Copyright © 2002 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
Courtesy Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
[**Note: Cultural information may vary from clan
KanuchiKanuchi is considered to be a real delicacy. The nuts are gathered in the fall and allowed to dry for a few weeks before the kanuchi making begins. It is a simple process, but that does not necessarily mean that is easy. The hickory nuts are cracked and the largest pieces of shell removed either by shaking the pieces through a loosely woven basket, or picking them out by hand.
Traditionally, a log was hollowed out on one end into a bowl like shape. The shelled hickory nuts are placed in the hollowed log and pounded with a long heavy stick with the end rounded to have the same contour, more or less, as the cavity in the log. The nuts are pounded until they are of a consistency that can be formed into a ball that will hold its shape. Kanuchi balls are usually about three inches in diameter and must be stored in a cold place. Today kanuchi is usually preserved by freezing.
To prepare kanuchi for the table, place a kanuchi ball in a saucepan with about a quart of water and bring it to a boil to dissolve the ball. Allow the kanuchi to simmer about ten minutes and then poor it through a fine sieve. (A colander lined with cheese cloth works very well for this.) All the remaining shells are left in the sieve. If you have the time and patience you can pick the larger bits of nut meat from the shells in the sieve and add them to the liquid kanuchi. The kanuchi should be about as thick as light cream. Most traditional cooks will add about two cups of homemade hominy to a quart of kanuchi. Some cooks prefer hominy grits, which are prepared according to package directions and added to the kanuchi. Such things as consistency and how much hominy or hominy grits to add are, of course a matter of taste, as is the addition of salt or sugar.
Serve kanuchi hot as soup.
Information provided by various sources.
1. Walnut dyes - light brown to dark brown
2. Bloodroot - orange color
3. Yellow onion skins - yellow, rust color to orange
4. Polkberry - sort if like a dark mauve
5. Assorted berries make different colors as wellPlace a branch of walnuts and water with the vines to be dyed in a pot. Then place rocks on the vines to hold them under the water and let simmer until the desired shade of brown appears. You can also use walnut hulls by boiling them and running the hulls through a sieve. Place the vines in this mixture and bring it to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes and then run the vines under cold water until the water runs clear.
The bloodroot can be found along the banks of streams and near running water. It can be recognized by the single white flower which blooms in the early spring. The root can be gathered year round, even after the bloom falls off. Once the bloodroot has been gathered it should be stored in a cool dark place during which time it will shrink. When you are ready to boil the root just add water and let simmer. An orange color will appear in the vines when it is completed. Used liquid bloodroot dye can also be stored in a cool place. Some modern day weavers freeze the liquid which can be used again later.
The skins of the yellow onions can be located at any grocery store. Take the skins and place them in a pan of water with the vines and let simmer until the desired shade of yellow or rust appears. The liquid can be stored and reused.
Polkberry and various other berries. Place in jar or bowl and mash to a pulp. place the reed into the pulp. The longer you let it stand, the darker and richer the color.
Information Provided by Ina Romero - Basket Weaver.
Cherokee Basketry has endured from prehistoric times to the present day. The women do the basket making. The principal materials used by the Cherokee are cane, white oak, hickory bark and honeysuckle. Originally the only two materials used for dyes were black walnut and blood root. Butternut has been added for black, yellow root for yellow and broom sedge for orange.
A basket maker uses no patterns, models, or drawings. Her patterns are in her soul, in her memory and imagination. They come from the mountains, streams and forests, and the traditions of her tribe. All Cherokee baskets are of woven type. The function of the basket was the first consideration for its shape. The baskets are used as shifters, packs, to carry fish and for storage.
Baskets were used for many things. To catch fish, store food, carry things, keep curios or clothing items, and sieves to strain foods were made like baskets. Material used for baskets included buckbrush, honeysuckle, inner bark of the elm, split cane or split oak.
