Sequoyah: The Boy Behind the Cherokee Language
Sequoyah:
The Boy Behind the Cherokee Language
"Most historians credit Sequoyah, the most famous Cherokee, with the invention of the syllabary. However, some oral historians contend that the written Cherokee language is much, much older. But even if there was an ancient written Cherokee language, it was lost to the Cherokees until Sequoyah developed the syllabary. The development of the syllabary was one of the events which was destined to have a profound influence on our tribe’s history. This extraordinary achievement marks the only known instance of an individual creating a totally new system of writing.
Born in the 1770s in the Cherokee village of Tuskegee on the Tennessee River, Sequoyah was a mixed blood whose mother, Wureth, belonged to the Paint Clan. Sometimes the young man was known by his English name, George Gist or Guess, a legacy from his white father. Sequoyah, reared in the old tribal ways and customs, became a hunter and fur trader. He was also a skilled silver craftsman who never learned to speak, write or read English. However, he was always fascinated with the white people’s ability to communicate with one another by making distinctive marks on paper - what some native people referred to as "talking leaves".
- Mankiller" by Wilma Mankiller and Michael Wallis
© St.Martin’s Press 1993 pages 81-83
Last Thursday I introduced you to Sequoyah's parents and the life he was born into. This week we are going to explore his youth.
Boyhood Before Sequoyah's father abandoned his pregnant and devoted Cherokee wife, he had predicted to her she was carrying his son. His father had abandoned the family before Wut-teh gave birth to Sequoyah. No one knows exactly how the boy became to be known as Sequoyah among the Cherokee. Some speculate his mother named him this because it means "he guessed it," relating to Nathanial's speculation about the gender of his son. Another explanation of the name, which is more widely accepted, lies in accident Sequoyah as as a boy. The young Sequoyah went pig hunting one day and had a hunting accident that left him permanently crippled in one of his legs. From that day on he was nicknamed Sequoyah "pig's feet" and used the name until he reached adulthood, where he adopted the name George Gist. Raised by his Cherokee mother, Sequoyah never adopted any of his father's white culture. He never learned to read, write or speak the white language nor accept their religion. Wut-teh, was a powerful medicine woman and had proven herself in battle plenty of times before she met Sequoyah's father. She made certain to teach her son in the old ways of the Cherokee people in the mountains of Tennessee.
Sequoyah wasn't an easy child to teach. His inability to use part of his crippled leg made it hard for him run, walk, jump, etc. He lived a solitary life with his mother who allowed him to help her with the women's work of gardening and helping with the cattle. Wut-teh was a successful trader who had a considerable amount of cattle and horses. She would often trade her excess produce and furs with the white settlers and traders. Thus Sequoyah was introduced early on to the white nation but never accepted any of their culture. Despite having grey eyes and a sallow complexion, the Cherokee considered Sequoyah to be full-blooded. Sequoyah grew up knowing he was of mixed blood but never accepted it nor wanted to explore his father's culture until his adult life.
Sequoyah was often ridiculed by his peers. Despite his deformity, he strove to be accepted by them as any normal boy would. He knew he would never be the fastest runner or the best warrior but he had to try. Sequoyah preserved and acquired the skills he would need in battle and on a daily basis. He was taught all the skills he would need to be a successful Cherokee man. Aside from his cripple leg, Sequoyah's own mind often held him back in his Cherokee education. Sequoyah was a very intelligent boy but he was also a dreamer and very moody. He hated war and did not like to participate in the games boys were suppose to play in order to build up their skills for war. One can only imagine his frustrations with his leg probably instigated his dislike of sports and war. Like Daniel Boone, he would often times escape from his daily rigors into the backwoods. Alone, the genius boy, would build complex miniature houses made of stick and mud. I can only imagine the frustrations Wut-teh must have had with her son! Wut-teh died in the beginning of the 19th century. After her death Sequoyah adopted the name, George Gist, married a Cherokee woman and took over his mother's trade business.
Join me next Thursday as we learn how Sequoyah's wife almost destroyed the Cherokee's written alphabet.
