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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24788-0.txt b/24788-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ebf24a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/24788-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5653 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, by James Mooney + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees + Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the + Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, + Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398 + +Author: James Mooney + +Release Date: March 9, 2008 [EBook #24788] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + + + + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + +Transcriber’s Note: + +[n], [i], [u], [w], [U] indicate raised (superscript) letters. + + + + +SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES. + +BY + +JAMES MOONEY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Introduction 307 + + How the formulas were obtained. 310 + + The A‘yû[n]inĭ (Swimmer) manuscript 310 + + The Gatigwanastĭ (Belt) manuscript 312 + + The Gahunĭ manuscript 313 + + The Inâlĭ (Black Fox) manuscript 314 + + Other manuscripts 316 + + The Kanâhe´ta Ani-Tsa´lagĭ Etĭ or Ancient Cherokee Formulas + 317 + + Character of the formulas--the Cherokee religion 318 + + Myth of the origin of disease and medicine 319 + + Theory of disease--animals, ghosts, witches 322 + + Selected list of plants used 324 + + Medical practice--theory of + resemblances--fasting--tabu--seclusion--women 328 + + Illustration of the gaktû[n]ta or tabu 331 + + Neglect of sanitary regulations 332 + + The sweat bath--bleeding--rubbing--bathing 338 + + Opposition of shamans to white physicians 336 + + Medicine dances 337 + + Description of symptoms 337 + + The ugista´‘tĭ or pay of the shaman 337 + + Ceremonies for gathering plants and preparing medicine 339 + + The Cherokee gods and their abiding places 340 + + Color symbolism 342 + + Importance attached to names 343 + + Language of the formulas 343 + + Specimen formulas 344 + + Medicine. 345 + + To treat the crippler (rheumatism)--from Gahuni 345 + + Second formula for the crippler--from Gahuni 349 + + Song and prescription for snake bites--from Gahuni 351 + + When something is causing something to eat them--Gahuni 353 + + Second formula for the same disease--A‘wanita 355 + + For moving pains in the teeth (neuralgia?)--Gatigwanasti 356 + + Song and prayer for the great chill--A‘yû[n]ini 359 + + To make children jump down (child birth)--A‘yû[n]ini 363 + + Second formula for child birth--Takwatihi 364 + + Song and prayer for the black yellowness + (biliousness)--A‘yû[n]ini 365 + + To treat for ordeal diseases (witchcraft)--A‘yû[n]ini 366 + + Hunting 369 + + Concerning hunting--A‘yû[n]ini 369 + + For hunting birds--A‘yû[n]ini 371 + + To shoot dwellers in the wilderness--A‘wanita 372 + + Bear song--A‘yû[n]ini 373 + + For catching large fish--A‘yû[n]ini 374 + + Love 375 + + Concerning living humanity--Gatigwanasti 376 + + For going to water--Gatigwanasti 378 + + Yû[n]wehi song for painting--Gatigwanasti 379 + + Song and prayer to fix the affections--A‘yû[n]ini 380 + + To separate lovers--A‘yû[n]ini 381 + + Song and prayer to fix the affections--Gatigwanasti 382 + + Miscellaneous 384 + + To shorten a night goer on this side--A‘yû[n]ini 384 + + To find lost articles--Gatigwanasti 386 + + To frighten away a storm--A‘yû[n]ini 387 + + To help warriors--A´wanita 388 + + To destroy life (ceremony with beads)--A‘yû[n]ini 391 + + To take to water for the ball play--A‘yû[n]ini 395 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Pl. XXIV. Portrait of A‘yû[n]ini (Swimmer) 306 + XXV. Facsimile of A‘yû[n]ini manuscript--Formula for + Dalâni Û[n]nagei 310 + XXVI. Facsimile of Gatigwanasti manuscript--Yû[n]wĕhĭ + formula 312 + XXVII. Facsimile of Gahuni manuscript--Formula for + Didû[n]lĕskĭ 314 + + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXIV + +A‘YU[N]INI (SWIMMER).] + + + + +SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES. + +By James Mooney. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +The sacred formulas here given are selected from a collection of about +six hundred, obtained on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina in +1887 and 1888, and covering every subject pertaining to the daily life +and thought of the Indian, including medicine, love, hunting, fishing, +war, self-protection, destruction of enemies, witchcraft, the crops, +the council, the ball play, etc., and, in fact, embodying almost +the whole of the ancient religion of the Cherokees. The original +manuscripts, now in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, +were written by the shamans of the tribe, for their own use, in +the Cherokee characters invented by Sikwâ´ya (Sequoyah) in 1821, +and were obtained, with the explanations, either from the writers +themselves or from their surviving relatives. + +Some of these manuscripts are known to be at least thirty years +old, and many are probably older. The medical formulas of all kinds +constitute perhaps one-half of the whole number, while the love charms +come next in number, closely followed by the songs and prayers used in +hunting and fishing. The great number of love charms will doubtless be +a surprise to those who have been educated in the old theory that the +Indian is insensible to the attractions of woman. The comparatively +small number of war formulas is explained by the fact that the last +war in which the Cherokees, as a tribe, were engaged on their own +account, closed with the Revolutionary period, so that these things +were well nigh forgotten before the invention of the alphabet, a +generation later. The Cherokees who engaged in the Creek war and the +late American civil war fought in the interests of the whites, and +their leaders were subordinated to white officers, hence there was not +the same opportunity for the exercise of shamanistic rites that there +would have been had Indians alone been concerned. The prayers for +hunting, fishing, and the ball play being in more constant demand, +have been better preserved. + +These formulas had been handed down orally from a remote antiquity +until the early part of the present century, when the invention of +the Cherokee syllabary enabled the priests of the tribe to put them +into writing. The same invention made it possible for their rivals, +the missionaries, to give to the Indians the Bible in their own +language, so that the opposing forces of Christianity and shamanism +alike profited by the genius of Sikwâya. The pressure of the new +civilization was too strong to be withstood, however, and though +the prophets of the old religion still have much influence with the +people, they are daily losing ground and will soon be without honor in +their own country. + +Such an exposition of the aboriginal religion could be obtained from +no other tribe in North America, for the simple reason that no other +tribe has an alphabet of its own in which to record its sacred lore. +It is true that the Crees and Micmacs of Canada and the Tukuth of +Alaska have so-called alphabets or ideographic systems invented for +their use by the missionaries, while, before the Spanish conquest, +the Mayas of Central America were accustomed to note down their hero +legends and priestly ceremonials in hieroglyphs graven upon the walls +of their temples or painted upon tablets made of the leaves of the +maguey. But it seems never to have occurred to the northern tribes +that an alphabet coming from a missionary source could be used for any +other purpose than the transcription of bibles and catechisms, while +the sacred books of the Mayas, with a few exceptions, have long since +met destruction at the hands of fanaticism, and the modern copies +which have come down to the present day are written out from imperfect +memory by Indians who had been educated under Spanish influences in +the language, alphabet and ideas of the conquerors, and who, as is +proved by an examination of the contents of the books themselves, +drew from European sources a great part of their material. Moreover, +the Maya tablets were so far hieratic as to be understood only +by the priests and those who had received a special training in +this direction, and they seem therefore to have been entirely +unintelligible to the common people. + +The Cherokee alphabet, on the contrary, is the invention or adaptation +of one of the tribe, who, although he borrowed most of the Roman +letters, in addition to the forty or more characters of his own +devising, knew nothing of their proper use or value, but reversed them +or altered their forms to suit his purpose, and gave them a name and +value determined by himself. This alphabet was at once adopted by the +tribe for all purposes for which writing can be used, including the +recording of their shamanistic prayers and ritualistic ceremonies. The +formulas here given, as well as those of the entire collection, were +written out by the shamans themselves--men who adhere to the ancient +religion and speak only their native language--in order that their +sacred knowledge might be preserved in a systematic manner for their +mutual benefit. The language, the conception, and the execution +are all genuinely Indian, and hardly a dozen lines of the hundreds +of formulas show a trace of the influence of the white man or +his religion. The formulas contained in these manuscripts are not +disjointed fragments of a system long since extinct, but are the +revelation of a living faith which still has its priests and devoted +adherents, and it is only necessary to witness a ceremonial ball +play, with its fasting, its going to water, and its mystic bead +manipulation, to understand how strong is the hold which the old faith +yet has upon the minds even of the younger generation. The numerous +archaic and figurative expressions used require the interpretation +of the priests, but, as before stated, the alphabet in which they are +written is that in daily use among the common people. + +In all tribes that still retain something of their ancient +organization we find this sacred knowledge committed to the keeping of +various secret societies, each of which has its peculiar ritual with +regular initiation and degrees of advancement. From this analogy +we may reasonably conclude that such was formerly the case with the +Cherokees also, but by the breaking down of old customs consequent +upon their long contact with the whites and the voluntary adoption +of a civilized form of government in 1827, all traces of such society +organization have long since disappeared, and at present each priest +or shaman is isolated and independent, sometimes confining himself +to a particular specialty, such as love or medicine, or even the +treatment of two or three diseases, in other cases broadening his +field of operations to include the whole range of mystic knowledge. + +It frequently happens, however, that priests form personal friendships +and thus are led to divulge their secrets to each other for their +mutual advantage. Thus when one shaman meets another who he thinks can +probably give him some valuable information, he says to him, “Let us +sit down together.” This is understood by the other to mean, “Let us +tell each other our secrets.” Should it seem probable that the seeker +after knowledge can give as much as he receives, an agreement is +generally arrived at, the two retire to some convenient spot secure +from observation, and the first party begins by reciting one of his +formulas with the explanations. The other then reciprocates with +one of his own, unless it appears that the bargain is apt to prove a +losing one, in which case the conference comes to an abrupt ending. + +It is sometimes possible to obtain a formula by the payment of a coat, +a quantity of cloth, or a sum of money. Like the Celtic Druids of old, +the candidate for the priesthood in former times found it necessary to +cultivate a long memory, as no formula was repeated more than once for +his benefit. It was considered that one who failed to remember after +the first hearing was not worthy to be accounted a shaman. This task, +however, was not so difficult as might appear on first thought, when +once the learner understood the theory involved, as the formulas are +all constructed on regular principles, with constant repetition of +the same set of words. The obvious effect of such a regulation was +to increase the respect in which this sacred knowledge was held by +restricting it to the possession of a chosen few. + +Although the written formulas can be read without difficulty by any +Cherokee educated in his own language, the shamans take good care that +their sacred writings shall not fall into the hands of the laity or +of their rivals in occult practices, and in performing the ceremonies +the words used are uttered in such a low tone of voice as to be +unintelligible even to the one for whose benefit the formula is +repeated. Such being the case, it is in order to explain how the +formulas collected were obtained. + + +HOW THE FORMULAS WERE OBTAINED. + +On first visiting the reservation in the summer of 1887, I devoted +considerable time to collecting plants used by the Cherokees for food +or medicinal purposes, learning at the same time their Indian names +and the particular uses to which each was applied and the mode of +preparation. It soon became evident that the application of the +medicine was not the whole, and in fact was rather the subordinate, +part of the treatment, which was always accompanied by certain +ceremonies and “words.” From the workers employed at the time no +definite idea could be obtained as to the character of these words. +One young woman, indeed, who had some knowledge of the subject, +volunteered to write the words which she used in her prescriptions, +but failed to do so, owing chiefly to the opposition of the half-breed +shamans, from whom she had obtained her information. + + +THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT. + +Some time afterward an acquaintance was formed with a man named +A‘yû[n]´inĭ or “Swimmer,” who proved to be so intelligent that I +spent several days with him, procuring information in regard to myths +and old customs. He told a number of stories in very good style, and +finally related the Origin of the Bear[1]. The bears were formerly a +part of the Cherokee tribe who decided to leave their kindred and go +into the forest. Their friends followed them and endeavored to induce +them to return, but the Ani-Tsâ´kahĭ, as they were called, were +determined to go. Just before parting from their relatives at the +edge of the forest, they turned to them and said, “It is better for +you that we should go; but we will teach you songs, and some day when +you are in want of food come out to the woods and sing these songs +and we shall appear and give you meat.” Their friends, after learning +several songs from them, started back to their homes, and after +proceeding a short distance, turned around to take one last look, but +saw only a number of bears disappearing in the depths of the forest. +The songs which they learned are still sung by the hunter to attract +the bears. + +[Footnote 1: To appear later with the collection of Cherokee myths.] + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXV + +FACSIMILE OF GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. + +Formula for Didù[n]lĕckĭ. (Page 349.)] + +When Swimmer had finished the story he was asked if he knew these +songs. He replied that he did, but on being requested to sing one +he made some excuse and was silent. After some further efforts the +interpreter said it would be useless to press the matter then as there +were several other Indians present, but that to-morrow we should have +him alone with us and could then make another attempt. + +The next day Swimmer was told that if he persisted in his refusal it +would be necessary to employ some one else, as it was unfair in him to +furnish incomplete information when he was paid to tell all he knew. +He replied that he was willing to tell anything in regard to stories +and customs, but that these songs were a part of his secret knowledge +and commanded a high price from the hunters, who sometimes paid as +much as $5 for a single song, “because you can’t kill any bears or +deer unless you sing them.” + +He was told that the only object in asking about the songs was to put +them on record and preserve them, so that when he and the half dozen +old men of the tribe were dead the world might be aware how much the +Cherokees had known. This appeal to his professional pride proved +effectual, and when he was told that a great many similar songs had +been sent to Washington by medicine men of other tribes, he promptly +declared that he knew as much as any of them, and that he would give +all the information in his possession, so that others might be able to +judge for themselves who knew most. The only conditions he made were +that these secret matters should be heard by no one else but the +interpreter, and should not be discussed when other Indians were +present. + +As soon as the other shamans learned what was going on they endeavored +by various means to persuade him to stop talking, or failing in this, +to damage his reputation by throwing out hints as to his honesty or +accuracy of statement. Among other objections which they advanced +was one which, however incomprehensible to a white man, was perfectly +intelligible to an Indian, viz: That when he had told everything this +information would be taken to Washington and locked up there, and thus +they would be deprived of the knowledge. This objection was one of +the most difficult to overcome, as there was no line of argument with +which to oppose it. + +These reports worried Swimmer, who was extremely sensitive in regard +to his reputation, and he became restive under the insinuations of +his rivals. Finally on coming to work one day he produced a book from +under his ragged coat as he entered the house, and said proudly: +“Look at that and now see if I don’t know something.” It was a small +day-book of about 240 pages, procured originally from a white man, and +was about half filled with writing in the Cherokee characters. A brief +examination disclosed the fact that it contained just those matters +that had proved so difficult to procure. Here were prayers, songs, +and prescriptions for the cure of all kinds of diseases--for chills, +rheumatism, frostbites, wounds, bad dreams, and witchery; love charms, +to gain the affections of a woman or to cause her to hate a detested +rival; fishing charms, hunting charms--including the songs without +which none could ever hope to kill any game; prayers to make the corn +grow, to frighten away storms, and to drive off witches; prayers for +long life, for safety among strangers, for acquiring influence in +council and success in the ball play. There were prayers to the Long +Man, the Ancient White, the Great Whirlwind, the Yellow Rattlesnake, +and to a hundred other gods of the Cherokee pantheon. It was in fact +an Indian ritual and pharmacopoeia. + +After recovering in a measure from the astonishment produced by this +discovery I inquired whether other shamans had such books. “Yes,” +said Swimmer, “we all have them.” Here then was a clew to follow up. A +bargain was made by which he was to have another blank book into which +to copy the formulas, after which the original was bought. It is now +deposited in the library of the Bureau of Ethnology. The remainder of +the time until the return was occupied in getting an understanding of +the contents of the book. + + +THE GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT. + +Further inquiry elicited the names of several others who might be +supposed to have such papers. Before leaving a visit was paid to one +of these, a young man named Wilnoti, whose father, Gatigwanasti, had +been during his lifetime a prominent shaman, regarded as a man of +superior intelligence. Wilnoti, who is a professing Christian, said +that his father had had such papers, and after some explanation from +the chief he consented to show them. He produced a box containing a +lot of miscellaneous papers, testaments, and hymnbooks, all in the +Cherokee alphabet. Among them was his father’s chief treasure, a +manuscript book containing 122 pages of foolscap size, completely +filled with formulas of the same kind as those contained in Swimmer’s +book. There were also a large number of loose sheets, making in all +nearly 200 foolscap pages of sacred formulas. + +On offering to buy the papers, he replied that he wanted to keep them +in order to learn and practice these things himself--thus showing +how thin was the veneer of Christianity, in his case at least. On +representing to him that in a few years the new conditions would +render such knowledge valueless with the younger generation, and that +even if he retained the papers he would need some one else to explain +them to him, he again refused, saying that they might fall into +the hands of Swimmer, who, he was determined, should never see his +father’s papers. Thus the negotiations came to an end for the time. + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVI + +FACSIMILE OF SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT. + +Formula for Dalàni Ù[n]nagei (Page 364.)] + +On returning to the reservation in July, 1888, another effort was made +to get possession of the Gatigwanasti manuscripts and any others of +the same kind which could be procured. By this time the Indians had +had several months to talk over the matter, and the idea had gradually +dawned upon them that instead of taking their knowledge away from them +and locking it up in a box, the intention was to preserve it to the +world and pay them for it at the same time. In addition the writer +took every opportunity to impress upon them the fact that he was +acquainted with the secret knowledge of other tribes and perhaps could +give them as much as they gave. It was now much easier to approach +them, and on again visiting Wilnoti, in company with the interpreter, +who explained the matter fully to him, he finally consented to lend +the papers for a time, with the same condition that neither Swimmer +nor anyone else but the chief and interpreter should see them, but +he still refused to sell them. However, this allowed the use of +the papers, and after repeated efforts during a period of several +weeks, the matter ended in the purchase of the papers outright, +with unreserved permission to show them for copying or explanation +to anybody who might be selected. Wilnoti was not of a mercenary +disposition, and after the first negotiations the chief difficulty was +to overcome his objection to parting with his father’s handwriting, +but it was an essential point to get the originals, and he was allowed +to copy some of the more important formulas, as he found it utterly +out of the question to copy the whole. + +These papers of Gatigwanasti are the most valuable of the whole, and +amount to fully one-half the entire collection, about fifty pages +consisting of love charms. The formulas are beautifully written +in bold Cherokee characters, and the directions and headings are +generally explicit, bearing out the universal testimony that he was a +man of unusual intelligence and ability, characteristics inherited by +his son, who, although a young man and speaking no English, is one of +the most progressive and thoroughly reliable men of the band. + + +THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. + +The next book procured was obtained from a woman named Ayâsta, “The +Spoiler,” and had been written by her husband, Gahuni, who died about +30 years ago. The matter was not difficult to arrange, as she had +already been employed on several occasions, so that she understood the +purpose of the work, besides which her son had been regularly engaged +to copy and classify the manuscripts already procured. The book +was claimed as common property by Ayâsta and her three sons, and +negotiations had to be carried on with each one, although in this +instance the cash amount involved was only half a dollar, in addition +to another book into which to copy some family records and personal +memoranda. The book contains only eight formulas, but these are of +a character altogether unique, the directions especially throwing +a curious light on Indian beliefs. There had been several other +formulas of the class called Y´û´[n]wĕhĭ, to cause hatred between +man and wife, but these had been torn out and destroyed by Ayâsta on +the advice of an old shaman, in order that her sons might never learn +them. In referring to the matter she spoke in a whisper, and it was +evident enough that she had full faith in the deadly power of these +spells. + +In addition to the formulas the book contains about twenty pages of +Scripture extracts in the same handwriting, for Gahuni, like several +others of their shamans, combined the professions of Indian conjurer +and Methodist preacher. After his death the book fell into the hands +of the younger members of the family, who filled it with miscellaneous +writings and scribblings. Among other things there are about seventy +pages of what was intended to be a Cherokee-English pronouncing +dictionary, probably written by the youngest son, already mentioned, +who has attended school, and who served for some time as copyist on +the formulas. This curious Indian production, of which only a few +columns are filled out, consists of a list of simple English words +and phrases, written in ordinary English script, followed by Cherokee +characters intended to give the approximate pronunciation, together +with the corresponding word in the Cherokee language and characters. +As the language lacks a number of sounds which are of frequent +occurrence in English, the attempts to indicate the pronunciation +sometimes give amusing results. Thus we find: _Fox_ (English +script); _kwâgisĭ´_ (Cherokee characters); _tsú‘lû´_ (Cherokee +characters). As the Cherokee language lacks the labial _f_ and has no +compound sound equivalent to our _x_, _kwâgisĭ´_ is as near as the +Cherokee speaker can come to pronouncing our word _fox_. In the same +way “bet” becomes _wĕtĭ_, and “sheep” is _síkwĭ_, while “if he has +no dog” appears in the disguise of _ikwĭ hâsĭ nâ dâ´ga_. + + +THE INÂLI MANUSCRIPT. + +In the course of further inquiries in regard to the whereabouts of +other manuscripts of this kind we heard a great deal about Inâ´lĭ, +or “Black Fox,” who had died a few years before at an advanced age, +and who was universally admitted to have been one of their most able +men and the most prominent literary character among them, for from +what has been said it must be sufficiently evident that the Cherokees +have their native literature and literary men. Like those already +mentioned, he was a full-blood Cherokee, speaking no English, and in +the course of a long lifetime he had filled almost every position of +honor among his people, including those of councilor, keeper of the +townhouse records, Sunday-school leader, conjurer, officer in the +Confederate service, and Methodist preacher, at last dying, as he was +born, in the ancient faith of his forefathers. + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVII + +FACSIMILE OF GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT. + +Yugwilû´ formula. (Page 375.)] + +On inquiring of his daughter she stated that her father had left a +great many papers, most of which were still in her possession, and +on receiving from the interpreter an explanation of our purpose she +readily gave permission to examine and make selections from them on +condition that the matter should be kept secret from outsiders. A day +was appointed for visiting her, and on arriving we found her living in +a comfortable log house, built by Inâlĭ himself, with her children +and an ancient female relative, a decrepit old woman with snow-white +hair and vacant countenance. This was the oldest woman of the tribe, +and though now so feeble and childish, she had been a veritable savage +in her young days, having carried a scalp in the scalp dance in the +Creek war 75 years before. + +Having placed chairs for us in the shade Inâlĭ’s daughter brought +out a small box filled with papers of various kinds, both Cherokee and +English. The work of examining these was a tedious business, as each +paper had to be opened out and enough of it read to get the general +drift of the contents, after which the several classes were arranged +in separate piles. While in the midst of this work she brought out +another box nearly as large as a small trunk, and on setting it down +there was revealed to the astonished gaze such a mass of material as +it had not seemed possible could exist in the entire tribe. + +In addition to papers of the sort already mentioned there were a +number of letters in English from various officials and religious +organizations, and addressed to “Enola,” to “Rev. Black Fox,” and to +“Black Fox, Esq,” with a large number of war letters written to him +by Cherokees who had enlisted in the Confederate service. These latter +are all written in the Cherokee characters, in the usual gossipy style +common among friends, and several of them contain important historic +material in regard to the movements of the two armies in East +Tennessee. Among other things was found his certificate as a Methodist +preacher, dated in 1848. “Know all men by these presents that Black +Fox (Cherokee) is hereby authorized to exercise his Gifts and Graces +as a local preacher in M.E. Church South.”. + +There was found a manuscript book in Inâlĭ’s handwriting containing +the records of the old council of Wolftown, of which he had been +secretary for several years down to the beginning of the war. This +also contains some valuable materials. + +There were also a number of miscellaneous books, papers, and pictures, +together with various trinkets and a number of conjuring stones. + +In fact the box was a regular curiosity shop, and it was with a +feeling akin, to despair that we viewed the piles of manuscript which +had to be waded through and classified. There was a day’s hard work +ahead, and it was already past noon; but the woman was not done yet, +and after rummaging about inside the house for a while longer she +appeared with another armful of papers, which she emptied on top of +the others. This was the last straw; and finding it impossible to +examine in detail such a mass of material we contented ourselves +with picking out the sacred formulas and the two manuscript books +containing the town-house records and scriptural quotations and +departed. + +The daughter of Black Fox agreed to fetch down the other papers in +a few days for further examination at our leisure; and she kept her +promise, bringing with her at the same time a number of additional +formulas which she had not been able to obtain before. A large number +of letters and other papers were selected from the miscellaneous lot, +and these, with the others obtained from her, are now deposited also +with the Bureau of Ethnology. Among other things found at this house +were several beads of the old shell wampum, of whose use the Cherokees +have now lost even the recollection. She knew only that they were +very old and different from the common beads, but she prized them as +talismans, and firmly refused to part with them. + + +OTHER MANUSCRIPTS. + +Subsequently a few formulas were obtained from an old shaman named +Tsiskwa or “Bird,” but they were so carelessly written as to be almost +worthless, and the old man who wrote them, being then on his dying +bed, was unable to give much help in the matter. However, as he was +anxious to tell what he knew an attempt was made to take down some +formulas from his dictation. A few more were obtained in this way but +the results were not satisfactory and the experiment was abandoned. +About the same time A‘wani´ta or “Young Deer,” one of their best herb +doctors, was engaged to collect the various plants used in medicine +and describe their uses. While thus employed he wrote in a book +furnished him for the purpose a number of formulas used by him in his +practice, giving at the same time a verbal explanation of the theory +and ceremonies. Among these was one for protection in battle, which +had been used by himself and a number of other Cherokees in the +late war. Another doctor named Takwati´hĭ or “Catawba Killer,” was +afterward employed on the same work and furnished some additional +formulas which he had had his son write down from his dictation, +he himself being unable to write. His knowledge was limited to the +practice of a few specialties, but in regard to these his information +was detailed and accurate. There was one for bleeding with the +cupping horn. All these formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, A´wanita, and +Takwtihi are now in possession of the Bureau. + + +THE KANÂHETA ANI-TSALAGI ETI. + +Among the papers thus obtained was a large number which for various +reasons it was found difficult to handle or file for preservation. +Many of them had been written so long ago that the ink had almost +faded from the paper; others were written with lead pencil, so that in +handling them the characters soon became blurred and almost illegible; +a great many were written on scraps of paper of all shapes and sizes; +and others again were full of omissions and doublets, due to the +carelessness of the writer, while many consisted simply of the prayer, +with nothing in the nature of a heading or prescription to show its +purpose. + +Under the circumstances it was deemed expedient to have a number of +these formulas copied in more enduring form. For this purpose it +was decided to engage the services of Ayâsta’s youngest son, an +intelligent young man about nineteen years of age, who had attended +school long enough to obtain a fair acquaintance with English in +addition to his intimate knowledge of Cherokee. He was also gifted +with a ready comprehension, and from his mother and uncle Tsiskwa had +acquired some familiarity with many of the archaic expressions used in +the sacred formulas. He was commonly known as “Will West,” but signed +himself W.W. Long, Long being the translation of his father’s name, +Gûnahi´ta. After being instructed as to how the work should be done +with reference to paragraphing, heading, etc., he was furnished a +blank book of two hundred pages into which to copy such formulas as it +seemed desirable to duplicate. He readily grasped the idea and in the +course of about a month, working always under the writer’s personal +supervision, succeeded in completely filling the book according to +the plan outlined. In addition to the duplicate formulas he wrote +down a number of dance and drinking songs, obtained originally from +A‘yû[n]´inĭ, with about thirty miscellaneous formulas obtained from +various sources. The book thus prepared is modeled on the plan of +an ordinary book, with headings, table of contents, and even with an +illuminated title page devised by the aid of the interpreter according +to the regular Cherokee idiomatic form, and is altogether a unique +specimen of Indian literary art. It contains in all two hundred and +fifty-eight formulas and songs, which of course are native aboriginal +productions, although the mechanical arrangement was performed under +the direction of a white man. This book also, under its Cherokee +title, _Kanâhe´ta Ani-Tsa´lagĭ E´tĭ_ or “Ancient Cherokee +Formulas,” is now in the library of the Bureau. + +There is still a considerable quantity of such manuscript in the hands +of one or two shamans with whom there was no chance for negotiating, +but an effort will be made to obtain possession of these on some +future visit, should opportunity present. Those now in the Bureau +library comprised by far the greater portion of the whole quantity +held by the Indians, and as only a small portion of this was copied by +the owners it can not be duplicated by any future collector. + + +CHARACTER OF THE FORMULAS--THE CHEROKEE RELIGION. + +It is impossible to overestimate the ethnologic importance of the +materials thus obtained. They are invaluable as the genuine production +of the Indian mind, setting forth in the clearest light the state of +the aboriginal religion before its contamination by contact with the +whites. To the psychologist and the student of myths they are equally +precious. In regard to their linguistic value we may quote the +language of Brinton, speaking of the sacred books of the Mayas, +already referred to: + + Another value they have,... and it is one which will be + properly appreciated by any student of languages. They are, + by common consent of all competent authorities, the genuine + productions of native minds, cast in the idiomatic forms of + the native tongue by those born to its use. No matter how + fluent a foreigner becomes in a language not his own, he can + never use it as does one who has been familiar with it from + childhood. This general maxim is tenfold true when we apply + it to a European learning an American language. The flow of + thought, as exhibited in these two linguistic families, is + in such different directions that no amount of practice can + render one equally accurate in both. Hence the importance of + studying a tongue as it is employed by natives; and hence the + very high estimate I place on these “Books of Chilan Balam” as + linguistic material--an estimate much increased by the great + rarity of independent compositions in their own tongues by + members of the native races of this continent.[2] + +[Footnote 2: Brinton, D.G.: The books of Chilan Balam 10, +Philadelphia, n.d., (1882).] + +The same author, in speaking of the internal evidences of authenticity +contained in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Kichés, uses the +following words, which apply equally well to these Cherokee formulas: + + To one familiar with native American myths, this one bears + undeniable marks of its aboriginal origin. Its frequent + puerilities and inanities, its generally low and coarse range + of thought and expression, its occasional loftiness of both, + its strange metaphors and the prominence of strictly heathen + names and potencies, bring it into unmistakable relationship + to the true native myth.[3] + +[Footnote 3: Brinton, D.G.: Names of the Gods in the Kiché Myths, in +Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., Philadelphia, 1881, vol. 19, p. 613.] + +These formulas furnish a complete refutation of the assertion so +frequently made by ignorant and prejudiced writers that the Indian had +no religion excepting what they are pleased to call the meaning less +mummeries of the medicine man. This is the very reverse of the truth. +The Indian is essentially religious and contemplative, and it might +almost be said that every act of his life is regulated and determined +by his religious belief. It matters not that some may call this +superstition. The difference is only relative. The religion of +to-day has developed from the cruder superstitions of yesterday, and +Christianity itself is but an outgrowth and enlargement of the beliefs +and ceremonies which have been preserved by the Indian in their more +ancient form. When we are willing to admit that the Indian has a +religion which he holds sacred, even though it be different from +our own, we can then admire the consistency of the theory, the +particularity of the ceremonial and the beauty of the expression. +So far from being a jumble of crudities, there is a wonderful +completeness about the whole system which is not surpassed even by the +ceremonial religions of the East. It is evident from a study of these +formulas that the Cherokee Indian was a polytheist and that the spirit +world was to him only a shadowy counterpart of this. All his prayers +were for temporal and tangible blessings--for health, for long life, +for success in the chase, in fishing, in war and in love, for good +crops, for protection and for revenge. He had no Great Spirit, no +happy hunting ground, no heaven, no hell, and consequently death had +for him no terrors and he awaited the inevitable end with no anxiety +as to the future. He was careful not to violate the rights of his +tribesman or to do injury to his feelings, but there is nothing to +show that he had any idea whatever of what is called morality in the +abstract. + +As the medical formulas are first in number and importance it may be +well, for the better understanding of the theory involved, to give the +Cherokee account of + + +THE ORIGIN OF DISEASE AND MEDICINE. + +In the old days quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and insects could all talk, +and they and the human race lived together in peace and friendship. +But as time went on the people increased so rapidly that their +settlements spread over the whole earth and the poor animals found +themselves beginning to be cramped for room. This was bad enough, +but to add to their misfortunes man invented bows, knives, blowguns, +spears, and hooks, and began to slaughter the larger animals, birds +and fishes for the sake of their flesh or their skins, while the +smaller creatures, such as the frogs and worms, were crushed and +trodden upon without mercy, out of pure carelessness or contempt. In +this state of affairs the animals resolved to consult upon measures +for their common safety. + +The bears were the first to meet in council in their townhouse in +Kuwa´hĭ, the “Mulberry Place,”[4] and the old White Bear chief +presided. After each in turn had made complaint against the way in +which man killed their friends, devoured their flesh and used their +skins for his own adornment, it was unanimously decided to begin war +at once against the human race. Some one asked what weapons man used +to accomplish their destruction. “Bows and arrows, of course,” cried +all the bears in chorus. “And what are they made of?” was the next +question. “The bow of wood and the string of our own entrails,” +replied one of the bears. It was then proposed that they make a bow +and some arrows and see if they could not turn man’s weapons against +himself. So one bear got a nice piece of locust wood and another +sacrificed himself for the good of the rest in order to furnish a +piece of his entrails for the string. But when everything was ready +and the first bear stepped up to make the trial it was found that +in letting the arrow fly after drawing back the bow, his long claws +caught the string and spoiled the shot. This was annoying, but another +suggested that he could overcome the difficulty by cutting his claws, +which was accordingly done, and on a second trial it was found that +the arrow went straight to the mark. But here the chief, the old White +Bear, interposed and said that it was necessary that they should have +long claws in order to be able to climb trees. “One of us has already +died to furnish the bowstring, and if we now cut off our claws we +shall all have to starve together. It is better to trust to the teeth +and claws which nature has given us, for it is evident that man’s +weapons were not intended for us.” + +[Footnote 4: One of the High peaks of the Smoky Mountains, on the +Tennessee line, near Clingman’s Dome.] + +No one could suggest any better plan, so the old chief dismissed the +council and the bears dispersed to their forest haunts without having +concerted any means for preventing the increase of the human race. Had +the result of the council been otherwise, we should now be at war with +the bears, but as it is the hunter does not even ask the bear’s pardon +when he kills one. + +The deer next held a council under their chief, the Little Deer, and +after some deliberation resolved to inflict rheumatism upon every +hunter who should kill one of their number, unless he took care to ask +their pardon for the offense. They sent notice of their decision to +the nearest settlement of Indians and told them at the same time how +to make propitiation when necessity forced them to kill one of the +deer tribe. Now, whenever the hunter brings down a deer, the Little +Deer, who is swift as the wind and can not be wounded, runs quickly up +to the spot and bending over the blood stains asks the spirit of the +deer if it has heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon. If the reply +be “Yes” all is well and the Little Deer goes on his way, but if the +reply be in the negative he follows on the trail of the hunter, guided +by the drops of blood on the ground, until he arrives at the cabin in +the settlement, when the Little Deer enters invisibly and strikes +the neglectful hunter with rheumatism, so that he is rendered on the +instant a helpless cripple. No hunter who has regard for his health +ever fails to ask pardon of the deer for killing it, although some +who have not learned the proper formula may attempt to turn aside the +Little Deer from his pursuit by building a fire behind them in the +trail. + +Next came the fishes and reptiles, who had their own grievances +against humanity. They held a joint council and determined to make +their victims dream of snakes twining about them in slimy folds and +blowing their fetid breath in their faces, or to make them dream of +eating raw or decaying fish, so that they would lose appetite, sicken, +and die. Thus it is that snake and fish dreams are accounted for. + +Finally the birds, insects, and smaller animals came together for a +like purpose, and the Grubworm presided over the deliberations. It was +decided that each in turn should express an opinion and then vote on +the question as to whether or not man should be deemed guilty. +Seven votes were to be sufficient to condemn him. One after another +denounced man’s cruelty and injustice toward the other animals and +voted in favor of his death. The Frog (walâ´sĭ) spoke first and +said: “We must do something to check the increase of the race or +people will become so numerous that we shall be crowded from off the +earth. See how man has kicked me about because I’m ugly, as he says, +until my back is covered with sores;” and here he showed the spots +on his skin. Next came the Bird (tsi´skwa; no particular species is +indicated), who condemned man because “he burns my feet off,” alluding +to the way in which the hunter barbecues birds by impaling them on a +stick set over the fire, so that their feathers and tender feet are +singed and burned. Others followed in the same strain. The Ground +Squirrel alone ventured to say a word in behalf of man, who seldom +hurt him because he was so small; but this so enraged the others that +they fell upon the Ground Squirrel and tore him with their teeth and +claws, and the stripes remain on his back to this day. + +The assembly then began to devise and name various diseases, one after +another, and had not their invention finally failed them not one of +the human race would have been able to survive. The Grubworm in his +place of honor hailed each new malady with delight, until at last they +had reached the end of the list, when some one suggested that it be +arranged so that menstruation should sometimes prove fatal to woman. +On this he rose up in his place and cried: “Wata´[n] Thanks! I’m glad +some of them will die, for they are getting so thick that they tread +on me.” He fairly shook with joy at the thought, so that he fell over +backward and could not get on his feet again, but had to wriggle off +on his back, as the Grubworm has done ever since. + +When the plants, who were friendly to man, heard what had been done by +the animals, they determined to defeat their evil designs. Each tree, +shrub, and herb, down, even to the grasses and mosses, agreed to +furnish a remedy for some one of the diseases named, and each said: “I +shall appear to help man when he calls upon me in his need.” Thus did +medicine originate, and the plants, every one of which has its use if +we only knew it, furnish the antidote to counteract the evil wrought +by the revengeful animals. When the doctor is in doubt what treatment +to apply for the relief of a patient, the spirit of the plant suggests +to him the proper remedy. + + +THEORY OF DISEASE--ANIMALS, GHOSTS, WITCHES. + +Such is the belief upon which their medical practice is based, and +whatever we may think of the theory it must be admitted that the +practice is consistent in all its details with the views set forth +in the myth. Like most primitive people the Cherokees believe that +disease and death are not natural, but are due to the evil influence +of animal spirits, ghosts, or witches. Haywood, writing in 1823, +states on the authority of two intelligent residents of the Cherokee +nation: + + In ancient times the Cherokees had no conception of anyone + dying a natural death. They universally ascribed the death of + those who perished by disease to the intervention or agency of + evil spirits and witches and conjurers who had connection with + the Shina (Anisgi´na) or evil spirits.... A person dying by + disease and charging his death to have been procured by means + of witchcraft or spirits, by any other person, consigns that + person to inevitable death. They profess to believe that their + conjurations have no effect upon white men.[5] + +[Footnote 5: Haywood, John: Natural and Aboriginal History of East +Tennessee, 267-8, Nashville, 1823.] + +On the authority of one of the same informants, he also mentions +the veneration which “their physicians have for the numbers four and +seven, who say that after man was placed upon the earth four and seven +nights were instituted for the cure of diseases in the human body and +the seventh night as the limit for female impurity.”[6] + +[Footnote 6: Ibid., p. 281.] + +Viewed from a scientific standpoint, their theory and diagnosis +are entirely wrong, and consequently we can hardly expect their +therapeutic system to be correct. As the learned Doctor Berendt +states, after an exhaustive study of the medical books of the Mayas, +the scientific value of their remedies is “next to nothing.” It must +be admitted that many of the plants used in their medical practice +possess real curative properties, but it is equally true that many +others held in as high estimation are inert. It seems probable that in +the beginning the various herbs and other plants were regarded as so +many fetiches and were selected from some fancied connection with the +disease animal, according to the idea known to modern folklorists as +the doctrine of signatures. Thus at the present day the doctor puts +into the decoction intended as a vermifuge some of the red fleshy +stalks of the common purslane or chickweed (Portulaca oleracea), +because these stalks somewhat resemble worms and consequently must +have some occult influence over worms. Here the chickweed is a fetich +precisely as is the flint arrow head which is put into the same +decoction, in order that in the same mysterious manner its sharp +cutting qualities may be communicated to the liquid and enable it +to cut the worms into pieces. In like manner, biliousness is called +by the Cherokees dalâ´nĭ or “yellow,” because the most apparent +symptom of the disease is the vomiting by the patient of the yellow +bile, and hence the doctor selects for the decoction four different +herbs, each of which is also called dalânĭ, because of the color of +the root, stalk, or flower. The same idea is carried out in the tabu +which generally accompanies the treatment. Thus a scrofulous patient +must abstain from eating the meat of a turkey, because the fleshy +dewlap which depends from its throat somewhat resembles an inflamed +scrofulous eruption. On killing a deer the hunter always makes an +incision in the hind quarter and removes the hamstring, because this +tendon, when severed, draws up into the flesh; ergo, any one who +should unfortunately partake of the hamstring would find his limbs +draw up in the same manner. + +There can be no doubt that in course of time a haphazard use of +plants would naturally lead to the discovery that certain herbs are +efficacious in certain combinations of symptoms. These plants would +thus come into more frequent use and finally would obtain general +recognition in the Indian materia medica. By such a process of +evolution an empiric system of medicine has grown up among the +Cherokees, by which they are able to treat some classes of ailments +with some degree of success, although without any intelligent idea +of the process involved. It must be remembered that our own medical +system has its remote origin in the same mythic conception of disease, +and that within two hundred years judicial courts have condemned +women to be burned to death for producing sickness by spells and +incantations, while even at the present day our faith-cure professors +reap their richest harvest among people commonly supposed to belong +to the intelligent classes. In the treatment of wounds the Cherokee +doctors exhibit a considerable degree of skill, but as far as any +internal ailment is concerned the average farmer’s wife is worth all +the doctors in the whole tribe. + +The faith of the patient has much to do with his recovery, for the +Indian has the same implicit confidence in the shaman that a child has +in a more intelligent physician. The ceremonies and prayers are well +calculated to inspire this feeling, and the effect thus produced +upon the mind of the sick man undoubtedly reacts favorably upon his +physical organization. + +The following list of twenty plants used in Cherokee practice will +give a better idea of the extent of their medical knowledge than +could be conveyed by a lengthy dissertation. The names are given +in the order in which they occur in the botanic notebook filled on +the reservation, excluding names of food plants and species not +identified, so that no attempt has been made to select in accordance +with a preconceived theory. Following the name of each plant are +given its uses as described by the Indian doctors, together with its +properties as set forth in the United States Dispensatory, one of the +leading pharmacopoeias in use in this country.[7] For the benefit +of those not versed in medical phraseology it may be stated that +aperient, cathartic, and deobstruent are terms applied to medicines +intended to open or purge the bowels, a diuretic has the property of +exciting the flow of urine, a diaphoretic excites perspiration, and +a demulcent protects or soothes irritated tissues, while hæmoptysis +denotes a peculiar variety of blood-spitting and aphthous is an +adjective applied to ulcerations in the mouth. + +[Footnote 7: Wood, T.B., and Bache, F.: Dispensatory of the United +States of America, 14th ed., Philadelphia, 1877.] + + +SELECTED LIST OF PLANTS USED. + +1. UNASTE´TSTIYÛ=“very small root”--Aristolochia +serpentaria--Virginia or black snakeroot: Decoction of root blown upon +patient for fever and feverish headache, and drunk for coughs; root +chewed and spit upon wound to cure snake bites; bruised root placed +in hollow tooth for toothache, and held against nose made sore by +constant blowing in colds. Dispensatory: “A stimulant tonic, acting +also as a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its +application; * * * also been highly recommended in intermittent +fevers, and though itself generally inadequate to the cure often +proves serviceable as an adjunct to Peruvian bark or sulphate of +quinia.” Also used for typhous diseases, in dyspepsia, as a gargle +for sore throat, as a mild stimulant in typhoid fevers, and to promote +eruptions. The genus derives its scientific name from its supposed +efficacy in promoting menstrual discharge, and some species have +acquired the “reputation of antidotes for the bites of serpents.” + +2. UNISTIL´Û[n]ISTÎ[8]=“they stick on”--Cynoglossum +Morrisoni--Beggar lice: Decoction of root or top drunk for kidney +troubles; bruised root used with bear oil as an ointment for cancer; +forgetful persons drink a decoction of this plant, and probably also +of other similar bur plants, from an idea that the sticking qualities +of the burs will thus be imparted to the memory. From a similar +connection of ideas the root is also used in the preparation of love +charms. Dispensatory: Not named. C. officinale “has been used as +a demulcent and sedative in coughs, catarrh, spitting of blood, +dysentery, and diarrhea, and has been also applied externally in +burns, ulcers, scrofulous tumors and goiter.” + +[Footnote 8: The Cherokee plant names here given are generic names, +which are the names commonly used. In many cases the same name is +applied to several species and it is only when it is necessary to +distinguish between them that the Indians use what might be called +specific names. Even then the descriptive term used serves to +distinguish only the particular plants under discussion and the +introduction of another variety bearing the same generic name would +necessitate a new classification of species on a different basis, +while hardly any two individuals would classify the species by the +same characteristics.] + +3. Û[n]NAGÉI=“black”--Cassia Marilandica--Wild senna: Root bruised +and moistened with water for poulticing sores; decoction drunk for +fever and for a disease also called û[n]nage´i, or “black” (same +name as plant), in which the hands and eye sockets are said to turn +black; also for a disease described as similar to û[n]nagei, but more +dangerous, in which the eye sockets become black, while black spots +appear on the arms, legs, and over the ribs on one side of the body, +accompanied by partial paralysis, and resulting in death should the +black spots appear also on the other side. Dispensatory: Described as +“an efficient and safe cathartic, * * * most conveniently given in the +form of infusion.” + +4. KÂSD´ÚTA=“simulating ashes,” so called on account of the +appearance of the leaves--Gnaphalium decurrens--Life everlasting: +Decoction drunk for colds; also used in the sweat bath for various +diseases and considered one of their most valuable medical plants. +Dispensatory: Not named. Decoctions of two other species of this genus +are mentioned as used by country people for chest and bowel diseases, +and for hemorrhages, bruises, ulcers, etc., although “probably +possessing little medicinal virtue.” + +5. ALTSA´STI=“a wreath for the head”--Vicia Caroliniana--Vetch: +Decoction drunk for dyspepsia and pains in the back, and rubbed on +stomach for cramp; also rubbed on ball-players after scratching, to +render their muscles tough, and used in the same way after scratching +in the disease referred to under û[n]nagei, in which one side becomes +black in spots, with partial paralysis; also used in same manner in +decoction with Kâsduta for rheumatism; considered one of their most +valuable medicinal herbs. Dispensatory: Not named. + +6. DISTAI´YǏ=“they (the roots) are tough”--Tephrosia +Virginiana--Catgut, Turkey Pea, Goat’s Rue, or Devil’s Shoestrings: +Decoction drunk for lassitude. Women wash their hair in decoction of +its roots to prevent its breaking or falling out, because these roots +are very tough and hard to break; from the same idea ball-players +rub the decoction on their limbs after scratching, to toughen them. +Dispensatory: Described as a cathartic with roots tonic and aperient. + +7. U´GA-ATASGI´SKǏ=“the pus oozes out”--Euphorbia +hypericifolia--Milkweed: Juice rubbed on for skin eruptions, +especially on children’s heads; also used as a purgative; decoction +drunk for gonorrhoea and similar diseases in both sexes, and held in +high estimation for this purpose; juice used as an ointment for sores +and for sore nipples, and in connection with other herbs for cancer. +Dispensatory: The juice of all of the genus has the property of +“powerfully irritating the skin when applied to it,” while nearly all +are powerful emetics and cathartics. This species “has been highly +commended as a remedy in dysentery after due depletion, diarrhea, +menorrhagia, and leucorrhea.” + +8. GÛ´NǏGWALǏ´SKǏ=“It becomes discolored when +bruised”--Scutellaria lateriflora--Skullcap. The name refers to +the red juice which comes out of the stalk when bruised or chewed. +A decoction of the four varieties of Gûnigwalĭ´skĭ--S. lateriflora, +S. pilosa, Hypericum corymbosum, and Stylosanthes elatior--is drunk to +promote menstruation, and the same decoction is also drunk and used +as a wash to counteract the ill effects of eating food prepared by a +woman in the menstrual condition, or when such a woman by chance comes +into a sick room or a house under the tabu; also drunk for diarrhea +and used with other herbs in decoction for breast pains. Dispensatory: +This plant “produces no very obvious effects,” but some doctors regard +it as possessed of nervine, antispasmodic and tonic properties. None +of the other three species are named. + +9. K´GA SKÛ´[n]TAGǏ=“crow shin”--Adiantum pedatum--Maidenhair +Fern: Used either in decoction or poultice for rheumatism and chills, +generally in connection with some other fern. The doctors explain +that the fronds of the different varieties of fern are curled up +in the young plant, but unroll and straighten out as it grows, and +consequently a decoction of ferns causes the contracted muscles of +the rheumatic patient to unbend and straighten out in like manner. It +is also used in decoction for fever. Dispensatory: The leaves “have +been supposed to be useful in chronic catarrh and other pectoral +affections.” + +10. ANDA´NKALAGI´SKǏ=“it removes things from the gums”--Geranium +maculatum--Wild Alum, Cranesbill: Used in decoction with Yânû +Unihye´stĭ (Vitis cordifolia) to wash the mouths of children in +thrush; also used alone for the same purpose by blowing the chewed +fiber into the mouth. Dispensatory: “One of our best indigenous +astringents. * * * Diarrhea, chronic dysentery, cholora infantum +in the latter stages, and the various hemorrhages are the forms of +disease in which it is most commonly used.” Also valuable as “an +application to indolent ulcers, an injection in gleet and leucorrhea, +a gargle in relaxation of the uvula and aphthous ulcerations of the +throat.” The other plant sometimes used with it is not mentioned. + +11. Û´[n]LĚ UKǏ´LTǏ=“the locust frequents it”--Gillenia +trifoliata--Indian Physic. Two doctors state that it is good as a tea +for bowel complaints, with fever and yellow vomit; but another says +that it is poisonous and that no decoction is ever drunk, but that the +beaten root is a good poultice for swellings. Dispensatory: “Gillenia +is a mild and efficient emetic, and like most substances belonging to +the same class occasionally acts upon the bowels. In very small doses +it has been thought to be tonic.” + +12. SKWA´LǏ=Hepatica acutiloba--Liverwort, Heartleaf: Used for +coughs either in tea or by chewing root. Those who dream of snakes +drink a decoction of this herb and I´natû Ga´n‘ka=“snake tongue” +(Camptosorus rhizophyllus or Walking Fern) to produce vomiting, after +which the dreams do not return. The traders buy large quantities of +liverwort from the Cherokees, who may thus have learned to esteem it +more highly than they otherwise would. The appearance of the other +plant, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, has evidently determined its Cherokee +name and the use to which it is applied. Dispensatory: “Liverwort is a +very mild demulcent tonic and astringent, supposed by some to possess +diuretic and deobstruent virtues. It was formerly used in Europe +in various complaints, especially chronic hepatic affections, but +has fallen into entire neglect. In this country, some years since, +it acquired considerable reputation, which, however, it has not +maintained as a remedy in hæmoptysis and chronic coughs.” The other +plant is not named. + +13. DA´YEWÛ=“it sews itself up,” because the leaves are said to grow +together again when torn--Cacalia atriplicifolia--Tassel Flower: Held +in great repute as a poultice for cuts, bruises, and cancer, to draw +out the blood or poisonous matter. The bruised leaf is bound over the +spot and frequently removed. The dry powdered leaf was formerly used +to sprinkle over food like salt. Dispensatory: Not named. + +14. A´TALǏ KÛLǏ´=“it climbs the mountain.”--Aralia +quinquefolia--Ginseng or “Sang:” Decoction of root drunk for headache, +cramps, etc., and for female troubles; chewed root blown on spot for +pains in the side. The Cherokees sell large quantities of sang to +the traders for 50 cents per pound, nearly equivalent there to two +days’ wages, a fact which has doubtless increased their idea of its +importance. Dispensatory: “The extraordinary medical virtues formerly +ascribed to ginseng had no other existence than in the imagination of +the Chinese. It is little more than a demulcent, and in this country +is not employed as a medicine.” The Chinese name, ginseng, is said to +refer to the fancied resemblance of the root to a human figure, while +in the Cherokee formulas it is addressed as the “great man” or “little +man,” and this resemblance no doubt has much to do with the estimation +in which it is held by both peoples. + +15. Û´TSATǏ UWADSǏSKA=“fish scales,” from shape of +leaves--Thalictrum anemonoides--Meadow Rue: Decoction of root drunk +for diarrhea with vomiting. Dispensatory: Not named. + +16. K´KWĚ ULASU´LA=“partridge moccasin”--Cypripedium +parviflorum--Lady-slipper: Decoction of root used for worms in +children. In the liquid are placed some stalks of the common chickweed +or purslane (Cerastium vulgatum) which, from the appearance of its +red fleshy stalks, is supposed to have some connection with worms. +Dispensatory: Described as “a gentle nervous stimulant” useful in +diseases in which the nerves are especially affected. The other herb +is not named. + +17. A´HAWǏ´ AKĂ´TĂ´=“deer eye,” from the appearance of the +flower--Rudbeckia fulgida--Cone Flower: Decoction of root drunk for +flux and for some private diseases; also used as a wash for snake +bites and swellings caused by (mythic) tsgâya or worms; also dropped +into weak or inflamed eyes. This last is probably from the supposed +connection between the eye and the flower resembling the eye. +Dispensatory: Not named. + +18. UTǏSTUGǏ´=Polygonatum multiflorum latifolium--Solomon’s +Seal: Root heated and bruised and applied as a poultice to remove an +ulcerating swelling called tu´stĭ´, resembling a boil or carbuncle. +Dispensatory: “This species acts like P. uniflorum, which is said +to be emetic. In former times it was used externally in bruises, +especially those about the eyes, in tumors, wounds, and cutaneous +eruptions and was highly esteemed as a cosmetic. At present it is +not employed, though recommended by Hermann as a good remedy in gout +and rheumatism.” This species in decoction has been found to produce +“nausea, a cathartic effect and either diaphoresis or diuresis,” and +is useful “as an internal remedy in piles, and externally in the +form of decoction, in the affection of the skin resulting from the +poisonous exhalations of certain plants.” + +19. ĂMĂDITA‘TÌ=“water dipper,” because water can be sucked up +through its hollow stalk--Eupatorium purpureum--Queen of the +Meadow, Gravel Root: Root used in decoction with a somewhat similar +plant called Ămăditá´tĭ û´tanu, or “large water dipper” (not +identified) for difficult urination. Dispensatory: “Said to operate +as a diuretic. Its vulgar name of gravel root indicates the popular +estimation of its virtues.” The genus is described as tonic, +diaphoretic, and in large doses emetic and aperient. + +20. YÂNA UTSĚSTA=“the bear lies on it”--Aspidium +acrostichoides--Shield Fern: Root decoction drunk to produce vomiting, +and also used to rub on the skin, after scratching, for rheumatism--in +both cases some other plant is added to the decoction; the +warm decoction is also held in the mouth to relieve toothache. +Dispensatory: Not named. + +The results obtained from a careful study of this list may be +summarized as follows: Of the twenty plants described as used by the +Cherokees, seven (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 17, and 20) are not noticed +in the Dispensatory even in the list of plants sometimes used although +regarded as not officinal. It is possible that one or two of these +seven plants have medical properties, but this can hardly be true of +a larger number unless we are disposed to believe that the Indians are +better informed in this regard than the best educated white physicians +in the country. Two of these seven plants, however (Nos. 2 and 4), +belong to genera which seem to have some of the properties ascribed +by the Indians to the species. Five others of the list (Nos. 8, 9, +11, 14, and 16) are used for entirely wrong purposes, taking the +Dispensatory as authority, and three of these are evidently used on +account of some fancied connection between the plant and the disease, +according to the doctrine of signatures. Three of the remainder (Nos. +1, 3, and 6) may be classed as uncertain in their properties, that is, +while the plants themselves seem to possess some medical value, the +Indian mode of application is so far at variance with recognized +methods, or their own statements are so vague and conflicting, that +it is doubtful whether any good can result from the use of the herbs. +Thus the Unaste´tstiyû, or Virginia Snakeroot, is stated by the +Dispensatory to have several uses, and among other things is said to +have been highly recommended in intermittent fevers, although alone +it is “generally inadequate to the cure.” Though not expressly stated, +the natural inference is that it must be applied internally, but the +Cherokee doctor, while he also uses it for fever, takes the decoction +in his mouth and blows it over the head and shoulders of the patient. +Another of these, the Distai´yĭ, or Turkey Pea, is described in the +Dispensatory as having roots tonic and aperient. The Cherokees drink +a decoction of the roots for a feeling of weakness and languor, from +which it might be supposed that they understood the tonic properties +of the plant had not the same decoction been used by the women as a +hair wash, and by the ball players to bathe their limbs, under the +impression that the toughness of the roots would thus be communicated +to the hair or muscles. From this fact and from the name of the plant, +which means at once hard, tough, or strong, it is quite probable that +its roots are believed to give strength to the patient solely because +they themselves are so strong and not because they have been proved +to be really efficacious. The remaining five plants have generally +pronounced medicinal qualities, and are used by the Cherokees for +the very purposes for which, according to the Dispensatory, they are +best adapted; so that we must admit that so much of their practice +is correct, however false the reasoning by which they have arrived at +this result. + + +MEDICAL PRACTICE. + +Taking the Dispensatory as the standard, and assuming that this list +is a fair epitome of what the Cherokees know concerning the medical +properties of plants, we find that five plants, or 25 per cent of +the whole number, are correctly used; twelve, or 60 per cent, are +presumably either worthless or incorrectly used, and three plants, or +15 per cent, are so used that it is difficult to say whether they are +of any benefit or not. Granting that two of these three produce good +results as used by the Indians, we should have 35 per cent, or about +one-third of the whole, as the proportion actually possessing medical +virtues, while the remaining two-thirds are inert, if not positively +injurious. It is not probable that a larger number of examples would +change the proportion to any appreciable extent. A number of herbs +used in connection with these principal plants may probably be set +down as worthless, inasmuch as they are not named in the Dispensatory. + +The results here arrived at will doubtless be a surprise to those +persons who hold that an Indian must necessarily be a good doctor, +and that the medicine man or conjurer, with his theories of ghosts, +witches, and revengeful animals, knows more about the properties +of plants and the cure of disease than does the trained botanist +or physician who has devoted a lifetime of study to the patient +investigation of his specialty, with all the accumulated information +contained in the works of his predecessors to build upon, and with +all the light thrown upon his pathway by the discoveries of modern +science. It is absurd to suppose that the savage, a child in +intellect, has reached a higher development in any branch of science +than has been attained by the civilized man, the product of long ages +of intellectual growth. It would be as unreasonable to suppose that +the Indian could be entirely ignorant of the medicinal properties +of plants, living as he did in the open air in close communion with +nature; but neither in accuracy nor extent can his knowledge be +compared for a moment with that of the trained student working upon +scientific principles. + +Cherokee medicine is an empiric development of the fetich idea. For +a disease caused by the rabbit the antidote must be a plant called +“rabbit’s food,” “rabbit’s ear,” or “rabbit’s tail;” for snake dreams +the plant used is “snake’s tooth;” for worms a plant resembling a worm +in appearance, and for inflamed eyes a flower having the appearance +and name of “deer’s eye.” A yellow root must be good when the patient +vomits yellow bile, and a black one when dark circles come about his +eyes, and in each case the disease and the plant alike are named from +the color. A decoction of burs must be a cure for forgetfulness, for +there is nothing else that will stick like a bur; and a decoction of +the wiry roots of the “devil’s shoestrings” must be an efficacious +wash to toughen the ballplayer’s muscles, for they are almost strong +enough to stop the plowshare in the furrow. It must be evident that +under such a system the failures must far outnumber the cures, yet it +is not so long since half our own medical practice was based upon the +same idea of correspondences, for the mediæval physicians taught that +_similia similibus curantur_, and have we not all heard that “the hair +of the dog will cure the bite?” + +Their ignorance of the true medical principles involved is shown by +the regulations prescribed for the patient. With the exception of the +fasting, no sanitary precautions are taken to aid in the recovery of +the sick man or to contribute to his comfort. Even the fasting is as +much religious as sanative, for in most cases where it is prescribed +the doctor also must abstain from food until sunset, just as in the +Catholic church both priest and communicants remain fasting from +midnight until after the celebration of the divine mysteries. As the +Indian cuisine is extremely limited, no delicate or appetizing dishes +are prepared for the patient, who partakes of the same heavy, sodden +cornmeal dumplings and bean bread which form his principal food in +health. In most cases certain kinds of food are prohibited, such as +squirrel meat, fish, turkey, etc.; but the reason is not that such +food is considered deleterious to health, as we understand it, but +because of some fanciful connection with the disease spirit. Thus if +squirrels have caused the illness the patient must not eat squirrel +meat. If the disease be rheumatism, he must not eat the leg of any +animal, because the limbs are generally the seat of this malady. Lye, +salt, and hot food are always forbidden when there is any prohibition +at all; but here again, in nine cases out of ten, the regulation, +instead of being beneficial, serves only to add to his discomfort. +Lye enters into almost all the food preparations of the Cherokees, the +alkaline potash taking the place of salt, which is seldom used among +them, having been introduced by the whites. Their bean and chestnut +bread, cornmeal dumplings, hominy, and gruel are all boiled in a pot, +all contain lye, and are all, excepting the last, served up hot from +the fire. When cold their bread is about as hard and tasteless as a +lump of yesterday’s dough, and to condemn a sick man to a diet of such +dyspeptic food, eaten cold without even a pinch of salt to give it a +relish, would seem to be sufficient to kill him without any further +aid from the doctor. The salt or lye so strictly prohibited is really +a tonic and appetizer, and in many diseases acts with curative effect. +So much for the health regimen. + +In serious cases the patient is secluded and no strangers are allowed +to enter the house. On first thought this would appear to be a genuine +sanitary precaution for the purpose of securing rest and quiet to the +sick man. Such, however, is not the case. The necessity for quiet has +probably never occurred to the Cherokee doctor, and this regulation is +intended simply to prevent any direct or indirect contact with a woman +in a pregnant or menstrual condition. Among all primitive nations, +including the ancient Hebrews, we find an elaborate code of rules +in regard to the conduct and treatment of women on arriving at the +age of puberty, during pregnancy and the menstrual periods, and at +childbirth. Among the Cherokees the presence of a woman under any of +these conditions, or even the presence of any one who has come from +a house where such a woman resides, is considered to neutralize all +the effects of the doctor’s treatment. For this reason all women, +excepting those of the household, are excluded. A man is forbidden to +enter, because he may have had intercourse with a tabued woman, or may +have come in contact with her in some other way; and children also +are shut out, because they may have come from a cabin where dwells a +woman subject to exclusion. What is supposed to be the effect of the +presence of a menstrual woman in the family of the patient is not +clear; but judging from analogous customs in other tribes and from +rules still enforced among the Cherokees, notwithstanding their long +contact with the whites, it seems probable that in former times the +patient was removed to a smaller house or temporary bark lodge built +for his accommodation whenever the tabu as to women was prescribed +by the doctor. Some of the old men assert that in former times sick +persons were removed to the public townhouse, where they remained +under the care of the doctors until they either recovered or died. +A curious instance of this prohibition is given in the second +Didû[n]lĕ´skĭ (rheumatism) formula from the Gahuni manuscript (see +page 350), where the patient is required to abstain from touching a +squirrel, a dog, a cat, a mountain trout, or a woman, and must also +have a chair appropriated to his use alone during the four days that +he is under treatment. + +In cases of the children’s disease known as Gû[n]wani´gista´ĭ (see +formulas) it is forbidden to carry the child outdoors, but this is not +to procure rest for the little one, or to guard against exposure to +cold air, but because the birds send this disease, and should a bird +chance to be flying by overhead at the moment the napping of its wings +would _fan the disease back_ into the body of the patient. + + +ILLUSTRATION OF THE TABU. + +On a second visit to the reservation the writer once had a practical +illustration of the gaktû´[n]ta or tabu, which may be of interest as +showing how little sanitary ideas have to do with these precautions. +Having received several urgent invitations from Tsiskwa (Bird), an old +shaman of considerable repute, who was anxious to talk, but confined +to his bed by sickness, it was determined to visit him at his house, +several miles distant. On arriving we found another doctor named +Sû´[n]kĭ (The Mink) in charge of the patient and were told that he +had just that morning begun a four days’ gaktû´[n]ta which, among +other provisions, excluded all visitors. It was of no use to argue +that we had come by the express request of Tsiskwa. The laws of the +gaktû´[n]ta were as immutable as those of the Medes and Persians, +and neither doctor nor patient could hope for favorable results from +the treatment unless the regulations were enforced to the letter. +But although we might not enter the house, there was no reason why we +should not talk to the old man, so seats were placed for us outside +the door, while Tsiskwa lay stretched out on the bed just inside and +The Mink perched himself on the fence a few yards distant to keep an +eye on the proceedings. As there was a possibility that a white man +might unconsciously affect the operation of the Indian medicine, +the writer deemed it advisable to keep out of sight altogether, and +accordingly took up a position just around the corner of the house, +but within easy hearing distance, while the interpreter sat facing +the doorway within a few feet of the sick man inside. Then began an +animated conversation, Tsiskwa inquiring, through the interpreter, +as to the purpose of the Government in gathering such information, +wanting to know how we had succeeded with other shamans and asking +various questions in regard to other tribes and their customs. The +replies were given in the same manner, an attempt being also made +to draw him out as to the extent of his own knowledge. Thus we +talked until the old man grew weary, but throughout the whole of +this singular interview neither party saw the other, nor was the +gaktû´[n]ta violated by entering the house. From this example it +must be sufficiently evident that the tabu as to visitors is not a +hygienic precaution for securing greater quiet to the patient, or to +prevent the spread of contagion, but that it is simply a religious +observance of the tribe, exactly parallel to many of the regulations +among the ancient Jews, as laid down in the book of Leviticus. + + +NEGLECT OF SANITARY REGULATIONS. + +No rules are ever formulated as to fresh air or exercise, for the +sufficient reason that the door of the Cherokee log cabin is always +open, excepting at night and on the coldest days in winter, while +the Indian is seldom in the house during his waking hours unless when +necessity compels him. As most of their cabins are still built in the +old Indian style, without windows, the open door furnishes the only +means by which light is admitted to the interior, although when closed +the fire on the hearth helps to make amends for the deficiency. On the +other hand, no precautions are taken to guard against cold, dampness, +or sudden drafts. During the greater part of the year whole families +sleep outside upon the ground, rolled up in an old blanket. The +Cherokee is careless of exposure and utterly indifferent to the +simplest rules of hygiene. He will walk all day in a pouring rain +clad only in a thin shirt and a pair of pants. He goes barefoot and +frequently bareheaded nearly the entire year, and even on a frosty +morning in late November, when the streams are of almost icy coldness, +men and women will deliberately ford the river where the water is +waist deep in preference to going a few hundred yards to a foot-log. +At their dances in the open air men, women, and children, with bare +feet and thinly clad, dance upon the damp ground from darkness until +daylight, sometimes enveloped in a thick mountain fog which makes +even the neighboring treetops invisible, while the mothers have their +infants laid away under the bushes with only a shawl between them and +the cold ground. In their ball plays also each young man, before going +into the game, is subjected to an ordeal of dancing, bleeding, and +cold plunge baths, without food or sleep, which must unquestionably +waste his physical energy. + +In the old days when the Cherokee was the lord of the whole country +from the Savannah to the Ohio, well fed and warmly clad and leading +an active life in the open air, he was able to maintain a condition of +robust health notwithstanding the incorrectness of his medical ideas +and his general disregard of sanitary regulations. But with the advent +of the white man and the destruction of the game all this was changed. +The East Cherokee of to-day is a dejected being; poorly fed, and worse +clothed, rarely tasting meat, cut off from the old free life, and +with no incentive to a better, and constantly bowed down by a sense of +helpless degradation in the presence of his conqueror. Considering all +the circumstances, it may seem a matter of surprise that any of them +are still in existence. As a matter of fact, the best information that +could be obtained in the absence of any official statistics indicated +a slow but steady decrease during the last five years. Only the +constitutional vigor, inherited from their warrior ancestors, has +enabled them to sustain the shock of the changed conditions of the +last half century. The uniform good health of the children in the +training school shows that the case is not hopeless, however, and that +under favorable conditions, with a proper food supply and a regular +mode of living, the Cherokee can hold his own with the white man. + + +THE SWEAT BATH--BLEEDING--RUBBING--BATHING. + +In addition to their herb treatment the Cherokees frequently resort +to sweat baths, bleeding, rubbing, and cold baths in the running +stream, to say nothing of the beads and other conjuring paraphernalia +generally used in connection with the ceremony. The sweat bath was in +common use among almost all the tribes north of Mexico excepting the +central and eastern Eskimo, and was considered the great cure-all in +sickness and invigorant in health. Among many tribes it appears to +have been regarded as a ceremonial observance, but the Cherokees seem +to have looked upon it simply as a medical application, while the +ceremonial part was confined to the use of the plunge bath. The person +wishing to make trial of the virtues of the sweat bath entered the +â´sĭ, a small earth-covered log house only high enough to allow +of sitting down. After divesting himself of his clothing, some large +bowlders, previously heated in a fire, were placed near him, and over +them was poured a decoction of the beaten roots of the wild parsnip. +The door was closed so that no air could enter from the outside, and +the patient sat in the sweltering steam until he was in a profuse +perspiration and nearly choked by the pungent fumes of the decoction. +In accordance with general Indian practice it may be that he plunged +into the river before resuming his clothing; but in modern times +this part of the operation is omitted and the patient is drenched +with cold water instead. Since the âsĭ has gone out of general use +the sweating takes place in the ordinary dwelling, the steam being +confined under a blanket wrapped around the patient. During the +prevalence of the smallpox epidemic among the Cherokees at the close +of the late war the sweat bath was universally called into requisition +to stay the progress of the disease, and as the result about three +hundred of the band died, while many of the survivors will carry +the marks of the visitation to the grave. The sweat bath, with the +accompanying cold water application, being regarded as the great +panacea, seems to have been resorted to by the Indians in all parts of +the country whenever visited by smallpox--originally introduced by the +whites--and in consequence of this mistaken treatment they have died, +in the language of an old writer, “like rotten sheep” and at times +whole tribes have been almost swept away. Many of the Cherokees tried +to ward off the disease by eating the flesh of the buzzard, which +they believe to enjoy entire immunity from sickness, owing to its foul +smell, which keeps the disease spirits at a distance. + +Bleeding is resorted to in a number of cases, especially in rheumatism +and in preparing for the ball play. There are two methods of +performing the operation, bleeding proper and scratching, the latter +being preparatory to rubbing on the medicine, which is thus brought +into more direct contact with the blood. The bleeding is performed +with a small cupping horn, to which suction is applied in the ordinary +manner, after scarification with a flint or piece of broken glass. In +the blood thus drawn out the shaman claims sometimes to find a minute +pebble, a sharpened stick or something of the kind, which he asserts +to be the cause of the trouble and to have been conveyed into the +body of the patient through the evil spells of an enemy. He frequently +pretends to suck out such an object by the application of the lips +alone, without any scarification whatever. Scratching is a painful +process and is performed with a brier, a flint arrowhead, a +rattlesnake’s tooth, or even with a piece of glass, according to the +nature of the ailment, while in preparing the young men for the ball +play the shaman uses an instrument somewhat resembling a comb, having +seven teeth made from the sharpened splinters of the leg bone of +a turkey. The scratching is usually done according to a particular +pattern, the regular method for the ball play being to draw the +scratcher four times down the upper part of each arm, thus making +twenty-eight scratches each about 6 inches in length, repeating the +operation on each arm below the elbow and on each leg above and below +the knee. Finally, the instrument is drawn across the breast from the +two shoulders so as to form a cross; another curving stroke is made +to connect the two upper ends of the cross, and the same pattern is +repeated on the back, so that the body is thus gashed in nearly three +hundred places. Although very painful for a while, as may well +be supposed, the scratches do not penetrate deep enough to result +seriously, excepting in some cases where erysipelas sets in. While +the blood is still flowing freely the medicine, which in this case +is intended to toughen, the muscles of the player, is rubbed into the +wounds after which the sufferer plunges into the stream and washes +off the blood. In order that the blood may flow the longer without +clotting it is frequently scraped off with a small switch as it flows. +In rheumatism and other local diseases the scratching is confined to +the part affected. The instrument used is selected in accordance with +the mythologic theory, excepting in the case of the piece of glass, +which is merely a modern makeshift for the flint arrowhead. + +Rubbing, used commonly for pains and swellings of the abdomen, is a +very simple operation performed with the tip of the finger or the palm +of the hand, and can not be dignified with the name of massage. In +one of the Gahuni formulas for treating snake bites (page 351) the +operator is told to rub in a direction contrary to that in which the +snake coils itself, because “this is just the same as uncoiling it.” +Blowing upon the part affected, as well as upon the head, hands, +and other parts of the body, is also an important feature of the +ceremonial performance. In one of the formulas it is specified that +the doctor must blow first upon the right hand of the patient, then +upon the left foot, then upon the left hand, and finally upon the +right foot, thus making an imaginary cross. + +Bathing in the running stream, or “going to water,” as it is called, +is one of their most frequent medico-religious ceremonies, and is +performed on a great variety of occasions, such as at each new +moon, before eating the new food at the green corn dance, before the +medicine dance and other ceremonial dances before and after the ball +play, in connection with the prayers for long life, to counteract the +effects of bad dreams or the evil spells of an enemy, and as a part of +the regular treatment in various diseases. The details of the ceremony +are very elaborate and vary according to the purpose for which it is +performed, but in all cases both shaman and client are fasting from +the previous evening, the ceremony being generally performed just at +daybreak. The bather usually dips completely under the water four or +seven times, but in some cases it is sufficient to pour the water from +the hand upon the head and breast. In the ball play the ball sticks +are dipped into the water at the same time. While the bather is in the +water the shaman is going through with his part of the performance +on the bank and draws omens from the motion of the beads between his +thumb and finger, or of the fishes in the water. Although the old +customs are fast dying out this ceremony is never neglected at the +ball play, and is also strictly observed by many families on occasion +of eating the new corn, at each new moon, and on other special +occasions, even when it is necessary to break the ice in the stream +for the purpose, and to the neglect of this rite the older people +attribute many of the evils which have come upon the tribe in later +days. The latter part of autumn is deemed the most suitable season of +the year for this ceremony, as the leaves which then cover the surface +of the stream are supposed to impart their medicinal virtues to the +water. + + +SHAMANS AND WHITE PHYSICIANS. + +Of late years, especially since the establishment of schools among +them, the Cherokees are gradually beginning to lose confidence in +the abilities of their own doctors and are becoming more disposed +to accept treatment from white physicians. The shamans are naturally +jealous of this infringement upon their authority and endeavor to +prevent the spread of the heresy by asserting the convenient doctrine +that the white man’s medicine is inevitably fatal to an Indian unless +eradicated from the system by a continuous course of treatment for +four years under the hands of a skillful shaman. The officers of the +training school established by the Government a few years ago met with +considerable difficulty on this account for some time, as the parents +insisted on removing the children at the first appearance of illness +in order that they might be treated by the shamans, until convinced by +experience that the children received better attention at the school +than could possibly be had in their own