Topic Research: Cherokee Opossum Myths

 Stories Source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney. The Project Gutenberg eBook.

I actually planned to write this yesterday, but I got so caught up reading all of the myths (even ones unrelated to my topic) that it was past midnight by the time I finished. There were a few things in the book that surprised me reading through it, but I will get to those when I talk about the story ideas. Surprisingly, the Cherokee in the book was difficult for me to read because it was spelled like how you would say it. For example, spelling opossum as sĭkwă utse′tstĭ instead of siqua utsetsasdi. I am so used to pronunciation being common knowledge that it is strange to see otherwise. Of course, some of the differences could also be a dialect thing. I know the Eastern band spell and pronounce some words differently. In fact, one of the reasons I did not take Cherokee as my required language class is because I speak it with a specific regional accent and language classes usually deduct points based on pronunciation.

First Story: Why the Opossum's Tail is Bare

I love this story and I would mostly stay close to it in a retelling, but I want to focus on Opossum's side of the story. I think this would either be the first part or the middle part if it was in the storybook, depending on which other stories I would include. I don't think I want to include "The Rabbit and the Opossum After a Wife" because it does not really fit the sort of character I have in mind for Opossum (and it is redundant since the other story already explains why opossums faint). I actually forgot about that myth until I saw it in the book, because it never really felt like a Opossum story.

Second Story: Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine

I think this one could be a sort of story within a story, with a star (either in the sky or one like from the story "What the Stars are Like") telling the story to opossum. I feel like there needs to be a sort of moment where Opossum can talk to someone about his tail, and I like stars so I chose that. I want to write a story where Opossum accepts the new appearance of his tail, and realizes its usefulness (as a bushy tail would make gripping tree branches difficult). I feel like that would be best done as a sort of dialogue with another, wiser character.

Third Story: The Terrapin's Escape from the Wolves

I find this story hilarious, because the message isn't that murder is bad. Terrapin is punished for taking credit for Opossum's kill, not for actually killing Wolf. Sometimes, the story is told also as a lesson against taking advantage of others' hospitality. In those versions, the fact that Terrapin goes from house to house eating kanahena is portrayed as gluttony as well as boasting. He is showing off his unearned trophy, while also eating food from everyone's houses. I like to think Opossum just lets Terrapin do this because Terrapin was at the dance when his tail was shaved.

Fourth "Story" Idea

So while I was reading the book I learned something interesting. I did not know that siqua was originally the word for opossum. I knew that opossum was siqua utsetsasdi but did not put two and two together, partially because we always just called opossum utsetsasdi. Siqua is assumed to be pig so there was no reason to call opossum siqua, everyone knows who utsetsasdi is. When I learned that, I thought it would make a good myth, "How the Opossum Lost his Name." It could have Opossum being proud and making a bet with Pig for the name siqua, then Opossum loses and maybe bares his teeth at Pig, giving him the name utsetsasdi. 

(Personal Photo of a Opossum I saved from a bobcat: photo from March 2020)

(Pleiades: Wikimedia Commons)

-A.