findchesia.com

Sacred Place My grandfather would take me camping near the Chesapeake Bay and tell me the story of a lost Native American tribe called the Chesians. Grandfather said that long ago, before white men arrived, this particular tribe was known for its incredible longevity. Men of the tribe were reportedly known to live over a hundred winters long and the women lived even longer. But beyond this, and a handful of legends about the Chesians, little is known of the actual tribe because when the settlers came, the tribe disappeared. Their history was lost. Their village was never found. Grandfather believed that the tribe was forced to leave their village, but that their spirits remain, marking their village as a sacred place. And until the village is rediscovered, until the tribe takes its place in Maryland history, the world is out of balance. Public Domain Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
Creation Myth The Creation myth is common through almost every culture. Someone, at some point, wonders where it all began. Chesian culture was no different from others in that regard, and their Creation story is fascinatingly full of deep symbolism. This is transcribed as my grandfather told it to me. First, there was Winter, and Winter ruled everything. Summer came to the land and was saddened because nothing lived. So Summer cut its thumb and let a drop of blood fall. That red blood became the sun, and the snow and ice melted under it. Wherever the snow melted, the first plants grew, bringing green to the world. Winter retreated to the water and hid, but some of it got caught by the mollusks, where you can still find it to this day. Without Winter’s gray clouds, the sky and the water became blue and glassy. Summer then gathered bits of earth where the blood had fallen, and from that mud he made the first people, giving each a small bit of fire inside. Summer saw that its work turned the sun from red to yellow, and so he put it in the sky to rest, but every year Winter tries to return from the water, bringing with it the ice and cold. Every year, Summer must return and shed another drop of blood to renew the sun. Public Domain Image courtesy of the National Park Service.
Legend of Longevity My grandfather’s grandfather would talk of the gift the Spirits had bestowed upon his tribe. The people of Chesia were blessed with the length of three lifetimes. But like most blessings, this one too came with a price. There were a brother and sister, children of the Great Chief. The brother decided to chase his sister, much like the Sun chases after the Moon. During their play, the sister ran without looking and stumbled into a mudpot. The brave brother attempted to pull his sister from the bubbling mud, but with each struggle she sank deeper until she was gone. The young man return to the village for help, but it was too late. The Great Chief and the people of Chesia went to the mudpot and found the boiling mud suddenly calm. It no longer burned the skin; the brother could wade into the mud easily. The chief’s daughter was never found. All that the brother could recover were some strands of her clothing. Even the stones sewn into her clothing were gone. The villagers mourned her death and made offerings to the Spirits in her name in hopes that she would attain peace in the next life. My grandfather’s grandfather, who told this story, claimed to be over 150 years old. He said that after this tragedy, the people of Chesia often used the warm mud from the mudpot to heal. He believed that the sister’s death lead to the blessing of long life for the Chesians.

Modify Website