homes. In one instance, where +a woman was attacked by a pulmonary complaint akin to consumption, her +husband, a man of rather more than the usual amount of intelligence, +was persuaded to call in the services of a competent white physician, +who diagnosed the case and left a prescription. On a second visit, a +few days later, he found that the family, dreading the consequences of +this departure from old customs, had employed a shaman, who asserted +that the trouble was caused by a sharpened stick which some enemy +had caused to be imbedded in the woman’s side. He accordingly began a +series of conjurations for the removal of the stick, while the white +physician and his medicine were disregarded, and in due time the woman +died. Two children soon followed her to the grave, from the contagion +or the inherited seeds of the same disease, but here also the +sharpened sticks were held responsible, and, notwithstanding the three +deaths under such treatment, the husband and father, who was at one +time a preacher, still has faith in the assertions of the shaman. The +appointment of a competent physician to look after the health of the +Indians would go far to eradicate these false ideas and prevent +much sickness and suffering; but, as the Government has made no such +provision, the Indians, both on and off the reservation, excepting the +children in the home school, are entirely without medical care. + + +MEDICINE DANCES. + +The Cherokees have a dance known as the Medicine Dance, which is +generally performed in connection with other dances when a number of +people assemble for a night of enjoyment. It possesses no features +of special interest and differs in no essential respect from a dozen +other of the lesser dances. Besides this, however, there was another, +known as the Medicine Boiling Dance, which, for importance and solemn +ceremonial, was second only to the great Green Corn Dance. It has +now been discontinued on the reservation for about twenty years. It +took place in the fall, probably preceding the Green Corn Dance, and +continued four days. The principal ceremony in connection with it was +the drinking of a strong decoction of various herbs, which acted as +a violent emetic and purgative. The usual fasting and going to water +accompanied the dancing and medicine-drinking. + + +DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS. + +It is exceedingly difficult to obtain from the doctors any accurate +statement of the nature of a malady, owing to the fact that their +description of the symptoms is always of the vaguest character, while +in general the name given to the disease by the shaman expresses only +his opinion as to the occult cause of the trouble. Thus they have +definite names for rheumatism, toothache, boils, and a few other +ailments of like positive character, but beyond this their description +of symptoms generally resolves itself into a statement that the +patient has bad dreams, looks black around the eyes, or feels tired, +while the disease is assigned such names as “when they dream of +snakes,” “when they dream of fish,” “when ghosts trouble them,” “when +something is making something else eat them,” or “when the food is +changed,” i.e., when a witch causes it to sprout and grow in the body +of the patient or transforms it into a lizard, frog, or sharpened +stick. + + +THE PAY OF THE SHAMAN. + +The consideration which the doctor receives for his services is called +ugista´‘tĭ, a word of doubtful etymology, but probably derived from +the verb tsĭ´giû, “I take” or “I eat.” In former times this was +generally a deer-skin or a pair of moccasins, but is now a certain +quantity of cloth, a garment, or a handkerchief. The shamans disclaim +the idea that the ugistâ´‘tĭ is pay, in our sense of the word, but +assert that it is one of the agencies in the removal and banishment +of the disease spirit. Their explanation is somewhat obscure, but +the cloth seems to be intended either as an offering to the disease +spirit, as a ransom to procure the release of his intended victim, or +as a covering to protect the hand of a shaman while engaged in pulling +the disease from the body of the patient. The first theory, which +includes also the idea of vicarious atonement, is common to many +primitive peoples. Whichever may be the true explanation, the evil +influence of the disease is believed to enter into the cloth, which +must therefore be sold or given away by the doctor, as otherwise +it will cause his death when the pile thus accumulating reaches the +height of his head. No evil results seem to follow its transfer from +the shaman to a third party. The doctor can not bestow anything thus +received upon a member of his own family unless that individual gives +him something in return. If the consideration thus received, however, +be anything eatable, the doctor may partake along with the rest of the +family. As a general rule the doctor makes no charge for his services, +and the consideration is regarded as a free-will offering. This remark +applies only to the medical practice, as the shaman always demands +and receives a fixed remuneration for performing love charms, hunting +ceremonials, and other conjurations of a miscellaneous character. +Moreover, whenever the beads are used the patient must furnish a +certain quantity of new cloth upon which to place them, and at the +close of the ceremony the doctor rolls up the cloth, beads and all, +and takes them away with him. The cloth thus received by the doctor +for working with the beads must not be used by him, but must be sold. +In one instance a doctor kept a handkerchief which he received for his +services, but instead sold a better one of his own. Additional cloth +is thus given each time the ceremony is repeated, each time a second +four days’ course of treatment is begun, and as often as the doctor +sees fit to change his method of procedure. Thus, when he begins +to treat a sick man for a disease caused by rabbits, he expects to +receive a certain ugista´‘tĭ; but, should he decide after a time +that the terrapin or the red bird is responsible for the trouble, he +adopts a different course of treatment, for which another ugista´‘tĭ +is necessary. Should the sickness not yield readily to his efforts, it +is because the disease animal requires a greater ugista´‘tĭ, and the +quantity of cloth must be doubled, so that on the whole the doctrine +is a very convenient one for the shaman. In many of the formulas +explicit directions are given as to the pay which the shaman is +to receive for performing the ceremony. In one of the Gatigwanasti +formulas, after specifying the amount of cloth to be paid, the writer +of it makes the additional proviso that it must be “pretty good cloth, +too,” asserting as a clincher that “this is what the old folks said a +long time ago.” + +The ugista´‘tĭ can not be paid by either one of a married couple to +the other, and, as it is considered a necessary accompaniment of the +application, it follows that a shaman can not treat his own wife in +sickness, and vice versa. Neither can the husband or wife of the sick +person send for the doctor, but the call must come from some one +of the blood relatives of the patient. In one instance within the +writer’s knowledge a woman complained that her husband was very sick +and needed a doctor’s attention, but his relatives were taking no +steps in the matter and it was not permissible for her to do so. + + +CEREMONIES FOR GATHERING PLANTS AND PREPARING MEDICINE. + +There are a number of ceremonies and regulations observed in +connection with the gathering of the herbs, roots, and barks, which +can not be given in detail within the limits of this paper. In +searching for his medicinal plants the shaman goes provided with a +number of white and red beads, and approaches the plant from a certain +direction, going round it from right to left one or four times, +reciting certain prayers the while. He then pulls up the plant by the +roots and drops one of the beads into the hole and covers it up with +the loose earth. In one of the formulas for hunting ginseng the hunter +addresses the mountain as the “Great Man” and assures it that he comes +only to take a small piece of flesh (the ginseng) from its side, so +that it seems probable that the bead is intended as a compensation to +the earth for the plant thus torn from her bosom. In some cases the +doctor must pass by the first three plants met until he comes to the +fourth, which he takes and may then return for the others. The bark +is always taken from the east side of the tree, and when the root or +branch is used it must also be one which runs out toward the east, the +reason given being that these have imbibed more medical potency from +the rays of the sun. + +When the roots, herbs, and barks which enter into the prescription +have been thus gathered the doctor ties them up into a convenient +package, which he takes to a running stream and casts into the water +with appropriate prayers. Should the package float, as it generally +does, he accepts the fact as an omen that his treatment will be +successful. On the other hand, should it sink, he concludes that some +part of the preceding ceremony has been improperly carried out and +at once sets about procuring a new package, going over the whole +performance from the beginning. Herb-gathering by moonlight, so +important a feature in European folk medicine, seems to be no part +of Cherokee ceremonial. There are fixed regulations in regard to +the preparing of the decoction, the care of the medicine during +the continuance of the treatment, and the disposal of what remains +after the treatment is at an end. In the arrangement of details the +shaman frequently employs the services of a lay assistant. In these +degenerate days a number of upstart pretenders to the healing art have +arisen in the tribe and endeavor to impose upon the ignorance of their +fellows by posing as doctors, although knowing next to nothing of the +prayers and ceremonies, without which there can be no virtue in the +application. These impostors are sternly frowned down and regarded +with the utmost contempt by the real professors, both men and women, +who have been initiated into the sacred mysteries and proudly look +upon themselves as conservators of the ancient ritual of the past. + + +THE CHEROKEE GODS AND THEIR ABIDING PLACES. + +After what has been said in elucidation of the theories involved in +the medical formulas, the most important and numerous of the series, +but little remains to be added in regard to the others, beyond what +is contained in the explanation accompanying each one. A few points, +however, may be briefly noted. + +The religion of the Cherokees, like that of most of our North American +tribes, is zootheism or animal worship, with the survival of that +earlier stage designated by Powell as hecastotheism, or the worship +of all things tangible, and the beginnings of a higher system in +which the elements and the great powers of nature are deified. Their +pantheon includes gods in the heaven above, on the earth beneath, and +in the waters under the earth, but of these the animal gods constitute +by far the most numerous class, although the elemental gods are +more important. Among the animal gods insects and fishes occupy a +subordinate place, while quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles are invoked +almost constantly. The uktena (a mythic great horned serpent), the +rattlesnake, and the terrapin, the various species of hawk, and the +rabbit, the squirrel, and the dog are the principal animal gods. The +importance of the god bears no relation to the size of the animal, +and in fact the larger animals are but seldom invoked. The spider also +occupies a prominent place in the love and life-destroying formulas, +his duty being to entangle the soul of his victim in the meshes of his +web or to pluck it from the body of the doomed man and drag it way to +the black coffin in the Darkening Land. + +Among what may be classed as elemental gods the principal are fire, +water, and the sun, all of which are addressed under figurative +names. The sun is called Une´‘lanû´hĭ, “the apportioner,” just as our +word moon means originally “the measurer.” Indians and Aryans alike, +having noticed how these great luminaries divide and measure day and +night, summer and winter, with never-varying regularity, have given to +each a name which should indicate these characteristics, thus showing +how the human mind constantly moves on along the same channels. +Missionaries have naturally, but incorrectly, assumed this apportioner +of all things to be the suppositional “Great Spirit” of the Cherokees, +and hence the word is used in the Bible translation as synonymous +with God. In ordinary conversation and in the lesser myths +the sun is called Nû´[n]tâ. The sun is invoked chiefly by the +ball-player, while the hunter prays to the fire; but every important +ceremony--whether connected with medicine, love, hunting, or the ball +play--contains a prayer to the “Long Person,” the formulistic name for +water, or, more strictly speaking, for the river. The wind, the storm, +the cloud, and the frost are also invoked in different formulas. + +But few inanimate gods are included in the category, the principal +being the Stone, to which the shaman prays while endeavoring to find a +lost article by means of a swinging pebble suspended by a string; the +Flint, invoked when the shaman is about to scarify the patient with +a flint arrow-head before rubbing on the medicine; and the Mountain, +which is addressed in one or two of the formulas thus far translated. +Plant gods do not appear prominently, the chief one seeming to be the +ginseng, addressed in the formulas as the “Great Man” or “Little Man,” +although its proper Cherokee name signifies the “Mountain Climber.” + +A number of personal deities are also invoked, the principal being +the Red Man. He is one of the greatest of the gods, being repeatedly +called upon in formulas of all kinds, and is hardly subordinate to the +Fire, the Water, or the Sun. His identity is as yet uncertain, but he +seems to be intimately connected with the Thunder family. In a curious +marginal note in one of the Gahuni formulas (page 350), it is stated +that when the patient is a woman the doctor must pray to the Red +Man, but when treating a man he must pray to the Red Woman, so that +this personage seems to have dual sex characteristics. Another god +invoked in the hunting songs is Tsu´l’kalû´, or “Slanting Eyes” +(see Cherokee Myths), a giant hunter who lives in one of the great +mountains of the Blue Ridge and owns all the game. Others are the +Little Men, probably the two Thunder boys; the Little People, the +fairies who live in the rock cliffs; and even the De´tsata, a +diminutive sprite who holds the place of our Puck. One unwritten +formula, which could not be obtained correctly by dictation, was +addressed to the “Red-Headed Woman, whose hair hangs down to the +ground.” + +The personage invoked is always selected in accordance with the theory +of the formula and the duty to be performed. Thus, when a sickness is +caused by a fish, the Fish-hawk, the Heron, or some other fish-eating +bird is implored to come and seize the intruder and destroy it, so +that the patient may find relief. When the trouble is caused by a +worm or an insect, some insectivorous bird is called in for the same +purpose. When a flock of redbirds is pecking at the vitals of the sick +man the Sparrow-hawk is brought down to scatter them, and when the +rabbit, the great mischief-maker, is the evil genius, he is driven +out by the Rabbit-hawk. Sometimes after the intruder has been thus +expelled “a small portion still remains,” in the words of the formula, +and accordingly the Whirlwind is called down from the treetops to +carry the remnant to the uplands and there scatter it so that it shall +never reappear. The hunter prays to the fire, from which he draws his +omens; to the reed, from which he makes his arrows; to Tsu´l’kalû, +the great lord of the game, and finally addresses in songs the very +animals which he intends to kill. The lover prays to the Spider to +hold fast the affections of his beloved one in the meshes of his web, +or to the Moon, which looks down upon him in the dance. The warrior +prays to the Red War-club, and the man about to set out on a dangerous +expedition prays to the Cloud to envelop him and conceal him from his +enemies. + +Each spirit of good or evil has its distinct and appropriate place +of residence. The Rabbit is declared to live in the broomsage on the +hillside, the Fish dwells in a bend of the river under the pendant +hemlock branches, the Terrapin lives in the great pond in the West, +and the Whirlwind abides in the leafy treetops. Each disease animal, +when driven away from his prey by some more powerful animal, endeavors +to find shelter in his accustomed haunt. It must be stated here +that the animals of the formulas are not the ordinary, everyday +animals, but their great progenitors, who live in the upper world +(galû´[n]lati) above the arch of the firmament. + + +COLOR SYMBOLISM. + +Color symbolism plays an important part in the shamanistic system +of the Cherokees, no less than in that of other tribes. Each one of +the cardinal points has its corresponding color and each color its +symbolic meaning, so that each spirit invoked corresponds in color +and local habitation with the characteristics imputed to him, and is +connected with other spirits of the same name, but of other colors, +living in other parts of the upper world and differing widely in their +characteristics. Thus the Red Man, living in the east, is the spirit +of power, triumph, and success, but the Black Man, in the West, is +the spirit of death. The shaman therefore invokes the Red Man to +the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal +influences of the Black Man. + +The symbolic color system of the Cherokees, which will be explained +more fully in connection with the formulas, is as follows: + + East red success; triumph. + North blue defeat; trouble. + West black death. + South white peace; happiness. + Above? brown unascertained, but propitious. + ------ yellow about the same as blue. + +There is a great diversity in the color systems of the various tribes, +both as to the location and significance of the colors, but for +obvious reasons black was generally taken as the symbol of death; +while white and red signified, respectively, peace and war. It is +somewhat remarkable that red was the emblem of power and triumph +among the ancient Oriental nations no less than among the modern +Cherokees.[9] + +[Footnote 9: For more in regard to color symbolism, see Mallery’s +Pictographs of the North American Indians in Fourth Report of the +Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 53-37, Washington, 1886; Gatschet’s Creek +Migration Legend, vol. 3, pp. 31-41, St. Louis, 1888; Brinton’s Kiche +Myths in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 19, +pp. 646-647, Philadelphia, 1882.] + + +IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES. + +In many of the formulas, especially those relating to love and to +life-destroying, the shaman mentions the name and clan of his client, +of the intended victim, or of the girl whose affections it is desired +to win. The Indian regards his name, not as a mere label, but as a +distinct part of his personality, just as much as are his eyes or +his teeth, and believes that injury will result as surely from the +malicious handling of his name as from a wound inflicted on any part +of his physical organism. This belief was found among the various +tribes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and has occasioned a number +of curious regulations in regard to the concealment and change of +names. It may be on this account that both Powhatan and Pocahontas are +known in history under assumed appellations, their true names having +been concealed from the whites until the pseudonyms were too firmly +established to be supplanted. Should his prayers have no apparent +effect when treating a patient for some serious illness, the shaman +sometimes concludes that the name is affected, and accordingly goes +to water, with appropriate ceremonies, and christens the patient with +a new name, by which he is henceforth to be known. He then begins +afresh, repeating the formulas with the new name selected for the +patient, in the confident hope that his efforts will be crowned with +success. + + +LANGUAGE OF THE FORMULAS. + +A few words remain to be said in regard to the language of the +formulas. They are full of archaic and figurative expressions, many of +which are unintelligible to the common people, and some of which even +the shamans themselves are now unable to explain. These archaic forms, +like the old words used by our poets, lend a peculiar beauty which can +hardly be rendered in a translation. They frequently throw light on +the dialectic evolution of the language, as many words found now only +in the nearly extinct Lower Cherokee dialect occur in formulas which +in other respects are written in the Middle or Upper dialect. The +R sound, the chief distinguishing characteristic of the old Lower +dialect, of course does not occur, as there are no means of indicating +it in the Cherokee syllabary. Those who are accustomed to look to the +Bible for all beauty in sacred expression will be surprised to find +that these formulas abound in the loftiest nights of poetic imagery. +This is especially true of the prayers used to win the love of a woman +or to destroy the life of an enemy, in which we find such expressions +as--“Now your soul fades away--your spirit shall grow less and +dwindle away, never to reappear;” “Let her be completely veiled in +loneliness--O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in your web, so that +it may never get through the meshes;” and the final declaration of the +lover, “Your soul has come into the very center of my soul, never to +turn away.” + +In the translation it has been found advisable to retain as technical +terms a few words which could not well be rendered literally, such +as ada´wĕhĭ and ugistā´‘tĭ. These words will be found explained +in the proper place. Transliterations of the Cherokee text of the +formulas are given, but it must be distinctly understood that the +translations are intended only as free renderings of the spirit of +the originals, exact translations with grammatic and glossarial notes +being deferred until a more extended study of the language has been +made, when it is hoped to present with more exactness of detail the +whole body of the formulas, of which the specimens here given are but +a small portion. + +The facsimile formulas are copies from the manuscripts now in +possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, and the portraits are from +photographs taken by the author in the field. + + +SPECIMEN FORMULAS. + +NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY AND TRANSLATION. + +In the Cherokee text both _d_ and _g_ have a medial sound, +approximating the sounds of _t_ and _k_ respectively. The other +letters are pronounced in regular accordance with the alphabet of +the Bureau of Ethnology. The language abounds in nasal and aspirate +sounds, the most difficult of the latter being the aspirate _‘l_, +which to one familiar only with English sounds like _tl_. + +A few words whose meaning could not be satisfactorily ascertained have +been distinctively indicated in the Cherokee text by means of italics. +In the translation the corresponding expression has been queried, or +the space left entirely blank. On examining the text the student can +not fail to be struck by the great number of verbs ending in _iga_. +This is a peculiar form hardly ever used excepting in these formulas, +where almost every paragraph contains one or more such verbs. It +implies that the subject has just come and is now performing the +action, and that he came for that purpose. In addition to this, many +of these verbs may be either assertive or imperative (expressing +entreaty), according to the accent. Thus _hatû´[n]gani´ga_ means +“you have just come and are listening and it is for that purpose you +came.” By slightly accenting the final syllable it becomes “come at +once to listen.” It will thus be seen that the great majority of the +formulas are declarative rather than petitional in form--laudatory +rhapsodies instead of prayers, in the ordinary sense of the word. + + +MEDICINE. + +DIDÛ[n]LĚ´SKĬ ADANÛ[n]´WÂTĬ KANÂHĚ´SKĬ. + +Sgĕ! Ha-Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi´‘lĭ Gigage´ĭ, +hanâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, +gahu´stĭ tsan´ultĭ nige´sû[n]na. Ha-diskwûlti´yû +tĭ´nanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sû[n]na tsagista´‘tĭ +adû[n]ni´ga. Ulsg´eta hû[n]hihyû´[n]stani´ga. +Ha-usdig´iyu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´[n] iytû´[n]ta +dûhilâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-Uhû[n]tsâ´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Gi´‘lĭ Sa‘ka´nĭ, +hanâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, +gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû[n]na. Diskwûlti´yû ti´nanugai´, +ase´gwû nige´sû[n]na tsagista´‘tĭ adû[n]ni´ga. Ulsge´ta +hû[n]hihyû[n]stani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´[n] +iyû´ta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! (Ha)-Usûhi´(-yĭ) tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi‘l´ĭ Gû[n]nage´ĭ, +hanâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga usĭnuli´yû. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, +gahu´sti tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû´[n]na. Diskwûlti´yû tinanugagĭ´, +ase´gwû nige´sû[n]na tsagista´‘tĭ adû[n]ni´ga. Ulsg´eta +hû[n]hihyû[n]stani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´[n] +iyû´[n]ta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! Wa´hală´ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi´‘lĭ Tsûne´ga, hanâ´gwa +hatû´[n]gani´ga usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ +tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû[n]na. Diskwûlti´yû ti´nanugagĭ´, +ase´gwû nige´sû[n]na tsagista´‘tĭ adû[n]ni´ga. Ha-ulsge´ta +hû[n]hihyû´[n]stani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû e´lawastû´[n] +iyû´[n]ta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! Wa´hală tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Tû´ksĭ Tsûne´ga, hanâ´gwa +hatû´[n]gani´ga usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, +gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû[n]na. Ha-kâ´lû _gayûske´ta_ +tsatû[n]´neli´ga. Utsĭna´wa nu´tatănû´[n]ta. + +(Degâsisisgû´[n]ĭ.)--Tûksĭ uhya´ska gûnsta‘tĭ´ na´skĭ +igahi´ta gunstâ´ĭ hĭ´skĭ iyuntale´gĭ tsûntûngi´ya. +Û[n]skwû´ta kĭlû´ atsâ´tastĭ sâ´gwa iyûtsâ´tastĭ, +nû´‘kĭ igû´[n]kta‘tĭ, naski-gwû´ diû[n]lĕ´nĭskâhĭ´ +igû[n]yi´yĭ tsale´nihû. Nû´‘kine û[n]skwû´ta kĭlû´ +nû´‘kĭ iyatsâ´tastĭ. Uhyaskâ´hi-‘nû ade´la degû‘la´ĭ +tă´lĭ unine´ga-gwû´ nû´[n]wâti-‘nû´ higûnehâ´ĭ +uhyaskâ´hĭ usdi´a-gwû. Une´lagi-‘nû sâĭ´ agadâ´ĭ +agadi´dĭ û´[n]ti-gwû´ yĭkĭ´ âsi´yu-gwû na´ski-‘nû +aganû[n]li´eskâ´ĭ da´gûnstanehû´[n]ĭ ŭ‘taâ´ta. +Hiă‘-nû´ nû´[n]wâtĭ: Yâ´na-Unatsĕsdâ´gĭ tsana´sehâ´ĭ +sâ´i-‘nû Kâ´ga-Asgû´[n]tagĕ tsana´sehâ´ĭ, sâi-‘nû´ +_Egû´[n]li_-gwû, sâi-nû´ (U)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´ +Egû´[n]lĭ Usdi´a tsĭgĭ´, nû[n]yâ´hi-‘nû tsuyĕ‘dâ´ĭ +Yâ´na-Utsĕsdâgĭ naskiyû´ tsĭgĭ´, usdi´-gwû tsĭgĭ´. +Egû´[n]lĭ (u)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´; sâ´ĭ Wâ´tige Unas(te´)tsa +tsĭgĭ´, sâ´i-‘nû Û´[n]age Tsunaste´tsa, Niga´ta unaste´tsa +gesâ´ĭ. + +Sunale´-gwû ale´ndĭ adanû´[n]wâtĭ; tă´line e´ladĭ +tsitkala´ĭ; tsâ´ine u´lsaladĭ´‘satû´; nû´‘kine igû´ +ts´kalâ´ĭ. Yeli´gwû´ igesâ´ĭ. Nû´lstâiyanû´na gesâ´ĭ +akanû[n]wi´skĭ, nasgwû´ nulstaiyanû´na. + + +_Translation._ + +FORMULA FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER (RHEUMATISM). + +Listen! Ha! In the Sun Land you repose, O Red Dog, O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ[10], you never +fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! Ha! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Dog. O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken, O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail +in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! Ha! In the darkening land you repose, O Black Dog. O, now you +have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never +fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! On Wa´hală you repose. O White Dog. Oh, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail +in anything. Oh, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! On Wa´hală, you repose, O White Terrapin. O, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail in +anything. Ha! It is for you to loosen its hold on the bone. Belief is +accomplished. + +(Prescription.)--Lay a terrapin shell upon (the spot) and keep it +there while the five kinds (of spirits) listen. On finishing, then +blow once. Repeat four times, beginning each time from the start. On +finishing the fourth time, then blow four times. Have two white beads +lying in the shell, together with a little of the medicine. Don’t +interfere with it, but have a good deal boiling in another vessel--a +bowl will do very well--and rub it on warm while treating by applying +the hands. And this is the medicine: What is called Yâ´na-Utsĕ´sta +(“bear’s bed,” the Aspidium acrostichoides or Christmas fern); and the +other is called Kâ´ga-Asgû´[n]tagĭ (“crow’s shin,” the Adianthum +pedatum or Maidenhair fern); and the other is the common Egû´[n]lĭ +(another fern); and the other is the Little Soft (-leaved) +Egû´[n]lĭ (Osmunda Cinnamonea or cinnamon fern), which grows in the +rocks and resembles Yâna-Utsĕ´sta and is a small and soft (-leaved) +Egû´[n]lĭ. Another has brown roots and another has black roots. The +roots of all should be (used). + +Begin doctoring early in the morning; let the second (application) be +while the sun is still near the horizon; the third when it has risen +to a considerable height (10 a.m.); the fourth when it is above at +noon. This is sufficient. (The doctor) must not eat, and the patient +also must be fasting. + +[Footnote 10: _Ada´wĕhĭ_ is a word used to designate one supposed +to have supernatural powers, and is applied alike to human beings +and to the spirits invoked in the formulas. Some of the mythic heroes +famous for their magic deeds are spoken of as _ada´wĕhĭ_ (plural +_anida´wĕhĭ_ or _anida´we_), but in its application to mortals +the term is used only of the very greatest shamans. None of those +now belonging to the band are considered worthy of being thus called, +although the term was sometimes applied to one, Usawĭ, who died some +years ago. In speaking of himself as an ada´wĕhĭ, as occurs in some +of the formulas, the shaman arrogates to himself the same powers that +belong to the gods. Our nearest equivalent is the word magician, but +this falls far short of the idea conveyed by the Cherokee word. In +the bible translation the word is used as the equivalent of angel or +spirit.] + + +_Explanation._ + +As this formula is taken from the manuscript of Gahuni, who died +nearly thirty years ago, no definite statement of the theory of the +disease, or its treatment, can be given, beyond what is contained in +the formula itself, which, fortunately, is particularly explicit; +most doctors contenting themselves with giving only the words of the +prayer, without noting the ceremonies or even the medicine used. There +are various theories as to the cause of each disease, the most common +idea in regard to rheumatism being that it is caused by the spirits of +the slain animals, generally the deer, thirsting for vengeance on the +hunter, as has been already explained in the myth of the origin of +disease and medicine. + +The measuring-worm (Catharis) is also held to cause rheumatism, from +the resemblance of its motions to those of a rheumatic patient, and +the name of the worm _wahhĭlĭ´_ is frequently applied also to the +disease. + +There are formulas to propitiate the slain animals, but these are a +part of the hunting code and can only be noticed here, although it may +be mentioned in passing that the hunter, when about to return to the +settlement, builds a fire in the path behind him, in order that the +deer chief may not be able to follow him to his home. + +The disease, figuratively called the intruder (ulsgéta), is regarded +as a living being, and the verbs used in speaking of it show that it +is considered to be long, like a snake or fish. It is brought by the +deer chief and put into the body, generally the limbs, of the hunter, +who at once begins to suffer intense pain. It can be driven out only +by some more powerful animal spirit which is the natural enemy of the +deer, usually the dog or the Wolf. These animal gods live up above +beyond the seventh heaven and are the great prototypes of which the +earthly animals are only diminutive copies. They are commonly located +at the four cardinal points, each of which has a peculiar formulistic +name and a special color which applies to everything in the same +connection. Thus the east, north, west, and south are respectively the +Sun Land, the Frigid Land, the Darkening Land, and Wă´hală´, while +their respective mythologic colors are Red, Blue, Black, and White. +Wáhală is said to be a mountain far to the south. The white or red +spirits are generally invoked for peace, health, and other blessings, +the red alone for the success of an undertaking, the blue spirits to +defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring down troubles upon him, and +the black to compass his death. The white and red spirits are regarded +as the most powerful, and one of these two is generally called upon to +accomplish the final result. + +In this case the doctor first invokes the Red Dog in the Sun Land, +calling him a great adáwehi, to whom nothing is impossible and who +never fails to accomplish his purpose. He is addressed as if out of +sight in the distance and is implored to appear running swiftly to the +help of the sick man. Then the supplication changes to an assertion +and the doctor declares that the Red Dog has already arrived to take +the disease and has borne away a small portion of it to the uttermost +ends of the earth. In the second, third, and fourth paragraphs the +Blue Dog of the Frigid Land, the Black Dog of the Darkening Land, and +the White Dog of Wáhală are successively invoked in the same terms +and each bears away a portion of the disease and disposes of it in +the same way. Finally, in the fifth paragraph, the White Terrapin of +Wáhălă is invoked. He bears off the remainder of the disease and +the doctor declares that relief is accomplished. The connection of the +terrapin in this formula is not evident, beyond the fact that he is +regarded as having great influence in disease, and in this case the +beads and a portion of the medicine are kept in a terrapin shell +placed upon the diseased part while the prayer is being recited. + +The formulas generally consist of four paragraphs, corresponding to +four steps in the medical ceremony. In this case there are five, the +last being addressed to the terrapin instead of to a dog. The prayers +are recited in an undertone hardly audible at the distance of a few +feet, with the exception of the frequent _ha_, which seems to be used +as an interjection to attract attention and is always uttered in a +louder tone. The beads--which are here white, symbolic of relief--are +of common use in connection with these formulas, and are held between +the thumb and finger, placed upon a cloth on the ground, or, as in +this case, put into a terrapin shell along with a small portion of the +medicine. According to directions, the shell has no other part in the +ceremony. + +The blowing is also a regular part of the treatment, the doctor either +holding the medicine in his mouth and blowing it upon the patient, or, +as it seems to be the case here, applying the medicine by rubbing, +and blowing his breath upon the spot afterwards. In some formulas the +simple blowing of the breath constitutes the whole application. In +this instance the doctor probably rubs the medicine upon the affected +part while reciting the first paragraph in a whisper, after which he +blows once upon the spot. The other paragraphs are recited in the +same manner, blowing once after each. In this way the whole formula +is repeated four times, with four blows at the end of the final +repetition. The directions imply that the doctor blows only at the end +of the whole formula, but this is not in accord with the regular mode +of procedure and seems to be a mistake. + +The medicine consists of a warm decoction of the roots of four +varieties of fern, rubbed on with the hand. The awkward description +of the species shows how limited is the Indian’s power of botanic +classification. The application is repeated four times during the same +morning, beginning just at daybreak and ending at noon. Four is the +sacred number running through every detail of these formulas, there +being commonly four spirits invoked in four paragraphs, four blowings +with four final blows, four herbs in the decoction, four applications, +and frequently four days’ gaktu[n]´ta or tabu. In this case no tabu +is specified beyond the fact that both doctor and patient must be +fasting. The tabu generally extends to salt or lye, hot food and +women, while in rheumatism some doctors forbid the patient to eat the +foot or leg of any animal, the reason given being that the limbs are +generally the seat of the disease. For a similar reason the patient is +also forbidden to eat or even to touch a squirrel, a buffalo, a cat, +or any animal which “humps” itself. In the same way a scrofulous +patient must not eat turkey, as that bird seems to have a scrofulous +eruption on its head, while ball players must abstain from eating +frogs, because the bones of that animal are brittle and easily broken. + + +HIĂ‘-NÛ´ NASGWÛ´ DIDÛ[n]LĚ´SKǏ ADĂNÛ´[n]WÂTǏ. + + Asga´ya yûkanû´[n]wĭ | Yû! Higĕ´‘ya Gigage´ĭ tsûdante´lûhĭ + _Agĕ´‘ya Giagage´ĭ_ atătĭ´; | gese´ĭ. Ulsge´ta hi´tsanu´y’tani´leĭ´. + agĕ´‘ya-nû yûkanû´[n]wĭ | Ha-Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ Ulsge´ta + _Asga´ya Gigage´ĭ_ atătĭ´. | hi´tsanu´y’tani´leĭ´. + | Ha-Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ nûnta´tsûdălenû´hĭ + | gese´ĭ. Gasgilâ´ gigage´ĭ tsusdi´ga + | tetsadĭ´ilĕ´ detsala´siditĕ-gĕ´ĭ. + | Hanâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu detsaldisi´yûĭ. + +Utsĭ(nă´)wa nu´tatanû´[n]ta. Usû´hita nutanû´na. +Utsĭnă´wa-gwû nigû[n]tisge´stĭ. + +(Degâ´sisisgû´[n]ĭ)--Hiă-gwû´ nigaû´ kanâhe´ta. Nû´‘kiba +nagû´nkw’tisga´ dagû´[n]stiskû´ĭ. Sâ´gwa nû[n]skwû´ta +gûnstû´[n]ĭ agûnstagi´s-kâĭ hû[n]tsatasgâ´ĭ +nû´‘kine-‘nû û[n]skwû´ta nû´‘kĭ nû[n]tsâtasgâ´ĭ. +Hiă-‘nû´ nû´[n]wâtĭ: Egû´[n]lĭ, Yâ´na-‘nû Utsĕsdâ´gĭ, +(U)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´ Egû´[n]lĭ, tă´lĭ tsinu´dalĕ´ha, +Kâ´ga-‘nû Asgû´[n]tagĕ tsiû[n]nâ´sehâ´ĭ, Da´yĭ-‘nû +Uwâ´yĭ tsiû[n]nâ´sehâ´ĭ. Su´talĭ iyutale´gĭ unaste´tsa +agâ´tĭ, uga´nawû‘nû´ dagûnsta´‘tisgâ´ĭ nû´[n]wâtĭ +asû[n]ga‘la´ĭ. Usû´hĭ adanû´[n]wâtĭ, nu´‘kĭ tsusû´hita +dulsi´nisû´[n] adanû´[n]wâti. Ă‘nawa´gi-‘nû dilasula´gĭ +gesû´[n]ĭ ûlĕ´ tsĭkani´kaga´ĭ gûw’sdi´-gwû utsawa´ta +ă‘nawa´-gwû-nû´. + +Hiă-nû´ gaktû´[n]ta gûlkwâ´gĭ tsusû´hita. +Gû´[n]wădana´datlahistĭ´ nige´sû[n]na--Salâ´lĭ, +gi´‘li-‘nû, wĕ´sa-‘nû, ă´tatsû-nû´, a´mă-‘nû´, +anigĕ´‘ya-nû. Uda‘lĭ´ ya´kanû[n]wi´ya nû´‘kiha tsusû´hita +unădană´lâtsi´-tastĭ nige´sû[n]na. Gasgilâ´gi-‘nû +uwă´su[n]-gwû´ u´skĭladi´stĭ uwă´sû nû´‘kĭ +tsusû´hită´. Disâ´i-‘nû dega´sgilâ û´[n]tsa nû‘nă´ +uwa´‘tĭ yigesûĭ nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita. + + +_Translation._ + +AND THIS ALSO IS FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER. + +Yû! O Red Woman, you have caused it. You have put the intruder under +him. Ha! now you have come from the Sun Land. You have brought the +small red seats, with your feet resting upon them. Ha! now they have +swiftly moved away from you. Relief is accomplished. Let it not be for +one night alone. Let the relief come at once. + +(Prescription)--(_corner note at top_.) If treating a man one must say +_Red Woman_, and if treating a woman one must say _Red Man_. + +This is just all of the prayer. Repeat it four times while laying on +the hands. After saying it over once, with the hands on (the body +of the patient), take off the hands and blow once, and at the fourth +repetition blow four times. And this is the medicine. Egû´[n]lĭ +(a species of fern). Yâ´-na-Utsĕ´sta (“bear’s bed,” the +Aspidium acrostichoides or Christmas fern), _two_ varieties of the +soft-(leaved) Egû´[n]lĭ (one, the small variety, is the Cinnamon +fern, Osmunda cinnamonea), and what is called Kâ´ga Asgû´[n]tagĕ +(“crow’s shin,” the Adiantum pedatum or Maidenhair fern) and what is +called Da´yĭ-Uwâ´yĭ (“beaver’s paw”--not identified). Boil the +roots of the six varieties together and apply the hands warm with the +medicine upon them. Doctor in the evening. Doctor four consecutive +nights. (The pay) is cloth and moccasins; or, if one does not have +them, just a little dressed deerskin and some cloth. + +And this is the tabu for seven nights. One must not touch a squirrel, +a dog, a cat, the mountain trout, or women. If one is treating a +married man they (_sic_) must not touch his wife for four nights. And +he must sit on a seat by himself for four nights, and must not sit on +the other seats for four nights. + + +_Explanation._ + +The treatment and medicine in this formula are nearly the same as in +that just given, which is also for rheumatism, both being written +by Gahuni. The prayer differs in several respects from any other +obtained, but as the doctor has been dead for years it is impossible +to give a full explanation of all the points. This is probably the +only formula in the collection in which the spirit invoked is the “Red +Woman,” but, as explained in the corner note at the top, this is only +the form used instead of “Red Man,” when the patient is a man. The Red +Man, who is considered perhaps the most powerful god in the Cherokee +pantheon, is in some way connected with the thunder, and is invoked +in a large number of formulas. The change in the formula, according +to the sex of the patient, brings to mind a belief in Irish folk +medicine, that in applying certain remedies the doctor and patient +must be of opposite sexes. The Red Man lives in the east, in +accordance with the regular mythologic color theory, as already +explained. The seats also are red, and the form of the verb indicates +that the Red Woman is either standing upon them (plural) or sitting +with her feet resting upon the rounds. These seats or chairs are +frequently mentioned in the formulas, and always correspond in color +with the spirit invoked. It is not clear why the Red Woman is held +responsible for the disease, which is generally attributed to the +revengeful efforts of the game, as already explained. In agreement +with the regular form, the disease is said to be put under (not into) +the patient. The assertion that the chairs “have swiftly moved away” +would seem from analogy to mean that the disease has been placed upon +the seats and thus borne away. The verb implies that the seats move +by their own volition. Immediately afterward it is declared that +relief is accomplished. The expression “usû´hita nutanû´na” occurs +frequently in these formulas, and may mean either “let it not be for +one night alone,” or “let it not stay a single night,” according to +the context. + +The directions specify not only the medicine and the treatment, but +also the doctor’s fee. From the form of the verb the tabu, except as +regards the seat to be used by the sick person, seems to apply to +both doctor and patient. It is not evident why the mountain trout +is prohibited, but the dog, squirrel, and cat are tabued, as already +explained, from the fact that these animals frequently assume +positions resembling the cramped attitude common to persons afflicted +by rheumatism. The cat is considered especially uncanny, as coming +from the whites. Seven, as well as four, is a sacred number with the +tribe, being also the number of their gentes. It will be noted that +time is counted by nights instead of by days. + + +HI´ I´NATÛ YUNISKÛ´LTSA ADANÛ´NWÂTǏ. + + 1. _Dûnu´wa_, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa (_song_). + Sgĕ! Ha-Walâ´sĭ-gwû tsû[n]lû´[n]tani´ga. + 2. _Dayuha_, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha dayuha (_song_). + Sgĕ! Ha-_Usugĭ_-gwû tsû[n]-lû[n]´-tani´ga. + +(Degâ´sisisgû´[n]ĭ).--Kanâgi´ta nâyâ´ga hiă´ +dilentisg´û[n]ĭ. Tă´lĭ igû´nkw’ta‘tĭ, ûlĕ´ talinĕ´ +tsutanû´[n]na nasgwû´ tâ´lĭ igû´nkw’ta‘tĭ´. Tsâ´la +aganû´[n]lieskâĭ´ tsâ´la yikani´gû[n]gû´âĭ´ +watsi´la-gwû ganû[n]li´yĕtĭ uniskûl‘tsû´[n]ĭ. Nû´‘kĭ +nagade´stisgâĭ´ aganû[n]li´esgû[n]ĭ. Akskû´nĭ +gadest´a‘tĭ, nûû‘kĭ nagade´ sta hû[n]tsatasgâ´ĭ. +Hiă-‘nû´ i´natû akti´sĭ udestâ´ĭ yigû´n‘ka, naski-‘nû´ +tsagadû´lăgisgâ´ĭ iyu´stĭ gatgû´[n]ĭ. + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO TREAT THEM IF THEY ARE BITTEN BY A SNAKE. + + 1. Dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa. + Listen! Ha! It is only a common frog which has passed by and put + it (the intruder) into you. + 2. Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha. + Listen! Ha! It is only an _Usu´‘gĭ_ which has passed by and + put it into you. + +(Prescription.)--Now this at the beginning is a song. One should say +it twice and also say the second line twice. Rub tobacco (juice) on +the bite for some time, or if there be no tobacco just rub on saliva +once. In rubbing it on, one must go around four times. Go around +toward the left and blow four times in a circle. This is because in +lying down the snake always coils to the right and this is just the +same (_lit._ “means like”) as uncoiling it. + + +_Explanation._ + +This is also from the manuscript book of Gahuni, deceased, so that no +explanation could be obtained from the writer. The formula consists of +a song of two verses, each followed by a short recitation. The whole +is repeated, according to the directions, so as to make four verses +or songs; four, as already stated, being the sacred number running +through most of these formulas. Four blowings and four circuits in the +rubbing are also specified. The words used in the songs are sometimes +composed of unmeaning syllables, but in this case dûnuwa and dayuha +seem to have a meaning, although neither the interpreter nor the +shaman consulted could explain them, which may be because the words +have become altered in the song, as frequently happens. Dûnu´wa +appears to be an old verb, meaning “it has penetrated,” probably +referring to the tooth of the reptile. These medicine songs are always +sung in a low plaintive tone, somewhat resembling a lullaby. Usu´‘gĭ +also is without explanation, but is probably the name of some small +reptile or batrachian. + +As in this case the cause of the trouble is evident, the Indians have +no theory to account for it. It may be remarked, however, that when +one dreams of being bitten, the same treatment and ceremonies must +be used as for the actual bite; otherwise, although perhaps years +afterward, a similar inflammation will appear on the spot indicated +in the dream, and will be followed by the same fatal consequences. The +rattlesnake is regarded as a supernatural being or ada´wehi, whose +favor must be propitiated, and great pains are taken not to offend +him. In consonance with this idea it is never said among the people +that a person has been bitten by a snake, but that he has been +“scratched by a brier.” In the same way, when an eagle has been shot +for a ceremonial dance, it is announced that “a snowbird has been +killed,” the purpose being to deceive the rattlesnake or eagle spirits +which might be listening. + +The assertion that it is “only a common frog” or “only an Usu´‘gĭ” +brings out another characteristic idea of these formulas. Whenever the +ailment is of a serious character, or, according to the Indian theory, +whenever it is due to the influence of some powerful disease spirit +the doctor always endeavors to throw contempt upon the intruder, and +convince it of his own superior power by asserting the sickness to +be the work of some inferior being, just as a white physician might +encourage a patient far gone with consumption by telling him that the +illness was only a slight cold. Sometimes there is a regular scale of +depreciation, the doctor first ascribing the disease to a rabbit or +groundhog or some other weak animal, then in succeeding paragraphs +mentioning other still less important animals and finally declaring it +to be the work of a mouse, a small fish, or some other insignificant +creature. In this instance an ailment caused by the rattlesnake, the +most dreaded of the animal spirits, is ascribed to a frog, one of the +least importance. + +In applying the remedy the song is probably sung while rubbing the +tobacco juice around the wound. Then the short recitation is repeated +and the doctor blows four times in a circle about the spot. The whole +ceremony is repeated four times. The curious directions for uncoiling +the snake have parallels in European folk medicine. + + +GÛ[n]WĂNI´GIST´Ǐ ADANU´[n]WÂTǏ. + +Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕiyu, gahus´tĭ aginúl‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Gû[n]gwădag´anad‘diyû´ tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Wăhuhu´-gwû +hitagu´sgastanĕ‘hĕĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa hŭ‘kikahû[n]û´ +ha-dusŭ´‘gahĭ digesû´[n]ĭ, iyû´[n]ta +wû[n]‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Gû[n]gwădaga´nad’diyû´ tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Uguku´-gwû +hitagu´sgastanĕ´heĭ´ udâhi´yu tag´u´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ´. +Ha-na´gwadi´na hû[n]kikahû[n]nû´. Ha-nânâ´hĭ digesŭ´[n]ĭ +iyû´[n]ta wû[n]‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Gû[n]gwădaga´nad’diyû´ tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Tsistu-gwû +hitagu´sgastanĕ´he´ĭudâhi´yu tag´usgastanĕ´hĕĭ´. +Ha-nâ´gwadi´na hû´[n]kikahû´[n]nû. Ha-sunû[n]da´sĭ +iyû´[n]ta kane´skawâ´dihĭ digesû´[n]ĭ, +wû[n]‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Gû[n]gwădaga´nad’di´yû tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-De´tsata´-gwû +(hi)tagu´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ udâhi´yu tagu´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ. +Ha-nâ´gwadi´na hû[n]kikahû´[n]a. Ha-udâ´tale´ta +digesû´[n]ĭ, iyû´[n]ta wû[n]‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga. + +(Degâ´sisisgû´[n]ĭ)--Hiă´-skĭnĭ´ unsdi´ya +dĭkanû´[n]wâtĭ tsa‘natsa´yihâ´ĭ tsaniska´iha´ĭ; +gû[n]wani´gista´ĭ hi´anûdĭ´sgaĭ´. Ămă´ +dûtsati´stĭsgâ´ĭ nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita dĭkanû´[n]wâtĭ +Ulsinide´na dakanû´[n]wisgâ´ĭ. Ŭ´[n]tsa iyû´[n]ta +witunini´dastĭ yigesâ´ĭ. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THEM WHEN SOMETHING IS CAUSING SOMETHING TO EAT THEM. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is a mere screech +owl that has frightened him. Ha! now I have put it away in the laurel +thickets. There I compel it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is a mere hooting +owl that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! +At once I have put it away in the spruce thickets. Ha! There I compel +it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is only a rabbit +that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! +Instantly I have put it away on the mountain ridge. Ha! There in the +broom sage I compel it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is only a mountain +sprite that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. +Ha! Instantly I have put it away on the bluff. Ha! There I compel it +to remain. + +(Prescription)--Now this is to treat infants if they are affected by +crying and nervous fright. (Then) it is said that something is causing +something to eat them. To treat them one may blow water on them for +four nights. Doctor them just before dark. Be sure not to carry them +about outside the house. + + +_Explanation._ + +The Cherokee name for this disease is Gu[n]wani´gistâĭ´, which +signifies that “something is causing something to eat,” or gnaw the +vitals of the patient. The disease attacks only infants of tender age +and the symptoms are nervousness and troubled sleep, from which the +child wakes suddenly crying as if frightened. The civilized doctor +would regard these as symptoms of the presence of worms, but although +the Cherokee name might seem to indicate the same belief, the real +theory is very different. + +Cherokee mothers sometimes hush crying children, by telling them that +the screech owl is listening out in the woods or that the De´tsata--a +malicious little dwarf who lives in caves in the river bluffs--will +come and get them. This quiets the child for the time and is so far +successful, but the animals, or the De´tsata, take offense at being +spoken of in this way, and visit their displeasure upon the _children +born to the mother afterward_. This they do by sending an animal into +the body of the child to gnaw its vitals. The disease is very common +and there are several specialists who devote their attention to +it, using various formulas and prescriptions. It is also called +ătawi´nĕhĭ, signifying that it is caused by the “dwellers in the +forest,” i.e., the wild game and birds, and some doctors declare that +it is caused by the revengeful comrades of the animals, especially +birds, killed by the father of the child, the animals tracking the +slayer to his home by the blood drops on the leaves. The next formula +will throw more light upon this theory. + +In this formula the doctor, who is certainly not overburdened with +modesty, starts out by asserting that he is a great ada´wehi, who +never fails and who surpasses all others. He then declares that the +disease is caused by a mere screech owl, which he at once banishes +to the laurel thicket. In the succeeding paragraphs he reiterates his +former boasting, but asserts in turn that the trouble is caused by a +mere hooting owl, a rabbit, or even by the De´tsata, whose greatest +exploit is hiding the arrows of the boys, for which the youthful +hunters do not hesitate to rate him soundly. These various +mischief-makers the doctor banishes to their proper haunts, the +hooting owl to the spruce thicket, the rabbit to the broom sage on the +mountain side, and the De´tsata to the bluffs along the river bank. + +Some doctors use herb decoctions, which are blown upon the body of the +child, but in this formula the only remedy prescribed is water, which +must be blown upon the body of the little sufferer just before dark +for four nights. The regular method is to blow once each at the end of +the first, second, and third paragraphs and four times at the end of +the fourth or last. In diseases of this kind, which are not supposed +to be of a local character, the doctor blows first upon the back of +the head, then upon the left shoulder, next upon the right shoulder, +and finally upon the breast, the patient being generally sitting, or +propped up in bed, facing the east. The child must not be taken out +of doors during the four days, because should a bird chance to fly +overhead so that its shadow would fall upon the infant, it would _fan +the disease back_ into the body of the little one. + + +GÛ[n]WANI´GISTÛ´[n]Ǐ DITANÛ[n]WÂTI´YǏ + +Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´[n]gani´ga, Giya´giya´ Sa‘ka´nĭ, +ew’satâ´gĭ tsûl‘da´histĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ hatlasi´ga. +Tsis´kwa-gwû´ ulsge´ta uwu´tlani‘lĕĭ´. Usĭnuli´yu +atsahilu´gĭsi´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´[n]ta. Yû! + +Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´[n]gani´ga, Diga´tiskĭ Wâtige´ĭ, +galû´[n]latĭ iyû´[n]ta ditsûl‘dâ´histĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa +usĭnu´lĭ hatlasi´ga. Tsi´skwa-gwû dĭtu´nila´w’itsû´hĭ +higese´ĭ. Usĭnûlĭ kĕ‘tati´gû‘lahi´ga. Utsĭnă´wa +adû[n]ni´ga. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT GÛ[n]WANI´GISTÛ´[n]Ǐ--(SECOND). + +Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue +Sparrow-Hawk; in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you +have come down. The intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed +him. Swiftly you have swooped down upon it. Relief is accomplished. +Yû! + +Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown +Rabbit-Hawk; you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have +come down. It is only the birds which have come together for +a council. Quickly you have come and scattered them. Relief is +accomplished. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, also for Gû[n]wani´gistû´[n]ĭ or Atawinĕ´hĭ, was +obtained from A‘wan´ita (Young Deer), who wrote down only the prayer +and explained the treatment orally. He coincides in the opinion that +this disease in children is caused by the birds, but says that it +originates from the shadow of a bird flying overhead having fallen +upon the pregnant mother. He says further that the disease is easily +recognized in children, but that it sometimes does not develop until +the child has attained maturity, when it is more difficult to discern +the cause of the trouble, although in the latter case dark circles +around the eyes are unfailing symptoms. + +The prayer--like several others from the same source--seems +incomplete, and judging from analogy is evidently incorrect in some +respects, but yet exemplifies the disease theory in a striking manner. +The disease is declared to have been caused by the birds, it being +asserted in the first paragraph that a bird has cast its shadow +upon the sufferer, while in the second it is declared that they +have gathered in council (in his body). This latter is a favorite +expression in these formulas to indicate the great number of the +disease animals. Another expression of frequent occurrence is to +the effect that the disease animals have formed a settlement or +established a townhouse in the patient’s body. The disease animal, +being a bird or birds, must be dislodged by something which preys upon +birds, and accordingly the Blue Sparrow-Hawk from the tree tops and +the Brown Rabbit-Hawk (Diga´tiskĭ--“One who snatches up”), from +above are invoked to drive out the intruders. The former is then said +to have swooped down upon them as a hawk darts upon its prey, while +the latter is declared to have scattered the birds which were +holding a council. This being done, relief is accomplished. Yû! is +a meaningless interjection frequently used to introduce or close +paragraphs or songs. + +The medicine used is a warm decoction of the bark of Kûnstû´tsĭ +(Sassafras--Sassafras officinale), Kanû[n]si´ta (Flowering +Dogwood--Cornus florida), Udâ´lana (Service tree--Amelanchier +Canadensis), and Uni´kwa (Black Gum--Nyssa multiflora), with the +roots of two species (large and small) of Da´yakalĭ´skĭ (Wild +Rose--Rosa lucida). The bark in every case is taken from the east side +of the tree, and the roots selected are also generally, if not always, +those growing toward the east. In this case the roots and barks are +not bruised, but are simply steeped in warm water for four days. The +child is then stripped and bathed all over with the decoction morning +and night for four days, no formula being used during the bathing. It +is then made to hold up its hands in front of its face with the palms +turned out toward the doctor, who takes some of the medicine in his +mouth and repeats the prayer mentally, blowing the medicine upon the +head and hands of the patient at the final _Yû!_ of each paragraph. +It is probable that the prayer originally consisted of four +paragraphs, or else that these two paragraphs were repeated. The child +drinks a little of the medicine at the end of each treatment. + +The use of salt is prohibited during the four days of the treatment, +the word (amă´) being understood to include lye, which enters +largely into Cherokee food preparations. No chicken or other feathered +animal is allowed to enter the house during the same period, for +obvious reasons, and strangers are excluded for reasons already +explained. + + +HIA´ DU´NIYUKWATISGÛ´[n]Í KANA´HÈHÛ. + +Sgĕ! Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Kanani´skĭ +Gigage. Usĭnu´lĭ nû´[n]nâ gi´gage hĭnû[n]ni´ga. +Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ digi´gage usĭnû´lĭ +dehĭkssa´û[n]tani´ga. Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´[n], +tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ. Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy’teĭ´. +Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ digi´gage dehada´û[n]tani´ga, adi´na +tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa gânagi´ta +da´tsatane´lĭ. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´[n]ta nû[n]tûneli´ga. +Yû! + +Hĭgayû´[n]lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû´[n]gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ +gatû´[n]gisge´stĭ tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” +tsadûnû´hĭ. Na´ski-gâgû´ itsa´wesû´hĭ nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ +hatu´[n]gani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nútatanû´ta nû[n]tû´neli´ga. +Yû! + +Sgĕ! Uhyû[n]tlâ´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histi Kanani´skĭ +Sa‘ka´nĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ nû´[n]nâ sa‘ka´nĭ hĭnû[n]ni´ga. +Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ (di)sa‘ka´nĭ usĭnu´lĭ +dehĭksa´û[n]tani´ga. Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´[n], +tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ. Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy‘te(ĭ´). +Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ disa‘ka´nige dehada´û[n]taniga, adi´na +tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta +tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´[n]ta nû[n]tûneli´ga. +Yû! + +Hĭgayû´[n]lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû[n]gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ +gatû´[n]gisge´stĭ tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” +tsadûnû´hĭ. Nas´kigâgû´ itsawesû´hĭ nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ +hatû´[n]gani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´[n]ta nû[n]tûneli´ga. +Yû! + +Sgĕ! Usûhi´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Kanani´skĭ Û´[n]nage. +Usĭnu´lĭ nû´[n]nâ û´[n]nage hĭnû[n]ni´ga. +Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ digû´[n]nage usĭnu´lĭ +dehĭksa´û[n]tani´ga. Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´[n], +tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ. Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy‘teĭ´. +Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ digû´[n]nage dehada´û[n]tani´ga, adi´na +tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta +tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´[n]ta nû[n]tûneli´ga. Yû! + +Hĭgayû´[n]lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû[n]gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ +gatû´[n]gisge´stĭ tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” +tsadûnû´hĭ. Na´skigâgû´ itsawesû´hĭ nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ +hatû´[n]gani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´[n]ta nû[n]tûneli´ga. +Yû! + +Sgĕ! Galû´[n]latĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Kanani´skĭ Tsûne´ga. +Usĭnu´lĭ nû´[n]nâ une´ga hĭnû[n]ni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, +astĭ´ tsune´ga usĭnu´lĭ dehĭksa´û[n] tani´ga. Ulsge´ta +kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´[n], tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ. +Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´săniy’teĭ´. Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ tsune´ga +dehada´û[n]tani´ga, adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. +Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa +nu´tatanû´[n]ta, nû[n]tûneli´ga. Yû! + +Hĭgayû´[n]lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû´[n]gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ +gatû´[n]gisge´stĭ tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” +tsadûnû´hĭ. Naski-gâgû´ itsawesû´hĭ nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ +hatû[n]gani´ga. U´tsĭna´wa nutatanû´[n]ta nû[n]tûneli´ga. +Yû! + +(Degasi´sisgû´[n]ĭ)--Hiă´ duniyukwa´tisgû´[n]ĭ +dĭkanû´[n]wâtĭ ătanû´[n]sida´hĭ yĭ´gĭ. Na´skĭ +digû´nstanĕ´‘ti-gwû ûlĕ´ tsĭtsâtû´ yie´lisû. +Nigû[n]´-gwû usû´na [_for_ usûnda´na?] gû´[n]tatĭ +nayâ´ga nû´[n]watĭ unanû´[n]skă‘la´ĭ. Kane´ska dalâ´nige +unaste´tla tsĭ´gĭ. Se´lu dĭgahû‘nû´hĭ tsuni´yahĭstĭ´ +nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita, kanâhe´na-‘nû naskĭ´ iga´ĭ udanû´stĭ +hi´gĭ nayâ´ga. + + +_Translation._ + +THIS TELLS ABOUT MOVING PAINS IN THE TEETH (NEURALGIA?). + +Listen! In the Sunland you repose, O Red Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the red path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you +have brought down the red threads from above. The intruder in the +tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +red threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it +up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +“When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +Listen! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the blue path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you +have brought down the blue threads from above. The intruder in the +tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +blue threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick +it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +“When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +Listen! In the Darkening Land you repose, O Black Spider. Quickly you +have brought and laid down the black path. O great ada´wehi, quickly +you have brought down the black threads from above. The intruder in +the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +black threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick +it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +“When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +Listen! You repose on high, O White Spider. Quickly you have brought +and laid down the white path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you have +brought down the white threads from above. The intruder in the tooth +has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself +around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the white +threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. +The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +“When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Yû! + +(Prescription)--This is to treat them if there are pains moving about +in the teeth. It is only (necessary) to lay on the hands, or to blow, +if one should prefer. One may use any kind of a tube, but usually they +have the medicine in the mouth. It is the Yellow-rooted Grass (kane´ +ska dalâ´nige unaste´tla; not identified.) One must abstain four +nights from cooked corn (hominy), and kanâhe´na (fermented corn +gruel) is especially forbidden during the same period. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is taken from the manuscript book of Gatigwanasti, +now dead, and must therefore be explained from general analogy. The +ailment is described as “pains moving about in the teeth”--that is, +affecting several teeth simultaneously--and appears to be neuralgia. +The disease spirit is called “the intruder” and “the tormentor” and +is declared to be a mere worm (tsgâ´ya), which has wrapped itself +around the base of the tooth. This is the regular toothache theory. +The doctor then calls upon the Red Spider of the Sunland to let down +the red threads from above, along the red path, and to take up the +intruder, which is just what the spider eats. The same prayer is +addressed in turn to the Blue Spider in the north, the Black Spider in +the west and the White Spider above (galû[n]´lati). It may be stated +here that all these spirits are supposed to dwell above, but when no +point of the compass is assigned, galû[n]´lati is understood to mean +directly overhead, but far above everything of earth. The dweller in +this overhead galû[n]´lati may be red, white, or brown in color. In +this formula it is white, the ordinary color assigned spirits dwelling +in the south. In another toothache formula the Squirrel is implored +to take the worm and put it between the forking limbs of a tree on the +north side of the mountain. + +Following each supplication to the spider is another addressed to the +Ancient White, the formulistic name for fire. The name refers to its +antiquity and light-giving properties and perhaps also to the fact +that when dead it is covered with a coat of white ashes. In those +formulas in which the hunter draws omens from the live coals it is +frequently addressed as the Ancient Red. + +The directions are not explicit and must be interpreted from analogy. +“Laying on the hands” refers to pressing the thumb against the jaw +over the aching tooth, the hand having been previously warmed over +the fire, this being a common method of treating toothache. The other +method suggested is to blow upon the spot (tooth or outside of jaw?) a +decoction of an herb described rather vaguely as “yellow-rooted grass” +either through a tube or from the mouth of the operator. Igawĭ´, a +toothache specialist, treats this ailment either by pressure with the +warm thumb, or by blowing tobacco smoke from a pipe placed directly +against the tooth. Hominy and fermented corn gruel (kanâhe´na) +are prohibited for the regular term of four nights, or, as we are +accustomed to say, four days, and special emphasis is laid upon the +gruel tabu. + +The prayer to the Spider is probably repeated while the doctor is +warming his hands over the fire, and the following paragraph to the +Ancient White (the Fire) while holding the warm thumb upon the aching +spot. This reverses the usual order, which is to address the fire +while warming the hands. In this connection it must be noted that the +fire used by the doctor is never the ordinary fire on the hearth, but +comes from four burning chips taken from the hearth fire and generally +placed in an earthen vessel by the side of the patient. In some cases +the decoction is heated by putting into it seven live coals taken from +the fire on the hearth. + + +UNAWA STÎ EGWA (ADANÛ[n]WÂTÏ). + + (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) +Sgĕ! Galû´[n]latĭ´ hinehi´ hinehi´yû hinida´we, utsinâ´wa adû[n]niga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hayĭ´! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) +Sgĕ! U[n]wadâ´hi hinehi´, hinehi´yû hinida´we, utsinâ´wa adû[n]ni´ga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hayĭ´! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) +Sgĕ! Nâtsihi´ hinehi´ hinehi´yû hinida´we utsinâ´wa adû[n]ni´ga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hayĭ´! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) +Sgĕ! Amâyi´ hinehi´, hinehi´yû hinida´we utsinâ´wa adû[n]ni´ga + 12 12 22 33 33 566--Hayĭ´! + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]ngani´ga, Agalu´ga Tsûsdi´ga, +hida´wĕhĭ, â´tali tsusdiga´hĭ duda´w‘satû´[n] +ditsûldâ´histĭ. (Hida´wĕhĭ, gahu´stĭ +tsanu´lû[n]hû[n]sgĭ´ nige´sû[n]na.) Ha-nâ´gwa +da´tûlehû[n]gû´. Usdi´gi(yu) utiya´stanû[n]´(hĭ) +(higese´i). (Hû[n])hiyala´gistani´ga igâ´tĭ +usdigâ´hĭ usa´hĭlagĭ´ Igâtu´ltĭ nû[n]nâ´hĭ +wĭte´tsatănû[n]´û[n]sĭ´. A´ne´tsâge´ta _getsatûnĕhĭ_ +nû[n]gûlstani´ga igû[n]´wûlstanita´sti-gwû. Ati´gale´yata +tsûtû´neli´ga. Utsĭnâ´wa [11] nigû[n]tisge´stĭ. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hû[n]hatû´[n]gani´ga, Agalu´ga Hegwahigwû´. +´talĭ tsegwâ´hĭ duda´w‘satû[n] iyû[n]ta ditsûldâ´histĭ. +Agalu´ga He´gwa, hausĭnu´lĭ da´tûlehû[n]gû. +Usdi´giyu utiya´stanû´[n]hĭ. Hiyala´gistani´ga ulsge´ta +igâ´t-egwâ´hĭ) usa´hĭlagĭ´. (Igat-(egwâ´hĭ iyû[n]´ta +nû[n]nâ´hĭ wĭtetsatanû´[n]û[n]sĭ´. A´ne´tsâge´ta +_getsatûne´litise´sti_ igû[n]´wûlstanita´sti-gwû. +Utsĭnâ´wa-gwû nutatanû[n]ta. Nigagĭ´ Yû! + +(Degâsi´sisgû´[n]ĭ)--Unawa´stĭ e´gwa u´nitlû[n]gâ´ĭ. +Ta´ya gû´[n]tatĭ, ditsa´tista´‘ti. Tsâ´l-agayû´[n]lĭ +yă´hă ulû´[n]kwati-gwû nasgwû´. + +[Footnote 11: So written and pronounced by A‘yû[n]´ini instead of +utsĭnă´wa.] + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THE GREAT CHILL. + +Listen! On high you dwell, On high you dwell--you dwell, you dwell. +Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever you +dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hayĭ! + +Listen! On Û[n]wadâ´hĭ you dwell, On Û[n]wadâhĭ you dwell--you +dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, +forever you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hayĭ! + +Listen! In the pines you dwell, In the pines you dwell--you dwell, you +dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever +you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hayĭ! + +Listen! In the water you dwell, In the water you dwell, you dwell, you +dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever +you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hayiĭ! + +Listen! O now you have drawn near to hearken, O Little Whirlwind, +O ada´wehi, in the leafy shelter of the lower mountain, there you +repose. O ada´wehi, you can never fail in anything. Ha! Now rise up. +A very small portion [of the disease] remains. You have come to sweep +it away into the small swamp on the upland. You have laid down your +paths near the swamp. It is ordained that you shall scatter it as in +play, so that it shall utterly disappear. By you it must be scattered. +So shall there be relief. + +Listen! O now again you have drawn near to hearken, O Whirlwind, +surpassingly great. In the leafy shelter of the great mountain there +you repose. O Great Whirlwind, arise quickly. A very small part [of +the disease] remains. You have come to sweep the intruder into the +great swamp on the upland. You have laid down your paths toward the +great swamp. You shall scatter it as in play so that it shall utterly +disappear. And now relief has come. All is done. Yû! + +(Prescription.)--(This is to use) when they are sick with the great +chill. Take a decoction of wild cherry to blow upon them. If you have +Tsâ´l-agayû´[n]lĭ (“old tobacco”--_Nicotiana rustica_) it also is +very effective. + + +_Explanation._ + +Unawa´stĭ, “that which chills one,” is a generic name for +intermittent fever, otherwise known as fever and ague. It is much +dreaded by the Indian doctors, who recognize several varieties of +the disease, and have various theories to account for them. The above +formula was obtained from A‘yû´[n]ni (Swimmer), who described the +symptoms of this variety, the “Great Chill,” as blackness in the face, +with alternate high fever and shaking chills. The disease generally +appeared in spring or summer, and might return year after year. In the +first stages the chill usually came on early in the morning, but came +on later in the day as the disease progressed. There might be more +than one chill during the day. There was no rule as to appetite, but +the fever always produced an excessive thirst. In one instance the +patient fainted from the heat and would even lie down in a stream to +cool himself. The doctor believed the disease was caused by malicious +tsgâ´ya, a general name for all small insects and worms, excepting +intestinal worms. These tsgâ´ya--that is, the disease tsgâ´ya, not +the real insects and worms--are held responsible for a large number +of diseases, and in fact the tsgâ´ya doctrine is to the Cherokee +practitioner what the microbe theory is to some modern scientists. The +tsgâ´ya live in the earth, in the water, in the air, in the foliage +of trees, in decaying wood, or wherever else insects lodge, and as +they are constantly being crushed, burned or otherwise destroyed +through the unthinking carelessness of the human race, they are +continually actuated by a spirit of revenge. To accomplish their +vengeance, according to the doctors, they “establish towns” under the +skin of their victims, thus producing an irritation which results in +fevers, boils, scrofula and other diseases. + +The formula begins with a song of four verses, in which the doctor +invokes in succession the spirits of the air, of the mountain, of +the forest, and of the water. Galû[n]latĭ, the word used in the +first verse, signifies, as has been already explained, “on high” or +“above everything,” and has been used by translators to mean heaven. +Û[n]wadâ´hĭ in the second verse is the name of a bald mountain +east of Webster, North Carolina, and is used figuratively to denote +any mountains of bold outline. The Cherokees have a tradition +to account for the name, which is derived from Û[n]wadâ´lĭ, +“provision house.” Nâ´tsihĭ´ in the third verse signifies +“pinery,” from nâ´‘tsĭ, “pine,” but is figuratively used to denote +a forest of any kind. + +In the recitation which follows the song, but is used only in serious +cases, the doctor prays to the whirlwind, which is considered to +dwell among the trees on the mountain side, where the trembling of the +leaves always gives the first intimation of its presence. He declares +that a small portion of the disease still remains, the spirits +invoked in the song having already taken the rest, and calls upon the +whirlwind to lay down a path for it and sweep it away into the swamp +on the upland, referring to grassy marshes common in the small coves +of the higher mountains, which, being remote from the settlements, are +convenient places to which to banish the disease. Not satisfied with +this, he goes on to direct the whirlwind to scatter the disease as it +scatters the leaves of the forest, so that it shall utterly disappear. +In the Cherokee formula the verb a‘ne´tsâge´ta means literally +“to play,” and is generally understood to refer to the ball play, +a´ne´tsâ, so that to a Cherokee the expression conveys the idea of +catching up the disease and driving it onward as a player seizes +the ball and sends it spinning through the air from between his ball +sticks. Niga´gĭ is a solemn expression about equivalent to the Latin +consummatum est. + +The doctor beats up some bark from the trunk of the wild cherry and +puts it into water together with seven coals of fire, the latter +being intended to warm the decoction. The leaves of Tsâl-agayû´[n]li +(Indian tobacco--Nicotiana rustica) are sometimes used in place of the +wild cherry bark. The patient is placed facing the sunrise, and the +doctor, taking the medicine in his mouth, blows it over the body of +the sick man. First, standing between the patient and the sunrise and +holding the medicine cup in his hand, he sings the first verse in a +low tone. Then, taking some of the liquid in his mouth, he advances +and blows it successively upon the top of the head, the right +shoulder, left shoulder, and breast or back of the patient, making +four blowings in all. He repeats the same ceremony with the second, +third, and fourth verse, returning each time to his original position. +The ceremony takes place in the morning, and if necessary is repeated +in the evening. It is sometimes necessary also to repeat the treatment +for several--generally four--consecutive days. + +The recitation is not used excepting in the most serious cases, when, +according to the formula, “a very small portion” of the disease +still lingers. It is accompanied by blowing _of the breath alone_, +without medicine, probably in this case typical of the action of the +whirlwind. After repeating the whole ceremony accompanying the song, +as above described, the doctor returns to his position in front of +the patient and recites in a whisper the first paragraph to the Little +Whirlwind, after which he advances and blows his breath upon the +patient four times as he has already blown the medicine upon him. Then +going around to the north he recites the second paragraph to the Great +Whirlwind, and at its conclusion blows in the same manner. Then moving +around to the west--behind the patient--he again prays to the Little +Whirlwind with the same ceremonies, and finally moving around to the +south side he closes with the prayer to the Great Whirlwind, blowing +four times at its conclusion. The medicine must be prepared anew by +the doctor at the house of the patient at each application morning +or evening. Only as much as will be needed is made at a time, and the +patient always drinks what remains after the blowing. Connected with +the preparation and care of the medicine are a number of ceremonies +which need not be detailed here. The wild cherry bark must always be +procured fresh; but the Tsâl-agayû´[n]lĭ (“Old Tobacco”) leaves +may be dry. When the latter plant is used four leaves are taken and +steeped in warm water with the fire coals, as above described. + + +HIĂ´ TSUNSDI´GA DIL‘TADI´NATANTI´YǏ. I. + +Sgĕ! Hĭsga´ya Ts‘sdi´ga ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehû[n]gû´ +kĭlû-gwû´. Iyû´[n]ta agayû´[n]linasĭ´ taya´ĭ. Eska´niyŭ +unayĕ´histĭ´ nû[n]ta-yu´tanatĭ´. Sgĕ´! tinû´lĭtgĭ´! +Tleki´yu tsûtsestâ´gĭ hwĭnagĭ´. Yû! + +Sgĕ! Hige´cya ts‘sdi´ga ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehû[n]gû´ +kĭlû-gwû´. Iyû[n]´ta tsûtu´tunasĭ´ tăya´ĭ. Eska´niyŭ +unayĕ´histĭ nû[n]tayu´tanatĭ´. Sgĕ! tinû´lĭtgĭ´! +Tleki´yu tsûtsestâ´ hwĭnagĭ´. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN. + +Listen! You little man, get up now at once. There comes an old woman. +The horrible [old thing] is coming, only a little way off. Listen! +Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Yû! + +Listen! You little woman, get up now at once. There comes your +grandfather. The horrible old fellow is coming only a little way off. +Listen! Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +In this formula for childbirth the idea is to frighten the child and +coax it to come, by telling it, if a boy, that an ugly old woman is +coming, or if a girl, that her grandfather is coming only a short +distance away. The reason of this lies in the fact that an old woman +is the terror of all the little boys of the neighborhood, constantly +teasing and frightening them by declaring that she means to live +until they grow up and then compel one of them to marry her, old and +shriveled as she is. For the same reason the maternal grandfather, who +is always a privileged character in the family, is especially dreaded +by the little girls, and nothing will send a group of children +running into the house more quickly than the announcement that an old +“granny,” of either sex is in sight. + +As the sex is an uncertain quantity, the possible boy is always first +addressed in the formulas, and if no result seems to follow, the +doctor then concludes that the child is a girl and addresses her in +similar tones. In some cases an additional formula with the beads +is used to determine whether the child will be born alive or dead. +In most instances the formulas were formerly repeated with the +appropriate ceremonies by some old female relative of the mother, +but they are now the property of the ordinary doctors, men as well as +women. + +This formula was obtained from the manuscript book of A‘yû´[n]inĭ, +who stated that the medicine used was a warm decoction of a plant +called Dalâ´nige Unaste´tsĭ (“yellow root”--not identified), which +was blown successively upon the top of the mother’s head, upon the +breast, and upon the palm of each hand. The doctor stands beside the +woman, who is propped up in a sitting position, while repeating the +first paragraph and then blows. If this produces no result he then +recites the paragraph addressed to the girl and again blows. A part of +the liquid is also given to the woman to drink. A‘yû´[n]inĭ claimed +this was always effectual. + + +(HIĂ´ TSUNSDI´GA DIL‘TADI´NATANTI´YI. II.) + +Hitsutsa, hitsu´tsa, tleki´yu, tleki´yu, ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ, +ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ! Hi´tsu´tsa, tleki´yu, gûltsû´tĭ, +gûltsû´tĭ, tinagâ´na, tinagâ´na! + +Higĕ‘yu´tsa, higĕ‘yu´tsa, tleki´yu, tleki´yu, ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ, +ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ! Higĕ‘yu´tsa, tleki´yu, gû[n]gu´stĭ, +gû[n]gu´stĭ, tinagâ´na, tinagâ´na! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN. + +Little boy, little boy, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little boy, +hurry; a bow, a bow; let’s see who’ll get it, let’s see who’ll get it! + +Little girl, little girl, hurry, hurry, come out, come out. Little +girl, hurry; a sifter, a sifter; let’s see who’ll get it, let’s see +who’ll get it! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula was obtained from Takwati´hĭ, as given to him by +a specialist in this line. Takwatihi himself knew nothing of the +treatment involved, but a decoction is probably blown upon the patient +as described in the preceding formula. In many cases the medicine used +is simply cold water, the idea being to cause a sudden muscular action +by the chilling contact. In this formula the possible boy or girl is +coaxed out by the promise of a bow or a meal-sifter to the one who can +get it first. Among the Cherokees it is common, in asking about the +sex of a new arrival, to inquire, “Is it a bow or a sifter?” or “Is it +ball sticks or bread?” + + +DAL´NI Û[n]NĂGE´Ǐ ADANÛ´[n]WÂTǏ. + + Yuha´ahi´, (yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´,) + Yuha´ahi´, (yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´), Yû! + +Sgĕ! Û[n]tal-e´gwâhĭ´ didultâ´hĭstĭ ulsge´ta. Usĭnu´lĭ +dâtitu´lene´ĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ dunu´y‘tani´leĭ´. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa statû´[n]gani´ga, nû[n]dâ´yĭ +distul‘tâ´histĭ, Stisga´ya Dĭst‘sdi´ga, stida´wehi-gâgû. +Û[n]tal-e´gwa dâtitulene´(ĭ) ulsge´ta. Usĭnu´lĭ +detĭstû´l‘tani´ga ulsge´ta. Ditu´talenû´[n]itsa nû[n]na´hĭ +[w]i´de´tutanû´[n]tasĭ´, nû[n]tadu´ktahû´[n]stĭ +nige´sû[n]na. Nû´‘gĭ iyayû´[n]latăgĭ´ ayâwe´sâlû´[n]ta +de´dudûneli´sestĭ´, Gû´[n]tsatâtagi´yû +tistadi´gûlahi´sestĭ. Tiduda´le‘nû´(ĭ) û´[n]tale´gwâ +[w][i]tĭ´stûl‘tati´nû[n]tani´ga. Na´‘nă +witûl‘tâ´hĭstani´ga, tadu´ktahû´[n]stĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Ha-na´‘nă [w][i]d´ultâhiste´stĭ. (Yû!) + +(Degasisisgû´[n]ĭ)--Hiă´ anine´tsĭ ga´‘tiskĭ +adanû´[n]wâtĭ. Ŭ´[n]tla atsi´la tĭ´‘tĭ yĭ´gĭ. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THE BLACK YELLOWNESS. + + Yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, + Yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´ Yû! + +Listen! In the great lake the intruder reposes. Quickly he has risen +up there. Swiftly he has come and stealthily put himself (under the +sick man). + +Listen! Ha! Now you two have drawn near to hearken, there in the Sun +Land you repose, O Little Men, O great anida´wehi! The intruder has +risen up there in the great lake. Quickly you two have lifted up the +intruder. His paths have laid themselves down toward the direction +whence he came. Let him never look back (toward us). When he stops +to rest at the four gaps you will drive him roughly along. Now he has +plunged into the great lake from which he came. There he is compelled +to remain, never to look back. Ha! there let him rest. (Yû!) + +(Directions.)--This is to treat them when their breast swells. Fire +(coals) is not put down. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A‘yû[n]inĭ’s manuscript, is used in treating +a disease known as Dalâni, literally, “yellow.” From the vague +description of symptoms given by the doctors, it appears to be an +aggravated form of biliousness, probably induced by late suppers and +bad food. According to the Indian theory it is caused by revengeful +animals, especially by the terrapin and its cousin, the turtle. + +The doctors recognize several forms of the disease, this variety +being distinguished as the “black dalâni” (Dalâni Û[n]nage´ĭ) and +considered the most dangerous. In this form of dalânĭ, according to +their account, the navel and abdomen of the patient swell, the ends of +his fingers become black, dark circles appear about his eyes, and the +throat contracts spasmodically and causes him to fall down suddenly +insensible. A‘yû[n]inĭ’s method of treatment is to rub the breast +and abdomen of the patient with the hands, which have been previously +rubbed together in the warm infusion of wild cherry (ta´ya) bark. The +song is sung while rubbing the hands together in the liquid, and the +prayer is repeated while rubbing the swollen abdomen of the patient. +The operation may be repeated several times on successive days. + +The song at the beginning has no meaning and is sung in a low +plaintive lullaby tone, ending with a sharp _Yu!_ The prayer possesses +a special interest, as it brings out several new points in the +Cherokee mythologic theory of medicine. The “intruder,” which is held +to be some amphibious animal--as a terrapin, turtle, or snake--is +declared to have risen up from his dwelling place in the great lake, +situated toward the sunset, and to have come by stealth under the +sick man. The verb implies that the disease spirit _creeps under_ as a +snake might crawl under the coverlet of a bed. + +The two Little Men in the Sun Land are now invoked to drive out the +disease. Who these Little Men are is not clear, although they are +regarded as most powerful spirits and are frequently invoked in the +formulas. They are probably the two Thunder Boys, sons of Kanati. + +The Little Men come instantly when summoned by the shaman, pull out +the intruder from the body of the patient, turn his face toward the +sunset, and begin to drive him on by threats and blows (expressed in +the word gû´[n]tsatatagi´yû) to the great lake from which he came. +On the road there are four gaps in the mountains, at each of which +the disease spirit halts to rest, but is continually forced onward by +his two pursuers, who finally drive him into the lake, where he is +compelled to remain, without being permitted even to look back again. +The four gaps are mentioned also in other formulas for medicine and +the ball play and sometimes correspond with the four stages of the +treatment. The direction “No fire (coals) is put down” indicates that +no live coals are put into the decoction, the doctor probably using +water warmed in the ordinary manner. + +Takwati´hĭ uses for this disease a decoction of four herbs applied +in the same manner. He agrees with A‘yû[n]inĭ in regard to the +general theory and says also that the disease may be contracted by +neglecting to wash the hands after handling terrapin shells, as, for +instance, the shell rattles used by women in the dance. The turtle or +water tortoise (seligu´gĭ) is considered as an inferior being, with +but little capacity for mischief, and is feared chiefly on account of +its relationship to the dreaded terrapin or land tortoise (tûksĭ´). +In Takwatihĭ’s formula he prays to the Ancient White (the fire), of +which these cold-blooded animals are supposed to be afraid, to put the +fish into the water, the turtle into the mud, and to send the terrapin +and snake to the hillside. + + +TSUNDAYE´LIGAKTANÛ´HǏ ADANÛ´[n]WÂTǏ. + +Sgĕ! Hanâ´gwa hatû´[n]ganiga, galû´[n]latĭ hetsadâ´histĭ, +Kâ´lanû Û´[n]nage, gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´[n]sgĭ +nige´sû[n]na. Ha-nâ´gwa (hetsatsa´û[n]tani´ga. +Hanigû´[n]watû[n]nigwălâe´stigwû tsalâsû´[n]ĭ. +Asgin-u´danû higes´eĭ. Sanigala´gĭ gesû´[n]ĭ +hastigû´‘lani´ga, duwâlu´wa´tû´tĭ nige´sû[n]na, +nitû´neli´ga. Ha-Usûhi´yĭ wititâ´hĭstani´ga. +Dadu´satahû´[n]stĭ nige´sû[n]na nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa +nu´tatanû´[n]ta. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga, Kâ´lanû Gĭgage´ĭ, +hidawĕhi´yu. Ha-gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´[n]sgĭ nige´sû[n]na, +etsanetse´lûhĭ, Ha-galû[n]lati´tsa hetsatâ´histĭ. Nâ´gwa +hetsatsâ´û[n]tani´ga. Nigû´[n]watû´[n]nigwalâe´sti-gwû +tsalâsû´[n]ĭ. Asgin-udanû´hi-gwû higese´ĭ. Ha-Sanigalâgĭ +gesû´[n] hâstigû´‘lani´ga ulsge´ta, ha-utsĭnă´wa-gwû´ +nigû´[n]tisge´stĭ. Usûhi´yĭ wĭntûnĕ´dû. Usûhi´yĭ +wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa adû[n]ni´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga, Kâ´lanû Sa´ka´ni; +galû´latĭ hetsadâ´histĭ, hida´wĕhĭ. Gahu´stĭ +tsanu´lahû´[n]sgĭ nige´sû[n]na, etsanetse´lûhĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa +hetsatsâ´û[n]tani´ga. Nigû´[n]watû´[n]nigwalâe´sti-gwû +tsalâsû´[n]ĭ. Sanigalâ´gĭ gesu´[n] hastigû´‘lani´ga +ulsge´ta. Duwâlu´watû´tĭ nige´sû[n]na, nitû´neli´ga. +Usûhi´yĭ wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga, dadu´satahû´[n]stĭ +nige´sû[n]na nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa adû[n]ni´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga, Wa´hĭlĭ galû[n]lti´tsa +hetsadâ´histĭ, Kâ´lanû Tsûne´ga, hida´wĕhĭ. Gahu´stĭ +tsanu´l‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Hanâ´gwa hetsatsâ´û[n]tani´ga. +Nigû´[n]watû´[n]nigwalâe´sti-gwû tsalâsû´[n]ĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa +detal‘tani´ga. Sanigalâ´gĭ gesû´[n] hastig´û‘lani´ga +ulsge´ta, duwâlu´watû´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na nitû´neli´ga. +Usûhi´yĭ wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga. Dadu´satahû´[n]stĭ +nige´sû[n]na nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa adû[n]ni´ga. + +(Dega´sisisgû´[n]ĭ)--Hiă´agi‘li´ya unitlû[n]gû´[n]ĭ +adanû´wâtĭ. Askwanu´tsastĭ´. Tsâ´l(a) +Agayû´[n]lĭunitsi´lû[n]nû´hĭgû´[n]tatĭ, +anû´[n]sga‘lâ´-gwû; Kanasâ´la-‘nû unali´gâhû, +ade´la´-‘nû nû´‘gi-gwû ani´gage´ĭ dahâ´ĭ, +Tsâliyu´stĭ-‘nû Usdi´ga. Gahu´sti-´‘nu yuta´suyû´[n]na +sâwatu´hi-gwû atĭ´ dawâ´hila-gwû iyû´[n]ta. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT FOR ORDEAL DISEASES. