The Cherokee are a Native American people who historically lived in the southeastern United States (primarily in Georgia, the Carolinas, and East Tennessee). Linguistically they are part of the Iroquoian language family. In the 19th century, historians and ethnographers recorded their oral traditions, telling how in ancient times the tribe migrated south from the Great Lakes, where other Iroquois peoples lived.
In the 19th century, European settlers in the United States referred to the Cherokee as one of the Five Civilized Tribes because they readily adopted the cultural and technological characteristics of Europeans. With over 300,000 members, the Cherokee Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe of 563 according to the 2000 census.
The Cherokee call themselves "tsalagi", which means "chief people". The Iroquois called them Oyata'ge'ronoñ(inhabitants of the cave country). There are many theories regarding the origin of the word "Cherokee", none of which, however, is considered confirmed. It may come from the word Cha-la-kee from the Choctaw language, which means "those who live in the mountains", or Chi-luk-ik-bi from the same language ("those who live in the cave country"). In the earliest reference to the Cherokee in Spanish sources (1755), they are called Tchalaquei. According to another theory, the word "Cherokee" comes from the Muskogean Cilo-kki, which means "one who speaks another language". The most likely, however, is the opinion that this is an anglicized version of their self-name, "tsalagi".
Regarding the origin of the Cherokee, there are two main opinions. One by one, Cherokee, a people belonging to the Iroquois language family, appeared relatively recently in the Appalachian region, having come in prehistoric times from the northern regions that traditionally belonged to the Iroquois peoples. 19th-century explorers recorded conversations with elders who recounted oral traditions about how the Cherokee people came from the Great Lakes region in ancient times. Another theory, refuted by many academic authorities, is that the Cherokee have lived in southern Appalachia for millennia.
Some collectors of folklore, historians and archaeologists believe that the Cherokee did not come to the Appalachian region until the 13th century. They could migrate from the north, settle in the territory of the Muscovites and settle near the mounds erected by the ancestors of the Muscovites. IN early period research, archaeologists have erroneously attributed some sites of the Mississippian culture to the Cherokee, including Moundville and Etowah Mounds. Research in the second half of the 20th century, however, firmly showed that they should be classified as Muskogee and not Cherokee.
During the Mississippi culture (800-1500 AD), local women developed a new variety of corn, now called common corn or maize. It strongly resembles modern corn and provided greater yields than before. Successful cultivation of corn allowed the formation of several large tribes with a more complex culture, which included several villages and a fairly large population for that period. Corn has become an important symbol in the religious ceremonies of many peoples (for example, in the Green Corn Dance).
The Cherokee, before contact with Europeans, are generally assigned to the Pisgah phase of Southern Appalachia, which lasted from about 1000 to 1500. Although most Southwestern archaeologists and anthropologists agree, some scholars believe that the ancestors of the Cherokee people lived in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee much longer. During the late Archaic and Woodland period, the Indians of this region began to cultivate some specific this region plants. People created new forms of art like shell carving, applied new technologies, and followed a complex cycle of religious ceremonies.
Much of what is now known about Indian cultures prior to the 18th century, including the Cherokee, comes from the records of the Spanish expeditions. Many of these materials were not translated into English until the 20th century and remained little known for a long time. In addition, the dominance of the English colonists in the Southeast meant that no one treated the Spanish sources with special attention.
On the culture and social structure of the Cherokee until the 19th century, wrote american writers John Howard Payne. His notes, based on the words of Cherokee elders, describe a traditional two-layer society. The "white" organization of elders, or "ani-kutani" represented the seven clans. According to Payne, this group, which was hereditary and priestly in nature, was responsible for religious activities such as healing, purification and prayer. The second group, the "red" organization, included younger men who were in charge of the war effort. The Cherokee perceived war as a polluting activity, so warriors needed to undergo a purification process under the guidance of priests before they could return to normal tribal life. This hierarchy to XVIII century has long since disappeared.
Researchers do not come to a definite conclusion as to why this happened. Some historians believe that the fall of the power of the Ani-Kutani occurred in connection with the massive uprising of the Cherokee against their tyranny about 300 years before the arrival of Europeans. The first to trace the decline of the traditional hierarchy to this event. By Mooney's time, the structure of Cherokee religious practice had become less formal and more based on personal knowledge and skill than on heredity.
Another important source of information are materials recorded in the 19th century. didanvwisgi, by Cherokee shamans, after Sequoyah created the Cherokee alphabet in the 1820s. Initially, these materials were studied and used only by the didanvwisgi and were considered extremely powerful spiritually. Over time, however, both the alphabet and these records were adopted and studied by most of the Cherokee people.
