Moon-Eyed People

 Author: Victoria Elliott

A stone pair of moon-eyed people from murphy, South Carolinas

The statue is found in the Cherokee legend of the moon-eyed people. Believed to be centuries old, the effigy was carved out by tapping another rock, eventually revealing a two-headed figure with round eyes too large for their faces (Howard). According to legend, it is the Moon-Eyed people.

Nephi’s Land

According to the Mormon legend, the Moon-eyed people lived before Columbus in Northern Georgia, southeast Tennessee, and the southwest part of North Carolina (Nelson). This map connects the possibility that the moon-eyed people were the Nephites. Because the moon-eyed people were continuously moving around Fort Mountain Park is a crucial piece of evidence that due to the proximity with the Mormon people. The movement of the moon-eyed people is along Mormon territory and marks Nephites, similar to the moon-eyed people's migration.

Legend of the Moon Eyed People

Cherokee discovered the reoccurring stone structures in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and the Cherokee say the moon-eyed people built them. The moon-eyed people were a race of fair-skinned, light-haired bearded humans. Their large blue eyes were so sensitive to the sun that they lived in caves and came out only at night (The Why Flies). Although they lived in the same area as the Cherokee nation, they were from the Appalachian Mountain. The connection to Prince Madoc of Wales is because he sailed to Mobile Bay, Alabama, left, and then came back to Alabama and never heard from again, which is why moon-eyed people believed to be the Welsh Indians. Morgan Jones, a Welsh minister, and Stedman, a sailor, both encountered the Welsh tribe that is said to have built the stone structures all along the Appalachian Mountains. The first governor of Tennessee, John Sevier, was told by an Indian chief that the statue wasn't built by American Indians but by the Welsh living in that area. The moon-eyed people used technology unknown to other tribes, like rounded-out boats instead of canoes. Cherokee said the moonlight people driven West few people were a tribe who lived in Utah and parts of California, a tribe of red-haired giants with white skin who lived in caves (The Why Flies). They feared the sun, and they only came out at night now (The Why Flies). People were at war with red hair for many years, and eventually, they were able to trap the white-skinned giants in the caves (The Why Flies). They then set a massive fire in killed them all (The Why Flies).

Works Cited:

Howard, Krissy. “The Ancient Moon-Eyed People Of North Carolina: Fact Or Fiction?” All That’s Interesting. 10 Jan. 2017. https://allthatsinteresting.com/moon-eyed-people. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022.

Nephi’s Land. n.d. Photograph. “White Moon-Eyed People”, Book of Mormon Evidence, 24 July 2021. https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/moon111-696x434.jpg. Accessed 25 Oct. 2022

Strange Carolinas. stone pair of moon-eyed people. n.d. Photograph. “Exploring the Mysterious North American Moon-Eyed People Legend “, Ancient Origins, 23 Jan. 2022 stone_9.jpg (420×700) (ancient-origins.net). Accessed 25 Oct. 2022

The Why Flies. “Legend of the Moon Eyed People | America's First Civilization” YouTube, 17 March 2022, Legend of the Moon Eyed People | America's First Civilization - YouTube.

Links For Further Research:

Howard, Krissy. “The Ancient Moon-Eyed People Of North Carolina: Fact Or Fiction?” All That’s Interesting. 10 Jan. 2017. https://allthatsinteresting.com/moon-eyed-people. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Krissy Howard discusses the moon-eyed people of the Appalachian Mountains in this article. It's an overview describing their connection to Prince Madoc, their war with the Cherokee, and being attacked by the Creek tribe from the south. Using the Cherokee legend, this article explains who the moon-eyed people were.

Nelson,Rian.” White Moon-Eyed People.” Book of Mormon Evidence. 24 July 2021. https://bookofmormonevidence.org/white-moon-eyed-people/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Rian Nelson's article connects the moon-eyed people to Fort Mountain State Park. There is a discussion of their war with the Cherokees and how they might have been Nephites.

Tibbs, David.” Legends of Fort Mountain The Moon-Eyed People / Prin2ce Madoc of Wales.” The Historical Marker Database. 19 Sept. 2008. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=11590. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Tibbs writes about different moon-eyed people legends, including the Delaware Indian legend and the Legends of Fort Mountain. They received names from various tribes, such as Allegewi, and Cherokee Chief Oconostota spoke of his interactions with them and where they were located.