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken and are resting +directly overhead. O Black Raven, you never fail in anything. Ha! Now +you are brought down. Ha! There shall be left no more than a trace +upon the ground where you have been. It is an evolute ghost. You have +now put it into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the +way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it +may never return. Let relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Red Raven, most +powerful ada´wehi. Ha! You never fail in anything, for so it was +ordained of you. Ha! You are resting directly overhead. Ha! Now you +are brought down. There shall remain but a trace upon the ground where +you have been. It is an evolute ghost. Ha! You have put the Intruder +into a crevice of Sanigalagi and now the relief shall come. It (the +Intruder) is sent to the Darkening Land. You have put it to rest in +the Darkening Land. Let the relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Raven; you are +resting directly overhead, ada´wehi. You never fail in anything, for +so it was ordained of you. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall +be left but a trace upon the ground where you have been. You have put +the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the +way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it +may never return. Let the relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken; you repose on high on +Wa´hĭlĭ, O White Raven, ada´wehi. You never fail in anything. Ha! +Now you are brought down. There shall be left but a trace upon the +ground where you have been. Ha! Now you have taken it up. You have put +the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find +the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, never to +return. Let the relief come. + +(Directions)--This is to treat them for a painful sickness. One must +suck. Use Tsâ´lagayû[n]´-li (“Old Tobacco”--Nicotiana rustica), +blossoms, and just have them in the mouth, and Kanasâ´la (Wild +Parsnip), goes with it, and four red beads also must lie there, +and Tsâliyu´sti Usdi´ga (“Little (plant) Like Tobacco”--Indian +Tobacco--Lobelia inflata.) And if there should be anything mixed with +it (i.e., after sucking the place), just put it about a hand’s-length +into the mud. + + +_Explanation._ + +The Cherokee name for this disease gives no idea whatever of its +serious nature. The technical term, Tsundaye´liga´ktanû´hĭ, +really refers to the enthusiastic outburst of sociability that ensues +when two old friends meet. In this instance it might be rendered +“an ordeal.” The application of such a name to what is considered a +serious illness is in accordance with the regular formulistic practice +of making light of a dangerous malady in order to convey to the +disease spirit the impression that the shaman is not afraid of him. +A‘yû[n]inĭ, from whom the formula was obtained, states also that the +disease is sometimes sent to a man by a friend or even by his parents, +in order to test his endurance and knowledge of counter spells. + +As with most diseases, the name simply indicates the shaman’s theory +of the occult cause of the trouble, and is no clue to the symptoms, +which may be those usually attendant upon fevers, indigestion, or +almost any other ailment. + +In some cases the disease is caused by the conjurations of an enemy, +through which the patient becomes subject to an inordinate appetite, +causing him to eat until his abdomen is unnaturally distended. By the +same magic spells tobacco may be conveyed into the man’s body, causing +him to be affected by faintness and languor. The enemy, if bitterly +revengeful, may even put into the body of his victim a worm or insect +(tsgâya), or a sharpened stick of black locust or “fat” pine, which +will result in death if not removed by a good doctor. Sometimes a weed +stalk is in some occult manner conveyed into the patient’s stomach, +where it is transformed into a worm. As this disease is very common, +owing to constant quarrels and rival jealousies, there are a number of +specialists who devote their attention to it. + +The prayer is addressed to the Black, Red, Blue, and White Ravens, +their location at the four cardinal points not being specified, +excepting in the case of the white raven of Wa´hilĭ, which, as +already stated, is said to be a mountain in the south, and hence +is used figuratively to mean the south. The ravens are each in turn +declared to have put the disease into a crevice in Sanigala´gi--the +Cherokee name of Whiteside Mountain, at the head of Tuckasegee River, +in North Carolina, and used figuratively for any high precipitous +mountain--and to have left no more than a trace upon the ground where +it has been. The adjective translated “evolute” (udanûhĭ) is of +frequent occurrence in the formulas, but has no exact equivalent in +English. It signifies springing into being or life from an embryonic +condition. In this instance it would imply that whatever object the +enemy has put into the body of the sick man has there developed into a +ghost to trouble him. + +The directions are expressed in a rather vague manner, as is the +case with most of A‘yû[n]ini’s attempts at original composition. The +disease is here called by another name, agi‘li´ya unitlû[n]gû´[n]ĭ, +signifying “when they are painfully sick.” The treatment consists in +sucking the part most affected, the doctor having in his mouth during +the operation the blossoms of Tsâ´l-agayû´[n]lĭ (Nicotiana rustica), +Kanasâ´la (wild parsnip,) and Tsâliyusti Usdiga (Lobelia inflata.) The +first and last of these names signify “tobacco” and “tobacco-like,” +while the other seems to contain the same word, tsâ´la, and the +original idea may have been to counteract the witchcraft by the use of +the various species of “tobacco,” the herb commonly used to drive away +a witch or wizard. During the sucking process four red beads lie near +upon a piece of (white) cloth, which afterward becomes the perquisite +of the doctor. Though not explicitly stated, it is probable that the +doctor holds in his mouth a decoction of the blossoms named, rather +than the blossoms themselves. On withdrawing his mouth from the spot +and ejecting the liquid into a bowl, it is expected that there will be +found “mixed” with it a small stick, a pebble, an insect, or something +of the kind, and this the shaman then holds up to view as the +cause of the disease. It is afterward buried a “hand’s length” +(awâ´hilû)[12] deep in the mud. No directions were given as to diet +or tabu. + +[Footnote 12: This word, like the expression “seven days,” frequently +has a figurative meaning. Thus the sun is said to be seven awâ´hilû +above the earth.] + + +HUNTING. + +GÛN´HILÛ´[n]TA UGÛ´[n]WA‘LǏ. + +Una´lelŭ´ eskiska´l‘tasĭ´. Iskwa´lelŭ eskiska´l‘tasĭ´. +Yû! Ela-Kana´tĭ tsûlda´hĭstû´[n], tsûwatsi´la astû´[n] +detsatasi´ga. Ts’skwâ´lĭ uda´nisă´‘testĭ, ugwala´ga +udu´yaheti´dege´stĭ. Sunûsi´ya-gwû udanisă´‘testĭ, +ts’su´lti-gwû nige´sû[n]na. + +Hĭkayû´[n]lĭ Gi´gage-gâgû´, tsine´tsĭ gesû´[n] +aw’stitege´stĭ. _Tsăstû´ utatiyĭ_, nâ´gwa _tsăs‘tû +gasû‘hisă‘tĭ atisge´stĭ_. Ha-nâ´gwa nû[n]nâ tsusdi´ +tutana´wa-tegû´ _digana´watû´[n]ta_ atisge´stĭ. +Utalĭ´ udanû´hĭ ugwala´ga gû[n]watuy´ahĭti´tege´stĭ, +hĭlahiyû´[n]ta-gwû [w]ustû´‘stĭ nige´sû[n]na. D’stiskwâ´lĭ +deudû´nisă‘te´stĭ. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +CONCERNING HUNTING. + +Give me the wind. Give me the breeze. Yû! O Great Terrestrial Hunter, +I come to the edge of your spittle where you repose. Let your stomach +cover itself; let it be covered with leaves. Let it cover itself at a +single bend, and may you never be satisfied. + +And you, O Ancient Red, may you hover above my breast while I sleep. +Now let good (dreams?) develop; let my experiences be propitious. +Ha! Now let my little trails be directed, as they lie down in various +directions(?). Let the leaves be covered with the clotted blood, and +may it never cease to be so. You two (the Water and the Fire) shall +bury it in your stomachs. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +This is a hunting formula, addressed to the two great gods of the +hunter, Fire and Water. The evening before starting the hunter “goes +to water,” as already explained, and recites the appropriate formula. +In the morning he sets out, while still fasting, and travels without +eating or drinking until nightfall. At sunset he again goes to water, +reciting this formula during the ceremony, after which he builds his +camp fire, eats his supper and lies down for the night, first rubbing +his breast with ashes from the fire. In the morning he starts out to +look for game. + +“Give me the wind,” is a prayer that the wind may be in his favor, +so that the game may not scent him. The word rendered here “Great +Terrestrial Hunter,” is in the original “Ela-Kana´tĭ.” In this +_e´la_ is the earth and _kana´tĭ_ is a term applied to a successful +hunter. The great Kanatĭ, who, according to the myth, formerly kept +all the game shut up in his underground caverns, now dwells above +the sky, and is frequently invoked by hunters. The raven also is +often addressed as Kanatĭ in these hunting formulas. Ela-Kana´tĭ, +the Great Terrestrial Hunter--as distinguished from the other +two--signifies the river, the name referring to the way in which the +tiny streams and rivulets search out and bring down to the great +river the leaves and débris of the mountain forests. In formulas for +medicine, love, the ball play, etc., the river is always addressed +as the Long Person (Yû´[n]wĭ Gûnahi´ta). The “spittle” referred to +is the foam at the edge of the water. “Let your stomach be covered +with leaves” means, let the blood-stained leaves where the stricken +game shall fall be so numerous as to cover the surface of the water. +The hunter prays also that sufficient game may be found in a single +bend of the river to accomplish this result without the necessity of +searching through the whole forest, and to that end he further prays +that the river may never be satisfied, but continually longing for +more. The same idea is repeated in the second paragraph. The hunter +is supposed to feed the river with blood washed from the game. In like +manner he feeds the fire, addressed in the second paragraph as the +“Ancient Red,” with a piece of meat cut from the tongue of the deer. +The prayer that the fire may hover above his breast while he sleeps +and brings him favorable dreams, refers to his rubbing his breast with +ashes from his camp fire before lying down to sleep, in order that the +fire may bring him dream omens of success for the morrow. The Fire is +addressed either as the Ancient White or the Ancient Red, the allusion +in the first case being to the light or the ashes of the fire; in the +other case, to the color of the burning coals. “You two shall bury it +in your stomachs” refers to the blood-stained leaves and the piece +of meat which are cast respectively into the river and the fire. The +formula was obtained from A‘yû[n]inĭ, who explained it in detail. + + +HIĂ´ TSI´SKWA GANÂHILIDASTI YǏ. + +Tsĭgĕ´! Hĭkayû´[n]l-Une´ga, tsûltâ´histû´[n] +gûlitâ´hĭstani´ga. Nâ´gwa tsûda´ntâ talehĭ´sani´ga. +Sâ´gwa igûnsi´ya ts’skwâlĭ´ udû´nisate´stĭ, ts’su´ltĭ +nige´sû[n]na. Wane´(ĭ) tigi´gage(ĭ) tali´kanĕli´ga. +[U]´[n]talĭ udanû´hĭ tsăgista´‘tĭ. + +Hĭkayû´[n]l-Une´ga, _anu´ya uwâtatâ´gĭ agi´stĭ +tătsiskâ´ltane´lûhĭ_. [U]´[n]talĭ u´danû´ +_te´tûlskew´si´ga_. + +Hĭkayû´[n]l-Une´ga, nû[n]na´(hĭ) kana´tĭ +skwatetâ´stani´ga. Unigwalû´[n]gĭ te´gatû[n]tsi´ga. +Nû[n]â´(hĭ) kana´tĭ tati´kiyû´[n]gwita´watise´stĭ. +Unigwalû´[n]gĭ tigû´[n]watû´tsanû´hĭ. + +Hĭkayû´[n]l-Une´ga, Kana´tĭ, sk´salatâ´titege´stĭ, +sa‘ka´ni ginu´t’tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Sgĕ! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS FOR HUNTING BIRDS. + +Listen! O Ancient White, where you dwell in peace I have come to rest. +Now let your spirit arise. Let it (the game brought down) be buried +in your stomach, and may your appetite never be satisfied. The red +hickories have tied themselves together. The clotted blood is your +recompense. + +O Ancient White, * * * Accept the clotted blood (?) + +O Ancient White, put me in the successful hunting trail. Hang the +mangled things upon me. Let me come along the successful trail with +them doubled up (under my belt). It (the road) is clothed with the +mangled things. + +O Ancient White, O Kanati, support me continually, that I may never +become blue. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A‘yû[n]inĭ’s manuscript, is recited by the +bird-hunter in the morning while standing over the fire at his hunting +camp before starting out for the day’s hunt. A‘yû[n]inĭ stated that +seven blowgun arrows are first prepared, including a small one only a +“hand-length” (awâ´hilû) long. On rising in the morning the hunter, +standing over the fire, addresses it as the “Ancient White.” rubbing +his hands together while repeating the prayer. He then sets out for +the hunting ground, where he expects to spend the day, and on reaching +it he shoots away the short arrow at random, without attempting to +trace its flight. There is of course some significance attached +to this action and perhaps an accompanying prayer, but no further +information upon this point was obtainable. Having shot away the magic +arrow, the hunter utters a peculiar hissing sound, intended to call +up the birds, and then goes to work with his remaining arrows. On all +hunting expeditions it is the regular practice, religiously enforced, +to abstain from food until sunset. + +A favorite method with the bird-hunter during the summer season is +to climb a gum tree, which is much frequented by the smaller birds on +account of its berries, where, taking up a convenient position amid +the branches with his noiseless blowgun and arrows, he deliberately +shoots down one bird after another until his shafts are exhausted, +when he climbs down, draws out the arrows from the bodies of the birds +killed, and climbs up again to repeat the operation. As the light +darts used make no sound, the birds seldom take the alarm, and are too +busily engaged with the berries to notice their comrades dropping to +the ground from time to time, and pay but slight attention even to the +movements of the hunter. + +The prayer is addressed to the Ancient White (the Fire), the spirit +most frequently invoked by the hunter, who, as before stated, rubs +his hands together over the fire while repeating the words. The +expressions used are obscure when taken alone, but are full of meaning +when explained in the light of the hunting customs. The “clotted +blood” refers to the bloodstained leaves upon which the fallen game +has lain. The expression occurs constantly in the hunting formulas. +The hunter gathers up these bloody leaves and casts them upon the +fire, in order to draw omens for the morrow from the manner in which +they burn. A part of the tongue, or some other portion of the animal, +is usually cast upon the coals also for the same purpose. This +subject will be treated at length in a future account of the hunting +ceremonies. + +“Let it be buried in your stomach” refers also to the offering made +the fire. By the red hickories are meant the strings of hickory +bark which the bird hunter twists about his waist for a belt. The +dead birds are carried by inserting their heads under this belt. +Red is, of course, symbolic of his success. “The mangled things” +(unigwalû´[n]gĭ) are the wounded birds. Kana´tĭ is here used +to designate the fire, on account of its connection with the hunting +ceremonies. + + +INAGĚ´HǏ AYÂSTI[n]YǏ. + +Usĭnuli´yu Selagwû´tsĭ Gigage´ĭ getsû´[n]neliga +tsûdandâgi´hĭ aye‘li´yu, usĭnuli´yu. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS. + +Instantly the Red Selagwû´tsĭ strike you in the very center of your +soul--instantly. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +This short formula, obtained from ‘wani´ta, is recited by the +hunter while taking aim. The bowstring is let go--or, rather, the +trigger is pulled--at the final _Yû!_ He was unable to explain the +meaning of the word selagwû´tsĭ further than that it referred to +the bullet. Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that +this is the Cherokee name of a reed of the genus Erianthus, and the +inference follows that the stalk of the plant was formerly used for +arrow shafts. Red implies that the arrow is always successful in +reaching the mark aimed at, and in this instance may refer also to its +being bloody when withdrawn from the body of the animal. Inagĕ´hĭ, +“dwellers in the wilderness,” is the generic term for game, including +birds, but A‘wani´ta has another formula intended especially for +deer. + + +(Y´NA TǏ´KANÂGI´TA.) + + He+! Hayuya´haniwă´. hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + Tsistuyi´ nehandu´yanû, Tsistuyi´ nehandu´yanû--Yoho´+! + He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + Kuwâhi´ nehandu´yanû´, Kuwâhi´ nehandu´yanû--Yoho´+! + He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + Uyâ‘ye´ nehandu´yanû´, Uya´ye´ nehahdu´yanû´--Yoho´+! + He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + Gâtekwâ´(hĭ) nehandu´yanû´, Gâtekwâ´(hĭ) + nehandu´yanû´--Yoho´+! + Ûlĕ-‘nû´ asĕhĭ´ tadeya´statakûhĭ´ gû´[n]nage astû´tsĭkĭ´. + + +_Translation._ + +BEAR SONG. + + He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + In Rabbit Place you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho´+! + He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + In Mulberry Place you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho´+! + He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + In Uyâ´‘yĕ you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho´+! + He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, + hayuya´haniwă´. + In the Great Swamp (?) you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho´+! + And now surely we and the good black things, the best of all, + shall see each other. + + +_Explanation._ + +This song, obtained from A‘yû´[n]inĭ in connection with the story +of the Origin of the Bear, as already mentioned, is sung by the bear +hunter, in order to attract the bears, while on his way from the camp +to the place where he expects to hunt during the day. It is one of +those taught the Cherokees by the Ani-Tsâ´kahĭ before they lost +their human shape and were transformed into bears. The melody is +simple and plaintive. + +The song consists of four verses followed by a short recitation. Each +verse begins with a loud prolonged _He+!_ and ends with _Yoho´+!_ +uttered in the same manner. Hayuya´haniwă´ has no meaning. +Tsistu´yĭ, Kuwâ´hĭ, Uyâ´‘yĕ, and Gâte´kwâhĭ are four mountains, in +each of which the bears have a townhouse and hold a dance before +going into their dens for the winter. The first three named are high +peaks in the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, in the +neighborhood of Clingman’s Dome and Mount Guyot. The fourth is +southeast of Franklin, North Carolina, toward the South Carolina line, +and may be identical with Fodderstack Mountain. In Kuwahi dwells the +great bear chief and doctor, in whose magic bath the wounded bears are +restored to health. They are said to originate or be conceived in the +mountains named, because these are their headquarters. The “good black +things” referred to in the recitation are the bears. + + +HIĂ´ ATSÛ‘TI´YǏ TSUN´TANÛ. + +Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa hitsatû´[n]gani´ga hitsiga´tugĭ´. +Titsila´wisû´[n]hĭ [u]wâgi´‘lĭ tege´tsûts‘gû´‘lawĭstĭ´. +Tsuli´stana´lû ûlĕ´ waktûĭ, agi´stĭ une´ka +itsû´[n]yatanilû´ĭstani´ga. Gû[n]watu´hwĭtû´ nû[n]nâ´hĭ +degûndâltsi´dâhe´stĭ. [u]Wâ´hisâ´nahĭ tigiwatsi´la. +Tutsegû´‘lawistĭ´tege´stĭ. Û[n]talĭ´ degû´[n]watanûhĭ, +uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Tsuwatsi´la dadâl‘tsi´ga. A‘yû +A‘yû´[n]inĭ tigwadâ´ita. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS FOR CATCHING LARGE FISH. + +Listen! Now you settlements have drawn near to hearken. Where you have +gathered in the foam you are moving about as one. You Blue Cat and the +others, I have come to offer you freely the white food. Let the paths +from every direction recognize each other. Our spittle shall be in +agreement. Let them (your and my spittle) be together as we go about. +They (the fish) have become a prey and there shall be no loneliness. +Your spittle has become agreeable. I am called Swimmer. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A‘yû[n]inĭ´s’ book, is for the purpose of +catching large fish. According to his instructions, the fisherman +must first chew a small piece of Yugwilû´ (Venus’ Flytrap--Dionæa +muscipula) and spit it upon the bait and also upon the hook. Then, +standing facing the stream, he recites the formula and puts the bait +upon the hook. He will be able to pull out a fish at once, or if the +fish are not about at the moment they will come in a very short time. + +The Yugwilû´ is put upon the bait from the idea that it will enable +the hook to attract and hold the fish as the plant itself seizes and +holds insects in its cup. The root is much prized by the Cherokees +for this purpose, and those in the West, where the plant is not found, +frequently send requests for it to their friends in Carolina. + +The prayer is addressed directly to the fish, who are represented +as living in settlements. The same expression as has already been +mentioned is sometimes used by the doctors in speaking of the +_tsgâ´ya_ or worms which are supposed to cause sickness by getting +under the skin of the patient. The Blue Cat (_Amiurus, genus_) is +addressed as the principal fish and the bait is spoken of as the +“white food,” an expression used also of the viands prepared at the +feast of the green corn dance, to indicate their wholesome character. +“Let the paths from every direction recognize each other,” means let +the fishes, which are supposed to have regular trails through the +water, assemble together at the place where the speaker takes his +station, as friends recognizing each other at a distance approach +to greet each other, [u]Wâhisâ´nahĭ tigiwatsi´la, rendered “our +spittle shall be in agreement,” is a peculiar archaic expression that +can not be literally translated. It implies that there shall be such +close sympathy between the fisher and the fish that their spittle +shall be as the spittle of one individual. As before stated, the +spittle is believed to exert an important influence upon the whole +physical and mental being. The expression “your spittle has become +agreeable” is explained by A‘yû[n]inĭ as an assertion or wish that +the fish may prove palatable, while the words rendered “there shall be +no loneliness” imply that there shall be an abundant catch. + + +LOVE. + +(YÛ[n]WĚ´HǏ UGÛ´[n]WA‘LǏ I.) + +Ku! Sgĕ! _Alahi´yĭ_ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Higĕ´‘ya tsûl‘di´yĭ, +hatû´[n]gani´ga. _Elahi´yĭ_ iyû´[n]ta ditsûl‘da´histĭ, +Higĕ´‘ya Tsûne´ga. Tsisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Tsâduhi´yĭ. +Nâ´gwa-skĭn´ĭ usĭnuli´yu hû[n]skwane´‘lû[n]gû´ tsisga´ya +agine´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Nâ´gwa nû´[n]nâ, une´ga +hû[n]skwanû[n]neli´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Nâ´gwa +skwade´tastani´ga. Sa‘ka´ni u´tatĭ nige´sû[n]na. Nû[n]nâ +une´ga skiksa´‘û[n]taneli´ga. Elaye´‘lĭ iyû´[n]ta +skwalewistă´‘tani´ga E´latĭ gesû´[n] tsĭtage´stĭ. +Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Agwâ´duhi´yu. Kûltsâ´te +une´ga skiga´‘tani´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na, +gû[n]kwatsâti´tege´stĭ. Tsi-sa‘ka´ni agwă´tatĭ +nige´sû[n]na. Usĭnuli´yu hû[n]skwane´‘lû[n]gû´. + +Ha-nâ´gwûlĕ _Elahi´yĭ_ iyû´[n]tă dûhiyane´‘lû[n]gû´ +a‘gĕ´‘ya sa‘ka´ni. Nâ´gwa nû[n]nâ´hĭ sa‘ka´ni +hû[n]tane´‘laneli´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ-gwû u´danû dudusa´gĭ +tanela´sĭ. Nû[n]nâ´hĭ sa‘ka´ni tade´tâstani´ga. Nâgwûlĕ´ +hû[n]hiyatsâ´û[n]taniga. E´latĭ gesû´[n] tû´l‘taniga. +Dedu´laskû´[n]-gwû igû´[n]wa‘lawĭ´stĭ uhi´sa‘ti´yĭ +widaye´la‘ni´ga. Dedulaskû´[n]-gwû igû´[n]wa‘lawĭ´stĭ +uhi´sa‘ti´yĭ nitû´[n]neli´ga. + +Ha-sâgwahi´yu itsilasta´lagĭ + + uwă´sahi´yu, +etsane´‘laneli´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Agwâ´duhĭ. +A´yû agwadantâ´gĭ aye‘li´yu d’ka´‘lani´lĭ duda´ntâ, +uktahû´[n]stĭ nige´sû[n]na. Yû´[n]wĭ tsu´tsatû[n] +widudante´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na, nitû´[n]neli´ga. Sâ´gwahĭ +itsilasta´lagĭ, etsane´‘laneli´ga kûlkwâ´gi-nasĭ´ +igûlstû´‘lĭ gegane´‘lanû´[n]. + +Anisga´ya anewadi´sû[n] unihisa‘ti´yĭ. Tsu´nada´neilti´yĭ. +Dĭ´la-gwû degû´[n]wănatsegû´‘lawi´sdidegû´. +Ayâ´ise´ta-gwû u´danû. Tsunada´neilti´yĭ. Utse´tsti-gwû +degû´[n]wănatsegû´‘lawis´didegû´. Tsunada´neilti´yĭ. +Ka´ga-gwû degû´[n]wănatsegû´‘awisdidegû´. +Tsunada´neilti´yĭ. Da´l‘ka-gwû +degû´[n]wănatsegû´‘lawisdidegû´. + +Kûlkwâ´gĭ igûlsta´lagĭ unihisa‘ti´yu. +Ige´ski-gwû nige´sû[n]na. Ayâ´ise´ta-gwû +u´danû degû´[n]wănatsûn‘ti-degû´. K’si-gwû +degû´[n]wănatsûn‘ti-degû´. A´yagâgû´ tsisga´ya +agine´ga û[n]gwane´‘lanû´hĭ + + Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ +iti´tsa ditsidâ´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Agwâduhi´yu. +Tsi-sa‘ka´nĭ agwă´tatĭ nige´sû[n]na. Kûltsâ´te une´ga +û[n]ni´tagâgû´ gûkwatsâ´nti-degû´. Agisă´‘tĭ +nige´sû[n]na. A´yû agwadantâ´gĭ aye‘li´yu gûlasi´ga +tsûda´ntâ, uktahû´[n]stĭ nige´sû[n]na. A´yû tsĭ´gĭ +tsûda´nta 0 0. Sgĕ! + + +_Translation._ + +CONCERNING LIVING HUMANITY (LOVE). + +Kû! Listen! In Alahi´yĭ you repose, O Terrible Woman, O you have +drawn near to hearken. There in Elahiyĭ you are at rest, O White +Woman. No one is ever lonely when with you. You are most beautiful. +Instantly and at once you have rendered me a white man. No one is ever +lonely when with me. Now you have made the path white for me. It shall +never be dreary. Now you have put me into it. It shall never become +blue. You have brought down to me from above the white road. There in +mid-earth (mid-surface) you have placed me. I shall stand erect upon +the earth. No one is ever lonely when with me. I am very handsome. You +have put me into the white house. I shall be in it as it moves about +and no one with me shall ever be lonely. Verily, I shall never become +blue. Instantly you have caused it to be so with me. + +And now there in Elahiyĭ you have rendered the woman blue. Now you +have made the path blue for her. Let her be completely veiled in +loneliness. Put her into the blue road. And now bring her down. Place +her standing upon the earth. Where her feet are now and wherever she +may go, let loneliness leave its mark upon her. Let her be marked out +for loneliness where she stands. + +Ha! I belong to the (Wolf) ( + + ) clan, that one alone which was +allotted into for you. No one is ever lonely with me. I am handsome. +Let her put her soul the very center of my soul, never to turn away. +Grant that in the midst of men she shall never think of them. I belong +to the one clan alone which was allotted for you when the seven clans +were established. + +Where (other) men live it is lonely. They are very loathsome. The +common polecat has made them so like himself that they are fit +only for his company. They have became mere refuse. They are very +loathsome. The common opossum has made them so like himself that they +are fit only to be with him. They are very loathsome. Even the crow +has made them so like himself that they are fit only for his company. +They are very loathsome. The miserable rain-crow has made them so like +himself that they are fit only to be with him. + +The seven clans all alike make one feel very lonely in their company. +They are not even good looking. They go about clothed with mere +refuse. They even go about covered with dung. But I--I was ordained +to be a white man. I stand with my face toward the Sun Land. No one +is ever lonely with me. I am very handsome. I shall certainly never +become blue. I am covered by the everlasting white house wherever I +go. No one is ever lonely with me. Your soul has come into the very +center of my soul, never to turn away. I--(Gatigwanasti,) (0 0)--I +take your soul. Sgĕ! + + +_Explanation._ + +This unique formula is from one of the loose manuscript sheets +of Gatigwanasti, now dead, and belongs to the class known as +Yû[n]wĕ´hĭ or love charms (literally, concerning “living +humanity”), including all those referring in any way to the marital +or sexual relation. No explanation accompanies the formula, which must +therefore be interpreted from analogy. It appears to be recited by +the lover himself--not by a hired shaman--perhaps while painting and +adorning himself for the dance. (_See next two formulas._) + +The formula contains several obscure expressions which require further +investigation. Elahiyĭ or Alahiyĭ, for it is written both ways in +the manuscript, does not occur in any other formula met with thus +far, and could not be explained by any of the shamans to whom it was +submitted. The nominative form may be Elahĭ, perhaps from _ela_, “the +earth,” and it may be connected with Wa´hĭlĭ, the formulistic name +for the south. The spirit invoked is the White Woman, white being the +color denoting the south. + +Uhisa´‘tĭ, rendered here “lonely,” is a very expressive word to a +Cherokee and is of constant recurrence in the love formulas. It refers +to that intangible something characteristic of certain persons which +inevitably chills and depresses the spirits of all who may be +so unfortunate as to come within its influence. Agisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû[n]na, “I never render any one lonely,” is an intensified +equivalent for, “I am the best company in the world,” and to tell a +girl that a rival lover is uhisa´‘tĭ is to hold out to her the sum +of all dreary prospects should she cast in her lot with him. + +The speaker, who evidently has an exalted opinion of himself, invokes +the aid of the White Woman, who is most beautiful and is never +uhisa´‘tĭ. She at once responds by making him a white--that is, +a happy--man, and placing him in the white road of happiness, which +shall never become blue with grief or despondency. She then places him +standing in the middle of the earth, that he may be seen and admired +by the whole world, especially by the female portion. She finally puts +him into the white house, where happiness abides forever. The verb +implies that the house shelters him like a cloak and goes about with +him wherever he may go. + +There is something comical in the extreme self-complacency with which +he asserts that he is very handsome and will never become blue and no +one with him is ever lonely. As before stated, white signifies peace +and happiness, while blue is the emblem of sorrow and disappointment. + +Having thus rendered himself attractive to womankind, he turns his +attention to the girl whom he particularly desires to win. He begins +by filling her soul with a sense of desolation and loneliness. In the +beautiful language of the formula, her path becomes blue and she is +veiled in loneliness. He then asserts, and reiterates, that he is of +the one only clan which was allotted for her when the seven clans were +established. + +He next pays his respects to his rivals and advances some very +forcible arguments to show that she could never be happy with any of +them. He says that they are all “lonesome” and utterly loathsome--the +word implies that they are mutually loathsome--and that they are +the veriest trash and refuse. He compares them to so many polecats, +opossums, and crows, and finally likens them to the rain-crow (cuckoo; +_Coccygus_), which is regarded with disfavor on account of its +disagreeable note. He grows more bitter in his denunciations as he +proceeds and finally disposes of the matter by saying that all the +seven clans alike are uhisa´‘tĭ and are covered with filth. Then +follows another glowing panegyric of himself, closing with the +beautiful expression, “your soul has come into the very center of +mine, never to turn away,” which reminds one forcibly of the sentiment +in the German love song, “Du liegst mir im Herzen.” The final +expression, “I take your soul,” implies that the formula has now +accomplished its purpose in fixing her thoughts upon himself. + +When successful, a ceremony of this kind has the effect of rendering +the victim so “blue” or lovesick that her life is in danger until +another formula is repeated to make her soul “white” or happy again. +Where the name of the individual or clan is mentioned in these +formulas the blank is indicated in the manuscript by crosses + + or +ciphers 0 0 or by the word iyu´stĭ, “like.” + + +HǏ´Ă ĂMA´YǏ Ă´TAWASTI´YǏ KAN´HEHÛ. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu hatû´[n]gani´ga _Higĕ´‘yagu´ga_, +tsûwatsi´la gi´gage tsiye´la skĭna´dû‘lani´ga. 0 0 +digwadâ´ita. Sa‘ka´nĭ tûgwadûne´lûhĭ. Atsanû´[n]gĭ +gi´gage skwâsû´hisa‘tani´ga. + + kûlstă´lagĭ + sa‘ka´nĭ +nu´tatanû´[n]ta. Ditu´nû[n]nâ´gĭ dagwû´laskû´[n]-gwû +deganu´y’tasi´ga. Galâ´nû[n]tse´ta-gwû +dagwadûne´lidise´stĭ. Sgĕ! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS TELLS ABOUT GOING INTO THE WATER. + +Listen! O, now instantly, you have drawn near to hearken, O +Agĕ´‘yagu´ga. You have come to put your red spittle upon my body. +My name is (Gatigwanasti.) The blue had affected me. You have come and +clothed me with a red dress. She is of the (Deer) clan. She has become +blue. You have directed her paths straight to where I have my feet, +and I shall feel exultant. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from Gatigwanasti’s book, is also of the Yû[n]wĕ´hĭ +class, and is repeated by the lover when about to bathe in the stream +preparatory to painting himself for the dance. The services of a +shaman are not required, neither is any special ceremony observed. +The technical word used in the heading, ă´tawasti´yĭ, signifies +plunging or going entirely into a liquid. The expression used for the +ordinary “going to water,” where the water is simply dipped up with +the hand, is ămâ´yĭ dita‘ti´yĭ, “taking them to water.” + +The prayer is addressed to Agĕ´‘yaguga, a formulistic name for the +moon, which is supposed to exert a great influence in love affairs, +because the dances, which give such opportunities for love making, +always take place at night. The shamans can not explain the meaning +of the term, which plainly contains the word agĕ´‘ya, “woman,” and +may refer to the moon’s supposed influence over women. In Cherokee +mythology the moon is a man. The ordinary name is nû´[n]dâ, or more +fully, nû´[n]dâ sû[n]nâyĕ´hĭ, “the sun living in the night,” +while the sun itself is designated as nû´[n]dâ igĕ´hĭ, “the sun +living in the day.” + +By the red spittle of Agĕ´‘yagu´ga and the red dress with which the +lover is clothed are meant the red paint which he puts upon himself. +This in former days was procured from a deep red clay known as +ela-wâ´tĭ, or “reddish brown clay.” The word red as used in the +formula is emblematic of success in attaining his object, besides +being the actual color of the paint. Red, in connection with dress +or ornamentation, has always been a favorite color with Indians +throughout America, and there is some evidence that among the +Cherokees it was regarded also as having a mysterious protective +power. In all these formulas the lover renders the woman blue or +disconsolate and uneasy in mind as a preliminary to fixing her +thoughts upon himself. (_See next formula._) + +(YÛ´[n]WĚ´HǏ UGÛ´[n]WA‘LǏ II.) + + Yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ. + Galû´[n]latĭ, datsila´ĭ--Yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, + yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ. + Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ gatla´ahĭ--Yû´[n]wĕhĭ. + Ge‘yagu´ga Gi´gage, tsûwatsi´la gi´gage tsiye´la + skĭna´dû‘lani´ga-- + Yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ. + Hiă-‘nû´ atawe´ladi´yĭ kanâ´hĕhû galû[n]lti´tla. + + +_Translation._ + +SONG FOR PAINTING. + + _Yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ._ + I am come from above--_Yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, + yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ._ + I am come down from the Sun Land--_Yû´[n]wĕhĭ._ + O Red Agĕ‘yagu´ga, you have come and put your red spittle upon + my body--Yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ, yû´[n]wĕhĭ. + +And this above is to recite while one is painting himself. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from Gatigwanasti, immediately follows the one last +given, in the manuscript book, and evidently comes immediately after +it also in practical use. The expressions used have been already +explained. The one using the formula first bathes in the running +stream, reciting at the same time the previous formula “Amâ´yĭ +Ă´tawasti´yĭ.” He then repairs to some convenient spot with his +paint, beads, and other paraphernalia and proceeds to adorn himself +for the dance, which usually begins about an hour after dark, but +is not fairly under way until nearly midnight. The refrain, +yû´[n]wĕhĭ, is probably _sung_ while mixing the paint, and the +other portion is recited while applying the pigment, or vice versa. +Although these formula are still in use, the painting is now obsolete, +beyond an occasional daubing of the face, without any plan or pattern, +on the occasion of a dance or ball play. + +ADALANI´STA‘TI´YǏ. Ǐ. + + Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga nihĭ´-- + --Tsa´watsi´lû tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´. + --Hiyelû´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´. + --Tsăwiyû´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´. + --Tsûnahu´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´. + +Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga, Hĭkayû´[n]lige. Hiă´ asga´ya +uda´ntâ tsa‘ta´hisi´ga [Hĭkayû´[n]lige] hiye´lastû[n]. +Tsaskûlâ´hĭsti-gwû´ nige´sû[n]na. Dĭkana´watû´[n]ta-gwû +tsûtû´neli´ga. Hĭlû dudantĕ´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Duda´ntâ dûskalû[n]´tseli´ga. Astĭ´ digû´[n]nage +tagu´talû[n]tani´ga. + + +_Translation._ + +TO ATTRACT AND FIX THE AFFECTIONS. + + Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken-- + --Your spittle, I take it, I eat it. } + --Your body, I take it, I eat it, } + --Your flesh, I take it, I eat it, } Each sung four times. + --Your heart, I take it, I eat it. } + +Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O, Ancient One. This +man’s (woman’s) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You +are never to let go your hold upon it. It is ordained that you shall +do just as you are requested to do. Let her never think upon any +other place. Her soul has faded within her. She is bound by the black +threads. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is said by the young husband, who has just married an +especially engaging wife, who is liable to be attracted by other men. +The same formula may also be used by the woman to fix her husband’s +affections. On the first night that they are together the husband +watches until his wife is asleep, when, sitting up by her side, he +recites the first words: Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga nihĭ´, +and then sings the next four words: Tsawatsi´lû tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ +ayû´, “Your spittle, I take it, I eat it,” repeating the words four +times. While singing he moistens his fingers with spittle, which +he rubs upon the breast of the woman. The next night he repeats the +operation, this time singing the words, “I take your body.” The third +night, in the same way, he sings, “I take your flesh,” and the fourth +and last night, he sings “I take your heart,” after which he repeats +the prayer addressed to the Ancient One, by which is probably meant +the Fire (the Ancient White). A‘yû´[n]inĭ states that the final +sentences should be masculine, i.e., His soul has faded, etc., and +refer to any would-be seducer. There is no gender distinction in +the third person in Cherokee. He claimed that this ceremony was so +effective that no husband need have any fears for his wife after +performing it. + + +ADAYE´LIGA´GTA‘TǏ´. + +Yû! Galû´[n]latĭ tsûl‘da´histĭ, Giya´giya´ Sa‘ka´ni, +nâ´gwa nû[n]talû[n] i´yû´[n]ta. Tsâ´la Sa‘ka´ni +tsûgistâ´‘tĭ adû[n]ni´ga. Nâ´gwa nidâtsu´l‘tanû´[n]ta, +nû´[n]tātagû´ hisa´hasi´ga. Tani´dâgû[n]´ +aye´‘lĭ dehidâ´siga. Unada´ndâ dehiyâ´staneli´ga. +Nidugale´ntanû´[n]ta nidûhû[n]neli´ga. + +Tsisga´ya agine´ga, nû[n]dâgû´[n]yĭ ditsidâ´‘stĭ. Gû´nĭ +âstû´ uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Agĕ´‘ya une´ga hi´ă +iyu´stĭ gûlstû´‘lĭ, iyu´stĭ tsûdâ´ita. Uda´ndâ +usĭnu´lĭ dâdatinilû´gû[n]elĭ´. Nû[n]dâgû´[n]yitsû´ +dâdatinilugûstanelĭ. Tsisga´ya agine´ga, ditsidâstû´[n]ĭ +nû‘nû´ kana´tlani´ga. Tsûnkta´ tegă‘la´watege´stĭ. +Tsiye´lû[n] gesû´[n]ĭ uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû[n]na. + + +_Translation._ + +FOR SEPARATION (OF LOVERS). + +Yû! On high you repose, O Blue Hawk, there at the far distant lake. +The blue tobacco has come to be your recompense. Now you have arisen +at once and come down. You have alighted midway between them where +they two are standing. You have spoiled their souls immediately. They +have at once become separated. + +I am a white man; I stand at the sunrise. The good sperm shall never +allow any feeling of loneliness. This white woman is of the Paint +(iyustĭ) clan; she is called (iyustĭ) Wâyĭ´. We shall instantly +turn her soul over. We shall turn it over as we go toward the Sun +Land. I am a white man. Here where I stand it (her soul) has attached +itself to (literally, “come against”) mine. Let her eyes in their +sockets be forever watching (for me). There is no loneliness where my +body is. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A‘yû[n]inĭ’s book, is used to separate two lovers +or even a husband and wife, if the jealous rival so desires. In the +latter case the preceding formula, from the same source, would be used +to forestall this spell. No explanation of the ceremony is given, but +the reference to tobacco may indicate that tobacco is smoked or thrown +into the fire during the recitation. The particular hawk invoked +(giya´giya´) is a large species found in the coast region but seldom +met with in the mountains. Blue indicates that it brings trouble with +it, while white in the second paragraph indicates that the man is +happy and attractive in manner. + +In the first part of the formula the speaker calls upon the Blue +Hawk to separate the lovers and spoil their souls, i.e., change their +feeling toward each other. In the second paragraph he endeavors +to attract the attention of the woman by eulogizing himself. The +expression, “we shall turn her soul over,” seems here to refer to +turning her affections, but as generally used, to turn one’s soul is +equivalent to killing him. + + +(ADALANǏ´STĂ‘TI´YǏ II.) + +Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga, [*][*] hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ), +([*][*]) ditsa(dâ´ita). A´yû 0 0 tsila(stû´‘lĭ). Hiye´la +tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´. (Yû!) + +Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga. [*][*] hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ), +[*][*] ditsa(dâ´íta). A´yû 0 0 tsûwi´ya tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´. +Yû! + +Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga. [*][*] hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ) +[*][*] ditsa(dâ´íta). A´yû 0 0 tsûwatsi´la tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ +a´yû. Yû! + +Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga. [*][*] hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ), +[*][*] ditsadâ´(ita). A´yû 0 0 tsûnahŭ´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´. +Yû! + +Sgĕ! “Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dutsase´, tsugale´ntĭ nige´sû[n]na,” +tsûdûneĭ, Hĭkayû´[n]lige galû´[n]latĭ. Kananĕ´skĭ +Û´[n]nage galû´[n]latĭ (h)etsatsâ´û[n]tănile´ĭ. +Tsănilta´gĭ tsûksâ´û[n]tanile´ĭ. [*][*] gûla(stû´‘lĭ), +[*][*] ditsadâ´(ita). Dudantâ´gĭ uhani´latâ +tĭkwenû´[n]tani´ga. Kûlkwâ´gĭ igûlsta´lagĭ iyû´[n]ta +yû´[n]wĭ adayû´[n]latawă´ dudûne´lida´lû[n] uhisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû[n]na. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwatĭ uhisa´‘tĭ dutlû´[n]tani´ga. Tsû´nkta +daskâ´lû[n]tsi´ga. Sâ´gwahĭ di´kta de´gayelû[n]tsi´ga. +Ga´tsa igûnû´nugâ´ĭstû uda´ntâ? Usû´hita nudanû´[n]na +ûltû[n]ge´ta gû[n]wadûneli´dege´stĭ. Igû[n]wûlsta´‘ti-gwû +duwâlu´wa‘tû[n]tĭ nige´sû[n]na. Kananĕ´skĭ Û[n]nage´ĭ +tsanildew’se´stĭ ada´ntâ uktû[n]lesi´dastĭ nige´sûna. +Gadâyu´stĭ tsûdâ´ita ada´ntĭ tside´atsasi´ga. A´ya +a´kwatseli´ga. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwûlĕ´ hû[n]hatû[n]ga´ga, Hĭkayû´[n]lĭ +Gi´gage. Tsetsûli´sĭ hiye´lastû[n] a‘ta´hisi´ga. Ada´ntâ +hasû‘gû´‘lawĭ´stani´ga, tsa´skaláhĭstĭ nige´sû[n]na. +Hĭkayû´[n]lige denătsegû‘la´wĭstani´ga. Agĕ´‘ya +gĭ´nsû[n]gû‘lawĭs´tani´ga uda´ntâ _uwahisĭ´sata_. +Dĭgĭnaskûlâ´hĭstĭ nige´sû[n]na. Yû! + +Hi´ănasgwû´ u‘tlâ´yi-gwû dĭgalû´[n]wistan´tĭ +snû[n]â´yĭ hani´‘lihû[n] gûnasgi´stĭ. Gane´tsĭ +aye´‘lĭ asi´tadis´tĭ watsi´la, ganû[n]li´yetĭ aguwaye´nĭ +andisgâ´ĭ. Sâi´yĭ tsika´nâhe itsu´laha´gwû. + + +_Translation._ + +TO FIX THE AFFECTIONS. + +Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer (x x) +clan. Your name is (x x) Ayâsta, I am of the Wolf (o-o) clan. Your +body, I take it, I eat it. Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. +You are of the Deer clan. Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. +Your flesh I take, I eat. Yû! + +Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your spittle I take, I +eat. I! Yû! + +Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your heart I take, I eat. +Yû! + +Listen! “Ha! Now the souls have met, never to part,” you have said, O +Ancient One above. O Black Spider, you have been brought down from on +high. You have let down your web. She is of the Deer clan; her name is +Ayâsta. Her soul you have wrapped up in (your) web. There where the +people of the seven clans are continually coming in sight and again +disappearing (i.e. moving about, coming and going), there was never +any feeling of loneliness. + +Listen! Ha! But now you have covered her over with loneliness. Her +eyes have faded. Her eyes have come to fasten themselves on one alone. +Whither can her soul escape? Let her be sorrowing as she goes along, +and not for one night alone. Let her become an aimless wanderer, whose +trail may never be followed. O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in +your web so that it shall never get through the meshes. What is the +name of the soul? They two have come together. It is mine! + +Listen! Ha! And now you have hearkened, O Ancient Red. Your +grandchildren have come to the edge of your body. You hold them yet +more firmly in your grasp, never to let go your hold. O Ancient One, +we have become as one. The woman has put her (x x x) soul into our +hands. We shall never let it go! Yû! + +(Directions.)--And this also is for just the same purpose (the +preceding formula in the manuscript book is also a love charm). It +must be done by stealth at night when they are asleep. One must put +the hand on the middle of the breast and rub on spittle with the hand, +they say. The other formula is equally good. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula to fix the affections of a young wife is taken from the +manuscript sheets of the late Gatigwanasti. It very much resembles the +other formula for the same purpose, obtained from. A‘yû´[n]inĭ, +and the brief directions show that the ceremony is alike in both. The +first four paragraphs are probably sung, as in the other formula, on +four successive nights, and, as explained in the directions and as +stated verbally by A‘yû´[n]inĭ, this must be done stealthily at +night while the woman is asleep, the husband rubbing his spittle on +her breast with his hand while chanting the song in a low tone, hardly +above a whisper. The prayer to the Ancient One, or Ancient Red (Fire), +in both formulas, and the expression, “I come to the edge of your +body,” indicate that the hands are first warmed over the fire, in +accordance with the general practice when laying on the hands. The +prayer to the Black Spider is a beautiful specimen of poetic imagery, +and hardly requires an explanation. The final paragraph indicates +the successful accomplishment of his purpose. “Your grandchildren” +(tsetsûli´sĭ) is an expression frequently used in addressing the +more important deities. + + +MISCELLANEOUS FORMULAS. + +SÛ[n]N´YǏ ED´HǏ E´SGA ASTÛ[n]TI´YǏ. + +Sgĕ! Uhyû[n]tsâ´yĭ galû[n]lti´tla tsûltâ´histĭ, Hĭsgaya +Gigage´ĭ, usĭnu´lĭ di´tsakûnĭ´ denatlû[n]hi´sani´ga +Uy-igawa´stĭ duda´ntĭ. Nû[n]nâ´hĭ tatuna´watĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ +duda´ntâ dani´yû[n]stanilĭ´. + +Sgĕ! Uhyû[n]tlâ´yĭ galû[n]lti´tla tsûltâ´histĭ, Hĭsga´ya +Tĕ´halu, _hinaw’sŭ´’ki_. Ha-usĭnu´lĭ nâ´gwa di´tsakûnĭ´ +denatlû[n]hisani´ga uy-igawa´stĭ duda´ntĭ. Nû[n]nâ´hĭ +tătuna´wătĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ dani´galĭstanĭ´. + + +_Translation._ + +TO SHORTEN A NIGHT-GOER ON THIS SIDE. + +Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Red Man, quickly we two +have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has +them lying along the path. Quickly we two will take his soul as we go +along. + +Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Purple Man, * * * *. +Ha! Quickly now we two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the +Imprecator. He has them lying along the path. Quickly we two will cut +his soul in two. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A‘yû´[n]inĭs’ book, is for the purpose of +driving away a witch from the house of a sick person, and opens up a +most interesting chapter of Cherokee beliefs. The witch is supposed +to go about chiefly under cover of darkness, and hence is called +sû[n]nâ´yĭ edâ´hĭ, “the night goer.” This is the term in common +use; but there are a number of formulistic expressions to designate +a witch, one of which, u´ya igawa´stĭ, occurs in the body of the +formula and may be rendered “the imprecator,” i.e., the sayer of +evil things or curses. As the counteracting of a deadly spell always +results in the death of its author, the formula is stated to be not +merely to drive away the wizard, but to kill him, or, according to the +formulistic expression, “to shorten him (his life) on this side.” + +When it becomes known that a man is dangerously sick the witches from +far and near gather invisibly about his house after nightfall to worry +him and even force their way in to his bedside unless prevented by the +presence of a more powerful shaman within the house. They annoy the +sick man and thus hasten his death by stamping upon the roof and +beating upon the sides of the house; and if they can manage to get +inside they raise up the dying sufferer from the bed and let him fall +again or even drag him out upon the floor. The object of the witch in +doing this is to prolong his term of years by adding to his own life +as much as he can take from that of the sick man. Thus it is that +a witch who is successful in these practices lives to be very old. +Without going into extended details, it may be sufficient to state +that the one most dreaded, alike by the friends of the sick man and by +the lesser witches, is the Kâ´lana-ayeli´skĭ or Raven Mocker, so +called because he flies through the air at night in a shape of fire, +uttering sounds like the harsh croak of a raven. + +The formula here given is short and simple as compared with some +others. There is evidently a mistake in regard to the Red Man, who is +here placed in the north, instead of in the east, as it should be. +The reference to the arrows will be explained further on. Purple, +mentioned in the second paragraph, has nearly the same symbolic +meaning as blue, viz: Trouble, vexation and defeat; hence the Purple +Man is called upon to frustrate the designs of the witch. + +To drive away the witch the shaman first prepares four sharpened +sticks, which he drives down into the ground outside the house at each +of the four corners, leaving the pointed ends projecting upward and +outward. Then, about noontime he gets ready the Tsâlagayû´[n]lĭ +or “Old Tobacco” (_Nicotiana rustica_), with which he fills his pipe, +repeating this formula during the operation, after which he wraps the +pipe thus filled in a black cloth. This sacred tobacco is smoked only +for this purpose. He then goes out into the forest, and returns just +before dark, about which time the witch may be expected to put in +an appearance. Lighting his pipe, he goes slowly around the house, +puffing the smoke in the direction of every trail by which the witch +might be able to approach, and probably repeating the same or another +formula the while. He then goes into the house and awaits results. +When the witch approaches under cover of the darkness, whether in his +own proper shape or in the form of some animal, the sharpened stick on +that side of the house shoots up into the air and comes down like an +arrow upon his head, inflicting such a wound as proves fatal within +seven days. This explains the words of the formula, “We have prepared +your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying along +the path”. A‘yû´[n]inĭ said nothing about the use of the sharpened +sticks in this connection, mentioning only the tobacco, but the +ceremony, as here described, is the one ordinarily used. When wounded +the witch utters a groan which is heard by those listening inside the +house, even at the distance of half a mile. No one knows certainly who +the witch is until a day or two afterward, when some old man or woman, +perhaps in a remote settlement, is suddenly seized with a mysterious +illness and before seven days elapse is dead. + + +GAHU´STǏ A´GIYAHU´SA. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´[n]gani´ga Nû´[n]ya Wâtige´ĭ, +gahu´stĭ tsûtska´dĭ nige´sû[n]na. Ha-nâ´gwa +dû´[n]gihya´lĭ. Agiyahu´sa sĭ´kwa, haga´ tsû[n]-nû´ +iyû´[n]ta dătsi´waktû´hĭ. Tla-‘ke´ a´ya a´kwatseli´ga. 0 0 +digwadâi´ta. + + +_Translation._ + +I HAVE LOST SOMETHING. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rock; you +never lie about anything. Ha! Now I am about to seek for it. I have +lost a hog and now tell me about where I shall find it. For is it not +mine? My name is ----. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, for finding anything lost, is so simple as to need but +little explanation. Brown in this instance has probably no mythologic +significance, but refers to the color of the stone used in the +ceremony. This is a small rounded water-worn pebble, in substance +resembling quartz and of a reddish-brown color. It is suspended by a +string held between the thumb and finger of the shaman, who is guided +in his search by the swinging of the pebble, which, according to their +theory, will swing farther in the direction of the lost article than +in the contrary direction! The shaman, who is always fasting, repeats +the formula, while closely watching the motions of the swinging +pebble. He usually begins early in the morning, making the first +trial at the house of the owner of the lost article. After noting the +general direction toward which it seems to lean he goes a considerable +distance in that direction, perhaps half a mile or more, and makes +a second trial. This time the pebble may swing off at an angle in +another direction. He follows up in the direction indicated for +perhaps another half mile, when on a third trial the stone may veer +around toward the starting point, and a fourth attempt may complete +the circuit. Having thus arrived at the conclusion that the missing +article is somewhere within a certain circumscribed area, he advances +to the center of this space and marks out upon the ground a small +circle inclosing a cross with arms pointing toward the four cardinal +points. Holding the stone over the center of the cross he again +repeats the formula and notes the direction in which the pebble +swings. This is the final trial and he now goes slowly and carefully +over the whole surface in that direction, between the center of the +circle and the limit of the circumscribed area until in theory, at +least, the article is found. Should he fail, he is never at a loss for +excuses, but the specialists in this line are generally very shrewd +guessers well versed in the doctrine of probabilities. + +There are many formulas for this purpose, some of them being long and +elaborate. When there is reason to believe that the missing article +has been stolen, the specialist first determines the clan or +settlement to which the thief belongs and afterward the name of the +individual. Straws, bread balls, and stones of various kinds are used +in the different formulas, the ceremony differing according to the +medium employed. The stones are generally pointed crystals or antique +arrowheads, and are suspended as already described, the point being +supposed to turn finally in the direction of the missing object. +Several of these stones have been obtained on the reservation and are +now deposited in the National Museum. It need excite no surprise +to find the hog mentioned in the formula, as this animal has been +domesticated among the Cherokees for more than a century, although +most of them are strongly prejudiced against it. + + +HIA´ UNÁLE (ATESTI´YǏ). + + Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, + Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´--Yû! + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hĭnahû[n]´ski tayĭ´. Ha-tâ´sti-gwû +gû[n]ska´ihû. Tsûtali´i-gwati´na halu´‘nĭ. Kû´nigwati´na +dula´ska galû´[n]lati-gwû witu´ktĭ. Wigû[n]yasĕ´hĭsĭ. +´talĭ tsugû´[n]yĭ wite´tsatanû´[n]û[n]sĭ´ nû[n]nâhĭ +tsane´lagĭ de´gatsana´wadise´stĭ. Kûnstû´ dutsasû´[n]ĭ +atû´[n]wasûtĕ´hahĭ´ tsûtûneli´sestĭ. Sgĕ! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO FRIGHTEN A STORM. + + Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, + Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´--Yû! + +Listen! O now you are coming in rut. Ha! I am exceedingly afraid of +you. But yet you are only tracking your wife. Her footprints can be +seen there directed upward toward the heavens. I have pointed them +out for you. Let your paths stretch out along the tree tops (?) on +the lofty mountains (and) you shall have them (the paths) lying down +without being disturbed, Let (your path) as you go along be where the +waving branches meet. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A‘yû´[n]inĭ’s book, is for driving away, or +“frightening” a storm, which threatens to injure the growing corn. The +first part is a meaningless song, which is sung in a low tone in the +peculiar style of most of the sacred songs. The storm, which is not +directly named, is then addressed and declared to be coming on in a +fearful manner on the track of his wife, like an animal in the rutting +season. The shaman points out her tracks directed toward the upper +regions and begs the storm spirit to follow her along the waving tree +tops of the lofty mountains, where he shall be undisturbed. + +The shaman stands facing the approaching storm with one hand stretched +out toward it. After repeating the song and prayer he gently blows in +the direction toward which he wishes it to go, waving his hand in the +same direction as though pushing away the storm. A part of the storm +is usually sent into the upper regions of the atmosphere. If standing +at the edge of the field, he holds a blade of corn in one hand while +repeating the ceremony. + + +DANAWÛ´ TSUNEDÂLÛ´HǏ NUNATÛ´NELI´TALÛ´[n]HǏ +U´NALSTELTA´‘TANÛ´HǏ. + +Hayĭ! Yû! Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu A´tasu Gi´gage´ĭ +hinisa´latani´ga. Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ u´nanugâ´tsidastĭ´ +nige´sû[n]na. Duda´ntâ e‘lawi´nĭ iyû´[n]ta ă´tasû +digû[n]nage´ĭ degû[n]lskwĭ´tahise´stĭ, anetsâge´ta +unanugâ´istĭ nige´sû[n]na, nitinû´[n]neli´ga. Ă´tasû +dusa´ladanû´[n]stĭ nige´sû[n]na, nitinû´[n]neli´ga. +E‘lawi´nĭ iyû´[n]ta ă´tasû û[n]nage´ ugû[n]´hatû +û[n]nage´ sâ´gwa da‘liyĕ´kû‘lani´ga _unadutlâ´gĭ_. +Unanugâ´tsida´stĭ nige´sû[n]na, nû[n]eli´ga. + +Usĭnuli´yu tsunada´ntâ kul‘kwâ´gine tigalû´[n]ltiyû´[n]ĭ +iyû´[n]ta ada´ntâ tega´yĕ‘ti´tege´stĭ. Tsunada´ntâ +tsuligalĭ´stĭ nige´sû[n]na dudûni´tege´stĭ. +Usĭnu´lĭ deniû´[n]eli´ga galû´[n]latĭ iyû´[n]ta +widu´l‘tâhĭsti´tege´stĭ. Ă´tasû gigage´ĭ +dĕhatagû´[n]yastani´ga. Tsunada´ntâ tsudastû´nilida´stĭ +nige´sû[n]na nû[n]eli´ga. Tsunada´ntâ galû´[n]latĭ +iyû´[n]ta witĕ´‘titege´stĭ. Tsunada´ntâ anigwalu´gĭ +une´ga gû[n]wa´nadagû´[n]yastitege´stĭ. Sa‘ka´nĭ udûnu´hĭ +nige´sû[n]na usĭnuli´yu. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +WHAT THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TO WAR DID TO HELP THEMSELVES. + +Hayĭ! Yû! Listen! Now instantly we have lifted up the red war club. +Quickly his soul shall be without motion. There under the earth, where +the black war clubs shall be moving about like ball sticks in the +game, there his soul shall be, never to reappear. We cause it to be +so. He shall never go and lift up the war club. We cause it to be so. +There under the earth the black war club (and) the black fog have come +together as one for their covering. It shall never move about (i.e., +the black fog shall never be lifted from them). We cause it to be so. + +Instantly shall their souls be moving about there in the seventh +heaven. Their souls shall never break in two. So shall it be. Quickly +we have moved them (their souls) on high for them, where they shall +be going about in peace. You (?) have shielded yourselves (?) with the +red war club. Their souls shall never be knocked about. Cause it to +be so. There on high their souls shall be going about. Let them shield +themselves with the white war whoop. Instantly (grant that) they shall +never become blue. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, obtained from A‘wani´ta, may be repeated by the doctor +for as many as eight men at once when about to go to war. It is +recited for four consecutive nights, immediately before setting out. +There is no tabu enjoined and no beads are used, but the warriors “go +to water” in the regular way, that is, they stand at the edge of the +stream, facing the east and looking down upon the water, while the +shaman, standing behind them, repeats the formula. On the fourth night +the shaman gives to each man a small charmed root which has the power +to confer invulnerability. On the eve of battle the warrior after +bathing in the running stream chews a portion of this and spits the +juice upon his body in order that the bullets of the enemy may pass +him by or slide off from his skin like drops of water. Almost every +man of the three hundred East Cherokees who served in the rebellion +had this or a similar ceremony performed before setting out--many of +them also consulting the oracular ulû[n]sû´tĭ stone at the same +time--and it is but fair to state that not more than two or three of +the entire number were wounded in actual battle. + +In the formula the shaman identifies himself with the warriors, +asserting that “_we_” have lifted up the red war club, red being the +color symbolic of success and having no reference to blood, as might +be supposed from the connection. In the first paragraph he invokes +curses upon the enemy, the future tense verb _It shall be_, etc., +having throughout the force of _let it be_. He puts the souls of +the doomed enemy in the lower regions, where the black war clubs are +constantly waving about, and envelops them in a black fog, which shall +never be lifted and out of which they shall never reappear. From +the expression in the second paragraph, “their souls shall never be +knocked about,” the reference to the black war clubs moving about like +ball sticks in the game would seem to imply that they are continually +buffeting the doomed souls under the earth. The spirit land of the +Cherokees is in the west, but in these formulas of malediction or +blessing the soul of the doomed man is generally consigned to the +underground region, while that of the victor is raised by antithesis +to the seventh heaven. + +Having disposed of the enemy, the shaman in the second paragraph turns +his attention to his friends and at once raises their souls to the +seventh heaven, where they shall go about in peace, shielded by +(literally, “covered with”) the red war club of success, and never to +be knocked about by the blows of the enemy. “Breaking the soul in two” +is equivalent to snapping the thread of life, the soul being regarded +as an intangible something having length, like a rod or a string. This +formula, like others written down by the same shaman, contains several +evident inconsistencies both as to grammar and mythology, due to the +fact that A‘wanita is extremely careless with regard to details and +that this particular formula has probably not been used for the last +quarter of a century. The warriors are also made to shield themselves +with the white war whoop, which should undoubtedly be the red war +whoop, consistent with the red war club, white being the color +emblematic of peace, which is evidently an incongruity. The war whoop +is believed to have a positive magic power for the protection of the +warrior, as well as for terrifying the foe. + +The mythologic significance of the different colors is well shown in +this formula. Red, symbolic of success, is the color of the war club +with which the warrior is to strike the enemy and also of the other +one with which he is to shield or “cover” himself. There is no doubt +that the war whoop also should be represented as red. In conjuring +with the beads for long life, for recovery from sickness, or for +success in love, the ball play, or any other undertaking, the red +beads represent the party for whose benefit the magic spell is +wrought, and he is figuratively clothed in red and made to stand upon +a red cloth or placed upon a red seat. The red spirits invoked always +live in the east and everything pertaining to them is of the same +color. + +Black is always typical of death, and in this formula the soul of the +enemy is continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped in +a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy the shaman uses +black beads and invokes the black spirits--which always live in the +west--bidding them tear out the man’s soul, carry it to the west, +and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud, with a black +serpent coiled above it. + +Blue is emblematic of failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. +“They shall never become blue” means that they shall never fail in +anything they undertake. In love charms the lover figuratively covers +himself with red and prays that his rival shall become entirely blue +and walk in a blue path. The formulistic expression, “He is entirely +blue,” closely approximates in meaning the common English phrase, “He +feels blue.” The blue spirits live in the north. + +White--which occurs in this formula only by an evident error--denotes +peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as at the green corn +dance and ball play, the people figuratively partake of white food +and after the dance or the game return along the white trail to their +white houses. In love charms the man, in order to induce the woman to +cast her lot with his, boasts “I am a white man,” implying that all is +happiness where he is. White beads have the same meaning in the bead +conjuring and white was the color of the stone pipe anciently used +in ratifying peace treaties. The white spirits live in the south +(Wa´hală). + +Two other colors, brown and yellow, are also mentioned in the +formulas. Wâtige´ĭ, “brown,” is the term used to include brown, +bay, dun, and similar colors, especially as applied to animals. It +seldom occurs in the formulas and its mythologic significance is as +yet undetermined. Yellow is of more frequent occurrence and is typical +of trouble and all manner of vexation, the yellow spirits being +generally invoked when the shaman wishes to bring down calamities upon +the head of his victim, without actually destroying him. So far as +present knowledge goes, neither brown nor yellow can be assigned to +any particular point of the compass. + +Usĭnuli´yu, rendered “instantly,” is the intensive form of +usĭnu´lĭ “quickly,” both of which words recur constantly in the +formulas, in some entering into almost every sentence. This frequently +gives the translation an awkward appearance. Thus the final sentence +above, which means literally “they shall never become blue instantly,” +signifies “Grant that they shall never become blue”, i.e., shall never +fail in their purpose, _and grant our petition instantly_. + + +DIDA´LATLI´‘TǏ. + +Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa tsûdantâ´gĭ tegû´[n]yatawâ´ilateli´ga. Iyustĭ +(0 0) tsilastû´‘lĭ Iyu´stĭ (0 0) ditsadâ´ita. Tsûwatsi´la +elawi´nĭ tsidâ´hĭstani´ga. Tsûdantâgĭ +elawi´nĭ tsidâ´hĭstani´ga. Nû´[n]ya gû´[n]nage +gû[n]yu´tlû[n]tani´ga. Ă‘nûwa´gĭ gû´[n]nage´ +gû[n]yu´tlû[n]tani´ga. Sû[n]talu´ga gû´[n]nage +degû´[n]yanu´galû´[n]tani´ga, tsû´nanugâ´istĭ +nige´sû[n]na. Usûhi´yĭ nû[n]nâ´hĭ wite´tsatanû´[n]û[n]sĭ +gûne´sâ gû´[n]nage asahalagĭ´. Tsûtû´neli´ga. Elawâ´tĭ +asa´halagĭ´a´dû[n]ni´ga. Usĭnuli´yu Usûhi´yĭ gûltsâ´tĕ +digû´[n]nagesta´yĭ, elawâ´ti gû´[n]nage tidâ´hĭstĭ +wa‘yanu´galû[n]tsi´ga. Gûne´sa gû´[n]age sû[n]talu´ga +gû´[n]nage gayu´tlû[n]tani´ga. Tsûdantâ´gĭ +ûska´lû[n]tsi´ga. Sa‘ka´nĭ adû[n]ni´ga. Usû´hita +atanis´se´tĭ, ayâ´lâtsi´sestĭ tsûdantâ´gĭ, +tsû´nanugâ´istĭ nige´sû[n]na. Sgĕ! + + +_Translation._ + +TO DESTROY LIFE. + +Listen! Now I have come to step over your soul. You are of the (wolf) +clan. Your name is (A‘yû´[n]inĭ). Your spittle I have put at rest +under the earth. Your soul I have put at rest under the earth. I have +come to cover you over with the black rock. I have come to cover you +over with the black cloth. I have come to cover you with the black +slabs, never to reappear. Toward the black coffin of the upland in the +Darkening Land your paths shall stretch out. So shall it be for you. +The clay of the upland has come (to cover you. (?)) Instantly the +black clay has lodged there where it is at rest at the black houses in +the Darkening Land. With the black coffin and with the black slabs I +have come to cover you. Now your soul has faded away. It has become +blue. When darkness comes your spirit shall grow less and dwindle +away, never to reappear. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is from the manuscript book of A‘yû´[n]inĭ, +who explained the whole ceremony. The language needs but little +explanation. A blank is left for the name and clan of the victim, and +is filled in by the shaman. As the purpose of the ceremony is to bring +about the death of the victim, everything spoken of is symbolically +colored black, according to the significance of the colors as already +explained. The declaration near the end, “It has become blue,” +indicates that the victim now begins to feel in himself the effects of +the incantation, and that as darkness comes on his spirit will shrink +and gradually become less until it dwindles away to nothingness. + +When the shaman wishes to destroy the life of another, either for his +own purposes or for hire, he conceals himself near the trail along +which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears the +shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly until +he chances to spit upon the ground. On coming up to the spot the +shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust thus +moistened with the victim’s spittle. The possession of the man’s +spittle gives him power over the life of the man himself. Many +ailments are said by the doctors to be due to the fact that some enemy +has by this means “changed the spittle” of the patient and caused it +to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man’s body. In the love +charms also the lover always figuratively “takes the spittle” of the +girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. The same idea in +regard to spittle is found in European folk medicine. + +The shaman then puts the clay thus moistened into a tube consisting +of a joint of the Kanesâ´la or wild parsnip, a poisonous plant of +considerable importance in life-conjuring ceremonies. He also puts +into the tube seven earthworms beaten into a paste, and several +splinters from a tree which has been struck by lightning. The idea in +regard to the worms is not quite clear, but it may be that they are +expected to devour the soul of the victim as earthworms are supposed +to feed upon dead bodies, or perhaps it is thought that from their +burrowing habits they may serve to hollow out a grave for the soul +under the earth, the quarter to which the shaman consigns it. In other +similar ceremonies the dirt-dauber wasp or the stinging ant is buried +in the same manner in order that it may kill the soul, as these are +said to kill other more powerful insects by their poisonous sting or +bite. The wood of a tree struck by lightning is also a potent spell +for both good and evil and is used in many formulas of various kinds. + +Having prepared the tube, the shaman goes into the forest to a tree +which has been struck by lightning. At its base he digs a hole, in the +bottom of which he puts a large yellow stone slab. He then puts in +the tube, together with seven yellow pebbles, fills in the earth, and +finally builds a fire over the spot to destroy all traces of his work. +The yellow stones are probably chosen as the next best substitute for +black stones, which are not always easy to find. The formula mentions +“black rock,” black being the emblem of death, while yellow typifies +trouble. The shaman and his employer fast until after the ceremony. + +If the ceremony has been properly carried out, the victim becomes +blue, that is, he feels the effects in himself at once, and, unless +he employs the countercharms of some more powerful shaman, his soul +begins to shrivel up and dwindle, and within seven days he is dead. +When it is found that the spell has no effect upon the intended victim +it is believed that he has discovered the plot and has taken measures +for his own protection, or that, having suspected a design against +him--as, for instance, after having won a girl’s affections from +a rival or overcoming him in the ball play--he has already secured +himself from all attempts by counterspells. It then becomes a serious +matter, as, should he succeed in turning the curse aside from himself, +it will return upon the heads of his enemies. + +The shaman and his employer then retire to a lonely spot in the +mountains, in the vicinity of a small stream, and begin a new series +of conjurations with the beads. After constructing a temporary shelter +of bark laid over poles, the two go down to the water, the shaman +taking with him two pieces of cloth, a yard or two yards in length, +one white, the other black, together with seven red and seven +black beads. The cloth is the shaman’s pay for his services, and is +furnished by his employer, who sometimes also supplies the beads. +There are many formulas for conjuring with the beads, which are used +on almost all important occasions, and differences also in the details +of the ceremony, but the general practice is the same in all cases. +The shaman selects a bend in the river where his client can look +toward the east while facing up stream. The man then takes up his +position on the bank or wades into the stream a short distance, +where--in the ceremonial language--the water is a “hand length” +(_awâ´hilû_) in depth and stands silently with his eyes fixed upon +the water and his back to the shaman on the bank. The shaman then lays +upon the ground the two pieces of cloth, folded into convenient size, +and places the red beads--typical of success and his client upon +the white cloth, while the black beads--emblematic of death and the +intended victim--are laid upon the black cloth. It is probable that +the first cloth should properly be red instead of white, but as it is +difficult to get red cloth, except in the shape of handkerchiefs, a +substitution has been made, the two colors having a close mythologic +relation. In former days a piece of buckskin and the small glossy, +seeds of the Viper’s Bugloss (_Echium vulgare_) were used instead +of the cloth and beads. The formulistic name for the bead is +_sû´nĭkta_, which the priests are unable to analyze, the ordinary +word for beads or coin being _adélâ_. + +The shaman now takes a red bead, representing his client, between +the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and a black bead, +representing the victim, in like manner, in his left hand. Standing +a few feet behind his client he turns toward the east, fixes his eyes +upon the bead between the thumb and finger of his right hand, and +addresses it as the Sû´nĭkta Gigăge´ĭ, the Red Bead, invoking +blessings upon his client and clothing him with the red garments of +success. The formula is repeated in a low chant or intonation, the +voice rising at intervals, after the manner of a revival speaker. Then +turning to the black bead in his left hand he addresses it in similar +manner, calling down the most withering curses upon the head of the +victim. Finally looking up he addresses the stream, under the name of +Yû´[n]wĭ Gûnahi´ta, the “Long Person,” imploring it to protect +his client and raise him to the seventh heaven, where he will be +secure from all his enemies. The other, then stooping down, dips up +water in his hand seven times and pours it upon his head, rubbing it +upon his shoulders and breast at the same time. In some cases he dips +completely under seven times, being stripped, of course, even when the +water is of almost icy coldness. The shaman, then stooping down, makes +a small hole in the ground with his finger, drops into it the fatal +black bead, and buries it out of sight with a stamp of his foot. This +ends the ceremony, which is called “taking to water.” + +While addressing the beads the shaman attentively observes them as +they are held between the thumb and finger of his outstretched hands. +In a short time they begin to move, slowly and but a short distance at +first, then faster and farther, often coming down as far as the first +joint of the finger or even below, with an irregular serpentine motion +from side to side, returning in the same manner. Should the red bead +be more lively in its movements and come down lower on the finger +than the black bead, he confidently predicts for the client the speedy +accomplishment of his desire. On the other hand, should the black bead +surpass the red in activity, the spells of the shaman employed by the +intended victim are too strong, and the whole ceremony must be gone +over again with an additional and larger quantity of cloth. This must +be kept up until the movements of the red beads give token of success +or until they show by their sluggish motions or their failure to move +down along the finger that the opposing shaman can not be overcome. In +the latter case the discouraged plotter gives up all hope, considering +himself as cursed by every imprecation which he has unsuccessfully +invoked upon his enemy, goes home and--theoretically--lies down and +dies. As a matter of fact, however, the shaman is always ready with +other formulas by means of which he can ward off such fatal results, +in consideration, of a sufficient quantity of cloth. + +Should the first trial, which takes place at daybreak, prove +unsuccessful, the shaman and his client fast until just before sunset. +They then eat and remain awake until midnight, when the ceremony is +repeated, and if still unsuccessful it may be repeated four times +before daybreak (or the following noon?), both men remaining awake and +fasting throughout the night. If still unsuccessful, they continue to +fast all day until just before sundown. Then they eat again and again +remain awake until midnight, when the previous night’s programme +is repeated. It has now become a trial of endurance between the +revengeful client and his shaman on the one side and the intended +victim and his shaman on the other, the latter being supposed to be +industriously working countercharms all the while, as each party must +subsist upon one meal per day and abstain entirely from sleep until +the result has been decided one way or the other. Failure to endure +this severe strain, even so much as closing the eyes in sleep for +a few moments or partaking of the least nourishment excepting just +before sunset, neutralizes all the previous work and places the +unfortunate offender at the mercy of his more watchful enemy. If +the shaman be still unsuccessful on the fourth day, he acknowledges +himself defeated and gives up the contest. Should his spells prove the +stronger, his victim will die within seven days, or, as the Cherokees +say, seven nights. These “seven nights,” however, are frequently +interpreted, figuratively, to mean _seven years_, a rendering which +often serves to relieve the shaman from a very embarrassing position. + +With regard to the oracle of the whole proceeding, the beads do move; +but the explanation is simple, although the Indians account for it +by saying that the beads become alive by the recitation of the sacred +formula. The shaman is laboring under strong, though suppressed, +emotion. He stands with his hands stretched out in a constrained +position, every muscle tense, his breast heaving and voice trembling +from the effort, and the natural result is that before he is done +praying his fingers begin to twitch involuntarily and thus cause the +beads to move. As before stated, their motion is irregular; but the +peculiar delicacy of touch acquired by long practice probably imparts +more directness to their movements than would at first seem possible. + + +HIĂ´ A´NE´TS UGÛ´[n]WA´LǏ AM´YǏ DITSÛ´[n]STA´TǏ. + +Sgĕ! Ha-nâgwa ă´stĭ une´ga aksâ´û[n]tanû´[n] usĭnu´lĭ +a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nû[n]tse´lahĭ akta´‘tĭ adû[n]ni´ga. + +Iyu´stĭ utadâ´ta, iyu´stĭ tsunadâ´ita. Nû[n]nâ´hĭ +anite´lahĕhû´ ige´skĭ nige´sû[n]na. Dû´ksi-gwu´ +dedu´natsgû‘la´wate´gû. Da´‘sû[n] unilâtsi´satû. Sa‘ka´ni +unati´satû´. + +Nû[n]nâ´hĭ dâ´tadu´nina´watĭ´ a´yû-‘nû´ digwatseli´ga +a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nû[n]tse´lahĭ. Tla´mehû Gigage´ĭ sâ´gwa +danûtsgû´‘lani´ga. Igû´[n]yĭ galû´[n]lâ ge´sû[n] i´yû[n] +kanû´[n]lagĭ [u]wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ. Ta´line galû´[n]lâ +ge´su[n] i´yû[n] kanû´[n]lagĭ [u]wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ. +He´nilû danûtsgû´‘lani´ga. Tla´ma û[n]ni´ta a´nigwalu´gĭ +gû[n]tla´‘tisge´stĭ, ase´gwû nige´sû[n]na. + +Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nû[n]tse´lahĭ saligu´gi-gwû +dedu´natsgû´‘lawĭsti´tegû´. Elawi´nĭ da´‘sû[n] +unilâtsi´satû. + +Tsâ´ine digalû´[n]latiyu´[n] Să´niwă Gi´gageĭ sâ´gwa +danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sû[n]na. Kanû´[n]lagĭ +[u]*wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ nû´‘gine digalû´[n]latiyû´[n]. +Gulĭ´sgulĭ´ Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, +asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sû[n]na. Kanû´[n]lagĭ [u]wâhâ´hĭstâgĭ +hĭ´skine digalû´[n]latiyû´[n]. Tsŭtsŭ´ Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa +danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sû[n]na. + +Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ utsâ´nû[n]tse´lahĭ Tĭne´gwa Sa‘ka´ni +sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, ige´skĭ nige´sû[n]na. Da´‘sû[n] +unilâtsi´satû. Kanû´[n]lagĭ [u]wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ +sutali´ne digalû´[n]latiyû´[n]. A´nigâsta´ya sâ´gwa +danûtsgu´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´su[n]na. Kanû´[n]lagĭ +[u]wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ kûl‘kwâgine digalû´[n]latiyû´[n]. +Wâtatû´ga Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ +nige´sû[n]na. + +Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nû[n]tse´lahĭ, Yâ´na +dedu´natsgû´‘lawĭstani´ga, ige´skĭ nige´sû[n]na. Da‘sû[n] +du´nilâtsi´satû. Kanû´[n]lagĭ de´tagaskalâ´û[n]tanû´[n], +igû[n]´wûlstanûhi-gwûdi´na tsuye´listi gesû´[n]ĭ. Akta´‘tĭ +adû[n]ni´ga. + +Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa t’skĭ´nâne´lĭ ta´lădŭ´ iyû´[n]ta +a´gwatseli´ga, Wătatu´ga Tsûne´ga. Tsuye´listĭ gesû´[n]ĭ +skĭ´nâhû[n]sĭ´ a´gwatseli´ga--kanû´[n]lagĭ a´gwatseli´ga. +Nă´‘nâ utadâ´ta kanû´[n]lagĭ dedu´skalâ´asi´ga. + +Dedû´ndagû´[n]yastani´ga, gû[n]wâ´hisâ´nûhĭ. Yû! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS CONCERNS THE BALL PLAY--TO TAKE THEM TO WATER WITH IT. + +Listen! Ha! Now where the white thread has been let down, quickly we +are about to examine into (the fate of) the admirers of the ball play. + +They are of--such a (iyu´stĭ) descent. They are called--so and so +(iyu´stĭ). They are shaking the road which shall never be joyful. +The miserable Terrapin has come and fastened himself upon them as they +go about. They have lost all strength. They have become entirely blue. + +But now my admirers of the ball play have their roads lying along in +this direction. The Red Bat has come and made himself one of them. +There in the first heaven are the pleasing stakes. There in the second +heaven are the pleasing stakes. The Pewee has come and joined them. +The immortal ball stick shall place itself upon the whoop, never to be +defeated. + +As for the lovers of the ball play on the other side, the common +Turtle has come and fastened himself upon them as they go about. Under +the earth they have lost all strength. + +The pleasing stakes are in the third heaven. The Red Tlăniwă has +come and made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. +The pleasing stakes are in the fourth heaven. The Blue Fly-catcher +has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The +pleasing stakes are in the fifth heaven. The Blue Martin has made +himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. + +The other lovers of the ball play, the Blue Mole has come and fastened +upon them, that they may never be joyous. They have lost all strength. + +The pleasing stakes are there in the sixth heaven. The Chimney Swift +has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The +pleasing stakes are in the seventh heaven. The Blue Dragon-fly has +made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. + +As for the other admirers of the ball play, the Bear has just come and +fastened him upon them, that they may never be happy. They have lost +all strength. He has let the stakes slip from his grasp and there +shall be nothing left for their share. + +The examination is ended. + +Listen! Now let me know that the twelve are mine, O White Dragon-fly. +Tell me that the share is to be mine--that the stakes are mine. As for +the player there on the other side, he has been forced to let go his +hold upon the stakes. + +Now they are become exultant and happy. Yû! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from the A‘yû[n]inĭ manuscript is one of those used +by the shaman in taking the ball players to water before the game. +The ceremony is performed in connection with red and black beads, +as described in the formula just given for destroying life. The +formulistic name given to the ball players signifies literally, +“admirers of the ball play.” The Tlă´niwă (să´niwă in the Middle +dialect) is the mythic great hawk, as large and powerful as the roc of +Arabian tales. The shaman begins by declaring that it is his purpose +to examine or inquire into the fate of the ball players, and then +gives his attention by turns to his friends and their opponents, +fixing his eyes upon the red bead while praying for his clients, and +upon the black bead while speaking of their rivals. His friends he +raises gradually to the seventh or highest _galû´[n]latĭ_. This +word literally signifies height, and is the name given to the abode +of the gods dwelling above the earth, and is also used to mean heaven +in the Cherokee bible translation. The opposing players, on the other +hand, are put down under the earth, and are made to resemble animals +slow and clumsy of movement, while on behalf of his friends the +shaman invokes the aid of swift-flying birds, which, according to +the Indian belief, never by any chance fail to secure their prey. +The birds invoked are the He´nilû or wood pewee (_Contopus virens_), +the Tlăniwă or mythic hawk, the Gulĭ´sgulĭ´ or great crested +flycatcher (_Myiarchus crinitus_), the Tsûtsû or martin (_Progne +subis_), and the A´nigâsta´ya or chimney swift (_Chætura +pelasgia_). In the idiom of the formulas it is said that these “have +just come and are sticking to them” (the players), the same word +(_danûtsgû´lani’ga_) being used to express the devoted attention of +a lover to his mistress. The Watatuga, a small species of dragon-fly, +is also invoked, together with the bat, which, according to a Cherokee +myth, once took sides with the birds in a great ball contest with the +four-footed animals, and won the victory for the birds by reason of +his superior skill in dodging. This myth explains also why birds, and +no quadrupeds, are invoked by the shaman to the aid of his friends. +In accordance with the regular color symbolism the flycatcher, martin, +and dragon-fly, like the bat and the tlă´niwă, should be red, the +color of success, instead of blue, evidently so written by mistake. +The white thread is frequently mentioned in the formulas, but in this +instance the reference is not clear. The twelve refers to the number +of runs made in the game. + + +Index. + + A‘wanita, or Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Ayasta, Cherokee manuscript obtained from 313 + A‘yû[n]´inĭ, or Swimmer, Cherokee manuscripts obtained from + 310-312 + Bathing in medical practice of Cherokees 333-334, 335-336 + Bleeding, practice of among the Cherokees 334-335 + Brinton, D.G., cited on linguistic value of Indian records 318 + Catawba Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Cherokees, paper on Sacred Formulas of, by James Mooney 301-397 + bathing, rubbing, and bleeding in medical practice of 333-336 + manuscripts of, containing sacred, medical, and other formulas, + character and age of 307-318 + medical practice of, list of plants used in 324-327 + medicine dance of 337 + color symbolism of 342-343 + gods of, and their abiding places 340-342 + religion of 319 + Cherokee Sacred Formulas, language of 343-344 + specimens of 344-397 + for rheumatism 345-351 + for snake bite 351-353 + for worms 353-356 + for neuralgia 356-359 + for fever and ague 359-363 + for child birth 363-364 + for biliousness 365-366 + for ordeal diseases 367-369 + for hunting and fishing 369-375 + for love 375-384 + to kill a witch 384-386 + to find something 386-387 + to prevent a storm 387-388 + for going to war 388-391 + for destroying an enemy 391-395 + for ball play 395-397 + Color symbolism of the Cherokees 342, 343 + Disease, Cherokee theory of 322-324 + Disease and medicine, Cherokee tradition of origin of 319-322 + Gahuni manuscript of Cherokee formulas 313, 314 + Gatigwanasti manuscript of Cherokee formulas 312, 313 + Gods of the Cherokees and their abiding places 340-342 + Haywood, John, cited on witchcraft beliefs among the Cherokees 322 + Inali manuscript of Cherokee formulas 314-316 + Long, W.W., collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by + 317 + Medical practice of Cherokees, plants used 322-331 + Medicine dance of Cherokees 337 + Mooney, James, paper on sacred formulas of the Cherokees, by + 301-397 + Names, importance attached to, in Cherokee sacred formulas 343 + Plants used by Cherokees for medical purposes 322-331 + ceremonies for gathering 339 + Religion of the Cherokees, character of 319 + Religion of the Cherokees, gods of 340-342 + Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, paper by James Mooney on 301-397 + Sanitary regulations among the Cherokee Indians, neglect of 332, + 333 + Shamans, decline of power of among Cherokees 336 + mode of payment of among Cherokees 337-339 + Sweat bath, use of, among Cherokees 333-334 + Swimmer manuscript of Cherokee formulas 310, 312 + Tabu among Cherokees, illustrations of 331-332 + Takwatihi, or Catawba-Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Will West, collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by + 317 + Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + + + + + Errors: + + Missing or superfluous quotation marks have been silently corrected. + + ... while closely watching the motions ... + [original has “the / the” at line break] + formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, A´wanita, and / Takwtihi + [error for Takwati´hĭ ?] + Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hû[n]hatû´[n]gani´ga + [all parentheses in this paragraph shown as printed] + (hetsatsa´û[n]tani´ga + [mismatched parenthesis in original] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, by +James Mooney + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24788-0.txt or 24788-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/8/24788/ + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/24788-0.zip b/24788-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e25b11 --- /dev/null +++ b/24788-0.zip diff --git a/24788-8.txt b/24788-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b58f79a --- /dev/null +++ b/24788-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5753 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, by James Mooney + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees + Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the + Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, + Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398 + +Author: James Mooney + +Release Date: March 9, 2008 [EBook #24788] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + + + + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + +Transcriber's note: The following symbols are used to represent +special characters: + + ['] for accent (not apostrophe) + ' for apostrophe (single closing quote) + ` for opening single quote + + [n], [i], [u], [w], [U] = raised (superscript) letters + [)x] = any letter "x" with breve + [=a] = "a" with macron + + + + +THE + +SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES. + +BY + +JAMES MOONEY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Introduction 307 + + How the formulas were obtained. 