Unlike most Indians of the American Southwest, the Cherokee spoke the language of the Iroquois family. Since the Great Lakes region is the main place of settlement of those who used these languages, scholars believe that the Cherokee may have originated from there, which is also confirmed by their traditions. This also leads to the opposite assumption - that the Iroquois came to the Great Lakes from the southeast. According to this Tuscarora theory, another Iroquois-speaking tribe and the Cherokee broke away from the mainstream during their northwest migration.
Other historians are of the opinion that, judging by the linguistic and cultural data, the Tuscarora migrated south from the other kindred peoples ancient times. Most of them returned in 1722 because of the wars going on in the southern region. After this, the Tuscarora were accepted by the Iroquois as the Sixth Nation of their confederation. Research in the field of glottochronology indicates that the division occurred between 1500 and 1800 BC.
Linguistic analysis shows quite large differences between Cherokee and Northern Iroquois. Scientists suggest that the separation between them occurred approximately 3500-3800 years ago. The Cherokee themselves believe that their ancestral home is the ancient settlement of Kituwa.
Indian problems during Houston's first term were highlighted by the Córdoba rebellion. There were reports from several sources that the Mexican government was trying to negotiate with the Cherokee that they join the war of annihilation with Texas in exchange for assurances that their lands would remain untouched by the settlers. A wide-ranging conspiracy involving Cherokee Indians and Hispanic whites was supposedly plotting an uprising against the newly formed Republic of Texas in order to overthrow the government and rejoin Mexico.
Residents of the city of Nacogdoches, looking for a lost horse, accidentally discovered the camp of a detachment of about a hundred armed tejanos (the so-called Texans of Mexican origin). President Sam Houston (who happened to be in the city at the time), however, instead of allowing the local militia to get involved, simply forbade both sides to carry weapons. The local alcalde (head of administration) Vicente Cordova and eighteen other leaders of the uprising issued a proclamation listing the demands that had to be met in order for them to surrender. However, after about three hundred Indian warriors joined them, they moved towards the Cherokee settlements. In defiance of Houston's ban on crossing the Angelina River, General Thomas Ras sent a force of 150 men who defeated the rebels.
The Córdoba Rebellion showed Houston's ability to quell riots without much bloodshed or riots, so that by the time Houston left office, Texas was at peace with the Indians.
However, while his peacekeeping efforts were largely successful, as early as his administration, the Texas Congress signed laws that declared all Indian lands open for settlement, overcoming Houston's veto. The frontier quickly began to move north along the Brazo, Colorado, and Guadalupe rivers, deep into the Comanche hunting grounds and the Comancher borders. Relations between Texas and the Comanches soon shifted towards open displays of aggression. Houston was making attempts to restore peace, and the Comanche, alarmed by the enthusiasm of the Texas settlers, began to consider demanding a fixed frontier, contrary to their traditional notions of such things. However, Houston was prohibited from ceding any land already occupied by citizens of the Republic. Despite all this, in 1838 he still managed to make peace with the Comanches, just before the end of his presidential term.
In 1838, a new president was elected - Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar, who was extremely hostile towards the Indians. His cabinet openly declared that it would eliminate the "tame" Indians of Houston from the territory of the republic.
In 1839, Lamar formulated the policy of his administration as follows: " A white man and the red man cannot coexist in harmony. It's against nature." His solution to the Indian problem boiled down to this: “To wage an inexorable struggle against them; drive back to their lairs without indulgence and compassion until they understand that it is better to flee away from our borders without any hope of return than to continue the war.
President Lamar was the first Texas official to attempt eviction, the deportation of Indian tribes into territory out of reach of white settlers. According to his project, it was assumed that after the completion of this process, a permanent frontier line would be established, i.e., a border beyond which the various evicted tribes could continue to lead their way of life without fear of the arrival of white settlers.
Lamar became convinced that the Cherokee should not be allowed to remain in Texas after their role in the Cordova rebellion. The war with the Cherokee and their subsequent expulsion from the territory of the Republic began shortly after Lamar's accession to the presidency.
Lamar demanded that the Cherokee, who during the Texas War of Independence had been promised title to their land subject to neutrality, voluntarily leave their lands and all their property and resettle in the Oklahoma Indian Territories in the United States. Houston, who had promised during the Córdoba rebellion that their lands would remain theirs, protested, but to no avail.
