There were seven clans in antiquity. There is a common misperception that the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni or ancient Cherokee priesthood comprised an eighth clan of the Cherokee People, but this belief is a commonplace myth. The Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni appointed a member of each of the seven clans to represent both the spiritual forces the Cherokee believed existed in the Natural World, and the ritual of ceremonies related to the progression of the human spirit from birth until entry into the spirit world to perform the sacred ceremonies for the Cherokee people from the mother city of Keetoowah.
In ancient times, the priests would travel extensively within the Cherokee homeland performing the ancient ceremonies in each of the Cherokee townships. After the extermination of the ah-ni-ku-ta-ni by the Cherokee People, the ancient Clan system continued to exist but no longer represented the original ancient symbolism of the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni rituals practiced in ancient times. The Clan systems remained simply as a bureaucratic artifact of the earlier cultural incarnation of the Cherokee culture, and much of the traditional knowledge and understanding of the origins of the names and purposes of the clan system was lost or forgotten.
Each clan had a name that corresponded to the seven levels of spiritual progression of the human spirit as it grew and evolved on the path through life. The existence of the clans and the original culture and religion of the Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya were closely intertwined to such a degree, that the Cherokee language itself expressed the natural world in religious and spiritual terms. In Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya society, the language, social structure, and interaction with the natural world were viewed as an interwoven tapestry that were inseparable and that existed this way to preserve the balance of forces between the two worlds, the world of physical reality, and the world of spirituality. By way of example, The word for "person" was "yv-wi" which means " it has a spiritual energy" or "it is a sentient being". This word was not only used to describe the human people, Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya, but also the deer people (a-wi-yv-wi), the bird people (tsi-sqa-yv-wi), the tree people (tlv-hv-yv-wi), and the star people (no-qui-si-yv-wi) in the ancient language. This word describes that all elements of the physical world contain a "spark" or "flame" of the spirit of the immortal and imperishable Creator spirit (also called the Aportioner in ancient legends).
The emblem of the Cherokees is a seven pointed star. This symbol is believed to represent gu-ta-ni(yi) from the ancient legends told by the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni, which tell that the Cherokee People and all human people came from gu-ta-ni(yi), the "place of the sun", a star in the heavens.
In the original beliefs of the Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya, the physical world was a mirror image of the spiritual world, and every object and tangible element of matter that existed in this world did so because a corresponding spiritual energy in the spirit world allowed it to have form and substance in this reality. By way of example, When an animal or plant became extinct, it was believed that the spiritual energy that defined it had been taken back into the spirit world, and correspondingly, that the Creator Spirit (U-ne-la-nv-hi) could cause this energy to be physically manifested when it was time for certain forms of life to reappear in the physical world. Likewise, if a strong wind came and broke the limbs from a tree, it was because this was what was intented to happen. This acceptance of the realities of their world by the Cherokees evolved a common saying that was much used in the ancient culture, and it still used extensively in many of the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni ceremonies which was "ni-go di-sge-s-di" which translates "that's just the way it is." By way of example, the final blessing given to a newly married couple in a traditional Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni marriage ceremony is not "you are husband and wife" but is "ni-go di-sge-s-di", or "that's just the way it is."
There was also a strong belief that all the elements of nature were in balance, and that this balance had to be restored if disturbed by the human element. Under Clan law, if someone killed the member of another clan through murder, a person from the clan who committed the offense would have to be sacrificed in order to restore the balance of energies between the two worlds.
Each Clan was matrilineal, and clans were run by a council of grandmothers of that clan. The decisions and rulings of the Grandmothers were absolute, as was their authority. The Clans also combined their Councils of Grandmothers during certain important decisions which were held in a Central Cherokee Council Lodge which existed in each Cherokee town or city for social gatherings and important discussions. If an individual broke the ancient laws, they were brought before the appropriate Clan Grandmothers for judgement. It was well known within the ancient society that the Clan Grandmothers were strict and would show no mercy to those who had committed serious breaches of social conduct. Because of this, even today Grandmothers and important women within Cherokee Culture are highly respected, obeyed, and honored. Cherokee children were taught not only to respect their male elders, but also to show extreme reverence and respect to the Grandmothers of the Cherokee culture. The Green Corn Ceremony performed anually during the corn harvest was to honor Se-lu, the Corn Mother, and the mothers and Grandmothers of the Cherokee People.
Hollywood has done much to represent that all Native Americans have a concept called Mother Earth and that American Indians viewed the Earth (e-lo-hi) as the supreme mother, and society has readily accepted this. While this was a Lokata and Souix belief, it was not a belief of the Cherokee People in antiquity. The Cherokee did not view the earth as the "mother" of the human people, but as a place made for the Human People to live and which in and of itself was also a living thing.
Se-lu, the Corn Mother, was viewed as the mother of the human people in ancient Cherokee legend. |
