Reading Notes: Myths of the Cherokee: Reading B

Favorite Stories

The Uktena and the Ulûñsû'tï: The origin of the snake monster sounds very interesting and could be a good source for a prequel. The story says the Sun got angry at the people and sent a disease to get rid of them, and then the people changed a man into a monster snake to kill the sun, but he failed and became angry and jealous. The people sent him to Gälûñ'lätï with "other dangerous things," so that could be an interesting setting for a story. The Uktena is described as the size of a tree truck with horns, a magical diamond on its forehead, and glittering scales. The crystal-like stone is called the Ulûñsû'tï, and it has various magical properties that make the owner very powerful and successful. However, it can be dangerous if not fed or taken care of properly. A story about a Ulûñsû'tï that got loose could be interesting.

Âgän-uni'tsï's Search for the Uktena: I liked how this story seemed a bit like a "quest" where the protagonist must face different challenges before completing the final goal. Âgän-uni'tsï meets four snakes before the Uktena, but they don't present any sort of challenge for him. If I retell this story, I would make these encounters more exciting.

Rattlesnake's Vengeance: This story gave the origin for the Cherokee snake song, which I remember from a Percy Jackson book. The story was bittersweet, since the man sacrificed his wife to the snakes without appearing to feel any sadness or remorse, but in the end it gives the Cherokee much more protection from the rattlesnakes since whoever sings the songs is protected from the snakes.

Image Source: Rattlesnake photo by Meg Jerrard on Unsplash.

Story Source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).