Retold by Barbara A. Warren aka Shining Woman
At the beginning of the world, Unetlanvhi created First Man and First Woman. Together, they built a lodge at the edge of a dense forest. They were very happy together, but as all humans do at times, they began to argue.
Finally, both became so angry that First Woman said she was leaving and never coming back. At that moment, First Man said he didn’t care. So First Woman started walking eastward through the forest toward the land of the Sun. She never looked back.
As the day grew later, First Man began to worry. At last, he started down the same path in search of his wife. Soon, Unetlanvhi looked down on First Man and took pity on him. Unetlanvhi asked First Man if he was still angry with First Woman. First Man, lowering his head in sadness, said he wasn’t angry anymore. Unetlanvhi asked if he would like to have First Woman back. First Man eagerly agreed he did.
Unetlanvhi found First Woman still angrily walking down the path. So to entice her to stop, Unetlanvhi caused lovely blueberries to grow beneath her feet. The blueberries were large and ripe. First Woman was so angry she looked neither left nor right, nor up nor down, but kept walking down the path toward the East.
Further down the path, Unetlanvhi caused juicy blackberries to grow beneath her feet. The blackberries were dark and very plump. However, First Woman looked neither left nor right, nor up nor down, but kept walking down the path toward the East.
Unetlanvhi tried once again to entice First Woman to stop by causing gorgeous raspberries to grow beneath her feet. The raspberries looked so tasty. Nonetheless, First Woman looked neither left nor right, nor up nor down, but kept walking down the path toward the East.
Finally, to attract First Woman’s attention, Unetlanvhi caused a to grow a plant that had never grown on Earth before. As she walked down the path, the new plant covered the ground in front of First Woman. Suddenly, she became aware of a fragrant smell she had never known. Stopping, she looked down at her feet. Growing in the path was a plant with shiny green leaves and lovely white flowers with the largest, most luscious red berries she had ever seen. First Woman stopped to pick one and put it to her lips. Hmmm…she had never tasted anything quite like it! It was so sweet! It was utterly delicious!
As First Woman ate the strawberry, the anger she felt began to fade away. She thought again of her husband and how they had parted with such harsh words. She missed him and wanted to return home.
First Woman began to gather some of the berries. When she had all she could carry, she turned toward home and started back down the path. Soon she met First Man. Together they shared the strawberries, and then hand in hand, they walked back to their lodge at the edge of the forest.
In the Cherokee culture, strawberries remind us to love, be kind, and be willing to forgive one another. The Cherokee word for strawberry is a-ni.
(Adapted from “History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee” by James Mooney)