and admixture of Bible ideas the Cherokee genesis myth is too far
broken down to be recovered excepting in disjointed fragments. The
completeness of the destruction may be judged by studying the similar
myth of the Iroquois or the Ojibwa. What is here preserved was obtained
chiefly from Swimmer and John Ax, the two most competent authorities of
the eastern band. The evergreen story is from Ta'gwadihi'. The incident
of the brother striking his sister with a fish to make her pregnant
was given by Ayâsta, and may have a phallic meaning. John Ax says the
pregnancy was brought about by the "Little People," Yuñwi Tsunsdi',
who commanded the woman to rub spittle (of the brother?) upon her
back, and to lie upon her breast, with her body completely covered,
for seven days and nights, at the end of which period the child was
born, and another thereafter every seven days until the period was
made longer. According to Wafford the first man was created blind
and remained so for some time. The incident of the buzzard shaping
the mountains occurs also in the genesis myth of the Creeks [511]
and Yuchi, [512] southern neighbors of the Cherokee, but by them the
first earth is said to have been brought up from under the water by
the crawfish. Among the northern tribes it is commonly the turtle which
continues to support the earth upon its back. The water beetle referred
to is the Gyrinus, locally known as mellow bug or apple beetle. One
variant makes the dilsta'ya`ti, water-spider ("scissors," Dolomedes),
help in the work. Nothing is said as to whence the sun is obtained. By
some tribes it is believed to be a gaming wheel stolen from a race
of superior beings. See also number 7, "The Journey to the Sunrise."
The missionaries Buttrick and Washburn give versions of the Cherokee
genesis, both of which are so badly warped by Bible interpretation as
to be worthless. No native cosmogonic myth yet recorded goes back to
the first act of creation, but all start out with a world and living
creatures already in existence, though not in their final form and
condition.
Hand-breadth--The Cherokee word is utawâ'hilû, from uwâyi, hand. This
is not to be taken literally, but is a figurative expression much used
in the sacred formulas to denote a serial interval of space. The idea
of successive removals of the sun, in order to modify the excessive
heat, is found with other tribes. Buttrick, already quoted, says
in his statement of the Cherokee cosmogony: "When God created the
world he made a heaven or firmament about as high as the tops of the
mountains, but this was too warm. He then created a second, which was
also too warm. He thus proceeded till he had created seven heavens
and in the seventh fixed His abode. During some of their prayers
they raise their hands to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth,
sixth and seventh heaven," etc. [513]
In Hindu cosmogony also we find seven heavens or stages, increasing
in sanctity as they ascend; the Aztecs had nine, as had also the
ancient Scandinavians. [514] Some Polynesian tribes have ten, each
built of azure stone, with apertures for intercommunication. The
lowest originally almost touched the earth and was elevated to its
present position by successive pushes from the gods Ru and Matti,
resting first prostrate upon the ground, then upon their knees, then
lifting with their shoulders, their hands, and their finger tips,
until a last supreme effort sent it to its present place. [515]
Seven: The sacred numbers--In every tribe and cult throughout the
world we find sacred numbers. Christianity and the Christian world
have three and seven. The Indian has always four as the principal
sacred number, with usually another only slightly subordinated. The
two sacred numbers of the Cherokee are four and seven, the latter
being the actual number of the tribal clans, the formulistic number of
upper worlds or heavens, and the ceremonial number of paragraphs or
repetitions in the principal formulas. Thus in the prayers for long
life the priest raises his client by successive stages to the first,
second, third, fourth, and finally to the seventh heaven before the
end is accomplished. The sacred four has direct relation to the four
cardinal points, while seven, besides these, includes also "above,"
"below," and "here in the center." In many tribal rituals color and
sometimes sex are assigned to each point of direction. In the sacred
Cherokee formulas the spirits of the East, South, West, and North are,
respectively, Red, White, Black, and Blue, and each color has also
its own symbolic meaning of Power (War), Peace, Death, and Defeat.