In the numerous myths and legends of the Cherokee Indian people, there is a series of stories about the race of little men. This people lived in the territory of the modern states of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
The Cherokee called them the word "Nunne'hi", which has two versions of the translation "People who live everywhere" and "People who live forever" ("Immortal people"). Or in the words "Yunwi Tsunsdi", which simply meant "Little People."
Outwardly, they looked like Indians, only they were very small in stature, no higher than a human knee. At the same time, they possessed supernatural powers and could instantly disappear at will, teleport from place to place and lived for a very long time, if not indefinitely.
They were not evil creatures, but, on the contrary, were very fond of songs and dances, and were also regarded as protectors of the forests. In general, it was the Indian counterpart of the elves.
The Nanni were very fond of drums from music, and Cherokee hunters often heard drumming from such wilds where none of the people lived. And when, out of curiosity, the Cherokee tried to go to the sound and see the dancing nanni, this did not lead to any result, the sound always moved away at the same distance as the hunters approached.
For most of the time, the nannichs remained invisible to the Indians, and they chose the most hidden corners for housing, such as dark caves or impregnable rocks. However, when the Indians had trouble, for example, a war with a neighboring tribe, the nannies could come to their aid. They supposedly always defended the tribe in whose territory they lived and helped the Indians to beat the invaders.
The nannichs lived mainly in underground burrows and these burrows were very long and winding. According to legends, a large network of nannichi tunnels runs under the Blood Mountain in Georgia, and another network is located near Lake Tralitha in the same Georgia. Nanni's other dungeons lie in the Pilot Nob area and Nichwasi Hill in North Carolina.
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Sometimes the Indians also fell into these underground houses of the Nanni when the Nanni rescued their wounded or lost in the mountains or forests. In the dungeons, the Nannihs treated the Indians' wounds, fed them, looked after them, and then let them go home when they recovered.
Some Cherokee who fell into the hands of the nannies were so fascinated by their lifestyle that they stayed with them forever. refusing to return to their own.
Sometimes the nannichs could turn into people of ordinary height and in this form they liked to come to Indian settlements to dance at the festival. Only when they suddenly disappeared without a trace did people realize that there were nannies among them.
There is a legend about a Cherokee youth named Yahula, who once in winter fell behind his comrades-in-arms hunting. His friends searched for him later, but could not find him anywhere, and then he was considered dead. But in fact, Yahula was picked up by the nannies and brought to their underground house. There he lived with them for a very long time, ate their food and time seemed to stand still for him.
But one day he decided to return to the Cherokee to visit his family. They received him with great surprise, but then believed his story and invited to celebrate his return. However, Yahula said that he had been eating nanni food for so long that he could no longer eat human food.
He also told the Cherokee that he had only returned for a short time and that he would soon go back to the nannies to live with them and never die. Family and friends begged him to stay, but he made his choice. Then he repeatedly came to see his people and remained the same young even after decades.
Nanny figurine made of wood.
Another legend tells of how, in 1838, Cherokee from North Carolina narrowly escaped deportation to the Oklahoma reservation. The government announced that the Cherokee should move to the reservation, but a week before the order, nannihs arrived in the Cherokee village and asked all Cherokee to pack their things and follow them. They told the Cherokee. that they were in great trouble and that the nannies would save them.
Not all Cherokee agreed to go with the nannies, some did not believe them and remained in their places. Another group of nannichis was led to a large mountain and a secret passage was opened behind a large rock. Inside the mountain, the Cherokee found themselves in very beautiful rooms and stayed there to wait.
When the order came to evict the Cherokee, the remaining Indians were driven to Oklahoma, but the Cherokee hiding in the mountains remained unharmed. They left there a few years later and settled again in the same area. A small group of Cherokee people still live on their home soil in North Carolina and thank the nannies for their salvation.
You might think that these are all just myths based only on old prejudices and inventions. However, not all so simple. Researcher Mary Joyce, in her book Cherokee Little People Were Real, argues that there is evidence to prove the existence of a nanny.
According to Joyce's book, in 1930, Walter Middleton, one of the builders of the North Carolina university campus, and his assistants found mysterious underground tunnels during the construction, and inside them they stumbled upon a small skull.
The skull looked like a human and one might think that this is a skull of a child. However, when one of the university professors saw this skull, he immediately said that it was a skull of an adult, since his wisdom teeth had already erupted. Wisdom teeth erupt in people aged 18-21.
Alas, what happened next to this skull and the excavated tunnels is not mentioned in Joes's book.