After a letter was found in May 1839 in the hands of an agent of the Mexican government, Manuel Flores, describing the plans of the Mexican authorities to recruit Indians in the fight against Texas settlers, Lamar, with the support of public opinion, decided to expel the Indians from the territory of east Texas. When they refused to obey, he used force to force them out of the area.
Lamar demanded that the Cherokee, who never acquired legal rights to own land, accept money and goods as payment for it and the objects on it, after which they would move across the Red River to the Indian Territories of the United States. To enforce procedure, General Kelsey Douglas encamped with about 500 Texan soldiers six miles south of the main Cherokee settlement. On July 12, 1839, he sent a delegation to the Indians to discuss their peaceful resettlement. Initially, the Cherokee agreed to conditions laid out for them, guaranteeing that they would receive payments for the value of their crops and the costs of the resettlement, but dragged out for two days the discussion of the clause, according to which the resettlement was to be carried out under the armed supervision of the Texan army. On the third day, the delegates announced that no one would wait any longer, and that the Texans were on their way to their settlement right now, so that anyone who wanted to end the matter in peace should wave the white flag.
On July 15, 1839, the Texan army advanced along Battle Creek while Captain Willis Landrum crossed the Neches River to cut off possible reinforcements and intercept those Indians who tried to retreat from the battlefield to the north. The Cherokee waited for them on the high ground and attacked first, however, they were soon driven back and retreated into a gorge nearby. Landrum was unable to block them, as he was deceived by his guide. The battle was periodically renewed throughout the day, by the end of which the losses of the Texans were three men killed and five wounded against 80 among the Cherokee.
During the night, the Cherokee managed to retreat a few miles to the north, after which they were discovered by the reconnaissance party of Colonel James Carter. The Cherokee attacked again, however, two more companies managed to join the scouts, so that soon the Indians ran again. This time the Texans lost 2 killed and 27 wounded (3 mortally) against about a hundred Cherokee and Delaware killed.
During the battle, several high-ranking Texans were wounded: Vice President David Barnet, Secretary of State Albert Sidney Johnson, General Hugh McLeod and Major David Kaufman. Chief Bowles, one of the leaders of the Cherokee and old friend former president of Houston, died during the battle, still holding in his hands the saber that Houston once presented to him. McLeod subsequently presented Houston with his hat.
After the battle, the Cherokee once again tried to get to Mexico, bypassing the Texas settlements from the north, but they were nevertheless escorted to the Arkansas Territory in modern Oklahoma.
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1. The Tarahumara Indians believe that God created them from pure clay, and the white people were created by the devil from a mixture of clay and ash, and therefore a paradise for whites is a hell for the Tarahumara.
2. The Welsh prince Madog ap Owain Gwynedd, according to legend, sailed to the New World in 1170 and met with Indian tribes.
3. Among the ancestors of Johnny Depp, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Costner, Cameron Diaz, Tommy Lee Jones, Tory Amos and Chuck Norris were Cherokee Indians.
4. Pyramids-sanctuaries of Tukume are of natural origin.
5. Princess Angelina made a living doing laundry and weaving baskets.
6. At the end of each performance of the drama "Rabinal-Achi", the Mayans killed one of the actors on the altar.
7. Catholic Seattle in his famous speech referred to the authority of the Indian gods.
8. Residents of Taos Pueblo still live in multi-story adobe fortresses built about 1000 years ago.
9. A number of current decisions of the US Supreme Court suggest that the government of the country that “discovered” it, and not the local population, has the right to land.
10. The indigenous people of Patagonia often used the Welsh language in trade.
11. The guards, who were buried together with the ruler of Sipan, who lived 1800 years ago, underwent amputation of their legs so that they would not escape from the grave.
12. The Indian who raised the US flag on Iwo Jima died due to alcoholism.
13 Among the Kwakiutl people, a member of a tribe, borrowing from another Indian, may pledge his name. Until the debt is repaid, the debtor cannot be addressed by name.
14. It is a tradition for US Army paratroopers to shout the name of Geronimo (Apache chief) at the time of the parachute jump.
15. German Prince Maximilian and artist Carl Bodmer traveled up the Missouri between 1832 and 1834 and spent their summers with the Blackfoot tribe.
16. L. Morgan's studies of matriarchy among the Iroquois became an important link in the creation of the Marxist concept of evolutionism.
17. The Cherokee Indians were also slave owners (the largest among the Indians) and rebellions often took place on their territory, the largest of which occurred in 1842.
18. Pawnee Indians who served as scouts in the US Army often donned American uniforms and hats to provoke an attack on themselves by hostile Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, or some other Indians.
