Cherokee Storytelling Masks Revisited
Some time back, circa 2006, I did two series of gourd masks (maybe 20-25 total) based on Cherokee legends and folk tales, in homage to the Cherokee mask making tradition. These were shown at the Turning Leaf Gallery in Blue Ridge, Georgia and, while I have no idea where they each found a home, I did run across a photo I took of that very first one (which holds a special place in my heart and to this day remains my favorite gourd piece that I have done). It was called “Origin of the Milky Way”, and it was based on the Cherokee folk tale describing how the Milky Way came into existence.
“How the Milky Way Came To Be” (retold by Barbara Shining Woman Warren)
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 be made into bread and mush. One morning an older 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 badly 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 looked 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 shouting and 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. The giant dog ran across the black night sky until it disappeared from sight. But the cornmeal that had spilled from its mouth made a pathway across the sky. Each grain of cornmeal became a star.
The Cherokee call that pattern of stars, gi li' ut sun stan un' yi (gil-LEE-oot-soon stan-UNH-yee), "the place where the dog ran." And that is how the Milky Way came to be.
I haven’t done much work with gourds in recent years, though I do have another idea of something I may like to do with them if I get around to it.
Uktena (top), and Origin of the Bear - 2 Cherokee Storytelling Masks crafted from Maranka Gourds, circa 2006
For both series, I used maranka gourds (commonly called “dinosaur gourds” or “caveman gourds”), copper, deer sinew, feathers, and leather. The design on the gourd was carved with linoleum gouges in varying sizes, and the finish was achieved with shoe polish (yes, ordinary shoe polish). The copper mesh in the eye holes allows the wearer to see through the mask. In Origin of the Milky Way, the gourd’s seeds were used to create the dog’s teeth.
Origin of the Milky Way, Cherokee Storytelling Mask created from a maranka gourd.
