James Mooney (1861-1921) was an American anthropologist who lived for several years among the Cherokee. He did major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as those on the Great Plains. His most notable work was his ethnographic study of the Ghost Dance, a widespread religious movement among various Native American culture groups. His works include: Myths of the Cherokees (1888), Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees (1891), Siouan Tribes of the East (1894) and The Messiah Religion and the Ghost Dance: Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians (1898). Walter James Hoffman (1846-1899) was also an anthropologist. His works include: The Mide'wiwin or Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibwa (1891), The Beginnings of Writing (1895), The Menomini Indians (1896) and The Graphic Art of the Eskimos (1897).

Anetso, a centuries-old Cherokee ball game still played today, is a vigorous, sometimes violent activity that rewards speed, strength, and agility. At the same time, it is the focus of several linked ritual activities. Is it a sport? Is it a religious ritual? Could it possibly be both? Why has it lasted so long, surviving through centuries of upheaval and change? Based on his work in the field and in the archives, Michael J. Zogry argues that members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation continue to perform selected aspects of their cultural identity by engaging in anetso, itself the hub of an extended ceremonial complex, or cycle. A precursor to lacrosse, anetso appears in all manner of Cherokee cultural narratives and has figured prominently in the written accounts of non-Cherokee observers for almost three hundred years. The anetso ceremonial complex incorporates a variety of activities which, taken together, complicate standard scholarly distinctions such as game versus ritual, public display versus private performance, and tradition versus innovation. Zogry's examination provides a striking opportunity for rethinking the understanding of ritual and performance as well as their relationship to cultural identity. It also offers a sharp reappraisal of scholarly discourse on the Cherokee religious system, with particular focus on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation.

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