Raymond Bial > Quotes

“To be clean in body and spirit, they "went to water," bathing often in clear pools and mountain streams. They considered water, the sun, and fire to be holy gifts of Kanati, the Great Spirit.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“Communities were linked by seven networks of trails over which the Cherokee traveled to trade goods with the Iroquois, Chickasaw, Catawba, and other tribes as far away as the Gulf of Mexico.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“Cherokee men were active traders. They traded silver ornaments they had crafted, as well as deerskins and beaver pelts, with other tribes and European traders. A man could become wealthy, but if he did he had to deal with the disapproval of others in the clan and town who were not as well-off. They might scorn his wealth, and the shamans might wish him ill.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“My ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower--they met the boat."
--Will Rogers”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“The warrior dance was performed before men went to war. There were also friendship dances, in which both men and women participated. Women danced either with their husbands or, if they were single, with their brothers or a young man from their clan. The round dance, or atayohi, was a special dance that concluded the all-night sessions of dancing. Led by a woman wearing leg rattles, the women danced counter-clockwise to four songs. As the songs became faster, the men paired off with the women. The Cherokee also danced whenever they wished to celebrate a good hunt or other joyful event.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“As the Cherokee hunted and foraged in these mountains, they always stepped lightly, paying homage to the plants and animals that sustained them.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“When boys grew up, their days were filled with warfare, trading, ball games, and hunting and fishing. During the coldest half of the year, Cherokee warriors patrolled their land, engaging in bloody skirmishes to drive back the Creek, Chickasaw, Catawba, and other tribes that tried to encroach upon the mountains. The Cherokee also made raids on lands claimed by other tribes. Sometimes they sold captured enemies as slaves. If one of their warriors was slain, they sought vengeance. His spirit would not rest until the murderer himself was killed.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“When a Cherokee woman learned that she was going to have a baby she told her husband, who spread the good news throughout the village. He then built a special dwelling where she confined herself for the last three months of her pregnancy. She had to submit to many rules and rituals, the most notable of which was that at each new moon she was taken to water. Accompanied by her husband, mother, and a shaman, she prayed to be purified. The shaman poured water on the crown of her head and chest, then he attempted to foresee the child's future.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“The Cherokee believed that the eagle had magical powers, and the eagle dance (also called the victory dance) was very important to their way of life. The eagle dance was performed when one of the great birds was killed for its feathers, to welcome the spirit of the eagle to the village. Divided into three parts, the dance celebrated victory and honored the eagle for giving its feathers. Dancers either carried a feather wand and a rattle in each hand or a wand in both hands and danced to the beat of turtle shell rattles and water drums. Since the eagle and rattlesnake were believed to be deadly enemies, the dance was held only in the winter when the snake was asleep. If the rattlesnake heard the dancing and singing, it would become more deadly. Other accounts say the dance was not held in the summer because it would bring on an early frost.
Women joined in the eagle dance. They danced with feather wands, and a lead women wore turtle shell rattles strapped to her knees. Participants formed two rings, the women in an inner circle, and they danced around a tree in the center of the square ground, waving the wands as they moved. There were different sets of songs and a variety of steps. It was critically important that the dancers not drop their wands or even allow them to touch the ground. It was believed that anyone who did so would soon die.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“Like other eastern tribes, the Cherokee played a ball game similar to lacrosse. Called "the friend or companion of battle," or simply "little brother of war," these stickball games were very rough--there were often broken bones, torn muscles, cuts, and bruises. Elaborate rituals preceded the game. If someone wanted a contest, he gathered his friends and sent a challenge to another town. If the town accepted the challenge, people were selected for various tasks: an elderly man to oversee the game, a person to sing for the players, another to whoop, and a musician for seven women who danced on the seventh night of preparations for the game.
The night before the game, players danced together around the fire with their ball sticks, pretending that they were playing. Then they hung up their sticks, went to a brisk stream, and bathed seven times, after which they went to bed. At daybreak, the shaman took them to the creek again. During their preparations the players were not allowed to go near women and they could not eat meat or anything hot or salty. Seven women were chosen to prepare meals of cold bread and a drink of parched cornmeal and water. The men could not be served by women, so boys brought the food to them. During the day the men were scratched with rattlesnake fangs or turkey quills to toughen them for the "little brother of war."
