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Cherokee Creation Story

The Cherokee believe that in the beginning all living things lived and dwelled above in the sky - Galun' lati. Galun'lati was above the sky vault. But after awhile the sky vault began to be crowded with all the people and animals. Finally someone asked what was below the ocean that they could see from their home in the sky.

At last Dayuni'si, "Beaver's Grandchild", the little water beetle, offered to go and see if it could learn. When it flew down from the sky vault it darted in every direction over the surface of the water, but could find no firm place to rest.

The water beetle dived to the bottom of the ocean and brought up some mud which began to grow and grow. It grew and spread on every side until it became an island which we called the earth. It was afterward fastened to the sky with four giant ropes, but no one remembers who did this. Not even the oldest medicine men.

At first the earth was very flat and soft and wet. The animals were very anxious to get down to the earth so no one would be pushed off the sky vault, so they sent out different birds to see if the earth was dry enough to live on. These birds flew around over the earth until they grew very tired. But they could find no place where they didn't sink up in the soft mud. All the people and animals were very discouraged.

After a long while they decided that the earth had dried enough so they sent out the great buzzard. Now this buzzard was not an ordinary buzzard. He was the grandfather of all buzzards. He flew all over the earth, low down near the ground, and the earth was still very soft. When he reached the Cherokee Country he was very tired and his giant wings began to flap and strike the ground. When his wings struck the earth there was a valley and where they turned up again there was a mountain. The animals above, seeing this, were afraid that the whole world would be mountains so they called the grandfather buzzard back to the sky vault, but the heart of the Cherokee Country is full of mountains to this day.

When the earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still dark, so they got the sun and set it in a track to go every day across the island from east to west. At first the sun was so close that all the animals like to have burned up. Tsiska'gili, the Red Crawfish, had his shell scorched a bright red so that his meat was spoiled. And to this day the Cherokee will not eat the meat of the Red Crawfish.

The conjure men put the sun another handbreadth higher in the air but it was still too hot. They raised it another and yet again until they had raised it just under the sky arch. Then it was right and they left it so. This is why the conjurers call the highest place Gulkwa'gine Di'galun'latiyun; "the seventh height", because it is seven handbreadths above the earth.

Every day the sun goes along its track and at night returns to its starting place.

After a long while they decided that the earth had dried enough so they sent out the great buzzard. Now this buzzard was not an ordinary buzzard. He was the grandfather of all buzzards. He flew all over the earth, low down near the ground, and the earth was still very soft. When he reached the Cherokee Country he was very tired and his giant wings began to flap and strike the ground. When his wings struck the earth there was a valley and where they turned up again there was a mountain. The animals above, seeing this, were afraid that the whole world would be mountains so they called the grandfather buzzard back to the sky vault, but the heart of the Cherokee Country is full of mountains to this day.

Shades of Velikovsky.