Cherokee Paragraphs

The Cherokee had many ceremonies and rituals. Some were used to promote good luck, and others were used to ward off evil spirits. The most common ceremony was the wedding ceremony. The most uncommon one was the peace pipe ceremony. The Cherokee believed that if you preformed a ritual wrong the gods would kill you. The Cherokee also had some disgusting rituals like the scalp ritual. The most interesting ceremony was the ceremonial plunges. The Cherokee also had ceremonies to thank the gods for food. They had ceremonial war face paintings which were very important. They also had ceremonies to honor the dead.

The Cherokee had many legends and stories that were passed down from generation to generation. The most famous Cherokee tale is “The Trail of Tears”. It is a true story about how the Cherokee were forced to walk 800 miles. 15,000 Indians had to make this trip and on the way there 4,000 of them died. It took them six long months to go that far. Another old Cherokee tale is “Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun”. This story is much more pleasant then “The Trail of Tears”. This story explains that long ago only half the world had sunlight and the other half was dark. It talks about how the animals tried to take some sun, but none of them could because, they weren't as clever as the spider. It also explains why the spider weaves a sun shaped web.

The Cherokee considered some animals to be sacred. The horse was sacred because it could run very fast and they could use it to hunt buffalo. Buffalo were sacred because they could provide meat, clothing, and tools. The wolf was also a scared animal because, it was a very good hunter, and the Indians believed that the wolf could talk to the spirits by howling. Bears are sacred because they are so strong. Foxes are sacred because they are very clever. Whales are also sacred because they live underwater. Otters are sacred because it has no natural enemies. Eagles are the most sacred animal to the Cherokee because they can live in the spirit world. Skunks are sacred because they have an odor that gets rid of bad luck. rabbits are sacred because they are very intelligent. Bats are also sacred because they can see in the dark. Badgers are sacred because they are very ferocious.

The Cherokee did many different dances, on many different occasions. They had a dance called the War dance. The war dance was preformed after a victory. They also had a dance called green corn dance. The green corn dance was to thank the gods for the first corn of the year. They also had some grotesque dances like the scalp dance. The scalp dance was meant to scare their enemies by scalping some of his troops. They even had a dance that would increase good luck, It was called the black paste dance. They had a dance called the ball dance, it has survived all this time and was changed to the game of lacrosse. They also had a dance called the stomp dance which would sometimes last for two days. During the stomp dance the Cherokee would have a huge feast.