presented them with food in token of their good will. 1730 is the earliest recorded date of a Treaty being made by the Cherokees with the English; in 1755 they ceded territory to the British Colonists, and permitted them to build forts. Prior to any treaty, a band of Cherokees utterly rejecting proposals of Peace, used all their powers of eloquence to prevent the Tribe from making a treaty.
They said that the Foreigners would get possession of a little now, then a little more and would not be satisfied until they had taken all the land, and there would be nothing left for the Indians.
“Historical Sketches of the Cherokees, Together With Some of Their Customs, Traditions, and Superstitions.” Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 296, Anthropological Papers Numbers 75-80, 1966, pp. 175–214., https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ia/bulletin1961966smit#page/5/mode/1up.
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