Could the Moon-Eyed People be the Nephites who were replaced by the Cherokee? Were the Cherokee descendants of the Nephites?
Questions for thought study and prayer.
The Nephites and the Moon-eyed people both lived before Columbus in the Northern Georgia, south east Tennessee , and the south west part of North Carolina where the Cherokee museum is located today.
“The moon-eyed people are a legendary group of people who are said to have lived in Appalachia until the Cherokee expelled them. Stories about them, attributed to Cherokee tradition, are mentioned by early European settlers in America. In a 1797 book, Benjamin Smith Barton explains they are called “moon-eyed” because they saw poorly during the day. Later stories about the people add additional details, saying that they had white skin, they created the area’s pre-Columbian ruins, and they disappeared from the area. Barton cited as his source a conversation with Colonel Leonard Marbury (c. 1749 – 1796), an early settler of Georgia. Marbury, a Revolutionary War officer and a Congressman in the Second Provincial Congress of Georgia (1775), acted as intermediary between Native American Indians in the state of Georgia and the United States government.” Wikipedia
Iroquois are the People of Joseph on the Land of Joseph
“We have a great responsibility as citizens in this land, for the Lord said that he would fight its battles and be its king, if we will just serve him. So it’s appropriate at this time that we express our appreciation for this great land. I like the words Moses used when he gave a blessing to the twelve tribes of Israel. When he blessed Joseph he promised him a new land in the utmost bowels of the everlasting hills (see Deut. 33:15). Now that isn’t in Jerusalem because they don’t have everlasting hills over there, and the prophets have never predicted a regathering of all nations to the land of Israel. But they have predicted the gathering of Israel to this land of America, which is the land of Joseph. And we are the only people in the world who know what that land is that Moses promised to Joseph. It was so great in his eyes as he received the revelations of the Holy Spirit that in describing the land he used the word “precious” five times in just four verses…We have so much to be grateful for. We are not here by chance. We are here because of the sacrifices of our pioneer fathers who came to this choice land that the Lord, according to the Book of Mormon, had hidden away from the eyes of the world that it should not be overrun. He preserved it for us, for the day and time in which we now live here in these valleys of the mountains.” LEGRAND RICHARDS of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Nov. 18, 1980 • Devotional
The Iroquois Native Americans have a continual history of existence which descends from before the sons of Lehi, Laman and Lemuel in 600 BC until the time the Nephites were destroyed about 385 AD, and through today. I believe the pattern of travel of the Hopewell Culture during this same time period is the very same path the Nephites took.
Of course Iroquois is not the only name these people were called. They had many names that others called them and names they called themselves. Haudanesaunee, Six Nations, Mingo, Five Nations, Cherokee, etc. The map above shows you where the Moon-Eyed People lived in the northern part of Georgia before the Iroquois came to the Land.
The Mystery Of The Moon-Eyed People From Ancient Cherokee Tradition
It is believed that the Moon-Eyed people saw very poorly throughout the day, had pale skin, and looked different from Native Americans. It is believed that these mysterious people erected some of the oldest structures in Northern America.
The Cherokee people were one of the ancient Native American cultures that formed the Five Civilized Tribes along with the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminoles.
This ancient culture inhabited the present territory of the states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in the southeastern United States when the Europeans came into contact with them in the sixteenth century.
The actual origin of the Cherokee people remains a debated topic among scholars.
The Cherokee were definitely part of the ancient Nephites.
There are two prevailing theories.
One is that the Cherokee, an Iroquois-speaking people, are relative latecomers to Southern Appalachia, who might have migrated in late prehistoric times from the northern areas, the traditional territory of the later Haudenosaunee confederation five nations and other Iroquois speaking peoples.
Researchers in the 19th century recorded conversations with elders who related an oral tradition of the migration of the Cherokee people south of the Great Lakes region in antiquity.
