Religion:

The Cherokee believed that they were the principal people. Long ago, they thought the world was only water. A piece of land came out of the water. It was very crowded on the piece of land. The water beetle hopped into the water and brought back some mud. He spit it out and then amazingly the little piece of mud started growing. The animals waited till it dried. When it dried, the animals went into the new world. But then people appeared and those persons were the "Ani Yun Wiya"which means principal people. The Cherokee also belived that if they wore animal skins, they would receive the skills of those animals. The Cherokee also believed that everything in nature had a spirit. They often prayed to the spirits for good health and strength.

Foods and clothing:

The Cherokees grew corn, squash, and beans. The most important food was corn. When it was ripe it was like the beginning of a new year. The Cherokees used arrows, blow guns, and spears to hunt and fish. The Cherokee hunted rabbits, deer, fox, elk and bear. The most important animal was deer. They built canoes by scraping and burning the inside of a log. The Cherokee men wore a deer skin breech cloth which was tied with a belt. Women wore deer skin tops, skirts, and moccasins.

 

 

Arts and Crafts:

Cherokee crafts were very important in everyday life. The baskets that were made were used to hold roots and berries as well as the vegetables grown in the fields. Their clay pots were used to hold water and cook the food.

The Cherokee used a lot of clay in their crafts. The clay was dug from the ground and baked in the fire. They used sticks and stones to decorate their pots with designs. To make their baskets they used different kinds of grasses, vines, and other plant fibers including corn husks. To give color to these baskets the Cherokee got their colors from the juices of nuts, roots, and berries. The Cherokees also carved beautiful pipes for their ceremonies.

The Cherokee also made many kinds of masks and rattles carved from buckeye and other kinds of wood. They also used these masks, the scary ones, to make fun of their enemies. These were called booger masks. The rattles were used to scare an evil spirit or the noise was used to get the attention of a good spirit. They were sometimes made of turtle shells filled with corn kernels. Sometimes they were made of gourds, small pumpkins, and squashes.