The house is small and spare as it is no more than a shelter. It is the
forest and the waters which are my real home here away from the others that
I may hunt and fish and gather the spirit plants which grow only in the
darkness of the forest and by the water's edge.
The
shelter is made in the ancient manner of The Tsalagi with poles covered
with mud and grass in a circular shape. The roof is covered with a deep
layer of water reeds and made of heavy cedar poles. The floor is pulverized
and compacted earth covered with reed matting. There are no windows, only
a doorway and the fire ventilation opening in the roof. In good weather
cooking is done outside, but the fire pit in the center of the room makes
it easy to cook and warm the shelter in bad weather. The same style of
shelter can be made of tree bark or of animal skins. Although the daub
and wattle construction requires constant maintenance, the materials are
always at hand and the task an easy one which requires little time. Without
maintenance, the structure would quickly decay leaving only evidence of
a circular structure made of wooden poles.
My name in Tsalagi iswhich
is pronounced in our tougue, as Gah Lew Nah Dee Dee Kaw Tah and means Sky
Eyes. It is the short form a my formal name which is in English, He Who
Walks With His Feet On The Ground But Sees Only The Sky. All Tsalagi have
a long descriptive formal name and a short form for address.
Learn more about our language and how to write it HERE.
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Visitors to this Pit House
which
is pronounced in our tougue, as Gah Lew Nah Dee Dee Kaw Tah and means Sky
Eyes. It is the short form a my formal name which is in English, He Who
Walks With His Feet On The Ground But Sees Only The Sky. All Tsalagi have
a long descriptive formal name and a short form for address.
