Who is Judaculla?

According to Cherokee legend, Judaculla was a slant-eyed giant who lived high up in the Balsam Mountains and guarded his hunting grounds from Judaculla’s Judgement Seat, today known as Devil’s Courthouse, a site reached from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once, when a party of disrespectful hunters came through his land, Judaculla chased them down the mountain. With a mighty leap, the angry giant landed near Caney Fork on a large boulder, and when he put his hand down to steady himself, he left his mark on the rock’s surface. The impression of his hand can still be seen at the lower right of the rock. Judaculla’s marks have also been seen on other boulders throughout Cherokee lands, including near the Mother-town of Kituwah, a sacred and prominent Cherokee religious center.

North Carolina · United States