310 + + The A`y[n]in[)i] (Swimmer) manuscript 310 + + The Gatigwanast[)i] (Belt) manuscript 312 + + The Gahun[)i] manuscript 313 + + The Inl[)i] (Black Fox) manuscript 314 + + Other manuscripts 316 + + The Kanhe[']ta Ani-Tsa[']lag[)i] Et[)i] or Ancient Cherokee + Formulas 317 + + Character of the formulas--the Cherokee religion 318 + + Myth of the origin of disease and medicine 319 + + Theory of disease--animals, ghosts, witches 322 + + Selected list of plants used 324 + + Medical practice--theory of + resemblances--fasting--tabu--seclusion--women 328 + + Illustration of the gakt[n]ta or tabu 331 + + Neglect of sanitary regulations 332 + + The sweat bath--bleeding--rubbing--bathing 338 + + Opposition of shamans to white physicians 336 + + Medicine dances 337 + + Description of symptoms 337 + + The ugista[']`t[)i] or pay of the shaman 337 + + Ceremonies for gathering plants and preparing medicine 339 + + The Cherokee gods and their abiding places 340 + + Color symbolism 342 + + Importance attached to names 343 + + Language of the formulas 343 + + Specimen formulas 344 + + Medicine. 345 + + To treat the crippler (rheumatism)--from Gahuni 345 + + Second formula for the crippler--from Gahuni 349 + + Song and prescription for snake bites--from Gahuni 351 + + When something is causing something to eat them--Gahuni 353 + + Second formula for the same disease--A`wanita 355 + + For moving pains in the teeth (neuralgia?)--Gatigwanasti 356 + + Song and prayer for the great chill--A`y[n]ini 359 + + To make children jump down (child birth)--A`y[n]ini 363 + + Second formula for child birth--Takwatihi 364 + + Song and prayer for the black yellowness + (biliousness)--A`y[n]ini 365 + + To treat for ordeal diseases (witchcraft)--A`y[n]ini 366 + + Hunting 369 + + Concerning hunting--A`y[n]ini 369 + + For hunting birds--A`y[n]ini 371 + + To shoot dwellers in the wilderness--A`wanita 372 + + Bear song--A`y[n]ini 373 + + For catching large fish--A`y[n]ini 374 + + Love 375 + + Concerning living humanity--Gatigwanasti 376 + + For going to water--Gatigwanasti 378 + + Y[n]wehi song for painting--Gatigwanasti 379 + + Song and prayer to fix the affections--A`y[n]ini 380 + + To separate lovers--A`y[n]ini 381 + + Song and prayer to fix the affections--Gatigwanasti 382 + + Miscellaneous 384 + + To shorten a night goer on this side--A`y[n]ini 384 + + To find lost articles--Gatigwanasti 386 + + To frighten away a storm--A`y[n]ini 387 + + To help warriors--A[']wanita 388 + + To destroy life (ceremony with beads)--A`y[n]ini 391 + + To take to water for the ball play--A`y[n]ini 395 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Pl. XXIV. Portrait of A`y[n]ini (Swimmer) 306 + + XXV. Facsimile of A`y[n]ini manuscript--Formula for Dalni + [n]nagei 310 + + XXVI. Facsimile of Gatigwanasti manuscript--Y[n]w[)e]h[)i] + formula 312 + + XXVII. Facsimile of Gahuni manuscript--Formula for + Did[n]l[)e]sk[)i] 314 + + + + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXIV + +A`YU[N]INI (SWIMMER).] + + + + +SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES. + +By James Mooney. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +The sacred formulas here given are selected from a collection of about +six hundred, obtained on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina in +1887 and 1888, and covering every subject pertaining to the daily life +and thought of the Indian, including medicine, love, hunting, fishing, +war, self-protection, destruction of enemies, witchcraft, the crops, +the council, the ball play, etc., and, in fact, embodying almost +the whole of the ancient religion of the Cherokees. The original +manuscripts, now in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, +were written by the shamans of the tribe, for their own use, in +the Cherokee characters invented by Sikw[']ya (Sequoyah) in 1821, +and were obtained, with the explanations, either from the writers +themselves or from their surviving relatives. + +Some of these manuscripts are known to be at least thirty years +old, and many are probably older. The medical formulas of all kinds +constitute perhaps one-half of the whole number, while the love charms +come next in number, closely followed by the songs and prayers used in +hunting and fishing. The great number of love charms will doubtless be +a surprise to those who have been educated in the old theory that the +Indian is insensible to the attractions of woman. The comparatively +small number of war formulas is explained by the fact that the last +war in which the Cherokees, as a tribe, were engaged on their own +account, closed with the Revolutionary period, so that these things +were well nigh forgotten before the invention of the alphabet, a +generation later. The Cherokees who engaged in the Creek war and the +late American civil war fought in the interests of the whites, and +their leaders were subordinated to white officers, hence there was not +the same opportunity for the exercise of shamanistic rites that there +would have been had Indians alone been concerned. The prayers for +hunting, fishing, and the ball play being in more constant demand, +have been better preserved. + +These formulas had been handed down orally from a remote antiquity +until the early part of the present century, when the invention of +the Cherokee syllabary enabled the priests of the tribe to put them +into writing. The same invention made it possible for their rivals, +the missionaries, to give to the Indians the Bible in their own +language, so that the opposing forces of Christianity and shamanism +alike profited by the genius of Sikwya. The pressure of the new +civilization was too strong to be withstood, however, and though +the prophets of the old religion still have much influence with the +people, they are daily losing ground and will soon be without honor in +their own country. + +Such an exposition of the aboriginal religion could be obtained from +no other tribe in North America, for the simple reason that no other +tribe has an alphabet of its own in which to record its sacred lore. +It is true that the Crees and Micmacs of Canada and the Tukuth of +Alaska have so-called alphabets or ideographic systems invented for +their use by the missionaries, while, before the Spanish conquest, +the Mayas of Central America were accustomed to note down their hero +legends and priestly ceremonials in hieroglyphs graven upon the walls +of their temples or painted upon tablets made of the leaves of the +maguey. But it seems never to have occurred to the northern tribes +that an alphabet coming from a missionary source could be used for any +other purpose than the transcription of bibles and catechisms, while +the sacred books of the Mayas, with a few exceptions, have long since +met destruction at the hands of fanaticism, and the modern copies +which have come down to the present day are written out from imperfect +memory by Indians who had been educated under Spanish influences in +the language, alphabet and ideas of the conquerors, and who, as is +proved by an examination of the contents of the books themselves, +drew from European sources a great part of their material. Moreover, +the Maya tablets were so far hieratic as to be understood only +by the priests and those who had received a special training in +this direction, and they seem therefore to have been entirely +unintelligible to the common people. + +The Cherokee alphabet, on the contrary, is the invention or adaptation +of one of the tribe, who, although he borrowed most of the Roman +letters, in addition to the forty or more characters of his own +devising, knew nothing of their proper use or value, but reversed them +or altered their forms to suit his purpose, and gave them a name and +value determined by himself. This alphabet was at once adopted by the +tribe for all purposes for which writing can be used, including the +recording of their shamanistic prayers and ritualistic ceremonies. The +formulas here given, as well as those of the entire collection, were +written out by the shamans themselves--men who adhere to the ancient +religion and speak only their native language--in order that their +sacred knowledge might be preserved in a systematic manner for their +mutual benefit. The language, the conception, and the execution +are all genuinely Indian, and hardly a dozen lines of the hundreds +of formulas show a trace of the influence of the white man or +his religion. The formulas contained in these manuscripts are not +disjointed fragments of a system long since extinct, but are the +revelation of a living faith which still has its priests and devoted +adherents, and it is only necessary to witness a ceremonial ball +play, with its fasting, its going to water, and its mystic bead +manipulation, to understand how strong is the hold which the old faith +yet has upon the minds even of the younger generation. The numerous +archaic and figurative expressions used require the interpretation +of the priests, but, as before stated, the alphabet in which they are +written is that in daily use among the common people. + +In all tribes that still retain something of their ancient +organization we find this sacred knowledge committed to the keeping of +various secret societies, each of which has its peculiar ritual with +regular initiation and degrees of advancement. From this analogy +we may reasonably conclude that such was formerly the case with the +Cherokees also, but by the breaking down of old customs consequent +upon their long contact with the whites and the voluntary adoption +of a civilized form of government in 1827, all traces of such society +organization have long since disappeared, and at present each priest +or shaman is isolated and independent, sometimes confining himself +to a particular specialty, such as love or medicine, or even the +treatment of two or three diseases, in other cases broadening his +field of operations to include the whole range of mystic knowledge. + +It frequently happens, however, that priests form personal friendships +and thus are led to divulge their secrets to each other for their +mutual advantage. Thus when one shaman meets another who he thinks can +probably give him some valuable information, he says to him, "Let us +sit down together." This is understood by the other to mean, "Let us +tell each other our secrets." Should it seem probable that the seeker +after knowledge can give as much as he receives, an agreement is +generally arrived at, the two retire to some convenient spot secure +from observation, and the first party begins by reciting one of his +formulas with the explanations. The other then reciprocates with +one of his own, unless it appears that the bargain is apt to prove a +losing one, in which case the conference comes to an abrupt ending. + +It is sometimes possible to obtain a formula by the payment of a coat, +a quantity of cloth, or a sum of money. Like the Celtic Druids of old, +the candidate for the priesthood in former times found it necessary to +cultivate a long memory, as no formula was repeated more than once for +his benefit. It was considered that one who failed to remember after +the first hearing was not worthy to be accounted a shaman. This task, +however, was not so difficult as might appear on first thought, when +once the learner understood the theory involved, as the formulas are +all constructed on regular principles, with constant repetition of +the same set of words. The obvious effect of such a regulation was +to increase the respect in which this sacred knowledge was held by +restricting it to the possession of a chosen few. + +Although the written formulas can be read without difficulty by any +Cherokee educated in his own language, the shamans take good care that +their sacred writings shall not fall into the hands of the laity or +of their rivals in occult practices, and in performing the ceremonies +the words used are uttered in such a low tone of voice as to be +unintelligible even to the one for whose benefit the formula is +repeated. Such being the case, it is in order to explain how the +formulas collected were obtained. + + +HOW THE FORMULAS WERE OBTAINED. + +On first visiting the reservation in the summer of 1887, I devoted +considerable time to collecting plants used by the Cherokees for food +or medicinal purposes, learning at the same time their Indian names +and the particular uses to which each was applied and the mode of +preparation. It soon became evident that the application of the +medicine was not the whole, and in fact was rather the subordinate, +part of the treatment, which was always accompanied by certain +ceremonies and "words." From the workers employed at the time no +definite idea could be obtained as to the character of these words. +One young woman, indeed, who had some knowledge of the subject, +volunteered to write the words which she used in her prescriptions, +but failed to do so, owing chiefly to the opposition of the half-breed +shamans, from whom she had obtained her information. + + +THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT. + +Some time afterward an acquaintance was formed with a man named +A`y[n][']in[)i] or "Swimmer," who proved to be so intelligent that I +spent several days with him, procuring information in regard to myths +and old customs. He told a number of stories in very good style, and +finally related the Origin of the Bear[1]. The bears were formerly a +part of the Cherokee tribe who decided to leave their kindred and go +into the forest. Their friends followed them and endeavored to induce +them to return, but the Ani-Ts[']kah[)i], as they were called, were +determined to go. Just before parting from their relatives at the +edge of the forest, they turned to them and said, "It is better for +you that we should go; but we will teach you songs, and some day +when you are in want of food come out to the woods and sing these +songs and we shall appear and give you meat." Their friends, after +learning several songs from them, started back to their homes, and +after proceeding a short distance, turned around to take one last +look, but saw only a number of bears disappearing in the depths of +the forest. The songs which they learned are still sung by the hunter +to attract the bears. + +[Footnote 1: To appear later with the collection of Cherokee myths.] + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXV + +FACSIMILE OF GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. + +Formula for Did[n]l[)e]ck[)i]. (Page 349.)] + +When Swimmer had finished the story he was asked if he knew these +songs. He replied that he did, but on being requested to sing one +he made some excuse and was silent. After some further efforts the +interpreter said it would be useless to press the matter then as there +were several other Indians present, but that to-morrow we should have +him alone with us and could then make another attempt. + +The next day Swimmer was told that if he persisted in his refusal it +would be necessary to employ some one else, as it was unfair in him to +furnish incomplete information when he was paid to tell all he knew. +He replied that he was willing to tell anything in regard to stories +and customs, but that these songs were a part of his secret knowledge +and commanded a high price from the hunters, who sometimes paid as +much as $5 for a single song, "because you can't kill any bears or +deer unless you sing them." + +He was told that the only object in asking about the songs was to put +them on record and preserve them, so that when he and the half dozen +old men of the tribe were dead the world might be aware how much the +Cherokees had known. This appeal to his professional pride proved +effectual, and when he was told that a great many similar songs had +been sent to Washington by medicine men of other tribes, he promptly +declared that he knew as much as any of them, and that he would give +all the information in his possession, so that others might be able to +judge for themselves who knew most. The only conditions he made were +that these secret matters should be heard by no one else but the +interpreter, and should not be discussed when other Indians were +present. + +As soon as the other shamans learned what was going on they endeavored +by various means to persuade him to stop talking, or failing in this, +to damage his reputation by throwing out hints as to his honesty or +accuracy of statement. Among other objections which they advanced +was one which, however incomprehensible to a white man, was perfectly +intelligible to an Indian, viz: That when he had told everything this +information would be taken to Washington and locked up there, and thus +they would be deprived of the knowledge. This objection was one of +the most difficult to overcome, as there was no line of argument with +which to oppose it. + +These reports worried Swimmer, who was extremely sensitive in regard +to his reputation, and he became restive under the insinuations of +his rivals. Finally on coming to work one day he produced a book from +under his ragged coat as he entered the house, and said proudly: +"Look at that and now see if I don't know something." It was a small +day-book of about 240 pages, procured originally from a white man, and +was about half filled with writing in the Cherokee characters. A brief +examination disclosed the fact that it contained just those matters +that had proved so difficult to procure. Here were prayers, songs, +and prescriptions for the cure of all kinds of diseases--for chills, +rheumatism, frostbites, wounds, bad dreams, and witchery; love charms, +to gain the affections of a woman or to cause her to hate a detested +rival; fishing charms, hunting charms--including the songs without +which none could ever hope to kill any game; prayers to make the corn +grow, to frighten away storms, and to drive off witches; prayers for +long life, for safety among strangers, for acquiring influence in +council and success in the ball play. There were prayers to the Long +Man, the Ancient White, the Great Whirlwind, the Yellow Rattlesnake, +and to a hundred other gods of the Cherokee pantheon. It was in fact +an Indian ritual and pharmacopoeia. + +After recovering in a measure from the astonishment produced by this +discovery I inquired whether other shamans had such books. "Yes," +said Swimmer, "we all have them." Here then was a clew to follow up. A +bargain was made by which he was to have another blank book into which +to copy the formulas, after which the original was bought. It is now +deposited in the library of the Bureau of Ethnology. The remainder of +the time until the return was occupied in getting an understanding of +the contents of the book. + + +THE GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT. + +Further inquiry elicited the names of several others who might be +supposed to have such papers. Before leaving a visit was paid to one +of these, a young man named Wilnoti, whose father, Gatigwanasti, had +been during his lifetime a prominent shaman, regarded as a man of +superior intelligence. Wilnoti, who is a professing Christian, said +that his father had had such papers, and after some explanation from +the chief he consented to show them. He produced a box containing a +lot of miscellaneous papers, testaments, and hymnbooks, all in the +Cherokee alphabet. Among them was his father's chief treasure, a +manuscript book containing 122 pages of foolscap size, completely +filled with formulas of the same kind as those contained in Swimmer's +book. There were also a large number of loose sheets, making in all +nearly 200 foolscap pages of sacred formulas. + +On offering to buy the papers, he replied that he wanted to keep them +in order to learn and practice these things himself--thus showing +how thin was the veneer of Christianity, in his case at least. On +representing to him that in a few years the new conditions would +render such knowledge valueless with the younger generation, and that +even if he retained the papers he would need some one else to explain +them to him, he again refused, saying that they might fall into the +hands of Swimmer, who, he was determined, should never see his +father's papers. Thus the negotiations came to an end for the time. + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVI + +FACSIMILE OF SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT. + +Formula for Dalni [n]nagei (Page 364.)] + +On returning to the reservation in July, 1888, another effort was made +to get possession of the Gatigwanasti manuscripts and any others of +the same kind which could be procured. By this time the Indians had +had several months to talk over the matter, and the idea had gradually +dawned upon them that instead of taking their knowledge away from them +and locking it up in a box, the intention was to preserve it to the +world and pay them for it at the same time. In addition the writer +took every opportunity to impress upon them the fact that he was +acquainted with the secret knowledge of other tribes and perhaps could +give them as much as they gave. It was now much easier to approach +them, and on again visiting Wilnoti, in company with the interpreter, +who explained the matter fully to him, he finally consented to lend +the papers for a time, with the same condition that neither Swimmer +nor anyone else but the chief and interpreter should see them, but +he still refused to sell them. However, this allowed the use of the +papers, and after repeated efforts during a period of several +weeks, the matter ended in the purchase of the papers outright, with +unreserved permission to show them for copying or explanation +to anybody who might be selected. Wilnoti was not of a mercenary +disposition, and after the first negotiations the chief difficulty was +to overcome his objection to parting with his father's handwriting, +but it was an essential point to get the originals, and he was allowed +to copy some of the more important formulas, as he found it utterly +out of the question to copy the whole. + +These papers of Gatigwanasti are the most valuable of the whole, and +amount to fully one-half the entire collection, about fifty pages +consisting of love charms. The formulas are beautifully written +in bold Cherokee characters, and the directions and headings are +generally explicit, bearing out the universal testimony that he was a +man of unusual intelligence and ability, characteristics inherited by +his son, who, although a young man and speaking no English, is one of +the most progressive and thoroughly reliable men of the band. + + +THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. + +The next book procured was obtained from a woman named Aysta, "The +Spoiler," and had been written by her husband, Gahuni, who died about +30 years ago. The matter was not difficult to arrange, as she had +already been employed on several occasions, so that she understood the +purpose of the work, besides which her son had been regularly engaged +to copy and classify the manuscripts already procured. The book +was claimed as common property by Aysta and her three sons, and +negotiations had to be carried on with each one, although in this +instance the cash amount involved was only half a dollar, in addition +to another book into which to copy some family records and personal +memoranda. The book contains only eight formulas, but these are of +a character altogether unique, the directions especially throwing a +curious light on Indian beliefs. There had been several other formulas +of the class called Y[']['][n]w[)e]h[)i], to cause hatred between man +and wife, but these had been torn out and destroyed by Aysta on the +advice of an old shaman, in order that her sons might never learn +them. In referring to the matter she spoke in a whisper, and it was +evident enough that she had full faith in the deadly power of these +spells. + +In addition to the formulas the book contains about twenty pages of +Scripture extracts in the same handwriting, for Gahuni, like several +others of their shamans, combined the professions of Indian conjurer +and Methodist preacher. After his death the book fell into the hands +of the younger members of the family, who filled it with miscellaneous +writings and scribblings. Among other things there are about seventy +pages of what was intended to be a Cherokee-English pronouncing +dictionary, probably written by the youngest son, already mentioned, +who has attended school, and who served for some time as copyist on +the formulas. This curious Indian production, of which only a few +columns are filled out, consists of a list of simple English words +and phrases, written in ordinary English script, followed by Cherokee +characters intended to give the approximate pronunciation, together +with the corresponding word in the Cherokee language and characters. +As the language lacks a number of sounds which are of frequent +occurrence in English, the attempts to indicate the pronunciation +sometimes give amusing results. Thus we find: _Fox_ (English +script); _kwgis[)i][']_ (Cherokee characters); _ts`l[']_ (Cherokee +characters). As the Cherokee language lacks the labial _f_ and has no +compound sound equivalent to our _x_, _kwgis[)i][']_ is as near as +the Cherokee speaker can come to pronouncing our word _fox_. In the +same way "bet" becomes _w[)e]t[)i]_, and "sheep" is _skw[)i]_, while +"if he has no dog" appears in the disguise of _ikw[)i] hs[)i] n +d[']ga_. + + +THE INLI MANUSCRIPT. + +In the course of further inquiries in regard to the whereabouts +of other manuscripts of this kind we heard a great deal about +In[']l[)i], or "Black Fox," who had died a few years before at an +advanced age, and who was universally admitted to have been one of +their most able men and the most prominent literary character among +them, for from what has been said it must be sufficiently evident +that the Cherokees have their native literature and literary men. Like +those already mentioned, he was a full-blood Cherokee, speaking no +English, and in the course of a long lifetime he had filled almost +every position of honor among his people, including those of +councilor, keeper of the townhouse records, Sunday-school leader, +conjurer, officer in the Confederate service, and Methodist preacher, +at last dying, as he was born, in the ancient faith of his forefathers. + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVII + +FACSIMILE OF GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT. + +Yugwil['] formula. (Page 375.)] + +On inquiring of his daughter she stated that her father had left a +great many papers, most of which were still in her possession, and +on receiving from the interpreter an explanation of our purpose she +readily gave permission to examine and make selections from them on +condition that the matter should be kept secret from outsiders. A day +was appointed for visiting her, and on arriving we found her living in +a comfortable log house, built by Inl[)i] himself, with her children +and an ancient female relative, a decrepit old woman with snow-white +hair and vacant countenance. This was the oldest woman of the tribe, +and though now so feeble and childish, she had been a veritable savage +in her young days, having carried a scalp in the scalp dance in the +Creek war 75 years before. + +Having placed chairs for us in the shade Inl[)i]'s daughter brought +out a small box filled with papers of various kinds, both Cherokee and +English. The work of examining these was a tedious business, as each +paper had to be opened out and enough of it read to get the general +drift of the contents, after which the several classes were arranged +in separate piles. While in the midst of this work she brought out +another box nearly as large as a small trunk, and on setting it down +there was revealed to the astonished gaze such a mass of material as +it had not seemed possible could exist in the entire tribe. + +In addition to papers of the sort already mentioned there were a +number of letters in English from various officials and religious +organizations, and addressed to "Enola," to "Rev. Black Fox," and to +"Black Fox, Esq," with a large number of war letters written to him +by Cherokees who had enlisted in the Confederate service. These latter +are all written in the Cherokee characters, in the usual gossipy style +common among friends, and several of them contain important historic +material in regard to the movements of the two armies in East +Tennessee. Among other things was found his certificate as a Methodist +preacher, dated in 1848. "Know all men by these presents that Black +Fox (Cherokee) is hereby authorized to exercise his Gifts and Graces +as a local preacher in M.E. Church South.". + +There was found a manuscript book in Inl[)i]'s handwriting containing +the records of the old council of Wolftown, of which he had been +secretary for several years down to the beginning of the war. This +also contains some valuable materials. + +There were also a number of miscellaneous books, papers, and pictures, +together with various trinkets and a number of conjuring stones. + +In fact the box was a regular curiosity shop, and it was with a +feeling akin, to despair that we viewed the piles of manuscript which +had to be waded through and classified. There was a day's hard work +ahead, and it was already past noon; but the woman was not done yet, +and after rummaging about inside the house for a while longer she +appeared with another armful of papers, which she emptied on top of +the others. This was the last straw; and finding it impossible to +examine in detail such a mass of material we contented ourselves +with picking out the sacred formulas and the two manuscript books +containing the town-house records and scriptural quotations and +departed. + +The daughter of Black Fox agreed to fetch down the other papers in +a few days for further examination at our leisure; and she kept her +promise, bringing with her at the same time a number of additional +formulas which she had not been able to obtain before. A large number +of letters and other papers were selected from the miscellaneous lot, +and these, with the others obtained from her, are now deposited also +with the Bureau of Ethnology. Among other things found at this house +were several beads of the old shell wampum, of whose use the Cherokees +have now lost even the recollection. She knew only that they were +very old and different from the common beads, but she prized them as +talismans, and firmly refused to part with them. + + +OTHER MANUSCRIPTS. + +Subsequently a few formulas were obtained from an old shaman named +Tsiskwa or "Bird," but they were so carelessly written as to be almost +worthless, and the old man who wrote them, being then on his dying +bed, was unable to give much help in the matter. However, as he was +anxious to tell what he knew an attempt was made to take down some +formulas from his dictation. A few more were obtained in this way but +the results were not satisfactory and the experiment was abandoned. +About the same time A`wani[']ta or "Young Deer," one of their best +herb doctors, was engaged to collect the various plants used in +medicine and describe their uses. While thus employed he wrote in a +book furnished him for the purpose a number of formulas used by him +in his practice, giving at the same time a verbal explanation of the +theory and ceremonies. Among these was one for protection in battle, +which had been used by himself and a number of other Cherokees in the +late war. Another doctor named Takwati[']h[)i] or "Catawba Killer," +was afterward employed on the same work and furnished some additional +formulas which he had had his son write down from his dictation, +he himself being unable to write. His knowledge was limited to the +practice of a few specialties, but in regard to these his information +was detailed and accurate. There was one for bleeding with the cupping +horn. All these formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, A[']wanita, and +Takwtihi are now in possession of the Bureau. + + +THE KANHETA ANI-TSALAGI ETI. + +Among the papers thus obtained was a large number which for various +reasons it was found difficult to handle or file for preservation. +Many of them had been written so long ago that the ink had almost +faded from the paper; others were written with lead pencil, so that in +handling them the characters soon became blurred and almost illegible; +a great many were written on scraps of paper of all shapes and sizes; +and others again were full of omissions and doublets, due to the +carelessness of the writer, while many consisted simply of the prayer, +with nothing in the nature of a heading or prescription to show its +purpose. + +Under the circumstances it was deemed expedient to have a number +of these formulas copied in more enduring form. For this purpose +it was decided to engage the services of Aysta's youngest son, an +intelligent young man about nineteen years of age, who had attended +school long enough to obtain a fair acquaintance with English in +addition to his intimate knowledge of Cherokee. He was also gifted +with a ready comprehension, and from his mother and uncle Tsiskwa had +acquired some familiarity with many of the archaic expressions used in +the sacred formulas. He was commonly known as "Will West," but signed +himself W.W. Long, Long being the translation of his father's name, +Gnahi[']ta. After being instructed as to how the work should be done +with reference to paragraphing, heading, etc., he was furnished a +blank book of two hundred pages into which to copy such formulas as it +seemed desirable to duplicate. He readily grasped the idea and in the +course of about a month, working always under the writer's personal +supervision, succeeded in completely filling the book according to +the plan outlined. In addition to the duplicate formulas he wrote +down a number of dance and drinking songs, obtained originally from +A`y[n][']in[)i], with about thirty miscellaneous formulas obtained +from various sources. The book thus prepared is modeled on the plan of +an ordinary book, with headings, table of contents, and even with an +illuminated title page devised by the aid of the interpreter according +to the regular Cherokee idiomatic form, and is altogether a unique +specimen of Indian literary art. It contains in all two hundred and +fifty-eight formulas and songs, which of course are native aboriginal +productions, although the mechanical arrangement was performed under +the direction of a white man. This book also, under its Cherokee +title, _Kanhe[']ta Ani-Tsa[']lag[)i] E[']t[)i]_ or "Ancient Cherokee +Formulas," is now in the library of the Bureau. + +There is still a considerable quantity of such manuscript in the hands +of one or two shamans with whom there was no chance for negotiating, +but an effort will be made to obtain possession of these on some +future visit, should opportunity present. Those now in the Bureau +library comprised by far the greater portion of the whole quantity +held by the Indians, and as only a small portion of this was copied by +the owners it can not be duplicated by any future collector. + + +CHARACTER OF THE FORMULAS--THE CHEROKEE RELIGION. + +It is impossible to overestimate the ethnologic importance of the +materials thus obtained. They are invaluable as the genuine production +of the Indian mind, setting forth in the clearest light the state of +the aboriginal religion before its contamination by contact with the +whites. To the psychologist and the student of myths they are equally +precious. In regard to their linguistic value we may quote the +language of Brinton, speaking of the sacred books of the Mayas, +already referred to: + + Another value they have,... and it is one which will be + properly appreciated by any student of languages. They are, + by common consent of all competent authorities, the genuine + productions of native minds, cast in the idiomatic forms of + the native tongue by those born to its use. No matter how + fluent a foreigner becomes in a language not his own, he can + never use it as does one who has been familiar with it from + childhood. This general maxim is tenfold true when we apply + it to a European learning an American language. The flow of + thought, as exhibited in these two linguistic families, is + in such different directions that no amount of practice can + render one equally accurate in both. Hence the importance of + studying a tongue as it is employed by natives; and hence the + very high estimate I place on these "Books of Chilan Balam" as + linguistic material--an estimate much increased by the great + rarity of independent compositions in their own tongues by + members of the native races of this continent.[2] + +[Footnote 2: Brinton, D.G.: The books of Chilan Balam 10, +Philadelphia, n.d., (1882).] + +The same author, in speaking of the internal evidences of authenticity +contained in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Kichs, uses the +following words, which apply equally well to these Cherokee formulas: + + To one familiar with native American myths, this one bears + undeniable marks of its aboriginal origin. Its frequent + puerilities and inanities, its generally low and coarse range + of thought and expression, its occasional loftiness of both, + its strange metaphors and the prominence of strictly heathen + names and potencies, bring it into unmistakable relationship + to the true native myth.[3] + +[Footnote 3: Brinton, D.G.: Names of the Gods in the Kich Myths, in +Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., Philadelphia, 1881, vol. 19, p. 613.] + +These formulas furnish a complete refutation of the assertion so +frequently made by ignorant and prejudiced writers that the Indian had +no religion excepting what they are pleased to call the meaning less +mummeries of the medicine man. This is the very reverse of the truth. +The Indian is essentially religious and contemplative, and it might +almost be said that every act of his life is regulated and determined +by his religious belief. It matters not that some may call this +superstition. The difference is only relative. The religion of +to-day has developed from the cruder superstitions of yesterday, and +Christianity itself is but an outgrowth and enlargement of the beliefs +and ceremonies which have been preserved by the Indian in their more +ancient form. When we are willing to admit that the Indian has a +religion which he holds sacred, even though it be different from +our own, we can then admire the consistency of the theory, the +particularity of the ceremonial and the beauty of the expression. +So far from being a jumble of crudities, there is a wonderful +completeness about the whole system which is not surpassed even by the +ceremonial religions of the East. It is evident from a study of these +formulas that the Cherokee Indian was a polytheist and that the spirit +world was to him only a shadowy counterpart of this. All his prayers +were for temporal and tangible blessings--for health, for long life, +for success in the chase, in fishing, in war and in love, for good +crops, for protection and for revenge. He had no Great Spirit, no +happy hunting ground, no heaven, no hell, and consequently death had +for him no terrors and he awaited the inevitable end with no anxiety +as to the future. He was careful not to violate the rights of his +tribesman or to do injury to his feelings, but there is nothing to +show that he had any idea whatever of what is called morality in the +abstract. + +As the medical formulas are first in number and importance it may be +well, for the better understanding of the theory involved, to give the +Cherokee account of + + +THE ORIGIN OF DISEASE AND MEDICINE. + +In the old days quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and insects could all talk, +and they and the human race lived together in peace and friendship. +But as time went on the people increased so rapidly that their +settlements spread over the whole earth and the poor animals found +themselves beginning to be cramped for room. This was bad enough, +but to add to their misfortunes man invented bows, knives, blowguns, +spears, and hooks, and began to slaughter the larger animals, birds +and fishes for the sake of their flesh or their skins, while the +smaller creatures, such as the frogs and worms, were crushed and +trodden upon without mercy, out of pure carelessness or contempt. In +this state of affairs the animals resolved to consult upon measures +for their common safety. + +The bears were the first to meet in council in their townhouse in +Kuwa[']h[)i], the "Mulberry Place,"[4] and the old White Bear chief +presided. After each in turn had made complaint against the way in +which man killed their friends, devoured their flesh and used their +skins for his own adornment, it was unanimously decided to begin war +at once against the human race. Some one asked what weapons man used +to accomplish their destruction. "Bows and arrows, of course," cried +all the bears in chorus. "And what are they made of?" was the next +question. "The bow of wood and the string of our own entrails," +replied one of the bears. It was then proposed that they make a bow +and some arrows and see if they could not turn man's weapons against +himself. So one bear got a nice piece of locust wood and another +sacrificed himself for the good of the rest in order to furnish a +piece of his entrails for the string. But when everything was ready +and the first bear stepped up to make the trial it was found that +in letting the arrow fly after drawing back the bow, his long claws +caught the string and spoiled the shot. This was annoying, but another +suggested that he could overcome the difficulty by cutting his claws, +which was accordingly done, and on a second trial it was found that +the arrow went straight to the mark. But here the chief, the old White +Bear, interposed and said that it was necessary that they should have +long claws in order to be able to climb trees. "One of us has already +died to furnish the bowstring, and if we now cut off our claws we +shall all have to starve together. It is better to trust to the teeth +and claws which nature has given us, for it is evident that man's +weapons were not intended for us." + +[Footnote 4: One of the High peaks of the Smoky Mountains, on the +Tennessee line, near Clingman's Dome.] + +No one could suggest any better plan, so the old chief dismissed the +council and the bears dispersed to their forest haunts without having +concerted any means for preventing the increase of the human race. Had +the result of the council been otherwise, we should now be at war with +the bears, but as it is the hunter does not even ask the bear's pardon +when he kills one. + +The deer next held a council under their chief, the Little Deer, and +after some deliberation resolved to inflict rheumatism upon every +hunter who should kill one of their number, unless he took care to ask +their pardon for the offense. They sent notice of their decision to +the nearest settlement of Indians and told them at the same time how +to make propitiation when necessity forced them to kill one of the +deer tribe. Now, whenever the hunter brings down a deer, the Little +Deer, who is swift as the wind and can not be wounded, runs quickly up +to the spot and bending over the blood stains asks the spirit of the +deer if it has heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon. If the reply +be "Yes" all is well and the Little Deer goes on his way, but if the +reply be in the negative he follows on the trail of the hunter, guided +by the drops of blood on the ground, until he arrives at the cabin in +the settlement, when the Little Deer enters invisibly and strikes +the neglectful hunter with rheumatism, so that he is rendered on the +instant a helpless cripple. No hunter who has regard for his health +ever fails to ask pardon of the deer for killing it, although some +who have not learned the proper formula may attempt to turn aside the +Little Deer from his pursuit by building a fire behind them in the +trail. + +Next came the fishes and reptiles, who had their own grievances +against humanity. They held a joint council and determined to make +their victims dream of snakes twining about them in slimy folds and +blowing their fetid breath in their faces, or to make them dream of +eating raw or decaying fish, so that they would lose appetite, sicken, +and die. Thus it is that snake and fish dreams are accounted for. + +Finally the birds, insects, and smaller animals came together for a +like purpose, and the Grubworm presided over the deliberations. It +was decided that each in turn should express an opinion and then vote +on the question as to whether or not man should be deemed guilty. +Seven votes were to be sufficient to condemn him. One after another +denounced man's cruelty and injustice toward the other animals and +voted in favor of his death. The Frog (wal[']s[)i]) spoke first +and said: "We must do something to check the increase of the race or +people will become so numerous that we shall be crowded from off the +earth. See how man has kicked me about because I'm ugly, as he says, +until my back is covered with sores;" and here he showed the spots +on his skin. Next came the Bird (tsi[']skwa; no particular species is +indicated), who condemned man because "he burns my feet off," alluding +to the way in which the hunter barbecues birds by impaling them on a +stick set over the fire, so that their feathers and tender feet are +singed and burned. Others followed in the same strain. The Ground +Squirrel alone ventured to say a word in behalf of man, who seldom +hurt him because he was so small; but this so enraged the others that +they fell upon the Ground Squirrel and tore him with their teeth and +claws, and the stripes remain on his back to this day. + +The assembly then began to devise and name various diseases, one after +another, and had not their invention finally failed them not one of +the human race would have been able to survive. The Grubworm in his +place of honor hailed each new malady with delight, until at last they +had reached the end of the list, when some one suggested that it be +arranged so that menstruation should sometimes prove fatal to woman. +On this he rose up in his place and cried: "Wata['][n] Thanks! I'm +glad some of them will die, for they are getting so thick that they +tread on me." He fairly shook with joy at the thought, so that he fell +over backward and could not get on his feet again, but had to wriggle +off on his back, as the Grubworm has done ever since. + +When the plants, who were friendly to man, heard what had been done by +the animals, they determined to defeat their evil designs. Each tree, +shrub, and herb, down, even to the grasses and mosses, agreed to +furnish a remedy for some one of the diseases named, and each said: "I +shall appear to help man when he calls upon me in his need." Thus did +medicine originate, and the plants, every one of which has its use if +we only knew it, furnish the antidote to counteract the evil wrought +by the revengeful animals. When the doctor is in doubt what treatment +to apply for the relief of a patient, the spirit of the plant suggests +to him the proper remedy. + + +THEORY OF DISEASE--ANIMALS, GHOSTS, WITCHES. + +Such is the belief upon which their medical practice is based, and +whatever we may think of the theory it must be admitted that the +practice is consistent in all its details with the views set forth +in the myth. Like most primitive people the Cherokees believe that +disease and death are not natural, but are due to the evil influence +of animal spirits, ghosts, or witches. Haywood, writing in 1823, +states on the authority of two intelligent residents of the Cherokee +nation: + + In ancient times the Cherokees had no conception of anyone + dying a natural death. They universally ascribed the death of + those who perished by disease to the intervention or agency of + evil spirits and witches and conjurers who had connection with + the Shina (Anisgi[']na) or evil spirits.... A person dying by + disease and charging his death to have been procured by means + of witchcraft or spirits, by any other person, consigns that + person to inevitable death. They profess to believe that their + conjurations have no effect upon white men.[5] + +[Footnote 5: Haywood, John: Natural and Aboriginal History of East +Tennessee, 267-8, Nashville, 1823.] + +On the authority of one of the same informants, he also mentions +the veneration which "their physicians have for the numbers four and +seven, who say that after man was placed upon the earth four and seven +nights were instituted for the cure of diseases in the human body and +the seventh night as the limit for female impurity."[6] + +[Footnote 6: Ibid., p. 281.] + +Viewed from a scientific standpoint, their theory and diagnosis +are entirely wrong, and consequently we can hardly expect their +therapeutic system to be correct. As the learned Doctor Berendt +states, after an exhaustive study of the medical books of the Mayas, +the scientific value of their remedies is "next to nothing." It must +be admitted that many of the plants used in their medical practice +possess real curative properties, but it is equally true that many +others held in as high estimation are inert. It seems probable that in +the beginning the various herbs and other plants were regarded as so +many fetiches and were selected from some fancied connection with the +disease animal, according to the idea known to modern folklorists as +the doctrine of signatures. Thus at the present day the doctor puts +into the decoction intended as a vermifuge some of the red fleshy +stalks of the common purslane or chickweed (Portulaca oleracea), +because these stalks somewhat resemble worms and consequently must +have some occult influence over worms. Here the chickweed is a fetich +precisely as is the flint arrow head which is put into the same +decoction, in order that in the same mysterious manner its sharp +cutting qualities may be communicated to the liquid and enable it to +cut the worms into pieces. In like manner, biliousness is called by +the Cherokees dal[']n[)i] or "yellow," because the most apparent +symptom of the disease is the vomiting by the patient of the yellow +bile, and hence the doctor selects for the decoction four different +herbs, each of which is also called daln[)i], because of the color of +the root, stalk, or flower. The same idea is carried out in the tabu +which generally accompanies the treatment. Thus a scrofulous patient +must abstain from eating the meat of a turkey, because the fleshy +dewlap which depends from its throat somewhat resembles an inflamed +scrofulous eruption. On killing a deer the hunter always makes an +incision in the hind quarter and removes the hamstring, because this +tendon, when severed, draws up into the flesh; ergo, any one who +should unfortunately partake of the hamstring would find his limbs +draw up in the same manner. + +There can be no doubt that in course of time a haphazard use of +plants would naturally lead to the discovery that certain herbs are +efficacious in certain combinations of symptoms. These plants would +thus come into more frequent use and finally would obtain general +recognition in the Indian materia medica. By such a process of +evolution an empiric system of medicine has grown up among the +Cherokees, by which they are able to treat some classes of ailments +with some degree of success, although without any intelligent idea +of the process involved. It must be remembered that our own medical +system has its remote origin in the same mythic conception of disease, +and that within two hundred years judicial courts have condemned +women to be burned to death for producing sickness by spells and +incantations, while even at the present day our faith-cure professors +reap their richest harvest among people commonly supposed to belong +to the intelligent classes. In the treatment of wounds the Cherokee +doctors exhibit a considerable degree of skill, but as far as any +internal ailment is concerned the average farmer's wife is worth all +the doctors in the whole tribe. + +The faith of the patient has much to do with his recovery, for the +Indian has the same implicit confidence in the shaman that a child has +in a more intelligent physician. The ceremonies and prayers are well +calculated to inspire this feeling, and the effect thus produced +upon the mind of the sick man undoubtedly reacts favorably upon his +physical organization. + +The following list of twenty plants used in Cherokee practice will +give a better idea of the extent of their medical knowledge than could +be conveyed by a lengthy dissertation. The names are given in the +order in which they occur in the botanic notebook filled on +the reservation, excluding names of food plants and species not +identified, so that no attempt has been made to select in accordance +with a preconceived theory. Following the name of each plant are +given its uses as described by the Indian doctors, together with its +properties as set forth in the United States Dispensatory, one of the +leading pharmacopoeias in use in this country.[7] For the benefit +of those not versed in medical phraseology it may be stated that +aperient, cathartic, and deobstruent are terms applied to medicines +intended to open or purge the bowels, a diuretic has the property of +exciting the flow of urine, a diaphoretic excites perspiration, and +a demulcent protects or soothes irritated tissues, while hmoptysis +denotes a peculiar variety of blood-spitting and aphthous is an +adjective applied to ulcerations in the mouth. + +[Footnote 7: Wood, T.B., and Bache, F.: Dispensatory of the United +States of America, 14th ed., Philadelphia, 1877.] + + +SELECTED LIST OF PLANTS USED. + +1. UNASTE[']TSTIY="very small root"--Aristolochia +serpentaria--Virginia or black snakeroot: Decoction of root blown upon +patient for fever and feverish headache, and drunk for coughs; root +chewed and spit upon wound to cure snake bites; bruised root placed +in hollow tooth for toothache, and held against nose made sore by +constant blowing in colds. Dispensatory: "A stimulant tonic, acting +also as a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its +application; * * * also been highly recommended in intermittent +fevers, and though itself generally inadequate to the cure often +proves serviceable as an adjunct to Peruvian bark or sulphate of +quinia." Also used for typhous diseases, in dyspepsia, as a gargle +for sore throat, as a mild stimulant in typhoid fevers, and to promote +eruptions. The genus derives its scientific name from its supposed +efficacy in promoting menstrual discharge, and some species have +acquired the "reputation of antidotes for the bites of serpents." + +2. UNISTIL['][n]IST[8]="they stick on"--Cynoglossum +Morrisoni--Beggar lice: Decoction of root or top drunk for kidney +troubles; bruised root used with bear oil as an ointment for cancer; +forgetful persons drink a decoction of this plant, and probably also +of other similar bur plants, from an idea that the sticking qualities +of the burs will thus be imparted to the memory. From a similar +connection of ideas the root is also used in the preparation of love +charms. Dispensatory: Not named. C. officinale "has been used as +a demulcent and sedative in coughs, catarrh, spitting of blood, +dysentery, and diarrhea, and has been also applied externally in +burns, ulcers, scrofulous tumors and goiter." + +[Footnote 8: The Cherokee plant names here given are generic names, +which are the names commonly used. In many cases the same name is +applied to several species and it is only when it is necessary to +distinguish between them that the Indians use what might be called +specific names. Even then the descriptive term used serves to +distinguish only the particular plants under discussion and the +introduction of another variety bearing the same generic name would +necessitate a new classification of species on a different basis, +while hardly any two individuals would classify the species by the +same characteristics.] + +3. [n]NAGI="black"--Cassia Marilandica--Wild senna: Root bruised and +moistened with water for poulticing sores; decoction drunk for fever +and for a disease also called [n]nage[']i, or "black" (same name as +plant), in which the hands and eye sockets are said to turn black; +also for a disease described as similar to [n]nagei, but more +dangerous, in which the eye sockets become black, while black spots +appear on the arms, legs, and over the ribs on one side of the body, +accompanied by partial paralysis, and resulting in death should the +black spots appear also on the other side. Dispensatory: Described as +"an efficient and safe cathartic, * * * most conveniently given in the +form of infusion." + +4. KSD[']TA="simulating ashes," so called on account of the +appearance of the leaves--Gnaphalium decurrens--Life everlasting: +Decoction drunk for colds; also used in the sweat bath for various +diseases and considered one of their most valuable medical plants. +Dispensatory: Not named. Decoctions of two other species of this genus +are mentioned as used by country people for chest and bowel diseases, +and for hemorrhages, bruises, ulcers, etc., although "probably +possessing little medicinal virtue." + +5. ALTSA[']STI="a wreath for the head"--Vicia Caroliniana--Vetch: +Decoction drunk for dyspepsia and pains in the back, and rubbed on +stomach for cramp; also rubbed on ball-players after scratching, to +render their muscles tough, and used in the same way after scratching +in the disease referred to under [n]nagei, in which one side becomes +black in spots, with partial paralysis; also used in same manner in +decoction with Ksduta for rheumatism; considered one of their most +valuable medicinal herbs. Dispensatory: Not named. + +6. DISTAI[']Y[)I]="they (the roots) are tough"--Tephrosia +Virginiana--Catgut, Turkey Pea, Goat's Rue, or Devil's Shoestrings: +Decoction drunk for lassitude. Women wash their hair in decoction of +its roots to prevent its breaking or falling out, because these roots +are very tough and hard to break; from the same idea ball-players +rub the decoction on their limbs after scratching, to toughen them. +Dispensatory: Described as a cathartic with roots tonic and aperient. + +7. U[']GA-ATASGI[']SK[)I]="the pus oozes out"--Euphorbia +hypericifolia--Milkweed: Juice rubbed on for skin eruptions, +especially on children's heads; also used as a purgative; decoction +drunk for gonorrhoea and similar diseases in both sexes, and held in +high estimation for this purpose; juice used as an ointment for sores +and for sore nipples, and in connection with other herbs for cancer. +Dispensatory: The juice of all of the genus has the property of +"powerfully irritating the skin when applied to it," while nearly all +are powerful emetics and cathartics. This species "has been highly +commended as a remedy in dysentery after due depletion, diarrhea, +menorrhagia, and leucorrhea." + +8. G[']N[)I]GWAL[)I][']SK[)I]="It becomes discolored when +bruised"--Scutellaria lateriflora--Skullcap. The name refers to +the red juice which comes out of the stalk when bruised or chewed. +A decoction of the four varieties of Gnigwal[)i][']sk[)i]--S. +lateriflora, S. pilosa, Hypericum corymbosum, and Stylosanthes +elatior--is drunk to promote menstruation, and the same decoction is +also drunk and used as a wash to counteract the ill effects of eating +food prepared by a woman in the menstrual condition, or when such a +woman by chance comes into a sick room or a house under the tabu; also +drunk for diarrhea and used with other herbs in decoction for breast +pains. Dispensatory: This plant "produces no very obvious effects," +but some doctors regard it as possessed of nervine, antispasmodic and +tonic properties. None of the other three species are named. + +9. K[']GA SK['][n]TAG[)I]="crow shin"--Adiantum pedatum--Maidenhair +Fern: Used either in decoction or poultice for rheumatism and chills, +generally in connection with some other fern. The doctors explain that +the fronds of the different varieties of fern are curled up in +the young plant, but unroll and straighten out as it grows, and +consequently a decoction of ferns causes the contracted muscles of the +rheumatic patient to unbend and straighten out in like manner. It is +also used in decoction for fever. Dispensatory: The leaves "have +been supposed to be useful in chronic catarrh and other pectoral +affections." + +10. ANDA[']NKALAGI[']SK[)I]="it removes things from the +gums"--Geranium maculatum--Wild Alum, Cranesbill: Used in decoction +with Yn Unihye[']st[)i] (Vitis cordifolia) to wash the mouths of +children in thrush; also used alone for the same purpose by blowing +the chewed fiber into the mouth. Dispensatory: "One of our best +indigenous astringents. * * * Diarrhea, chronic dysentery, cholora +infantum in the latter stages, and the various hemorrhages are the +forms of disease in which it is most commonly used." Also valuable +as "an application to indolent ulcers, an injection in gleet +and leucorrhea, a gargle in relaxation of the uvula and aphthous +ulcerations of the throat." The other plant sometimes used with it is +not mentioned. + +11. ['][n]L[)E] UK[)I][']LT[)I]="the locust frequents it"--Gillenia +trifoliata--Indian Physic. Two doctors state that it is good as a tea +for bowel complaints, with fever and yellow vomit; but another says +that it is poisonous and that no decoction is ever drunk, but that the +beaten root is a good poultice for swellings. Dispensatory: "Gillenia +is a mild and efficient emetic, and like most substances belonging to +the same class occasionally acts upon the bowels. In very small doses +it has been thought to be tonic." + +12. SKWA[']L[)I]=Hepatica acutiloba--Liverwort, Heartleaf: Used for +coughs either in tea or by chewing root. Those who dream of snakes +drink a decoction of this herb and I[']nat Ga[']n`ka=="snake tongue" +(Camptosorus rhizophyllus or Walking Fern) to produce vomiting, after +which the dreams do not return. The traders buy large quantities of +liverwort from the Cherokees, who may thus have learned to esteem it +more highly than they otherwise would. The appearance of the other +plant, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, has evidently determined its Cherokee +name and the use to which it is applied. Dispensatory: "Liverwort is a +very mild demulcent tonic and astringent, supposed by some to possess +diuretic and deobstruent virtues. It was formerly used in Europe in +various complaints, especially chronic hepatic affections, but has +fallen into entire neglect. In this country, some years since, +it acquired considerable reputation, which, however, it has not +maintained as a remedy in hmoptysis and chronic coughs." The other +plant is not named. + +13. DA[']YEW="it sews itself up," because the leaves are said to grow +together again when torn--Cacalia atriplicifolia--Tassel Flower: Held +in great repute as a poultice for cuts, bruises, and cancer, to draw +out the blood or poisonous matter. The bruised leaf is bound over the +spot and frequently removed. The dry powdered leaf was formerly used +to sprinkle over food like salt. Dispensatory: Not named. + +14. A[']TAL[)I] KL[)I][']="it climbs the mountain."--Aralia +quinquefolia--Ginseng or "Sang:" Decoction of root drunk for headache, +cramps, etc., and for female troubles; chewed root blown on spot for +pains in the side. The Cherokees sell large quantities of sang to the +traders for 50 cents per pound, nearly equivalent there to two +days' wages, a fact which has doubtless increased their idea of its +importance. Dispensatory: "The extraordinary medical virtues formerly +ascribed to ginseng had no other existence than in the imagination of +the Chinese. It is little more than a demulcent, and in this country +is not employed as a medicine." The Chinese name, ginseng, is said to +refer to the fancied resemblance of the root to a human figure, while +in the Cherokee formulas it is addressed as the "great man" or "little +man," and this resemblance no doubt has much to do with the estimation +in which it is held by both peoples. + +15. [']TSAT[)I] UWADS[)I]SKA="fish scales," from shape of +leaves--Thalictrum anemonoides--Meadow Rue: Decoction of root drunk +for diarrhea with vomiting. Dispensatory: Not named. + +16. K[']KW[)E] ULASU[']LA="partridge moccasin"--Cypripedium +parviflorum--Lady-slipper: Decoction of root used for worms in +children. In the liquid are placed some stalks of the common chickweed +or purslane (Cerastium vulgatum) which, from the appearance of its +red fleshy stalks, is supposed to have some connection with worms. +Dispensatory: Described as "a gentle nervous stimulant" useful in +diseases in which the nerves are especially affected. The other herb +is not named. + +17. A[']HAW[)I]['] AK[)A][']T[)A][']="deer eye," from the appearance +of the flower--Rudbeckia fulgida--Cone Flower: Decoction of root drunk +for flux and for some private diseases; also used as a wash for snake +bites and swellings caused by (mythic) tsgya or worms; also dropped +into weak or inflamed eyes. This last is probably from the supposed +connection between the eye and the flower resembling the eye. +Dispensatory: Not named. + +18. UT[)I]STUG[)I][']=Polygonatum multiflorum latifolium--Solomon's +Seal: Root heated and bruised and applied as a poultice to remove +an ulcerating swelling called tu[']st[)i]['], resembling a boil or +carbuncle. Dispensatory: "This species acts like P. uniflorum, which +is said to be emetic. In former times it was used externally in +bruises, especially those about the eyes, in tumors, wounds, and +cutaneous eruptions and was highly esteemed as a cosmetic. At present +it is not employed, though recommended by Hermann as a good remedy +in gout and rheumatism." This species in decoction has been found +to produce "nausea, a cathartic effect and either diaphoresis +or diuresis," and is useful "as an internal remedy in piles, and +externally in the form of decoction, in the affection of the skin +resulting from the poisonous exhalations of certain plants." + +19. [)A]M[)A]DITA`T="water dipper," because water can be sucked up +through its hollow stalk--Eupatorium purpureum--Queen of the Meadow, +Gravel Root: Root used in decoction with a somewhat similar plant +called [)A]m[)a]dit[']t[)i] [']tanu, or "large water dipper" (not +identified) for difficult urination. Dispensatory: "Said to operate +as a diuretic. Its vulgar name of gravel root indicates the popular +estimation of its virtues." The genus is described as tonic, +diaphoretic, and in large doses emetic and aperient. + +20. YNA UTS[)E]STA="the bear lies on it"--Aspidium +acrostichoides--Shield Fern: Root decoction drunk to produce vomiting, +and also used to rub on the skin, after scratching, for rheumatism--in +both cases some other plant is added to the decoction; the +warm decoction is also held in the mouth to relieve toothache. +Dispensatory: Not named. + +The results obtained from a careful study of this list may be +summarized as follows: Of the twenty plants described as used by the +Cherokees, seven (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 17, and 20) are not noticed +in the Dispensatory even in the list of plants sometimes used although +regarded as not officinal. It is possible that one or two of these +seven plants have medical properties, but this can hardly be true of +a larger number unless we are disposed to believe that the Indians are +better informed in this regard than the best educated white physicians +in the country. Two of these seven plants, however (Nos. 2 and 4), +belong to genera which seem to have some of the properties ascribed +by the Indians to the species. Five others of the list (Nos. 8, 9, +11, 14, and 16) are used for entirely wrong purposes, taking the +Dispensatory as authority, and three of these are evidently used on +account of some fancied connection between the plant and the disease, +according to the doctrine of signatures. Three of the remainder (Nos. +1, 3, and 6) may be classed as uncertain in their properties, that is, +while the plants themselves seem to possess some medical value, the +Indian mode of application is so far at variance with recognized +methods, or their own statements are so vague and conflicting, that +it is doubtful whether any good can result from the use of the herbs. +Thus the Unaste[']tstiy, or Virginia Snakeroot, is stated by the +Dispensatory to have several uses, and among other things is said to +have been highly recommended in intermittent fevers, although alone +it is "generally inadequate to the cure." Though not expressly stated, +the natural inference is that it must be applied internally, but the +Cherokee doctor, while he also uses it for fever, takes the decoction +in his mouth and blows it over the head and shoulders of the patient. +Another of these, the Distai[']y[)i], or Turkey Pea, is described in +the Dispensatory as having roots tonic and aperient. The Cherokees +drink a decoction of the roots for a feeling of weakness and languor, +from which it might be supposed that they understood the tonic +properties of the plant had not the same decoction been used by the +women as a hair wash, and by the ball players to bathe their limbs, +under the impression that the toughness of the roots would thus be +communicated to the hair or muscles. From this fact and from the name +of the plant, which means at once hard, tough, or strong, it is quite +probable that its roots are believed to give strength to the patient +solely because they themselves are so strong and not because they +have been proved to be really efficacious. The remaining five plants +have generally pronounced medicinal qualities, and are used by +the Cherokees for the very purposes for which, according to the +Dispensatory, they are best adapted; so that we must admit that so +much of their practice is correct, however false the reasoning by +which they have arrived at this result. + + +MEDICAL PRACTICE. + +Taking the Dispensatory as the standard, and assuming that this list +is a fair epitome of what the Cherokees know concerning the medical +properties of plants, we find that five plants, or 25 per cent of +the whole number, are correctly used; twelve, or 60 per cent, are +presumably either worthless or incorrectly used, and three plants, or +15 per cent, are so used that it is difficult to say whether they are +of any benefit or not. Granting that two of these three produce good +results as used by the Indians, we should have 35 per cent, or about +one-third of the whole, as the proportion actually possessing medical +virtues, while the remaining two-thirds are inert, if not positively +injurious. It is not probable that a larger number of examples would +change the proportion to any appreciable extent. A number of herbs +used in connection with these principal plants may probably be set +down as worthless, inasmuch as they are not named in the Dispensatory. + +The results here arrived at will doubtless be a surprise to those +persons who hold that an Indian must necessarily be a good doctor, +and that the medicine man or conjurer, with his theories of ghosts, +witches, and revengeful animals, knows more about the properties +of plants and the cure of disease than does the trained botanist +or physician who has devoted a lifetime of study to the patient +investigation of his specialty, with all the accumulated information +contained in the works of his predecessors to build upon, and with +all the light thrown upon his pathway by the discoveries of modern +science. It is absurd to suppose that the savage, a child in +intellect, has reached a higher development in any branch of science +than has been attained by the civilized man, the product of long ages +of intellectual growth. It would be as unreasonable to suppose that +the Indian could be entirely ignorant of the medicinal properties +of plants, living as he did in the open air in close communion with +nature; but neither in accuracy nor extent can his knowledge be +compared for a moment with that of the trained student working upon +scientific principles. + +Cherokee medicine is an empiric development of the fetich idea. For +a disease caused by the rabbit the antidote must be a plant called +"rabbit's food," "rabbit's ear," or "rabbit's tail;" for snake dreams +the plant used is "snake's tooth;" for worms a plant resembling a worm +in appearance, and for inflamed eyes a flower having the appearance +and name of "deer's eye." A yellow root must be good when the patient +vomits yellow bile, and a black one when dark circles come about his +eyes, and in each case the disease and the plant alike are named from +the color. A decoction of burs must be a cure for forgetfulness, for +there is nothing else that will stick like a bur; and a decoction of +the wiry roots of the "devil's shoestrings" must be an efficacious +wash to toughen the ballplayer's muscles, for they are almost strong +enough to stop the plowshare in the furrow. It must be evident that +under such a system the failures must far outnumber the cures, yet it +is not so long since half our own medical practice was based upon the +same idea of correspondences, for the medival physicians taught that +_similia similibus curantur_, and have we not all heard that "the hair +of the dog will cure the bite?" + +Their ignorance of the true medical principles involved is shown by +the regulations prescribed for the patient. With the exception of the +fasting, no sanitary precautions are taken to aid in the recovery of +the sick man or to contribute to his comfort. Even the fasting is as +much religious as sanative, for in most cases where it is prescribed +the doctor also must abstain from food until sunset, just as in the +Catholic church both priest and communicants remain fasting from +midnight until after the celebration of the divine mysteries. As the +Indian cuisine is extremely limited, no delicate or appetizing dishes +are prepared for the patient, who partakes of the same heavy, sodden +cornmeal dumplings and bean bread which form his principal food in +health. In most cases certain kinds of food are prohibited, such as +squirrel meat, fish, turkey, etc.; but the reason is not that such +food is considered deleterious to health, as we understand it, but +because of some fanciful connection with the disease spirit. Thus if +squirrels have caused the illness the patient must not eat squirrel +meat. If the disease be rheumatism, he must not eat the leg of any +animal, because the limbs are generally the seat of this malady. Lye, +salt, and hot food are always forbidden when there is any prohibition +at all; but here again, in nine cases out of ten, the regulation, +instead of being beneficial, serves only to add to his discomfort. +Lye enters into almost all the food preparations of the Cherokees, the +alkaline potash taking the place of salt, which is seldom used among +them, having been introduced by the whites. Their bean and chestnut +bread, cornmeal dumplings, hominy, and gruel are all boiled in a pot, +all contain lye, and are all, excepting the last, served up hot from +the fire. When cold their bread is about as hard and tasteless as a +lump of yesterday's dough, and to condemn a sick man to a diet of such +dyspeptic food, eaten cold without even a pinch of salt to give it a +relish, would seem to be sufficient to kill him without any further +aid from the doctor. The salt or lye so strictly prohibited is really +a tonic and appetizer, and in many diseases acts with curative effect. +So much for the health regimen. + +In serious cases the patient is secluded and no strangers are allowed +to enter the house. On first thought this would appear to be a genuine +sanitary precaution for the purpose of securing rest and quiet to the +sick man. Such, however, is not the case. The necessity for quiet has +probably never occurred to the Cherokee doctor, and this regulation is +intended simply to prevent any direct or indirect contact with a woman +in a pregnant or menstrual condition. Among all primitive nations, +including the ancient Hebrews, we find an elaborate code of rules +in regard to the conduct and treatment of women on arriving at the +age of puberty, during pregnancy and the menstrual periods, and at +childbirth. Among the Cherokees the presence of a woman under any of +these conditions, or even the presence of any one who has come from +a house where such a woman resides, is considered to neutralize all +the effects of the doctor's treatment. For this reason all women, +excepting those of the household, are excluded. A man is forbidden to +enter, because he may have had intercourse with a tabued woman, or may +have come in contact with her in some other way; and children also +are shut out, because they may have come from a cabin where dwells a +woman subject to exclusion. What is supposed to be the effect of the +presence of a menstrual woman in the family of the patient is not +clear; but judging from analogous customs in other tribes and from +rules still enforced among the Cherokees, notwithstanding their long +contact with the whites, it seems probable that in former times the +patient was removed to a smaller house or temporary bark lodge built +for his accommodation whenever the tabu as to women was prescribed +by the doctor. Some of the old men assert that in former times sick +persons were removed to the public townhouse, where they remained +under the care of the doctors until they either recovered or died. +A curious instance of this prohibition is given in the second +Did[n]l[)e][']sk[)i] (rheumatism) formula from the Gahuni manuscript +(see page 350), where the patient is required to abstain from touching +a squirrel, a dog, a cat, a mountain trout, or a woman, and must also +have a chair appropriated to his use alone during the four days that +he is under treatment. + +In cases of the children's disease known as G[n]wani[']gista['][)i] +(see formulas) it is forbidden to carry the child outdoors, but +this is not to procure rest for the little one, or to guard against +exposure to cold air, but because the birds send this disease, and +should a bird chance to be flying by overhead at the moment the +napping of its wings would _fan the disease back_ into the body of +the patient. + + +ILLUSTRATION OF THE TABU. + +On a second visit to the reservation the writer once had a practical +illustration of the gakt['][n]ta or tabu, which may be of interest as +showing how little sanitary ideas have to do with these precautions. +Having received several urgent invitations from Tsiskwa (Bird), an old +shaman of considerable repute, who was anxious to talk, but confined +to his bed by sickness, it was determined to visit him at his house, +several miles distant. On arriving we found another doctor named +S['][n]k[)i] (The Mink) in charge of the patient and were told that +he had just that morning begun a four days' gakt['][n]ta which, among +other provisions, excluded all visitors. It was of no use to argue +that we had come by the express request of Tsiskwa. The laws of the +gakt['][n]ta were as immutable as those of the Medes and Persians, +and neither doctor nor patient could hope for favorable results from +the treatment unless the regulations were enforced to the letter. +But although we might not enter the house, there was no reason why we +should not talk to the old man, so seats were placed for us outside +the door, while Tsiskwa lay stretched out on the bed just inside and +The Mink perched himself on the fence a few yards distant to keep an +eye on the proceedings. As there was a possibility that a white man +might unconsciously affect the operation of the Indian medicine, +the writer deemed it advisable to keep out of sight altogether, and +accordingly took up a position just around the corner of the house, +but within easy hearing distance, while the interpreter sat facing +the doorway within a few feet of the sick man inside. Then began an +animated conversation, Tsiskwa inquiring, through the interpreter, +as to the purpose of the Government in gathering such information, +wanting to know how we had succeeded with other shamans and asking +various questions in regard to other tribes and their customs. The +replies were given in the same manner, an attempt being also made +to draw him out as to the extent of his own knowledge. Thus we +talked until the old man grew weary, but throughout the whole of +this singular interview neither party saw the other, nor was the +gakt['][n]ta violated by entering the house. From this example it +must be sufficiently evident that the tabu as to visitors is not a +hygienic precaution for securing greater quiet to the patient, or to +prevent the spread of contagion, but that it is simply a religious +observance of the tribe, exactly parallel to many of the regulations +among the ancient Jews, as laid down in the book of Leviticus. + + +NEGLECT OF SANITARY REGULATIONS. + +No rules are ever formulated as to fresh air or exercise, for the +sufficient reason that the door of the Cherokee log cabin is always +open, excepting at night and on the coldest days in winter, while +the Indian is seldom in the house during his waking hours unless when +necessity compels him. As most of their cabins are still built in the +old Indian style, without windows, the open door furnishes the only +means by which light is admitted to the interior, although when closed +the fire on the hearth helps to make amends for the deficiency. On the +other hand, no precautions are taken to guard against cold, dampness, +or sudden drafts. During the greater part of the year whole families +sleep outside upon the ground, rolled up in an old blanket. The +Cherokee is careless of exposure and utterly indifferent to the +simplest rules of hygiene. He will walk all day in a pouring rain +clad only in a thin shirt and a pair of pants. He goes barefoot and +frequently bareheaded nearly the entire year, and even on a frosty +morning in late November, when the streams are of almost icy coldness, +men and women will deliberately ford the river where the water is +waist deep in preference to going a few hundred yards to a foot-log. +At their dances in the open air men, women, and children, with bare +feet and thinly clad, dance upon the damp ground from darkness until +daylight, sometimes enveloped in a thick mountain fog which makes +even the neighboring treetops invisible, while the mothers have their +infants laid away under the bushes with only a shawl between them and +the cold ground. In their ball plays also each young man, before going +into the game, is subjected to an ordeal of dancing, bleeding, and +cold plunge baths, without food or sleep, which must unquestionably +waste his physical energy. + +In the old days when the Cherokee was the lord of the whole country +from the Savannah to the Ohio, well fed and warmly clad and leading +an active life in the open air, he was able to maintain a condition of +robust health notwithstanding the incorrectness of his medical ideas +and his general disregard of sanitary regulations. But with the advent +of the white man and the destruction of the game all this was changed. +The East Cherokee of to-day is a dejected being; poorly fed, and worse +clothed, rarely tasting meat, cut off from the old free life, and +with no incentive to a better, and constantly bowed down by a sense of +helpless degradation in the presence of his conqueror. Considering all +the circumstances, it may seem a matter of surprise that any of them +are still in existence. As a matter of fact, the best information that +could be obtained in the absence of any official statistics indicated +a slow but steady decrease during the last five years. Only the +constitutional vigor, inherited from their warrior ancestors, has +enabled them to sustain the shock of the changed conditions of the +last half century. The uniform good health of the children in the +training school shows that the case is not hopeless, however, and that +under favorable conditions, with a proper food supply and a regular +mode of living, the Cherokee can hold his own with the white man. + + +THE SWEAT BATH--BLEEDING--RUBBING--BATHING. + +In addition to their herb treatment the Cherokees frequently resort to +sweat baths, bleeding, rubbing, and cold baths in the running +stream, to say nothing of the beads and other conjuring paraphernalia +generally used in connection with the ceremony. The sweat bath was in +common use among almost all the tribes north of Mexico excepting the +central and eastern Eskimo, and was considered the great cure-all in +sickness and invigorant in health. Among many tribes it appears to +have been regarded as a ceremonial observance, but the Cherokees seem +to have looked upon it simply as a medical application, while the +ceremonial part was confined to the use of the plunge bath. The person +wishing to make trial of the virtues of the sweat bath entered the +[']s[)i], a small earth-covered log house only high enough to allow +of sitting down. After divesting himself of his clothing, some large +bowlders, previously heated in a fire, were placed near him, and over +them was poured a decoction of the beaten roots of the wild parsnip. +The door was closed so that no air could enter from the outside, and +the patient sat in the sweltering steam until he was in a profuse +perspiration and nearly choked by the pungent fumes of the decoction. +In accordance with general Indian practice it may be that he plunged +into the river before resuming his clothing; but in modern times this +part of the operation is omitted and the patient is drenched with +cold water instead. Since the s[)i] has gone out of general use +the sweating takes place in the ordinary dwelling, the steam being +confined under a blanket wrapped around the patient. During the +prevalence of the smallpox epidemic among the Cherokees at the close +of the late war the sweat bath was universally called into requisition +to stay the progress of the disease, and as the result about three +hundred of the band died, while many of the survivors will carry +the marks of the visitation to the grave. The sweat bath, with the +accompanying cold water application, being regarded as the great +panacea, seems to have been resorted to by the Indians in all parts of +the country whenever visited by smallpox--originally introduced by the +whites--and in consequence of this mistaken treatment they have died, +in the language of an old writer, "like rotten sheep" and at times +whole tribes have been almost swept away. Many of the Cherokees tried +to ward off the disease by eating the flesh of the buzzard, which +they believe to enjoy entire immunity from sickness, owing to its foul +smell, which keeps the disease spirits at a distance. + +Bleeding is resorted to in a number of cases, especially in rheumatism +and in preparing for the ball play. There are two methods of +performing the operation, bleeding proper and scratching, the latter +being preparatory to rubbing on the medicine, which is thus brought +into more direct contact with the blood. The bleeding is performed +with a small cupping horn, to which suction is applied in the ordinary +manner, after scarification with a flint or piece of broken glass. In +the blood thus drawn out the shaman claims sometimes to find a minute +pebble, a sharpened stick or something of the kind, which he asserts +to be the cause of the trouble and to have been conveyed into the +body of the patient through the evil spells of an enemy. He frequently +pretends to suck out such an object by the application of the lips +alone, without any scarification whatever. Scratching is a painful +process and is performed with a brier, a flint arrowhead, a +rattlesnake's tooth, or even with a piece of glass, according to the +nature of the ailment, while in preparing the young men for the ball +play the shaman uses an instrument somewhat resembling a comb, having +seven teeth made from the sharpened splinters of the leg bone of +a turkey. The scratching is usually done according to a particular +pattern, the regular method for the ball play being to draw the +scratcher four times down the upper part of each arm, thus making +twenty-eight scratches each about 6 inches in length, repeating the +operation on each arm below the elbow and on each leg above and below +the knee. Finally, the instrument is drawn across the breast from the +two shoulders so as to form a cross; another curving stroke is made +to connect the two upper ends of the cross, and the same pattern is +repeated on the back, so that the body is thus gashed in nearly three +hundred places. Although very painful for a while, as may well +be supposed, the scratches do not penetrate deep enough to result +seriously, excepting in some cases where erysipelas sets in. While +the blood is still flowing freely the medicine, which in this case +is intended to toughen, the muscles of the player, is rubbed into the +wounds after which the sufferer plunges into the stream and washes +off the blood. In order that the blood may flow the longer without +clotting it is frequently scraped off with a small switch as it flows. +In rheumatism and other local diseases the scratching is confined to +the part affected. The instrument used is selected in accordance with +the mythologic theory, excepting in the case of the piece of glass, +which is merely a modern makeshift for the flint arrowhead. + +Rubbing, used commonly for pains and swellings of the abdomen, is a +very simple operation performed with the tip of the finger or the palm +of the hand, and can not be dignified with the name of massage. In +one of the Gahuni formulas for treating snake bites (page 351) the +operator is told to rub in a direction contrary to that in which the +snake coils itself, because "this is just the same as uncoiling it." +Blowing upon the part affected, as well as upon the head, hands, +and other parts of the body, is also an important feature of the +ceremonial performance. In one of the formulas it is specified that +the doctor must blow first upon the right hand of the patient, then +upon the left foot, then upon the left hand, and finally upon the +right foot, thus making an imaginary cross. + +Bathing in the running stream, or "going to water," as it is called, +is one of their most frequent medico-religious ceremonies, and is +performed on a great variety of occasions, such as at each new +moon, before eating the new food at the green corn dance, before the +medicine dance and other ceremonial dances before and after the ball +play, in connection with the prayers for long life, to counteract the +effects of bad dreams or the evil spells of an enemy, and as a part of +the regular treatment in various diseases. The details of the ceremony +are very elaborate and vary according to the purpose for which it is +performed, but in all cases both shaman and client are fasting from +the previous evening, the ceremony being generally performed just at +daybreak. The bather usually dips completely under the water four or +seven times, but in some cases it is sufficient to pour the water from +the hand upon the head and breast. In the ball play the ball sticks +are dipped into the water at the same time. While the bather is in the +water the shaman is going through with his part of the performance +on the bank and draws omens from the motion of the beads between his +thumb and finger, or of the fishes in the water. Although the old +customs are fast dying out this ceremony is never neglected at the +ball play, and is also strictly observed by many families on occasion +of eating the new corn, at each new moon, and on other special +occasions, even when it is necessary to break the ice in the stream +for the purpose, and to the neglect of this rite the older people +attribute many of the evils which have come upon the tribe in later +days. The latter part of autumn is deemed the most suitable season of +the year for this ceremony, as the leaves which then cover the surface +of the stream are supposed to impart their medicinal virtues to the +water. + + +SHAMANS AND WHITE PHYSICIANS. + +Of late years, especially since the establishment of schools among +them, the Cherokees are gradually beginning to lose confidence in +the abilities of their own doctors and are becoming more disposed +to accept treatment from white physicians. The shamans are naturally +jealous of this infringement upon their authority and endeavor to +prevent the spread of the heresy by asserting the convenient doctrine +that the white man's medicine is inevitably fatal to an Indian unless +eradicated from the system by a continuous course of treatment for +four years under the hands of a skillful shaman. The officers of the +training school established by the Government a few years ago met with +considerable difficulty on this account for some time, as the parents +insisted on removing the children at the first appearance of illness +in order that they might be treated by the shamans, until convinced by +experience that the children received better attention at the school +than could possibly be had in their own homes. In one instance, where +a woman was attacked by a pulmonary complaint akin to consumption, her +husband, a man of rather more than the usual amount of intelligence, +was persuaded to call in the services of a competent white physician, +who diagnosed the case and left a prescription. On a second visit, a +few days later, he found that the family, dreading the consequences of +this departure from old customs, had employed a shaman, who asserted +that the trouble was caused by a sharpened stick which some enemy +had caused to be imbedded in the woman's side. He accordingly began a +series of conjurations for the removal of the stick, while the white +physician and his medicine were disregarded, and in due time the woman +died. Two children soon followed her to the grave, from the contagion +or the inherited seeds of the same disease, but here also the +sharpened sticks were held responsible, and, notwithstanding the three +deaths under such treatment, the husband and father, who was at one +time a preacher, still has faith in the assertions of the shaman. +The appointment of a competent physician to look after the health of +the Indians would go far to eradicate these false ideas and prevent +much sickness and suffering; but, as the Government has made no such +provision, the Indians, both on and off the reservation, excepting the +children in the home school, are entirely without medical care. + + +MEDICINE DANCES. + +The Cherokees have a dance known as the Medicine Dance, which is +generally performed in connection with other dances when a number of +people assemble for a night of enjoyment. It possesses no features +of special interest and differs in no essential respect from a dozen +other of the lesser dances. Besides this, however, there was another, +known as the Medicine Boiling Dance, which, for importance and solemn +ceremonial, was second only to the great Green Corn Dance. It has +now been discontinued on the reservation for about twenty years. It +took place in the fall, probably preceding the Green Corn Dance, and +continued four days. The principal ceremony in connection with it was +the drinking of a strong decoction of various herbs, which acted as +a violent emetic and purgative. The usual fasting and going to water +accompanied the dancing and medicine-drinking. + + +DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS. + +It is exceedingly difficult to obtain from the doctors any accurate +statement of the nature of a malady, owing to the fact that their +description of the symptoms is always of the vaguest character, while +in general the name given to the disease by the shaman expresses only +his opinion as to the occult cause of the trouble. Thus they have +definite names for rheumatism, toothache, boils, and a few other +ailments of like positive character, but beyond this their description +of symptoms generally resolves itself into a statement that the +patient has bad dreams, looks black around the eyes, or feels tired, +while the disease is assigned such names as "when they dream of +snakes," "when they dream of fish," "when ghosts trouble them," "when +something is making something else eat them," or "when the food is +changed," i.e., when a witch causes it to sprout and grow in the body +of the patient or transforms it into a lizard, frog, or sharpened +stick. + + +THE PAY OF THE SHAMAN. + +The consideration which the doctor receives for his services is called +ugista[']`t[)i], a word of doubtful etymology, but probably derived +from the verb ts[)i][']gi, "I take" or "I eat." In former times this +was generally a deer-skin or a pair of moccasins, but is now a certain +quantity of cloth, a garment, or a handkerchief. The shamans disclaim +the idea that the ugist[']`t[)i] is pay, in our sense of the +word, but assert that it is one of the agencies in the removal and +banishment of the disease spirit. Their explanation is somewhat +obscure, but the cloth seems to be intended either as an offering to +the disease spirit, as a ransom to procure the release of his intended +victim, or as a covering to protect the hand of a shaman while engaged +in pulling the disease from the body of the patient. The first theory, +which includes also the idea of vicarious atonement, is common to many +primitive peoples. Whichever may be the true explanation, the evil +influence of the disease is believed to enter into the cloth, which +must therefore be sold or given away by the doctor, as otherwise +it will cause his death when the pile thus accumulating reaches the +height of his head. No evil results seem to follow its transfer from +the shaman to a third party. The doctor can not bestow anything thus +received upon a member of his own family unless that individual gives +him something in return. If the consideration thus received, however, +be anything eatable, the doctor may partake along with the rest of the +family. As a general rule the doctor makes no charge for his services, +and the consideration is regarded as a free-will offering. This remark +applies only to the medical practice, as the shaman always demands +and receives a fixed remuneration for performing love charms, hunting +ceremonials, and other conjurations of a miscellaneous character. +Moreover, whenever the beads are used the patient must furnish a +certain quantity of new cloth upon which to place them, and at the +close of the ceremony the doctor rolls up the cloth, beads and all, +and takes them away with him. The cloth thus received by the doctor +for working with the beads must not be used by him, but must be sold. +In one instance a doctor kept a handkerchief which he received for his +services, but instead sold a better one of his own. Additional cloth +is thus given each time the ceremony is repeated, each time a second +four days' course of treatment is begun, and as often as the doctor +sees fit to change his method of procedure. Thus, when he begins +to treat a sick man for a disease caused by rabbits, he expects to +receive a certain ugista[']`t[)i]; but, should he decide after a time +that the terrapin or the red bird is responsible for the trouble, +he adopts a different course of treatment, for which another +ugista[']`t[)i] is necessary. Should the sickness not yield readily +to his efforts, it is because the disease animal requires a greater +ugista[']`t[)i], and the quantity of cloth must be doubled, so that +on the whole the doctrine is a very convenient one for the shaman. In +many of the formulas explicit directions are given as to the pay which +the shaman is to receive for performing the ceremony. In one of the +Gatigwanasti formulas, after specifying the amount of cloth to be +paid, the writer of it makes the additional proviso that it must be +"pretty good cloth, too," asserting as a clincher that "this is what +the old folks said a long time ago." + +The ugista[']`t[)i] can not be paid by either one of a married couple +to the other, and, as it is considered a necessary accompaniment of +the application, it follows that a shaman can not treat his own wife +in sickness, and vice versa. Neither can the husband or wife of the +sick person send for the doctor, but the call must come from some +one of the blood relatives of the patient. In one instance within the +writer's knowledge a woman complained that her husband was very sick +and needed a doctor's attention, but his relatives were taking no +steps in the matter and it was not permissible for her to do so. + + +CEREMONIES FOR GATHERING PLANTS AND PREPARING MEDICINE. + +There are a number of ceremonies and regulations observed in +connection with the gathering of the herbs, roots, and barks, which +can not be given in detail within the limits of this paper. In +searching for his medicinal plants the shaman goes provided with a +number of white and red beads, and approaches the plant from a certain +direction, going round it from right to left one or four times, +reciting certain prayers the while. He then pulls up the plant by the +roots and drops one of the beads into the hole and covers it up with +the loose earth. In one of the formulas for hunting ginseng the hunter +addresses the mountain as the "Great Man" and assures it that he comes +only to take a small piece of flesh (the ginseng) from its side, so +that it seems probable that the bead is intended as a compensation to +the earth for the plant thus torn from her bosom. In some cases the +doctor must pass by the first three plants met until he comes to the +fourth, which he takes and may then return for the others. The bark +is always taken from the east side of the tree, and when the root or +branch is used it must also be one which runs out toward the east, the +reason given being that these have imbibed more medical potency from +the rays of the sun. + +When the roots, herbs, and barks which enter into the prescription +have been thus gathered the doctor ties them up into a convenient +package, which he takes to a running stream and casts into the water +with appropriate prayers. Should the package float, as it generally +does, he accepts the fact as an omen that his treatment will be +successful. On the other hand, should it sink, he concludes that some +part of the preceding ceremony has been improperly carried out and +at once sets about procuring a new package, going over the whole +performance from the beginning. Herb-gathering by moonlight, so +important a feature in European folk medicine, seems to be no part +of Cherokee ceremonial. There are fixed regulations in regard to +the preparing of the decoction, the care of the medicine during +the continuance of the treatment, and the disposal of what remains +after the treatment is at an end. In the arrangement of details the +shaman frequently employs the services of a lay assistant. In these +degenerate days a number of upstart pretenders to the healing art have +arisen in the tribe and endeavor to impose upon the ignorance of their +fellows by posing as doctors, although knowing next to nothing of the +prayers and ceremonies, without which there can be no virtue in the +application. These impostors are sternly frowned down and regarded +with the utmost contempt by the real professors, both men and women, +who have been initiated into the sacred mysteries and proudly look +upon themselves as conservators of the ancient ritual of the past. + + +THE CHEROKEE GODS AND THEIR ABIDING PLACES. + +After what has been said in elucidation of the theories involved in +the medical formulas, the most important and numerous of the series, +but little remains to be added in regard to the others, beyond what +is contained in the explanation accompanying each one. A few points, +however, may be briefly noted. + +The religion of the Cherokees, like that of most of our North American +tribes, is zootheism or animal worship, with the survival of that +earlier stage designated by Powell as hecastotheism, or the worship +of all things tangible, and the beginnings of a higher system in +which the elements and the great powers of nature are deified. Their +pantheon includes gods in the heaven above, on the earth beneath, and +in the waters under the earth, but of these the animal gods constitute +by far the most numerous class, although the elemental gods are +more important. Among the animal gods insects and fishes occupy a +subordinate place, while quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles are invoked +almost constantly. The uktena (a mythic great horned serpent), the +rattlesnake, and the terrapin, the various species of hawk, and the +rabbit, the squirrel, and the dog are the principal animal gods. The +importance of the god bears no relation to the size of the animal, +and in fact the larger animals are but seldom invoked. The spider also +occupies a prominent place in the love and life-destroying formulas, +his duty being to entangle the soul of his victim in the meshes of his +web or to pluck it from the body of the doomed man and drag it way to +the black coffin in the Darkening Land. + +Among what may be classed as elemental gods the principal are fire, +water, and the sun, all of which are addressed under figurative names. +The sun is called Une[']`lan[']h[)i], "the apportioner," just as our +word moon means originally "the measurer." Indians and Aryans alike, +having noticed how these great luminaries divide and measure day and +night, summer and winter, with never-varying regularity, have given to +each a name which should indicate these characteristics, thus showing +how the human mind constantly moves on along the same channels. +Missionaries have naturally, but incorrectly, assumed this apportioner +of all things to be the suppositional "Great Spirit" of the Cherokees, +and hence the word is used in the Bible translation as synonymous +with God. In ordinary conversation and in the lesser myths the +sun is called N['][n]t. The sun is invoked chiefly by the +ball-player, while the hunter prays to the fire; but every important +ceremony--whether connected with medicine, love, hunting, or the ball +play--contains a prayer to the "Long Person," the formulistic name for +water, or, more strictly speaking, for the river. The wind, the storm, +the cloud, and the frost are also invoked in different formulas. + +But few inanimate gods are included in the category, the principal +being the Stone, to which the shaman prays while endeavoring to find a +lost article by means of a swinging pebble suspended by a string; the +Flint, invoked when the shaman is about to scarify the patient with +a flint arrow-head before rubbing on the medicine; and the Mountain, +which is addressed in one or two of the formulas thus far translated. +Plant gods do not appear prominently, the chief one seeming to be the +ginseng, addressed in the formulas as the "Great Man" or "Little Man," +although its proper Cherokee name signifies the "Mountain Climber." + +A number of personal deities are also invoked, the principal being +the Red Man. He is one of the greatest of the gods, being repeatedly +called upon in formulas of all kinds, and is hardly subordinate to the +Fire, the Water, or the Sun. His identity is as yet uncertain, but he +seems to be intimately connected with the Thunder family. In a curious +marginal note in one of the Gahuni formulas (page 350), it is stated +that when the patient is a woman the doctor must pray to the Red Man, +but when treating a man he must pray to the Red Woman, so that this +personage seems to have dual sex characteristics. Another god invoked +in the hunting songs is Tsu[']l'kal['], or "Slanting Eyes" (see +Cherokee Myths), a giant hunter who lives in one of the great +mountains of the Blue Ridge and owns all the game. Others are the +Little Men, probably the two Thunder boys; the Little People, the +fairies who live in the rock cliffs; and even the De[']tsata, a +diminutive sprite who holds the place of our Puck. One unwritten +formula, which could not be obtained correctly by dictation, was +addressed to the "Red-Headed Woman, whose hair hangs down to the +ground." + +The personage invoked is always selected in accordance with the theory +of the formula and the duty to be performed. Thus, when a sickness is +caused by a fish, the Fish-hawk, the Heron, or some other fish-eating +bird is implored to come and seize the intruder and destroy it, so +that the patient may find relief. When the trouble is caused by a +worm or an insect, some insectivorous bird is called in for the same +purpose. When a flock of redbirds is pecking at the vitals of the sick +man the Sparrow-hawk is brought down to scatter them, and when the +rabbit, the great mischief-maker, is the evil genius, he is driven +out by the Rabbit-hawk. Sometimes after the intruder has been thus +expelled "a small portion still remains," in the words of the formula, +and accordingly the Whirlwind is called down from the treetops to +carry the remnant to the uplands and there scatter it so that it shall +never reappear. The hunter prays to the fire, from which he draws his +omens; to the reed, from which he makes his arrows; to Tsu[']l'kal, +the great lord of the game, and finally addresses in songs the very +animals which he intends to kill. The lover prays to the Spider to +hold fast the affections of his beloved one in the meshes of his web, +or to the Moon, which looks down upon him in the dance. The warrior +prays to the Red War-club, and the man about to set out on a dangerous +expedition prays to the Cloud to envelop him and conceal him from his +enemies. + +Each spirit of good or evil has its distinct and appropriate place +of residence. The Rabbit is declared to live in the broomsage on the +hillside, the Fish dwells in a bend of the river under the pendant +hemlock branches, the Terrapin lives in the great pond in the West, +and the Whirlwind abides in the leafy treetops. Each disease animal, +when driven away from his prey by some more powerful animal, endeavors +to find shelter in his accustomed haunt. It must be stated here +that the animals of the formulas are not the ordinary, everyday +animals, but their great progenitors, who live in the upper world +(gal['][n]lati) above the arch of the firmament. + + +COLOR SYMBOLISM. + +Color symbolism plays an important part in the shamanistic system +of the Cherokees, no less than in that of other tribes. Each one of +the cardinal points has its corresponding color and each color its +symbolic meaning, so that each spirit invoked corresponds in color +and local habitation with the characteristics imputed to him, and is +connected with other spirits of the same name, but of other colors, +living in other parts of the upper world and differing widely in their +characteristics. Thus the Red Man, living in the east, is the spirit +of power, triumph, and success, but the Black Man, in the West, is +the spirit of death. The shaman therefore invokes the Red Man to +the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal +influences of the Black Man. + +The symbolic color system of the Cherokees, which will be explained +more fully in connection with the formulas, is as follows: + + East red success; triumph. + North blue defeat; trouble. + West black death. + South white peace; happiness. + Above? brown unascertained, but propitious. + ------ yellow about the same as blue. + +There is a great diversity in the color systems of the various tribes, +both as to the location and significance of the colors, but for +obvious reasons black was generally taken as the symbol of death; +while white and red signified, respectively, peace and war. It is +somewhat remarkable that red was the emblem of power and triumph +among the ancient Oriental nations no less than among the modern +Cherokees.[9] + +[Footnote 9: For more in regard to color symbolism, see Mallery's +Pictographs of the North American Indians in Fourth Report of the +Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 53-37, Washington, 1886; Gatschet's Creek +Migration Legend, vol. 3, pp. 31-41, St. Louis, 1888; Brinton's Kiche +Myths in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 19, +pp. 646-647, Philadelphia, 1882.] + + +IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES. + +In many of the formulas, especially those relating to love and to +life-destroying, the shaman mentions the name and clan of his client, +of the intended victim, or of the girl whose affections it is desired +to win. The Indian regards his name, not as a mere label, but as a +distinct part of his personality, just as much as are his eyes or +his teeth, and believes that injury will result as surely from the +malicious handling of his name as from a wound inflicted on any part +of his physical organism. This belief was found among the various +tribes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and has occasioned a number +of curious regulations in regard to the concealment and change of +names. It may be on this account that both Powhatan and Pocahontas are +known in history under assumed appellations, their true names having +been concealed from the whites until the pseudonyms were too firmly +established to be supplanted. Should his prayers have no apparent +effect when treating a patient for some serious illness, the shaman +sometimes concludes that the name is affected, and accordingly goes to +water, with appropriate ceremonies, and christens the patient with +a new name, by which he is henceforth to be known. He then begins +afresh, repeating the formulas with the new name selected for the +patient, in the confident hope that his efforts will be crowned with +success. + + +LANGUAGE OF THE FORMULAS. + +A few words remain to be said in regard to the language of the +formulas. They are full of archaic and figurative expressions, many of +which are unintelligible to the common people, and some of which even +the shamans themselves are now unable to explain. These archaic forms, +like the old words used by our poets, lend a peculiar beauty which can +hardly be rendered in a translation. They frequently throw light on +the dialectic evolution of the language, as many words found now only +in the nearly extinct Lower Cherokee dialect occur in formulas which +in other respects are written in the Middle or Upper dialect. The +R sound, the chief distinguishing characteristic of the old Lower +dialect, of course does not occur, as there are no means of indicating +it in the Cherokee syllabary. Those who are accustomed to look to the +Bible for all beauty in sacred expression will be surprised to find +that these formulas abound in the loftiest nights of poetic imagery. +This is especially true of the prayers used to win the love of a woman +or to destroy the life of an enemy, in which we find such expressions +as--"Now your soul fades away--your spirit shall grow less and +dwindle away, never to reappear;" "Let her be completely veiled in +loneliness--O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in your web, so that +it may never get through the meshes;" and the final declaration of the +lover, "Your soul has come into the very center of my soul, never to +turn away." + +In the translation it has been found advisable to retain as technical +terms a few words which could not well be rendered literally, such +as ada[']w[)e]h[)i] and ugist[=a][']`t[)i]. These words will be found +explained in the proper place. Transliterations of the Cherokee text +of the formulas are given, but it must be distinctly understood that +the translations are intended only as free renderings of the spirit of +the originals, exact translations with grammatic and glossarial notes +being deferred until a more extended study of the language has been +made, when it is hoped to present with more exactness of detail the +whole body of the formulas, of which the specimens here given are but +a small portion. + +The facsimile formulas are copies from the manuscripts now in +possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, and the portraits are from +photographs taken by the author in the field. + + +SPECIMEN FORMULAS. + +NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY AND TRANSLATION. + +In the Cherokee text both _d_ and _g_ have a medial sound, +approximating the sounds of _t_ and _k_ respectively. The other +letters are pronounced in regular accordance with the alphabet of +the Bureau of Ethnology. The language abounds in nasal and aspirate +sounds, the most difficult of the latter being the aspirate _`l_, +which to one familiar only with English sounds like _tl_. + +A few words whose meaning could not be satisfactorily ascertained have +been distinctively indicated in the Cherokee text by means of italics. +In the translation the corresponding expression has been queried, or +the space left entirely blank. On examining the text the student can +not fail to be struck by the great number of verbs ending in _iga_. +This is a peculiar form hardly ever used excepting in these formulas, +where almost every paragraph contains one or more such verbs. It +implies that the subject has just come and is now performing the +action, and that he came for that purpose. In addition to this, many +of these verbs may be either assertive or imperative (expressing +entreaty), according to the accent. Thus _hat['][n]gani[']ga_ means +"you have just come and are listening and it is for that purpose you +came." By slightly accenting the final syllable it becomes "come at +once to listen." It will thus be seen that the great majority of the +formulas are declarative rather than petitional in form--laudatory +rhapsodies instead of prayers, in the ordinary sense of the word. + + +MEDICINE. + +DID[n]L[)E][']SK[)i] ADAN[n][']WT[)i] KANH[)E][']SK[)i]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-N[n]dg['][n]y[)i] tsl`d[']hist[)i], Gi[']`l[)i] +Gigage['][)i], han[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], gahu[']st[)i] tsan[']ult[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Ha-diskwlti[']y t[)i][']nanugag[)i]['], ase[']gw +nige[']s[n]na tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. Ulsg[']eta +h[n]hihy['][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdig[']iyu-gw ha-e[']lawast['][n] +iyt['][n]ta dhil[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-Uh[n]ts[']y[)i] tsl`d[']hist[)i] Gi[']`l[)i] +Sa`ka[']n[)i], han[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lt[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Diskwlti[']y ti[']nanugai['], ase[']gw nige[']s[n]na +tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. Ulsge[']ta h[n]hihy[n]stani[']ga. +Ha-usdigi[']yu-gw ha-e[']lawast['][n] iy[']ta +dhit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! (Ha)-Ushi['](-y[)i]) tsl`d[']hist[)i], Gi`l['][)i] +G[n]nage['][)i], han[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']y. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], gahu[']sti tsanu[']lt[)i] nige[']s['][n]na. +Diskwlti[']y tinanugag[)i]['], ase[']gw nige[']s[n]na +tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. Ulsg[']eta h[n]hihy[n]stani[']ga. +Ha-usdigi[']yu-gw ha-e[']lawast['][n] iy['][n]ta +dhit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Wa[']hal[)a]['] tsl`d[']hist[)i], Gi[']`l[)i] +Tsne[']ga, han[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lt[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Diskwlti[']y ti[']nanugag[)i]['], ase[']gw nige[']s[n]na +tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. Ha-ulsge[']ta +h[n]hihy['][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gw e[']lawast['][n] +iy['][n]ta dhit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Wa[']hal[)a] tsl`d[']hist[)i] T[']ks[)i] +Tsne[']ga, han[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lt[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Ha-k[']l _gayske[']ta_ tsat[n][']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]na[']wa +nu[']tat[)a]n['][n]ta. + +(Degsisisg['][n][)i].)--Tks[)i] uhya[']ska gnsta`t[)i]['] +na[']sk[)i] igahi[']ta gunst['][)i] h[)i][']sk[)i] iyuntale[']g[)i] +tsntngi[']ya. [n]skw[']ta k[)i]l['] ats[']tast[)i] s[']gwa +iyts[']tast[)i], n[']`k[)i] ig['][n]kta`t[)i], naski-gw['] +di[n]l[)e][']n[)i]skh[)i]['] ig[n]yi[']y[)i] tsale[']nih. +N[']`kine [n]skw[']ta k[)i]l['] n[']`k[)i] iyats[']tast[)i]. +Uhyask[']hi-`n ade[']la deg`la['][)i] t[)a][']l[)i] +unine[']ga-gw['] n['][n]wti-`n['] higneh['][)i] uhyask[']h[)i] +usdi[']a-gw. Une[']lagi-`n s[)i]['] agad['][)i] agadi[']d[)i] +['][n]ti-gw['] y[)i]k[)i]['] si[']yu-gw na[']ski-`n +agan[n]li[']esk['][)i] da[']gnstaneh['][n][)i] [)u]`ta[']ta. +Hi[)a]`-n['] n['][n]wt[)i]: Y[']na-Unats[)e]sd[']g[)i] +tsana[']seh['][)i] s[']i-`n K[']ga-Asg['][n]tag[)e] +tsana[']seh['][)i], si-`n['] _Eg['][n]li_-gw, si-n['] +(U)wa[']sgil[)i] ts[)i]g[)i]['] Eg['][n]l[)i] Usdi[']a +ts[)i]g[)i]['], n[n]y[']hi-`n tsuy[)e]`d['][)i] +Y[']na-Uts[)e]sdg[)i] naskiy['] ts[)i]g[)i]['], usdi[']-gw +ts[)i]g[)i][']. Eg['][n]l[)i] (u)wa[']sgil[)i] ts[)i]g[)i][']; +s['][)i] W[']tige Unas(te['])tsa ts[)i]g[)i]['], s[']i-`n +['][n]age Tsunaste[']tsa, Niga[']ta unaste[']tsa ges['][)i]. + +Sunale[']-gw ale[']nd[)i] adan['][n]wt[)i]; t[)a][']line +e[']lad[)i] tsitkala['][)i]; ts[']ine u[']lsalad[)i][']`sat[']; +n[']`kine ig['] ts[']kal['][)i]. Yeli[']gw['] iges['][)i]. +N[']lstiyan[']na ges['][)i] akan[n]wi[']sk[)i], nasgw['] +nulstaiyan[']na. + + +_Translation._ + +FORMULA FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER (RHEUMATISM). + +Listen! Ha! In the Sun Land you repose, O Red Dog, O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i][10], you never +fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! Ha! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Dog. O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken, O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you never +fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! Ha! In the darkening land you repose, O Black Dog. O, now +you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you +never fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey +never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have +settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! On Wa[']hal[)a] you repose. O White Dog. Oh, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you never +fail in anything. Oh, appear and draw near running, for your prey +never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have +settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! On Wa[']hal[)a], you repose, O White Terrapin. O, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you never +fail in anything. Ha! It is for you to loosen its hold on the bone. +Belief is accomplished. + +(Prescription.)--Lay a terrapin shell upon (the spot) and keep it +there while the five kinds (of spirits) listen. On finishing, then +blow once. Repeat four times, beginning each time from the start. On +finishing the fourth time, then blow four times. Have two white beads +lying in the shell, together with a little of the medicine. Don't +interfere with it, but have a good deal boiling in another vessel--a +bowl will do very well--and rub it on warm while treating by +applying the hands. And this is the medicine: What is called +Y[']na-Uts[)e][']sta ("bear's bed," the Aspidium acrostichoides or +Christmas fern); and the other is called K[']ga-Asg['][n]tag[)i] +("crow's shin," the Adianthum pedatum or Maidenhair fern); and the +other is the common Eg['][n]l[)i] (another fern); and the other +is the Little Soft (-leaved) Eg['][n]l[)i] (Osmunda Cinnamonea +or cinnamon fern), which grows in the rocks and resembles +Yna-Uts[)e][']sta and is a small and soft (-leaved) Eg['][n]l[)i]. +Another has brown roots and another has black roots. The roots of all +should be (used). + +Begin doctoring early in the morning; let the second (application) be +while the sun is still near the horizon; the third when it has risen +to a considerable height (10 a.m.); the fourth when it is above at +noon. This is sufficient. (The doctor) must not eat, and the patient +also must be fasting. + +[Footnote 10: _Ada[']w[)e]h[)i]_ is a word used to designate one +supposed to have supernatural powers, and is applied alike to human +beings and to the spirits invoked in the formulas. Some of the +mythic heroes famous for their magic deeds are spoken of as +_ada[']w[)e]h[)i]_ (plural _anida[']w[)e]h[)i]_ or _anida[']we_), +but in its application to mortals the term is used only of the +very greatest shamans. None of those now belonging to the band +are considered worthy of being thus called, although the term was +sometimes applied to one, Usaw[)i], who died some years ago. In +speaking of himself as an ada[']w[)e]h[)i], as occurs in some of the +formulas, the shaman arrogates to himself the same powers that belong +to the gods. Our nearest equivalent is the word magician, but this +falls far short of the idea conveyed by the Cherokee word. In the +bible translation the word is used as the equivalent of angel or +spirit.] + + +_Explanation._ + +As this formula is taken from the manuscript of Gahuni, who died +nearly thirty years ago, no definite statement of the theory of the +disease, or its treatment, can be given, beyond what is contained in +the formula itself, which, fortunately, is particularly explicit; +most doctors contenting themselves with giving only the words of the +prayer, without noting the ceremonies or even the medicine used. There +are various theories as to the cause of each disease, the most common +idea in regard to rheumatism being that it is caused by the spirits of +the slain animals, generally the deer, thirsting for vengeance on the +hunter, as has been already explained in the myth of the origin of +disease and medicine. + +The measuring-worm (Catharis) is also held to cause rheumatism, from +the resemblance of its motions to those of a rheumatic patient, and +the name of the worm _wahh[)i]l[)i][']_ is frequently applied also to +the disease. + +There are formulas to propitiate the slain animals, but these are a +part of the hunting code and can only be noticed here, although it may +be mentioned in passing that the hunter, when about to return to the +settlement, builds a fire in the path behind him, in order that the +deer chief may not be able to follow him to his home. + +The disease, figuratively called the intruder (ulsgta), is regarded +as a living being, and the verbs used in speaking of it show that it +is considered to be long, like a snake or fish. It is brought by the +deer chief and put into the body, generally the limbs, of the hunter, +who at once begins to suffer intense pain. It can be driven out only +by some more powerful animal spirit which is the natural enemy of the +deer, usually the dog or the Wolf. These animal gods live up above +beyond the seventh heaven and are the great prototypes of which the +earthly animals are only diminutive copies. They are commonly located +at the four cardinal points, each of which has a peculiar formulistic +name and a special color which applies to everything in the same +connection. Thus the east, north, west, and south are respectively the +Sun Land, the Frigid Land, the Darkening Land, and W[)a][']hal[)a]['], +while their respective mythologic colors are Red, Blue, Black, and +White. Whal[)a] is said to be a mountain far to the south. The white +or red spirits are generally invoked for peace, health, and other +blessings, the red alone for the success of an undertaking, the blue +spirits to defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring down troubles upon +him, and the black to compass his death. The white and red spirits +are regarded as the most powerful, and one of these two is generally +called upon to accomplish the final result. + +In this case the doctor first invokes the Red Dog in the Sun Land, +calling him a great adwehi, to whom nothing is impossible and who +never fails to accomplish his purpose. He is addressed as if out of +sight in the distance and is implored to appear running swiftly to the +help of the sick man. Then the supplication changes to an assertion +and the doctor declares that the Red Dog has already arrived to take +the disease and has borne away a small portion of it to the uttermost +ends of the earth. In the second, third, and fourth paragraphs the +Blue Dog of the Frigid Land, the Black Dog of the Darkening Land, and +the White Dog of Whal[)a] are successively invoked in the same terms +and each bears away a portion of the disease and disposes of it in +the same way. Finally, in the fifth paragraph, the White Terrapin of +Wh[)a]l[)a] is invoked. He bears off the remainder of the disease and +the doctor declares that relief is accomplished. The connection of the +terrapin in this formula is not evident, beyond the fact that he is +regarded as having great influence in disease, and in this case the +beads and a portion of the medicine are kept in a terrapin shell +placed upon the diseased part while the prayer is being recited. + +The formulas generally consist of four paragraphs, corresponding to +four steps in the medical ceremony. In this case there are five, the +last being addressed to the terrapin instead of to a dog. The prayers +are recited in an undertone hardly audible at the distance of a few +feet, with the exception of the frequent _ha_, which seems to be used +as an interjection to attract attention and is always uttered in a +louder tone. The beads--which are here white, symbolic of relief--are +of common use in connection with these formulas, and are held between +the thumb and finger, placed upon a cloth on the ground, or, as in +this case, put into a terrapin shell along with a small portion of the +medicine. According to directions, the shell has no other part in the +ceremony. + +The blowing is also a regular part of the treatment, the doctor either +holding the medicine in his mouth and blowing it upon the patient, or, +as it seems to be the case here, applying the medicine by rubbing, +and blowing his breath upon the spot afterwards. In some formulas the +simple blowing of the breath constitutes the whole application. In +this instance the doctor probably rubs the medicine upon the affected +part while reciting the first paragraph in a whisper, after which he +blows once upon the spot. The other paragraphs are recited in the +same manner, blowing once after each. In this way the whole formula +is repeated four times, with four blows at the end of the final +repetition. The directions imply that the doctor blows only at the end +of the whole formula, but this is not in accord with the regular mode +of procedure and seems to be a mistake. + +The medicine consists of a warm decoction of the roots of four +varieties of fern, rubbed on with the hand. The awkward description +of the species shows how limited is the Indian's power of botanic +classification. The application is repeated four times during the same +morning, beginning just at daybreak and ending at noon. Four is the +sacred number running through every detail of these formulas, there +being commonly four spirits invoked in four paragraphs, four blowings +with four final blows, four herbs in the decoction, four applications, +and frequently four days' gaktu[n][']ta or tabu. In this case no tabu +is specified beyond the fact that both doctor and patient must be +fasting. The tabu generally extends to salt or lye, hot food and +women, while in rheumatism some doctors forbid the patient to eat the +foot or leg of any animal, the reason given being that the limbs are +generally the seat of the disease. For a similar reason the patient is +also forbidden to eat or even to touch a squirrel, a buffalo, a cat, +or any animal which "humps" itself. In the same way a scrofulous +patient must not eat turkey, as that bird seems to have a scrofulous +eruption on its head, while ball players must abstain from eating +frogs, because the bones of that animal are brittle and easily broken. + +HI[)A]`-N['] NASGW['] DID[n]L[)E][']SK[)I] AD[)A]N['][n]WT[)I]. + + Asga[']ya ykan['][n]w[)i] + _Ag[)e][']`ya Giagage['][)i]_ at[)a]t[)i][']; + ag[)e][']`ya-n ykan['][n]w[)i] + _Asga[']ya Gigage['][)i]_ at[)a]t[)i][']. + +Y! Hig[)e][']`ya Gigage['][)i] tsdante[']lh[)i] gese['][)i]. +Ulsge[']ta hi[']tsanu[']y'tani[']le[)i][']. Ha-N[n]dg['][n]y[)i] +nnta[']tsd[)a]len[']h[)i] gese['][)i]. Gasgil['] gigage['][)i] +tsusdi[']ga tetsad[)i][']il[)e]['] detsala[']sidit[)e]-g[)e]['][)i]. +Han[']gwa us[)i]nuli[']yu detsaldisi[']y[)i]. + +Uts[)i](n[)a]['])wa nu[']tatan['][n]ta. Us[']hita nutan[']na. +Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa-gw nig[n]tisge[']st[)i]. + +(Deg[']sisisg['][n][)i])--Hi[)a]-gw['] niga['] kanhe[']ta. +N[']`kiba nag[']nkw'tisga['] dag['][n]stisk['][)i]. +S[']gwa n[n]skw[']ta gnst['][n][)i] agnstagi[']s-k[)i] +h[n]tsatasg['][)i] n[']`kine-`n [n]skw[']ta n[']`k[)i] +n[n]tstasg['][)i]. Hi[)a]-`n['] n['][n]wt[)i]: Eg['][n]l[)i], +Y[']na-`n Uts[)e]sd[']g[)i], (U)wa[']sgil[)i] ts[)i]g[)i]['] +Eg['][n]l[)i], t[)a][']l[)i] tsinu[']dal[)e][']ha, K[']ga-`n +Asg['][n]tag[)e] tsi[n]n[']seh['][)i], Da[']y[)i]-`n Uw[']y[)i] +tsi[n]n[']seh['][)i]. Su[']tal[)i] iyutale[']g[)i] unaste[']tsa +ag[']t[)i], uga[']naw`n['] dagnsta[']`tisg['][)i] n['][n]wt[)i] +as[n]ga`la['][)i]. Us[']h[)i] adan['][n]wt[)i], nu[']`k[)i] +tsus[']hita dulsi[']nis['][n] adan['][n]wti. [)A]`nawa[']gi-`n +dilasula[']g[)i] ges['][n][)i] l[)e]['] ts[)i]kani[']kaga['][)i] +gw'sdi[']-gw utsawa[']ta [)a]`nawa[']-gw-n[']. + +Hi[)a]-n['] gakt['][n]ta glkw[']g[)i] tsus[']hita. +G['][n]w[)a]dana[']datlahist[)i]['] nige[']s[n]na--Sal[']l[)i], +gi[']`li-`n, w[)e][']sa-`n, [)a][']tats-n['], a[']m[)a]-`n['], +anig[)e][']`ya-n. Uda`l[)i]['] ya[']kan[n]wi[']ya n[']`kiha +tsus[']hita un[)a]dan[)a][']ltsi[']-tast[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Gasgil[']gi-`n uw[)a][']su[n]-gw['] u[']sk[)i]ladi[']st[)i] +uw[)a][']s n[']`k[)i] tsus[']hit[)a][']. Dis[']i-`n dega[']sgil +['][n]tsa n`n[)a]['] uwa[']`t[)i] yiges[)i] n[']`k[)i] +tsus[']hita. + + +_Translation._ + +AND THIS ALSO IS FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER. + +Y! O Red Woman, you have caused it. You have put the intruder under +him. Ha! now you have come from the Sun Land. You have brought the +small red seats, with your feet resting upon them. Ha! now they have +swiftly moved away from you. Relief is accomplished. Let it not be for +one night alone. Let the relief come at once. + +(Prescription)--(_corner note at top_.) If treating a man one must say +_Red Woman_, and if treating a woman one must say _Red Man_. + +This is just all of the prayer. Repeat it four times while laying on +the hands. After saying it over once, with the hands on (the body +of the patient), take off the hands and blow once, and at the fourth +repetition blow four times. And this is the medicine. Eg['][n]l[)i] +(a species of fern). Y[']-na-Uts[)e][']sta ("bear's bed," the +Aspidium acrostichoides or Christmas fern), _two_ varieties of +the soft-(leaved) Eg['][n]l[)i] (one, the small variety, is the +Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamonea), and what is called K[']ga +Asg['][n]tag[)e] ("crow's shin," the Adiantum pedatum or Maidenhair +fern) and what is called Da[']y[)i]-Uw[']y[)i] ("beaver's paw"--not +identified). Boil the roots of the six varieties together and apply +the hands warm with the medicine upon them. Doctor in the evening. +Doctor four consecutive nights. (The pay) is cloth and moccasins; or, +if one does not have them, just a little dressed deerskin and some +cloth. + +And this is the tabu for seven nights. One must not touch a squirrel, +a dog, a cat, the mountain trout, or women. If one is treating a +married man they (_sic_) must not touch his wife for four nights. And +he must sit on a seat by himself for four nights, and must not sit on +the other seats for four nights. + + +_Explanation._ + +The treatment and medicine in this formula are nearly the same as in +that just given, which is also for rheumatism, both being written +by Gahuni. The prayer differs in several respects from any other +obtained, but as the doctor has been dead for years it is impossible +to give a full explanation of all the points. This is probably the +only formula in the collection in which the spirit invoked is the "Red +Woman," but, as explained in the corner note at the top, this is only +the form used instead of "Red Man," when the patient is a man. The Red +Man, who is considered perhaps the most powerful god in the Cherokee +pantheon, is in some way connected with the thunder, and is invoked +in a large number of formulas. The change in the formula, according +to the sex of the patient, brings to mind a belief in Irish folk +medicine, that in applying certain remedies the doctor and patient +must be of opposite sexes. The Red Man lives in the east, in +accordance with the regular mythologic color theory, as already +explained. The seats also are red, and the form of the verb indicates +that the Red Woman is either standing upon them (plural) or sitting +with her feet resting upon the rounds. These seats or chairs are +frequently mentioned in the formulas, and always correspond in color +with the spirit invoked. It is not clear why the Red Woman is held +responsible for the disease, which is generally attributed to the +revengeful efforts of the game, as already explained. In agreement +with the regular form, the disease is said to be put under (not into) +the patient. The assertion that the chairs "have swiftly moved away" +would seem from analogy to mean that the disease has been placed upon +the seats and thus borne away. The verb implies that the seats move by +their own volition. Immediately afterward it is declared that relief +is accomplished. The expression "us[']hita nutan[']na" occurs +frequently in these formulas, and may mean either "let it not be for +one night alone," or "let it not stay a single night," according to +the context. + +The directions specify not only the medicine and the treatment, but +also the doctor's fee. From the form of the verb the tabu, except as +regards the seat to be used by the sick person, seems to apply to +both doctor and patient. It is not evident why the mountain trout +is prohibited, but the dog, squirrel, and cat are tabued, as already +explained, from the fact that these animals frequently assume +positions resembling the cramped attitude common to persons afflicted +by rheumatism. The cat is considered especially uncanny, as coming +from the whites. Seven, as well as four, is a sacred number with the +tribe, being also the number of their gentes. It will be noted that +time is counted by nights instead of by days. + + +HI['] I[']NAT YUNISK[']LTSA ADAN[']NWT[)I]. + + 1. _Dnu[']wa_, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, + dnu[']wa (_song_). + Sg[)e]! Ha-Wal[']s[)i]-gw ts[n]l['][n]tani[']ga. + 2. _Dayuha_, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha dayuha (_song_). + Sg[)e]! Ha-_Usug[)i]_-gw ts[n]-l[n][']-tani[']ga. + +(Deg[']sisisg['][n][)i]).--Kangi[']ta ny[']ga hi[)a]['] +dilentisg['][n][)i]. T[)a][']l[)i] ig[']nkw'ta`t[)i], +l[)e]['] talin[)e]['] tsutan['][n]na nasgw['] t[']l[)i] +ig[']nkw'ta`t[)i][']. Ts[']la agan['][n]liesk[)i]['] ts[']la +yikani[']g[n]g['][)i]['] watsi[']la-gw gan[n]li[']y[)e]t[)i] +uniskl`ts['][n][)i]. N[']`k[)i] nagade[']stisg[)i]['] +agan[n]li[']esg[n][)i]. Aksk[']n[)i] gadest[']a`t[)i], n`k[)i] +nagade['] sta h[n]tsatasg['][)i]. Hi[)a]-`n['] i[']nat +akti[']s[)i] udest['][)i] yig[']n`ka, naski-`n['] +tsagad[']l[)a]gisg['][)i] iyu[']st[)i] gatg['][n][)i]. + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO TREAT THEM IF THEY ARE BITTEN BY A SNAKE. + + 1. Dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa, dnu[']wa. + Listen! Ha! It is only a common frog which has passed by and put + it (the intruder) into you. + 2. Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha. + Listen! Ha! It is only an _Usu[']`g[)i]_ which has passed by and + put it into you. + +(Prescription.)--Now this at the beginning is a song. One should say +it twice and also say the second line twice. Rub tobacco (juice) on +the bite for some time, or if there be no tobacco just rub on saliva +once. In rubbing it on, one must go around four times. Go around +toward the left and blow four times in a circle. This is because in +lying down the snake always coils to the right and this is just the +same (_lit._ "means like") as uncoiling it. + + +_Explanation._ + +This is also from the manuscript book of Gahuni, deceased, so that no +explanation could be obtained from the writer. The formula consists of +a song of two verses, each followed by a short recitation. The whole +is repeated, according to the directions, so as to make four verses +or songs; four, as already stated, being the sacred number running +through most of these formulas. Four blowings and four circuits in the +rubbing are also specified. The words used in the songs are sometimes +composed of unmeaning syllables, but in this case dnuwa and dayuha +seem to have a meaning, although neither the interpreter nor the +shaman consulted could explain them, which may be because the words +have become altered in the song, as frequently happens. Dnu[']wa +appears to be an old verb, meaning "it has penetrated," probably +referring to the tooth of the reptile. These medicine songs are +always sung in a low plaintive tone, somewhat resembling a lullaby. +Usu[']`g[)i] also is without explanation, but is probably the name of +some small reptile or batrachian. + +As in this case the cause of the trouble is evident, the Indians have +no theory to account for it. It may be remarked, however, that when +one dreams of being bitten, the same treatment and ceremonies must +be used as for the actual bite; otherwise, although perhaps years +afterward, a similar inflammation will appear on the spot indicated +in the dream, and will be followed by the same fatal consequences. The +rattlesnake is regarded as a supernatural being or ada[']wehi, whose +favor must be propitiated, and great pains are taken not to offend +him. In consonance with this idea it is never said among the people +that a person has been bitten by a snake, but that he has been +"scratched by a brier." In the same way, when an eagle has been shot +for a ceremonial dance, it is announced that "a snowbird has been +killed," the purpose being to deceive the rattlesnake or eagle spirits +which might be listening. + +The assertion that it is "only a common frog" or "only an +Usu[']`g[)i]" brings out another characteristic idea of these +formulas. Whenever the ailment is of a serious character, or, +according to the Indian theory, whenever it is due to the influence +of some powerful disease spirit the doctor always endeavors to throw +contempt upon the intruder, and convince it of his own superior power +by asserting the sickness to be the work of some inferior being, +just as a white physician might encourage a patient far gone with +consumption by telling him that the illness was only a slight cold. +Sometimes there is a regular scale of depreciation, the doctor first +ascribing the disease to a rabbit or groundhog or some other weak +animal, then in succeeding paragraphs mentioning other still less +important animals and finally declaring it to be the work of a mouse, +a small fish, or some other insignificant creature. In this instance +an ailment caused by the rattlesnake, the most dreaded of the animal +spirits, is ascribed to a frog, one of the least importance. + +In applying the remedy the song is probably sung while rubbing the +tobacco juice around the wound. Then the short recitation is repeated +and the doctor blows four times in a circle about the spot. The whole +ceremony is repeated four times. The curious directions for uncoiling +the snake have parallels in European folk medicine. + + +G[n]W[)A]NI[']GIST['][)I] ADANU['][n]WT[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]iyu, gahus[']t[)i] aginl`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. G[n]gw[)a]dag[']anad`diy['] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-W[)a]huhu[']-gw hitagu[']sgastan[)e]`h[)e][)i]. Ha-n[']gwa +h[)u]`kikah[n]['] ha-dus[)u][']`gah[)i] diges['][n][)i], +iy['][n]ta w[n]`kid[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu, gahu[']st[)i] aginu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. G[n]gw[)a]daga[']nad'diy['] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-Uguku[']-gw hitagu[']sgastan[)e][']he[)i]['] udhi[']yu +tag[']u[']sgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i][']. Ha-na[']gwadi[']na +h[n]kikah[n]n[']. Ha-nn[']h[)i] diges[)u]['][n][)i] iy['][n]ta +w[n]`kid[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu, gahu[']st[)i] aginu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. G[n]gw[)a]daga[']nad'diy['] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-Tsistu-gw hitagu[']sgastan[)e][']he['][)i]udhi[']yu +tag[']usgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i][']. Ha-n[']gwadi[']na +h['][n]kikah['][n]n. Ha-sun[n]da[']s[)i] iy['][n]ta +kane[']skaw[']dih[)i] diges['][n][)i], w[n]`kid[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu, gahu[']st[)i] aginu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. G[n]gw[)a]daga[']nad'di[']y tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-De[']tsata[']-gw (hi)tagu[']sgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i] udhi[']yu +tagu[']sgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i]. Ha-n[']gwadi[']na +h[n]kikah['][n]a. Ha-ud[']tale[']ta diges['][n][)i], iy['][n]ta +w[n]`kid[']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +(Deg[']sisisg['][n][)i])--Hi[)a][']-sk[)i]n[)i]['] unsdi[']ya +d[)i]kan['][n]wt[)i] tsa`natsa[']yih['][)i] tsaniska[']iha['][)i]; +g[n]wani[']gista['][)i] hi[']and[)i][']sga[)i][']. +[)A]m[)a]['] dtsati[']st[)i]sg['][)i] n[']`k[)i] tsus[']hita +d[)i]kan['][n]wt[)i] Ulsinide[']na dakan['][n]wisg['][)i]. +[)U]['][n]tsa iy['][n]ta witunini[']dast[)i] yiges['][)i]. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THEM WHEN SOMETHING IS CAUSING SOMETHING TO EAT THEM. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is a mere screech +owl that has frightened him. Ha! now I have put it away in the laurel +thickets. There I compel it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is a mere hooting +owl that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! +At once I have put it away in the spruce thickets. Ha! There I compel +it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is only a rabbit +that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! +Instantly I have put it away on the mountain ridge. Ha! There in the +broom sage I compel it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is only a mountain +sprite that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. +Ha! Instantly I have put it away on the bluff. Ha! There I compel it +to remain. + +(Prescription)--Now this is to treat infants if they are affected by +crying and nervous fright. (Then) it is said that something is causing +something to eat them. To treat them one may blow water on them for +four nights. Doctor them just before dark. Be sure not to carry them +about outside the house. + + +_Explanation._ + +The Cherokee name for this disease is Gu[n]wani[']gist[)i]['], which +signifies that "something is causing something to eat," or gnaw the +vitals of the patient. The disease attacks only infants of tender age +and the symptoms are nervousness and troubled sleep, from which the +child wakes suddenly crying as if frightened. The civilized doctor +would regard these as symptoms of the presence of worms, but although +the Cherokee name might seem to indicate the same belief, the real +theory is very different. + +Cherokee mothers sometimes hush crying children, by telling them +that the screech owl is listening out in the woods or that the +De[']tsata--a malicious little dwarf who lives in caves in the river +bluffs--will come and get them. This quiets the child for the time and +is so far successful, but the animals, or the De[']tsata, take offense +at being spoken of in this way, and visit their displeasure upon the +_children born to the mother afterward_. This they do by sending an +animal into the body of the child to gnaw its vitals. The disease +is very common and there are several specialists who devote their +attention to it, using various formulas and prescriptions. It is also +called [)a]tawi[']n[)e]h[)i], signifying that it is caused by the +"dwellers in the forest," i.e., the wild game and birds, and some +doctors declare that it is caused by the revengeful comrades of the +animals, especially birds, killed by the father of the child, the +animals tracking the slayer to his home by the blood drops on the +leaves. The next formula will throw more light upon this theory. + +In this formula the doctor, who is certainly not overburdened with +modesty, starts out by asserting that he is a great ada[']wehi, who +never fails and who surpasses all others. He then declares that the +disease is caused by a mere screech owl, which he at once banishes +to the laurel thicket. In the succeeding paragraphs he reiterates his +former boasting, but asserts in turn that the trouble is caused by a +mere hooting owl, a rabbit, or even by the De[']tsata, whose greatest +exploit is hiding the arrows of the boys, for which the youthful +hunters do not hesitate to rate him soundly. These various +mischief-makers the doctor banishes to their proper haunts, the +hooting owl to the spruce thicket, the rabbit to the broom sage on the +mountain side, and the De[']tsata to the bluffs along the river bank. + +Some doctors use herb decoctions, which are blown upon the body of the +child, but in this formula the only remedy prescribed is water, which +must be blown upon the body of the little sufferer just before dark +for four nights. The regular method is to blow once each at the end of +the first, second, and third paragraphs and four times at the end of +the fourth or last. In diseases of this kind, which are not supposed +to be of a local character, the doctor blows first upon the back of +the head, then upon the left shoulder, next upon the right shoulder, +and finally upon the breast, the patient being generally sitting, or +propped up in bed, facing the east. The child must not be taken out +of doors during the four days, because should a bird chance to fly +overhead so that its shadow would fall upon the infant, it would _fan +the disease back_ into the body of the little one. + + +G[n]WANI[']GIST['][n][)I] DITAN[n]WTI[']Y[)I] + +Y! Sg[)e]! Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat['][n]gani[']ga, Giya[']giya['] +Sa`ka[']n[)i], ew'sat[']g[)i] tsl`da[']hist[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +hatlasi[']ga. Tsis[']kwa-gw['] ulsge[']ta uwu[']tlani`l[)e][)i][']. +Us[)i]nuli[']yu atsahilu[']g[)i]si[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nu[']tatan['][n]ta. Y! + +Y! Sg[)e]! Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat['][n]gani[']ga, Diga[']tisk[)i] +Wtige['][)i], gal['][n]lat[)i] iy['][n]ta ditsl`d[']hist[)i]. +Ha-n[']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hatlasi[']ga. Tsi[']skwa-gw +d[)i]tu[']nila[']w'its[']h[)i] higese['][)i]. Us[)i]nl[)i] +k[)e]`tati[']g`lahi[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa ad[n]ni[']ga. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT G[n]WANI[']GIST['][n][)I]--(SECOND). + +Y! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue +Sparrow-Hawk; in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you +have come down. The intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed +him. Swiftly you have swooped down upon it. Relief is accomplished. +Y! + +Y! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown +Rabbit-Hawk; you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have +come down. It is only the birds which have come together for +a council. Quickly you have come and scattered them. Relief is +accomplished. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, also for G[n]wani[']gist['][n][)i] or +Atawin[)e][']h[)i], was obtained from A`wan[']ita (Young Deer), who +wrote down only the prayer and explained the treatment orally. He +coincides in the opinion that this disease in children is caused +by the birds, but says that it originates from the shadow of a bird +flying overhead having fallen upon the pregnant mother. He says +further that the disease is easily recognized in children, but that it +sometimes does not develop until the child has attained maturity, when +it is more difficult to discern the cause of the trouble, although in +the latter case dark circles around the eyes are unfailing symptoms. + +The prayer--like several others from the same source--seems +incomplete, and judging from analogy is evidently incorrect in some +respects, but yet exemplifies the disease theory in a striking manner. +The disease is declared to have been caused by the birds, it being +asserted in the first paragraph that a bird has cast its shadow +upon the sufferer, while in the second it is declared that they +have gathered in council (in his body). This latter is a favorite +expression in these formulas to indicate the great number of the +disease animals. Another expression of frequent occurrence is to +the effect that the disease animals have formed a settlement or +established a townhouse in the patient's body. The disease animal, +being a bird or birds, must be dislodged by something which preys upon +birds, and accordingly the Blue Sparrow-Hawk from the tree tops and +the Brown Rabbit-Hawk (Diga[']tisk[)i]--"One who snatches up"), from +above are invoked to drive out the intruders. The former is then said +to have swooped down upon them as a hawk darts upon its prey, while +the latter is declared to have scattered the birds which were +holding a council. This being done, relief is accomplished. Y! is +a meaningless interjection frequently used to introduce or close +paragraphs or songs. + +The medicine used is a warm decoction of the bark of Knst[']ts[)i] +(Sassafras--Sassafras officinale), Kan[n]si[']ta (Flowering +Dogwood--Cornus florida), Ud[']lana (Service tree--Amelanchier +Canadensis), and Uni[']kwa (Black Gum--Nyssa multiflora), with the +roots of two species (large and small) of Da[']yakal[)i][']sk[)i] +(Wild Rose--Rosa lucida). The bark in every case is taken from the +east side of the tree, and the roots selected are also generally, if +not always, those growing toward the east. In this case the roots and +barks are not bruised, but are simply steeped in warm water for +four days. The child is then stripped and bathed all over with the +decoction morning and night for four days, no formula being used +during the bathing. It is then made to hold up its hands in front of +its face with the palms turned out toward the doctor, who takes some +of the medicine in his mouth and repeats the prayer mentally, blowing +the medicine upon the head and hands of the patient at the final _Y!_ +of each paragraph. It is probable that the prayer originally consisted +of four paragraphs, or else that these two paragraphs were repeated. +The child drinks a little of the medicine at the end of each +treatment. + +The use of salt is prohibited during the four days of the treatment, +the word (am[)a][']) being understood to include lye, which enters +largely into Cherokee food preparations. No chicken or other feathered +animal is allowed to enter the house during the same period, for +obvious reasons, and strangers are excluded for reasons already +explained. + + +HIA['] DU[']NIYUKWATISG['][n] KANA[']HH. + +Sg[)e]! N[n]dg['][n]y[)i] tsl`d[']hist[)i], Kanani[']sk[)i] +Gigage. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n['][n]n gi[']gage h[)i]n[n]ni[']ga. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], ast[)i]['] digi[']gage us[)i]n[']l[)i] +deh[)i]kssa['][n]tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga +ges['][n], tsg[']ya-gw higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] +hituwa[']saniy'te[)i][']. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] digi[']gage +dehada['][n]tani[']ga, adi[']na tslstai-y[']`ti-gw higese['][)i]. +N[']gwa gnagi[']ta da[']tsatane[']l[)i]. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nu[']tatan['][n]ta n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +H[)i]gay['][n]l[)i] Tsne[']ga hat['][n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-gg['] gat['][n]gisge[']st[)i] tsngili[']s[)i] +deagwlstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsadn[']h[)i]. Na[']ski-gg['] +itsa[']wes[']h[)i] n[']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hatu['][n]gani[']ga. +Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa ntatan[']ta n[n]t[']neli[']ga. Y! + +Sg[)e]! Uhy[n]tl[']y[)i] tsl`d[']histi Kanani[']sk[)i] +Sa`ka[']n[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n['][n]n sa`ka[']n[)i] +h[)i]n[n]ni[']ga. Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], ast[)i]['] +(di)sa`ka[']n[)i] us[)i]nu[']l[)i] deh[)i]ksa['][n]tani[']ga. +Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga ges['][n], tsg[']ya-gw +higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] hituwa[']saniy`te([)i][']). +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] disa`ka[']nige dehada['][n]taniga, +adi[']na tslstai-y[']`ti-gw higese['][)i]. N[']gwa tsg[']ya +gnagi[']ta tstneli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nu[']tatan['][n]ta +n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +H[)i]gay['][n]l[)i] Tsne[']ga hat[n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-gg['] gat['][n]gisge[']st[)i] tsngili[']s[)i] +deagwlstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsadn[']h[)i]. Nas[']kigg['] +itsawes[']h[)i] n[']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat['][n]gani[']ga. +Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nutatan['][n]ta n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +Sg[)e]! Ushi[']y[)i] tsl`d[']hist[)i] Kanani[']sk[)i] ['][n]nage. +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n['][n]n ['][n]nage h[)i]n[n]ni[']ga. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], ast[)i]['] dig['][n]nage us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +deh[)i]ksa['][n]tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga +ges['][n], tsg[']ya-gw higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] +hituwa[']saniy`te[)i][']. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] dig['][n]nage +dehada['][n]tani[']ga, adi[']na tslstai-y[']`ti-gw higese['][)i]. +N[']gwa tsg[']ya gnagi[']ta tstneli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nutatan['][n]ta n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +H[)i]gay['][n]l[)i] Tsne[']ga hat[n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-gg['] gat['][n]gisge[']st[)i] tsngili[']s[)i] +deagwlstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsadn[']h[)i]. Na[']skigg['] +itsawes[']h[)i] n[']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat['][n]gani[']ga. +Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nutatan['][n]ta n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +Sg[)e]! Gal['][n]lat[)i] tsl`d[']hist[)i], Kanani[']sk[)i] +Tsne[']ga. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n['][n]n une[']ga h[)i]n[n]ni[']ga. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-gg['], ast[)i]['] tsune[']ga us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +deh[)i]ksa['][n] tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga +ges['][n], tsg[']ya-gw higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] +hituwa[']s[)a]niy'te[)i][']. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] tsune[']ga +dehada['][n]tani[']ga, adi[']na tslstai-y[']`ti-gw higese['][)i]. +N[']gwa tsg[']ya gnagi[']ta tstneli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nu[']tatan['][n]ta, n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +H[)i]gay['][n]l[)i] Tsne[']ga hat['][n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-gg['] gat['][n]gisge[']st[)i] tsngili[']s[)i] +deagwlstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsadn[']h[)i]. Naski-gg['] +itsawes[']h[)i] n[']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat[n]gani[']ga. +U[']ts[)i]na[']wa nutatan['][n]ta n[n]tneli[']ga. Y! + +(Degasi[']sisg['][n][)i])--Hi[)a]['] duniyukwa[']tisg['][n][)i] +d[)i]kan['][n]wt[)i] [)a]tan['][n]sida[']h[)i] y[)i][']g[)i]. +Na[']sk[)i] dig[']nstan[)e][']`ti-gw l[)e]['] ts[)i]tst['] +yie[']lis. Nig[n][']-gw us[']na [_for_ usnda[']na?] +g['][n]tat[)i] nay[']ga n['][n]wat[)i] unan['][n]sk[)a]`la['][)i]. +Kane[']ska dal[']nige unaste[']tla ts[)i][']g[)i]. Se[']lu +d[)i]gah`n[']h[)i] tsuni[']yah[)i]st[)i]['] n[']`k[)i] +tsus[']hita, kanhe[']na-`n nask[)i]['] iga['][)i] udan[']st[)i] +hi[']g[)i] nay[']ga. + + +_Translation._ + +THIS TELLS ABOUT MOVING PAINS IN THE TEETH (NEURALGIA?). + +Listen! In the Sunland you repose, O Red Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the red path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you +have brought down the red threads from above. The intruder in the +tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +red threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it +up. The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +Listen! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the blue path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you +have brought down the blue threads from above. The intruder in the +tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +blue threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick +it up. The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +Listen! In the Darkening Land you repose, O Black Spider. Quickly you +have brought and laid down the black path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly +you have brought down the black threads from above. The intruder in +the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +black threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick +it up. The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +Listen! You repose on high, O White Spider. Quickly you have brought +and laid down the white path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you have +brought down the white threads from above. The intruder in the tooth +has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself +around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the white +threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. +The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y! + +(Prescription)--This is to treat them if there are pains moving about +in the teeth. It is only (necessary) to lay on the hands, or to blow, +if one should prefer. One may use any kind of a tube, but usually they +have the medicine in the mouth. It is the Yellow-rooted Grass (kane['] +ska dal[']nige unaste[']tla; not identified.) One must abstain four +nights from cooked corn (hominy), and kanhe[']na (fermented corn +gruel) is especially forbidden during the same period. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is taken from the manuscript book of Gatigwanasti, +now dead, and must therefore be explained from general analogy. The +ailment is described as "pains moving about in the teeth"--that is, +affecting several teeth simultaneously--and appears to be neuralgia. +The disease spirit is called "the intruder" and "the tormentor" and +is declared to be a mere worm (tsg[']ya), which has wrapped itself +around the base of the tooth. This is the regular toothache theory. +The doctor then calls upon the Red Spider of the Sunland to let down +the red threads from above, along the red path, and to take up the +intruder, which is just what the spider eats. The same prayer is +addressed in turn to the Blue Spider in the north, the Black Spider in +the west and the White Spider above (gal[n][']lati). It may be stated +here that all these spirits are supposed to dwell above, but when no +point of the compass is assigned, gal[n][']lati is understood to mean +directly overhead, but far above everything of earth. The dweller in +this overhead gal[n][']lati may be red, white, or brown in color. In +this formula it is white, the ordinary color assigned spirits dwelling +in the south. In another toothache formula the Squirrel is implored +to take the worm and put it between the forking limbs of a tree on the +north side of the mountain. + +Following each supplication to the spider is another addressed to the +Ancient White, the formulistic name for fire. The name refers to its +antiquity and light-giving properties and perhaps also to the fact +that when dead it is covered with a coat of white ashes. In those +formulas in which the hunter draws omens from the live coals it is +frequently addressed as the Ancient Red. + +The directions are not explicit and must be interpreted from analogy. +"Laying on the hands" refers to pressing the thumb against the jaw +over the aching tooth, the hand having been previously warmed over +the fire, this being a common method of treating toothache. The other +method suggested is to blow upon the spot (tooth or outside of jaw?) a +decoction of an herb described rather vaguely as "yellow-rooted grass" +either through a tube or from the mouth of the operator. Igaw[)i]['], +a toothache specialist, treats this ailment either by pressure +with the warm thumb, or by blowing tobacco smoke from a pipe +placed directly against the tooth. Hominy and fermented corn gruel +(kanhe[']na) are prohibited for the regular term of four nights, or, +as we are accustomed to say, four days, and special emphasis is laid +upon the gruel tabu. + +The prayer to the Spider is probably repeated while the doctor is +warming his hands over the fire, and the following paragraph to the +Ancient White (the Fire) while holding the warm thumb upon the aching +spot. This reverses the usual order, which is to address the fire +while warming the hands. In this connection it must be noted that the +fire used by the doctor is never the ordinary fire on the hearth, but +comes from four burning chips taken from the hearth fire and generally +placed in an earthen vessel by the side of the patient. In some cases +the decoction is heated by putting into it seven live coals taken from +the fire on the hearth. + + +UNAWA ST EGWA (ADAN[n]WT). + + (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! Gal['][n]lat[)i]['] hinehi['] hinehi[']y hinida[']we, + (5) (6) + utsin[']wa ad[n]niga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! U[n]wad[']hi hinehi['], hinehi[']y hinida[']we, + (5) (6) + utsin[']wa ad[n]ni[']ga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! Ntsihi['] hinehi['] hinehi[']y hinida[']we + (5) (6) + utsin[']wa ad[n]ni[']ga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! Amyi['] hinehi['], hinehi[']y hinida[']we + (5) (6) + utsin[']wa ad[n]ni[']ga + 12 12 22 33 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]ngani[']ga, Agalu[']ga Tssdi[']ga, +hida[']w[)e]h[)i], [']tali tsusdiga[']h[)i] duda[']w`sat['][n] +ditsld[']hist[)i]. (Hida[']w[)e]h[)i], gahu[']st[)i] +tsanu[']l[n]h[n]sg[)i]['] nige[']s[n]na.) Ha-n[']gwa +da[']tleh[n]g[']. Usdi[']gi(yu) utiya[']stan[n]['](h[)i]) +(higese[']i). (H[n])hiyala[']gistani[']ga ig[']t[)i] +usdig[']h[)i] usa[']h[)i]lag[)i]['] Igtu[']lt[)i] n[n]n[']h[)i] +w[)i]te[']tsat[)a]n[n]['][n]s[)i][']. A[']ne[']tsge[']ta +_getsatn[)e]h[)i]_ n[n]glstani[']ga ig[n][']wlstanita[']sti-gw. +Ati[']gale[']yata tst[']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[']wa [11] +nig[n]tisge[']st[)i]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa h[n]hat['][n]gani[']ga, Agalu[']ga +Hegwahigw[']. [']tal[)i] tsegw[']h[)i] duda[']w`sat[n] iy[n]ta +ditsld[']hist[)i]. Agalu[']ga He[']gwa, haus[)i]nu[']l[)i] +da[']tleh[n]g. Usdi[']giyu utiya[']stan['][n]h[)i]. +Hiyala[']gistani[']ga ulsge[']ta ig[']t-egw[']h[)i]) +usa[']h[)i]lag[)i][']. (Igat-(egw[']h[)i] iy[n][']ta +n[n]n[']h[)i] w[)i]tetsatan['][n][n]s[)i][']. A[']ne[']tsge[']ta +_getsatne[']litise[']sti_ ig[n][']wlstanita[']sti-gw. +Uts[)i]n[']wa-gw nutatan[n]ta. Nigag[)i]['] Y! + +(Degsi[']sisg['][n][)i])--Unawa[']st[)i] e[']gwa +u[']nitl[n]g['][)i]. Ta[']ya g['][n]tat[)i], ditsa[']tista[']`ti. +Ts[']l-agay['][n]l[)i] y[)a][']h[)a] ul['][n]kwati-gw nasgw[']. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THE GREAT CHILL. + +Listen! On high you dwell, On high you dwell--you dwell, you dwell. +Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever you +dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hay[)i]! + +Listen! On [n]wad[']h[)i] you dwell, On [n]wadh[)i] you dwell--you +dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you +dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hay[)i]! + +Listen! In the pines you dwell, In the pines you dwell--you dwell, you +dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever +you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hay[)i]! + +Listen! In the water you dwell, In the water you dwell, you dwell, you +dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever +you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hayi[)i]! + +Listen! O now you have drawn near to hearken, O Little Whirlwind, +O ada[']wehi, in the leafy shelter of the lower mountain, there you +repose. O ada[']wehi, you can never fail in anything. Ha! Now rise up. +A very small portion [of the disease] remains. You have come to sweep +it away into the small swamp on the upland. You have laid down your +paths near the swamp. It is ordained that you shall scatter it as in +play, so that it shall utterly disappear. By you it must be scattered. +So shall there be relief. + +Listen! O now again you have drawn near to hearken, O Whirlwind, +surpassingly great. In the leafy shelter of the great mountain there +you repose. O Great Whirlwind, arise quickly. A very small part [of +the disease] remains. You have come to sweep the intruder into the +great swamp on the upland. You have laid down your paths toward the +great swamp. You shall scatter it as in play so that it shall utterly +disappear. And now relief has come. All is done. Y! + +[Footnote 11: So written and pronounced by A`y[n][']ini instead of +uts[)i]n[)a][']wa.] + +(Prescription.)--(This is to use) when they are sick with the great +chill. Take a decoction of wild cherry to blow upon them. If you have +Ts[']l-agay['][n]l[)i] ("old tobacco"--_Nicotiana rustica_) it also +is very effective. + + +_Explanation._ + +Unawa[']st[)i], "that which chills one," is a generic name for +intermittent fever, otherwise known as fever and ague. It is much +dreaded by the Indian doctors, who recognize several varieties of +the disease, and have various theories to account for them. The above +formula was obtained from A`y['][n]ni (Swimmer), who described the +symptoms of this variety, the "Great Chill," as blackness in the face, +with alternate high fever and shaking chills. The disease generally +appeared in spring or summer, and might return year after year. In the +first stages the chill usually came on early in the morning, but came +on later in the day as the disease progressed. There might be more +than one chill during the day. There was no rule as to appetite, but +the fever always produced an excessive thirst. In one instance the +patient fainted from the heat and would even lie down in a stream to +cool himself. The doctor believed the disease was caused by malicious +tsg[']ya, a general name for all small insects and worms, excepting +intestinal worms. These tsg[']ya--that is, the disease tsg[']ya, not +the real insects and worms--are held responsible for a large number +of diseases, and in fact the tsg[']ya doctrine is to the Cherokee +practitioner what the microbe theory is to some modern scientists. The +tsg[']ya live in the earth, in the water, in the air, in the foliage +of trees, in decaying wood, or wherever else insects lodge, and as +they are constantly being crushed, burned or otherwise destroyed +through the unthinking carelessness of the human race, they are +continually actuated by a spirit of revenge. To accomplish their +vengeance, according to the doctors, they "establish towns" under the +skin of their victims, thus producing an irritation which results in +fevers, boils, scrofula and other diseases. + +The formula begins with a song of four verses, in which the doctor +invokes in succession the spirits of the air, of the mountain, of +the forest, and of the water. Gal[n]lat[)i], the word used in the +first verse, signifies, as has been already explained, "on high" or +"above everything," and has been used by translators to mean heaven. +[n]wad[']h[)i] in the second verse is the name of a bald mountain +east of Webster, North Carolina, and is used figuratively to denote +any mountains of bold outline. The Cherokees have a tradition +to account for the name, which is derived from [n]wad[']l[)i], +"provision house." N[']tsih[)i]['] in the third verse signifies +"pinery," from n[']`ts[)i], "pine," but is figuratively used to +denote a forest of any kind. + +In the recitation which follows the song, but is used only in serious +cases, the doctor prays to the whirlwind, which is considered to +dwell among the trees on the mountain side, where the trembling of the +leaves always gives the first intimation of its presence. He declares +that a small portion of the disease still remains, the spirits +invoked in the song having already taken the rest, and calls upon the +whirlwind to lay down a path for it and sweep it away into the swamp +on the upland, referring to grassy marshes common in the small coves +of the higher mountains, which, being remote from the settlements, are +convenient places to which to banish the disease. Not satisfied with +this, he goes on to direct the whirlwind to scatter the disease as it +scatters the leaves of the forest, so that it shall utterly disappear. +In the Cherokee formula the verb a`ne[']tsge[']ta means literally +"to play," and is generally understood to refer to the ball play, +a[']ne[']ts, so that to a Cherokee the expression conveys the idea +of catching up the disease and driving it onward as a player seizes +the ball and sends it spinning through the air from between his ball +sticks. Niga[']g[)i] is a solemn expression about equivalent to the +Latin consummatum est. + +The doctor beats up some bark from the trunk of the wild cherry and +puts it into water together with seven coals of fire, the latter +being intended to warm the decoction. The leaves of Tsl-agay['][n]li +(Indian tobacco--Nicotiana rustica) are sometimes used in place of the +wild cherry bark. The patient is placed facing the sunrise, and the +doctor, taking the medicine in his mouth, blows it over the body of +the sick man. First, standing between the patient and the sunrise and +holding the medicine cup in his hand, he sings the first verse in a +low tone. Then, taking some of the liquid in his mouth, he advances +and blows it successively upon the top of the head, the right +shoulder, left shoulder, and breast or back of the patient, making +four blowings in all. He repeats the same ceremony with the second, +third, and fourth verse, returning each time to his original position. +The ceremony takes place in the morning, and if necessary is repeated +in the evening. It is sometimes necessary also to repeat the treatment +for several--generally four--consecutive days. + +The recitation is not used excepting in the most serious cases, when, +according to the formula, "a very small portion" of the disease +still lingers. It is accompanied by blowing _of the breath alone_, +without medicine, probably in this case typical of the action of the +whirlwind. After repeating the whole ceremony accompanying the song, +as above described, the doctor returns to his position in front of +the patient and recites in a whisper the first paragraph to the Little +Whirlwind, after which he advances and blows his breath upon the +patient four times as he has already blown the medicine upon him. Then +going around to the north he recites the second paragraph to the Great +Whirlwind, and at its conclusion blows in the same manner. Then moving +around to the west--behind the patient--he again prays to the Little +Whirlwind with the same ceremonies, and finally moving around to the +south side he closes with the prayer to the Great Whirlwind, blowing +four times at its conclusion. The medicine must be prepared anew by +the doctor at the house of the patient at each application morning +or evening. Only as much as will be needed is made at a time, and the +patient always drinks what remains after the blowing. Connected with +the preparation and care of the medicine are a number of ceremonies +which need not be detailed here. The wild cherry bark must always be +procured fresh; but the Tsl-agay['][n]l[)i] ("Old Tobacco") leaves +may be dry. When the latter plant is used four leaves are taken and +steeped in warm water with the fire coals, as above described. + + +HI[)A]['] TSUNSDI[']GA DIL`TADI[']NATANTI[']Y[)I]. I. + +Sg[)e]! H[)i]sga[']ya Ts`sdi[']ga ha-n[']gwa da[']tleh[n]g['] +k[)i]l-gw[']. Iy['][n]ta agay['][n]linas[)i]['] taya['][)i]. +Eska[']niy[)u] unay[)e][']hist[)i]['] n[n]ta-yu[']tanat[)i][']. +Sg[)e][']! tin[']l[)i]tg[)i][']! Tleki[']yu tstsest[']g[)i] +hw[)i]nag[)i][']. Y! + +Sg[)e]! Hige[']cya ts`sdi[']ga ha-n[']gwa da[']tleh[n]g['] +k[)i]l-gw[']. Iy[n][']ta tstu[']tunas[)i]['] t[)a]ya['][)i]. +Eska[']niy[)u] unay[)e][']hist[)i] n[n]tayu[']tanat[)i][']. Sg[)e]! +tin[']l[)i]tg[)i][']! Tleki[']yu tstsest['] hw[)i]nag[)i][']. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN. + +Listen! You little man, get up now at once. There comes an old woman. +The horrible [old thing] is coming, only a little way off. Listen! +Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Y! + +Listen! You little woman, get up now at once. There comes your +grandfather. The horrible old fellow is coming only a little way off. +Listen! Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +In this formula for childbirth the idea is to frighten the child and +coax it to come, by telling it, if a boy, that an ugly old woman is +coming, or if a girl, that her grandfather is coming only a short +distance away. The reason of this lies in the fact that an old woman +is the terror of all the little boys of the neighborhood, constantly +teasing and frightening them by declaring that she means to live +until they grow up and then compel one of them to marry her, old and +shriveled as she is. For the same reason the maternal grandfather, who +is always a privileged character in the family, is especially dreaded +by the little girls, and nothing will send a group of children +running into the house more quickly than the announcement that an old +"granny," of either sex is in sight. + +As the sex is an uncertain quantity, the possible boy is always first +addressed in the formulas, and if no result seems to follow, the +doctor then concludes that the child is a girl and addresses her in +similar tones. In some cases an additional formula with the beads +is used to determine whether the child will be born alive or dead. +In most instances the formulas were formerly repeated with the +appropriate ceremonies by some old female relative of the mother, +but they are now the property of the ordinary doctors, men as well +as women. + +This formula was obtained from the manuscript book of +A`y['][n]in[)i], who stated that the medicine used was a warm +decoction of a plant called Dal[']nige Unaste[']ts[)i] ("yellow +root"--not identified), which was blown successively upon the top of +the mother's head, upon the breast, and upon the palm of each hand. +The doctor stands beside the woman, who is propped up in a sitting +position, while repeating the first paragraph and then blows. If this +produces no result he then recites the paragraph addressed to the girl +and again blows. A part of the liquid is also given to the woman to +drink. A`y['][n]in[)i] claimed this was always effectual. + + +(HI[)A]['] TSUNSDI[']GA DIL`TADI[']NATANTI[']YI. II.) + +Hitsutsa, hitsu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, tleki[']yu, [)e][']hinug['][)i], +[)e][']hinug['][)i]! Hi[']tsu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, glts[']t[)i], +glts[']t[)i], tinag[']na, tinag[']na! + +Hig[)e]`yu[']tsa, hig[)e]`yu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, tleki[']yu, +[)e][']hinug['][)i], [)e][']hinug['][)i]! Hig[)e]`yu[']tsa, +tleki[']yu, g[n]gu[']st[)i], g[n]gu[']st[)i], tinag[']na, +tinag[']na! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN. + +Little boy, little boy, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little boy, +hurry; a bow, a bow; let's see who'll get it, let's see who'll get it! + +Little girl, little girl, hurry, hurry, come out, come out. Little +girl, hurry; a sifter, a sifter; let's see who'll get it, let's see +who'll get it! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula was obtained from Takwati[']h[)i], as given to him by +a specialist in this line. Takwatihi himself knew nothing of the +treatment involved, but a decoction is probably blown upon the patient +as described in the preceding formula. In many cases the medicine used +is simply cold water, the idea being to cause a sudden muscular action +by the chilling contact. In this formula the possible boy or girl is +coaxed out by the promise of a bow or a meal-sifter to the one who can +get it first. Among the Cherokees it is common, in asking about the +sex of a new arrival, to inquire, "Is it a bow or a sifter?" or "Is it +ball sticks or bread?" + + +DAL[']NI [n]N[)A]GE['][)I] ADAN['][n]WT[)I]. + + Yuha[']ahi['], (yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['],) + Yuha[']ahi['], (yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi[']), Y! + +Sg[)e]! [n]tal-e[']gwh[)i]['] didult[']h[)i]st[)i] ulsge[']ta. +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] dtitu[']lene['][)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +dunu[']y`tani[']le[)i][']. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa stat['][n]gani[']ga, n[n]d[']y[)i] +distul`t[']hist[)i], Stisga[']ya D[)i]st`sdi[']ga, stida[']wehi-gg. +[n]tal-e[']gwa dtitulene[']([)i]) ulsge[']ta. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +det[)i]st[']l`tani[']ga ulsge[']ta. Ditu[']talen['][n]itsa +n[n]na[']h[)i] [w]i[']de[']tutan['][n]tas[)i]['], +n[n]tadu[']ktah['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na. N[']`g[)i] +iyay['][n]lat[)a]g[)i]['] aywe[']sl['][n]ta +de[']dudneli[']sest[)i]['], G['][n]tsattagi[']y +tistadi[']glahi[']sest[)i]. Tiduda[']le`n[']([)i]) ['][n]tale[']gw +[w][i]t[)i][']stl`tati[']n[n]tani[']ga. Na[']`n[)a] +witl`t[']h[)i]stani[']ga, tadu[']ktah['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Ha-na[']`n[)a] [w][i]d[']ulthiste[']st[)i]. (Y!) + +(Degasisisg['][n][)i])--Hi[)a]['] anine[']ts[)i] ga[']`tisk[)i] +adan['][n]wt[)i]. [)U]['][n]tla atsi[']la t[)i][']`t[)i] +y[)i][']g[)i]. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THE BLACK YELLOWNESS. + + Yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], + Yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['] Y! + +Listen! In the great lake the intruder reposes. Quickly he has risen +up there. Swiftly he has come and stealthily put himself (under the +sick man). + +Listen! Ha! Now you two have drawn near to hearken, there in the Sun +Land you repose, O Little Men, O great anida[']wehi! The intruder has +risen up there in the great lake. Quickly you two have lifted up the +intruder. His paths have laid themselves down toward the direction +whence he came. Let him never look back (toward us). When he stops +to rest at the four gaps you will drive him roughly along. Now he has +plunged into the great lake from which he came. There he is compelled +to remain, never to look back. Ha! there let him rest. (Y!) + +(Directions.)--This is to treat them when their breast swells. Fire +(coals) is not put down. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[n]in[)i]'s manuscript, is used in treating +a disease known as Dalni, literally, "yellow." From the vague +description of symptoms given by the doctors, it appears to be an +aggravated form of biliousness, probably induced by late suppers and +bad food. According to the Indian theory it is caused by revengeful +animals, especially by the terrapin and its cousin, the turtle. + +The doctors recognize several forms of the disease, this variety +being distinguished as the "black dalni" (Dalni [n]nage['][)i]) and +considered the most dangerous. In this form of daln[)i], according to +their account, the navel and abdomen of the patient swell, the ends of +his fingers become black, dark circles appear about his eyes, and the +throat contracts spasmodically and causes him to fall down suddenly +insensible. A`y[n]in[)i]'s method of treatment is to rub the breast +and abdomen of the patient with the hands, which have been previously +rubbed together in the warm infusion of wild cherry (ta[']ya) bark. +The song is sung while rubbing the hands together in the liquid, +and the prayer is repeated while rubbing the swollen abdomen of the +patient. The operation may be repeated several times on successive +days. + +The song at the beginning has no meaning and is sung in a low +plaintive lullaby tone, ending with a sharp _Yu!_ The prayer possesses +a special interest, as it brings out several new points in the +Cherokee mythologic theory of medicine. The "intruder," which is held +to be some amphibious animal--as a terrapin, turtle, or snake--is +declared to have risen up from his dwelling place in the great lake, +situated toward the sunset, and to have come by stealth under the +sick man. The verb implies that the disease spirit _creeps under_ as a +snake might crawl under the coverlet of a bed. + +The two Little Men in the Sun Land are now invoked to drive out the +disease. Who these Little Men are is not clear, although they are +regarded as most powerful spirits and are frequently invoked in the +formulas. They are probably the two Thunder Boys, sons of Kanati. + +The Little Men come instantly when summoned by the shaman, pull out +the intruder from the body of the patient, turn his face toward the +sunset, and begin to drive him on by threats and blows (expressed in +the word g['][n]tsatatagi[']y) to the great lake from which he came. +On the road there are four gaps in the mountains, at each of which +the disease spirit halts to rest, but is continually forced onward by +his two pursuers, who finally drive him into the lake, where he is +compelled to remain, without being permitted even to look back again. +The four gaps are mentioned also in other formulas for medicine and +the ball play and sometimes correspond with the four stages of the +treatment. The direction "No fire (coals) is put down" indicates that +no live coals are put into the decoction, the doctor probably using +water warmed in the ordinary manner. + +Takwati[']h[)i] uses for this disease a decoction of four herbs +applied in the same manner. He agrees with A`y[n]in[)i] in regard to +the general theory and says also that the disease may be contracted by +neglecting to wash the hands after handling terrapin shells, as, for +instance, the shell rattles used by women in the dance. The turtle or +water tortoise (seligu[']g[)i]) is considered as an inferior being, +with but little capacity for mischief, and is feared chiefly on +account of its relationship to the dreaded terrapin or land tortoise +(tks[)i][']). In Takwatih[)i]'s formula he prays to the Ancient White +(the fire), of which these cold-blooded animals are supposed to be +afraid, to put the fish into the water, the turtle into the mud, and +to send the terrapin and snake to the hillside. + + +TSUNDAYE[']LIGAKTAN[']H[)I] ADAN['][n]WT[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Han[']gwa hat['][n]ganiga, gal['][n]lat[)i] +hetsad[']hist[)i], K[']lan ['][n]nage, gahu[']st[)i] +tsanu[']lah['][n]sg[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Ha-n[']gwa +(hetsatsa['][n]tani[']ga. Hanig['][n]wat[n]nigw[)a]le[']stigw +tsals['][n][)i]. Asgin-u[']dan higes[']e[)i]. Sanigala[']g[)i] +ges['][n][)i] hastig[']`lani[']ga, duwlu[']wa[']t[']t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na, nit[']neli[']ga. Ha-Ushi[']y[)i] +witit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. Dadu[']satah['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na +nit[']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nu[']tatan['][n]ta. