Cherokee writing deciphered

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Mysterious Cherokee tribal writing inside Alabama cave decoded, reveals its secrets

Archaeologists and Cherokee scholars have teamed up to decode a set of mysterious tribal inscriptions written in an Alabama cave.

The inscriptions inside Manitou Cave, near Fort Payne, are evidence of the tribe's syllabary, which the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah developed using symbols for each sound. It was formally adopted as the tribe's official written language in 1825.

Experts published their study of the inscriptions in the journal Antiquity.

The first inscription makes reference to the leaders of a game of “stickball,” the Cherokee version of lacrosse, that occurred in April 1828. With players entering the cave before the games and during intermissions, another nearby inscription reads: “We who are those that have blood come out of their nose and mouth.”

The study’s authors explain that stickball was a ceremonial event that often lasted a number of days. “Each team undergoes ritual preparation in private before the game, and access to purifying sacred waters is necessary,” they say. “This is the event recorded on the walls of Manitou Cave — the ballgame players preparing themselves spiritually for the game and cleansing themselves in the secluded subterranean waters.”

Another decoded inscription, which addresses sensitive religious matters, was written backwards. The researchers note that the inscription was written as if addressing readers inside the rock itself. “If Manitou Cave was seen as a portal to the spirit world, then words must be written backwards to be legible to the spirit residents,” they explain.

The inscriptions offer a fascinating glimpse into secluded sacred ceremonies that were carried out at a time of crisis for the Cherokee. “Pressures from the surrounding white populations disrupted the Cherokee ancient lifeways, culminating in their forcible relocation in the 1830s along the Trail of Tears,” the authors explain.

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The cave inscriptions offer a glimpse into the lives of the local Cherokee tribe. (A. Cressler, appearing in Beau Duke Carroll et al’s study in Antiquity.)

A host of Native American tribes in the southeastern U.S. were forced to leave their homes and give up their lands in exchange for federal territory west of the Mississippi following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The resulting forced migration is known as the Trail of Tears.

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Just a fast post because my mini me giving me the look:mad:

I am not claiming to be 100% Cherokee I claim myself as an american.

I tracked my father's side back to 1777-1778 were they inter mixed with the Cherokee Indian's. And Cherokee history has always fascinated me also. Now I know I have way less then 50% in my blood but either way it is still part of my family history.
 
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Just a fast post because my mini me giving me the look:mad:

I am not claiming to be 100% Cherokee I claim myself as an american.

I tracked my father's side back to 1777-1778 were they inter mixed with the Cherokee Indian's. And Cherokee history has always fascinated me also. Now I know I have way less then 50% in my blood but either way it is still part of my family history.

and a beautiful legacy it is! My brother was able to get me registered, so I am now a card-carrying part of the Cherokee nation It was a heck of a job getting all the documentation in order and I think there is one old lady with a manual typewriter in charge of the whole process, but I proudly wear my number on my wrist.
 
and a beautiful legacy it is! My brother was able to get me registered, so I am now a card-carrying part of the Cherokee nation It was a heck of a job getting all the documentation in order and I think there is one old lady with a manual typewriter in charge of the whole process, but I proudly wear my number on my wrist.
Nice means you have over 6.25% Cherokee blood I have not done the blood work I am cool with it.
So happy for you!!!!!
 
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The aboriginals here say it doesn't matter how much milk is in the coffee, it's still coffee.
 
I am wondering when they decoded the writings how much interpretation there was verses just translating the symbols. It takes knowledge of customs and of the era to apply a meaning to the symbols.

And how clever was it to realize that some was written backwards ( I'm reading this as mirror image).
 
I am wondering when they decoded the writings how much interpretation there was verses just translating the symbols. It takes knowledge of customs and of the era to apply a meaning to the symbols.

And how clever was it to realize that some was written backwards ( I'm reading this as mirror image).
Good observations. Finding ancient script and getting a glimpse into past lives is always interesting. The diff we find we are the more we are alike.