19. Since they preferred to avoid fighting the Pawnee Scouts, who were armed with revolvers and repeating shotguns, but were not afraid to attack the same number of American cavalrymen.
20. The Comanche had a tradition according to which, after each raid, they dressed up in trophy clothes. Often she was given women's corsets, bowlers, tailcoats, top hats, etc., which contrasted strongly with the war paint and weapons of the Comanche warriors.
21. In some groups of "redskins" skin color may have a bluish tint.
22. 99% of the Indians have the first blood group (80% of the Indians of North America) and a positive Rh factor.
23. Some Indian peoples (Salish, Chinook, Kutanai in the west and Choctaw and Biloxi in the east) had a practice - flattening of the head (English). The same practice existed in ancient Egypt.
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One of the places to visit in North Carolina is the Cherokee Indian Reservation. I already wrote about the second trip to Cherokee. But my first visit and a cursory acquaintance with him somehow remained "behind the scenes".
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For the first time I came to the Indian reservation in North Carolina - the city of Cherokee - in 2012. Came into it from Asheville on Highway 19, turning into it from a scenic mountain road Blue Ridge Pkwy (Blue Ridge Parkway). And here an unpleasant surprise awaited me - since I arrived late in the evening, almost all the cafes were already closed and you could have a bite to eat only in Waffle House and / or after buying groceries in the store.
Cherokee, or as the Americans call it Cherokee (accent on the last syllable), is, in fact, something like our model village with a tourist bias. A very quiet town, the main income of which is provided by the Harrah's casino opened here in 1995, as well as tourism and "folk" crafts. And although some things in souvenir shops are impressive
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do not rush to acquire them out of a desire to help the Indian "brothers". Many attributes were made, alas, not by Indian craftsmen, but by ... Chinese. As evidenced by a small tag on the product.
To be fair, there is an excellent store at the Cherokee exit (on Highway 19) run by a family of true descendants of the Cherokee Indians. You can buy souvenirs there national clothes and even handmade soap!
Cherokee has Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Veterans Park
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Indian Village Oconaluftee Indian Village, national theater
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and also bears. Sculptures of bears with paintings that tell about the life of the Indians or simply with national ornaments. They appeared as part of a program to support local talents.
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Cherokee, or Cherokee(Cherokee ᏣᎳᎩ, eng. Cherokee listen)) are an Indian people in North America.
History
The first Europeans that the Cherokee saw were Spanish. This happened in 1540, the famous conquistador Hernando de Soto participated in the Spanish expedition. In 1566, the Spaniards again visited the Cherokee lands. They maintained small mines and smelters in the area until 1690. Convinced of the absence of precious metals in the lands of the Cherokee, the Spaniards lost interest in them. In 1629, the first meeting took place between the Cherokee and English traders, who began to move west into the Appalachians. After the formation of British settlements, contacts became permanent.
18th century
Throughout the 18th century, the Cherokee waged intense wars with neighboring Indian tribes and white colonizers. First in alliance with the British against the French, then against the British themselves, and at the end of the century in alliance with the British Loyalists against the American colonists. In the wars with the whites, the Cherokee suffered significant losses, but by the beginning of the 19th century they managed to defend and secure vast fertile lands in the southeastern United States.
19th century
By the early 19th century, Christianity became the dominant religion of the Cherokee. IN late XVIII, early XIX centuries, the Cherokee made significant cultural progress, changed their nomadic lifestyle to a settled one, began to live in modern houses for their time, engage in farming, cattle breeding and handicrafts. They became part of the five civilized tribes. In -1826, the leader of the Cherokee tribe, Sequoyah, approved the Cherokee syllabary, which he created in 1821, at the tribal council, and began publishing the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper in the Cherokee language. Wealthy Indians owned plantations, led an aristocratic lifestyle, owned hundreds of black slaves.
It is possible that the Cherokee are indeed descendants of some Alligewy or Talligow, about whom information has been preserved in the legends of the Iroquois and Algonquins, as a people who went south in ancient times. However, during the colonial era, the Iroquois called the Cherokee Oyata'ge'ronon (living in the country of the caves).
Probably an exonym chalaki gradually took root in the Cherokee language and acquired the status of a self-name, and the Iroquois, remembering for some period their long-standing relationship with the departed, mentioned them in legends under a new name, which eventually became known through cultural contacts between different tribes.
With about 250,000 registered members of the Cherokee Tribe, they are one of the largest Indian groups in the United States.