The second theory, which is discussed by scholars suggests that the Cherokee had been in the southeast for thousands of years. See my blog of Cherokee DNA See blog here that the Cherokee are possibly the Zoramites
However, there is little to no archaeological evidence for this theory. The Connestee people, believed to be ancestors of the Cherokee, occupied western North Carolina circa 200 to 600 CE.
The Cherokee people were one of those who formed the Five Civilized Tribes. They were called that because of the Europeans, who, upon their arrival thought that these five cultures had a degree of civilization superior to that of the rest of the Native Americans. According to scholars, this allowed them to quickly adapt to white customs—which did not help them to avoid being stripped of their lands and displaced to Oklahoma from 1838, in what was known as the Trail of tears.
But the Cherokee were apparently viewed differently from the rest of the native American cultures because of mysterious legends, of a mysterious people that predated the great Cherokee nation.
Northern Georgia and South East Tennessee is Nephi’s Land
The Legend of the Moon-Eyed people
The so-called Moon-eyed people were mysterious inhabitants of Northern America who are believed to have lived in Appalachia until the Cherokee expelled them.
A book written in 1797 by Benjamin Smith Barton—an American botanist, naturalist, and physician, New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America, explains that they were called moon-eyed people because they saw very poorly throughout the day, and had a number of different features from the rest of the native Americans.
Barton wrote, citing as a source Colonel Leonard Marbury that “the Cherokee tell us, that when they first arrived in the country which they inhabit, they found it possessed by certain ‘moon-eyed-people,’ who could not see in the day-time. These wretches they expelled.”
Later additions to the story about the Moon-eyed people suggests that they had white skin, that they created the area’s pre-Columbian ruins, and that they went west after the Cherokee expelled them.
Another book written by ethnographer James Mooney in 1902 describes how there is a “dim but persistent tradition” of a mysterious, ancient people who preceded the Cherokee in lower Appalachia.
Ancient legends suggest that the white-skinned people of Appalachia built numerous ancient structures in the area, including perhaps, one of the largest cities ancient cities in Northern America; Cahokia. Curiously, scholars know very little about Cahokia today. The city’s original name is unknown, as the ancient builders left no written records behind.
Some theories suggest that the so-called Moon-eyed people may have been the very same Lionel Wafer encountered among the Kuna people of Panama, who were also called “moon-eyed” because of their ability to see better at night than day.
The Fort Mountain state park is believed to have been erected by the moon-eyed people.
Some authors note that this Cherokee tradition may have been influenced by contemporary European-American legends of the “Welsh Indians.”
According to these legends, these ancient ruins were attributed to Welsh pre-Columbian voyages.
If we take a look at a 16th-century manuscript published by Welsh antiquarian Humphrey Llwyd, a Welsh Prince called Madoc is believed to have sailed from Wales across the Atlantic to what is now Mobile Bay, Alabama in the year 1171.
John Sevier an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee wrote that on one occasion, the Cherokee leader Oconostota said in 1783 how local mounds had been built by white people, who the Cherokee eventually expelled from the lands.
According to Sevier’s accounts, the Cherokee leader confirmed that these mysterious people were in fact, Welsh from across the ocean.
If true, this theory would have huge implications. Featured image credit: People Of One Fire.
The Fort Mountain State Park (See map of Book of Mormon Lands above) derived its name from an ancient 885-foot-long (270 m) rock wall located on the peak. The zigzagging wall contains 19 or 29 pits scattered along the wall, in addition to a ruin of a gateway. The wall was constructed out of local stones from the surrounding regions around the summit. A 1956 archaeological report concluded only that the structure “represents a prehistoric aboriginal construction whose precise age and nature cannot yet be safely hazarded until the whole problem, of which this is a representative, has been more fully investigated,” while a modern online tourist website states that the wall was built by local Native Americans around 500 AD for religious purposes.
