Reading Notes: Myths of Cherokee, Part B

Stars
Source: Un-Textbook

For part B of the notes of "Myths of Cherokee" I will be focusing on the story "Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine." In this story there are seven kids who like to play a game called gatayusti and play it instead of going to dinner. The kids not coming to dinner to play the game really upset the mother. So one day the mother decided to put a gatayusti rocks which are used in the game in the corn she cooked for dinner. When the boys finally came back for dinner they saw the rocks in the corn and asked the mother what it was. She told the boys that if they want to play games instead of come to dinner then they can eat the game stones for dinner. This angered the boys so they decided to leave to where they wouldn't be treated this way anymore. So the boys went outside to the townhouse and start a feather dance asking the spirits to help them. When doing this the mother sensed something was wrong and went outside to find them. When the mother found them she noticed the boys feet were all floating off the ground. When it was noticed that the boys were floating the towns people ran to go grab them but it was too late they were already too high, except for one of them in which the mother was bale to grab him and pull him to the ground. The boy was pulled down with such fore that he was sunken into the ground and covered up. So the six other boys ended up floating to the sky and becoming stars, while the other boy was in the ground. The mother for several day went to the spot the boy was in the ground and cried over it until eventually it was mud. Then one day a little green shoot sprouted up and eventually turning into a pine tree. I thought this story was a very interesting read. I'm thinking that i could retell the story but have different things happen to each child.

Bibliography: "Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine" by James Mooney