Lore Origin
Cherokee Mythology
First contact
Other Names
AKA: Tsvdigewi
In the Field
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singular: Yvwi Usdi Thousands of years ago, several young Cherokee men set out to see what was in the world. They traveled far south, where they met a tribe of little people called the Tsvdigewi. They had strange-shaped bodies － very plump and squat, like a child － that barely reached a grown man’s knee. They did not live in houses, but nests dug out of the ground and covered with dried grass.
The little people were so weak and tiny that they could not defend themselves; they lived in constant fear of wild geese and other large flocks from the south that preyed on their communities. Just as the Cherokee men arrived, the Tsvdigewi were becoming more antsy; strong winds were blowing from the south, bringing white feathers along with them.
The men asked the Tsvdigewi why they did not defend themselves, discovering that they never learned how to. They didn’t have enough time to teach them how to make bows or arrows, so they taught them how to use sticks as clubs and spears－in addition to hitting the birds on the neck to kill them.
The wind blew harshly for several days after the Cherokee arrived; at last, the birds came. There were so many of them that they blotted out the sun, looking like a giant, angry cloud. The ground became so saturated with their forms that nothing could walk more than a few steps without bumping into one of them.
The little people ran into their homes, but the birds followed, sticking their long beaks into the nests and eating them; but, as the creatures did so, the little people fought back with their clubs, striking the birds on the neck. After several hours, most of the birds had been killed.
With disappointment and fear, the last of the birds flew away to safer hunting grounds. Joyfully, the Tsvdigewi thanked the Cherokee for their help and gave them the best food they had, teaching them what they knew about the land and its goods. Leaving amicably, the men went to discover other tribes.
Later, the Cherokee heard that the birds returned each year－with ever-increasing numbers; yet, the little people continued to drive them off. Then, one season, a flock of cranes arrived; these bird’s necks were so long that the little beings could not reach high enough to hit and kill them. Most of the Tsvdigewi died fighting these animals, forcing them to hide and change their seasonal ways of life.
- the Tsvdigewi: a Cherokee Story
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