Yesterday our family had a blast at the South Carolina Botanical Garden, along with about 200 other visitors. yesterday. There was an official celebration of the newly opened Cherokee Worldview Garden. The entrance to the garden is marked by a screen of river cane, a material of critical importance to the Cherokee people. The children were enthralled by the signs.We particularly lik
ed this sign and the English translation.
This garden was the brainchild of Dr. Karen Hall, based on her dissertation. The Garden Staff and Garden volunteers have worked terribly hard to realize her vision.
The garden is a beautiful space - you enter to the right of the canebreak and move counter-clockwise in the space beyond. On your right is an impressive stand of Bear's Paws* and the left a Three Sisters Garden of corn, squash and beans. The plants in the wider garden were used by the Cherokee in four main categories: medicine; food; decoration, construction and warfare. The central space is a gathering place with a fire pit in the middle. Surrounding the firepit are 7 benches (imported from Cherokee, NC) representing the 7 cardinal directions (N,S,E,W, above, middle and below) and 7 clans. There are some beautiful oak trees ringing the space. A dry stream bed runs around the perimeter leading into a lovely bog garden and pool. There were tons of dragonflies including one which appeared to be laying eggs into the water.
We were thrilled to see the Warriors of AniKituhwa.
The Bear Dance
The Buffalo Dance
The Ant Dance
The Beaver Hunt
There were many other events: a storyteller, weapons demonstration, and making pigment and a dye making.
1 comment:
The Cherokee Worldview Garden celebration was a joy to behold! Projects like that seldom are the work of a single individual-and this one is an example of the work of many people whose hearts and minds were wrapped up in it.
I hope the garden helps people to see the world through the eyes of another culture. The beauty of cultural diversity is the contributions that each culture has in regard to its relationship with nature. Learning from another culture can help us achieve a greater and perhaps different connection to the natural world of which we are a part.
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