Language
Notable Representatives
- Sequoyah - the inventor of writing for the Cherokee language
- Stand Waitey - General of the Confederate Army
- John Ross - tribal leader 1828-1860
- Wes Studi - actor
- Michael Wayne Eta - American rapper
- Barack Obama's ancestors through his white grandmother who raised him were assimilated Cherokee African slaves
- Ancestors of Elvis Presley
- Quentin Tarantino's mother's ancestors were Cherokee Indians
- Johnny Depp's grandfather was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian
- Actor Burt Reynolds' ancestors were Cherokee Indians
- Actor Armie Hammer's ancestors are Cherokee Indians
- Actor Val Kilmer's ancestors were Cherokee Indians
- The mother of actor and martial artist Chuck Norris comes from the Cherokee tribe.
- The ancestors of musician Jimi Hendrix are Cherokee Indians. His grandmother Nora Rose Hendrix (nee Moore) is the granddaughter of a purebred Cherokee and Irish on her father's side, her maternal grandmother Clarice Jeter (nee Lawson) is half Cherokee.
see also
Write a review on the article "Cherokee"
Notes
Literature
- Evans, E. Raymond. "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Dragging Canoe". Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 176–189. (Cherokee: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 1977).
- Finger, John R. Cherokee Americans: The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the 20th Century. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991. ISBN 0-8032-6879-3.
- Glenn, Eddie. Tahlequah Daily Press. January 6, 2006 (Accessed May 24, 2007)
- Halliburton, R., jr.: Red over Black - Black Slavery among the Cherokee Indians, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut 1977 ISBN 0-8371-9034-7
- Irwin, L, "Cherokee Healing: Myth, Dreams, and Medicine." American Indian Quarterly. Vol. 16, 2, 1992, p. 237.
- Perdue, Theda. "Clan and Court: Another Look at the Early Cherokee Republic." American Indian Quarterly. Vol. 24, 4, 2000, p. 562.
- Perdue, Theda. Cherokee women: gender and culture change, 1700-1835. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8032-8760-0.
- Pierpoint, Mary. Indian Country Today. August 16, 2000 (Accessed May 16, 2007).
- Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.
- Wishart, David M. "Evidence of Surplus Production in the Cherokee Nation Prior to Removal." Journal of Economic History. Vol. 55, 1, 1995, p. 120.
- Youngblood, Wayne L. Cherokee: People of the Written Word. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7858-2398-8.
- Doublass, Robert Sydney. "History of Southeast Missouri", 1992, pp. 32–45
- Rollings, Willard H. "The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains." (University of Missouri Press, 1992)
Links
- , official site
- , official site
- , official site
- Cherokee, NC
- , Park Hill, OK
- , Oklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
- in FamilySearch Research Wiki for genealogists
An excerpt characterizing the Cherokee
“Orders?” Denisov said thoughtfully. - Can you stay until tomorrow?- Oh, please ... Can I stay with you? Petya screamed.
- Yes, how exactly were you ordered from the geneg "ala - now to get out"? Denisov asked. Petya blushed.
Yes, he didn't say anything. I think it is possible? he said inquiringly.
“Well, all right,” said Denisov. And, turning to his subordinates, he made orders that the party go to the designated resting place near the guardhouse in the forest and that the officer on a Kyrgyz horse (this officer acted as adjutant) went to look for Dolokhov, find out where he was and whether he would come in the evening . Denisov himself, with the esaul and Petya, intended to drive up to the edge of the forest, overlooking Shamshev, in order to look at the location of the French, which was supposed to be attacked tomorrow.
“Well, God’s ode,” he turned to the peasant conductor, “take me to Shamshev.
Denisov, Petya and the esaul, accompanied by several Cossacks and a hussar who was carrying a prisoner, drove to the left through the ravine, to the edge of the forest.
The rain had passed, only fog and drops of water fell from the branches of trees. Denisov, the esaul, and Petya silently followed the peasant in the cap, who, lightly and soundlessly stepping with his feet turned out in bast shoes over the roots and wet leaves, led them to the edge of the forest.
Coming out to the izvolok, the peasant paused, looked around and headed towards the thinning wall of trees. At a large oak tree, which had not yet shed its leaves, he stopped and mysteriously beckoned to him with his hand.
Denisov and Petya drove up to him. From the place where the peasant stopped, the French were visible. Now a spring field was going down behind the forest like a semi-hillock. To the right, across a steep ravine, one could see a small village and a manor house with collapsed roofs. In this village, and in the manor house, and along the whole hillock, in the garden, by the wells and the pond, and along the entire road uphill from the bridge to the village, no more than two hundred fathoms away, crowds of people could be seen in the wavering fog. Their non-Russian cries were clearly heard at the horses in the carts tearing up the mountain and calls to each other.
