Cherokee Clans: Encyclopedia II - Cherokee Clans - Spiritual Significance of the Clans in Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni Rituals

Cherokee Clans - Spiritual Significance of the Clans in Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni Rituals

In ancient times, the clan names represented to the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni the balance between the spiritual forces that shaped and guided the human spirit on its journey and development through life in preparation for entry into the spirit world. The Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni teach that life is made up of four distinct sections and paths, 1) development in the womb 2) childhood 3) marriage and parenting 4) elders (grandmothers and grandfathers) and the perpetuation of the culture through the ancient ceremonies. Each section or quadrant of life was represented as part of the ancient sun symbol or crossed circle commonly seen in ancient mississipian culture. It was taught by the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni that following entry into the spirit world, all of the people still continued their dances, ceremonies, and family relationships in the afterlife in a place set apart for the people. Cherokee traditionally buried their dead in the earth as they believed that the plants fed the animals, the animals and plants fed the people, and the people, at their death, should return to the earth and feed the plants.

Membership in a particular clan did not mean that the members of the clan were in some way blocked or held at a particular level of spiritual development or attainment. Clan membership and the existence of the clans was simply meant to represent a balance of the spiritual forces that made up the world of the Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya. All members of the society could participate in the ceremonies and were all viewed as equals. Since the Wolf Clan represented the final level of attainment and was also the clan of the warrior class, it membership over time continued to grow in ancient times until is became the largest of the Cherokee Clans. It was believed that if an Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya did not fully complete these levels of development, they would not be able to find their way to the place set apart for them with their people in the spirit world and would wander in darkness on the Earth after death as a spirit.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Spiritual Significance of the Clans in Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni Rituals", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki