Indian lore enlivens N.C. mountain trip

[Sequoia]

This is what the old ones told me when I was little:

When the Earth was new, it was too wet for the animals to go down from Galunlati (above the sky). Bird after bird flew out to see if it was dry enough, until finally the Great Buzzard went. He flew low. Where his wings slapped the earth, valleys formed. With the wings' upsweep, great mountains raised. When the animals saw this, they called him back for fear the whole world would become mountains. But even today the Cherokee country remains full of mountains.


Franklin boasts of its Scottish heritage, but long before the Scots arrived, others lived here. When the Europeans found this site along the Little Tennessee River, it was a thriving Cherokee town centered on a tall mound. But the Cherokees did not build this mound. They said it was there long before, built by the Nunnehi, the immortals.

The Nunnehi were spirit people who lived throughout Cherokee country, especially in the balds and high peaks. Invisible unless they wanted to be seen, they looked just like other Indians. Sometimes hunters in the mountains would hear their music and drums, but could never find them.

More than once, when the Cherokees were in battle, Nunnehi warriors came out of a door in the Nikwasi mound to help them. But the Nunnehi could choose whether to be visible. Often the enemy saw only arrows and tomahawks rushing toward them. The Nunnehi's last appearance was during the Civil War when a strong Federal party was sent to attack a handful of Cherokee Confederates guarding Franklin. The Federals saw so many Indians that they were afraid to attack. Today the Nikwasi Mound still stands, a grassy hill rising up between streets and businesses. It is considered sacred by the Cherokees, and so visitors are asked not to climb on it.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/travel/southeast/nc_stories/2007/05/16/0516cherokee_lore.html

[lost-in-nj]

1. Thanks for this

Its really interseting....

Lost

:hi:

[Sequoia]

2. Welcome. Here's a cool book I found in a store one day:

Not many ghosts but this one: The Wicked Witch of Nantahala is rather chilling. I was by the Natahala waterfalls once and could see how this witch would be lurking in the forest.