New Men: Manliness in Early America

4. Real Men: Masculinity, Spirituality, and Community in Late Eighteenth-Century Cherokee Warfare

| 71 4 Real Men Masculinity, Spirituality, and Community in Late Eighteenth-Century Cherokee Warfare Susan Abram In 1761 the colonial soldier William Fyffe noted that war was the “principal study” or “beloved occupation” of Cherokee men from the southern Appalachian region.1 As the historian John Phillip Reid noted, “Warfare to the Cherokees was a business, a grim, dangerous, exciting business so important to their way of life that its mores and values dominated their culture.”2 Indeed, the Cherokee “beloved occupation” was a complex institution with gendered expectations and values that promoted leadership, brotherhood , and communal solidarity, and also validated traditional Cherokee gender roles. Virtually without exception, Cherokee men, at one time or another, participated in a culture of warfare as an integral part of their lives, typically demonstrating their manliness through the scalping of enemies and later dancing in performative celebration. In the eighteenth century, warfare in Cherokee culture was an institution that expressed spiritual power, honor, and communal and clan values .3 This chapter examines Cherokee warrior culture and how it reflected many of the gendered beliefs, values, and traditions of the Indian nation’s society. In particular, it considers war not only as a path to manhood but also discusses how it played a dominant role in the expression of masculinity . In addition, this chapter will explore the battles played out in the spiritual realm as Cherokee men sought enhancement of their masculine powers and the diminution of that in their enemies. Ultimately, warfare served to interconnect warriors with the political and communal realms of Cherokee society. Unlike Anglo-American warfare, Cherokee warfare did not serve a patriarchal culture. Cherokee warriors fought for the honor and protection of their clans, to secure their place as real men, and to enter a warrior brotherhood. All these are expressions of Cherokee masculinity. 72 | Susan Abram In the mid to late eighteenth century, warfare touched the lives of everyone . Towns and tribes throughout the southeast were both perpetrators and victims of violent actions, with warfare occupying a central part of the larger Cherokee belief system based on models sanctioned by sacred myths. For the most part, this spiritual aspect of warfare and its effects on Cherokee society as depicted in eighteenth-century accounts reveals only a partial picture of warrior culture, since these were written by outsiders (largely European), such as traders, missionaries, soldiers, and travelers. This group generally spent a great deal of time within the native community, often taking Cherokee wives and rearing their children within Cherokee society. These informants often witnessed or at times even participated in the described activities connected to warfare. Nevertheless, these records provide a glimpse of individual and communal warfare actions in early America. Although some of these accounts recorded by non-Cherokee may be inaccurate, Cherokee informants later corroborated a great deal.4 While it is important to remember that although not any one account totally expresses the complexities and variations of Cherokee war actions or rituals, the essence of their belief of the importance of war and its gendered responsibilities within their society remains evident.5 Within early American studies there has been a movement in the last few years to broaden our understanding of native North American warfare and how it compares to Anglo-American warfare.6 Yet there is still a void. Recent works on gender serve to tell us a great deal about the roles of Cherokee women and just how very gendered Cherokee society was.7 The seminal work on the subject is Theda Perdue’s Cherokee Women: Gender and Culture Change, 1700–1835. Yet surprisingly there has been little written to date that specifically examines the role of masculinity in Cherokee warfare.8 This chapter utilizes an ethnohistorical approach to concentrate on Cherokee warfare and how this complex institution interwove gendered expectations , spiritual dimensions, and communal values. By employing Cherokee voices, legends, and formulas (prayers) as often as possible, along with recorded history by outsiders of Cherokee voices, this chapter argues that though war affected all, the military organization primarily involved Cherokee men and emphasized their masculine connections to the sacred, social, and political dimensions of Cherokee society. Warfare was a path to manhood , increased social status, and secured political influence. It especially expressed Cherokee masculinity by allowing warriors to prove their worth as real men. Real Men | 73 Gender Roles and the Making of Men Cherokee society defined real men as strong...