Flood Stories from Around the World
Cherokee (Great Lakes area; eastern Tennessee):Day after day, a dog stood at the river bank and howled piteously.
Who Are The Nunnehi – A Cherokee Legend
The video explores connections between Celtic and Cherokee folklore, particularly the Cherokee legend of the Nunnehi, supernatural beings believed to inhabit the Appalachian Mountains.
The discussion considers the blending of Scottish and Irish immigrant beliefs with Indigenous Cherokee traditions and how these shared cultural elements may have influenced Appalachian folklore.
The Cherokee recognize a race of immortal spirit beings called the Nunnehi, translated as "the people who live anywhere" or "the people who live forever." These supernatural beings are distinct from ghosts or gods.
Similar to the Celtic Tuatha Dé Danann, the Nunnehi interact with humans, though they often remain invisible or appear as other Cherokee people.
In one story, four Nunnehi women joined a Cherokee village dance in Notley, only to vanish as they walked down a trail toward the Conley River, revealing their true nature to those who followed them.
The Nunnehi are friendly toward the Cherokee and often help people who become lost, offering shelter in their underground homes until the lost individual chooses to leave or stay permanently.
One story recounts a Cherokee man, Yahola, who was lost while hunting and found by the Nunnehi.
The Nunnehi are known to protect and warn the Cherokee of impending danger.
One account describes the Nunnehi advising a Cherokee village to prepare for an impending catastrophe.
On the seventh day, they led the Cherokee into the forest, where a stone rolled away, revealing a refuge.
Another legend recounts the Nunnehi aiding the Cherokee in battle.
When a Cherokee village was attacked, a stranger advised the village chief to retreat.
Many Cherokee descendants, both in the Appalachian region and those displaced to Oklahoma, maintain stories of the Nunnehi.
Timeline of the Four Worlds
The Cherokee have a creation myth involving Kana'ti (the Lucky Hunter) and Selu (the Corn Mother), who are the first man and woman.
They had two sons who played a crucial role in the mythology of the Cherokee people.
The descendants of these figures form the basis of Cherokee genealogies and clan structures.
Cherokee Corn Mother: Selu, the Corn Mother, is central to Cherokee agricultural traditions and their lineage, linking the people's origin directly to the sustenance of corn.
The Zunis & the Star People
Different tribes have connections to various constellations, such as the Cherokee with the Pleiades and the Hopi with Orion.
Why much of Ancient American history is lost
Estimate: About 4,000 of the 16,000 relocated Cherokee died during the Trail of Tears.
The Pleiadian Influence
The Cherokee refer to them as "Ani'tsutsa," the Daughters of the Sun, while the Lakota Sioux have stories linking the star cluster to creation myths and the spirit world.
Bats
In some Cherokee tales, the bat is portrayed as having both positive and negative aspects.