"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Traditional Cherokee Story "Legend of the Wren"

Traditional Cherokee Story
"Legend of the Wren"

Provided by the Cherokee Nation
Cultural Resource Center
E-mail: cultural@cherokee.org

[**Note: Cultural information may vary from clan
to clan, location to location, family to family,
and from differing opinions and experiences.
Information provided is not 'etched in stone'.]

The little Wren is the messenger of the birds. It pries into everything. She gets up early in the morning and goes round to every house in the settlement to get news for the bird council.
When a new baby is born, she finds out if it is a boy or girl and reports to council, if it is a boy, they sing a mournful chorus: "Alas! The whistle of an arrow! My shins will burn." The birds know that when the boy gets older he will hunt them with his blowgun and arrows and roast them on a stick.
But if the baby is a girl, they are glad and sing "Thanks! The sound of pestle! At her home I shall surely be able to scratch where she sweeps." They know that soon they will be able to pick up stray grains where she beats the corn into meal.

Related paths and contacts:

For more information contact the source:
Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center
E-mail: cultural@cherokee.org

* Cherokee Heritage Center
Mail: P.O. Box 515; Tahlequah, OK 74465
Location: 21672 S. Keeler, Park Hill, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-6007 ~ FAX: 918-456-6165
E-Mail: info@cherokeeheritage.org

* Official Site of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
P. O. Box 948 Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74465
Phone: (918) 456-0671 ~ Toll free OK only: 1-800-256-0671