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There are a number of shawl
dances(for ladies) - this one is a
butterfly dance. |
That's where we were this afternoon - Ninety Six, South Carolina, for the Cateechee Fest. If you weren't there, you missed a good time!
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| Isn't she graceful! |
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| Her stamina was amazing! |
Dancers and talkers from the reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina, demonstrated some of their dances, told stories, and stayed on their feet despite the broiling hot temperatures. It was about 95F by mid-afternoon, and despite a pretty steady breeze, the humidity kept everyone from being comfortable. I stayed in the shade as much as possible, but forgot to bring a camp chair, so I had to stand or find a spot on one of the picnic tables that dot the city park.
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| Lots of years between 1920 and 1940 were represented. |
There was also an exhibit of antique automobiles, which still work - I watched some drive off towards the end of the day. The local rescue farm brought a couple of horses and donkeys they've nursed back to health from malnourishment and ill-treatment, but I didn't get a picture of them (darn it).
There was a canopy with a table displaying some of the Cherokee beadwork, but the dancers were between it and me, so I didn't get a close look.
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| Wonderful reminders of bygone days! |
When we got back to Greenwood, we stopped at a local place, Little Pigs, and got a sandwich (for me) and a hash plate (for David) and cooled off in the excellent air conditioning.
I'll pop in a few Cateechee Fest pictures for your viewing pleasure, then I'm going to hit the shower!
Hi, Sharren,
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of the guy on his cell phone amidst all those antique autos, with the army tank in the background. Such an eclectic mix!
Fox : )
p.s. Good for them, saving the horses and donkeys.
p.p.s. i love a good pow-wow! Never heard the term, "cateechee", as the First Nations here in Canada have differing customs while sharing a cultural similarities with other peoples south of the 49th.
Had to wait for David (my resident history buff) to get home from work so I could ask him about Cateechee. There is a legend that Cateechee, who was a Choctaw (Issaqueena was her birth name) who had been captured and raised with the Cherokee, warned the settlers at Ninety Six that the Cherokee were going to attack them (obviously no love there). The truth is that an Indian maiden (don't know who or what people) did warn everyone at Goudy's Trading Post of the impending Cherokee attack. The Cherokee did attack, at least three separate times, but the settlers were able to fend them off.
ReplyDeleteDavid mentioned also that a sidebar to the legend has Cateechee falling in love with a settler's son as the reason for her haste to warn them of the attack. The settler named was a real person, but the son's name doesn't appear in any records that we know of, so...
Romeo and Juliet, anyone?