ABSTRACT
Focusing on two petroglyph boulders in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains, Judaculla Rock in western North Carolina and Track Rock in northern Georgia, ethnographic information reveals that Judaculla Rock marks the ‘Eastern Gate’ to Judaculla’s townhouse within Tanasee Bald, while Track Rock is part of the ‘Southern Gate’ to Judaculla’s townhouse within Brasstown Bald. Judaculla, a giant Master of the Game with slanted eyes, together with his family of spirit beings, had to be supplicated for game and other favors by Cherokees walking along trails, ritually pausing at the petroglyph boulders before proceeding to his mountain top townhouse. Bearing in mind that each petroglyph boulder is a picture map of the multi-layered spirit world in which it occurs, the boulder is in effect a microcosmic manifestation of the surrounding macrocosm. Ongoing visits by certain Cherokees to these boulders, particularly Judaculla Rock near the Qualla Boundary Indian Reservation, perpetuate certain aspects of traditional beliefs and practices. To preserve the spiritual values that these places have among Native Americans, the United States Forest Service, nearby communities, and other interest groups have taken collaborative and deliberate steps to record, manage, and interpret the boulders and surrounding landscape with wider public visitation in mind.