There are several legends concerning the wall. One legend claims that the wall is a remnant of one of the several stone forts legendary Welsh explorer Madoc and his group built throughout the present-day United States. The wall has also been related to the “moon-eyed people” of Cherokee lore. Other speculations of the wall’s origins and purposes have included a fortification for Hernando de Soto’s conquistadors and a honeymoon haven for Cherokee newlyweds. Source
Mysterious Moon-Eyed People – Ancient Subterranean Race In Conflict With The Cherokee
AncientPages.com | December 28, 2017 |
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – The Cherokee recall a white-skinned race that lived on their lands before they arrived. This group of very unusual beings was known as the Moon-Eyed people.
Cherokee legends tell the Moon-Eyed people were of small stature and had pale, white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. They were called Moon-Eyed because they had very sensitive eyes and were unable to see in daylight. They could however see very well at night. Since these mysterious ancient people were blinded by the Sun, they were forced to live in underground caverns.
The Moon-Eyed people were physically totally different from the Cherokee and when these two races encountered each other, war broke out.
The Moon-Eyed people were first mentioned in a 1797 book by Benjamin Smith Barton. Later documentation tells of similar accounts, such as an 1823 book, The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, which tells of a band of white people who were killed or driven out of Kentucky and West Tennessee.
Who were the mysterious, ancient Moon-Eyed people?
According to the Cherokee, the Moon-Eyed people lived in Appalachia until the Cherokee expelled them. The Moon-Eyed people are said to have built some ancient structures in the area. One of them is Fort Mountain in Georgia. It is an 850 foot long zigzagging stone wall that is 12 feet thick and up to seven feet high.
The Moon-Eyed people were physically totally different from the Cherokee and when these two races encountered each other, war broke out.
The age of the wall has never been properly determined, but according to some sources it was built around 400-500 AD. Who really built Fort Mountain is still a mystery. (Did the Nephites?) Cherokee legends tell the ancient structure was raised either by the Moon-Eyed people or Madoc, a Welsh prince who came to America in 1170.
Former Tennessee governor John Sevier wrote that the Cherokee leader Oconostota told him in 1783 that local mounds had been built by white people who were pushed from the area by the ascendant Cherokee. According to Sevier, Oconostota confirmed that these were Welsh from across the ocean.
The identity of the Moon-Eyed people is unknown. Who were these mysterious, small pale beings who lived underground? One theory suggests these people were of Welsh origin, being descendants of Madoc’s colonists. An ancient structure almost identical to the Fort Mountain can be found near DeSoto Falls, Alabama. It’s possible it was built by these Welsh settlers after they left Fort Mountain.
Mysterious Moon-Eyed People – Ancient Subterranean Race In Conflict With The Cherokee
The Moon-Eyed People: Prince Madoc and the Welsh Indians
“The Moon-Eyed People were a race of small men who, according to Cherokee legend, live underground and only emerge at night. Unlike the Cherokee, the Moon-Eyed People are bearded and have pale, white skin. The Cherokee knew the Moon-Eyed people primarily from the many remains they left behind…the mounds and low stone walls that can be found throughout the southern Appalachians. The most famous is just over the North Carolina border in Georgia at Fort Mountain. Now a state park, Fort Mountain gets its name form the 850 foot long stone wall that varies in height from two to six feet and stretches along the top of the ridge…
THE MYSTERY OF THE FORT MOUNTAIN WALL
The remains of the 855-foot stone wall that gives Fort Mountain its name wind like a snake around the northeast Georgia park, and its very presence begs a question: Who put them there?
A Cherokee legend attributes the wall to a mysterious band of “moon-eyed people” led by a Welsh prince named Madoc who appeared in the area more than 300 years before Columbus sailed to America.
A plaque at the wall says matter-of-factly it was built by Madoc and his Welsh followers, but most professional archeologists give no credence to the legend.
“There has been no archaeological evidence to back up stories that either this Welsh prince or any others came to explore the New World,” said Jared Wood, the manager of the archaeology lab at the University of Georgia.
As the legend goes, the group arrived at Mobile Bay around 1170, made their way up the Alabama and Coosa rivers and built stone fortifications at several spots near present-day Chattanooga, Tenn.
Dana Olson, an author who has spent decades trying to prove the legend, said circumstantial evidence on both sides of the Atlantic is too compelling to ignore.