“Give the prisoner here,” Denisop said quietly, not taking his eyes off the French.
The Cossack dismounted from his horse, removed the boy, and together with him approached Denisov. Denisov, pointing to the French, asked what kind of troops they were. The boy, thrusting his chilled hands into his pockets and raising his eyebrows, looked frightened at Denisov and, despite his apparent desire to say everything he knew, got confused in his answers and only confirmed what Denisov was asking. Denisov, frowning, turned away from him and turned to the esaul, telling him his thoughts.
Petya, turning his head with quick movements, glanced first at the drummer, then at Denisov, then at the esaul, then at the French in the village and on the road, trying not to miss something important.
- Pg "is coming, not pg" is Dolokhov, you have to bg "at! .. Huh?" Denisov said, his eyes flashing merrily.
“The place is convenient,” said the esaul.
“We’ll send infantry from below—by swamps,” Denisov continued, “they’ll crawl up to the garden; you will call with the Cossacks from there, ”Denisov pointed to the forest outside the village,“ and I’m from here, with my gusags.
“It won’t be possible in a hollow - it’s a quagmire,” said the esaul. - You will bog down the horses, you have to go around to the left ...
While they were talking in an undertone like this, below, in the hollow from the pond, one shot clicked, the smoke began to turn white, another, and a friendly, as if cheerful, cry of hundreds of voices of the French who were on the half-mountain was heard. In the first minute, both Denisov and the esaul leaned back. They were so close that it seemed to them that they were the cause of these shots and screams. But the shots and screams did not belong to them. Below, through the swamps, a man in something red was running. Obviously, the French were shooting at him and shouting at him.
- After all, this is our Tikhon, - said the esaul.
- He! they are!
“Eka rogue,” said Denisov.
- Leave! - screwing up his eyes, said the esaul.
The man whom they called Tikhon, running up to the river, flopped into it so that the spray flew, and, hiding for a moment, all black from the water, got out on all fours and ran on. The French, who were running after him, stopped.
- Well, clever, - said the esaul.
- What a beast! Denisov said with the same expression of annoyance. And what has he done so far?
- Who is this? Petya asked.
- This is our plast. I sent him to pick up the language.
“Ah, yes,” said Petya from Denisov’s first word, nodding his head as if he understood everything, although he decidedly did not understand a single word.
Tikhon Shcherbaty was one of the most the right people in the party. He was a peasant from Pokrovsky near Gzhatya. When, at the beginning of his actions, Denisov came to Pokrovskoye and, as always, calling the headman, asked what they knew about the French, the headman answered, as all the headmen answered, as if defending themselves, that they did not know anything, know they don't know. But when Denisov explained to them that his goal was to beat the French, and when he asked if the French had wandered into them, the headman said that there had been marauders for sure, but that in their village only Tishka Shcherbaty was engaged in these matters. Denisov ordered Tikhon to be called to him and, praising him for his activities, said a few words in front of the headman about the loyalty to the tsar and the fatherland and hatred for the French, which the sons of the fatherland should observe.
“We do no harm to the French,” said Tikhon, apparently timid at these words of Denisov. - We only so, means, on hunting dabbled with the guys. It was like two dozen Miroderov were beaten, otherwise we didn’t do anything bad ... - The next day, when Denisov, completely forgetting about this peasant, left Pokrovsky, he was informed that Tikhon had stuck to the party and asked to be left with it. Denisov ordered to leave him.
Tikhon, who at first corrected the menial work of laying fires, delivering water, skinning horses, etc., soon showed a great desire and ability for guerrilla warfare. He went out at night to plunder and each time brought with him a dress and French weapons, and when he was ordered, he brought prisoners. Denisov put Tikhon away from work, began to take him on trips with him and enrolled him in the Cossacks.
Tikhon did not like to ride and always walked, never falling behind the cavalry. His weapons were a blunderbuss, which he wore more for laughter, a lance and an ax, which he owned like a wolf owns teeth, equally easily picking fleas out of wool and biting thick bones with them. Tikhon equally faithfully, with all his might, split logs with an ax and, taking the ax by the butt, cut out thin pegs with it and cut out spoons. In the party of Denisov, Tikhon occupied his own special, exceptional place. When it was necessary to do something especially difficult and ugly - turn a wagon in the mud with your shoulder, pull a horse out of the swamp by the tail, skin it, climb into the very middle of the French, walk fifty miles a day - everyone pointed, chuckling, at Tikhon.
