|
I am part native American, Cherokee and Apache, the rest is Welsh, Irish, Norman (not french, this was pre France during the time of William the Conqueror) and from that back to the Franks.
According to the oral tradition from my Cherokee great grandfather, an ancestor of mine was sent west on the Trail of tears, but when his family died on the trip, he continued west and ended up marrying a Chirachua woman.
He returned to Western North Carolina in time to fight in the civil war.
Now, according to my great grandfather, both the Cherokee and Apache blood comes from the wolf, i.e the Great wolf, first of his kind after creation.
While the stories are different, it boils down to the great wolf hunting near an Indian camp, falling in love with a indian maid, getting changed to human form for one year, then being turned back, after telling the mother of his child who and what he was.
The Cherokee story sort of ends there.
According to the Apache account, the wolf was granted the gift of being human for 1 day a year.
Now, since the language families of the two tribes are very distinct and different, it basically means that even though there were a few hundred generations between the two initial births, my great great great grandparents committed the sin of incest.
Regardless, tradition has it that those of the wolf clan have the blood of Canis lupus in our veins.
As far as the European lines, it is really fun there, for one of the paternal lines, specifically the one out of Normandy is both a direct descent from William, as well as being the nephew of William.
The family that came out of Wales by way of Scotland and Ireland have the unique eccentric trait of having two parallel lines interbred every 2nd or 3rd generation, which continued in North Carolina up until 1790, and as far back as there are records.
So basically, I have a magical wolf, mixed in with a hell of a lot of folks known for having very bad tempers and a flare for invasions.
Add to that my mothers folks are dutch from north of the Mason Dixon, my father's family is from the mountains of Western North Carolina, if there are any ancestral spirits trying to give me advice, they are probably too busy arguing among themselves if not out right fighting.
FYI, in the army I was known as the guy who never waited for the Sargent to ask "You apes want to live forever?"
I was the guy that got told repeatedly (with various colorful words thrown in) to "Get your <insert expletive> *** down!"
|