essay

The Sequoyah syllabary and cultural revitalization

Perspectives on the Southeast : linguistics, archaeology, and ethnohistory (27)Published In 1994 • Pages: 116-125, 143-163

By: Perdue, Theda.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a brief historical account of the invention of the Cherokee writing system or syllabary by Sequoyah in the early nineteenth century and its subsequent affect on the culture and society of the Cherokee. The syllabary itself consists of a designated symbol for each syllable which were then combined to make words. After he adopted the method to be used Sequoyah reportedly completed the eighty-six symbol syllabary (later reduced to eighty-five )in about one month (p. 117).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Life history materials
Cultural revitalization and ethnogenesis
Innovation
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
Writing
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Cherokee
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern Woodlands
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Historian
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2006
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1770-1970
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
North Carolina and Oklahoma, United States
NotesAdditional notes
Theda Perdue
Includes bibliographical references (p. [143]-163)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
93015728
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Cherokee Indians