“What the hell is he doing, hefty merenina,” they said about him.
Once a Frenchman, whom Tikhon was taking, shot him with a pistol and hit him in the flesh of his back. This wound, from which Tikhon was treated only with vodka, internally and externally, was the subject of the most cheerful jokes in the whole detachment and jokes that Tikhon willingly succumbed to.
"What, brother, won't you?" Ali cringed? the Cossacks laughed at him, and Tikhon, deliberately crouching and making faces, pretending to be angry, scolded the French with the most ridiculous curses. This incident had only the effect on Tikhon that, after his wound, he rarely brought prisoners.
Tikhon was the most useful and brave man in the party. No one more than him discovered cases of attacks, no one else took him and beat the French; and as a result, he was the jester of all Cossacks, hussars, and he himself willingly succumbed to this rank. Now Tikhon was sent by Denisov, that night, to Shamshevo in order to take language. But, either because he was not satisfied with one Frenchman, or because he slept through the night, he climbed into the bushes during the day, into the very middle of the Frenchmen and, as he saw from Mount Denisov, was discovered by them.
After talking for some more time with the esaul about tomorrow's attack, which now, looking at the proximity of the French, Denisov seemed to have finally decided, he turned his horse and rode back.
- Well, bg "at, tepeg" let's go and dry ourselves, - he said to Petya.
Approaching the forest guardhouse, Denisov stopped, peering into the forest. A man in a jacket, bast shoes and a Kazan hat, with a gun over his shoulder and an ax in his belt, was walking through the forest, between the trees, with long, light steps on long legs, with long dangling arms. Seeing Denisov, this man hurriedly threw something into a bush and, taking off his wet hat with drooping brim, went up to the chief. It was Tikhon. Pitted with smallpox and wrinkles, his face with small narrow eyes shone with self-satisfied amusement. He raised his head high and, as if restraining himself from laughter, stared at Denisov.
“Well, where did pg fall?” Denisov said.
- Where had you been? I followed the French,” Tikhon answered boldly and hastily in a hoarse but melodious bass.
- Why did you climb during the day? Beast! Well, didn't you take it?
“I took it,” said Tikhon.
– Where is he?
“Yes, I took him first of all at dawn,” Tikhon continued, rearranging his flat, turned-out legs in bast shoes wider, “and led him into the forest. I see it's not good. I think, let me go, I’ll take another more carefully one.
“Look, rogue, it’s true,” Denisov said to the esaul. - Why didn’t you pg "ivel"?
“Yes, what’s the point of driving him,” Tikhon interrupted angrily and hastily, “not a busy one. Don't I know what you need?
- What a beast! .. Well? ..
“I went after another,” Tikhon continued, “I crawled into the forest in this manner, and I lay down. - Tikhon unexpectedly and flexibly lay down on his belly, imagining in his faces how he did it. “One and do it,” he continued. - I'll rob him in this manner. - Tikhon quickly, easily jumped up. - Let's go, I say, to the colonel. How to make a noise. And there are four of them. They rushed at me with skewers. I attacked them in such a manner with an ax: why are you, they say, Christ is with you, ”Tikhon cried out, waving his arms and frowning menacingly, exposing his chest.
“That’s what we saw from the mountain, how you asked the arrow through the puddles,” said the esaul, narrowing his shining eyes.
In which the "white" group of older people represented the seven clans. According to Payne, these people were responsible for religious activities such as healing, cleansing and prayer, and places in this group were hereditary. Another group of younger people, called the "Reds", were responsible for military activities. Military activity was called "dirty", and therefore, after the battle, its participants had to undergo purification from representatives of the "white" group in order to return to normal life. This hierarchy disappeared long before the 18th century. The reasons for her disappearance have been debated: it was assumed that the hierarchy disappeared after the Cherokee rebellion against the priests known as Ani-kutani (English) Russian(Cherokee - ᎠᏂᎫᏔᏂ, Ani-- a prefix denoting a group of people; part value -kutani unknown) who began to commit crimes.
Another important source of knowledge about early culture Cherokee - materials written in the 19th century by healers called didanvwisgi(Cherokee - ᏗᏓᏅᏫᏍᎩ). The materials were written in the 1820s - after Sequoia had created a syllabary for the language. Initially, only didanvwisgi used these materials because they (the materials) were believed to have extraordinary power. Later, the recordings were widely used by other members of the Cherokee tribe.