“I’ve traveled all over the country finding these forts. Some of them are pretty well known, but I’m still uncovering some of them,” said Olson, the author of The Legend of Prince Madoc and the White Indians
The stone structures have long been a topic of debate. Many scientists have come to believe that the walls at Fort Mountain and other Southeast sites were built by native Americans between 200 B.C. and A.D. 600.
“We’re not exactly sure what purposes these enclosures served,” said Wood, the UGA archaeologist. “But they were likely well-known gathering places for social events. Seasonal meetings of friends and kin, trading of goods, astronomical observance, and religious or ceremonial activities may have occurred there.”
Yet supporters of the Madoc legend say the wall’s tear-shaped designs are similar to ruins found in Wales or elsewhere in Great Britain.
“And they point to an 1810 letter from John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee, who said that in 1782 he was told by an Indian chief that the walls were built by white people called the Welsh who lived in the region before the Cherokee.
They were driven out with the promise that they would never return to Cherokee lands, Sevier said in the letter, and they supposedly traveled to the Ohio valley or downstream to the Mississippi.”
There is also evidence of a major battle between 1450 and 1660 at the Falls of the Ohio, which Olson said was the scene of the “big battle began between the red Indians and the white Indians” – the Welsh.
Supporters of the legend say Madoc made two trips to North America, with the first visit coming in 1169. While scientists say the story was widely accepted in the 17th and 18th century, it has fallen out of favor over time.
“For one thing, there is not a historian that goes along with the theory of pre-Columbian contacts in the United States,” said Sundea Murphy, who works with Corn Island Archaeology in Louisville, Ky.
“A scientist needs proof. A historian needs proof,” she said.
Yet she sees no reason to discount the story of Madoc or any other pre-Columbian culture – from the Vikings to the Polynesians – exploring the continent...
WHO WERE THE MOON-EYED PEOPLE?
OK…so who were the Moon-Eyed People? Over the years there have been several theories on this subject, but no one knows if they even existed and simply a Cherokee legend. The folklore of the region is quite interesting, but it will likely remain a mystery. The interesting part is that they were reported by the Cherokee even before the Spaniards came to the new world.
There has long been a legend of an ancient race or tribe of ‘Whites’ that existed and thrived long before the American Indians arrived in North America. The Book of Mormon describes a similar story, identifying the race as the Nephites
There are tales among the Piaute about “Red haired giants” with fair skin in the West. The legend says that the Piaute were at war with these giants for generations and that the red haired giants began to decline to a point where they became “dog eaters” (an insult). The final battle came when the Piaute trapped the giants in a cave on the edge of the mountains. They set a huge fire that eventually killed what remained of the giants. Most of this legend was considered “fanciful” in order to give greater status to the tribe….until a cave was discovered on the edge of the Sierra Nevada in the 1920’s. It’s called Lovelock Cave and a museum is now located there.
Kennewick Man was thought to have been a part of this group of giants as well, though it was most likely of Asiatic ancestry despite being Caucasiod-like. The Tocharian culture thrived in what is now Northwest China. Despite it’s total destruction, you can still see blonde hair and lighter colored eyes among the current population.
In recent years, another tale of the nature of the Moon-Eyed People has also been put forth…that they are some part of the vast, pan-dimensional conspiracy of subterranean lizard people or Reptilians that secretly inhabit our world, most notably underground. This theory has been promoted, for the most part, by David Icke. Could it be true? At this point, do we really know what is fact or conjecture?” Source:
More Resources:
The Legend of Prince Madoc and the White Indians
aboutnorthgeorgia.com
Footprints of the Welsh Indians: Settlers in North America before 1492
northcarolinaghosts.com
bluewatersmtnl.com
Madoc: A Mystery
thestar.com
walesdirectory.co.uk
The Welch Indians: Or A Collection Of Papers Respecting A People Whose Ancestors Emigrated From Wales To America, In The Year 1170, With Prince Madoc
bbc.co.uk
nationalgeographic.com
