In the beginning of the world, ga lv la di e hi created First Man and First Woman. Together they built a lodge at the edge of a dense forest. They were very happy together; but like all humans do at times, they began to argue.

Finally First Woman became so angry she said she was leaving and never coming back. At that moment First Man really didn't care. First Woman started walking eastward down the path through the forest. 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. The Sun looked down on First Man and took pity on him. The Sun asked First Man if he was still angry with First Woman. First Man said he was not angry any more. The Sun asked if he would like to have First Woman back. Fist Man readily agreed he did.

The Sun found First Woman still walking down the path toward the East. So to entice her to stop, the Sun caused to grow beneath her feet lovely blueberries. The blueberries were large and ripe. First Woman paid no attention but kept walking down the path toward the East.

Further down the path the Sun caused to grow some luscious blackberries. The berries were very black and plump. First Woman looked neither left nor right but kept walking down the path toward the East.

At last the Sun caused to grow a plant that had never grown on the earth before. The plant covered the ground in front of First Woman. Suddenly she became aware of a fragrance she had never known. Stopping she looked down at her feet. Growing in the path was a plant with shiny green leaves, lovely white flowers with the largest most luscious red berries she had ever seen. First Woman stopped to pick one. Hmmm…she had never tasted anything quite like it! It was so sweet.

As First Woman ate the berry, the anger she felt began to fade away. She thought again of her husband and how they had parted in anger. 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 the West and started back down the path. Soon she met First Man. Together they shared the berries, and then hand in hand, they walked back to their lodge.

The Cherokee word for strawberry is ani. The rich bottomlands of the old Cherokee country were noted for their abundance of strawberries and other wild fruits. Even today, strawberries are often kept in Cherokee homes. They remind us not to argue and are a symbol of good luck.

Legends abound in the Cherokee culture and the existence of the universe has its place in the inventory of stories handed down from generation to generation. Forefathers of the present day Cherokee believed the universe was made up of three separate worlds: the Upper World, the Lower World, and This World.

This World, a round island resting on the surface of the waters, was suspended from the sky by four cords attached to the island at four cardinal points of the compass. Each direction of This World was identified by its own color and hovered somewhere between the perfect order and predictability of the Upper World and the total disorder and instability of the Lower World.

East was associated with the color red because it was the direction of the sun, the greatest deity of all. Red was also the color of sacred fire, believed to be directly connected with the sun, with blood and therefore with life. Red was also the color of success.

North was the direction of cold so its color was blue. It represented trouble and defeat.

South was the direction of warmth and its color white, was associated with peace and happiness.

West was the moon segment. It provided no warmth and unlike the sun was not a giver of life. Black was the color assigned to the West and it stood for the region of the souls of the dead and for death itself.

Mankind's goal, the Cherokee believed, was to find some halfway path or balance between the Upper World and the Lower World while living in This World.

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