the Sun

Also known as: The Sun / Une'`lanûñ'hi / the great Apportioner · Role: the Sun, a woman · First appears: Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun

In Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun, the Sun’s rays brought a fever that killed people by hundreds. She was the sister of the Moon and the mother of the daughter of the Sun, whom she visited each day. When she found her daughter dead, she grieved and wept until her tears flooded the earth; after a drummer changed the song, she smiled and forgot her grief, and the people stopped dying.

In Myth 8 · The Moon and the Thunders, the Sun secretly rubbed ashes on her lover’s face and discovered that he was her brother, the Moon. Ashamed, he kept far away from her. In Myth 12 · Origin of Strawberries, Une'`lanûñ'hi, the great Apportioner, took pity on the first man and asked whether he wanted his wife back; he eagerly agreed. Myth 49 · The Snake Tribe says the rattlesnake had once been a man transformed to save humanity from extermination by the Sun. In Myth 50 · The Uktena and the Ulûñsû'ti, the Little Men sent Uktena to kill her, but he failed.

Relationship record

Life events

The Sun's rays caused a fever that killed people by hundreds.(Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun · 📍 the earth)
- “so every day when she got near her daughter's house she sent down such sultry rays that there was a great fever and the people died by hundreds”
The Sun grieved for her dead daughter, and the people stopped dying.(Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun)
- With: the daughter of the Sun
- “When the Sun found her daughter dead, she went into the house and grieved, and the people did not die any more”
The Sun wept for her daughter until her tears made a flood.(Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun · 📍 the earth)
- “and wept until her tears made a flood upon the earth”
The Sun smiled and forgot her grief after the drummer changed the song.(Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun)
- “when she lifted up her face, and was so pleased at the sight that she forgot her grief and smiled.”
The Sun secretly rubbed ashes onto her lover’s face to discover his identity.(Myth 8 · The Moon and the Thunders)
- With: the Moon
- “she slyly dipped her hand into the cinders and ashes of the fireplace and rubbed it over his face”
The Sun recognized the Moon as her lover, and he thereafter kept far away from her.(Myth 8 · The Moon and the Thunders)
- With: the Moon
- “The next night when the Moon came up in the sky his face was covered with spots, and then his sister knew he was the one who had been coming to see her. He was so much ashamed to have her know it that he kept as far away as he could at the other end of the sky all the night.”
Une'`lanûñ'hi asked the first man if he wanted his wife back, and he eagerly agreed.(Myth 12 · Origin of Strawberries)
- With: the first man (Myth 12)
- “Une'`lanûñ'hi then asked him if he would like to have her back again, to which he eagerly answered yes.”
The rattlesnake was transformed from a man to save the human race from extermination by the Sun.(Myth 49 · The Snake Tribe)
- With: the Rattlesnake
- “According to a myth given elsewhere, he was once a man, and was transformed to his present shape that he might save the human race from extermination by the Sun”
The Little Men changed a man into Uktena and sent him to kill the Sun, but he failed.(Myth 50 · The Uktena and the Ulûñsû'ti)
- With: Uktena
- “the Little Men changed a man into a monster snake, which they called Uktena, ‘The Keen-eyed,’ and sent him to kill her. He failed to do the work”

Myth 5 · The Daughter of the Sun

siblings with the Moon “She said to her brother, the Moon, ‘My grandchildren are ugly; they grin all over their faces when they look at me.’”
child: the daughter of the Sun “The Sun lived on the other side of the sky vault, but her daughter lived in the middle of the sky, directly above the earth, and every day as the Sun was climbing along the sky arch to the west she used to stop at her daughter's house for dinner.”

Myth 8 · The Moon and the Thunders

siblings with the Moon “The Sun was a young woman and lived in the East, while her brother, the Moon, lived in the West.”
admirer: the Moon “The girl had a lover who used to come every month in the dark of the moon to court her.”

Myth 12 · Origin of Strawberries

recipient: the first man (Myth 12) “The man followed alone and grieving, but the woman kept on steadily ahead and never looked behind, until Une'`lanûñ'hi, the great Apportioner (the Sun), took pity on him and asked him if he was still angry with his wife.”

Myth 35 · The Bird Tribes · Part 3

child: the daughter of the Sun “The redbird, tatsu'hwa, is believed to have been originally the daughter of the Sun.”

Myth 50 · The Uktena and the Ulûñsû'ti

enemies with Uktena “the Little Men changed a man into a monster snake, which they called Uktena, ‘The Keen-eyed,’ and sent him to kill her.”

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Extracted from the original text of Myths of the Cherokee. Made with Rho MD.