Cherokee legend centers Kituwah Mound as the birthplace of the Cherokee people, a place from which smoke from an eternal fire emerged through a hollow cedar trunk. It is said to be the place where God came to give laws to humans. According to activist Tom Belt, “This is the place where the people we call Cherokee began… They were directed by God to come here, and the very first fire was given to the people here… this place wasn’t just a town–this was like the Vatican. This was the holiest of holies.” [citation] The mound was primarily used as a sacred hearth, where a fire was kept burning all the time inside a structure built on top of it. This flame was kept burning at all times. The sacred flame was symbolic of the life of the Cherokee, so much so that fire is their word for ‘home’.
Another sacred aspect of the Kituwah site is its proximity to the Tuckasegee river. “The water is a living, breathing thing. It has life, has spirit, and we honor him,” said Dan Taylor, a representative of the Cherokee Museum [citation]. Taylor elaborates on the significance of the river as a site for ceremonial purification occurring shortly after birth, and for funeral prayer occurring shortly after death.
For these reasons, Kituwah is understood as the “mother town” and the place with which many Cherokee most closely identify, calling themselves Ani-kituwah-gi (people of Kituwah). Today, some Cherokee people see the site as a reminder of the unity of the Cherokee before their removal and dispersion.
