STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS AND CHEROKEE WOMEN

By Mary Adair

The stories I had been told about an Irish trader, James Adair, and his unusual adventures among the Native American tribes in the 1700s had so intrigued me I could hardly wait to start writing a fictional account of just such a man. I knew the woman to steal his heart had to be special. She had to be strong and determined. She had to be brave, firm in her beliefs, and she had to be a match for him.

I knew very little about the Cherokee woman of that time. Let’s face it, a historical romance can be a bit fantastical, but I wanted the Cherokee woman that would steal James Fitzgerald’s heart (my fictional version of James Adair) to be true to the culture of the Cherokee people. In Adair’s own writings, I soon learned the Cherokee woman and the place she held within the Cherokee culture was one of great respect and honor. Here are some interesting facts I learned not only from James Adair’s writings, but from numerous other sources.  

Wilma Mankiller
Principal Chief of Western Cherokee
1985-1995

Cherokee women, it seems to me, were the core of the village. Women in Cherokee society were equal to men. The highest rank a woman could earn was the title of Ghigau, “Beloved Woman”, also translated  “War Woman”. The Beloved woman sat in council as an equal. She had a voice and could vote in the General Council. As Beloved Woman she held a place of leadership for the women’s council. She prepared and served the ceremonial black drink, and held the duty of ambassador of peace-negotiator. She could also save the life of a prisoner already condemned to be executed.

Though Beloved Woman was the highest position a woman could hold, all women were respected as equals as they carried out their duties within the tribe. They took lead in the execution of prisoners, which was their right as mothers. They had the right to claim prisoners as slaves, adopt them as kin, or condemn them to death. 

Cherokee Couple

Clan kinship followed the mother’s family and it was the duty of an uncle on the mother’s side to teach a son how to hunt and fish and perform certain tribal duties. Children were born into the mother’s tribe, not the father’s.

Cherokee Mother and child

The clan, in Cherokee society, was your family. Marrying within your clan was strictly prohibited.  However, outside of her own clan a Cherokee woman had full right to marry any man she chose, be he Beloved Warrior from her tribe, a warrior outside her tribe, trader, or frontiersman. Women were totally free to choose.

Women owned the home and the furnishings. If the man she married turned out not to be the man of her dreams, she was free to divorce her husband by placing all his things outside the house. 

Also on her list of duties, women cared for the young, cooked and tended the home as well as the fields. She wove baskets, tanned skins and some even went on the warpath with their husbands.

Award-winning author Mary Adair is an Amazon bestselling author of Native American books with her Passion series. Find her website at www.MaryAdair.com  And her Amazon author page at http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Adair/e/B003VJR5DC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1430969488&sr=1-2-ent

The Journey Behind Writing Historical Romance

If you've ever written historical romance, you will appreciate the staggering research that goes into anything set in the past. None of us were born knowing this stuff, unless you're vividly recalling a former life. Even after all the enormous preparation required before typing a single word, more research is inevitable as new scenes demand added detail. I have yet to discover one that doesn't. Such was the case with my latest release, historical romance novel, Traitor's Legacy, the sequel to award-winning historical romance novel, Enemy of the King. Both stories are set during the high drama of the American Revolution. Yes, I studied the entire war before launching into my focus on the Southern Front, because I needed to know how it all fit together. You can't dissect one facet of an era, but must see all the parts, or you will be like an ant viewing the bottom of the elephant's foot and trying to gain any real notion of the creature.

Before the holidays, I signed with The Wild Rose Press for the third novel in the Traitor's Legacy Series, Traitor's Curse, a mysterious, ghostly, Gothic flavored romance and am awaiting edits from my editor, so the saga continues. Back to the research. You may ask, do I enjoy these forays into bygone days? For the most part, yes. I find myself engrossed and often come across information that enhances the story, spawns a plot line, or even a new book. But there are those times when I'm exhausted and fervently wish someone could simply answer my question and save me hours of laboring to unearth what's needed. And historians do not always agree with each other, so I'm left to gain an overall consensus of an episode or the particulars of life in that time period. I also continually consult an etymology as I write to be certain my word usage is appropriate. 

Visiting the settings featured in my stories is a huge aid and I do so if possible. I toured all the North and South Carolina sites in Enemy of the King. In Traitor's Legacy, the primary setting is Halifax, NC. I had a wonderfully informative tour and guides there, plus visited and revisited Colonial Williamsburg and historic Yorktown, as both locations figure into the story. Traitor's Curse is set in an old plantation home outside of Halifax, and in and around the town itself. Living in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia makes these treks feasible. Scotland, not so much. For British settings, I am dependent on family and friends who've visited, or live there, and research. Always research.

I am grateful for all the assistance I've received along the way. For my Native American themed stories, I've had the help of historians and reenactors (also for my American Revolution themes). Anthropologists, archaeologists, language experts, and the Shawnee themselves have been invaluable in my NA Warrior series. Copious reading material has been generously gifted to me, or purchased from museum bookshops, or borrowed from the library. Family accounts I've come across while doing genealogy enter strongly into my work. Some online sites are hugely helpful, but didn't exist in my early writing days. These sites vary depending on the particular era I'm focused on at the time. Do not rely on Wikipedia. Serious sites put together by historians, reenactors, hard core authors who've done their research, historical societies and museums, etc, are more reliable.

My knowledge of herbs is extremely useful in doctoring my characters, or sedating, even poisoning, them if necessary. Herbs were vital to every aspect of life in times past and the reason I give herbal workshops to various online writing groups. Authors need to know more about herbs and herbal lore to lend authenticity to their stories. Some of this knowledge is also important to have for ourselves today, and can be lifesaving.

My point in all of this, is a plea for appreciation of the tremendous effort poured into writing historical fiction of all lengths. Even shorter works require much research. I challenge anyone who thinks this is easy, to go for it, If you already know writing historicals is an arduous path, but long to venture into the past, then do it for the love of the journey. It's the only way I know of to time travel.

For those of you who are interested, here's the link to my Author Page at Amazon. Amazon has all of my work. Other online booksellers have a number of my stories, but not all. I've indie published some of my titles, but many are with the Wild Rose Press, an excellent publisher.

For more on me, pop in to my blog One Writer's Way: https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/