The two teams gathered on a large field where goalposts were set up at each end. Players paired off, the referee threw the ball up in the air between the two captains, and a mad scramble ensued. The game was "anything goes," and there was biting, gouging, choking, scratching, twisting arms and legs, and banging each other with the wooden rackets. The object of the game was to carry the ball between the goals twelve times. The first team with twelve wooden pegs stuck in the ground by the shaman won the game. There was no time limit and often the game went on until dark. There was also no time-out or substitution. If a player was injured, he and the opponent with whom he was paired both left the game. Cherokee gathered from throughout the mountains to watch and bet on these hotly contested games.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“Each town was represented by a council. The council was headed by a shaman, who had no authority but advised on spiritual and medical matters. There were two chiefs--the White chief (also known as the most beloved man), who handled daily concerns of the town, and the Red chief, who offered advice regarding war parties, victory dances, and the spirited games that were a vital part of the Cherokee way of life. Seven elder men were chosen from each clan. These men usually led discussions, although all Cherokee men participated. The council discussed town concerns, including religious matters, and decided by consensus, meaning general agreement. Cherokee society had little need of formal laws. Seeking harmony in relations with each other, they maintained order by social pressure and negotiation among disputing individuals or clans.
The Cherokee were a highly organized people, not only within each village, but in the nation as a whole, with two forms of government--the White for civil or peacetime affairs and the Red for waging war. The White chief was the religious head or high priest as well. Next in important to the chief was the right-hand man, or itausta, and then the chief speaker. The chief had seven councilors, including the right-hand man, who formed the main government. The Red organization consisted of a group of officials corresponding in rank to the White leaders, except that they were responsible only for military activities. The White organization had slightly more power because the Red chief was selected by the White chief.
There were other important people within the Cherokee government, notably the beloved woman, an elderly matron who was honored for her wisdom and goodness. Seven women, usually the eldest women in the nation, also took part in many council ceremonies.
The national government met in a large seven-sided building situated on a high mound in the capital. The capital was not fixed at first, but was always in the village of the White chief, although Echota eventually became the traditional capital. As in the town council house, the seating arrangement was highly formalized, with the White chief occupying the seat of honor. Here, Cherokee leaders held elaborate national ceremonies, assembled war parties, and administered laws.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“Then a naming ceremony took place in which a respected elderly woman christened the baby. Often, she selected a name based on the baby's resemblance to an object, something that had happened at the birth, or a unique trait of the child. Later, the child might be renamed because of a heroic deed, such as killing a bear. Names gave special identity to the child, and could never be misused. If a shaman's cures failed during treatment of an illness, he concluded that the patient's name was no longer effective. He then took the patient to water and gave him or her a new name.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“Boys were taught to hunt, fish, and fight by the men in their clan, notably their mother's brothers, although sometimes all the young men in a town were instructed together. Boys were both praised and chided, but never struck, which was a sign of disrespect. They were allowed only two meals a day to instill a good appetite and willpower. A young hunter first had to learn the ways of the animals--to become one with them by entering their habitat. He was left by a stream to study the animals that came to drink at the edge, or he was sent high up a mountain, where he learned to hide in the green leaves and shadows. During his training as a hunter, he went all day without food to learn discipline. He was taught to be as silent as his own breath, from daybreak to dusk, neither speaking nor making a sound, so that he could better listen to the voices of the woods. Hunting was a way of life, and a boy learned not to change nature, but to find a place for himself within it. Later, if a young man wished to become a shaman, he could be apprenticed, but only after he had learned to be a good hunter and warrior.
The young hunter learned that because people had wastefully killed too much game in the past, the animals had cursed them with disease. Certain plants, known only to the shamans, provided cures. A young man believed that if he sprinkled tobacco on a heap of ashes at home and it caught fire, he would have a good hunt. If the tobacco did not ignite, he would find no game. A hunter knew not to kill the wolf, which was considered a messenger from the spirit world. One could sit by the fire at night, listen to the wolves' distant, mournful howls, and learn much. If a hunter killed a wolf, game would vanish, and his bow would become useless until purified by the shaman. The hunter could also place the weapon in a swift river overnight or give it to a child to play with as a toy for a while. Yet he had to remember that the wolf always sought revenge--death for death. The young hunter could protect himself by reciting a prayer and bathing morning and evening in a stream.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee

“In lacrosse, Cherokee men tested their strength, endurance, and ability to withstand pain. Before the games, they prepared their minds as well as their bodies.”
― Raymond Bial, The Cherokee