The dyes used were from roots, barks, leaves, nuts, flowers, fruits, stems, seeds or sometimes a complete plant. The dye used depended on what was available. For example: bloodroot is used for a yellowish color; black walnut is used for a brownish color; elderberries are used for a rose color; butternut is a black color. It depends upon the parts of the material used. For example: If you use the bark of the twigs of the bloodroot, it will give you a yellow color, but if you use the root of the bloodroot, it will give you a redbrown color. The darkness of color you get depends upon the length of time you keep the basket reed in the stained water.
Information provided by the Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center
E-mail: cultural@cherokee.org
2 Cups FLOUR
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 cup Instant Dry Milk
2 Cups ShorteningMix Flour, baking powder, salt, powdered milk, and water. Heat shortening until flakes of flour start to bubble when dropped into oil. While shortening is heating, Pull off a palm sized mound of dough and roll it into a smooth ball then flatten into a disk shape. Size is a matter of preference. Put dough into pan, cook until brown, turn over and cook other side until brown. You can take a brown paper bag and place a few sheets of paper towels on the bottom and drop finished fry bread into bag to let grease drain. Makes about 6 servings.
Information provided by various sources.
The Cherokee language is spoke by approximately 10,000 people in the Cherokee Nation, as well as speakers in the homelands (of the Eastern Band of Cherokee). The western and eastern dialects are different in many ways, although extremely similar. Here is the Cherokee Nation, which consists of a 14 county area in northeastern Oklahoma, there are many different dialects as well as slang words.
Although many people write Cherokee using the English alphabet using phonetics, in the early 1800’s, Sequoyah Guess invented a syllabary for writing Cherokee. The syllabary consists of 84 characters which represent the 84 different syllables used in speaking the language. Within days, Sequoyah taught his daughter to read and write her native language, and within months, hundreds of Cherokees were able to write and read their own language.
Language is very important to preserving a culture – many words which are descriptive of cultural mannerisms, feelings, events, and ceremonies are only identifiable in the native tongue. There is no comparable word in the English language. All prayers and other ceremonies used at Stomp Dances and by Medicine people are in the Cherokee language, as well.
When reading a Cherokee word written phonetically, remember these pronunciations:
A ( as in ‘father’)
E (an ‘a’ sound, as in ‘way’)
I (an ‘e’ sound, as in ‘bee’)
O (as in ‘oh’)
U (as in ‘ooh’)
V (sounds like ‘uh’)
Ts makes a ‘j’ soundBeginning Cherokee Words
Greetings and courtesies:
Hello = O si yo
How are you? = To hi tsu?
Fine = O s da
And you? = Ni hi na
Okay = Ho wa
Thank you = Wa do
Yes = vv ii
No = Thla
I don’t know = Thla ya gwan taInformation provided by the Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center
E-mail: cultural@cherokee.org
A firekeeper and his assistant begins early dawn starting the official sacred fire. He begins with small slivers of wood, inner most part of an oak tree called the sponge, flint and some rock to trigger a spark. A medicine fire is also built where a small piece of meat is then thrown in and pipes are lit from the fire and a prayer follows. The firekeeper does his job so well that he doesn't have to come back until later in the day.
Sunrise: The men sit around talking about political issues and the women prepare a meal for the day which consists of traditional and modern food.
Later in the afternoon: Sermons are held in the Cherokee language. The sermon includes telling all to love all mankind.
After the sermon, a stickball game is played--an ancient Cherokee tradition that resembles the American La Crosse.
Sundown: Sermons continue. Each clan member takes turn by taking seven puffs of the old ceremonial pipe.
The Chief, medicine men, and elders hold a meeting then they call for the first dance. A second call is made. The first dance is by invitation only, tribal elders, elders, medicine men and clan heads.
The members gather to visit, feast and dance far into the night. It is a holy place to worship God. No littering, liquor and rowdy behavior. Rules are written in the Cherokee language and posted on a board hung up on a tree. The dance participants include a leader, assistants and one or more "shell-shaker girls" who wear leg rattles traditionally made out of turtle shells filled with pebbles but today some use cans filled with pebbles to provide rhythmic accompaniment while they dance around the fire. The ceremonial observance involves sacrificing meat to the sacred fire at the center of the grounds, taking medicine and going to water or river for ritual cleansing.
