The Cherokee have many wonderful legends. Some of the most interesting stories involve people who looked just like normal Cherokee but were apparently supernatural beings called the Nunnehi (Nunne’hi). They were not nature spirits or gods but were said to be immortal.
The Nunnehi were a happy bunch who loved music and dance, helped lost travelers, and protected the Cherokee people in times of war.
Who Were The Nunnehi?
Nunne’hi has been translated literally as “people who live anywhere,” perhaps because they lived in strange places, underground, inside mountains and under streams. To the Cherokee, they are “the Immortals” or “people who live forever.” The singular is naye’hi. These immortals lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, near the traditional lands of the Cherokee Nation.
One tale tells of a circular depression which the people said was a townhouse of the Nunnehi. Cherokee townhouses were circular public buildings, covered with bark, and benches inside. This townhouse and the people who lived there were apparently invisible and intangible. People would toss debris inside the depression and when they returned, the floor would be cleaned up again. After white settlers arrived, things tossed inside remained there. The Cherokee say the Nunnehi abandoned their townhouse because they were annoyed with the white people.
