Noccalula
Noccalula is said to be the name of a Cherokee maiden who, according to legend who jumped to her death at what is now called Noccalula Falls rather than submit to an arranged marriage. According to the legend, Noccalula's grieving father renamed the falls for her. Some claim that she still haunts the area below.
Variations of the story are common to hundreds of locales in the United States. As Mark Twain wrote, "There are fifty Lover's Leaps along the Mississippi from whose summit disappointed Indian girls have jumped."
Stories
The use of "Noccalula" or "Nahcullola" as a name for Black Creek Falls appears as early as the 1860s in print, but was not used on maps until later. It is possible that the name is Cherokee (Tsalagi) in origin. A large waterfall in Georgia is called "Amicalola", from the Tsalagi "a-ma u-qua-le-lv-yi", signifying a place where water (a-ma) tumbles or thunders.
An early version of the maiden's story appeared in 1867 in the pages of the Cherokee Advertiser and/or the Gadsden Times. That writer identified the maiden as "Efoladela", pawned off by her father to Creek chief "Ortus Micco" as part of a territorial bargain. In grief for the loss of her future with her lover, "Laniska", Efoladela leaps into the gorge and is buried there. The writer identifies Laniska as Pathkiller, who became principal chief of the Cherokee in 1811.
From there, subsequent retellings added romantic details. Anne Mathilde Bilbro's version, published in the early 1900s, is the one most referenced. It was published as a pamphlet in 1937 and has reappeared in brochures for Noccalula Falls Park since its 1946 establishment. Bilbro apparently used legends told by old families in the area as sources. Whether it came from those sources or from her own mind, Bilbro may have been the the first to identify the girl's name as Noccalula in print. In her version, she characterizes the Cherokee tribe as gentle and erudite, contrasting them with the fierce Creeks whose chief had offered a rich price for the girl. With the prospect of achieving peace and claiming a rich reward, Noccalula's father hardened his heart, promised her hand to his enemy, and banished the brave she loved. In grief, the girl glumly allowed herself to be arrayed in her wedding finery before being pulled away by the sound of the waterfall, and soon succumbing to death as an escape from her troubles. In this version the tragedy re-awakened the father's love and he named the waterfall in her memory.
Later authors, such as Tracy Lay and Mary Lister have also penned versions of the story. It was Lister's version that first included references to Noccalula's ghost inhabiting the gorge. Sue Allen Davidson and Bruce Stephens included a dramatic retelling of Noccalula's story in the script for their outdoor pageant, "God's Highway: The Coosa River Story", which has been performed by the Coosa River Drama Association at the park's amphitheater each summer from 1985 to 1989.
Using the 1867 story of Efoladela as their starting point, researchers Danny Crownover, Jerry Jones, Rex Thornton and Charley Freeman dug through records in several states in the early 1990s. They identified her with a daughter of "Little Turkey", principal Cherokee chief from 1788 to 1804. In 1789, Little Turkey's daughter was captured and ransomed by John Sevier near the Flint River in Georgia. Little Turkey's clan later settled in Turkey Town in present-day Etowah County. The researchers claim that she was offered by her father as a prize in a ball game played during the Green Corn Festival sometime before 1795. Ortus Micco (called "Opie"), a Creek chief who lived near what is now Rainbow City, claimed the victory. Rather than marry Opie, the girl slipped away to the falls where she had spent time with her true love, and there took her life. These events were supposedly corroborated by local Indians and borne out by carvings at the site.
A musical composition, "The Legend of Princess Noccalula" was commissioned from Anniston native John Craton in 2005 by the Dutch ensemble Het Consort. Birmingham filmmaker Steve Pridmore is working on a feature film starring Emma-Lillita Hunter as the vengeful ghost of Noccalula.
References
- M. A. H. (December 25, 1851) "Historical Traditions of Tennessee". The American Whig Review Vol. 15. New York: Wiley & Putnam, pp. 235
- Twain, Mark (1883) Life on the Mississippi. Boston, Massachusetts: James R. Osgood & Co.
- Bolton, Clyde (April 20, 1958) "Spring Recalls Noccalula's History" Gadsden Times
- Jones, Jeffrey (1989) Noccalula: Legend, Fact and Function. Collinsville: Jeffrey & Jones Gang, Inc.
- Back, Sharon Freeman (January 15, 1994) "Historians find truth in legend of princess" Gadsden Times
- Rozema, Vicki (1995) "Footsteps of the Cherokees: A Guide to the Eastern Homelands of the Cherokee Nation." Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair
- McDougald, Michael H. (November 29, 2005) "Tale of Noccalula comes full circle" Rome News-Tribune
External links
- The Legend of Princess Noccalula" at Noccalula Falls Park website
- The Truth About the Noccalula Falls Legend website
- Noccalula film on Facebook.com