The Boy Behind the Cherokee Language
"Most historians credit Sequoyah, the most famous Cherokee, with the invention of the syllabary. However, some oral historians contend that the written Cherokee language is much, much older. But even if there was an ancient written Cherokee language, it was lost to the Cherokees until Sequoyah developed the syllabary. The development of the syllabary was one of the events which was destined to have a profound influence on our tribe’s history. This extraordinary achievement marks the only known instance of an individual creating a totally new system of writing.Born in the 1770s in the Cherokee village of Tuskegee on the Tennessee River, Sequoyah was a mixed blood whose mother, Wureth, belonged to the Paint Clan. Sometimes the young man was known by his English name, George Gist or Guess, a legacy from his white father. Sequoyah, reared in the old tribal ways and customs, became a hunter and fur trader. He was also a skilled silver craftsman who never learned to speak, write or read English. However, he was always fascinated with the white people’s ability to communicate with one another by making distinctive marks on paper - what some native people referred to as "talking leaves".
- Mankiller" by Wilma Mankiller and Michael Wallis
© St.Martin’s Press 1993 pages 81-83
Last Thursday I introduced you to Sequoyah's parents and the life he was born into. This week we are going to explore his youth.
Boyhood Before Sequoyah's father abandoned his pregnant and devoted Cherokee wife, he had predicted to her she was carrying his son. His father had abandoned the family before Wut-teh gave birth to Sequoyah. No one knows exactly how the boy became to be known as Sequoyah among the Cherokee. Some speculate his mother named him this because it means "he guessed it," relating to Nathanial's speculation about the gender of his son. Another explanation of the name, which is more widely accepted, lies in accident Sequoyah as as a boy. The young Sequoyah went pig hunting one day and had a hunting accident that left him permanently crippled in one of his legs. From that day on he was nicknamed Sequoyah "pig's feet" and used the name until he reached adulthood, where he adopted the name George Gist. Raised by his Cherokee mother, Sequoyah never adopted any of his father's white culture. He never learned to read, write or speak the white language nor accept their religion. Wut-teh, was a powerful medicine woman and had proven herself in battle plenty of times before she met Sequoyah's father. She made certain to teach her son in the old ways of the Cherokee people in the mountains of Tennessee.
Sequoyah wasn't an easy child to teach. His inability to use part of his crippled leg made it hard for him run, walk, jump, etc. He lived a solitary life with his mother who allowed him to help her with the women's work of gardening and helping with the cattle. Wut-teh was a successful trader who had a considerable amount of cattle and horses. She would often trade her excess produce and furs with the white settlers and traders. Thus Sequoyah was introduced early on to the white nation but never accepted any of their culture. Despite having grey eyes and a sallow complexion, the Cherokee considered Sequoyah to be full-blooded. Sequoyah grew up knowing he was of mixed blood but never accepted it nor wanted to explore his father's culture until his adult life.Sequoyah was often ridiculed by his peers. Despite his deformity, he strove to be accepted by them as any normal boy would. He knew he would never be the fastest runner or the best warrior but he had to try. Sequoyah preserved and acquired the skills he would need in battle and on a daily basis. He was taught all the skills he would need to be a successful Cherokee man. Aside from his cripple leg, Sequoyah's own mind often held him back in his Cherokee education. Sequoyah was a very intelligent boy but he was also a dreamer and very moody. He hated war and did not like to participate in the games boys were suppose to play in order to build up their skills for war. One can only imagine his frustrations with his leg probably instigated his dislike of sports and war. Like Daniel Boone, he would often times escape from his daily rigors into the backwoods. Alone, the genius boy, would build complex miniature houses made of stick and mud. I can only imagine the frustrations Wut-teh must have had with her son! Wut-teh died in the beginning of the 19th century. After her death Sequoyah adopted the name, George Gist, married a Cherokee woman and took over his mother's trade business.
Join me next Thursday as we learn how Sequoyah's wife almost destroyed the Cherokee's written alphabet.
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