The first Europeans that the Cherokee saw were Spanish. This happened in 1540, the famous conquistador Hernando de Soto participated in the Spanish expedition. In 1566, the Spaniards again visited the Cherokee lands. They maintained small mines and smelters in the area until 1690. Convinced of the absence of precious metals in the lands of the Cherokee, the Spaniards lost interest in them. In 1629, the first meeting took place between the Cherokee and English traders, who began to move west into the Appalachians. After the formation of British settlements, contacts became permanent.
18th century
Throughout the 18th century, the Cherokee waged intense wars with neighboring Indian tribes and white colonizers. First in alliance with the British against the French, then against the British themselves, and at the end of the century in alliance with the British Loyalists against the American colonists. In the wars with the whites, the Cherokee suffered significant losses, but by the beginning of the 19th century they managed to defend and secure vast fertile lands in the southeastern United States.
19th century
By the early 19th century, Christianity became the dominant religion of the Cherokee. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Cherokee made significant cultural progress, changed their nomadic lifestyle to a settled one, began to live in modern houses, engage in farming, cattle breeding and handicrafts. They became part of the five civilized tribes. In 1825-1826, Cherokee Chief Sequoyah approved at the tribal council the Cherokee syllabary of 85 characters, created by him in 1821, which is still used to write the Cherokee language. In 1828, he began publishing The Cherokee Phoenix newspaper in the Cherokee language. Wealthy Indians owned plantations and hundreds of black slaves; led an aristocratic lifestyle.
In the early 30s of the XIX century, under pressure from the authorities of the southeastern states, the US federal government decided to destroy the Indian enclaves, and the Indians themselves to be evicted to empty lands west of the Mississippi River. During the forced deportation in 1838-1839, called the "Road of Tears", about 4 thousand Indians died.
After the deportation, the Cherokee and other civilized tribes created the first network of free schools in the United States. In Cherokee territory mid-nineteenth century there were about 30 free schools, and almost all the teachers were Cherokee. Overall, the "Cherokee Territory" had one of the highest levels of education among the Territories of North America.
Even before the deportation, following the example of the United States, the Cherokee created their own constitution, code of laws, an elected government and a president, traditionally called the "supreme leader". By 1850, about 22,000 people lived in Cherokee Territory, of which 4,000 citizens (Cherokee men) had the right to vote. Women and children, whites (about 1 thousand people) and black slaves (about 4 thousand people) did not have the right to vote.
In 1889, immigration was allowed in one part of their area (Oklahoma Territory); in 1891 another part was opened for immigration.
Origin
In the 1880s, Horace Gael suggested that the Cherokee were related to the Iroquois. Subsequently, this hypothesis was fully confirmed; According to the currently accepted classification, the Cherokee language is included in the family of Iroquoian languages as a representative of a separate southern branch.
The Cherokee call themselves tsalagi(ᏣᎳᎩ, "real people"), although the word is not etymologized based on their language. Self-name consonant with exonym Cha'la'kee("living in the mountains"), which was used in relation to the Cherokee by their neighbors before the arrival of Europeans Choctaw - a people who speak the language of the Muscogean language family.
It is possible that the Cherokee are indeed the descendants of some Alligewi or Talliguwa, about whom information has been preserved in the legends of the Iroquois and Algonquins, as a people who went south in ancient times. However, during the colonial era, the Iroquois were called Cherokee Oyata'ge'ronon("those who live in the country of caves").
Probably an exonym chalaki gradually took root in the Cherokee language and acquired the status of a self-name, and the Iroquois, remembering for some period their long-standing relationship with the departed, mentioned them in legends under a new name, which eventually became known through cultural contacts between different tribes.
population
The Cherokee numbered approximately 50,000 in 1674. Smallpox epidemics halved the Cherokee, and at the beginning of the 19th century, the Cherokee population, according to the census, did not exceed 16 thousand people. The subsequent forced deportation of the tribe to Indian territories in Oklahoma reduced the population by almost a quarter. The American Civil War, in which the Cherokee tribe splintered into opposing factions, again reduced the numbers of the people.
The 1990 census identified 308,132 Cherokees, of which 15,000 were purebreds. 95,435 of them lived in eastern Oklahoma, 10,114 Eastern Cherokee lived in North Carolina. As of the 2000 Census, the Cherokee numbered 281,069, with an additional 18,793 reporting Cherokee as well as another. Indian tribe. The number of Cherokee descendants, including Métis and Sambo, was 729,533.
There are about 250,000 registered members of the Cherokee Tribe and they are one of the largest Indian groups in the US.