Tamassee and another jewel story
There was a great prophet/ medicine man in the SC Cherokee Lower Hill Towns. Tamassee was his name. One account called him a "Rain Prophet." but I have mostly heard of him being called a "Fire Prophet." He was known in the Nation for his wisdom and healing powers using the "Sunlight of God," a hen's egg size ruby. I have heard accounts that people respected and trusted his word, coming from far away to consult with him, but they feared him a certain amount. He was buried with his ruby when he died.
All this reminds me of a Cherokee legend involving a large jewel and a huge, deadly serpent.
There was an outcast who was trying to be more than marginally accepted into the Cherokee tribe. He was Mohican in background, if I remember correctly. The town where he stayed was stricken with an epidemic and many were getting very sick & dying. Word spread that the only way they could be cured from this disease and save the town was to use the jewel from the great serpent. This man set out to acquire this jewel.
This serpent was huge and deadly. I recall accounts of it being about 40-50 ft long. It had the power to hypnotize animals and humans by strong eye contact, leaving the prey motionless. The poison was so powerful that contact with the skin was lethal without a bite. The serpent could outrun any human. It seemed invincible and that is why no humans lived in that area anymore. The snake had a ruby the size of a hen's egg embedded in his forehead and it was considered to be powerful.
This man journeyed to the area where the serpent lived. He first prayed to God and communed with the spirits of the people who had died there. The spirits said that a circle of fire, properly set, would provide a wall to protect him from the serpent and it's venom. They told him that the serpent could not stay on the side of a hill very well: it would tend to roll downhill and lose it's place.
He set a circle of dried sticks, leaves & brush around his campsite and set a fire in the center. The next morning, he did not extinguish the glowing embers and set a large number of ready arrows sticking into the ground. He went out to search the serpent.
He found the snake near the top of a mountain. He was careful to avoid direct eye contact and managed to dodge the initial strike from the serpent. He ran to the top of the mountain with the snake not far behind. As the started down the other side, the serpent was gaining on him rapidly. He remembered his advice from the spirits and turned to run along the mountain side. As the serpent moved along the mountain side, it would tend to roll downhill and lose ground. It would scurry back up the mountain and try to chase him again and again. This kept the man safely ahead. The serpent followed him all the way to the campsite where he quickly set the circle of brush afire. The snake struck at him and tried to shoot venom at him, but he was protected by the fire. He could, however, shoot arrows through the flames and strike the serpent. He struck again and again, but the adversary was relentless. Finally,in a last desperate lunge, the snake fell and died, sending out one stream of venom.
When the man was sure that the serpent was truly dead, he extinguished his protective circle of flame and cut the ruby from it's head. He took it home and saved many people's lives from the epidemic. They accepted him and made him their medicine man. He was known far and wide for his healing powers with the stone.
The man noticed, however, that people seemed to give him a wide berth and only came to him when they needed him. There was a look of fear in many's eyes. One day, he noticed his reflection in the water and saw what distanced him from the others: there was a miniature serpent protruding from his forehead. He surmised that a tiny drop from that last surge of the serpent had arched over the top of the fire and landed on his forehead. It had somehow not killed him but left this horrific outgrowth. Many feared that the serpent was really alive.
When the medicine man died, they buried him with the jewel. They were very afraid of him and the jewel.
Marion
All this reminds me of a Cherokee legend involving a large jewel and a huge, deadly serpent.
There was an outcast who was trying to be more than marginally accepted into the Cherokee tribe. He was Mohican in background, if I remember correctly. The town where he stayed was stricken with an epidemic and many were getting very sick & dying. Word spread that the only way they could be cured from this disease and save the town was to use the jewel from the great serpent. This man set out to acquire this jewel.
This serpent was huge and deadly. I recall accounts of it being about 40-50 ft long. It had the power to hypnotize animals and humans by strong eye contact, leaving the prey motionless. The poison was so powerful that contact with the skin was lethal without a bite. The serpent could outrun any human. It seemed invincible and that is why no humans lived in that area anymore. The snake had a ruby the size of a hen's egg embedded in his forehead and it was considered to be powerful.
This man journeyed to the area where the serpent lived. He first prayed to God and communed with the spirits of the people who had died there. The spirits said that a circle of fire, properly set, would provide a wall to protect him from the serpent and it's venom. They told him that the serpent could not stay on the side of a hill very well: it would tend to roll downhill and lose it's place.
He set a circle of dried sticks, leaves & brush around his campsite and set a fire in the center. The next morning, he did not extinguish the glowing embers and set a large number of ready arrows sticking into the ground. He went out to search the serpent.
He found the snake near the top of a mountain. He was careful to avoid direct eye contact and managed to dodge the initial strike from the serpent. He ran to the top of the mountain with the snake not far behind. As the started down the other side, the serpent was gaining on him rapidly. He remembered his advice from the spirits and turned to run along the mountain side. As the serpent moved along the mountain side, it would tend to roll downhill and lose ground. It would scurry back up the mountain and try to chase him again and again. This kept the man safely ahead. The serpent followed him all the way to the campsite where he quickly set the circle of brush afire. The snake struck at him and tried to shoot venom at him, but he was protected by the fire. He could, however, shoot arrows through the flames and strike the serpent. He struck again and again, but the adversary was relentless. Finally,in a last desperate lunge, the snake fell and died, sending out one stream of venom.
When the man was sure that the serpent was truly dead, he extinguished his protective circle of flame and cut the ruby from it's head. He took it home and saved many people's lives from the epidemic. They accepted him and made him their medicine man. He was known far and wide for his healing powers with the stone.
The man noticed, however, that people seemed to give him a wide berth and only came to him when they needed him. There was a look of fear in many's eyes. One day, he noticed his reflection in the water and saw what distanced him from the others: there was a miniature serpent protruding from his forehead. He surmised that a tiny drop from that last surge of the serpent had arched over the top of the fire and landed on his forehead. It had somehow not killed him but left this horrific outgrowth. Many feared that the serpent was really alive.
When the medicine man died, they buried him with the jewel. They were very afraid of him and the jewel.
Marion
posted by Marion at 1:15 AM
2 Comments:
Any idea what a "fire-prophet" is? When I look it up on Google, almost all the hits refer to Tamassee. Kind of odd.
I have never seen any explanation. One account said hat he both practiced medicine and divinaton. The whole thing is odd in that I don't know of any other Cherokee Town named after an individual. Then again, I have much to learn.
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