The Keetoowah's bible is not written on paper. The words are woven into seven wampum belts which are shown only in rare occasions. The belts are very old, and are made of pearls and shell beads, woven with seaweed fibers from the Gulf of Mexico. The history behind the belt is that many years ago, the tribe was preparing to go on to war with another tribe, when the medicine men foresaw which would survive, and cut the original wampum belt into seven pieces, giving one to each warrior. After the war, the belts were scattered, some being hidden and disappearing, the last one was recovered by Redbird Smith around 80 years ago.
There are seven arbors encircling the sacred fire. Each arbor represents the seven clans. Wolf (a-ni-wa-ya), Wild Potato (a-ni-go-ta-ge-wi) also known as the Bear Clan, War Paint (a-ni-wo-di), Bird Clan (a-ni-tsi-ss-gwa), Long Hair (a-ni-gi-lo-hi) also known as Twister or Wind then the Blind Savannah as known as Blue (a-ni-sa-ho-ni).
The fire is very important to the Cherokee Tribe. It is built at the bottom of a pit way below the ground and burns constantly. When the fire at another stomp ground goes out, it can be rekindled by long pieces of cane thrust down into the central blaze.
Information provided by the Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center
E-mail: cultural@cherokee.org
Cherokee traditional history tells us our people came from an island which sent out boats before sinking . . . much like the story of Atlantis.
Traditionally, each of the Cherokee Clans held talents and responsibilities that was integral to the welfare of the tribe, as a whole.
*Bird Clan (Tsisqua) members were messengers.*Red Paint Clan (Asiwisti Gigagei) members were medicine people.
*Deer Clan (Ahwi or Ahawi, western dialect) members were hunters.
*Wolf Clan (Waya') members were warriors and protectors of the people.
*Blue Clan (Sakonigei) (aka Panther or Wildcat Clan) members are medicine people for children.
*Long Hair Clan (Agaluga Ustihgv?i Ganvhida) (aka Twister or Wind) members were teachers and keepers of tradition.
*Wild Potato Clan (Nuna Gehyahtahi) members were keepers and protectors of the earth.
Colored feathers were worn to designate which clan the person belonged. After Euopean contact, an eighth clan was formed, the Keetoowah Clan.
Gathering and Using Medicinal Herbs
Gathering and Using Medicinal Herbs in the Cherokee Tradition
The Cherokee have been gifted by the Creator with an understanding of the gathering, use and preservation of medicinal herbs. The Cherokee believe that these plants were put on this earth to provide not only healing methods, but preventative measures, as well.
Many plants have disappeared throughout the years, or have become extremely scarce. Because of this, we recommend extreme care in gathering wild herbs and other plants. The old ones taught that when you gather, only pick or dig every third plant you find. This will ensure that enough specimens remain to continue propagation. Many traditionalists carry on the practice of asking the plant’s permission to be gathered, and leave a small gift of thanks. This can be a small bead or other such item. It is also recommended by Cherokee traditionalists that should you find a wild crop of useful herbs, do not share it’s location unless it is to a person very close to you. This will ensure that large numbers of people do not clean out an entire wild crop in a short time.
Additional information regarding the gathering, usage and application of medicinal herbs can be found by talking to the elders of a Cherokee family. Many of these people will still recall some of the home remedies that their families used, as well as provide information on herbs which they themselves use.
Please remember that these plants are very valuable as medicines because of the great chemical powers they contain. At the same time, these chemicals can be potentially dangerous if used in the wrong way. Cherokee herbalists have great experience, and have gone through extensive training and observation. Novice herbal practitioners are advised to seek out and develop a close relationship with Cherokee herbalists or their elders to learn how to use these medicines properly.
Information provided by the Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center.
Contact the center by e-mail: cultural@cherokee.org, for more information.
|
Related paths: ** Official Site of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
*
Cherokee Heritage Center |