1. Waccamaw-Siouan Our Focus Point: Ceremonies and Legends

2. Ceremonies Sage SmudgingWedding Ceremony

3. Sage Smudging Basics:  Gather sage and dry it.  Use a cotton string and bind them making a criss-cross pattern.  Start burning one end and let smoke start rising.  Fan it to keep it burning.  Place the smudge in a container and pinch it.  “Offer the smoke” in seven directions.  “Cleanse” yourself by putting smoke over your head, shoulders, heart, under each foot, and around your back.  Pass through the smoke.

4. Wedding The Wedding Vase Ceremony There aren't really any words with this ceremony. First the bride drinks from one side of the vase. Then she turns it and the Groom drinks from the opposite site. Then they both drink at the same time and it's said if they don't spill anything the marriage will have good luck and prosper. The Basket Ceremony They exchange baskets filled with meaningful gifts developed Cherokee Wedding Prayer

5. Waccamaw-Siouan Counties: Columbus and Bladen Handout – Fact Sheet Population Currently: 2,000 State Recognized: 1971

6. Legends of the Waccamaw  “People of the Falling Star” Most legends center around a flaming meteor that fell and burned itself deep into the swamp.  Lake Waccamaw legend Handout: Reader’s Theatre

7. Credits  Waccamaw Indian People, "About Us." The Waccamaw Indian People. 07/09/08. Waccamaw Indian People. 2 Nov 2008.  "North Carolina Museum of History." 2008. North Carolina Museum of History. 2 Nov 2008.  Heart, Allan Aslan. "Smudging with Sage Bundles - the Ceremony of Purification." Dream Catchers of the Seventh Fire. 2007. 2 Nov 2008.  "What Dreams May Come." 2008. Holistic Wellness and Creative Services. 2 Nov 2008.  Rhodes, Libby. "First Native American." PAIA LOWER EASTERN CHEROKEE NATION South Carolina. 2008. PAIA. 2 Nov 2008. PHOTOS: