Sacred Colors
James Mooney's History,
"Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees" printed in 1900 states
that color symbolism played an important part in shamanistic system of
the Cherokees. Each one of the cardinal directions has a corresponding
color - each color has a symbolic meaning. Shamans used the knowledge
of these symbolic colors to invoke the spirit whose characteristics was
needed for his formulas.
The symbolic color system was as follows:
East = red = success; triumph
North = blue = defeat; trouble
West = black = death
South = white = peace; happiness
The Red Man, living in the East, is the spirit of power, triumph, and
success. The Black Man, in the West, is the spirit of death. The shaman
would invoke the Red Man to the assistance of his patient and consign
his enemy to the fatal influences of the Black Man. According to Thomas
Mails, in his book, "Cherokee People," the mythological significance of
different colors were important in Cherokee lore.
Red
Red was symbolic of success. It was the color of the war club used to
strike an enemy in battle as well as the other club used by the warrior
to shield himself. Red beads were used to conjure the red spirit to
insure long life, recovery from sickness, success in love and ball play
or any other undertaking where the benefit of the magic spell was
wrought.
Black
Black was always typical of death. The soul of the enemy was
continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped in a black
fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy, the priest used black beads and
invoked the black spirits- which always lived in the West,-bidding them
to tear out the man's soul and carry it to the West, and put it into
the black coffin deep in the black mud, with a black serpent coiled
above it.
Blue
Blue symbolized failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. To say
"they shall never become blue" expressed the belief that they would
never fail in anything they undertook. In love charms, the lover
figuratively covered himself with red and prayed that his rival would
become entirely blue and walk in a blue path. "He is entirely blue,"
approximates meaning of the common English phrase, "He feels blue." The
blue spirits lived in the North.
White
White denoted peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as the
Green Corn Dance and ball play, the people symbolically partook of
white food and, after the dance or game, returned along the white trail
to their white houses. In love charms, the man, to induce the woman to
cast her lost with his, boasted, "I am a white man," implying that all
was happiness where he was. White beads had the same meaning in bead
conjuring, and white was the color of the stone pipe anciently used in
ratifying peace treaties. The White spirits lived in the South.
There are three additional sacred directions:
Up Above = yellow
Down Below = brown
Here in the Center = green
Cherokee Color Words
black: gv-ni-ge
blue: sa-go-ne-ge
brown: u-wo-di-ge
gray: u-s-go-lv sa-go-ni-ge
green: i-tse-i-yu-s-di
orange: a-da-lo-ni-ge
yellow: da-lo-ni-ge
red: gi-ga-ge
purple: gi-ga-ge-s-di
pink: gi-ga-ge-i-yu-s-di
white: u-ne-ga
silver: a-de-lv-u-ne-gv