Long ago when the world was young, there were not many stars in the sky. In those days the
people depended on corn for their food. Dried corn could be made into corn meal by placing it
inside a large hollowed stump and pounding it with a long wooden pestle. The cornmeal was
stored in large baskets. During the winter, the ground meal could made into bread and mush.
One morning an old man and his wife went to their storage basket for some cornmeal. They
discovered that someone or something had gotten into the cornmeal during the night. This upset
them very much for no one in a Cherokee village stole from someone else.
Then they noticed that the cornmeal was scattered over the ground. In the middle of the spilt
meal were giant dog prints. These dog prints were so large that the elderly couple knew this was
no ordinary dog. They immediately alerted the people of the village. It was decided that this must
be a spirit dog from another world. The people did not want the spirit dog coming to their
village. They decided to get rid of the dog by frightening it so bad it would never return. They
gathered their drums and turtle shell rattles and later that night they hid around the area where
the cornmeal was kept.
Late into the night they heard a whirring sound like many bird wings. They look up to see the
form of a giant dog swooping down from the sky. It landed near the basket and then began to eat
great mouthfuls of cornmeal Suddenly the people jumped up beating and shaking their noise
makers. The noise was so loud it sounded like thunder. The giant dog turned and began to run
down the path. The people chased after him making the loudest noises they could. It ran to the
top of a hill and leaped into the sky, the cornmeal spilling out the sides of its mouth.
And that is how the Milky Way came to be.
retold by Barbara Shining Woman Warren
Cherokee Words Translations
· wa ya (wolf) gi ga ge (red)
· tsi qua (bird) u wo di ge (brown)
· gv li (racoon) to tsu wa (red bird)