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga, K[']lan G[)i]gage['][)i], +hidaw[)e]hi[']yu. Ha-gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lah['][n]sg[)i] +nige[']s[n]na, etsanetse[']lh[)i], Ha-gal[n]lati[']tsa +hetsat[']hist[)i]. N[']gwa hetsats['][n]tani[']ga. +Nig['][n]wat['][n]nigwale[']sti-gw tsals['][n][)i]. +Asgin-udan[']hi-gw higese['][)i]. Ha-Sanigalg[)i] ges['][n] +hstig[']`lani[']ga ulsge[']ta, ha-uts[)i]n[)a][']wa-gw['] +nig['][n]tisge[']st[)i]. Ushi[']y[)i] w[)i]ntn[)e][']d. +Ushi[']y[)i] w[)i]tit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +ad[n]ni[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga, K[']lan Sa[']ka[']ni; +gal[']lat[)i] hetsad[']hist[)i], hida[']w[)e]h[)i]. Gahu[']st[)i] +tsanu[']lah['][n]sg[)i] nige[']s[n]na, +etsanetse[']lh[)i]. Ha-n[']gwa hetsats['][n]tani[']ga. +Nig['][n]wat['][n]nigwale[']sti-gw tsals['][n][)i]. +Sanigal[']g[)i] gesu['][n] hastig[']`lani[']ga ulsge[']ta. +Duwlu[']wat[']t[)i] nige[']s[n]na, nit[']neli[']ga. Ushi[']y[)i] +w[)i]tit[']h[)i]stani[']ga, dadu[']satah['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na +nit[']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa ad[n]ni[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga, Wa[']h[)i]l[)i] +gal[n]lti[']tsa hetsad[']hist[)i], K[']lan Tsne[']ga, +hida[']w[)e]h[)i]. Gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. Han[']gwa hetsats['][n]tani[']ga. +Nig['][n]wat['][n]nigwale[']sti-gw tsals['][n][)i]. Ha-n[']gwa +detal`tani[']ga. Sanigal[']g[)i] ges['][n] hastig[']`lani[']ga +ulsge[']ta, duwlu[']wat[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na nit[']neli[']ga. +Ushi[']y[)i] w[)i]tit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. Dadu[']satah['][n]st[)i] +nige[']s[n]na nit[']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa ad[n]ni[']ga. + +(Dega[']sisisg['][n][)i])--Hi[)a][']agi`li[']ya unitl[n]g['][n][)i] +adan[']wt[)i]. Askwanu[']tsast[)i][']. Ts[']l(a) +Agay['][n]l[)i]unitsi[']l[n]n[']h[)i]g['][n]tat[)i], +an['][n]sga`l[']-gw; Kanas[']la-`n unali[']gh, ade[']la[']-`n +n[']`gi-gw ani[']gage['][)i] dah['][)i], Tsliyu[']st[)i]-`n +Usdi[']ga. Gahu[']sti-[']`nu yuta[']suy['][n]na swatu[']hi-gw +at[)i]['] daw[']hila-gw iy['][n]ta. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT FOR ORDEAL DISEASES. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken and are resting +directly overhead. O Black Raven, you never fail in anything. Ha! Now +you are brought down. Ha! There shall be left no more than a trace +upon the ground where you have been. It is an evolute ghost. You have +now put it into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the +way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it +may never return. Let relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Red Raven, most +powerful ada[']wehi. Ha! You never fail in anything, for so it was +ordained of you. Ha! You are resting directly overhead. Ha! Now you +are brought down. There shall remain but a trace upon the ground where +you have been. It is an evolute ghost. Ha! You have put the Intruder +into a crevice of Sanigalagi and now the relief shall come. It (the +Intruder) is sent to the Darkening Land. You have put it to rest in +the Darkening Land. Let the relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Raven; you are +resting directly overhead, ada[']wehi. You never fail in anything, for +so it was ordained of you. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall +be left but a trace upon the ground where you have been. You have put +the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the +way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it +may never return. Let the relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken; you repose on high +on Wa[']h[)i]l[)i], O White Raven, ada[']wehi. You never fail in +anything. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall be left but a +trace upon the ground where you have been. Ha! Now you have taken it +up. You have put the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it +may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening +Land, never to return. Let the relief come. + +(Directions)--This is to treat them for a painful sickness. One must +suck. Use Ts[']lagay[n][']-li ("Old Tobacco"--Nicotiana rustica), +blossoms, and just have them in the mouth, and Kanas[']la (Wild +Parsnip), goes with it, and four red beads also must lie there, +and Tsliyu[']sti Usdi[']ga ("Little (plant) Like Tobacco"--Indian +Tobacco--Lobelia inflata.) And if there should be anything mixed with +it (i.e., after sucking the place), just put it about a hand's-length +into the mud. + + +_Explanation._ + +The Cherokee name for this disease gives no idea whatever of its +serious nature. The technical term, Tsundaye[']liga[']ktan[']h[)i], +really refers to the enthusiastic outburst of sociability that ensues +when two old friends meet. In this instance it might be rendered +"an ordeal." The application of such a name to what is considered a +serious illness is in accordance with the regular formulistic practice +of making light of a dangerous malady in order to convey to the +disease spirit the impression that the shaman is not afraid of him. +A`y[n]in[)i], from whom the formula was obtained, states also that +the disease is sometimes sent to a man by a friend or even by his +parents, in order to test his endurance and knowledge of counter +spells. + +As with most diseases, the name simply indicates the shaman's theory +of the occult cause of the trouble, and is no clue to the symptoms, +which may be those usually attendant upon fevers, indigestion, or +almost any other ailment. + +In some cases the disease is caused by the conjurations of an enemy, +through which the patient becomes subject to an inordinate appetite, +causing him to eat until his abdomen is unnaturally distended. By the +same magic spells tobacco may be conveyed into the man's body, causing +him to be affected by faintness and languor. The enemy, if bitterly +revengeful, may even put into the body of his victim a worm or insect +(tsgya), or a sharpened stick of black locust or "fat" pine, which +will result in death if not removed by a good doctor. Sometimes a weed +stalk is in some occult manner conveyed into the patient's stomach, +where it is transformed into a worm. As this disease is very common, +owing to constant quarrels and rival jealousies, there are a number of +specialists who devote their attention to it. + +The prayer is addressed to the Black, Red, Blue, and White Ravens, +their location at the four cardinal points not being specified, +excepting in the case of the white raven of Wa[']hil[)i], which, as +already stated, is said to be a mountain in the south, and hence +is used figuratively to mean the south. The ravens are each in turn +declared to have put the disease into a crevice in Sanigala[']gi--the +Cherokee name of Whiteside Mountain, at the head of Tuckasegee River, +in North Carolina, and used figuratively for any high precipitous +mountain--and to have left no more than a trace upon the ground where +it has been. The adjective translated "evolute" (udanh[)i]) is of +frequent occurrence in the formulas, but has no exact equivalent in +English. It signifies springing into being or life from an embryonic +condition. In this instance it would imply that whatever object the +enemy has put into the body of the sick man has there developed into a +ghost to trouble him. + +The directions are expressed in a rather vague manner, as is the +case with most of A`y[n]ini's attempts at original composition. +The disease is here called by another name, agi`li[']ya +unitl[n]g['][n][)i], signifying "when they are painfully sick." +The treatment consists in sucking the part most affected, the +doctor having in his mouth during the operation the blossoms of +Ts[']l-agay['][n]l[)i] (Nicotiana rustica), Kanas[']la (wild +parsnip,) and Tsliyusti Usdiga (Lobelia inflata.) The first and last +of these names signify "tobacco" and "tobacco-like," while the other +seems to contain the same word, ts[']la, and the original idea may +have been to counteract the witchcraft by the use of the various +species of "tobacco," the herb commonly used to drive away a witch +or wizard. During the sucking process four red beads lie near upon a +piece of (white) cloth, which afterward becomes the perquisite of the +doctor. Though not explicitly stated, it is probable that the doctor +holds in his mouth a decoction of the blossoms named, rather than +the blossoms themselves. On withdrawing his mouth from the spot and +ejecting the liquid into a bowl, it is expected that there will be +found "mixed" with it a small stick, a pebble, an insect, or something +of the kind, and this the shaman then holds up to view as the cause of +the disease. It is afterward buried a "hand's length" (aw[']hil)[12] +deep in the mud. No directions were given as to diet or tabu. + +[Footnote 12: This word, like the expression "seven days," frequently +has a figurative meaning. Thus the sun is said to be seven aw[']hil +above the earth.] + + +HUNTING. + +GN[']HIL['][n]TA UG['][n]WA`L[)I]. + +Una[']lel[)u]['] eskiska[']l`tas[)i][']. Iskwa[']lel[)u] +eskiska[']l`tas[)i][']. Y! Ela-Kana[']t[)i] tslda[']h[)i]st['][n], +tswatsi[']la ast['][n] detsatasi[']ga. Ts'skw[']l[)i] +uda[']nis[)a][']`test[)i], ugwala[']ga udu[']yaheti[']dege[']st[)i]. +Sunsi[']ya-gw udanis[)a][']`test[)i], ts'su[']lti-gw +nige[']s[n]na. + +H[)i]kay['][n]l[)i] Gi[']gage-gg['], tsine[']ts[)i] ges['][n] +aw'stitege[']st[)i]. _Ts[)a]st['] utatiy[)i]_, n[']gwa _ts[)a]s`t +gas`his[)a]`t[)i] atisge[']st[)i]_. Ha-n[']gwa n[n]n tsusdi['] +tutana[']wa-teg['] _digana[']wat['][n]ta_ +atisge[']st[)i]. Utal[)i]['] udan[']h[)i] ugwala[']ga +g[n]watuy[']ah[)i]ti[']tege[']st[)i], h[)i]lahiy['][n]ta-gw +[w]ust[']`st[)i] nige[']s[n]na. D'stiskw[']l[)i] +deud[']nis[)a]`te[']st[)i]. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +CONCERNING HUNTING. + +Give me the wind. Give me the breeze. Y! O Great Terrestrial Hunter, +I come to the edge of your spittle where you repose. Let your stomach +cover itself; let it be covered with leaves. Let it cover itself at a +single bend, and may you never be satisfied. + +And you, O Ancient Red, may you hover above my breast while I sleep. +Now let good (dreams?) develop; let my experiences be propitious. +Ha! Now let my little trails be directed, as they lie down in various +directions(?). Let the leaves be covered with the clotted blood, and +may it never cease to be so. You two (the Water and the Fire) shall +bury it in your stomachs. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +This is a hunting formula, addressed to the two great gods of the +hunter, Fire and Water. The evening before starting the hunter "goes +to water," as already explained, and recites the appropriate formula. +In the morning he sets out, while still fasting, and travels without +eating or drinking until nightfall. At sunset he again goes to water, +reciting this formula during the ceremony, after which he builds his +camp fire, eats his supper and lies down for the night, first rubbing +his breast with ashes from the fire. In the morning he starts out to +look for game. + +"Give me the wind," is a prayer that the wind may be in his favor, +so that the game may not scent him. The word rendered here "Great +Terrestrial Hunter," is in the original "Ela-Kana[']t[)i]." In this +_e[']la_ is the earth and _kana[']t[)i]_ is a term applied to a +successful hunter. The great Kanat[)i], who, according to the myth, +formerly kept all the game shut up in his underground caverns, now +dwells above the sky, and is frequently invoked by hunters. The +raven also is often addressed as Kanat[)i] in these hunting formulas. +Ela-Kana[']t[)i], the Great Terrestrial Hunter--as distinguished from +the other two--signifies the river, the name referring to the way in +which the tiny streams and rivulets search out and bring down to the +great river the leaves and dbris of the mountain forests. In formulas +for medicine, love, the ball play, etc., the river is always addressed +as the Long Person (Y['][n]w[)i] Gnahi[']ta). The "spittle" referred +to is the foam at the edge of the water. "Let your stomach be covered +with leaves" means, let the blood-stained leaves where the stricken +game shall fall be so numerous as to cover the surface of the water. +The hunter prays also that sufficient game may be found in a single +bend of the river to accomplish this result without the necessity of +searching through the whole forest, and to that end he further prays +that the river may never be satisfied, but continually longing for +more. The same idea is repeated in the second paragraph. The hunter +is supposed to feed the river with blood washed from the game. In like +manner he feeds the fire, addressed in the second paragraph as the +"Ancient Red," with a piece of meat cut from the tongue of the deer. +The prayer that the fire may hover above his breast while he sleeps +and brings him favorable dreams, refers to his rubbing his breast with +ashes from his camp fire before lying down to sleep, in order that the +fire may bring him dream omens of success for the morrow. The Fire is +addressed either as the Ancient White or the Ancient Red, the allusion +in the first case being to the light or the ashes of the fire; in the +other case, to the color of the burning coals. "You two shall bury it +in your stomachs" refers to the blood-stained leaves and the piece +of meat which are cast respectively into the river and the fire. The +formula was obtained from A`y[n]in[)i], who explained it in detail. + + +HI[)A]['] TSI[']SKWA GANHILIDASTI Y[)I]. + +Ts[)i]g[)e][']! H[)i]kay['][n]l-Une[']ga, tslt[']hist['][n] +glit[']h[)i]stani[']ga. N[']gwa tsda[']nt taleh[)i][']sani[']ga. +S[']gwa ignsi[']ya ts'skwl[)i]['] ud[']nisate[']st[)i], +ts'su[']lt[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Wane[']([)i]) tigi[']gage([)i]) +tali[']kan[)e]li[']ga. [U]['][n]tal[)i] udan[']h[)i] +ts[)a]gista[']`t[)i]. + +H[)i]kay['][n]l-Une[']ga, _anu[']ya uwtat[']g[)i] agi[']st[)i] +t[)a]tsisk[']ltane[']lh[)i]_. [U]['][n]tal[)i] u[']dan['] +_te[']tlskew[']si[']ga_. + +H[)i]kay['][n]l-Une[']ga, n[n]na['](h[)i]) kana[']t[)i] +skwatet[']stani[']ga. Unigwal['][n]g[)i] +te[']gat[n]tsi[']ga. N[n]['](h[)i]) kana[']t[)i] +tati[']kiy['][n]gwita[']watise[']st[)i]. Unigwal['][n]g[)i] +tig['][n]wat[']tsan[']h[)i]. + +H[)i]kay['][n]l-Une[']ga, Kana[']t[)i], +sk[']salat[']titege[']st[)i], sa`ka[']ni ginu[']t't[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS FOR HUNTING BIRDS. + +Listen! O Ancient White, where you dwell in peace I have come to rest. +Now let your spirit arise. Let it (the game brought down) be buried +in your stomach, and may your appetite never be satisfied. The red +hickories have tied themselves together. The clotted blood is your +recompense. + +O Ancient White, * * * Accept the clotted blood (?) + +O Ancient White, put me in the successful hunting trail. Hang the +mangled things upon me. Let me come along the successful trail with +them doubled up (under my belt). It (the road) is clothed with the +mangled things. + +O Ancient White, O Kanati, support me continually, that I may never +become blue. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[n]in[)i]'s manuscript, is recited by the +bird-hunter in the morning while standing over the fire at his hunting +camp before starting out for the day's hunt. A`y[n]in[)i] stated that +seven blowgun arrows are first prepared, including a small one only a +"hand-length" (aw[']hil) long. On rising in the morning the hunter, +standing over the fire, addresses it as the "Ancient White." rubbing +his hands together while repeating the prayer. He then sets out for +the hunting ground, where he expects to spend the day, and on reaching +it he shoots away the short arrow at random, without attempting to +trace its flight. There is of course some significance attached +to this action and perhaps an accompanying prayer, but no further +information upon this point was obtainable. Having shot away the magic +arrow, the hunter utters a peculiar hissing sound, intended to call +up the birds, and then goes to work with his remaining arrows. On all +hunting expeditions it is the regular practice, religiously enforced, +to abstain from food until sunset. + +A favorite method with the bird-hunter during the summer season is +to climb a gum tree, which is much frequented by the smaller birds on +account of its berries, where, taking up a convenient position amid +the branches with his noiseless blowgun and arrows, he deliberately +shoots down one bird after another until his shafts are exhausted, +when he climbs down, draws out the arrows from the bodies of the birds +killed, and climbs up again to repeat the operation. As the light +darts used make no sound, the birds seldom take the alarm, and are too +busily engaged with the berries to notice their comrades dropping to +the ground from time to time, and pay but slight attention even to the +movements of the hunter. + +The prayer is addressed to the Ancient White (the Fire), the spirit +most frequently invoked by the hunter, who, as before stated, rubs +his hands together over the fire while repeating the words. The +expressions used are obscure when taken alone, but are full of meaning +when explained in the light of the hunting customs. The "clotted +blood" refers to the bloodstained leaves upon which the fallen game +has lain. The expression occurs constantly in the hunting formulas. +The hunter gathers up these bloody leaves and casts them upon the +fire, in order to draw omens for the morrow from the manner in which +they burn. A part of the tongue, or some other portion of the animal, +is usually cast upon the coals also for the same purpose. This +subject will be treated at length in a future account of the hunting +ceremonies. + +"Let it be buried in your stomach" refers also to the offering made +the fire. By the red hickories are meant the strings of hickory +bark which the bird hunter twists about his waist for a belt. The +dead birds are carried by inserting their heads under this belt. +Red is, of course, symbolic of his success. "The mangled things" +(unigwal['][n]g[)i]) are the wounded birds. Kana[']t[)i] is here used +to designate the fire, on account of its connection with the hunting +ceremonies. + + +INAG[)E][']H[)I] AYSTI[n]Y[)I]. + +Us[)i]nuli[']yu Selagw[']ts[)i] Gigage['][)i] gets['][n]neliga +tsdandgi[']h[)i] aye`li[']yu, us[)i]nuli[']yu. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS. + +Instantly the Red Selagw[']ts[)i] strike you in the very center of +your soul--instantly. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +This short formula, obtained from `wani[']ta, is recited by the +hunter while taking aim. The bowstring is let go--or, rather, the +trigger is pulled--at the final _Y!_ He was unable to explain the +meaning of the word selagw[']ts[)i] further than that it referred to +the bullet. Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that +this is the Cherokee name of a reed of the genus Erianthus, and the +inference follows that the stalk of the plant was formerly used for +arrow shafts. Red implies that the arrow is always successful in +reaching the mark aimed at, and in this instance may refer also to +its being bloody when withdrawn from the body of the animal. +Inag[)e][']h[)i], "dwellers in the wilderness," is the generic +term for game, including birds, but A`wani[']ta has another formula +intended especially for deer. + + +(Y[']NA T[)I][']KANGI[']TA.) + + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Tsistuyi['] nehandu[']yan, Tsistuyi['] nehandu[']yan--Yoho[']+! + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Kuwhi['] nehandu[']yan['], Kuwhi['] nehandu[']yan--Yoho[']+! + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Uy`ye['] nehandu[']yan['], Uya[']ye['] + nehahdu[']yan[']--Yoho[']+! + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Gtekw['](h[)i]) nehandu[']yan['], Gtekw['](h[)i]) + nehandu[']yan[']--Yoho[']+! + l[)e]-`n['] as[)e]h[)i]['] tadeya[']statakh[)i]['] g['][n]nage + ast[']ts[)i]k[)i][']. + + +_Translation._ + +BEAR SONG. + + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In Rabbit Place you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In Mulberry Place you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In Uy[']`y[)e] you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In the Great Swamp (?) you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + And now surely we and the good black things, the best of all, + shall see each other. + + +_Explanation._ + +This song, obtained from A`y['][n]in[)i] in connection with the story +of the Origin of the Bear, as already mentioned, is sung by the bear +hunter, in order to attract the bears, while on his way from the camp +to the place where he expects to hunt during the day. It is one of +those taught the Cherokees by the Ani-Ts[']kah[)i] before they lost +their human shape and were transformed into bears. The melody is +simple and plaintive. + +The song consists of four verses followed by a short recitation. Each +verse begins with a loud prolonged _He+!_ and ends with _Yoho[']+!_ +uttered in the same manner. Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['] has no meaning. +Tsistu[']y[)i], Kuw[']h[)i], Uy[']`y[)e], and Gte[']kwh[)i] are +four mountains, in each of which the bears have a townhouse and hold +a dance before going into their dens for the winter. The first three +named are high peaks in the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, +in the neighborhood of Clingman's Dome and Mount Guyot. The fourth is +southeast of Franklin, North Carolina, toward the South Carolina line, +and may be identical with Fodderstack Mountain. In Kuwahi dwells the +great bear chief and doctor, in whose magic bath the wounded bears are +restored to health. They are said to originate or be conceived in the +mountains named, because these are their headquarters. The "good black +things" referred to in the recitation are the bears. + + +HI[)A]['] ATS`TI[']Y[)I] TSUN[']TAN. + +Sg[)e]! N[']gwa hitsat['][n]gani[']ga hitsiga[']tug[)i][']. +Titsila[']wis['][n]h[)i] [u]wgi[']`l[)i] +tege[']tsts`g[']`law[)i]st[)i][']. Tsuli[']stana[']l l[)e]['] +wakt[)i], agi[']st[)i] une[']ka its['][n]yatanil['][)i]stani[']ga. +G[n]watu[']hw[)i]t['] n[n]n[']h[)i] +degndltsi[']dhe[']st[)i]. [u]W[']his[']nah[)i] tigiwatsi[']la. +Tutseg[']`lawist[)i][']tege[']st[)i]. [n]tal[)i]['] +deg['][n]watanh[)i], uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Tsuwatsi[']la +dadl`tsi[']ga. A`y A`y['][n]in[)i] tigwad[']ita. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS FOR CATCHING LARGE FISH. + +Listen! Now you settlements have drawn near to hearken. Where you have +gathered in the foam you are moving about as one. You Blue Cat and the +others, I have come to offer you freely the white food. Let the paths +from every direction recognize each other. Our spittle shall be in +agreement. Let them (your and my spittle) be together as we go about. +They (the fish) have become a prey and there shall be no loneliness. +Your spittle has become agreeable. I am called Swimmer. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[n]in[)i][']s' book, is for the purpose of +catching large fish. According to his instructions, the fisherman +must first chew a small piece of Yugwil['] (Venus' Flytrap--Diona +muscipula) and spit it upon the bait and also upon the hook. Then, +standing facing the stream, he recites the formula and puts the bait +upon the hook. He will be able to pull out a fish at once, or if the +fish are not about at the moment they will come in a very short time. + +The Yugwil['] is put upon the bait from the idea that it will enable +the hook to attract and hold the fish as the plant itself seizes and +holds insects in its cup. The root is much prized by the Cherokees +for this purpose, and those in the West, where the plant is not found, +frequently send requests for it to their friends in Carolina. + +The prayer is addressed directly to the fish, who are represented +as living in settlements. The same expression as has already been +mentioned is sometimes used by the doctors in speaking of the +_tsg[']ya_ or worms which are supposed to cause sickness by getting +under the skin of the patient. The Blue Cat (_Amiurus, genus_) is +addressed as the principal fish and the bait is spoken of as the +"white food," an expression used also of the viands prepared at the +feast of the green corn dance, to indicate their wholesome character. +"Let the paths from every direction recognize each other," means let +the fishes, which are supposed to have regular trails through the +water, assemble together at the place where the speaker takes his +station, as friends recognizing each other at a distance approach to +greet each other, [u]Whis[']nah[)i] tigiwatsi[']la, rendered "our +spittle shall be in agreement," is a peculiar archaic expression that +can not be literally translated. It implies that there shall be such +close sympathy between the fisher and the fish that their spittle +shall be as the spittle of one individual. As before stated, the +spittle is believed to exert an important influence upon the whole +physical and mental being. The expression "your spittle has become +agreeable" is explained by A`y[n]in[)i] as an assertion or wish that +the fish may prove palatable, while the words rendered "there shall be +no loneliness" imply that there shall be an abundant catch. + + +LOVE. + +(Y[n]W[)E][']H[)I] UG['][n]WA`L[)I] I.) + +Ku! Sg[)e]! _Alahi[']y[)i]_ tsl`d[']hist[)i], Hig[)e][']`ya +tsl`di[']y[)i], hat['][n]gani[']ga. _Elahi[']y[)i]_ iy['][n]ta +ditsl`da[']hist[)i], Hig[)e][']`ya Tsne[']ga. Tsisa[']`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. Tsduhi[']y[)i]. N[']gwa-sk[)i]n['][)i] +us[)i]nuli[']yu h[n]skwane[']`l[n]g['] tsisga[']ya agine[']ga. +Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. N[']gwa n['][n]n, une[']ga +h[n]skwan[n]neli[']ga. Uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. N[']gwa +skwade[']tastani[']ga. Sa`ka[']ni u[']tat[)i] nige[']s[n]na. N[n]n +une[']ga skiksa[']`[n]taneli[']ga. Elaye[']`l[)i] +iy['][n]ta skwalewist[)a][']`tani[']ga E[']lat[)i] ges['][n] +ts[)i]tage[']st[)i]. Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Agw[']duhi[']yu. +Klts[']te une[']ga skiga[']`tani[']ga. Uhisa[']`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na, g[n]kwatsti[']tege[']st[)i]. Tsi-sa`ka[']ni +agw[)a][']tat[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Us[)i]nuli[']yu +h[n]skwane[']`l[n]g[']. + +Ha-n[']gwl[)e] _Elahi[']y[)i]_ iy['][n]t[)a] dhiyane[']`l[n]g['] +a`g[)e][']`ya sa`ka[']ni. N[']gwa n[n]n[']h[)i] sa`ka[']ni +h[n]tane[']`laneli[']ga. Uhisa[']`t[)i]-gw u[']dan dudusa[']g[)i] +tanela[']s[)i]. N[n]n[']h[)i] sa`ka[']ni tade[']tstani[']ga. +Ngwl[)e]['] h[n]hiyats['][n]taniga. E[']lat[)i] ges['][n] +t[']l`taniga. Dedu[']lask['][n]-gw ig['][n]wa`law[)i][']st[)i] +uhi[']sa`ti[']y[)i] widaye[']la`ni[']ga. Dedulask['][n]-gw +ig['][n]wa`law[)i][']st[)i] uhi[']sa`ti[']y[)i] nit['][n]neli[']ga. + +Ha-sgwahi[']yu itsilasta[']lag[)i] + + uw[)a][']sahi[']yu, +etsane[']`laneli[']ga. Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Agw[']duh[)i]. +A[']y agwadant[']g[)i] aye`li[']yu d'ka[']`lani[']l[)i] duda[']nt, +uktah['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Y['][n]w[)i] tsu[']tsat[n] +widudante[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na, nit['][n]neli[']ga. S[']gwah[)i] +itsilasta[']lag[)i], etsane[']`laneli[']ga klkw[']gi-nas[)i]['] +iglst[']`l[)i] gegane[']`lan['][n]. + +Anisga[']ya anewadi[']s[n] unihisa`ti[']y[)i]. +Tsu[']nada[']neilti[']y[)i]. D[)i][']la-gw +deg['][n]w[)a]natseg[']`lawi[']sdideg[']. Ay[']ise[']ta-gw +u[']dan. Tsunada[']neilti[']y[)i]. Utse[']tsti-gw +deg['][n]w[)a]natseg[']`lawis[']dideg[']. Tsunada[']neilti[']y[)i]. +Ka[']ga-gw deg['][n]w[)a]natseg[']`awisdideg[']. +Tsunada[']neilti[']y[)i]. Da[']l`ka-gw +deg['][n]w[)a]natseg[']`lawisdideg[']. + +Klkw[']g[)i] iglsta[']lag[)i] unihisa`ti[']yu. +Ige[']ski-gw nige[']s[n]na. Ay[']ise[']ta-gw +u[']dan deg['][n]w[)a]natsn`ti-deg[']. K'si-gw +deg['][n]w[)a]natsn`ti-deg[']. A[']yagg['] tsisga[']ya agine[']ga +[n]gwane[']`lan[']h[)i] + + N[n]dg['][n]y[)i] iti[']tsa +ditsid[']ga. Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Agwduhi[']yu. +Tsi-sa`ka[']n[)i] agw[)a][']tat[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Klts[']te +une[']ga [n]ni[']tagg['] gkwats[']nti-deg[']. Agis[)a][']`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. A[']y agwadant[']g[)i] aye`li[']yu glasi[']ga +tsda[']nt, uktah['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na. A[']y ts[)i][']g[)i] +tsda[']nta 0 0. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +CONCERNING LIVING HUMANITY (LOVE). + +K! Listen! In Alahi[']y[)i] you repose, O Terrible Woman, O you have +drawn near to hearken. There in Elahiy[)i] you are at rest, O White +Woman. No one is ever lonely when with you. You are most beautiful. +Instantly and at once you have rendered me a white man. No one is ever +lonely when with me. Now you have made the path white for me. It shall +never be dreary. Now you have put me into it. It shall never become +blue. You have brought down to me from above the white road. There in +mid-earth (mid-surface) you have placed me. I shall stand erect upon +the earth. No one is ever lonely when with me. I am very handsome. You +have put me into the white house. I shall be in it as it moves about +and no one with me shall ever be lonely. Verily, I shall never become +blue. Instantly you have caused it to be so with me. + +And now there in Elahiy[)i] you have rendered the woman blue. Now +you have made the path blue for her. Let her be completely veiled in +loneliness. Put her into the blue road. And now bring her down. Place +her standing upon the earth. Where her feet are now and wherever she +may go, let loneliness leave its mark upon her. Let her be marked out +for loneliness where she stands. + +Ha! I belong to the (Wolf) ( + + ) clan, that one alone which was +allotted into for you. No one is ever lonely with me. I am handsome. +Let her put her soul the very center of my soul, never to turn away. +Grant that in the midst of men she shall never think of them. I belong +to the one clan alone which was allotted for you when the seven clans +were established. + +Where (other) men live it is lonely. They are very loathsome. The +common polecat has made them so like himself that they are fit +only for his company. They have became mere refuse. They are very +loathsome. The common opossum has made them so like himself that they +are fit only to be with him. They are very loathsome. Even the crow +has made them so like himself that they are fit only for his company. +They are very loathsome. The miserable rain-crow has made them so like +himself that they are fit only to be with him. + +The seven clans all alike make one feel very lonely in their company. +They are not even good looking. They go about clothed with mere +refuse. They even go about covered with dung. But I--I was ordained +to be a white man. I stand with my face toward the Sun Land. No one +is ever lonely with me. I am very handsome. I shall certainly never +become blue. I am covered by the everlasting white house wherever I +go. No one is ever lonely with me. Your soul has come into the very +center of my soul, never to turn away. I--(Gatigwanasti,) (0 0)--I +take your soul. Sg[)e]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This unique formula is from one of the loose manuscript sheets +of Gatigwanasti, now dead, and belongs to the class known as +Y[n]w[)e][']h[)i] or love charms (literally, concerning "living +humanity"), including all those referring in any way to the marital +or sexual relation. No explanation accompanies the formula, which must +therefore be interpreted from analogy. It appears to be recited by +the lover himself--not by a hired shaman--perhaps while painting and +adorning himself for the dance. (_See next two formulas._) + +The formula contains several obscure expressions which require further +investigation. Elahiy[)i] or Alahiy[)i], for it is written both ways +in the manuscript, does not occur in any other formula met with thus +far, and could not be explained by any of the shamans to whom it was +submitted. The nominative form may be Elah[)i], perhaps from _ela_, +"the earth," and it may be connected with Wa[']h[)i]l[)i], the +formulistic name for the south. The spirit invoked is the White Woman, +white being the color denoting the south. + +Uhisa[']`t[)i], rendered here "lonely," is a very expressive word +to a Cherokee and is of constant recurrence in the love formulas. It +refers to that intangible something characteristic of certain persons +which inevitably chills and depresses the spirits of all who may +be so unfortunate as to come within its influence. Agisa[']`t[)i] +nige[']s[n]na, "I never render any one lonely," is an intensified +equivalent for, "I am the best company in the world," and to tell a +girl that a rival lover is uhisa[']`t[)i] is to hold out to her the +sum of all dreary prospects should she cast in her lot with him. + +The speaker, who evidently has an exalted opinion of himself, invokes +the aid of the White Woman, who is most beautiful and is never +uhisa[']`t[)i]. She at once responds by making him a white--that is, +a happy--man, and placing him in the white road of happiness, which +shall never become blue with grief or despondency. She then places him +standing in the middle of the earth, that he may be seen and admired +by the whole world, especially by the female portion. She finally puts +him into the white house, where happiness abides forever. The verb +implies that the house shelters him like a cloak and goes about with +him wherever he may go. + +There is something comical in the extreme self-complacency with which +he asserts that he is very handsome and will never become blue and no +one with him is ever lonely. As before stated, white signifies peace +and happiness, while blue is the emblem of sorrow and disappointment. + +Having thus rendered himself attractive to womankind, he turns his +attention to the girl whom he particularly desires to win. He begins +by filling her soul with a sense of desolation and loneliness. In the +beautiful language of the formula, her path becomes blue and she is +veiled in loneliness. He then asserts, and reiterates, that he is of +the one only clan which was allotted for her when the seven clans were +established. + +He next pays his respects to his rivals and advances some very +forcible arguments to show that she could never be happy with any of +them. He says that they are all "lonesome" and utterly loathsome--the +word implies that they are mutually loathsome--and that they are +the veriest trash and refuse. He compares them to so many polecats, +opossums, and crows, and finally likens them to the rain-crow (cuckoo; +_Coccygus_), which is regarded with disfavor on account of its +disagreeable note. He grows more bitter in his denunciations as he +proceeds and finally disposes of the matter by saying that all the +seven clans alike are uhisa[']`t[)i] and are covered with filth. +Then follows another glowing panegyric of himself, closing with the +beautiful expression, "your soul has come into the very center of +mine, never to turn away," which reminds one forcibly of the sentiment +in the German love song, "Du liegst mir im Herzen." The final +expression, "I take your soul," implies that the formula has now +accomplished its purpose in fixing her thoughts upon himself. + +When successful, a ceremony of this kind has the effect of rendering +the victim so "blue" or lovesick that her life is in danger until +another formula is repeated to make her soul "white" or happy again. +Where the name of the individual or clan is mentioned in these +formulas the blank is indicated in the manuscript by crosses + + or +ciphers 0 0 or by the word iyu[']st[)i], "like." + + +H[)I]['][)A] [)A]MA[']Y[)I] [)A][']TAWASTI[']Y[)I] KAN[']HEH. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa us[)i]nuli[']yu hat['][n]gani[']ga +_Hig[)e][']`yagu[']ga_, tswatsi[']la gi[']gage tsiye[']la +sk[)i]na[']d`lani[']ga. 0 0 digwad[']ita. Sa`ka[']n[)i] +tgwadne[']lh[)i]. Atsan['][n]g[)i] gi[']gage +skws[']hisa`tani[']ga. + + klst[)a][']lag[)i] + sa`ka[']n[)i] +nu[']tatan['][n]ta. Ditu[']n[n]n[']g[)i] dagw[']lask['][n]-gw +deganu[']y'tasi[']ga. Gal[']n[n]tse[']ta-gw +dagwadne[']lidise[']st[)i]. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS TELLS ABOUT GOING INTO THE WATER. + +Listen! O, now instantly, you have drawn near to hearken, O +Ag[)e][']`yagu[']ga. You have come to put your red spittle upon my +body. My name is (Gatigwanasti.) The blue had affected me. You have +come and clothed me with a red dress. She is of the (Deer) clan. She +has become blue. You have directed her paths straight to where I have +my feet, and I shall feel exultant. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from Gatigwanasti's book, is also of the +Y[n]w[)e][']h[)i] class, and is repeated by the lover when about to +bathe in the stream preparatory to painting himself for the dance. +The services of a shaman are not required, neither is any special +ceremony observed. The technical word used in the heading, +[)a][']tawasti[']y[)i], signifies plunging or going entirely into a +liquid. The expression used for the ordinary "going to water," +where the water is simply dipped up with the hand, is [)a]m[']y[)i] +dita`ti[']y[)i], "taking them to water." + +The prayer is addressed to Ag[)e][']`yaguga, a formulistic name +for the moon, which is supposed to exert a great influence in love +affairs, because the dances, which give such opportunities for love +making, always take place at night. The shamans can not explain the +meaning of the term, which plainly contains the word ag[)e][']`ya, +"woman," and may refer to the moon's supposed influence over women. In +Cherokee mythology the moon is a man. The ordinary name is n['][n]d, +or more fully, n['][n]d s[n]ny[)e][']h[)i], "the sun living +in the night," while the sun itself is designated as n['][n]d +ig[)e][']h[)i], "the sun living in the day." + +By the red spittle of Ag[)e][']`yagu[']ga and the red dress with +which the lover is clothed are meant the red paint which he puts upon +himself. This in former days was procured from a deep red clay known +as ela-w[']t[)i], or "reddish brown clay." The word red as used in +the formula is emblematic of success in attaining his object, besides +being the actual color of the paint. Red, in connection with dress +or ornamentation, has always been a favorite color with Indians +throughout America, and there is some evidence that among the +Cherokees it was regarded also as having a mysterious protective +power. In all these formulas the lover renders the woman blue or +disconsolate and uneasy in mind as a preliminary to fixing her +thoughts upon himself. (_See next formula._) + +(Y['][n]W[)E][']H[)I] UG['][n]WA`L[)I] II.) + + Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + Gal['][n]lat[)i], datsila['][)i]--Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + N[n]dg['][n]y[)i] gatla[']ah[)i]--Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + Ge`yagu[']ga Gi[']gage, tswatsi[']la gi[']gage tsiye[']la + sk[)i]na[']d`lani[']ga-- + Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + Hi[)a]-`n['] atawe[']ladi[']y[)i] kan[']h[)e]h gal[n]lti[']tla. + + +_Translation._ + +SONG FOR PAINTING. + + _Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]._ + I am come from above--_Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]._ + I am come down from the Sun Land--_Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]._ + O Red Ag[)e]`yagu[']ga, you have come and put your red spittle + upon my body--Y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + +And this above is to recite while one is painting himself. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from Gatigwanasti, immediately follows the one last +given, in the manuscript book, and evidently comes immediately after +it also in practical use. The expressions used have been already +explained. The one using the formula first bathes in the running +stream, reciting at the same time the previous formula "Am[']y[)i] +[)A][']tawasti[']y[)i]." He then repairs to some convenient spot +with his paint, beads, and other paraphernalia and proceeds to adorn +himself for the dance, which usually begins about an hour after +dark, but is not fairly under way until nearly midnight. The refrain, +y['][n]w[)e]h[)i], is probably _sung_ while mixing the paint, and the +other portion is recited while applying the pigment, or vice versa. +Although these formula are still in use, the painting is now obsolete, +beyond an occasional daubing of the face, without any plan or pattern, +on the occasion of a dance or ball play. + +ADALANI[']STA`TI[']Y[)I]. [)I]. + + Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga nih[)i][']-- + --Tsa[']watsi[']l ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k['] ay[']. + --Hiyel['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k['] ay[']. + --Ts[)a]wiy['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k['] ay[']. + --Tsnahu['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k['] ay[']. + +Sg[)e]! N[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga, H[)i]kay['][n]lige. Hi[)a]['] +asga[']ya uda[']nt tsa`ta[']hisi[']ga [H[)i]kay['][n]lige] +hiye[']last[n]. Tsaskl[']h[)i]sti-gw['] nige[']s[n]na. +D[)i]kana[']wat['][n]ta-gw tst[']neli[']ga. +H[)i]l dudant[)e][']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Duda[']nt +dskal[n][']tseli[']ga. Ast[)i]['] dig['][n]nage +tagu[']tal[n]tani[']ga. + + +_Translation._ + +TO ATTRACT AND FIX THE AFFECTIONS. + + Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken-- + --Your spittle, I take it, I eat it. } + --Your body, I take it, I eat it, } + --Your flesh, I take it, I eat it, } Each sung four times. + --Your heart, I take it, I eat it. } + +Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O, Ancient One. This +man's (woman's) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You +are never to let go your hold upon it. It is ordained that you shall +do just as you are requested to do. Let her never think upon any +other place. Her soul has faded within her. She is bound by the black +threads. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is said by the young husband, who has just married an +especially engaging wife, who is liable to be attracted by other men. +The same formula may also be used by the woman to fix her husband's +affections. On the first night that they are together the husband +watches until his wife is asleep, when, sitting up by her side, he +recites the first words: Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga +nih[)i]['], and then sings the next four words: Tsawatsi[']l +ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k['] ay['], "Your spittle, I take it, I eat +it," repeating the words four times. While singing he moistens his +fingers with spittle, which he rubs upon the breast of the woman. The +next night he repeats the operation, this time singing the words, "I +take your body." The third night, in the same way, he sings, "I take +your flesh," and the fourth and last night, he sings "I take your +heart," after which he repeats the prayer addressed to the Ancient +One, by which is probably meant the Fire (the Ancient White). +A`y['][n]in[)i] states that the final sentences should be masculine, +i.e., His soul has faded, etc., and refer to any would-be seducer. +There is no gender distinction in the third person in Cherokee. He +claimed that this ceremony was so effective that no husband need have +any fears for his wife after performing it. + + +ADAYE[']LIGA[']GTA`T[)I][']. + +Y! Gal['][n]lat[)i] tsl`da[']hist[)i], Giya[']giya['] Sa`ka[']ni, +n[']gwa n[n]tal[n] i[']y['][n]ta. Ts[']la Sa`ka[']ni +tsgist[']`t[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. N[']gwa nidtsu[']l`tan['][n]ta, +n['][n]t[=a]tag['] hisa[']hasi[']ga. Tani[']dg[n]['] +aye[']`l[)i] dehid[']siga. Unada[']nd dehiy[']staneli[']ga. +Nidugale[']ntan['][n]ta nidh[n]neli[']ga. + +Tsisga[']ya agine[']ga, n[n]dg['][n]y[)i] ditsid[']`st[)i]. +G[']n[)i] st['] uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Ag[)e][']`ya +une[']ga hi['][)a] iyu[']st[)i] glst[']`l[)i], iyu[']st[)i] +tsd[']ita. Uda[']nd us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ddatinil[']g[n]el[)i][']. +N[n]dg['][n]yits['] ddatinilugstanel[)i]. Tsisga[']ya +agine[']ga, ditsidst['][n][)i] n`n['] kana[']tlani[']ga. +Tsnkta['] teg[)a]`la[']watege[']st[)i]. Tsiye[']l[n] ges['][n][)i] +uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. + + +_Translation._ + +FOR SEPARATION (OF LOVERS). + +Y! On high you repose, O Blue Hawk, there at the far distant lake. +The blue tobacco has come to be your recompense. Now you have arisen +at once and come down. You have alighted midway between them where +they two are standing. You have spoiled their souls immediately. They +have at once become separated. + +I am a white man; I stand at the sunrise. The good sperm shall never +allow any feeling of loneliness. This white woman is of the Paint +(iyust[)i]) clan; she is called (iyust[)i]) Wy[)i][']. We shall +instantly turn her soul over. We shall turn it over as we go toward +the Sun Land. I am a white man. Here where I stand it (her soul) has +attached itself to (literally, "come against") mine. Let her eyes in +their sockets be forever watching (for me). There is no loneliness +where my body is. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[n]in[)i]'s book, is used to separate two +lovers or even a husband and wife, if the jealous rival so desires. In +the latter case the preceding formula, from the same source, would be +used to forestall this spell. No explanation of the ceremony is given, +but the reference to tobacco may indicate that tobacco is smoked +or thrown into the fire during the recitation. The particular hawk +invoked (giya[']giya[']) is a large species found in the coast region +but seldom met with in the mountains. Blue indicates that it brings +trouble with it, while white in the second paragraph indicates that +the man is happy and attractive in manner. + +In the first part of the formula the speaker calls upon the Blue +Hawk to separate the lovers and spoil their souls, i.e., change their +feeling toward each other. In the second paragraph he endeavors +to attract the attention of the woman by eulogizing himself. The +expression, "we shall turn her soul over," seems here to refer to +turning her affections, but as generally used, to turn one's soul is +equivalent to killing him. + + +(ADALAN[)I][']ST[)A]`TI[']Y[)I] II.) + +Y! Ha-n[']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]tssi[']ga, [*][*] +h[)i]l(st[']`l[)i]), ([*][*]) ditsa(d[']ita). A[']y 0 0 +tsila(st[']`l[)i]). Hiye[']la ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[']. (Y!) + +Y! Ha-n[']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]tssi[']ga. [*][*] +h[)i]l(st[']`l[)i]), [*][*] ditsa(d[']ta). A[']y 0 0 tswi[']ya +ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[']. Y! + +Y! Ha-n[']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]tssi[']ga. [*][*] +h[)i]l(st[']`l[)i]) [*][*] ditsa(d[']ta). A[']y 0 0 tswatsi[']la +ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k['] a[']y. Y! + +Y! Ha-n[']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]tssi[']ga. [*][*] +h[)i]l(st[']`l[)i]), [*][*] ditsad['](ita). A[']y 0 0 +tsnah[)u]['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[']. Y! + +Sg[)e]! "Ha-n[']gwa ada[']nt[)i] dutsase['], tsugale[']nt[)i] +nige[']s[n]na," tsdne[)i], H[)i]kay['][n]lige +gal['][n]lat[)i]. Kanan[)e][']sk[)i] ['][n]nage gal['][n]lat[)i] +(h)etsats['][n]t[)a]nile['][)i]. Ts[)a]nilta[']g[)i] +tsks['][n]tanile['][)i]. [*][*] gla(st[']`l[)i]), +[*][*] ditsad['](ita). Dudant[']g[)i] uhani[']lat +t[)i]kwen['][n]tani[']ga. Klkw[']g[)i] iglsta[']lag[)i] +iy['][n]ta y['][n]w[)i] aday['][n]lataw[)a]['] +dudne[']lida[']l[n] uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwat[)i] uhisa[']`t[)i] dutl['][n]tani[']ga. +Ts[']nkta dask[']l[n]tsi[']ga. S[']gwah[)i] di[']kta +de[']gayel[n]tsi[']ga. Ga[']tsa ign[']nug['][)i]st +uda[']nt? Us[']hita nudan['][n]na lt[n]ge[']ta +g[n]wadneli[']dege[']st[)i]. Ig[n]wlsta[']`ti-gw +duwlu[']wa`t[n]t[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Kanan[)e][']sk[)i] +[n]nage['][)i] tsanildew'se[']st[)i] ada[']nt ukt[n]lesi[']dast[)i] +nige[']sna. Gadyu[']st[)i] tsd[']ita ada[']nt[)i] +tside[']atsasi[']ga. A[']ya a[']kwatseli[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwl[)e]['] h[n]hat[n]ga[']ga, H[)i]kay['][n]l[)i] +Gi[']gage. Tsetsli[']s[)i] hiye[']last[n] a`ta[']hisi[']ga. +Ada[']nt has`g[']`law[)i][']stani[']ga, tsa[']skalh[)i]st[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. H[)i]kay['][n]lige den[)a]tseg`la[']w[)i]stani[']ga. +Ag[)e][']`ya g[)i][']ns[n]g`law[)i]s[']tani[']ga uda[']nt +_uwahis[)i][']sata_. D[)i]g[)i]naskl[']h[)i]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Y! + +Hi['][)a]nasgw['] u`tl[']yi-gw d[)i]gal['][n]wistan[']t[)i] +sn[n][']y[)i] hani[']`lih[n] gnasgi[']st[)i]. Gane[']ts[)i] +aye[']`l[)i] asi[']tadis[']t[)i] watsi[']la, gan[n]li[']yet[)i] +aguwaye[']n[)i] andisg['][)i]. Si[']y[)i] tsika[']nhe +itsu[']laha[']gw. + + +_Translation._ + +TO FIX THE AFFECTIONS. + +Y! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer (x x) +clan. Your name is (x x) Aysta, I am of the Wolf (o-o) clan. Your +body, I take it, I eat it. Y! Ha! Now the souls have come together. +You are of the Deer clan. Your name is Aysta. I am of the Wolf clan. +Your flesh I take, I eat. Y! + +Y! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Aysta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your spittle I take, I +eat. I! Y! + +Y! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Aysta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your heart I take, I eat. +Y! + +Listen! "Ha! Now the souls have met, never to part," you have said, O +Ancient One above. O Black Spider, you have been brought down from on +high. You have let down your web. She is of the Deer clan; her name +is Aysta. Her soul you have wrapped up in (your) web. There where the +people of the seven clans are continually coming in sight and again +disappearing (i.e. moving about, coming and going), there was never +any feeling of loneliness. + +Listen! Ha! But now you have covered her over with loneliness. Her +eyes have faded. Her eyes have come to fasten themselves on one alone. +Whither can her soul escape? Let her be sorrowing as she goes along, +and not for one night alone. Let her become an aimless wanderer, whose +trail may never be followed. O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in +your web so that it shall never get through the meshes. What is the +name of the soul? They two have come together. It is mine! + +Listen! Ha! And now you have hearkened, O Ancient Red. Your +grandchildren have come to the edge of your body. You hold them yet +more firmly in your grasp, never to let go your hold. O Ancient One, +we have become as one. The woman has put her (x x x) soul into our +hands. We shall never let it go! Y! + +(Directions.)--And this also is for just the same purpose (the +preceding formula in the manuscript book is also a love charm). It +must be done by stealth at night when they are asleep. One must put +the hand on the middle of the breast and rub on spittle with the hand, +they say. The other formula is equally good. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula to fix the affections of a young wife is taken from the +manuscript sheets of the late Gatigwanasti. It very much resembles the +other formula for the same purpose, obtained from. A`y['][n]in[)i], +and the brief directions show that the ceremony is alike in both. The +first four paragraphs are probably sung, as in the other formula, on +four successive nights, and, as explained in the directions and as +stated verbally by A`y['][n]in[)i], this must be done stealthily at +night while the woman is asleep, the husband rubbing his spittle on +her breast with his hand while chanting the song in a low tone, hardly +above a whisper. The prayer to the Ancient One, or Ancient Red (Fire), +in both formulas, and the expression, "I come to the edge of your +body," indicate that the hands are first warmed over the fire, in +accordance with the general practice when laying on the hands. The +prayer to the Black Spider is a beautiful specimen of poetic imagery, +and hardly requires an explanation. The final paragraph indicates +the successful accomplishment of his purpose. "Your grandchildren" +(tsetsli[']s[)i]) is an expression frequently used in addressing the +more important deities. + + +MISCELLANEOUS FORMULAS. + +S[n]N[']Y[)I] ED[']H[)I] E[']SGA AST[n]TI[']Y[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Uhy[n]ts[']y[)i] gal[n]lti[']tla tslt[']hist[)i], +H[)i]sgaya Gigage['][)i], us[)i]nu[']l[)i] di[']tsakn[)i]['] +denatl[n]hi[']sani[']ga Uy-igawa[']st[)i] duda[']nt[)i]. +N[n]n[']h[)i] tatuna[']wat[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] duda[']nt +dani[']y[n]stanil[)i][']. + +Sg[)e]! Uhy[n]tl[']y[)i] gal[n]lti[']tla tslt[']hist[)i], +H[)i]sga[']ya T[)e][']halu, _hinaw's[)u][']'ki_. Ha-us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +n[']gwa di[']tsakn[)i]['] denatl[n]hisani[']ga uy-igawa[']st[)i] +duda[']nt[)i]. N[n]n[']h[)i] t[)a]tuna[']w[)a]t[)i]. +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] duda[']nt dani[']gal[)i]stan[)i][']. + + +_Translation._ + +TO SHORTEN A NIGHT-GOER ON THIS SIDE. + +Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Red Man, quickly we two +have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has +them lying along the path. Quickly we two will take his soul as we go +along. + +Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Purple Man, * * * *. +Ha! Quickly now we two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the +Imprecator. He has them lying along the path. Quickly we two will cut +his soul in two. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y['][n]in[)i]s' book, is for the purpose of +driving away a witch from the house of a sick person, and opens up a +most interesting chapter of Cherokee beliefs. The witch is supposed +to go about chiefly under cover of darkness, and hence is called +s[n]n[']y[)i] ed[']h[)i], "the night goer." This is the term in +common use; but there are a number of formulistic expressions to +designate a witch, one of which, u[']ya igawa[']st[)i], occurs in the +body of the formula and may be rendered "the imprecator," i.e., the +sayer of evil things or curses. As the counteracting of a deadly spell +always results in the death of its author, the formula is stated to be +not merely to drive away the wizard, but to kill him, or, according to +the formulistic expression, "to shorten him (his life) on this side." + +When it becomes known that a man is dangerously sick the witches from +far and near gather invisibly about his house after nightfall to worry +him and even force their way in to his bedside unless prevented by the +presence of a more powerful shaman within the house. They annoy the +sick man and thus hasten his death by stamping upon the roof and +beating upon the sides of the house; and if they can manage to get +inside they raise up the dying sufferer from the bed and let him fall +again or even drag him out upon the floor. The object of the witch in +doing this is to prolong his term of years by adding to his own life +as much as he can take from that of the sick man. Thus it is that +a witch who is successful in these practices lives to be very old. +Without going into extended details, it may be sufficient to state +that the one most dreaded, alike by the friends of the sick man and by +the lesser witches, is the K[']lana-ayeli[']sk[)i] or Raven Mocker, +so called because he flies through the air at night in a shape of +fire, uttering sounds like the harsh croak of a raven. + +The formula here given is short and simple as compared with some +others. There is evidently a mistake in regard to the Red Man, who is +here placed in the north, instead of in the east, as it should be. +The reference to the arrows will be explained further on. Purple, +mentioned in the second paragraph, has nearly the same symbolic +meaning as blue, viz: Trouble, vexation and defeat; hence the Purple +Man is called upon to frustrate the designs of the witch. + +To drive away the witch the shaman first prepares four sharpened +sticks, which he drives down into the ground outside the house at each +of the four corners, leaving the pointed ends projecting upward and +outward. Then, about noontime he gets ready the Tslagay['][n]l[)i] +or "Old Tobacco" (_Nicotiana rustica_), with which he fills his pipe, +repeating this formula during the operation, after which he wraps the +pipe thus filled in a black cloth. This sacred tobacco is smoked only +for this purpose. He then goes out into the forest, and returns just +before dark, about which time the witch may be expected to put in +an appearance. Lighting his pipe, he goes slowly around the house, +puffing the smoke in the direction of every trail by which the witch +might be able to approach, and probably repeating the same or another +formula the while. He then goes into the house and awaits results. +When the witch approaches under cover of the darkness, whether in his +own proper shape or in the form of some animal, the sharpened stick on +that side of the house shoots up into the air and comes down like an +arrow upon his head, inflicting such a wound as proves fatal within +seven days. This explains the words of the formula, "We have prepared +your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying +along the path". A`y['][n]in[)i] said nothing about the use of the +sharpened sticks in this connection, mentioning only the tobacco, +but the ceremony, as here described, is the one ordinarily used. When +wounded the witch utters a groan which is heard by those listening +inside the house, even at the distance of half a mile. No one knows +certainly who the witch is until a day or two afterward, when some old +man or woman, perhaps in a remote settlement, is suddenly seized with +a mysterious illness and before seven days elapse is dead. + + +GAHU[']ST[)I] A[']GIYAHU[']SA. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa hat['][n]gani[']ga N['][n]ya Wtige['][)i], +gahu[']st[)i] tstska[']d[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Ha-n[']gwa +d['][n]gihya[']l[)i]. Agiyahu[']sa s[)i][']kwa, haga['] +ts[n]-n['] iy['][n]ta d[)a]tsi[']wakt[']h[)i]. Tla-`ke['] a[']ya +a[']kwatseli[']ga. 0 0 digwadi[']ta. + + +_Translation._ + +I HAVE LOST SOMETHING. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rock; you +never lie about anything. Ha! Now I am about to seek for it. I have +lost a hog and now tell me about where I shall find it. For is it not +mine? My name is ----. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, for finding anything lost, is so simple as to need but +little explanation. Brown in this instance has probably no mythologic +significance, but refers to the color of the stone used in the +ceremony. This is a small rounded water-worn pebble, in substance +resembling quartz and of a reddish-brown color. It is suspended by a +string held between the thumb and finger of the shaman, who is guided +in his search by the swinging of the pebble, which, according to their +theory, will swing farther in the direction of the lost article than +in the contrary direction! The shaman, who is always fasting, repeats +the formula, while closely watching the motions of the swinging +pebble. He usually begins early in the morning, making the first +trial at the house of the owner of the lost article. After noting the +general direction toward which it seems to lean he goes a considerable +distance in that direction, perhaps half a mile or more, and makes +a second trial. This time the pebble may swing off at an angle in +another direction. He follows up in the direction indicated for +perhaps another half mile, when on a third trial the stone may veer +around toward the starting point, and a fourth attempt may complete +the circuit. Having thus arrived at the conclusion that the missing +article is somewhere within a certain circumscribed area, he advances +to the center of this space and marks out upon the ground a small +circle inclosing a cross with arms pointing toward the four cardinal +points. Holding the stone over the center of the cross he again +repeats the formula and notes the direction in which the pebble +swings. This is the final trial and he now goes slowly and carefully +over the whole surface in that direction, between the center of the +circle and the limit of the circumscribed area until in theory, at +least, the article is found. Should he fail, he is never at a loss for +excuses, but the specialists in this line are generally very shrewd +guessers well versed in the doctrine of probabilities. + +There are many formulas for this purpose, some of them being long +and elaborate. When there is reason to believe that the missing +article has been stolen, the specialist first determines the clan or +settlement to which the thief belongs and afterward the name of the +individual. Straws, bread balls, and stones of various kinds are used +in the different formulas, the ceremony differing according to the +medium employed. The stones are generally pointed crystals or antique +arrowheads, and are suspended as already described, the point being +supposed to turn finally in the direction of the missing object. +Several of these stones have been obtained on the reservation and +are now deposited in the National Museum. It need excite no surprise +to find the hog mentioned in the formula, as this animal has been +domesticated among the Cherokees for more than a century, although +most of them are strongly prejudiced against it. + + +HIA['] UNLE (ATESTI[']Y[)I]). + + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi[']--Y! + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa h[)i]nah[n][']ski tay[)i][']. Ha-t[']sti-gw +g[n]ska[']ih. Tstali[']i-gwati[']na halu[']`n[)i]. +K[']nigwati[']na dula[']ska gal['][n]lati-gw witu[']kt[)i]. +Wig[n]yas[)e][']h[)i]s[)i]. [']tal[)i] tsug['][n]y[)i] +wite[']tsatan['][n][n]s[)i]['] n[n]nh[)i] tsane[']lag[)i] +de[']gatsana[']wadise[']st[)i]. Knst['] dutsas['][n][)i] +at['][n]wast[)e][']hah[)i]['] tstneli[']sest[)i]. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO FRIGHTEN A STORM. + + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi[']--Y! + +Listen! O now you are coming in rut. Ha! I am exceedingly afraid of +you. But yet you are only tracking your wife. Her footprints can be +seen there directed upward toward the heavens. I have pointed them +out for you. Let your paths stretch out along the tree tops (?) on +the lofty mountains (and) you shall have them (the paths) lying down +without being disturbed, Let (your path) as you go along be where the +waving branches meet. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y['][n]in[)i]'s book, is for driving away, or +"frightening" a storm, which threatens to injure the growing corn. The +first part is a meaningless song, which is sung in a low tone in the +peculiar style of most of the sacred songs. The storm, which is not +directly named, is then addressed and declared to be coming on in a +fearful manner on the track of his wife, like an animal in the rutting +season. The shaman points out her tracks directed toward the upper +regions and begs the storm spirit to follow her along the waving tree +tops of the lofty mountains, where he shall be undisturbed. + +The shaman stands facing the approaching storm with one hand stretched +out toward it. After repeating the song and prayer he gently blows in +the direction toward which he wishes it to go, waving his hand in the +same direction as though pushing away the storm. A part of the storm +is usually sent into the upper regions of the atmosphere. If standing +at the edge of the field, he holds a blade of corn in one hand while +repeating the ceremony. + + +DANAW['] TSUNEDL[']H[)I] NUNAT[']NELI[']TAL['][n]H[)I] +U[']NALSTELTA[']`TAN[']H[)I]. + +Hay[)i]! Y! Sg[)e]! N[']gwa us[)i]nuli[']yu A[']tasu +Gi[']gage['][)i] hinisa[']latani[']ga. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] duda[']nt +u[']nanug[']tsidast[)i]['] nige[']s[n]na. Duda[']nt +e`lawi[']n[)i] iy['][n]ta [)a][']tas dig[n]nage['][)i] +deg[n]lskw[)i][']tahise[']st[)i], anetsge[']ta unanug[']ist[)i] +nige[']s[n]na, nitin['][n]neli[']ga. [)A][']tas +dusa[']ladan['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[n]na, nitin['][n]neli[']ga. +E`lawi[']n[)i] iy['][n]ta [)a][']tas [n]nage['] ug[n][']hat +[n]nage['] s[']gwa da`liy[)e][']k`lani[']ga _unadutl[']g[)i]_. +Unanug[']tsida[']st[)i] nige[']s[n]na, n[n]eli[']ga. + +Us[)i]nuli[']yu tsunada[']nt kul`kw[']gine +tigal['][n]ltiy['][n][)i] iy['][n]ta ada[']nt +tega[']y[)e]`ti[']tege[']st[)i]. Tsunada[']nt tsuligal[)i][']st[)i] +nige[']s[n]na dudni[']tege[']st[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +deni['][n]eli[']ga gal['][n]lat[)i] iy['][n]ta +widu[']l`th[)i]sti[']tege[']st[)i]. [)A][']tas +gigage['][)i] d[)e]hatag['][n]yastani[']ga. Tsunada[']nt +tsudast[']nilida[']st[)i] nige[']s[n]na n[n]eli[']ga. Tsunada[']nt +gal['][n]lat[)i] iy['][n]ta wit[)e][']`titege[']st[)i]. +Tsunada[']nt anigwalu[']g[)i] une[']ga +g[n]wa[']nadag['][n]yastitege[']st[)i]. Sa`ka[']n[)i] udnu[']h[)i] +nige[']s[n]na us[)i]nuli[']yu. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +WHAT THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TO WAR DID TO HELP THEMSELVES. + +Hay[)i]! Y! Listen! Now instantly we have lifted up the red war club. +Quickly his soul shall be without motion. There under the earth, where +the black war clubs shall be moving about like ball sticks in the +game, there his soul shall be, never to reappear. We cause it to be +so. He shall never go and lift up the war club. We cause it to be so. +There under the earth the black war club (and) the black fog have come +together as one for their covering. It shall never move about (i.e., +the black fog shall never be lifted from them). We cause it to be so. + +Instantly shall their souls be moving about there in the seventh +heaven. Their souls shall never break in two. So shall it be. Quickly +we have moved them (their souls) on high for them, where they shall +be going about in peace. You (?) have shielded yourselves (?) with the +red war club. Their souls shall never be knocked about. Cause it to +be so. There on high their souls shall be going about. Let them shield +themselves with the white war whoop. Instantly (grant that) they shall +never become blue. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, obtained from A`wani[']ta, may be repeated by the +doctor for as many as eight men at once when about to go to war. It is +recited for four consecutive nights, immediately before setting out. +There is no tabu enjoined and no beads are used, but the warriors "go +to water" in the regular way, that is, they stand at the edge of the +stream, facing the east and looking down upon the water, while the +shaman, standing behind them, repeats the formula. On the fourth night +the shaman gives to each man a small charmed root which has the power +to confer invulnerability. On the eve of battle the warrior after +bathing in the running stream chews a portion of this and spits the +juice upon his body in order that the bullets of the enemy may pass +him by or slide off from his skin like drops of water. Almost every +man of the three hundred East Cherokees who served in the rebellion +had this or a similar ceremony performed before setting out--many of +them also consulting the oracular ul[n]s[']t[)i] stone at the same +time--and it is but fair to state that not more than two or three of +the entire number were wounded in actual battle. + +In the formula the shaman identifies himself with the warriors, +asserting that "_we_" have lifted up the red war club, red being the +color symbolic of success and having no reference to blood, as might +be supposed from the connection. In the first paragraph he invokes +curses upon the enemy, the future tense verb _It shall be_, etc., +having throughout the force of _let it be_. He puts the souls of +the doomed enemy in the lower regions, where the black war clubs are +constantly waving about, and envelops them in a black fog, which shall +never be lifted and out of which they shall never reappear. From +the expression in the second paragraph, "their souls shall never be +knocked about," the reference to the black war clubs moving about like +ball sticks in the game would seem to imply that they are continually +buffeting the doomed souls under the earth. The spirit land of the +Cherokees is in the west, but in these formulas of malediction or +blessing the soul of the doomed man is generally consigned to the +underground region, while that of the victor is raised by antithesis +to the seventh heaven. + +Having disposed of the enemy, the shaman in the second paragraph turns +his attention to his friends and at once raises their souls to the +seventh heaven, where they shall go about in peace, shielded by +(literally, "covered with") the red war club of success, and never to +be knocked about by the blows of the enemy. "Breaking the soul in two" +is equivalent to snapping the thread of life, the soul being regarded +as an intangible something having length, like a rod or a string. This +formula, like others written down by the same shaman, contains several +evident inconsistencies both as to grammar and mythology, due to the +fact that A`wanita is extremely careless with regard to details and +that this particular formula has probably not been used for the last +quarter of a century. The warriors are also made to shield themselves +with the white war whoop, which should undoubtedly be the red war +whoop, consistent with the red war club, white being the color +emblematic of peace, which is evidently an incongruity. The war whoop +is believed to have a positive magic power for the protection of the +warrior, as well as for terrifying the foe. + +The mythologic significance of the different colors is well shown in +this formula. Red, symbolic of success, is the color of the war club +with which the warrior is to strike the enemy and also of the other +one with which he is to shield or "cover" himself. There is no doubt +that the war whoop also should be represented as red. In conjuring +with the beads for long life, for recovery from sickness, or for +success in love, the ball play, or any other undertaking, the red +beads represent the party for whose benefit the magic spell is +wrought, and he is figuratively clothed in red and made to stand upon +a red cloth or placed upon a red seat. The red spirits invoked always +live in the east and everything pertaining to them is of the same +color. + +Black is always typical of death, and in this formula the soul of the +enemy is continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped in +a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy the shaman uses +black beads and invokes the black spirits--which always live in the +west--bidding them tear out the man's soul, carry it to the west, +and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud, with a black +serpent coiled above it. + +Blue is emblematic of failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. +"They shall never become blue" means that they shall never fail in +anything they undertake. In love charms the lover figuratively covers +himself with red and prays that his rival shall become entirely blue +and walk in a blue path. The formulistic expression, "He is entirely +blue," closely approximates in meaning the common English phrase, "He +feels blue." The blue spirits live in the north. + +White--which occurs in this formula only by an evident error--denotes +peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as at the green corn +dance and ball play, the people figuratively partake of white food +and after the dance or the game return along the white trail to their +white houses. In love charms the man, in order to induce the woman to +cast her lot with his, boasts "I am a white man," implying that all is +happiness where he is. White beads have the same meaning in the bead +conjuring and white was the color of the stone pipe anciently used +in ratifying peace treaties. The white spirits live in the south +(Wa[']hal[)a]). + +Two other colors, brown and yellow, are also mentioned in the +formulas. Wtige['][)i], "brown," is the term used to include brown, +bay, dun, and similar colors, especially as applied to animals. It +seldom occurs in the formulas and its mythologic significance is as +yet undetermined. Yellow is of more frequent occurrence and is typical +of trouble and all manner of vexation, the yellow spirits being +generally invoked when the shaman wishes to bring down calamities upon +the head of his victim, without actually destroying him. So far as +present knowledge goes, neither brown nor yellow can be assigned to +any particular point of the compass. + +Us[)i]nuli[']yu, rendered "instantly," is the intensive form of +us[)i]nu[']l[)i] "quickly," both of which words recur constantly +in the formulas, in some entering into almost every sentence. This +frequently gives the translation an awkward appearance. Thus the final +sentence above, which means literally "they shall never become blue +instantly," signifies "Grant that they shall never become blue", i.e., +shall never fail in their purpose, _and grant our petition instantly_. + + +DIDA[']LATLI[']`T[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! N[']gwa tsdant[']g[)i] teg['][n]yataw[']ilateli[']ga. +Iyust[)i] (0 0) tsilast[']`l[)i] Iyu[']st[)i] (0 0) ditsad[']ita. +Tswatsi[']la elawi[']n[)i] tsid[']h[)i]stani[']ga. Tsdantg[)i] +elawi[']n[)i] tsid[']h[)i]stani[']ga. N['][n]ya g['][n]nage +g[n]yu[']tl[n]tani[']ga. [)A]`nwa[']g[)i] g['][n]nage['] +g[n]yu[']tl[n]tani[']ga. S[n]talu[']ga g['][n]nage +deg['][n]yanu[']gal['][n]tani[']ga, ts[']nanug[']ist[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. Ushi[']y[)i] n[n]n[']h[)i] +wite[']tsatan['][n][n]s[)i] gne[']s g['][n]nage asahalag[)i][']. +Tst[']neli[']ga. Elaw[']t[)i] asa[']halag[)i][']a[']d[n]ni[']ga. +Us[)i]nuli[']yu Ushi[']y[)i] glts[']t[)e] +dig['][n]nagesta[']y[)i], elaw[']ti g['][n]nage tid[']h[)i]st[)i] +wa`yanu[']gal[n]tsi[']ga. Gne[']sa g['][n]age s[n]talu[']ga +g['][n]nage gayu[']tl[n]tani[']ga. Tsdant[']g[)i] +ska[']l[n]tsi[']ga. Sa`ka[']n[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. Us[']hita +atanis[']se[']t[)i], ay[']ltsi[']sest[)i] tsdant[']g[)i], +ts[']nanug[']ist[)i] nige[']s[n]na. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +TO DESTROY LIFE. + +Listen! Now I have come to step over your soul. You are of the (wolf) +clan. Your name is (A`y['][n]in[)i]). Your spittle I have put at rest +under the earth. Your soul I have put at rest under the earth. I have +come to cover you over with the black rock. I have come to cover you +over with the black cloth. I have come to cover you with the black +slabs, never to reappear. Toward the black coffin of the upland in the +Darkening Land your paths shall stretch out. So shall it be for you. +The clay of the upland has come (to cover you. (?)) Instantly the +black clay has lodged there where it is at rest at the black houses in +the Darkening Land. With the black coffin and with the black slabs I +have come to cover you. Now your soul has faded away. It has become +blue. When darkness comes your spirit shall grow less and dwindle +away, never to reappear. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is from the manuscript book of A`y['][n]in[)i], +who explained the whole ceremony. The language needs but little +explanation. A blank is left for the name and clan of the victim, and +is filled in by the shaman. As the purpose of the ceremony is to bring +about the death of the victim, everything spoken of is symbolically +colored black, according to the significance of the colors as already +explained. The declaration near the end, "It has become blue," +indicates that the victim now begins to feel in himself the effects of +the incantation, and that as darkness comes on his spirit will shrink +and gradually become less until it dwindles away to nothingness. + +When the shaman wishes to destroy the life of another, either for his +own purposes or for hire, he conceals himself near the trail along +which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears the +shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly until +he chances to spit upon the ground. On coming up to the spot the +shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust thus +moistened with the victim's spittle. The possession of the man's +spittle gives him power over the life of the man himself. Many +ailments are said by the doctors to be due to the fact that some enemy +has by this means "changed the spittle" of the patient and caused it +to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man's body. In the love +charms also the lover always figuratively "takes the spittle" of the +girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. The same idea in +regard to spittle is found in European folk medicine. + +The shaman then puts the clay thus moistened into a tube consisting +of a joint of the Kanes[']la or wild parsnip, a poisonous plant of +considerable importance in life-conjuring ceremonies. He also puts +into the tube seven earthworms beaten into a paste, and several +splinters from a tree which has been struck by lightning. The idea in +regard to the worms is not quite clear, but it may be that they are +expected to devour the soul of the victim as earthworms are supposed +to feed upon dead bodies, or perhaps it is thought that from their +burrowing habits they may serve to hollow out a grave for the soul +under the earth, the quarter to which the shaman consigns it. In other +similar ceremonies the dirt-dauber wasp or the stinging ant is buried +in the same manner in order that it may kill the soul, as these are +said to kill other more powerful insects by their poisonous sting or +bite. The wood of a tree struck by lightning is also a potent spell +for both good and evil and is used in many formulas of various kinds. + +Having prepared the tube, the shaman goes into the forest to a tree +which has been struck by lightning. At its base he digs a hole, in the +bottom of which he puts a large yellow stone slab. He then puts in +the tube, together with seven yellow pebbles, fills in the earth, and +finally builds a fire over the spot to destroy all traces of his work. +The yellow stones are probably chosen as the next best substitute for +black stones, which are not always easy to find. The formula mentions +"black rock," black being the emblem of death, while yellow typifies +trouble. The shaman and his employer fast until after the ceremony. + +If the ceremony has been properly carried out, the victim becomes +blue, that is, he feels the effects in himself at once, and, unless +he employs the countercharms of some more powerful shaman, his soul +begins to shrivel up and dwindle, and within seven days he is dead. +When it is found that the spell has no effect upon the intended victim +it is believed that he has discovered the plot and has taken measures +for his own protection, or that, having suspected a design against +him--as, for instance, after having won a girl's affections from +a rival or overcoming him in the ball play--he has already secured +himself from all attempts by counterspells. It then becomes a serious +matter, as, should he succeed in turning the curse aside from himself, +it will return upon the heads of his enemies. + +The shaman and his employer then retire to a lonely spot in the +mountains, in the vicinity of a small stream, and begin a new series +of conjurations with the beads. After constructing a temporary shelter +of bark laid over poles, the two go down to the water, the shaman +taking with him two pieces of cloth, a yard or two yards in length, +one white, the other black, together with seven red and seven +black beads. The cloth is the shaman's pay for his services, and is +furnished by his employer, who sometimes also supplies the beads. +There are many formulas for conjuring with the beads, which are used +on almost all important occasions, and differences also in the details +of the ceremony, but the general practice is the same in all cases. +The shaman selects a bend in the river where his client can look +toward the east while facing up stream. The man then takes up his +position on the bank or wades into the stream a short distance, +where--in the ceremonial language--the water is a "hand length" +(_aw[']hil_) in depth and stands silently with his eyes fixed upon +the water and his back to the shaman on the bank. The shaman then lays +upon the ground the two pieces of cloth, folded into convenient size, +and places the red beads--typical of success and his client upon +the white cloth, while the black beads--emblematic of death and the +intended victim--are laid upon the black cloth. It is probable that +the first cloth should properly be red instead of white, but as it is +difficult to get red cloth, except in the shape of handkerchiefs, a +substitution has been made, the two colors having a close mythologic +relation. In former days a piece of buckskin and the small glossy, +seeds of the Viper's Bugloss (_Echium vulgare_) were used instead +of the cloth and beads. The formulistic name for the bead is +_s[']n[)i]kta_, which the priests are unable to analyze, the ordinary +word for beads or coin being _adl_. + +The shaman now takes a red bead, representing his client, between +the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and a black bead, +representing the victim, in like manner, in his left hand. Standing +a few feet behind his client he turns toward the east, fixes his eyes +upon the bead between the thumb and finger of his right hand, and +addresses it as the S[']n[)i]kta Gig[)a]ge['][)i], the Red Bead, +invoking blessings upon his client and clothing him with the red +garments of success. The formula is repeated in a low chant or +intonation, the voice rising at intervals, after the manner of a +revival speaker. Then turning to the black bead in his left hand he +addresses it in similar manner, calling down the most withering curses +upon the head of the victim. Finally looking up he addresses the +stream, under the name of Y['][n]w[)i] Gnahi[']ta, the "Long +Person," imploring it to protect his client and raise him to the +seventh heaven, where he will be secure from all his enemies. The +other, then stooping down, dips up water in his hand seven times and +pours it upon his head, rubbing it upon his shoulders and breast at +the same time. In some cases he dips completely under seven times, +being stripped, of course, even when the water is of almost icy +coldness. The shaman, then stooping down, makes a small hole in the +ground with his finger, drops into it the fatal black bead, and buries +it out of sight with a stamp of his foot. This ends the ceremony, +which is called "taking to water." + +While addressing the beads the shaman attentively observes them as +they are held between the thumb and finger of his outstretched hands. +In a short time they begin to move, slowly and but a short distance at +first, then faster and farther, often coming down as far as the first +joint of the finger or even below, with an irregular serpentine motion +from side to side, returning in the same manner. Should the red bead +be more lively in its movements and come down lower on the finger +than the black bead, he confidently predicts for the client the speedy +accomplishment of his desire. On the other hand, should the black bead +surpass the red in activity, the spells of the shaman employed by the +intended victim are too strong, and the whole ceremony must be gone +over again with an additional and larger quantity of cloth. This must +be kept up until the movements of the red beads give token of success +or until they show by their sluggish motions or their failure to move +down along the finger that the opposing shaman can not be overcome. In +the latter case the discouraged plotter gives up all hope, considering +himself as cursed by every imprecation which he has unsuccessfully +invoked upon his enemy, goes home and--theoretically--lies down and +dies. As a matter of fact, however, the shaman is always ready with +other formulas by means of which he can ward off such fatal results, +in consideration, of a sufficient quantity of cloth. + +Should the first trial, which takes place at daybreak, prove +unsuccessful, the shaman and his client fast until just before sunset. +They then eat and remain awake until midnight, when the ceremony is +repeated, and if still unsuccessful it may be repeated four times +before daybreak (or the following noon?), both men remaining awake and +fasting throughout the night. If still unsuccessful, they continue to +fast all day until just before sundown. Then they eat again and again +remain awake until midnight, when the previous night's programme +is repeated. It has now become a trial of endurance between the +revengeful client and his shaman on the one side and the intended +victim and his shaman on the other, the latter being supposed to be +industriously working countercharms all the while, as each party must +subsist upon one meal per day and abstain entirely from sleep until +the result has been decided one way or the other. Failure to endure +this severe strain, even so much as closing the eyes in sleep for +a few moments or partaking of the least nourishment excepting just +before sunset, neutralizes all the previous work and places the +unfortunate offender at the mercy of his more watchful enemy. If +the shaman be still unsuccessful on the fourth day, he acknowledges +himself defeated and gives up the contest. Should his spells prove the +stronger, his victim will die within seven days, or, as the Cherokees +say, seven nights. These "seven nights," however, are frequently +interpreted, figuratively, to mean _seven years_, a rendering which +often serves to relieve the shaman from a very embarrassing position. + +With regard to the oracle of the whole proceeding, the beads do move; +but the explanation is simple, although the Indians account for it +by saying that the beads become alive by the recitation of the sacred +formula. The shaman is laboring under strong, though suppressed, +emotion. He stands with his hands stretched out in a constrained +position, every muscle tense, his breast heaving and voice trembling +from the effort, and the natural result is that before he is done +praying his fingers begin to twitch involuntarily and thus cause the +beads to move. As before stated, their motion is irregular; but the +peculiar delicacy of touch acquired by long practice probably imparts +more directness to their movements than would at first seem possible. + + +HI[)A]['] A[']NE[']TS UG['][n]WA[']L[)I] AM[']Y[)I] +DITS['][n]STA[']T[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-ngwa [)a][']st[)i] une[']ga aks['][n]tan['][n] +us[)i]nu[']l[)i] a`ne[']ts unats[']n[n]tse[']lah[)i] akta[']`t[)i] +ad[n]ni[']ga. + +Iyu[']st[)i] utad[']ta, iyu[']st[)i] tsunad[']ita. N[n]n[']h[)i] +anite[']lah[)e]h['] ige[']sk[)i] nige[']s[n]na. D[']ksi-gwu['] +dedu[']natsg`la[']wate[']g. Da[']`s[n] uniltsi[']sat. Sa`ka[']ni +unati[']sat[']. + +N[n]n[']h[)i] d[']tadu[']nina[']wat[)i]['] a[']y-`n['] +digwatseli[']ga a`ne[']ts unats[']n[n]tse[']lah[)i]. Tla[']meh +Gigage['][)i] s[']gwa dantsg[']`lani[']ga. Ig['][n]y[)i] +gal['][n]l ge[']s[n] i[']y[n] kan['][n]lag[)i] +[u]wh[']h[)i]st[']g[)i]. Ta[']line gal['][n]l ge[']su[n] +i[']y[n] kan['][n]lag[)i] [u]wh[']h[)i]st[']g[)i]. He[']nil +dantsg[']`lani[']ga. Tla[']ma [n]ni[']ta a[']nigwalu[']g[)i] +g[n]tla[']`tisge[']st[)i], ase[']gw nige[']s[n]na. + +Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts unats[']n[n]tse[']lah[)i] saligu[']gi-gw +dedu[']natsg[']`law[)i]sti[']teg[']. Elawi[']n[)i] da[']`s[n] +uniltsi[']sat. + +Ts[']ine digal['][n]latiyu['][n] S[)a][']niw[)a] Gi[']gage[)i] +s[']gwa dantsg[']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[']g[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Kan['][n]lag[)i] [u]*wh[']h[)i]st[']g[)i] n[']`gine +digal['][n]latiy['][n]. Gul[)i][']sgul[)i]['] Sa`ka[']ni +s[']gwa dantsg[']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[']g[)i] nige[']s[n]na. +Kan['][n]lag[)i] [u]wh[']h[)i]stg[)i] h[)i][']skine +digal['][n]latiy['][n]. Ts[)u]ts[)u]['] Sa`ka[']ni s[']gwa +dantsg[']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[']g[)i] nige[']s[n]na. + +Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts uts[']n[n]tse[']lah[)i] T[)i]ne[']gwa +Sa`ka[']ni s[']gwa dantsg[']`lani[']ga, ige[']sk[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. Da[']`s[n] uniltsi[']sat. Kan['][n]lag[)i] +[u]wh[']h[)i]st[']g[)i] sutali[']ne digal['][n]latiy['][n]. +A[']nigsta[']ya s[']gwa dantsgu[']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[']g[)i] +nige[']su[n]na. Kan['][n]lag[)i] [u]wh[']h[)i]st[']g[)i] +kl`kwgine digal['][n]latiy['][n]. Wtat[']ga Sa`ka[']ni s[']gwa +dantsg[']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[']g[)i] nige[']s[n]na. + +Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts unats[']n[n]tse[']lah[)i], Y[']na +dedu[']natsg[']`law[)i]stani[']ga, ige[']sk[)i] +nige[']s[n]na. Da`s[n] du[']niltsi[']sat. Kan['][n]lag[)i] +de[']tagaskal['][n]tan['][n], ig[n][']wlstanhi-gwdi[']na +tsuye[']listi ges['][n][)i]. Akta[']`t[)i] ad[n]ni[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! N[']gwa t'sk[)i][']nne[']l[)i] ta[']l[)a]d[)u]['] +iy['][n]ta a[']gwatseli[']ga, W[)a]tatu[']ga Tsne[']ga. +Tsuye[']list[)i] ges['][n][)i] sk[)i][']nh[n]s[)i]['] +a[']gwatseli[']ga--kan['][n]lag[)i] a[']gwatseli[']ga. N[)a][']`n +utad[']ta kan['][n]lag[)i] dedu[']skal[']asi[']ga. + +Ded[']ndag['][n]yastani[']ga, g[n]w[']his[']nh[)i]. Y! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS CONCERNS THE BALL PLAY--TO TAKE THEM TO WATER WITH IT. + +Listen! Ha! Now where the white thread has been let down, quickly we +are about to examine into (the fate of) the admirers of the ball play. + +They are of--such a (iyu[']st[)i]) descent. They are called--so and so +(iyu[']st[)i]). They are shaking the road which shall never be joyful. +The miserable Terrapin has come and fastened himself upon them as they +go about. They have lost all strength. They have become entirely blue. + +But now my admirers of the ball play have their roads lying along in +this direction. The Red Bat has come and made himself one of them. +There in the first heaven are the pleasing stakes. There in the second +heaven are the pleasing stakes. The Pewee has come and joined them. +The immortal ball stick shall place itself upon the whoop, never to be +defeated. + +As for the lovers of the ball play on the other side, the common +Turtle has come and fastened himself upon them as they go about. Under +the earth they have lost all strength. + +The pleasing stakes are in the third heaven. The Red Tl[)a]niw[)a] has +come and made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. +The pleasing stakes are in the fourth heaven. The Blue Fly-catcher +has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The +pleasing stakes are in the fifth heaven. The Blue Martin has made +himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. + +The other lovers of the ball play, the Blue Mole has come and fastened +upon them, that they may never be joyous. They have lost all strength. + +The pleasing stakes are there in the sixth heaven. The Chimney Swift +has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The +pleasing stakes are in the seventh heaven. The Blue Dragon-fly has +made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. + +As for the other admirers of the ball play, the Bear has just come and +fastened him upon them, that they may never be happy. They have lost +all strength. He has let the stakes slip from his grasp and there +shall be nothing left for their share. + +The examination is ended. + +Listen! Now let me know that the twelve are mine, O White Dragon-fly. +Tell me that the share is to be mine--that the stakes are mine. As for +the player there on the other side, he has been forced to let go his +hold upon the stakes. + +Now they are become exultant and happy. Y! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from the A`y[n]in[)i] manuscript is one of those used +by the shaman in taking the ball players to water before the game. +The ceremony is performed in connection with red and black beads, +as described in the formula just given for destroying life. The +formulistic name given to the ball players signifies literally, +"admirers of the ball play." The Tl[)a][']niw[)a] (s[)a][']niw[)a] in +the Middle dialect) is the mythic great hawk, as large and powerful +as the roc of Arabian tales. The shaman begins by declaring that it is +his purpose to examine or inquire into the fate of the ball players, +and then gives his attention by turns to his friends and their +opponents, fixing his eyes upon the red bead while praying for +his clients, and upon the black bead while speaking of their +rivals. His friends he raises gradually to the seventh or highest +_gal['][n]lat[)i]_. This word literally signifies height, and is the +name given to the abode of the gods dwelling above the earth, and +is also used to mean heaven in the Cherokee bible translation. The +opposing players, on the other hand, are put down under the earth, +and are made to resemble animals slow and clumsy of movement, while +on behalf of his friends the shaman invokes the aid of swift-flying +birds, which, according to the Indian belief, never by any chance +fail to secure their prey. The birds invoked are the He[']nil or +wood pewee (_Contopus virens_), the Tl[)a]niw[)a] or mythic hawk, +the Gul[)i][']sgul[)i]['] or great crested flycatcher (_Myiarchus +crinitus_), the Tsts or martin (_Progne subis_), and the +A[']nigsta[']ya or chimney swift (_Chtura pelasgia_). In the idiom +of the formulas it is said that these "have just come and are sticking +to them" (the players), the same word (_dantsg[']lani'ga_) being +used to express the devoted attention of a lover to his mistress. The +Watatuga, a small species of dragon-fly, is also invoked, together +with the bat, which, according to a Cherokee myth, once took sides +with the birds in a great ball contest with the four-footed animals, +and won the victory for the birds by reason of his superior skill in +dodging. This myth explains also why birds, and no quadrupeds, are +invoked by the shaman to the aid of his friends. In accordance with +the regular color symbolism the flycatcher, martin, and dragon-fly, +like the bat and the tl[)a][']niw[)a], should be red, the color of +success, instead of blue, evidently so written by mistake. The white +thread is frequently mentioned in the formulas, but in this instance +the reference is not clear. The twelve refers to the number of runs +made in the game. + + +Index. + + A`wanita, or Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Ayasta, Cherokee manuscript obtained from 313 + A`y[n][']in[)i], or Swimmer, Cherokee manuscripts obtained from + 310-312 + Bathing in medical practice of Cherokees 333-334, 335-336 + Bleeding, practice of among the Cherokees 334-335 + Brinton, D.G., cited on linguistic value of Indian records 318 + Catawba Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Cherokees, paper on Sacred Formulas of, by James Mooney 301-397 + bathing, rubbing, and bleeding in medical practice of 333-336 + manuscripts of, containing sacred, medical, and other formulas, + character and age of 307-318 + medical practice of, list of plants used in 324-327 + medicine dance of 337 + color symbolism of 342-343 + gods of, and their abiding places 340-342 + religion of 319 + Cherokee Sacred Formulas, language of 343-344 + specimens of 344-397 + for rheumatism 345-351 + for snake bite 351-353 + for worms 353-356 + for neuralgia 356-359 + for fever and ague 359-363 + for child birth 363-364 + for biliousness 365-366 + for ordeal diseases 367-369 + for hunting and fishing 369-375 + for love 375-384 + to kill a witch 384-386 + to find something 386-387 + to prevent a storm 387-388 + for going to war 388-391 + for destroying an enemy 391-395 + for ball play 395-397 + Color symbolism of the Cherokees 342, 343 + Disease, Cherokee theory of 322-324 + Disease and medicine, Cherokee tradition of origin of 319-322 + Gahuni manuscript of Cherokee formulas 313, 314 + Gatigwanasti manuscript of Cherokee formulas 312, 313 + Gods of the Cherokees and their abiding places 340-342 + Haywood, John, cited on witchcraft beliefs among the Cherokees 322 + Inali manuscript of Cherokee formulas 314-316 + Long, W.W., collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by + 317 + Medical practice of Cherokees, plants used 322-331 + Medicine dance of Cherokees 337 + Mooney, James, paper on sacred formulas of the Cherokees, by + 301-397 + Names, importance attached to, in Cherokee sacred formulas 343 + Plants used by Cherokees for medical purposes 322-331 + ceremonies for gathering 339 + Religion of the Cherokees, character of 319 + Religion of the Cherokees, gods of 340-342 + Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, paper by James Mooney on 301-397 + Sanitary regulations among the Cherokee Indians, neglect of 332, + 333 + Shamans, decline of power of among Cherokees 336 + mode of payment of among Cherokees 337-339 + Sweat bath, use of, among Cherokees 333-334 + Swimmer manuscript of Cherokee formulas 310, 312 + Tabu among Cherokees, illustrations of 331-332 + Takwatihi, or Catawba-Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Will West, collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by + 317 + Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + + + + + Errors: + + Missing or superfluous quotation marks have been silently corrected. + + ... while closely watching the motions ... + [original has "the / the" at line break] + formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, Awanita, and / Takwtihi + [error for Takwatih[)i] ?] + Sg[)e]! Ha-n[']gwa h[n]hat['][n]gani[']ga + [all parentheses in this paragraph shown as printed] + (hetsatsa['][n]tani[']ga + [mismatched parenthesis in original] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, by +James Mooney + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24788-8.txt or 24788-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/8/24788/ + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees + Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the + Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, + Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398 + +Author: James Mooney + +Release Date: March 9, 2008 [EBook #24788] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + + + + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page301" id="page301"></a>[pg 301]</span> +<h3>THE</h3> + +<h1>SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES.</h1> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>JAMES MOONEY.</h2> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page303" id="page303"></a>[pg 303]</span> + +<!-- spacing added by ppv --> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Introduction <a href="#page307">307</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>How the formulas were obtained. <a href="#page310">310</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">The A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ (Swimmer) manuscript <a href="#page310">310</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">The Gatigwanastĭ (Belt) manuscript <a href="#page312">312</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">The Gahunĭ manuscript <a href="#page313">313</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">The Inâlĭ (Black Fox) manuscript <a href="#page314">314</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Other manuscripts <a href="#page316">316</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">The Kanâhe´ta Ani-Tsa´lagĭ Etĭ or Ancient Cherokee Formulas <a href="#page317">317</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Character of the formulas—the Cherokee religion <a href="#page318">318</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Myth of the origin of disease and medicine <a href="#page319">319</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Theory of disease—animals, ghosts, witches <a href="#page322">322</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Selected list of plants used <a href="#page324">324</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Medical practice—theory of resemblances—fasting—tabu—seclusion—women <a href="#page328">328</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Illustration of the gaktû<sup>n</sup>ta or tabu <a href="#page331">331</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Neglect of sanitary regulations <a href="#page332">332</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">The sweat bath—bleeding—rubbing—bathing <a href="#page338">338</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Opposition of shamans to white physicians <a href="#page336">336</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Medicine dances <a href="#page337">337</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Description of symptoms <a href="#page337">337</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>The ugista´‘tĭ or pay of the shaman <a href="#page337">337</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Ceremonies for gathering plants and preparing medicine <a href="#page339">339</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>The Cherokee gods and their abiding places <a href="#page340">340</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Color symbolism <a href="#page342">342</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Importance attached to names <a href="#page343">343</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Language of the formulas <a href="#page343">343</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Specimen formulas <a href="#page344">344</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Medicine <a href="#page345">345</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To treat the crippler (rheumatism)—from Gahuni <a href="#page345">345</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Second formula for the crippler—from Gahuni <a href="#page349">349</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Song and prescription for snake bites—from Gahuni <a href="#page351">351</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">When something is causing something to eat them—Gahuni <a href="#page353">353</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Second formula for the same disease—A‘wanita <a href="#page355">355</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">For moving pains in the teeth (neuralgia?)—Gatigwanasti <a href="#page356">356</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Song and prayer for the great chill—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page359">359</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To make children jump down (child birth)—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page363">363</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Second formula for child birth—Takwatihi <a href="#page364">364</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Song and prayer for the black yellowness (biliousness)—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page365">365</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To treat for ordeal diseases (witchcraft)—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page366">366</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Hunting <a href="#page369">369</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Concerning hunting—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page369">369</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">For hunting birds—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page371">371</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To shoot dwellers in the wilderness—A‘wanita <a href="#page372">372</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Bear song—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page373">373</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">For catching large fish—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page374">374</a></p> +</div> +</div> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page304" id="page304"></a>[pg 304]</span> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Love <a href="#page375">375</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Concerning living humanity—Gatigwanasti <a href="#page376">376</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">For going to water—Gatigwanasti <a href="#page378">378</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Yû<sup>n</sup>wehi song for painting—Gatigwanasti <a href="#page379">379</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Song and prayer to fix the affections—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page380">380</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To separate lovers—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page381">381</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">Song and prayer to fix the affections—Gatigwanasti <a href="#page382">382</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Miscellaneous <a href="#page384">384</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To shorten a night goer on this side—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page384">384</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To find lost articles—Gatigwanasti <a href="#page386">386</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To frighten away a storm—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page387">387</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To help warriors—A´wanita <a href="#page388">388</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To destroy life (ceremony with beads)—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page391">391</a></p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i4">To take to water for the ball play—A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini <a href="#page395">395</a></p> +</div> +</div> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page305" id="page305"></a>[pg 305]</span> + +<!-- added by ppv --> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> + +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<table summary="illustrations" align="center"> +<tr><td>Pl.</td><td align="right">XXIV.</td><td align="left"> Portrait of A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini (Swimmer)</td><td align="right"> <a href="#page306">306</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right">XXV.</td><td align="left"> Facsimile of A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini manuscript—Formula for Dalâni Û<sup>n</sup>nagei </td><td align="right"> <a href="#page310">310</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right">XXVI.</td><td align="left"> Facsimile of Gatigwanasti manuscript—Yû<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ formula </td><td align="right"> <a href="#page312">312</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right">XXVII.</td><td align="left"> Facsimile of Gahuni manuscript—Formula for Didû<sup>n</sup>lĕskĭ </td><td align="right"> <a href="#page314">314</a></td></tr> +</table> + +<!-- added by ppv --> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page306" id="page306"></a>[pg 306]</span> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width:365px;"> +<table summary="caption" align="center" width="100%"> +<tr> +<td align="left">BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY</td> +<td align="right">SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXIV</td> +</tr> +</table> +<a href="images/platexxiv.jpg"><img src="images/platexxiv_thumb.jpg" width="365" height = "568" alt="see caption" /></a><br /> +A‘YU<sup>N</sup>INI (SWIMMER). +</div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page307" id="page307"></a>[pg 307]</span> + +<h1>SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES.</h1> + +<hr class="short" /> +<h3 class="sc">By James Mooney.</h3> +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3> + +<p>The sacred formulas here given are selected from a collection of +about six hundred, obtained on the Cherokee reservation in North +Carolina in 1887 and 1888, and covering every subject pertaining to +the daily life and thought of the Indian, including medicine, love, +hunting, fishing, war, self-protection, destruction of enemies, witchcraft, +the crops, the council, the ball play, etc., and, in fact, embodying +almost the whole of the ancient religion of the Cherokees. The +original manuscripts, now in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, +were written by the shamans of the tribe, for their own use, +in the Cherokee characters invented by Sikwâ´ya (Sequoyah) in 1821, +and were obtained, with the explanations, either from the writers +themselves or from their surviving relatives.</p> + +<p>Some of these manuscripts are known to be at least thirty years +old, and many are probably older. The medical formulas of all +kinds constitute perhaps one-half of the whole number, while the +love charms come next in number, closely followed by the songs and +prayers used in hunting and fishing. The great number of love +charms will doubtless be a surprise to those who have been educated +in the old theory that the Indian is insensible to the attractions of +woman. The comparatively small number of war formulas is explained +by the fact that the last war in which the Cherokees, as a +tribe, were engaged on their own account, closed with the Revolutionary +period, so that these things were well nigh forgotten before +the invention of the alphabet, a generation later. The Cherokees +who engaged in the Creek war and the late American civil war +fought in the interests of the whites, and their leaders were subordinated +to white officers, hence there was not the same opportunity for +the exercise of shamanistic rites that there would have been had +Indians alone been concerned. The prayers for hunting, fishing, and +the ball play being in more constant demand, have been better preserved.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page308" id="page308"></a>[pg 308]</span> + +<p>These formulas had been handed down orally from a remote antiquity +until the early part of the present century, when the invention +of the Cherokee syllabary enabled the priests of the tribe to put +them into writing. The same invention made it possible for their +rivals, the missionaries, to give to the Indians the Bible in their own +language, so that the opposing forces of Christianity and shamanism +alike profited by the genius of Sikwâya. The pressure of the +new civilization was too strong to be withstood, however, and +though the prophets of the old religion still have much influence +with the people, they are daily losing ground and will soon be without +honor in their own country.</p> + +<p>Such an exposition of the aboriginal religion could be obtained +from no other tribe in North America, for the simple reason that no +other tribe has an alphabet of its own in which to record its sacred +lore. It is true that the Crees and Micmacs of Canada and the Tukuth +of Alaska have so-called alphabets or ideographic systems invented +for their use by the missionaries, while, before the Spanish conquest, +the Mayas of Central America were accustomed to note down their +hero legends and priestly ceremonials in hieroglyphs graven upon +the walls of their temples or painted upon tablets made of the leaves +of the maguey. But it seems never to have occurred to the northern +tribes that an alphabet coming from a missionary source could be +used for any other purpose than the transcription of bibles and catechisms, +while the sacred books of the Mayas, with a few exceptions, +have long since met destruction at the hands of fanaticism, and the +modern copies which have come down to the present day are written +out from imperfect memory by Indians who had been educated under +Spanish influences in the language, alphabet and ideas of the conquerors, +and who, as is proved by an examination of the contents of the +books themselves, drew from European sources a great part of their +material. Moreover, the Maya tablets were so far hieratic as to be +understood only by the priests and those who had received a special +training in this direction, and they seem therefore to have been +entirely unintelligible to the common people.</p> + +<p>The Cherokee alphabet, on the contrary, is the invention or adaptation +of one of the tribe, who, although he borrowed most of the +Roman letters, in addition to the forty or more characters of his own +devising, knew nothing of their proper use or value, but reversed +them or altered their forms to suit his purpose, and gave them a +name and value determined by himself. This alphabet was at once +adopted by the tribe for all purposes for which writing can be used, +including the recording of their shamanistic prayers and ritualistic +ceremonies. The formulas here given, as well as those of the entire +collection, were written out by the shamans themselves—men who +adhere to the ancient religion and speak only their native language—in +order that their sacred knowledge might be preserved in a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page309" id="page309"></a>[pg 309]</span> +systematic manner for their mutual benefit. The language, the conception, +and the execution are all genuinely Indian, and hardly a dozen +lines of the hundreds of formulas show a trace of the influence of the +white man or his religion. The formulas contained in these manuscripts +are not disjointed fragments of a system long since extinct, +but are the revelation of a living faith which still has its priests and +devoted adherents, and it is only necessary to witness a ceremonial +ball play, with its fasting, its going to water, and its mystic bead +manipulation, to understand how strong is the hold which the old +faith yet has upon the minds even of the younger generation. The +numerous archaic and figurative expressions used require the interpretation +of the priests, but, as before stated, the alphabet in which +they are written is that in daily use among the common people.</p> + +<p>In all tribes that still retain something of their ancient organization +we find this sacred knowledge committed to the keeping of various +secret societies, each of which has its peculiar ritual with regular +initiation and degrees of advancement. From this analogy we may +reasonably conclude that such was formerly the case with the Cherokees +also, but by the breaking down of old customs consequent +upon their long contact with the whites and the voluntary adoption +of a civilized form of government in 1827, all traces of such society +organization have long since disappeared, and at present each +priest or shaman is isolated and independent, sometimes confining +himself to a particular specialty, such as love or medicine, or even +the treatment of two or three diseases, in other cases broadening his +field of operations to include the whole range of mystic knowledge.</p> + +<p>It frequently happens, however, that priests form personal friendships +and thus are led to divulge their secrets to each other for their +mutual advantage. Thus when one shaman meets another who he +thinks can probably give him some valuable information, he says +to him, “Let us sit down together.” This is understood by the other +to mean, “Let us tell each other our secrets.” Should it seem probable +that the seeker after knowledge can give as much as he receives, +an agreement is generally arrived at, the two retire to some convenient +spot secure from observation, and the first party begins by +reciting one of his formulas with the explanations. The other then +reciprocates with one of his own, unless it appears that the bargain +is apt to prove a losing one, in which case the conference comes to +an abrupt ending.</p> + +<p>It is sometimes possible to obtain a formula by the payment of a +coat, a quantity of cloth, or a sum of money. Like the Celtic Druids +of old, the candidate for the priesthood in former times found it necessary +to cultivate a long memory, as no formula was repeated more +than once for his benefit. It was considered that one who failed to +remember after the first hearing was not worthy to be accounted a +shaman. This task, however, was not so difficult as might appear on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page310" id="page310"></a>[pg 310]</span> +first thought, when once the learner understood the theory involved, +as the formulas are all constructed on regular principles, with constant +repetition of the same set of words. The obvious effect of +such a regulation was to increase the respect in which this sacred +knowledge was held by restricting it to the possession of a chosen few.</p> + +<p>Although the written formulas can be read without difficulty by +any Cherokee educated in his own language, the shamans take good +care that their sacred writings shall not fall into the hands of the +laity or of their rivals in occult practices, and in performing the ceremonies +the words used are uttered in such a low tone of voice as to +be unintelligible even to the one for whose benefit the formula is +repeated. Such being the case, it is in order to explain how the +formulas collected were obtained.</p> + +<h3>HOW THE FORMULAS WERE OBTAINED.</h3> + +<p>On first visiting the reservation in the summer of 1887, I devoted +considerable time to collecting plants used by the Cherokees for +food or medicinal purposes, learning at the same time their Indian +names and the particular uses to which each was applied and the +mode of preparation. It soon became evident that the application +of the medicine was not the whole, and in fact was rather the subordinate, +part of the treatment, which was always accompanied by +certain ceremonies and “words.” From the workers employed at +the time no definite idea could be obtained as to the character of these +words. One young woman, indeed, who had some knowledge of the +subject, volunteered to write the words which she used in her prescriptions, +but failed to do so, owing chiefly to the opposition of the +half-breed shamans, from whom she had obtained her information.</p> + +<h3>THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT.</h3> + +<p>Some time afterward an acquaintance was formed with a man +named A‘yû<sup>n</sup>´inĭ or “Swimmer,” who proved to be so intelligent that +I spent several days with him, procuring information in regard to +myths and old customs. He told a number of stories in very good +style, and finally related the Origin of the Bear<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a>. The bears were +formerly a part of the Cherokee tribe who decided to leave their +kindred and go into the forest. Their friends followed them and +endeavored to induce them to return, but the Ani-Tsâ´kahĭ, as they +were called, were determined to go. Just before parting from their +relatives at the edge of the forest, they turned to them and said, “It +is better for you that we should go; but we will teach you songs, +and some day when you are in want of food come out to the woods +and sing these songs and we shall appear and give you meat.” Their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page311" id="page311"></a>[pg 311]</span> +friends, after learning several songs from them, started back to their +homes, and after proceeding a short distance, turned around to take +one last look, but saw only a number of bears disappearing in the +depths of the forest. The songs which they learned are still sung +by the hunter to attract the bears.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width:354px;"> +<table summary="caption" align="center" width="100%"> +<tr> +<td align="left">BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY</td> +<td align="right">SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXV</td> +</tr> +</table> +<a href="images/platexxv.jpg"><img src="images/platexxv_thumb.jpg" width="354" height = "534" alt="see caption" /></a><br /> +FACSIMILE OF GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT.<br /> +Formula for Didù<sup>n</sup>lĕckĭ. (Page <a href="#page349">349</a>.) +</div> + +<p>When Swimmer had finished the story he was asked if he knew +these songs. He replied that he did, but on being requested to sing +one he made some excuse and was silent. After some further efforts +the interpreter said it would be useless to press the matter then as +there were several other Indians present, but that to-morrow we +should have him alone with us and could then make another attempt.</p> + +<p>The next day Swimmer was told that if he persisted in his refusal +it would be necessary to employ some one else, as it was unfair in +him to furnish incomplete information when he was paid to tell all +he knew. He replied that he was willing to tell anything in regard +to stories and customs, but that these songs were a part of his secret +knowledge and commanded a high price from the hunters, who +sometimes paid as much as $5 for a single song, “because you can’t +kill any bears or deer unless you sing them.”</p> + +<p>He was told that the only object in asking about the songs was to +put them on record and preserve them, so that when he and the half +dozen old men of the tribe were dead the world might be aware how +much the Cherokees had known. This appeal to his professional +pride proved effectual, and when he was told that a great many similar +songs had been sent to Washington by medicine men of other +tribes, he promptly declared that he knew as much as any of them, +and that he would give all the information in his possession, so that +others might be able to judge for themselves who knew most. +The only conditions he made were that these secret matters should +be heard by no one else but the interpreter, and should not be discussed +when other Indians were present.</p> + +<p>As soon as the other shamans learned what was going on they endeavored +by various means to persuade him to stop talking, or failing +in this, to damage his reputation by throwing out hints as to his +honesty or accuracy of statement. Among other objections which +they advanced was one which, however incomprehensible to a white +man, was perfectly intelligible to an Indian, viz: That when he had +told everything this information would be taken to Washington and +locked up there, and thus they would be deprived of the knowledge. +This objection was one of the most difficult to overcome, as there +was no line of argument with which to oppose it.</p> + +<p>These reports worried Swimmer, who was extremely sensitive in +regard to his reputation, and he became restive under the insinuations +of his rivals. Finally on coming to work one day he produced +a book from under his ragged coat as he entered the house, and said +proudly: “Look at that and now see if I don’t know something.” It +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page312" id="page312"></a>[pg 312]</span> +was a small day-book of about 240 pages, procured originally from +a white man, and was about half filled with writing in the Cherokee +characters. A brief examination disclosed the fact that it contained +just those matters that had proved so difficult to procure. Here +were prayers, songs, and prescriptions for the cure of all kinds of +diseases—for chills, rheumatism, frostbites, wounds, bad dreams, +and witchery; love charms, to gain the affections of a woman or +to cause her to hate a detested rival; fishing charms, hunting +charms—including the songs without which none could ever hope to +kill any game; prayers to make the corn grow, to frighten away +storms, and to drive off witches; prayers for long life, for safety +among strangers, for acquiring influence in council and success in +the ball play. There were prayers to the Long Man, the Ancient +White, the Great Whirlwind, the Yellow Rattlesnake, and to a hundred +other gods of the Cherokee pantheon. It was in fact an Indian +ritual and pharmacopœia.</p> + +<p>After recovering in a measure from the astonishment produced +by this discovery I inquired whether other shamans had such books. +“Yes,” said Swimmer, “we all have them.” Here then was a clew +to follow up. A bargain was made by which he was to have another +blank book into which to copy the formulas, after which the original +was bought. It is now deposited in the library of the Bureau +of Ethnology. The remainder of the time until the return was occupied +in getting an understanding of the contents of the book.</p> + +<h3>THE GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT.</h3> + +<p>Further inquiry elicited the names of several others who might +be supposed to have such papers. Before leaving a visit was paid to +one of these, a young man named Wilnoti, whose father, Gatigwanasti, +had been during his lifetime a prominent shaman, regarded as +a man of superior intelligence. Wilnoti, who is a professing Christian, +said that his father had had such papers, and after some explanation +from the chief he consented to show them. He produced +a box containing a lot of miscellaneous papers, testaments, and hymnbooks, +all in the Cherokee alphabet. Among them was his father’s +chief treasure, a manuscript book containing 122 pages of foolscap +size, completely filled with formulas of the same kind as those contained +in Swimmer’s book. There were also a large number of loose +sheets, making in all nearly 200 foolscap pages of sacred formulas.</p> + +<p>On offering to buy the papers, he replied that he wanted to keep +them in order to learn and practice these things himself—thus showing +how thin was the veneer of Christianity, in his case at least. On +representing to him that in a few years the new conditions would +render such knowledge valueless with the younger generation, and +that even if he retained the papers he would need some one else +to explain them to him, he again refused, saying that they might +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page313" id="page313"></a>[pg 313]</span> +fall into the hands of Swimmer, who, he was determined, should +never see his father’s papers. Thus the negotiations came to an end +for the time.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width:356px;"> +<table summary="caption" align="center" width="100%"> +<tr> +<td align="left">BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY</td> +<td align="right">SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVI</td> +</tr> +</table> +<a href="images/platexxvi.jpg"><img src="images/platexxvi_thumb.jpg" width="356" height = "590" alt="see caption" /></a><br /> +FACSIMILE OF SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT.<br /> +Formula for Dalàni Ù<sup>n</sup>nagei (Page <a href="#page364">364</a>.)</div> + +<p>On returning to the reservation in July, 1888, another effort was +made to get possession of the Gatigwanasti manuscripts and any +others of the same kind which could be procured. By this time the +Indians had had several months to talk over the matter, and the +idea had gradually dawned upon them that instead of taking their +knowledge away from them and locking it up in a box, the intention +was to preserve it to the world and pay them for it at the same +time. In addition the writer took every opportunity to impress +upon them the fact that he was acquainted with the secret knowledge +of other tribes and perhaps could give them as much as they +gave. It was now much easier to approach them, and on again visiting +Wilnoti, in company with the interpreter, who explained the +matter fully to him, he finally consented to lend the papers for a +time, with the same condition that neither Swimmer nor anyone +else but the chief and interpreter should see them, but he still refused +to sell them. However, this allowed the use of the papers, and +after repeated efforts during a period of several weeks, the matter +ended in the purchase of the papers outright, with unreserved permission +to show them for copying or explanation to anybody who +might be selected. Wilnoti was not of a mercenary disposition, and +after the first negotiations the chief difficulty was to overcome his +objection to parting with his father’s handwriting, but it was an +essential point to get the originals, and he was allowed to copy +some of the more important formulas, as he found it utterly out of +the question to copy the whole.</p> + +<p>These papers of Gatigwanasti are the most valuable of the whole, +and amount to fully one-half the entire collection, about fifty pages +consisting of love charms. The formulas are beautifully written in +bold Cherokee characters, and the directions and headings are generally +explicit, bearing out the universal testimony that he was a +man of unusual intelligence and ability, characteristics inherited by +his son, who, although a young man and speaking no English, is +one of the most progressive and thoroughly reliable men of the band.</p> + +<h3>THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT.</h3> + +<p>The next book procured was obtained from a woman named +Ayâsta, “The Spoiler,” and had been written by her husband, Gahuni, +who died about 30 years ago. The matter was not difficult to +arrange, as she had already been employed on several occasions, so +that she understood the purpose of the work, besides which her son +had been regularly engaged to copy and classify the manuscripts +already procured. The book was claimed as common property by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page314" id="page314"></a>[pg 314]</span> +Ayâsta and her three sons, and negotiations had to be carried on +with each one, although in this instance the cash amount involved +was only half a dollar, in addition to another book into which to +copy some family records and personal memoranda. The book contains +only eight formulas, but these are of a character altogether +unique, the directions especially throwing a curious light on Indian +beliefs. There had been several other formulas of the class called +Y´û´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, to cause hatred between man and wife, but these had been +torn out and destroyed by Ayâsta on the advice of an old shaman, in +order that her sons might never learn them. In referring to the +matter she spoke in a whisper, and it was evident enough that she +had full faith in the deadly power of these spells.</p> + +<p>In addition to the formulas the book contains about twenty pages +of Scripture extracts in the same handwriting, for Gahuni, like several +others of their shamans, combined the professions of Indian conjurer +and Methodist preacher. After his death the book fell into +the hands of the younger members of the family, who filled it with +miscellaneous writings and scribblings. Among other things there +are about seventy pages of what was intended to be a Cherokee-English +pronouncing dictionary, probably written by the youngest +son, already mentioned, who has attended school, and who served +for some time as copyist on the formulas. This curious Indian production, +of which only a few columns are filled out, consists of a list +of simple English words and phrases, written in ordinary English +script, followed by Cherokee characters intended to give the approximate +pronunciation, together with the corresponding word in the +Cherokee language and characters. As the language lacks a number +of sounds which are of frequent occurrence in English, the attempts +to indicate the pronunciation sometimes give amusing results. Thus +we find: <i>Fox</i> (English script); <i>kwâgisĭ´</i> (Cherokee characters); +<i>tsú‘lû´</i> +(Cherokee characters). As the Cherokee language lacks the labial +<i>f</i> and has no compound sound equivalent to our <i>x</i>, <i>kwâgisĭ´</i> is as +near as the Cherokee speaker can come to pronouncing our word <i>fox</i>. In +the same way “bet” becomes <i>wĕtĭ</i>, and “sheep” is <i>síkwĭ</i>, while “if +he has no dog” appears in the disguise of <i>ikwĭ hâsĭ nâ dâ´ga</i>.</p> + + +<h3>THE INÂLI MANUSCRIPT.</h3> + +<p>In the course of further inquiries in regard to the whereabouts of +other manuscripts of this kind we heard a great deal about Inâ´lĭ, or +“Black Fox,” who had died a few years before at an advanced age, +and who was universally admitted to have been one of their most +able men and the most prominent literary character among them, +for from what has been said it must be sufficiently evident that the +Cherokees have their native literature and literary men. Like those +already mentioned, he was a full-blood Cherokee, speaking no English, +and in the course of a long lifetime he had filled almost every +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page315" id="page315"></a>[pg 315]</span> +position of honor among his people, including those of councilor, +keeper of the townhouse records, Sunday-school leader, conjurer, +officer in the Confederate service, and Methodist preacher, at last +dying, as he was born, in the ancient faith of his forefathers.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width:364px;"> +<table summary="caption" align="center" width="100%"> +<tr> +<td align="left">BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY</td> +<td align="right">SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVII</td> +</tr> +</table> +<a href="images/platexxvii.jpg"><img src="images/platexxvii_thumb.jpg" width="364" height = "492" alt="see caption" /></a><br /> +FACSIMILE OF GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT.<br /> +Yugwilû´ formula. (Page <a href="#page375">375</a>.) +</div> + +<p>On inquiring of his daughter she stated that her father had left a +great many papers, most of which were still in her possession, and +on receiving from the interpreter an explanation of our purpose she +readily gave permission to examine and make selections from them +on condition that the matter should be kept secret from outsiders. +A day was appointed for visiting her, and on arriving we found her +living in a comfortable log house, built by Inâlĭ himself, with her +children and an ancient female relative, a decrepit old woman with +snow-white hair and vacant countenance. This was the oldest woman +of the tribe, and though now so feeble and childish, she had been a +veritable savage in her young days, having carried a scalp in the +scalp dance in the Creek war 75 years before.</p> + +<p>Having placed chairs for us in the shade Inâlĭ’s daughter brought +out a small box filled with papers of various kinds, both Cherokee +and English. The work of examining these was a tedious business, +as each paper had to be opened out and enough of it read to get the +general drift of the contents, after which the several classes were +arranged in separate piles. While in the midst of this work she +brought out another box nearly as large as a small trunk, and on +setting it down there was revealed to the astonished gaze such a +mass of material as it had not seemed possible could exist in the +entire tribe.</p> + +<p>In addition to papers of the sort already mentioned there were a +number of letters in English from various officials and religious +organizations, and addressed to “Enola,” to “Rev. Black Fox,” and +to “Black Fox, Esq,” with a large number of war letters written to +him by Cherokees who had enlisted in the Confederate service. +These latter are all written in the Cherokee characters, in the usual +gossipy style common among friends, and several of them contain +important historic material in regard to the movements of the two +armies in East Tennessee. Among other things was found his certificate +as a Methodist preacher, dated in 1848. “Know all men by +these presents that Black Fox (Cherokee) is hereby authorized to +exercise his Gifts and Graces as a local preacher in M.E. Church South.”.</p> + +<p>There was found a manuscript book in Inâlĭ’s handwriting containing +the records of the old council of Wolftown, of which he had +been secretary for several years down to the beginning of the war. +This also contains some valuable materials.</p> + +<p>There were also a number of miscellaneous books, papers, and pictures, +together with various trinkets and a number of conjuring stones.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page316" id="page316"></a>[pg 316]</span> + +<p>In fact the box was a regular curiosity shop, and it was with a +feeling akin, to despair that we viewed the piles of manuscript which +had to be waded through and classified. There was a day’s hard +work ahead, and it was already past noon; but the woman was not +done yet, and after rummaging about inside the house for a while +longer she appeared with another armful of papers, which she emptied +on top of the others. This was the last straw; and finding it +impossible to examine in detail such a mass of material we contented +ourselves with picking out the sacred formulas and the two manuscript +books containing the town-house records and scriptural quotations +and departed.</p> + +<p>The daughter of Black Fox agreed to fetch down the other papers +in a few days for further examination at our leisure; and she kept her +promise, bringing with her at the same time a number of additional +formulas which she had not been able to obtain before. A large +number of letters and other papers were selected from the miscellaneous +lot, and these, with the others obtained from her, are now +deposited also with the Bureau of Ethnology. Among other things +found at this house were several beads of the old shell wampum, of +whose use the Cherokees have now lost even the recollection. She +knew only that they were very old and different from the common +beads, but she prized them as talismans, and firmly refused to part with them.</p> + +<h3>OTHER MANUSCRIPTS.</h3> + +<p>Subsequently a few formulas were obtained from an old shaman +named Tsiskwa or “Bird,” but they were so carelessly written as to +be almost worthless, and the old man who wrote them, being then +on his dying bed, was unable to give much help in the matter. However, +as he was anxious to tell what he knew an attempt was made +to take down some formulas from his dictation. A few more were +obtained in this way but the results were not satisfactory and the +experiment was abandoned. About the same time A‘wani´ta or +“Young Deer,” one of their best herb doctors, was engaged to collect +the various plants used in medicine and describe their uses. +While thus employed he wrote in a book furnished him for the purpose +a number of formulas used by him in his practice, giving at +the same time a verbal explanation of the theory and ceremonies. +Among these was one for protection in battle, which had been used +by himself and a number of other Cherokees in the late war. Another +doctor named Takwati´hĭ or “Catawba Killer,” was afterward +employed on the same work and furnished some additional +formulas which he had had his son write down from his dictation, +he himself being unable to write. His knowledge was limited to +the practice of a few specialties, but in regard to these his information +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page317" id="page317"></a>[pg 317]</span> +was detailed and accurate. There was one for bleeding with +the cupping horn. All these formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, +A´wanita, and <ins class = "correction" title = "error for ‘Takwati´hi’ as above?">Takwtihi</ins> are now in possession of the Bureau.</p> + +<h3>THE KANÂHETA ANI-TSALAGI ETI.</h3> + +<p>Among the papers thus obtained was a large number which for +various reasons it was found difficult to handle or file for preservation. +Many of them had been written so long ago that the ink had +almost faded from the paper; others were written with lead pencil, +so that in handling them the characters soon became blurred and +almost illegible; a great many were written on scraps of paper of +all shapes and sizes; and others again were full of omissions and doublets, +due to the carelessness of the writer, while many consisted +simply of the prayer, with nothing in the nature of a heading or +prescription to show its purpose.</p> + +<p>Under the circumstances it was deemed expedient to have a number +of these formulas copied in more enduring form. For this purpose +it was decided to engage the services of Ayâsta’s youngest son, +an intelligent young man about nineteen years of age, who had attended +school long enough to obtain a fair acquaintance with English +in addition to his intimate knowledge of Cherokee. He was +also gifted with a ready comprehension, and from his mother and +uncle Tsiskwa had acquired some familiarity with many of the +archaic expressions used in the sacred formulas. He was commonly +known as “Will West,” but signed himself W.W. Long, Long +being the translation of his father’s name, Gûnahi´ta. After being +instructed as to how the work should be done with reference to paragraphing, +heading, etc., he was furnished a blank book of two hundred +pages into which to copy such formulas as it seemed desirable to +duplicate. He readily grasped the idea and in the course of about a +month, working always under the writer’s personal supervision, succeeded +in completely filling the book according to the plan outlined. +In addition to the duplicate formulas he wrote down a number of +dance and drinking songs, obtained originally from A‘yû<sup>n</sup>´inĭ, with +about thirty miscellaneous formulas obtained from various sources. +The book thus prepared is modeled on the plan of an ordinary book, +with headings, table of contents, and even with an illuminated title +page devised by the aid of the interpreter according to the regular +Cherokee idiomatic form, and is altogether a unique specimen of +Indian literary art. It contains in all two hundred and fifty-eight +formulas and songs, which of course are native aboriginal productions, +although the mechanical arrangement was performed under +the direction of a white man. This book also, under its Cherokee +title, <i>Kanâhe´ta Ani-Tsa´lagĭ E´tĭ</i> or “Ancient Cherokee Formulas,” +is now in the library of the Bureau.</p> + +<p>There is still a considerable quantity of such manuscript in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page318" id="page318"></a>[pg 318]</span> +hands of one or two shamans with whom there was no chance for +negotiating, but an effort will be made to obtain possession of these +on some future visit, should opportunity present. Those now in the +Bureau library comprised by far the greater portion of the whole +quantity held by the Indians, and as only a small portion of this was +copied by the owners it can not be duplicated by any future collector.</p> + +<h3>CHARACTER OF THE FORMULAS—THE CHEROKEE RELIGION.</h3> + +<p>It is impossible to overestimate the ethnologic importance of the +materials thus obtained. They are invaluable as the genuine production +of the Indian mind, setting forth in the clearest light the +state of the aboriginal religion before its contamination by contact +with the whites. To the psychologist and the student of myths they +are equally precious. In regard to their linguistic value we may +quote the language of Brinton, speaking of the sacred books of the +Mayas, already referred to:</p> + +<blockquote><p> +Another value they have,... and it is one which will be properly appreciated +by any student of languages. They are, by common consent of all competent +authorities, the genuine productions of native minds, cast in the idiomatic +forms of the native tongue by those born to its use. No matter how fluent a +foreigner becomes in a language not his own, he can never use it as does one who +has been familiar with it from childhood. This general maxim is tenfold true when +we apply it to a European learning an American language. The flow of thought, as +exhibited in these two linguistic families, is in such different directions that no +amount of practice can render one equally accurate in both. Hence the importance +of studying a tongue as it is employed by natives; and hence the very high estimate +I place on these “Books of Chilan Balam” as linguistic material—an estimate much +increased by the great rarity of independent compositions in their own tongues by +members of the native races of this continent.<a id="footnotetag2" name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>The same author, in speaking of the internal evidences of authenticity +contained in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Kichés, +uses the following words, which apply equally well to these Cherokee formulas:</p> + +<blockquote><p> +To one familiar with native American myths, this one bears undeniable marks of +its aboriginal origin. Its frequent puerilities and inanities, its generally low and +coarse range of thought and expression, its occasional loftiness of both, its strange +metaphors and the prominence of strictly heathen names and potencies, bring it +into unmistakable relationship to the true native myth.<a id="footnotetag3" name="footnotetag3"></a><a href="#footnote3"><sup>3</sup></a> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>These formulas furnish a complete refutation of the assertion so +frequently made by ignorant and prejudiced writers that the Indian +had no religion excepting what they are pleased to call the meaning +less mummeries of the medicine man. This is the very reverse of +the truth. The Indian is essentially religious and contemplative, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page319" id="page319"></a>[pg 319]</span> +and it might almost be said that every act of his life is regulated +and determined by his religious belief. It matters not that some +may call this superstition. The difference is only relative. The +religion of to-day has developed from the cruder superstitions of +yesterday, and Christianity itself is but an outgrowth and enlargement +of the beliefs and ceremonies which have been preserved by +the Indian in their more ancient form. When we are willing to admit +that the Indian has a religion which he holds sacred, even though +it be different from our own, we can then admire the consistency of +the theory, the particularity of the ceremonial and the beauty of the +expression. So far from being a jumble of crudities, there is a wonderful +completeness about the whole system which is not surpassed +even by the ceremonial religions of the East. It is evident from a +study of these formulas that the Cherokee Indian was a polytheist +and that the spirit world was to him only a shadowy counterpart of +this. All his prayers were for temporal and tangible blessings—for +health, for long life, for success in the chase, in fishing, in war and +in love, for good crops, for protection and for revenge. He had no +Great Spirit, no happy hunting ground, no heaven, no hell, and +consequently death had for him no terrors and he awaited the inevitable +end with no anxiety as to the future. He was careful not +to violate the rights of his tribesman or to do injury to his feelings, +but there is nothing to show that he had any idea whatever of what +is called morality in the abstract.</p> + +<p>As the medical formulas are first in number and importance it +may be well, for the better understanding of the theory involved, to +give the Cherokee account of</p> + +<h3>THE ORIGIN OF DISEASE AND MEDICINE.</h3> + +<p>In the old days quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and insects could all +talk, and they and the human race lived together in peace and friendship. +But as time went on the people increased so rapidly that +their settlements spread over the whole earth and the poor animals +found themselves beginning to be cramped for room. This was bad +enough, but to add to their misfortunes man invented bows, knives, +blowguns, spears, and hooks, and began to slaughter the larger animals, +birds and fishes for the sake of their flesh or their skins, while +the smaller creatures, such as the frogs and worms, were crushed +and trodden upon without mercy, out of pure carelessness or contempt. +In this state of affairs the animals resolved to consult upon +measures for their common safety.</p> + +<p>The bears were the first to meet in council in their townhouse in +Kuwa´hĭ, the “Mulberry Place,”<a id="footnotetag4" name="footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4"><sup>4</sup></a> and the old White Bear chief +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page320" id="page320"></a>[pg 320]</span> +presided. After each in turn had made complaint against the way in +which man killed their friends, devoured their flesh and used their +skins for his own adornment, it was unanimously decided to begin +war at once against the human race. Some one asked what weapons +man used to accomplish their destruction. “Bows and arrows, of +course,” cried all the bears in chorus. “And what are they made +of?” was the next question. “The bow of wood and the string of +our own entrails,” replied one of the bears. It was then proposed +that they make a bow and some arrows and see if they could not +turn man’s weapons against himself. So one bear got a nice piece of +locust wood and another sacrificed himself for the good of the rest in +order to furnish a piece of his entrails for the string. But when +everything was ready and the first bear stepped up to make the +trial it was found that in letting the arrow fly after drawing back +the bow, his long claws caught the string and spoiled the shot. This +was annoying, but another suggested that he could overcome the +difficulty by cutting his claws, which was accordingly done, and on +a second trial it was found that the arrow went straight to the mark. +But here the chief, the old White Bear, interposed and said that it +was necessary that they should have long claws in order to be able +to climb trees. “One of us has already died to furnish the bowstring, +and if we now cut off our claws we shall all have to starve +together. It is better to trust to the teeth and claws which nature +has given us, for it is evident that man’s weapons were not intended for us.”</p> + +<p>No one could suggest any better plan, so the old chief dismissed +the council and the bears dispersed to their forest haunts without +having concerted any means for preventing the increase of the human +race. Had the result of the council been otherwise, we should +now be at war with the bears, but as it is the hunter does not even +ask the bear’s pardon when he kills one.</p> + +<p>The deer next held a council under their chief, the Little Deer, +and after some deliberation resolved to inflict rheumatism upon every +hunter who should kill one of their number, unless he took care to +ask their pardon for the offense. They sent notice of their decision +to the nearest settlement of Indians and told them at the same time +how to make propitiation when necessity forced them to kill one of +the deer tribe. Now, whenever the hunter brings down a deer, the +Little Deer, who is swift as the wind and can not be wounded, runs +quickly up to the spot and bending over the blood stains asks the +spirit of the deer if it has heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon. +If the reply be “Yes” all is well and the Little Deer goes on +his way, but if the reply be in the negative he follows on the trail +of the hunter, guided by the drops of blood on the ground, until he +arrives at the cabin in the settlement, when the Little Deer enters +invisibly and strikes the neglectful hunter with rheumatism, so that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page321" id="page321"></a>[pg 321]</span> +he is rendered on the instant a helpless cripple. No hunter who has +regard for his health ever fails to ask pardon of the deer for killing +it, although some who have not learned the proper formula may attempt +to turn aside the Little Deer from his pursuit by building a +fire behind them in the trail.</p> + +<p>Next came the fishes and reptiles, who had their own grievances +against humanity. They held a joint council and determined to +make their victims dream of snakes twining about them in slimy +folds and blowing their fetid breath in their faces, or to make them +dream of eating raw or decaying fish, so that they would lose appetite, +sicken, and die. Thus it is that snake and fish dreams are accounted for.</p> + +<p>Finally the birds, insects, and smaller animals came together for +a like purpose, and the Grubworm presided over the deliberations. +It was decided that each in turn should express an opinion and then +vote on the question as to whether or not man should be deemed +guilty. Seven votes were to be sufficient to condemn him. One +after another denounced man’s cruelty and injustice toward the +other animals and voted in favor of his death. The Frog (walâ´sĭ) +spoke first and said: “We must do something to check the increase +of the race or people will become so numerous that we shall be +crowded from off the earth. See how man has kicked me about +because I’m ugly, as he says, until my back is covered with sores;” +and here he showed the spots on his skin. Next came the Bird +(tsi´skwa; no particular species is indicated), who condemned man +because “he burns my feet off,” alluding to the way in which the +hunter barbecues birds by impaling them on a stick set over the +fire, so that their feathers and tender feet are singed and burned. +Others followed in the same strain. The Ground Squirrel alone +ventured to say a word in behalf of man, who seldom hurt him +because he was so small; but this so enraged the others that they +fell upon the Ground Squirrel and tore him with their teeth and +claws, and the stripes remain on his back to this day.</p> + +<p>The assembly then began to devise and name various diseases, one +after another, and had not their invention finally failed them not one +of the human race would have been able to survive. The Grubworm +in his place of honor hailed each new malady with delight, +until at last they had reached the end of the list, when some one +suggested that it be arranged so that menstruation should sometimes +prove fatal to woman. On this he rose up in his place and cried: +“Wata´<sup>n</sup> Thanks! I’m glad some of them will die, for they are +getting so thick that they tread on me.” He fairly shook with joy at +the thought, so that he fell over backward and could not get on his +feet again, but had to wriggle off on his back, as the Grubworm +has done ever since.</p> + +<p>When the plants, who were friendly to man, heard what had been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page322" id="page322"></a>[pg 322]</span> +done by the animals, they determined to defeat their evil designs. +Each tree, shrub, and herb, down, even to the grasses and mosses, +agreed to furnish a remedy for some one of the diseases named, and +each said: “I shall appear to help man when he calls upon me in +his need.” Thus did medicine originate, and the plants, every one +of which has its use if we only knew it, furnish the antidote to counteract +the evil wrought by the revengeful animals. When the doctor +is in doubt what treatment to apply for the relief of a patient, the +spirit of the plant suggests to him the proper remedy.</p> + +<h3>THEORY OF DISEASE—ANIMALS, GHOSTS, WITCHES.</h3> + +<p>Such is the belief upon which their medical practice is based, and +whatever we may think of the theory it must be admitted that the +practice is consistent in all its details with the views set forth in the +myth. Like most primitive people the Cherokees believe that disease +and death are not natural, but are due to the evil influence of +animal spirits, ghosts, or witches. Haywood, writing in 1823, states +on the authority of two intelligent residents of the Cherokee nation:</p> + +<blockquote><p> +In ancient times the Cherokees had no conception of anyone dying a natural +death. They universally ascribed the death of those who perished by disease to the +intervention or agency of evil spirits and witches and conjurers who had connection +with the Shina (Anisgi´na) or evil spirits.... A person dying by disease +and charging his death to have been procured by means of witchcraft or spirits, +by any other person, consigns that person to inevitable death. They profess to believe +that their conjurations have no effect upon white men.<a id="footnotetag5" name="footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5"><sup>5</sup></a> +</p></blockquote> + +<p>On the authority of one of the same informants, he also mentions +the veneration which “their physicians have for the numbers four +and seven, who say that after man was placed upon the earth four +and seven nights were instituted for the cure of diseases in the human +body and the seventh night as the limit for female impurity.”<a id="footnotetag6" name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6"><sup>6</sup></a></p> + +<p>Viewed from a scientific standpoint, their theory and diagnosis are +entirely wrong, and consequently we can hardly expect their therapeutic +system to be correct. As the learned Doctor Berendt states, +after an exhaustive study of the medical books of the Mayas, the +scientific value of their remedies is “next to nothing.” It must be +admitted that many of the plants used in their medical practice possess +real curative properties, but it is equally true that many others +held in as high estimation are inert. It seems probable that in the +beginning the various herbs and other plants were regarded as so +many fetiches and were selected from some fancied connection with +the disease animal, according to the idea known to modern folklorists +as the doctrine of signatures. Thus at the present day the +doctor puts into the decoction intended as a vermifuge some of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page323" id="page323"></a>[pg 323]</span> +red fleshy stalks of the common purslane or chickweed (Portulaca +oleracea), because these stalks somewhat resemble worms and consequently +must have some occult influence over worms. Here the +chickweed is a fetich precisely as is the flint arrow head which is put +into the same decoction, in order that in the same mysterious manner +its sharp cutting qualities may be communicated to the liquid +and enable it to cut the worms into pieces. In like manner, biliousness +is called by the Cherokees dalâ´nĭ or “yellow,” because the +most apparent symptom of the disease is the vomiting by the patient +of the yellow bile, and hence the doctor selects for the decoction four +different herbs, each of which is also called dalânĭ, because of the +color of the root, stalk, or flower. The same idea is carried out in +the tabu which generally accompanies the treatment. Thus a scrofulous +patient must abstain from eating the meat of a turkey, because +the fleshy dewlap which depends from its throat somewhat resembles +an inflamed scrofulous eruption. On killing a deer the hunter +always makes an incision in the hind quarter and removes the hamstring, +because this tendon, when severed, draws up into the flesh; +ergo, any one who should unfortunately partake of the hamstring +would find his limbs draw up in the same manner.</p> + +<p>There can be no doubt that in course of time a haphazard use of +plants would naturally lead to the discovery that certain herbs are +efficacious in certain combinations of symptoms. These plants would +thus come into more frequent use and finally would obtain general +recognition in the Indian materia medica. By such a process of +evolution an empiric system of medicine has grown up among the +Cherokees, by which they are able to treat some classes of ailments +with some degree of success, although without any intelligent +idea of the process involved. It must be remembered that our own +medical system has its remote origin in the same mythic conception +of disease, and that within two hundred years judicial courts have +condemned women to be burned to death for producing sickness by +spells and incantations, while even at the present day our faith-cure +professors reap their richest harvest among people commonly +supposed to belong to the intelligent classes. In the treatment of +wounds the Cherokee doctors exhibit a considerable degree of skill, +but as far as any internal ailment is concerned the average farmer’s +wife is worth all the doctors in the whole tribe.</p> + +<p>The faith of the patient has much to do with his recovery, for the +Indian has the same implicit confidence in the shaman that a child +has in a more intelligent physician. The ceremonies and prayers +are well calculated to inspire this feeling, and the effect thus produced +upon the mind of the sick man undoubtedly reacts favorably upon +his physical organization.</p> + +<p>The following list of twenty plants used in Cherokee practice +will give a better idea of the extent of their medical knowledge than +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page324" id="page324"></a>[pg 324]</span> +could be conveyed by a lengthy dissertation. The names are given +in the order in which they occur in the botanic notebook filled on +the reservation, excluding names of food plants and species not identified, +so that no attempt has been made to select in accordance with +a preconceived theory. Following the name of each plant are given +its uses as described by the Indian doctors, together with its properties +as set forth in the United States Dispensatory, one of the leading +pharmacopœias in use in this country.<a id="footnotetag7" name="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7"><sup>7</sup></a> For the benefit of those not +versed in medical phraseology it may be stated that aperient, cathartic, +and deobstruent are terms applied to medicines intended to open +or purge the bowels, a diuretic has the property of exciting the flow +of urine, a diaphoretic excites perspiration, and a demulcent protects +or soothes irritated tissues, while hæmoptysis denotes a peculiar +variety of blood-spitting and aphthous is an adjective applied to +ulcerations in the mouth.</p> + +<h3>SELECTED LIST OF PLANTS USED.</h3> + +<div class="drama"> +<p>1. UNASTE´TSTIYÛ=“very small root”—Aristolochia serpentaria—Virginia or black +snakeroot: Decoction of root blown upon patient for fever and feverish headache, +and drunk for coughs; root chewed and spit upon wound to cure snake +bites; bruised root placed in hollow tooth for toothache, and held against +nose made sore by constant blowing in colds. Dispensatory: “A stimulant +tonic, acting also as a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its +application; * * * also been highly recommended in intermittent fevers, +and though itself generally inadequate to the cure often proves serviceable +as an adjunct to Peruvian bark or sulphate of quinia.” Also used for typhous +diseases, in dyspepsia, as a gargle for sore throat, as a mild stimulant in +typhoid fevers, and to promote eruptions. The genus derives its scientific +name from its supposed efficacy in promoting menstrual discharge, and some +species have acquired the “reputation of antidotes for the bites of serpents.”</p> + +<p>2. UNISTIL´Û<sup>n</sup>ISTÎ<a id="footnotetag8" name="footnotetag8"></a><a href="#footnote8"><sup>8</sup></a>=“they stick on”—Cynoglossum Morrisoni—Beggar lice: Decoction +of root or top drunk for kidney troubles; bruised root used with bear +oil as an ointment for cancer; forgetful persons drink a decoction of this +plant, and probably also of other similar bur plants, from an idea that the +sticking qualities of the burs will thus be imparted to the memory. From a +similar connection of ideas the root is also used in the preparation of love +charms. Dispensatory: Not named. C. officinale “has been used as a demulcent +and sedative in coughs, catarrh, spitting of blood, dysentery, and +diarrhea, and has been also applied externally in burns, ulcers, scrofulous +tumors and goiter.”</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page325" id="page325"></a>[pg 325]</span> + +<p>3. Û<sup>n</sup>NAGÉI=“black”—Cassia Marilandica—Wild senna: Root bruised and moistened +with water for poulticing sores; decoction drunk for fever and for a disease +also called û<sup>n</sup>nage´i, or “black” (same name as plant), in which the hands +and eye sockets are said to turn black; also for a disease described as similar +to û<sup>n</sup>nagei, but more dangerous, in which the eye sockets become black, while +black spots appear on the arms, legs, and over the ribs on one side of the +body, accompanied by partial paralysis, and resulting in death should the +black spots appear also on the other side. Dispensatory: Described as “an +efficient and safe cathartic, * * * most conveniently given in the form +of infusion.”</p> + +<p>4. KÂSD´ÚTA=“simulating ashes,” so called on account of the appearance of the +leaves—Gnaphalium decurrens—Life everlasting: Decoction drunk for colds; +also used in the sweat bath for various diseases and considered one of their +most valuable medical plants. Dispensatory: Not named. Decoctions of +two other species of this genus are mentioned as used by country people for +chest and bowel diseases, and for hemorrhages, bruises, ulcers, etc., although +“probably possessing little medicinal virtue.”</p> + +<p>5. ALTSA´STI=“a wreath for the head”—Vicia Caroliniana—Vetch: Decoction +drunk for dyspepsia and pains in the back, and rubbed on stomach for cramp; +also rubbed on ball-players after scratching, to render their muscles tough, +and used in the same way after scratching in the disease referred to under +û<sup>n</sup>nagei, in which one side becomes black in spots, with partial paralysis; +also used in same manner in decoction with Kâsduta for rheumatism; considered +one of their most valuable medicinal herbs. Dispensatory: Not named.</p> + +<p>6. DISTAI´YĬ=“they (the roots) are tough”—Tephrosia Virginiana—Catgut, Turkey +Pea, Goat’s Rue, or Devil’s Shoestrings: Decoction drunk for lassitude. +Women wash their hair in decoction of its roots to prevent its breaking or +falling out, because these roots are very tough and hard to break; from the +same idea ball-players rub the decoction on their limbs after scratching, +to toughen them. Dispensatory: Described as a cathartic with roots tonic +and aperient.</p> + +<p>7. U´GA-ATASGI´SKĬ=“the pus oozes out”—Euphorbia hypericifolia—Milkweed: +Juice rubbed on for skin eruptions, especially on children’s heads; also used +as a purgative; decoction drunk for gonorrhœa and similar diseases in both +sexes, and held in high estimation for this purpose; juice used as an ointment +for sores and for sore nipples, and in connection with other herbs for cancer. +Dispensatory: The juice of all of the genus has the property of “powerfully +irritating the skin when applied to it,” while nearly all are powerful emetics +and cathartics. This species “has been highly commended as a remedy in +dysentery after due depletion, diarrhea, menorrhagia, and leucorrhea.”</p> + +<p>8. GÛ´NĬGWALĬ´SKĬ=“It becomes discolored when bruised”—Scutellaria +lateriflora—Skullcap. +The name refers to the red juice which comes out of the stalk +when bruised or chewed. A decoction of the four varieties of Gûnigwalĭ´skĭ—S. +lateriflora, S. pilosa, Hypericum corymbosum, and Stylosanthes elatior—is +drunk to promote menstruation, and the same decoction is also drunk and +used as a wash to counteract the ill effects of eating food prepared by a woman +in the menstrual condition, or when such a woman by chance comes +into a sick room or a house under the tabu; also drunk for diarrhea and used +with other herbs in decoction for breast pains. Dispensatory: This plant +“produces no very obvious effects,” but some doctors regard it as possessed of +nervine, antispasmodic and tonic properties. None of the other three species are named.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page326" id="page326"></a>[pg 326]</span> + +<p>9. K´GA SKÛ<sup>n</sup>TAGĬ=“crow shin”—Adiantum pedatum—Maidenhair Fern: Used +either in decoction or poultice for rheumatism and chills, generally in +connection with some other fern. The doctors explain that the fronds of the +different varieties of fern are curled up in the young plant, but unroll and +straighten out as it grows, and consequently a decoction of ferns causes the +contracted muscles of the rheumatic patient to unbend and straighten out in +like manner. It is also used in decoction for fever. Dispensatory: The +leaves “have been supposed to be useful in chronic catarrh and other pectoral +affections.”</p> + +<p>10. ANDA´NKALAGI´SKĬ=“it removes things from the gums”—Geranium maculatum—Wild +Alum, Cranesbill: Used in decoction with Yânû Unihye´stĭ (Vitis +cordifolia) to wash the mouths of children in thrush; also used alone for the +same purpose by blowing the chewed fiber into the mouth. Dispensatory: +“One of our best indigenous astringents. * * * Diarrhea, chronic dysentery, +cholora infantum in the latter stages, and the various hemorrhages are +the forms of disease in which it is most commonly used.” Also valuable as +“an application to indolent ulcers, an injection in gleet and leucorrhea, a +gargle in relaxation of the uvula and aphthous ulcerations of the throat.” +The other plant sometimes used with it is not mentioned.</p> + +<p>11. Û´<sup>n</sup>LĔ UKĬ´LTĬ=“the locust frequents it”—Gillenia trifoliata—Indian Physic. +Two doctors state that it is good as a tea for bowel complaints, with fever +and yellow vomit; but another says that it is poisonous and that no decoction +is ever drunk, but that the beaten root is a good poultice for swellings. +Dispensatory: “Gillenia is a mild and efficient emetic, and like most substances +belonging to the same class occasionally acts upon the bowels. In very small +doses it has been thought to be tonic.”</p> + +<p>12. SKWA´LĬ=Hepatica acutiloba—Liverwort, Heartleaf: Used for coughs either in +tea or by chewing root. Those who dream of snakes drink a decoction of +this herb and I´natû Ga´n‘ka=“snake tongue” (Camptosorus rhizophyllus or +Walking Fern) to produce vomiting, after which the dreams do not return. +The traders buy large quantities of liverwort from the Cherokees, who may +thus have learned to esteem it more highly than they otherwise would. The +appearance of the other plant, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, has evidently +determined its Cherokee name and the use to which it is applied. Dispensatory: +“Liverwort is a very mild demulcent tonic and astringent, supposed by some +to possess diuretic and deobstruent virtues. It was formerly used in Europe +in various complaints, especially chronic hepatic affections, but has fallen into +entire neglect. In this country, some years since, it acquired considerable +reputation, which, however, it has not maintained as a remedy in hæmoptysis +and chronic coughs.” The other plant is not named.</p> + +<p>13. DA´YEWÛ=“it sews itself up,” because the leaves are said to grow together +again when torn—Cacalia atriplicifolia—Tassel Flower: Held in great repute +as a poultice for cuts, bruises, and cancer, to draw out the blood or poisonous +matter. The bruised leaf is bound over the spot and frequently removed. +The dry powdered leaf was formerly used to sprinkle over food like salt. +Dispensatory: Not named.</p> + +<p>14. A´TALĬ KÛLĬ´=“it climbs the mountain.”—Aralia quinquefolia—Ginseng or +“Sang:” Decoction of root drunk for headache, cramps, etc., and for female +troubles; chewed root blown on spot for pains in the side. The Cherokees +sell large quantities of sang to the traders for 50 cents per pound, nearly +equivalent there to two days’ wages, a fact which has doubtless increased +their idea of its importance. Dispensatory: “The extraordinary medical +virtues formerly ascribed to ginseng had no other existence than in the +imagination of the Chinese. It is little more than a demulcent, and in this +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page327" id="page327"></a>[pg 327]</span> +country is not employed as a medicine.” The Chinese name, ginseng, is +said to refer to the fancied resemblance of the root to a human figure, while in +the Cherokee formulas it is addressed as the “great man” or “little man,” and +this resemblance no doubt has much to do with the estimation in which it is +held by both peoples.</p> + +<p>15. ÛTSATĬ UWADSĬSKA=“fish scales,” from shape of leaves—Thalictrum +anemonoides—Meadow Rue: Decoction of root drunk for diarrhea with vomiting. +Dispensatory: Not named.</p> + +<p>16. K´KWĔ ULASU´LA=“partridge moccasin”—Cypripedium parviflorum—Lady-slipper: +Decoction of root used for worms in children. In the liquid are +placed some stalks of the common chickweed or purslane (Cerastium vulgatum) +which, from the appearance of its red fleshy stalks, is supposed to have +some connection with worms. Dispensatory: Described as “a gentle nervous +stimulant” useful in diseases in which the nerves are especially affected. The +other herb is not named.</p> + +<p>17. A´HAWĬ´ AKĂ´TĂ´=“deer eye,” from the appearance of the flower—Rudbeckia +fulgida—Cone Flower: Decoction of root drunk for flux and for some private +diseases; also used as a wash for snake bites and swellings caused by (mythic) +tsgâya or worms; also dropped into weak or inflamed eyes. This last is probably +from the supposed connection between the eye and the flower resembling +the eye. Dispensatory: Not named.</p> + +<p>18. UTĬSTUGĬ´=Polygonatum multiflorum latifolium—Solomon’s Seal: Root heated +and bruised and applied as a poultice to remove an ulcerating swelling called +tu´stĭ´, resembling a boil or carbuncle. Dispensatory: “This species acts +like +P. uniflorum, which is said to be emetic. In former times it was used +externally in bruises, especially those about the eyes, in tumors, wounds, and +cutaneous eruptions and was highly esteemed as a cosmetic. At present it +is not employed, though recommended by Hermann as a good remedy in +gout and rheumatism.” This species in decoction has been found to produce +“nausea, a cathartic effect and either diaphoresis or diuresis,” and is useful +“as an internal remedy in piles, and externally in the form of decoction, +in the affection of the skin resulting from the poisonous exhalations of +certain plants.”</p> + +<p>19. ĂMĂDITA‘TÌ=“water dipper,” because water can be sucked up through its +hollow stalk—Eupatorium purpureum—Queen of the Meadow, Gravel Root: +Root used in decoction with a somewhat similar plant called Ămăditá´tĭ û´tanu, +or “large water dipper” (not identified) for difficult urination. Dispensatory: +“Said to operate as a diuretic. Its vulgar name of gravel root indicates +the popular estimation of its virtues.” The genus is described as tonic, +diaphoretic, and in large doses emetic and aperient.</p> + +<p>20. YÂNA UTSĔSTA=“the bear lies on it”—Aspidium acrostichoides—Shield Fern: +Root decoction drunk to produce vomiting, and also used to rub on the skin, +after scratching, for rheumatism—in both cases some other plant is added to +the decoction; the warm decoction is also held in the mouth to relieve toothache. +Dispensatory: Not named.</p> +</div> + +<p>The results obtained from a careful study of this list may be +summarized as follows: Of the twenty plants described as used by the +Cherokees, seven (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 17, and 20) are not noticed in +the Dispensatory even in the list of plants sometimes used although +regarded as not officinal. It is possible that one or two of these +seven plants have medical properties, but this can hardly be true of +a larger number unless we are disposed to believe that the Indians +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page328" id="page328"></a>[pg 328]</span> +are better informed in this regard than the best educated white +physicians in the country. Two of these seven plants, however (Nos. 2 +and 4), belong to genera which seem to have some of the properties +ascribed by the Indians to the species. Five others of the list (Nos. +8, 9, 11, 14, and 16) are used for entirely wrong purposes, taking the +Dispensatory as authority, and three of these are evidently used on +account of some fancied connection between the plant and the disease, +according to the doctrine of signatures. Three of the remainder +(Nos. 1, 3, and 6) may be classed as uncertain in their properties, +that is, while the plants themselves seem to possess some medical +value, the Indian mode of application is so far at variance with +recognized methods, or their own statements are so vague and conflicting, +that it is doubtful whether any good can result from the use +of the herbs. Thus the Unaste´tstiyû, or Virginia Snakeroot, is stated +by the Dispensatory to have several uses, and among other things is +said to have been highly recommended in intermittent fevers, +although alone it is “generally inadequate to the cure.” Though +not expressly stated, the natural inference is that it must be applied +internally, but the Cherokee doctor, while he also uses it for fever, +takes the decoction in his mouth and blows it over the head and +shoulders of the patient. Another of these, the Distai´yĭ, or Turkey +Pea, is described in the Dispensatory as having roots tonic and +aperient. The Cherokees drink a decoction of the roots for a feeling +of weakness and languor, from which it might be supposed that they +understood the tonic properties of the plant had not the same decoction +been used by the women as a hair wash, and by the ball players +to bathe their limbs, under the impression that the toughness of the +roots would thus be communicated to the hair or muscles. From +this fact and from the name of the plant, which means at once hard, +tough, or strong, it is quite probable that its roots are believed to +give strength to the patient solely because they themselves are so +strong and not because they have been proved to be really efficacious. +The remaining five plants have generally pronounced medicinal +qualities, and are used by the Cherokees for the very purposes for +which, according to the Dispensatory, they are best adapted; so that +we must admit that so much of their practice is correct, however +false the reasoning by which they have arrived at this result.</p> + +<h3>MEDICAL PRACTICE.</h3> + +<p>Taking the Dispensatory as the standard, and assuming that this +list is a fair epitome of what the Cherokees know concerning the +medical properties of plants, we find that five plants, or 25 per cent +of the whole number, are correctly used; twelve, or 60 per cent, are +presumably either worthless or incorrectly used, and three plants, +or 15 per cent, are so used that it is difficult to say whether they are +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page329" id="page329"></a>[pg 329]</span> +of any benefit or not. Granting that two of these three produce +good results as used by the Indians, we should have 35 per cent, or +about one-third of the whole, as the proportion actually possessing +medical virtues, while the remaining two-thirds are inert, if not +positively injurious. It is not probable that a larger number of examples +would change the proportion to any appreciable extent. A +number of herbs used in connection with these principal plants may +probably be set down as worthless, inasmuch as they are not named +in the Dispensatory.</p> + +<p>The results here arrived at will doubtless be a surprise to those +persons who hold that an Indian must necessarily be a good doctor, +and that the medicine man or conjurer, with his theories of ghosts, +witches, and revengeful animals, knows more about the properties +of plants and the cure of disease than does the trained botanist or +physician who has devoted a lifetime of study to the patient investigation +of his specialty, with all the accumulated information contained +in the works of his predecessors to build upon, and with all +the light thrown upon his pathway by the discoveries of modern +science. It is absurd to suppose that the savage, a child in intellect, +has reached a higher development in any branch of science than has +been attained by the civilized man, the product of long ages of intellectual +growth. It would be as unreasonable to suppose that the +Indian could be entirely ignorant of the medicinal properties of +plants, living as he did in the open air in close communion with +nature; but neither in accuracy nor extent can his knowledge be +compared for a moment with that of the trained student working +upon scientific principles.</p> + +<p>Cherokee medicine is an empiric development of the fetich idea. +For a disease caused by the rabbit the antidote must be a plant +called “rabbit’s food,” “rabbit’s ear,” or “rabbit’s tail;” for snake +dreams the plant used is “snake’s tooth;” for worms a plant resembling +a worm in appearance, and for inflamed eyes a flower having +the appearance and name of “deer’s eye.” A yellow root must +be good when the patient vomits yellow bile, and a black one when +dark circles come about his eyes, and in each case the disease and +the plant alike are named from the color. A decoction of burs must +be a cure for forgetfulness, for there is nothing else that will stick +like a bur; and a decoction of the wiry roots of the “devil’s shoestrings” +must be an efficacious wash to toughen the ballplayer’s +muscles, for they are almost strong enough to stop the plowshare in +the furrow. It must be evident that under such a system the failures +must far outnumber the cures, yet it is not so long since half +our own medical practice was based upon the same idea of correspondences, +for the mediæval physicians taught that <i>similia similibus +curantur</i>, and have we not all heard that “the hair of the dog will +cure the bite?”</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page330" id="page330"></a>[pg 330]</span> + +<p>Their ignorance of the true medical principles involved is shown +by the regulations prescribed for the patient. With the exception +of the fasting, no sanitary precautions are taken to aid in the recovery +of the sick man or to contribute to his comfort. Even the +fasting is as much religious as sanative, for in most cases where it +is prescribed the doctor also must abstain from food until sunset, +just as in the Catholic church both priest and communicants remain +fasting from midnight until after the celebration of the divine mysteries. +As the Indian cuisine is extremely limited, no delicate or +appetizing dishes are prepared for the patient, who partakes of the +same heavy, sodden cornmeal dumplings and bean bread which form +his principal food in health. In most cases certain kinds of food are +prohibited, such as squirrel meat, fish, turkey, etc.; but the reason +is not that such food is considered deleterious to health, as we understand +it, but because of some fanciful connection with the disease +spirit. Thus if squirrels have caused the illness the patient must not +eat squirrel meat. If the disease be rheumatism, he must not eat the +leg of any animal, because the limbs are generally the seat of this +malady. Lye, salt, and hot food are always forbidden when there is +any prohibition at all; but here again, in nine cases out of ten, the regulation, +instead of being beneficial, serves only to add to his discomfort. +Lye enters into almost all the food preparations of the Cherokees, +the alkaline potash taking the place of salt, which is seldom +used among them, having been introduced by the whites. Their +bean and chestnut bread, cornmeal dumplings, hominy, and gruel +are all boiled in a pot, all contain lye, and are all, excepting the last, +served up hot from the fire. When cold their bread is about as hard +and tasteless as a lump of yesterday’s dough, and to condemn a sick +man to a diet of such dyspeptic food, eaten cold without even a pinch +of salt to give it a relish, would seem to be sufficient to kill him without +any further aid from the doctor. The salt or lye so strictly prohibited +is really a tonic and appetizer, and in many diseases acts with +curative effect. So much for the health regimen.</p> + +<p>In serious cases the patient is secluded and no strangers are allowed +to enter the house. On first thought this would appear to be a genuine +sanitary precaution for the purpose of securing rest and quiet to +the sick man. Such, however, is not the case. The necessity for +quiet has probably never occurred to the Cherokee doctor, and this +regulation is intended simply to prevent any direct or indirect contact +with a woman in a pregnant or menstrual condition. Among +all primitive nations, including the ancient Hebrews, we find an +elaborate code of rules in regard to the conduct and treatment of +women on arriving at the age of puberty, during pregnancy and the +menstrual periods, and at childbirth. Among the Cherokees the +presence of a woman under any of these conditions, or even the presence +of any one who has come from a house where such a woman +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page331" id="page331"></a>[pg 331]</span> +resides, is considered to neutralize all the effects of the doctor’s treatment. +For this reason all women, excepting those of the household, +are excluded. A man is forbidden to enter, because he may have had +intercourse with a tabued woman, or may have come in contact with +her in some other way; and children also are shut out, because they +may have come from a cabin where dwells a woman subject to exclusion. +What is supposed to be the effect of the presence of a menstrual +woman in the family of the patient is not clear; but judging from +analogous customs in other tribes and from rules still enforced among +the Cherokees, notwithstanding their long contact with the whites, +it seems probable that in former times the patient was removed to a +smaller house or temporary bark lodge built for his accommodation +whenever the tabu as to women was prescribed by the doctor. Some +of the old men assert that in former times sick persons were removed +to the public townhouse, where they remained under the care of the +doctors until they either recovered or died. A curious instance of +this prohibition is given in the second Didû<sup>n</sup>lĕ´skĭ (rheumatism) formula +from the Gahuni manuscript (see page <a href="#page350">350</a>), where the patient +is required to abstain from touching a squirrel, a dog, a cat, a mountain +trout, or a woman, and must also have a chair appropriated to +his use alone during the four days that he is under treatment.</p> + +<p>In cases of the children’s disease known as Gû<sup>n</sup>wani´gista´ĭ (see +formulas) it is forbidden to carry the child outdoors, but this is not +to procure rest for the little one, or to guard against exposure to cold +air, but because the birds send this disease, and should a bird chance +to be flying by overhead at the moment the napping of its wings +would <i>fan the disease back</i> into the body of the patient.</p> + +<h3>ILLUSTRATION OF THE TABU.</h3> + +<p>On a second visit to the reservation the writer once had a practical +illustration of the gaktû´<sup>n</sup>ta or tabu, which may be of interest as +showing how little sanitary ideas have to do with these precautions. +Having received several urgent invitations from Tsiskwa (Bird), an +old shaman of considerable repute, who was anxious to talk, but +confined to his bed by sickness, it was determined to visit him at his +house, several miles distant. On arriving we found another doctor +named Sû´<sup>n</sup>kĭ (The Mink) in charge of the patient and were told +that he had just that morning begun a four days’ gaktû´<sup>n</sup>ta which, +among other provisions, excluded all visitors. It was of no use to +argue that we had come by the express request of Tsiskwa. The +laws of the gaktû´<sup>n</sup>ta were as immutable as those of the Medes and +Persians, and neither doctor nor patient could hope for favorable +results from the treatment unless the regulations were enforced to +the letter. But although we might not enter the house, there was +no reason why we should not talk to the old man, so seats were +placed for us outside the door, while Tsiskwa lay stretched out on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page332" id="page332"></a>[pg 332]</span> +the bed just inside and The Mink perched himself on the fence a few +yards distant to keep an eye on the proceedings. As there was a +possibility that a white man might unconsciously affect the operation +of the Indian medicine, the writer deemed it advisable to keep +out of sight altogether, and accordingly took up a position just +around the corner of the house, but within easy hearing distance, +while the interpreter sat facing the doorway within a few feet of the +sick man inside. Then began an animated conversation, Tsiskwa +inquiring, through the interpreter, as to the purpose of the Government +in gathering such information, wanting to know how we had +succeeded with other shamans and asking various questions in regard +to other tribes and their customs. The replies were given in the +same manner, an attempt being also made to draw him out as to the +extent of his own knowledge. Thus we talked until the old man grew +weary, but throughout the whole of this singular interview neither +party saw the other, nor was the gaktû´<sup>n</sup>ta violated by entering the +house. From this example it must be sufficiently evident that the +tabu as to visitors is not a hygienic precaution for securing greater +quiet to the patient, or to prevent the spread of contagion, but that +it is simply a religious observance of the tribe, exactly parallel to +many of the regulations among the ancient Jews, as laid down in +the book of Leviticus.</p> + +<h3>NEGLECT OF SANITARY REGULATIONS.</h3> + +<p>No rules are ever formulated as to fresh air or exercise, for the +sufficient reason that the door of the Cherokee log cabin is always +open, excepting at night and on the coldest days in winter, while the +Indian is seldom in the house during his waking hours unless when +necessity compels him. As most of their cabins are still built in the +old Indian style, without windows, the open door furnishes the only +means by which light is admitted to the interior, although when +closed the fire on the hearth helps to make amends for the deficiency. +On the other hand, no precautions are taken to guard against cold, +dampness, or sudden drafts. During the greater part of the year +whole families sleep outside upon the ground, rolled up in an old +blanket. The Cherokee is careless of exposure and utterly indifferent +to the simplest rules of hygiene. He will walk all day in a pouring +rain clad only in a thin shirt and a pair of pants. He goes barefoot +and frequently bareheaded nearly the entire year, and even on +a frosty morning in late November, when the streams are of almost +icy coldness, men and women will deliberately ford the river where +the water is waist deep in preference to going a few hundred +yards to a foot-log. At their dances in the open air men, women, +and children, with bare feet and thinly clad, dance upon the damp +ground from darkness until daylight, sometimes enveloped in a thick +mountain fog which makes even the neighboring treetops invisible, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page333" id="page333"></a>[pg 333]</span> +while the mothers have their infants laid away under the bushes +with only a shawl between them and the cold ground. In their ball +plays also each young man, before going into the game, is subjected +to an ordeal of dancing, bleeding, and cold plunge baths, without +food or sleep, which must unquestionably waste his physical energy.</p> + +<p>In the old days when the Cherokee was the lord of the whole country +from the Savannah to the Ohio, well fed and warmly clad and +leading an active life in the open air, he was able to maintain a condition +of robust health notwithstanding the incorrectness of his +medical ideas and his general disregard of sanitary regulations. +But with the advent of the white man and the destruction of the +game all this was changed. The East Cherokee of to-day is a dejected +being; poorly fed, and worse clothed, rarely tasting meat, cut +off from the old free life, and with no incentive to a better, and constantly +bowed down by a sense of helpless degradation in the presence +of his conqueror. Considering all the circumstances, it may +seem a matter of surprise that any of them are still in existence. +As a matter of fact, the best information that could be obtained in +the absence of any official statistics indicated a slow but steady +decrease during the last five years. Only the constitutional vigor, +inherited from their warrior ancestors, has enabled them to sustain +the shock of the changed conditions of the last half century. The +uniform good health of the children in the training school shows +that the case is not hopeless, however, and that under favorable conditions, +with a proper food supply and a regular mode of living, the +Cherokee can hold his own with the white man.</p> + +<h3>THE SWEAT BATH—BLEEDING—RUBBING—BATHING.</h3> + +<p>In addition to their herb treatment the Cherokees frequently resort to +sweat baths, bleeding, rubbing, and cold baths in the running stream, +to say nothing of the beads and other conjuring paraphernalia generally +used in connection with the ceremony. The sweat bath was +in common use among almost all the tribes north of Mexico excepting +the central and eastern Eskimo, and was considered the great +cure-all in sickness and invigorant in health. Among many tribes +it appears to have been regarded as a ceremonial observance, but the +Cherokees seem to have looked upon it simply as a medical application, +while the ceremonial part was confined to the use of the plunge +bath. The person wishing to make trial of the virtues of the sweat +bath entered the â´sĭ, a small earth-covered log house only high +enough to allow of sitting down. After divesting himself of his +clothing, some large bowlders, previously heated in a fire, were +placed near him, and over them was poured a decoction of the beaten +roots of the wild parsnip. The door was closed so that no air could +enter from the outside, and the patient sat in the sweltering steam +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page334" id="page334"></a>[pg 334]</span> +until he was in a profuse perspiration and nearly choked by the +pungent fumes of the decoction. In accordance with general Indian +practice it may be that he plunged into the river before resuming +his clothing; but in modern times this part of the operation is omitted +and the patient is drenched with cold water instead. Since the +âsĭ has gone out of general use the sweating takes place in the ordinary +dwelling, the steam being confined under a blanket wrapped +around the patient. During the prevalence of the smallpox epidemic +among the Cherokees at the close of the late war the sweat +bath was universally called into requisition to stay the progress of +the disease, and as the result about three hundred of the band died, +while many of the survivors will carry the marks of the visitation +to the grave. The sweat bath, with the accompanying cold water +application, being regarded as the great panacea, seems to have been +resorted to by the Indians in all parts of the country whenever visited +by smallpox—originally introduced by the whites—and in consequence +of this mistaken treatment they have died, in the language +of an old writer, “like rotten sheep” and at times whole tribes have +been almost swept away. Many of the Cherokees tried to ward +off the disease by eating the flesh of the buzzard, which they believe +to enjoy entire immunity from sickness, owing to its foul smell, +which keeps the disease spirits at a distance.</p> + +<p>Bleeding is resorted to in a number of cases, especially in rheumatism +and in preparing for the ball play. There are two methods of +performing the operation, bleeding proper and scratching, the latter +being preparatory to rubbing on the medicine, which is thus brought +into more direct contact with the blood. The bleeding is performed +with a small cupping horn, to which suction is applied in the ordinary +manner, after scarification with a flint or piece of broken +glass. In the blood thus drawn out the shaman claims sometimes +to find a minute pebble, a sharpened stick or something of the kind, +which he asserts to be the cause of the trouble and to have been conveyed +into the body of the patient through the evil spells of an +enemy. He frequently pretends to suck out such an object by the +application of the lips alone, without any scarification whatever. +Scratching is a painful process and is performed with a brier, a flint +arrowhead, a rattlesnake’s tooth, or even with a piece of glass, +according to the nature of the ailment, while in preparing the young +men for the ball play the shaman uses an instrument somewhat +resembling a comb, having seven teeth made from the sharpened +splinters of the leg bone of a turkey. The scratching is usually +done according to a particular pattern, the regular method for the +ball play being to draw the scratcher four times down the upper +part of each arm, thus making twenty-eight scratches each about 6 +inches in length, repeating the operation on each arm below the +elbow and on each leg above and below the knee. Finally, the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page335" id="page335"></a>[pg 335]</span> +instrument is drawn across the breast from the two shoulders so as +to form a cross; another curving stroke is made to connect the two +upper ends of the cross, and the same pattern is repeated on the +back, so that the body is thus gashed in nearly three hundred places. +Although very painful for a while, as may well be supposed, the +scratches do not penetrate deep enough to result seriously, excepting +in some cases where erysipelas sets in. While the blood is still +flowing freely the medicine, which in this case is intended to toughen, +the muscles of the player, is rubbed into the wounds after which +the sufferer plunges into the stream and washes off the blood. In +order that the blood may flow the longer without clotting it is +frequently scraped off with a small switch as it flows. In rheumatism +and other local diseases the scratching is confined to the part +affected. The instrument used is selected in accordance with the +mythologic theory, excepting in the case of the piece of glass, which +is merely a modern makeshift for the flint arrowhead.</p> + +<p>Rubbing, used commonly for pains and swellings of the abdomen, +is a very simple operation performed with the tip of the finger or +the palm of the hand, and can not be dignified with the name of +massage. In one of the Gahuni formulas for treating snake bites +(page <a href="#page351">351</a>) the operator is told to rub in a direction contrary to that +in which the snake coils itself, because “this is just the same as +uncoiling it.” Blowing upon the part affected, as well as upon the +head, hands, and other parts of the body, is also an important +feature of the ceremonial performance. In one of the formulas it +is specified that the doctor must blow first upon the right hand of +the patient, then upon the left foot, then upon the left hand, and +finally upon the right foot, thus making an imaginary cross.</p> + +<p>Bathing in the running stream, or “going to water,” as it is called, +is one of their most frequent medico-religious ceremonies, and is +performed on a great variety of occasions, such as at each new +moon, before eating the new food at the green corn dance, before +the medicine dance and other ceremonial dances before and after +the ball play, in connection with the prayers for long life, to counteract +the effects of bad dreams or the evil spells of an enemy, +and as a part of the regular treatment in various diseases. The +details of the ceremony are very elaborate and vary according to +the purpose for which it is performed, but in all cases both shaman +and client are fasting from the previous evening, the ceremony being +generally performed just at daybreak. The bather usually dips +completely under the water four or seven times, but in some cases +it is sufficient to pour the water from the hand upon the head and +breast. In the ball play the ball sticks are dipped into the water at +the same time. While the bather is in the water the shaman is +going through with his part of the performance on the bank and +draws omens from the motion of the beads between his thumb and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page336" id="page336"></a>[pg 336]</span> +finger, or of the fishes in the water. Although the old customs are +fast dying out this ceremony is never neglected at the ball play, +and is also strictly observed by many families on occasion of eating +the new corn, at each new moon, and on other special occasions, +even when it is necessary to break the ice in the stream for the +purpose, and to the neglect of this rite the older people attribute +many of the evils which have come upon the tribe in later days. +The latter part of autumn is deemed the most suitable season of +the year for this ceremony, as the leaves which then cover the +surface of the stream are supposed to impart their medicinal virtues +to the water.</p> + +<h3>SHAMANS AND WHITE PHYSICIANS.</h3> + +<p>Of late years, especially since the establishment of schools among +them, the Cherokees are gradually beginning to lose confidence in +the abilities of their own doctors and are becoming more disposed +to accept treatment from white physicians. The shamans are +naturally jealous of this infringement upon their authority and +endeavor to prevent the spread of the heresy by asserting the convenient +doctrine that the white man’s medicine is inevitably fatal to +an Indian unless eradicated from the system by a continuous course +of treatment for four years under the hands of a skillful shaman. +The officers of the training school established by the Government a +few years ago met with considerable difficulty on this account for +some time, as the parents insisted on removing the children at the +first appearance of illness in order that they might be treated by the +shamans, until convinced by experience that the children received +better attention at the school than could possibly be had in their +own homes. In one instance, where a woman was attacked by a +pulmonary complaint akin to consumption, her husband, a man of +rather more than the usual amount of intelligence, was persuaded to +call in the services of a competent white physician, who diagnosed +the case and left a prescription. On a second visit, a few days later, +he found that the family, dreading the consequences of this departure +from old customs, had employed a shaman, who asserted that +the trouble was caused by a sharpened stick which some enemy had +caused to be imbedded in the woman’s side. He accordingly began +a series of conjurations for the removal of the stick, while the white +physician and his medicine were disregarded, and in due time the +woman died. Two children soon followed her to the grave, from the +contagion or the inherited seeds of the same disease, but here also +the sharpened sticks were held responsible, and, notwithstanding the +three deaths under such treatment, the husband and father, who was +at one time a preacher, still has faith in the assertions of the shaman. +The appointment of a competent physician to look after the health +of the Indians would go far to eradicate these false ideas and prevent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page337" id="page337"></a>[pg 337]</span> +much sickness and suffering; but, as the Government has made no +such provision, the Indians, both on and off the reservation, excepting +the children in the home school, are entirely without medical care.</p> + +<h3>MEDICINE DANCES.</h3> + +<p>The Cherokees have a dance known as the Medicine Dance, which +is generally performed in connection with other dances when a number +of people assemble for a night of enjoyment. It possesses no +features of special interest and differs in no essential respect from a +dozen other of the lesser dances. Besides this, however, there was +another, known as the Medicine Boiling Dance, which, for importance +and solemn ceremonial, was second only to the great Green Corn +Dance. It has now been discontinued on the reservation for about +twenty years. It took place in the fall, probably preceding the Green +Corn Dance, and continued four days. The principal ceremony in +connection with it was the drinking of a strong decoction of various +herbs, which acted as a violent emetic and purgative. The usual +fasting and going to water accompanied the dancing and medicine-drinking.</p> + +<h3>DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS.</h3> + +<p>It is exceedingly difficult to obtain from the doctors any accurate +statement of the nature of a malady, owing to the fact that their +description of the symptoms is always of the vaguest character, while +in general the name given to the disease by the shaman expresses +only his opinion as to the occult cause of the trouble. Thus they +have definite names for rheumatism, toothache, boils, and a few other +ailments of like positive character, but beyond this their description +of symptoms generally resolves itself into a statement that +the patient has bad dreams, looks black around the eyes, or feels +tired, while the disease is assigned such names as “when they dream +of snakes,” “when they dream of fish,” “when ghosts trouble them,” +“when something is making something else eat them,” or “when +the food is changed,” i.e., when a witch causes it to sprout and grow +in the body of the patient or transforms it into a lizard, frog, or +sharpened stick.</p> + +<h3>THE PAY OF THE SHAMAN.</h3> + +<p>The consideration which the doctor receives for his services is +called ugista´‘tĭ, a word of doubtful etymology, but probably derived +from the verb tsĭ´giû, “I take” or “I eat.” In former times this was +generally a deer-skin or a pair of moccasins, but is now a certain +quantity of cloth, a garment, or a handkerchief. The shamans disclaim +the idea that the ugistâ´‘tĭ is pay, in our sense of the word, but +assert that it is one of the agencies in the removal and banishment +of the disease spirit. Their explanation is somewhat obscure, but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page338" id="page338"></a>[pg 338]</span> +the cloth seems to be intended either as an offering to the disease +spirit, as a ransom to procure the release of his intended victim, or +as a covering to protect the hand of a shaman while engaged in pulling +the disease from the body of the patient. The first theory, which +includes also the idea of vicarious atonement, is common to many +primitive peoples. Whichever may be the true explanation, the evil +influence of the disease is believed to enter into the cloth, which +must therefore be sold or given away by the doctor, as otherwise it will +cause his death when the pile thus accumulating reaches the height +of his head. No evil results seem to follow its transfer from the +shaman to a third party. The doctor can not bestow anything thus +received upon a member of his own family unless that individual +gives him something in return. If the consideration thus received, +however, be anything eatable, the doctor may partake along with the +rest of the family. As a general rule the doctor makes no charge +for his services, and the consideration is regarded as a free-will offering. +This remark applies only to the medical practice, as the shaman +always demands and receives a fixed remuneration for performing +love charms, hunting ceremonials, and other conjurations of a miscellaneous +character. Moreover, whenever the beads are used the +patient must furnish a certain quantity of new cloth upon which to +place them, and at the close of the ceremony the doctor rolls up the +cloth, beads and all, and takes them away with him. The cloth thus +received by the doctor for working with the beads must not be used +by him, but must be sold. In one instance a doctor kept a handkerchief +which he received for his services, but instead sold a better one +of his own. Additional cloth is thus given each time the ceremony is +repeated, each time a second four days’ course of treatment is begun, +and as often as the doctor sees fit to change his method of procedure. +Thus, when he begins to treat a sick man for a disease caused by rabbits, +he expects to receive a certain ugista´‘tĭ; but, should he decide +after a time that the terrapin or the red bird is responsible for the +trouble, he adopts a different course of treatment, for which another +ugista´‘tĭ is necessary. Should the sickness not yield readily to his +efforts, it is because the disease animal requires a greater ugista´‘tĭ, and +the quantity of cloth must be doubled, so that on the whole the doctrine +is a very convenient one for the shaman. In many of the formulas +explicit directions are given as to the pay which the shaman is to +receive for performing the ceremony. In one of the Gatigwanasti +formulas, after specifying the amount of cloth to be paid, the writer +of it makes the additional proviso that it must be “pretty good cloth, +too,” asserting as a clincher that “this is what the old folks said a +long time ago.”</p> + +<p>The ugista´‘tĭ can not be paid by either one of a married couple to +the other, and, as it is considered a necessary accompaniment of the +application, it follows that a shaman can not treat his own wife in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page339" id="page339"></a>[pg 339]</span> +sickness, and vice versa. Neither can the husband or wife of the +sick person send for the doctor, but the call must come from some +one of the blood relatives of the patient. In one instance within the +writer’s knowledge a woman complained that her husband was very +sick and needed a doctor’s attention, but his relatives were taking +no steps in the matter and it was not permissible for her to do so.</p> + +<h3>CEREMONIES FOR GATHERING PLANTS AND PREPARING MEDICINE.</h3> + +<p>There are a number of ceremonies and regulations observed in +connection with the gathering of the herbs, roots, and barks, which +can not be given in detail within the limits of this paper. In searching +for his medicinal plants the shaman goes provided with a number +of white and red beads, and approaches the plant from a certain +direction, going round it from right to left one or four times, reciting +certain prayers the while. He then pulls up the plant by the +roots and drops one of the beads into the hole and covers it up with +the loose earth. In one of the formulas for hunting ginseng the +hunter addresses the mountain as the “Great Man” and assures it +that he comes only to take a small piece of flesh (the ginseng) from +its side, so that it seems probable that the bead is intended as a compensation +to the earth for the plant thus torn from her bosom. In some +cases the doctor must pass by the first three plants met until he comes +to the fourth, which he takes and may then return for the others. The +bark is always taken from the east side of the tree, and when the +root or branch is used it must also be one which runs out toward +the east, the reason given being that these have imbibed more medical +potency from the rays of the sun.</p> + +<p>When the roots, herbs, and barks which enter into the prescription +have been thus gathered the doctor ties them up into a convenient +package, which he takes to a running stream and casts into the water +with appropriate prayers. Should the package float, as it generally +does, he accepts the fact as an omen that his treatment will be successful. +On the other hand, should it sink, he concludes that some +part of the preceding ceremony has been improperly carried out +and at once sets about procuring a new package, going over the +whole performance from the beginning. Herb-gathering by moonlight, +so important a feature in European folk medicine, seems to +be no part of Cherokee ceremonial. There are fixed regulations in +regard to the preparing of the decoction, the care of the medicine +during the continuance of the treatment, and the disposal of what +remains after the treatment is at an end. In the arrangement of details +the shaman frequently employs the services of a lay assistant. +In these degenerate days a number of upstart pretenders to the healing +art have arisen in the tribe and endeavor to impose upon the +ignorance of their fellows by posing as doctors, although knowing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page340" id="page340"></a>[pg 340]</span> +next to nothing of the prayers and ceremonies, without which there +can be no virtue in the application. These impostors are sternly +frowned down and regarded with the utmost contempt by the real +professors, both men and women, who have been initiated into the +sacred mysteries and proudly look upon themselves as conservators +of the ancient ritual of the past.</p> + +<h3>THE CHEROKEE GODS AND THEIR ABIDING PLACES.</h3> + +<p>After what has been said in elucidation of the theories involved +in the medical formulas, the most important and numerous of the +series, but little remains to be added in regard to the others, beyond +what is contained in the explanation accompanying each one. A +few points, however, may be briefly noted.</p> + +<p>The religion of the Cherokees, like that of most of our North +American tribes, is zootheism or animal worship, with the survival +of that earlier stage designated by Powell as hecastotheism, or the +worship of all things tangible, and the beginnings of a higher system +in which the elements and the great powers of nature are deified. +Their pantheon includes gods in the heaven above, on the earth beneath, +and in the waters under the earth, but of these the animal +gods constitute by far the most numerous class, although the elemental +gods are more important. Among the animal gods insects +and fishes occupy a subordinate place, while quadrupeds, birds, and +reptiles are invoked almost constantly. The uktena (a mythic great +horned serpent), the rattlesnake, and the terrapin, the various species +of hawk, and the rabbit, the squirrel, and the dog are the principal +animal gods. The importance of the god bears no relation to the size +of the animal, and in fact the larger animals are but seldom invoked. +The spider also occupies a prominent place in the love and life-destroying +formulas, his duty being to entangle the soul of his victim +in the meshes of his web or to pluck it from the body of the doomed +man and drag it way to the black coffin in the Darkening Land.</p> + +<p>Among what may be classed as elemental gods the principal are +fire, water, and the sun, all of which are addressed under figurative +names. The sun is called Une´‘lanû´hĭ, “the apportioner,” +just as our word moon means originally “the measurer.” Indians +and Aryans alike, having noticed how these great luminaries +divide and measure day and night, summer and winter, with never-varying +regularity, have given to each a name which should indicate +these characteristics, thus showing how the human mind constantly +moves on along the same channels. Missionaries have naturally, +but incorrectly, assumed this apportioner of all things to be +the suppositional “Great Spirit” of the Cherokees, and hence the +word is used in the Bible translation as synonymous with God. In +ordinary conversation and in the lesser myths the sun is called +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page341" id="page341"></a>[pg 341]</span> +Nû´<sup>n</sup>tâ. The sun is invoked chiefly by the ball-player, while the +hunter prays to the fire; but every important ceremony—whether +connected with medicine, love, hunting, or the ball play—contains +a prayer to the “Long Person,” the formulistic name for water, or, +more strictly speaking, for the river. The wind, the storm, the +cloud, and the frost are also invoked in different formulas.</p> + +<p>But few inanimate gods are included in the category, the principal +being the Stone, to which the shaman prays while endeavoring to +find a lost article by means of a swinging pebble suspended by a string; +the Flint, invoked when the shaman is about to scarify the patient +with a flint arrow-head before rubbing on the medicine; and the +Mountain, which is addressed in one or two of the formulas thus +far translated. Plant gods do not appear prominently, the chief one +seeming to be the ginseng, addressed in the formulas as the “Great +Man” or “Little Man,” although its proper Cherokee name signifies +the “Mountain Climber.”</p> + +<p>A number of personal deities are also invoked, the principal being +the Red Man. He is one of the greatest of the gods, being repeatedly +called upon in formulas of all kinds, and is hardly subordinate to +the Fire, the Water, or the Sun. His identity is as yet uncertain, +but he seems to be intimately connected with the Thunder family. In +a curious marginal note in one of the Gahuni formulas (page <a href="#page350">350</a>), it +is stated that when the patient is a woman the doctor must pray to +the Red Man, but when treating a man he must pray to the Red +Woman, so that this personage seems to have dual sex characteristics. +Another god invoked in the hunting songs is Tsu´l’kalû´, or +“Slanting Eyes” (see Cherokee Myths), a giant hunter who lives in +one of the great mountains of the Blue Ridge and owns all the game. +Others are the Little Men, probably the two Thunder boys; the +Little People, the fairies who live in the rock cliffs; and even the +De´tsata, a diminutive sprite who holds the place of our Puck. One +unwritten formula, which could not be obtained correctly by dictation, +was addressed to the “Red-Headed Woman, whose hair hangs +down to the ground.”</p> + +<p>The personage invoked is always selected in accordance with the +theory of the formula and the duty to be performed. Thus, when +a sickness is caused by a fish, the Fish-hawk, the Heron, or some +other fish-eating bird is implored to come and seize the intruder and +destroy it, so that the patient may find relief. When the trouble is +caused by a worm or an insect, some insectivorous bird is called in +for the same purpose. When a flock of redbirds is pecking at the +vitals of the sick man the Sparrow-hawk is brought down to scatter +them, and when the rabbit, the great mischief-maker, is the evil +genius, he is driven out by the Rabbit-hawk. Sometimes after the +intruder has been thus expelled “a small portion still remains,” in +the words of the formula, and accordingly the Whirlwind is called +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page342" id="page342"></a>[pg 342]</span> +down from the treetops to carry the remnant to the uplands and +there scatter it so that it shall never reappear. The hunter prays +to the fire, from which he draws his omens; to the reed, from which +he makes his arrows; to Tsu´l’kalû, the great lord of the game, and +finally addresses in songs the very animals which he intends to kill. +The lover prays to the Spider to hold fast the affections of his +beloved one in the meshes of his web, or to the Moon, which looks +down upon him in the dance. The warrior prays to the Red War-club, +and the man about to set out on a dangerous expedition prays +to the Cloud to envelop him and conceal him from his enemies.</p> + +<p>Each spirit of good or evil has its distinct and appropriate place +of residence. The Rabbit is declared to live in the broomsage on +the hillside, the Fish dwells in a bend of the river under the pendant +hemlock branches, the Terrapin lives in the great pond in the West, +and the Whirlwind abides in the leafy treetops. Each disease animal, +when driven away from his prey by some more powerful animal, +endeavors to find shelter in his accustomed haunt. It must be +stated here that the animals of the formulas are not the ordinary, +everyday animals, but their great progenitors, who live in the upper +world (galû´<sup>n</sup>lati) above the arch of the firmament.</p> + +<h3>COLOR SYMBOLISM.</h3> + +<p>Color symbolism plays an important part in the shamanistic system +of the Cherokees, no less than in that of other tribes. Each one +of the cardinal points has its corresponding color and each color its +symbolic meaning, so that each spirit invoked corresponds in color +and local habitation with the characteristics imputed to him, and is +connected with other spirits of the same name, but of other colors, +living in other parts of the upper world and differing widely in their +characteristics. Thus the Red Man, living in the east, is the spirit +of power, triumph, and success, but the Black Man, in the West, is +the spirit of death. The shaman therefore invokes the Red Man to +the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal influences +of the Black Man.</p> + +<p>The symbolic color system of the Cherokees, which will be explained +more fully in connection with the formulas, is as follows:</p> + +<table summary="symbols" align="center"> +<tr><td align="left">East</td><td align="left">= red</td><td align="left">= success; triumph.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">North</td><td align="left">= blue</td><td align="left">= defeat; trouble.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">West</td><td align="left">= black</td><td align="left">= death.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">South</td><td align="left">= white</td><td align="left">= peace; happiness.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Above?</td><td align="left">= brown</td><td align="left">= unascertained, but propitious.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">——— </td><td align="left">= yellow </td><td align="left">= about the same as blue.</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>There is a great diversity in the color systems of the various tribes, +both as to the location and significance of the colors, but for obvious +reasons black was generally taken as the symbol of death; while +white and red signified, respectively, peace and war. It is somewhat +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page343" id="page343"></a>[pg 343]</span> +remarkable that red was the emblem of power and triumph among +the ancient Oriental nations no less than among the modern Cherokees.<a id="footnotetag9" name="footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9"><sup>9</sup></a></p> + +<h3>IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES.</h3> + +<p>In many of the formulas, especially those relating to love and to +life-destroying, the shaman mentions the name and clan of his client, +of the intended victim, or of the girl whose affections it is desired to +win. The Indian regards his name, not as a mere label, but as a +distinct part of his personality, just as much as are his eyes or his +teeth, and believes that injury will result as surely from the malicious +handling of his name as from a wound inflicted on any part of +his physical organism. This belief was found among the various +tribes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and has occasioned a number +of curious regulations in regard to the concealment and change of +names. It may be on this account that both Powhatan and Pocahontas +are known in history under assumed appellations, their true +names having been concealed from the whites until the pseudonyms +were too firmly established to be supplanted. Should his prayers +have no apparent effect when treating a patient for some serious illness, +the shaman sometimes concludes that the name is affected, and +accordingly goes to water, with appropriate ceremonies, and christens +the patient with a new name, by which he is henceforth to be +known. He then begins afresh, repeating the formulas with the +new name selected for the patient, in the confident hope that his +efforts will be crowned with success.</p> + +<h3>LANGUAGE OF THE FORMULAS.</h3> + +<p>A few words remain to be said in regard to the language of the +formulas. They are full of archaic and figurative expressions, many +of which are unintelligible to the common people, and some of which +even the shamans themselves are now unable to explain. These +archaic forms, like the old words used by our poets, lend a peculiar +beauty which can hardly be rendered in a translation. They frequently +throw light on the dialectic evolution of the language, as +many words found now only in the nearly extinct Lower Cherokee +dialect occur in formulas which in other respects are written in the +Middle or Upper dialect. The R sound, the chief distinguishing +characteristic of the old Lower dialect, of course does not occur, as +there are no means of indicating it in the Cherokee syllabary. Those +who are accustomed to look to the Bible for all beauty in sacred +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page344" id="page344"></a>[pg 344]</span> +expression will be surprised to find that these formulas abound in +the loftiest nights of poetic imagery. This is especially true of the +prayers used to win the love of a woman or to destroy the life of an +enemy, in which we find such expressions as—"Now your soul fades +away—your spirit shall grow less and dwindle away, never to reappear;" +“Let her be completely veiled in loneliness—O Black Spider, +may you hold her soul in your web, so that it may never get through +the meshes;” and the final declaration of the lover, “Your soul has +come into the very center of my soul, never to turn away.”</p> + +<p>In the translation it has been found advisable to retain as technical +terms a few words which could not well be rendered literally, such as +ada´wĕhĭ and ugistā´‘tĭ. These words will be found explained in the +proper place. Transliterations of the Cherokee text of the formulas +are given, but it must be distinctly understood that the translations +are intended only as free renderings of the spirit of the originals, +exact translations with grammatic and glossarial notes being deferred +until a more extended study of the language has been made, +when it is hoped to present with more exactness of detail the whole +body of the formulas, of which the specimens here given are but a +small portion.</p> + +<p>The facsimile formulas are copies from the manuscripts now in +possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, and the portraits are from +photographs taken by the author in the field.</p> + +<h3>SPECIMEN FORMULAS.</h3> + +<h4>NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY AND TRANSLATION.</h4> + +<p>In the Cherokee text both <i>d</i> and <i>g</i> have a medial sound, approximating the +sounds of <i>t</i> and <i>k</i> respectively. The other letters are pronounced in regular +accordance +with the alphabet of the Bureau of Ethnology. The language abounds in +nasal and aspirate sounds, the most difficult of the latter being the aspirate <i>‘l</i>, +which to one familiar only with English sounds like <i>tl</i>.</p> + +<p>A few words whose meaning could not be satisfactorily ascertained have been +distinctively indicated in the Cherokee text by means of italics. In the translation +the corresponding expression has been queried, or the space left entirely blank. +On examining the text the student can not fail to be struck by the great number +of verbs ending in <i>iga</i>. This is a peculiar form hardly ever used excepting in these +formulas, where almost every paragraph contains one or more such verbs. It implies +that the subject has just come and is now performing the action, and that +he came for that purpose. In addition to this, many of these verbs may be either +assertive or imperative (expressing entreaty), according to the accent. Thus +<i>hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga</i> means “you have just come and are listening and it is for that +purpose +you came.” By slightly accenting the final syllable it becomes “come at once +to listen.” It will thus be seen that the great majority of the formulas are declarative +rather than petitional in form—laudatory rhapsodies instead of prayers, in the +ordinary sense of the word.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page345" id="page345"></a>[pg 345]</span> + +<h3>MEDICINE.</h3> + +<h4>DIDÛ<sup>n</sup>LĔ´SKĭ ADANÛ<sup>n</sup>´WÂTĭ KANÂHĔ´SKĭ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-Nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi´‘lĭ Gigage´ĭ, hanâ´gwa +hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga +usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsan´ultĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Ha-diskwûlti´yû tĭ´nanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na tsagista´‘tĭ +adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Ulsg´eta hû<sup>n</sup>hihyû´<sup>n</sup>stani´ga. Ha-usdig´iyu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´<sup>n</sup> +iytû´<sup>n</sup>ta dûhilâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-Uhû<sup>n</sup>tsâ´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Gi´‘lĭ Sa‘ka´nĭ, hanâ´gwa +hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga +usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Diskwûlti´yû ti´nanugai´, ase´gwû nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na tsagista´‘tĭ +adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Ulsge´ta hû<sup>n</sup>hihyû<sup>n</sup>stani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´<sup>n</sup> +iyû´ta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! (Ha)-Usûhi´(-yĭ) tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi‘l´ĭ Gû<sup>n</sup>nage´ĭ, hanâ´gwa +hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga usĭnuli´yû. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´sti tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû´<sup>n</sup>na. +Diskwûlti´yû tinanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na tsagista´‘tĭ +adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Ulsg´eta hû<sup>n</sup>hihyû<sup>n</sup>stani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´<sup>n</sup> +iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Wa´hală´ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi´‘lĭ Tsûne´ga, hanâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga +usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Diskwûlti´yû +ti´nanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na tsagista´‘tĭ adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. +Ha-ulsge´ta hû<sup>n</sup>hihyû´<sup>n</sup>stani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû e´lawastû´<sup>n</sup> iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta +dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Wa´hală tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Tû´ksĭ Tsûne´ga, hanâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga +usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Ha-kâ´lû <i>gayûske´ta</i> tsatû<sup>n</sup>´neli´ga. Utsĭna´wa nu´tatănû´<sup>n</sup>ta.</p> + +<p>(Degâsisisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ.)—Tûksĭ uhya´ska gûnsta‘tĭ´ na´skĭ igahi´ta gunstâ´ĭ +hĭ´skĭ iyuntale´gĭ tsûntûngi´ya. Û<sup>n</sup>skwû´ta kĭlû´ atsâ´tastĭ sâ´gwa +iyûtsâ´tastĭ, nû´‘kĭ igû´<sup>n</sup>kta‘tĭ, naski-gwû´ diû<sup>n</sup>lĕ´nĭskâhĭ´ +igû<sup>n</sup>yi´yĭ +tsale´nihû. Nû´‘kine û<sup>n</sup>skwû´ta kĭlû´ nû´‘kĭ iyatsâ´tastĭ. Uhyaskâ´hi-‘nû +ade´la degû‘la´ĭ tă´lĭ unine´ga-gwû´ nû´<sup>n</sup>wâti-‘nû´ higûnehâ´ĭ +uhyaskâ´hĭ usdi´a-gwû. Une´lagi-‘nû sâĭ´ agadâ´ĭ agadi´dĭ û´<sup>n</sup>ti-gwû´ +yĭkĭ´ âsi´yu-gwû na´ski-‘nû aganû<sup>n</sup>li´eskâ´ĭ da´gûnstanehû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ ŭ‘taâ´ta. +Hiă‘-nû´ nû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ: Yâ´na-Unatsĕsdâ´gĭ tsana´sehâ´ĭ sâ´i-‘nû +Kâ´ga-Asgû´<sup>n</sup>tagĕ +tsana´sehâ´ĭ, sâi-‘nû´ <i>Egû´<sup>n</sup>li</i>-gwû, sâi-nû´ (U)wa´sgilĭ +tsĭgĭ´ Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Usdi´a tsĭgĭ´, nû<sup>n</sup>yâ´hi-‘nû tsuyĕ‘dâ´ĭ +Yâ´na-Utsĕsdâgĭ +naskiyû´ tsĭgĭ´, usdi´-gwû tsĭgĭ´. Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ (u)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´; +sâ´ĭ Wâ´tige +Unas(te´)tsa tsĭgĭ´, sâ´i-‘nû Û´<sup>n</sup>age Tsunaste´tsa, Niga´ta unaste´tsa gesâ´ĭ.</p> + +<p>Sunale´-gwû ale´ndĭ adanû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ; tă´line e´ladĭ tsitkala´ĭ; tsâ´ine +u´lsaladĭ´‘satû´; nû´‘kine igû´ ts´kalâ´ĭ. Yeli´gwû´ igesâ´ĭ. Nû´lstâiyanû´na +gesâ´ĭ akanû<sup>n</sup>wi´skĭ, nasgwû´ nulstaiyanû´na.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page346" id="page346"></a>[pg 346]</span> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>FORMULA FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER (RHEUMATISM).</h4> + +<p>Listen! Ha! In the Sun Land you repose, O Red Dog, O now you have swiftly +drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ<a id="footnotetag10" name="footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10"><sup>10</sup></a>, you never fail in anything. O, appear +and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to +remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there +at the end of the earth.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Dog. O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken, O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. +O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now +come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off +there at the end of the earth.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! In the darkening land you repose, O Black Dog. O, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. O, +appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come +to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there +at the end of the earth.</p> + +<p>Listen! On Wa´hală you repose. O White Dog. Oh, now you have swiftly drawn +near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. Oh, appear and +draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to remove the +intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of +the earth.</p> + +<p>Listen! On Wa´hală, you repose, O White Terrapin. O, now you have swiftly +drawn near to hearken. O great ada´wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. Ha! It is +for you to loosen its hold on the bone. Belief is accomplished.</p> + +<p>(Prescription.)—Lay a terrapin shell upon (the spot) and keep it there while the +five kinds (of spirits) listen. On finishing, then blow once. Repeat four times, +beginning each time from the start. On finishing the fourth time, then blow four +times. Have two white beads lying in the shell, together with a little of the medicine. +Don’t interfere with it, but have a good deal boiling in another vessel—a +bowl will do very well—and rub it on warm while treating by applying the hands. +And this is the medicine: What is called Yâ´na-Utsĕ´sta ("bear’s bed," the Aspidium +acrostichoides or Christmas fern); and the other is called Kâ´ga-Asgû´<sup>n</sup>tagĭ +("crow’s shin," the Adianthum pedatum or Maidenhair fern); and the other is the +common Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ (another fern); and the other is the Little Soft (-leaved) +Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ +(Osmunda Cinnamonea or cinnamon fern), which grows in the rocks and resembles +Yâna-Utsĕ´sta and is a small and soft (-leaved) Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ. Another has brown roots +and another has black roots. The roots of all should be (used).</p> + +<p>Begin doctoring early in the morning; let the second (application) be while the +sun is still near the horizon; the third when it has risen to a considerable height +(10 a.m.); the fourth when it is above at noon. This is sufficient. (The doctor) +must not eat, and the patient also must be fasting.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page347" id="page347"></a>[pg 347]</span> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>As this formula is taken from the manuscript of Gahuni, who died +nearly thirty years ago, no definite statement of the theory of the +disease, or its treatment, can be given, beyond what is contained in +the formula itself, which, fortunately, is particularly explicit; most +doctors contenting themselves with giving only the words of the +prayer, without noting the ceremonies or even the medicine used. +There are various theories as to the cause of each disease, the most +common idea in regard to rheumatism being that it is caused by the +spirits of the slain animals, generally the deer, thirsting for vengeance +on the hunter, as has been already explained in the myth of +the origin of disease and medicine.</p> + +<p>The measuring-worm (Catharis) is also held to cause rheumatism, +from the resemblance of its motions to those of a rheumatic +patient, and the name of the worm <i>wahhĭlĭ´</i> is frequently applied also +to the disease.</p> + +<p>There are formulas to propitiate the slain animals, but these are +a part of the hunting code and can only be noticed here, although +it may be mentioned in passing that the hunter, when about to +return to the settlement, builds a fire in the path behind him, in +order that the deer chief may not be able to follow him to his home.</p> + +<p>The disease, figuratively called the intruder (ulsgéta), is regarded +as a living being, and the verbs used in speaking of it show that it +is considered to be long, like a snake or fish. It is brought by +the deer chief and put into the body, generally the limbs, of the +hunter, who at once begins to suffer intense pain. It can be driven +out only by some more powerful animal spirit which is the natural +enemy of the deer, usually the dog or the Wolf. These animal gods +live up above beyond the seventh heaven and are the great prototypes +of which the earthly animals are only diminutive copies. They are +commonly located at the four cardinal points, each of which has a +peculiar formulistic name and a special color which applies to everything +in the same connection. Thus the east, north, west, and south +are respectively the Sun Land, the Frigid Land, the Darkening Land, +and Wă´hală´, while their respective mythologic colors are Red, +Blue, Black, and White. Wáhală is said to be a mountain far to the +south. The white or red spirits are generally invoked for peace, +health, and other blessings, the red alone for the success of an undertaking, +the blue spirits to defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring +down troubles upon him, and the black to compass his death. The +white and red spirits are regarded as the most powerful, and one of +these two is generally called upon to accomplish the final result.</p> + +<p>In this case the doctor first invokes the Red Dog in the Sun Land, +calling him a great adáwehi, to whom nothing is impossible and +who never fails to accomplish his purpose. He is addressed as if +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page348" id="page348"></a>[pg 348]</span> +out of sight in the distance and is implored to appear running swiftly +to the help of the sick man. Then the supplication changes to an +assertion and the doctor declares that the Red Dog has already arrived +to take the disease and has borne away a small portion of it to the +uttermost ends of the earth. In the second, third, and fourth paragraphs +the Blue Dog of the Frigid Land, the Black Dog of the +Darkening Land, and the White Dog of Wáhală are successively +invoked in the same terms and each bears away a portion of the +disease and disposes of it in the same way. Finally, in the fifth +paragraph, the White Terrapin of Wáhălă is invoked. He bears +off the remainder of the disease and the doctor declares that relief +is accomplished. The connection of the terrapin in this formula is +not evident, beyond the fact that he is regarded as having great +influence in disease, and in this case the beads and a portion of the +medicine are kept in a terrapin shell placed upon the diseased part +while the prayer is being recited.</p> + +<p>The formulas generally consist of four paragraphs, corresponding +to four steps in the medical ceremony. In this case there are five, +the last being addressed to the terrapin instead of to a dog. The +prayers are recited in an undertone hardly audible at the distance of +a few feet, with the exception of the frequent <i>ha</i>, which seems to be +used as an interjection to attract attention and is always uttered in +a louder tone. The beads—which are here white, symbolic of relief—are +of common use in connection with these formulas, and are held +between the thumb and finger, placed upon a cloth on the ground, +or, as in this case, put into a terrapin shell along with a small portion +of the medicine. According to directions, the shell has no other +part in the ceremony.</p> + +<p>The blowing is also a regular part of the treatment, the doctor +either holding the medicine in his mouth and blowing it upon the +patient, or, as it seems to be the case here, applying the medicine by +rubbing, and blowing his breath upon the spot afterwards. In some +formulas the simple blowing of the breath constitutes the whole +application. In this instance the doctor probably rubs the medicine +upon the affected part while reciting the first paragraph in a whisper, +after which he blows once upon the spot. The other paragraphs are +recited in the same manner, blowing once after each. In this way +the whole formula is repeated four times, with four blows at the end +of the final repetition. The directions imply that the doctor blows +only at the end of the whole formula, but this is not in accord with +the regular mode of procedure and seems to be a mistake.</p> + +<p>The medicine consists of a warm decoction of the roots of four varieties +of fern, rubbed on with the hand. The awkward description of +the species shows how limited is the Indian’s power of botanic classification. +The application is repeated four times during the same morning, +beginning just at daybreak and ending at noon. Four is the sacred +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page349" id="page349"></a>[pg 349]</span> +number running through every detail of these formulas, there being +commonly four spirits invoked in four paragraphs, four blowings with +four final blows, four herbs in the decoction, four applications, and frequently +four days’ gaktu<sup>n</sup>´ta or tabu. In this case no tabu is specified +beyond the fact that both doctor and patient must be fasting. The +tabu generally extends to salt or lye, hot food and women, while in +rheumatism some doctors forbid the patient to eat the foot or leg of +any animal, the reason given being that the limbs are generally the +seat of the disease. For a similar reason the patient is also forbidden +to eat or even to touch a squirrel, a buffalo, a cat, or any animal which +“humps” itself. In the same way a scrofulous patient must not eat +turkey, as that bird seems to have a scrofulous eruption on its head, +while ball players must abstain from eating frogs, because the bones +of that animal are brittle and easily broken.</p> + +<h4>HIĂ‘-NÛ´ NASGWÛ´ DIDÛ<sup>n</sup>LĔ´SKĬ ADĂNÛ´<sup>n</sup>WÂTĬ.</h4> + +<table summary="verse" align="center"> +<tr><td align="left" class="br" width = "33%"> +Asga´ya yûkanû´<sup>n</sup>wĭ<br /> +<i>Agĕ´‘ya Giagage´ĭ</i> atătĭ´;<br /> +agĕ´‘ya-nû yûkanû´<sup>n</sup>wĭ<br /> +<i>Asga´ya Gigage´ĭ</i> atătĭ´.<br /> +</td> +<td align="left"><p>Yû! Higĕ´‘ya Gigage´ĭ tsûdante´lûhĭ +gese´ĭ. Ulsge´ta hi´tsanu´y’tani´leĭ´. +Ha-Nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ nûnta´tsûdălenû´hĭ gese´ĭ. +Gasgilâ´ gigage´ĭ tsusdi´ga tetsadĭ´ilĕ´ +detsala´siditĕ-gĕ´ĭ. Hanâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu +detsaldisi´yûĭ.</p></td></tr> +</table> + +<p>Utsĭ(nă´)wa nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta. Usû´hita nutanû´na. Utsĭnă´wa-gwû +nigû<sup>n</sup>tisge´stĭ.</p> + +<p>(Degâ´sisisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ)—Hiă-gwû´ nigaû´ kanâhe´ta. Nû´‘kiba +nagû´nkw’tisga´ +dagû´<sup>n</sup>stiskû´ĭ. Sâ´gwa nû<sup>n</sup>skwû´ta gûnstû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ agûnstagi´s-kâĭ +hû<sup>n</sup>tsatasgâ´ĭ nû´‘kine-‘nû û<sup>n</sup>skwû´ta nû´‘kĭ nû<sup>n</sup>tsâtasgâ´ĭ. +Hiă-‘nû´ nû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ: Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ, Yâ´na-‘nû Utsĕsdâ´gĭ, +(U)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´ Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ, +tă´lĭ tsinu´dalĕ´ha, Kâ´ga-‘nû Asgû´<sup>n</sup>tagĕ tsiû<sup>n</sup>nâ´sehâ´ĭ, +Da´yĭ-‘nû +Uwâ´yĭ tsiû<sup>n</sup>nâ´sehâ´ĭ. Su´talĭ iyutale´gĭ unaste´tsa +agâ´tĭ, uga´nawû‘nû´ +dagûnsta´‘tisgâ´ĭ nû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ asû<sup>n</sup>ga‘la´ĭ. Usû´hĭ +adanû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ, +nu´‘kĭ tsusû´hita dulsi´nisû´<sup>n</sup> adanû´<sup>n</sup>wâti. Ă‘nawa´gi-‘nû +dilasula´gĭ +gesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ ûlĕ´ tsĭkani´kaga´ĭ gûw’sdi´-gwû utsawa´ta +ă‘nawa´-gwû-nû´.</p> + +<p>Hiă-nû´ gaktû´<sup>n</sup>ta gûlkwâ´gĭ tsusû´hita. +Gû´<sup>n</sup>wădana´datlahistĭ´ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na—Salâ´lĭ, gi´‘li-‘nû, wĕ´sa-‘nû, ă´tatsû-nû´, +a´mă-‘nû´, anigĕ´‘ya-nû. +Uda‘lĭ´ ya´kanû<sup>n</sup>wi´ya nû´‘kiha tsusû´hita +unădană´lâtsi´-tastĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Gasgilâ´gi-‘nû uwă´su<sup>n</sup>-gwû´ u´skĭladi´stĭ uwă´sû +nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hită´. Disâ´i-‘nû dega´sgilâ û´<sup>n</sup>tsa nû‘nă´ +uwa´‘tĭ yigesûĭ +nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>AND THIS ALSO IS FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER.</h4> + +<p>Yû! O Red Woman, you have caused it. You have put the intruder under him. +Ha! now you have come from the Sun Land. You have brought the small red +seats, with your feet resting upon them. Ha! now they have swiftly moved away +from you. Relief is accomplished. Let it not be for one night alone. Let the relief +come at once.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page350" id="page350"></a>[pg 350]</span> + +<p>(Prescription)—(<i>corner note at top</i>.) If treating a man one must say <i>Red +Woman</i>, +and if treating a woman one must say <i>Red Man</i>.</p> + +<p>This is just all of the prayer. Repeat it four times while laying on the hands. +After saying it over once, with the hands on (the body of the patient), take off the +hands and blow once, and at the fourth repetition blow four times. And this is +the medicine. Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ (a species of fern). Yâ´-na-Utsĕ´sta ("bear’s bed," +the Aspidium +acrostichoides or Christmas fern), <i>two</i> varieties of the soft-(leaved) +Egû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ (one, +the small variety, is the Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamonea), and what is called +Kâ´ga Asgû´<sup>n</sup>tagĕ ("crow’s shin," the Adiantum pedatum or Maidenhair fern) and +what is called Da´yĭ-Uwâ´yĭ ("beaver’s paw"—not identified). Boil the roots of +the +six varieties together and apply the hands warm with the medicine upon them. +Doctor in the evening. Doctor four consecutive nights. (The pay) is cloth and +moccasins; or, if one does not have them, just a little dressed deerskin and some cloth.</p> + +<p>And this is the tabu for seven nights. One must not touch a squirrel, a dog, a +cat, the mountain trout, or women. If one is treating a married man they (<i>sic</i>) +must not touch his wife for four nights. And he must sit on a seat by himself for +four nights, and must not sit on the other seats for four nights.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>The treatment and medicine in this formula are nearly the same +as in that just given, which is also for rheumatism, both being +written by Gahuni. The prayer differs in several respects from any +other obtained, but as the doctor has been dead for years it is impossible +to give a full explanation of all the points. This is probably +the only formula in the collection in which the spirit invoked is the +“Red Woman,” but, as explained in the corner note at the top, this +is only the form used instead of “Red Man,” when the patient is a +man. The Red Man, who is considered perhaps the most powerful +god in the Cherokee pantheon, is in some way connected with the +thunder, and is invoked in a large number of formulas. The change +in the formula, according to the sex of the patient, brings to mind a +belief in Irish folk medicine, that in applying certain remedies the +doctor and patient must be of opposite sexes. The Red Man lives +in the east, in accordance with the regular mythologic color theory, +as already explained. The seats also are red, and the form of the +verb indicates that the Red Woman is either standing upon them +(plural) or sitting with her feet resting upon the rounds. These +seats or chairs are frequently mentioned in the formulas, and always +correspond in color with the spirit invoked. It is not clear why the +Red Woman is held responsible for the disease, which is generally +attributed to the revengeful efforts of the game, as already explained. +In agreement with the regular form, the disease is said to +be put under (not into) the patient. The assertion that the chairs +“have swiftly moved away” would seem from analogy to mean that +the disease has been placed upon the seats and thus borne away. +The verb implies that the seats move by their own volition. Immediately +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page351" id="page351"></a>[pg 351]</span> +afterward it is declared that relief is accomplished. The +expression “usû´hita nutanû´na” occurs frequently in these formulas, +and may mean either “let it not be for one night alone,” or “let +it not stay a single night,” according to the context.</p> + +<p>The directions specify not only the medicine and the treatment, +but also the doctor’s fee. From the form of the verb the tabu, except +as regards the seat to be used by the sick person, seems to apply +to both doctor and patient. It is not evident why the mountain +trout is prohibited, but the dog, squirrel, and cat are tabued, as +already explained, from the fact that these animals frequently assume +positions resembling the cramped attitude common to persons +afflicted by rheumatism. The cat is considered especially uncanny, +as coming from the whites. Seven, as well as four, is a sacred +number with the tribe, being also the number of their gentes. It +will be noted that time is counted by nights instead of by days.</p> + +<h4>HI´ I´NATÛ YUNISKÛ´LTSA ADANÛ´NWÂTĬ.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>1. <i>Dûnu´wa</i>, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa (<i>song</i>).</p> +<p class="i2">Sgĕ! Ha-Walâ´sĭ-gwû tsû<sup>n</sup>lû´<sup>n</sup>tani´ga.</p> +<p>2. <i>Dayuha</i>, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha dayuha (<i>song</i>).</p> +<p class="i2">Sgĕ! Ha-<i>Usugĭ</i>-gwû tsû<sup>n</sup>-lû<sup>n</sup>´-tani´ga.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>(Degâ´sisisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ).—Kanâgi´ta nâyâ´ga hiă´ dilentisg´û<sup>n</sup>ĭ. +Tă´lĭ igû´nkw’ta‘tĭ, +ûlĕ´ talinĕ´ tsutanû´<sup>n</sup>na nasgwû´ tâ´lĭ igû´nkw’ta‘tĭ´. +Tsâ´la +aganû´<sup>n</sup>lieskâĭ´ tsâ´la yikani´gû<sup>n</sup>gû´âĭ´ watsi´la-gwû +ganû<sup>n</sup>li´yĕtĭ uniskûl‘tsû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ. +Nû´‘kĭ nagade´stisgâĭ´ aganû<sup>n</sup>li´esgû<sup>n</sup>ĭ. Akskû´nĭ +gadest´a‘tĭ, +nûû‘kĭ nagade´ sta hû<sup>n</sup>tsatasgâ´ĭ. Hiă-‘nû´ i´natû akti´sĭ +udestâ´ĭ +yigû´n‘ka, naski-‘nû´ tsagadû´lăgisgâ´ĭ iyu´stĭ gatgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS IS TO TREAT THEM IF THEY ARE BITTEN BY A SNAKE.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>1. Dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa, dûnu´wa.</p> +<p class="i2">Listen! Ha! It is only a common frog which has passed by and put it (the intruder) into you.</p> +<p>2. Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha.</p> +<p class="i2">Listen! Ha! It is only an <i>Usu´‘gĭ</i> which has passed by and put it into you.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>(Prescription.)—Now this at the beginning is a song. One should say it twice and +also say the second line twice. Rub tobacco (juice) on the bite for some time, or if +there be no tobacco just rub on saliva once. In rubbing it on, one must go around +four times. Go around toward the left and blow four times in a circle. This is because +in lying down the snake always coils to the right and this is just the same +(<i>lit.</i> “means like”) as uncoiling it.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This is also from the manuscript book of Gahuni, deceased, so that +no explanation could be obtained from the writer. The formula +consists of a song of two verses, each followed by a short recitation. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page352" id="page352"></a>[pg 352]</span> +The whole is repeated, according to the directions, so as to make +four verses or songs; four, as already stated, being the sacred number +running through most of these formulas. Four blowings and +four circuits in the rubbing are also specified. The words used in +the songs are sometimes composed of unmeaning syllables, but in +this case dûnuwa and dayuha seem to have a meaning, although +neither the interpreter nor the shaman consulted could explain them, +which may be because the words have become altered in the song, +as frequently happens. Dûnu´wa appears to be an old verb, meaning +“it has penetrated,” probably referring to the tooth of the reptile. +These medicine songs are always sung in a low plaintive tone, somewhat +resembling a lullaby. Usu´‘gĭ also is without explanation, but +is probably the name of some small reptile or batrachian.</p> + +<p>As in this case the cause of the trouble is evident, the Indians +have no theory to account for it. It may be remarked, however, +that when one dreams of being bitten, the same treatment and ceremonies +must be used as for the actual bite; otherwise, although +perhaps years afterward, a similar inflammation will appear on the +spot indicated in the dream, and will be followed by the same fatal +consequences. The rattlesnake is regarded as a supernatural being +or ada´wehi, whose favor must be propitiated, and great pains are +taken not to offend him. In consonance with this idea it is never +said among the people that a person has been bitten by a snake, but +that he has been “scratched by a brier.” In the same way, when an +eagle has been shot for a ceremonial dance, it is announced that “a +snowbird has been killed,” the purpose being to deceive the rattlesnake +or eagle spirits which might be listening.</p> + +<p>The assertion that it is “only a common frog” or “only an Usu´‘gĭ” +brings out another characteristic idea of these formulas. Whenever +the ailment is of a serious character, or, according to the Indian +theory, whenever it is due to the influence of some powerful disease +spirit the doctor always endeavors to throw contempt upon the intruder, +and convince it of his own superior power by asserting the +sickness to be the work of some inferior being, just as a white physician +might encourage a patient far gone with consumption by telling +him that the illness was only a slight cold. Sometimes there is a +regular scale of depreciation, the doctor first ascribing the disease to +a rabbit or groundhog or some other weak animal, then in succeeding +paragraphs mentioning other still less important animals and +finally declaring it to be the work of a mouse, a small fish, or some +other insignificant creature. In this instance an ailment caused by +the rattlesnake, the most dreaded of the animal spirits, is ascribed +to a frog, one of the least importance.</p> + +<p>In applying the remedy the song is probably sung while rubbing +the tobacco juice around the wound. Then the short recitation is +repeated and the doctor blows four times in a circle about the spot. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page353" id="page353"></a>[pg 353]</span> +The whole ceremony is repeated four times. The curious directions +for uncoiling the snake have parallels in European folk medicine.</p> + +<h4>GÛ<sup>n</sup>WĂNI´GIST´Ĭ ADANU´<sup>n</sup>WÂTĬ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕiyu, gahus´tĭ aginúl‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Gû<sup>n</sup>gwădag´anad‘diyû´ +tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Wăhuhu´-gwû hitagu´sgastanĕ‘hĕĭ. +Ha-nâ´gwa hŭ‘kikahû<sup>n</sup>û´ ha-dusŭ´‘gahĭ digesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ, iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta +wû<sup>n</sup>‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Gû<sup>n</sup>gwădaga´nad’diyû´ +tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Uguku´-gwû hitagu´sgastanĕ´heĭ´ +udâhi´yu tag´u´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ´. Ha-na´gwadi´na hû<sup>n</sup>kikahû<sup>n</sup>nû´. +Ha-nânâ´hĭ +digesŭ´<sup>n</sup>ĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta wû<sup>n</sup>‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Gû<sup>n</sup>gwădaga´nad’diyû´ +tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Tsistu-gwû hitagu´sgastanĕ´he´ĭudâhi´yu +tag´usgastanĕ´hĕĭ´. Ha-nâ´gwadi´na hû´<sup>n</sup>kikahû´<sup>n</sup>nû. +Ha-sunû<sup>n</sup>da´sĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta kane´skawâ´dihĭ digesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ, +wû<sup>n</sup>‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Gû<sup>n</sup>gwădaga´nad’di´yû +tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-De´tsata´-gwû (hi)tagu´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ +udâhi´yu tagu´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ. Ha-nâ´gwadi´na hû<sup>n</sup>kikahû´<sup>n</sup>a. +Ha-udâ´tale´ta +digesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ, iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta wû<sup>n</sup>‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.</p> + +<p>(Degâ´sisisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ)—Hiă´-skĭnĭ´ unsdi´ya dĭkanû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ +tsa‘natsa´yihâ´ĭ +tsaniska´iha´ĭ; gû<sup>n</sup>wani´gista´ĭ hi´anûdĭ´sgaĭ´. Ămă´ +dûtsati´stĭsgâ´ĭ +nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita dĭkanû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ Ulsinide´na dakanû´<sup>n</sup>wisgâ´ĭ. +Ŭ´<sup>n</sup>tsa +iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta witunini´dastĭ yigesâ´ĭ.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO TREAT THEM WHEN SOMETHING IS CAUSING SOMETHING TO EAT THEM.</h4> + +<p>Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all others—I +am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is a mere screech owl that has frightened him. +Ha! now I have put it away in the laurel thickets. There I compel it to remain.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all +others—I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is a mere hooting owl that has frightened +him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! At once I have put it away in +the spruce thickets. Ha! There I compel it to remain.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all +others—I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is only a rabbit that has frightened him. +Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! Instantly I have put it away on the +mountain ridge. Ha! There in the broom sage I compel it to remain.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! I am a great ada´wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all +others—I am a great ada´wehi. Ha! It is only a mountain sprite that has frightened +him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! Instantly I have put it +away on the bluff. Ha! There I compel it to remain.</p> + +<p>(Prescription)—Now this is to treat infants if they are affected by crying and +nervous fright. (Then) it is said that something is causing something to eat them. +To treat them one may blow water on them for four nights. Doctor them just before +dark. Be sure not to carry them about outside the house.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page354" id="page354"></a>[pg 354]</span> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>The Cherokee name for this disease is Gu<sup>n</sup>wani´gistâĭ´, which signifies +that “something is causing something to eat,” or gnaw the +vitals of the patient. The disease attacks only infants of tender +age and the symptoms are nervousness and troubled sleep, from +which the child wakes suddenly crying as if frightened. The civilized +doctor would regard these as symptoms of the presence of +worms, but although the Cherokee name might seem to indicate the +same belief, the real theory is very different.</p> + +<p>Cherokee mothers sometimes hush crying children, by telling them +that the screech owl is listening out in the woods or that the De´tsata—a +malicious little dwarf who lives in caves in the river bluffs—will +come and get them. This quiets the child for the time and is +so far successful, but the animals, or the De´tsata, take offense at +being spoken of in this way, and visit their displeasure upon the +<i>children born to the mother afterward</i>. This they do by sending an +animal into the body of the child to gnaw its vitals. The disease +is very common and there are several specialists who devote their +attention to it, using various formulas and prescriptions. It is also +called ătawi´nĕhĭ, signifying that it is caused by the “dwellers in +the forest,” i.e., the wild game and birds, and some doctors declare +that it is caused by the revengeful comrades of the animals, especially +birds, killed by the father of the child, the animals tracking +the slayer to his home by the blood drops on the leaves. The next +formula will throw more light upon this theory.</p> + +<p>In this formula the doctor, who is certainly not overburdened +with modesty, starts out by asserting that he is a great ada´wehi, +who never fails and who surpasses all others. He then declares that +the disease is caused by a mere screech owl, which he at once banishes +to the laurel thicket. In the succeeding paragraphs he reiterates +his former boasting, but asserts in turn that the trouble is +caused by a mere hooting owl, a rabbit, or even by the De´tsata, +whose greatest exploit is hiding the arrows of the boys, for which +the youthful hunters do not hesitate to rate him soundly. These +various mischief-makers the doctor banishes to their proper haunts, +the hooting owl to the spruce thicket, the rabbit to the broom sage +on the mountain side, and the De´tsata to the bluffs along the river bank.</p> + +<p>Some doctors use herb decoctions, which are blown upon the body +of the child, but in this formula the only remedy prescribed is +water, which must be blown upon the body of the little sufferer +just before dark for four nights. The regular method is to blow +once each at the end of the first, second, and third paragraphs and +four times at the end of the fourth or last. In diseases of this kind, +which are not supposed to be of a local character, the doctor blows +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page355" id="page355"></a>[pg 355]</span> +first upon the back of the head, then upon the left shoulder, next +upon the right shoulder, and finally upon the breast, the patient +being generally sitting, or propped up in bed, facing the east. The +child must not be taken out of doors during the four days, because +should a bird chance to fly overhead so that its shadow would fall +upon the infant, it would <i>fan the disease back</i> into the body of the little one.</p> + +<h4>GÛ<sup>n</sup>WANI´GISTÛ´<sup>n</sup>Ĭ DITANÛ<sup>n</sup>WÂTI´YĬ</h4> + +<p>Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Giya´giya´ Sa‘ka´nĭ, +ew’satâ´gĭ +tsûl‘da´histĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ hatlasi´ga. Tsis´kwa-gwû´ ulsge´ta +uwu´tlani‘lĕĭ´. +Usĭnuli´yu atsahilu´gĭsi´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta. +Yû!</p> + +<p>Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Diga´tiskĭ Wâtige´ĭ, +galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ +iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta ditsûl‘dâ´histĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatlasi´ga. +Tsi´skwa-gwû +dĭtu´nila´w’itsû´hĭ higese´ĭ. Usĭnûlĭ kĕ‘tati´gû‘lahi´ga. +Utsĭnă´wa +adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO TREAT GÛ<sup>n</sup>WANI´GISTÛ´<sup>n</sup>Ĭ—(SECOND).</h4> + +<p>Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Sparrow-Hawk; +in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you have come down. The +intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed him. Swiftly you have swooped +down upon it. Relief is accomplished. Yû!</p> + +<p>Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rabbit-Hawk; +you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have come down. It is only +the birds which have come together for a council. Quickly you have come and +scattered them. Relief is accomplished. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, also for Gû<sup>n</sup>wani´gistû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ or Atawinĕ´hĭ, was obtained +from A‘wan´ita (Young Deer), who wrote down only the prayer and +explained the treatment orally. He coincides in the opinion that +this disease in children is caused by the birds, but says that it originates +from the shadow of a bird flying overhead having fallen +upon the pregnant mother. He says further that the disease is +easily recognized in children, but that it sometimes does not develop +until the child has attained maturity, when it is more difficult to +discern the cause of the trouble, although in the latter case dark +circles around the eyes are unfailing symptoms.</p> + +<p>The prayer—like several others from the same source—seems incomplete, +and judging from analogy is evidently incorrect in some +respects, but yet exemplifies the disease theory in a striking manner. +The disease is declared to have been caused by the birds, it being +asserted in the first paragraph that a bird has cast its shadow upon +the sufferer, while in the second it is declared that they have gathered +in council (in his body). This latter is a favorite expression in +these formulas to indicate the great number of the disease animals. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page356" id="page356"></a>[pg 356]</span> +Another expression of frequent occurrence is to the effect that the +disease animals have formed a settlement or established a townhouse +in the patient’s body. The disease animal, being a bird or birds, +must be dislodged by something which preys upon birds, and accordingly +the Blue Sparrow-Hawk from the tree tops and the Brown +Rabbit-Hawk (Diga´tiskĭ—"One who snatches up"), from above are +invoked to drive out the intruders. The former is then said to have +swooped down upon them as a hawk darts upon its prey, while the +latter is declared to have scattered the birds which were holding a +council. This being done, relief is accomplished. Yû! is a meaningless +interjection frequently used to introduce or close paragraphs or songs.</p> + +<p>The medicine used is a warm decoction of the bark of Kûnstû´tsĭ +(Sassafras—Sassafras officinale), Kanû<sup>n</sup>si´ta (Flowering Dogwood—Cornus +florida), Udâ´lana (Service tree—Amelanchier Canadensis), +and Uni´kwa (Black Gum—Nyssa multiflora), with the roots of two +species (large and small) of Da´yakalĭ´skĭ (Wild Rose—Rosa lucida). +The bark in every case is taken from the east side of the tree, and +the roots selected are also generally, if not always, those growing +toward the east. In this case the roots and barks are not bruised, +but are simply steeped in warm water for four days. The child is +then stripped and bathed all over with the decoction morning and +night for four days, no formula being used during the bathing. It +is then made to hold up its hands in front of its face with the palms +turned out toward the doctor, who takes some of the medicine in his +mouth and repeats the prayer mentally, blowing the medicine upon +the head and hands of the patient at the final <i>Yû!</i> of each paragraph. +It is probable that the prayer originally consisted of four paragraphs, +or else that these two paragraphs were repeated. The child +drinks a little of the medicine at the end of each treatment.</p> + +<p>The use of salt is prohibited during the four days of the treatment, +the word (amă´) being understood to include lye, which enters largely +into Cherokee food preparations. No chicken or other feathered +animal is allowed to enter the house during the same period, for +obvious reasons, and strangers are excluded for reasons already explained.</p> + +<h4>HIA´ DU´NIYUKWATISGÛ´<sup>n</sup>Í KANA´HÈHÛ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Kanani´skĭ Gigage. Usĭnu´lĭ +nû´<sup>n</sup>nâ +gi´gage hĭnû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ digi´gage +usĭnû´lĭ +dehĭkssa´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´<sup>n</sup>, tsgâ´ya-gwû +higese´ĭ. Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy’teĭ´. Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ +digi´gage dehada´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga, +adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa gânagi´ta +da´tsatane´lĭ. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Hĭgayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ +gatû´<sup>n</sup>gisge´stĭ +tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Na´ski-gâgû´ +itsa´wesû´hĭ +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page357" id="page357"></a>[pg 357]</span> +nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatu´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa +nútatanû´ta nû<sup>n</sup>tû´neli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Uhyû<sup>n</sup>tlâ´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histi Kanani´skĭ Sa‘ka´nĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ +nû´<sup>n</sup>nâ +sa‘ka´nĭ hĭnû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ (di)sa‘ka´nĭ +usĭnu´lĭ dehĭksa´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. +Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´<sup>n</sup>, tsgâ´ya-gwû +higese´ĭ. Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy‘te(ĭ´). Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ +disa‘ka´nige dehada´û<sup>n</sup>taniga, +adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya +gûnagi´ta tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Hĭgayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ gatû´<sup>n</sup>gisge´stĭ +tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Nas´kigâgû´ +itsawesû´hĭ +nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta +nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Usûhi´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Kanani´skĭ Û´<sup>n</sup>nage. Usĭnu´lĭ +nû´<sup>n</sup>nâ +û´<sup>n</sup>nage hĭnû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ digû´<sup>n</sup>nage +usĭnu´lĭ dehĭksa´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. +Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´<sup>n</sup>, tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ. +Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy‘teĭ´. Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ digû´<sup>n</sup>nage +dehada´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga, +adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta +tsûtûneli´ga. +Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Hĭgayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ gatû´<sup>n</sup>gisge´stĭ +tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Na´skigâgû´ +itsawesû´hĭ +nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta +nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Kanani´skĭ Tsûne´ga. +Usĭnu´lĭ nû´<sup>n</sup>nâ +une´ga hĭnû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ tsune´ga usĭnu´lĭ +dehĭksa´û<sup>n</sup> +tani´ga. Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´<sup>n</sup>, tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ. +Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´săniy’teĭ´. Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ tsune´ga +dehada´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga, +adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta +tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta, nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>Hĭgayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Tsûne´ga hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ +gatû´<sup>n</sup>gisge´stĭ +tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Naski-gâgû´ +itsawesû´hĭ +nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatû<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. U´tsĭna´wa nutatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta +nû<sup>n</sup>tûneli´ga. Yû!</p> + +<p>(Degasi´sisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ)—Hiă´ duniyukwa´tisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ dĭkanû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ +ătanû´<sup>n</sup>sida´hĭ +yĭ´gĭ. Na´skĭ digû´nstanĕ´‘ti-gwû ûlĕ´ tsĭtsâtû´ yie´lisû. +Nigû<sup>n</sup>´-gwû +usû´na [<i>for</i> usûnda´na?] gû´<sup>n</sup>tatĭ nayâ´ga nû´<sup>n</sup>watĭ +unanû´<sup>n</sup>skă‘la´ĭ. +Kane´ska dalâ´nige unaste´tla tsĭ´gĭ. Se´lu dĭgahû‘nû´hĭ +tsuni´yahĭstĭ´ nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita, kanâhe´na-‘nû naskĭ´ iga´ĭ +udanû´stĭ +hi´gĭ nayâ´ga.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS TELLS ABOUT MOVING PAINS IN THE TEETH (NEURALGIA?).</h4> + +<p>Listen! In the Sunland you repose, O Red Spider. Quickly you have brought +and laid down the red path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you have brought down the +red threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a +worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly +you have dropped down the red threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for +you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page358" id="page358"></a>[pg 358]</span> + +<p>O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, “When +I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” Because you have said +it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to +come. Yû!</p> + +<p>Listen! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Spider. Quickly you have brought +and laid down the blue path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you have brought down +the blue threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a +worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly +you have dropped down the blue threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for +you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!</p> + +<p>O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, “When I +shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” Because you have said +it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to +come. Yû!</p> + +<p>Listen! In the Darkening Land you repose, O Black Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the black path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you have +brought down the black threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken +and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the +tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the black threads, for it is just what you +eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!</p> + +<p>O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, “When +I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” Because you have +said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused +to come. Yû!</p> + +<p>Listen! You repose on high, O White Spider. Quickly you have brought and +laid down the white path. O great ada´wehi, quickly you have brought down the +white threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a +worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly +you have dropped down the white threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is +for you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!</p> + +<p>O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, “When I +shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” Because you have said +it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to +come. Yû!</p> + +<p>(Prescription)—This is to treat them if there are pains moving about in the teeth. +It is only (necessary) to lay on the hands, or to blow, if one should prefer. One +may use any kind of a tube, but usually they have the medicine in the mouth. It +is the Yellow-rooted Grass (kane´ ska dalâ´nige unaste´tla; not identified.) One must +abstain four nights from cooked corn (hominy), and kanâhe´na (fermented corn +gruel) is especially forbidden during the same period.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula is taken from the manuscript book of Gatigwanasti, +now dead, and must therefore be explained from general analogy. +The ailment is described as “pains moving about in the teeth”—that +is, affecting several teeth simultaneously—and appears to be +neuralgia. The disease spirit is called “the intruder” and “the +tormentor” and is declared to be a mere worm (tsgâ´ya), which has +wrapped itself around the base of the tooth. This is the regular +toothache theory. The doctor then calls upon the Red Spider of +the Sunland to let down the red threads from above, along the red +path, and to take up the intruder, which is just what the spider +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page359" id="page359"></a>[pg 359]</span> +eats. The same prayer is addressed in turn to the Blue Spider in +the north, the Black Spider in the west and the White Spider above +(galû<sup>n</sup>´lati). It may be stated here that all these spirits are supposed +to dwell above, but when no point of the compass is assigned, +galû<sup>n</sup>´lati is understood to mean directly overhead, but far above +everything of earth. The dweller in this overhead galû<sup>n</sup>´lati may +be red, white, or brown in color. In this formula it is white, the +ordinary color assigned spirits dwelling in the south. In another +toothache formula the Squirrel is implored to take the worm and +put it between the forking limbs of a tree on the north side of the mountain.</p> + +<p>Following each supplication to the spider is another addressed to +the Ancient White, the formulistic name for fire. The name refers +to its antiquity and light-giving properties and perhaps also to the +fact that when dead it is covered with a coat of white ashes. In +those formulas in which the hunter draws omens from the live coals +it is frequently addressed as the Ancient Red.</p> + +<p>The directions are not explicit and must be interpreted from analogy. +“Laying on the hands” refers to pressing the thumb against +the jaw over the aching tooth, the hand having been previously +warmed over the fire, this being a common method of treating toothache. +The other method suggested is to blow upon the spot (tooth +or outside of jaw?) a decoction of an herb described rather vaguely +as “yellow-rooted grass” either through a tube or from the mouth +of the operator. Igawĭ´, a toothache specialist, treats this ailment +either by pressure with the warm thumb, or by blowing tobacco +smoke from a pipe placed directly against the tooth. Hominy and +fermented corn gruel (kanâhe´na) are prohibited for the regular +term of four nights, or, as we are accustomed to say, four days, and +special emphasis is laid upon the gruel tabu.</p> + +<p>The prayer to the Spider is probably repeated while the doctor is +warming his hands over the fire, and the following paragraph to +the Ancient White (the Fire) while holding the warm thumb upon +the aching spot. This reverses the usual order, which is to address +the fire while warming the hands. In this connection it must be +noted that the fire used by the doctor is never the ordinary fire on +the hearth, but comes from four burning chips taken from the hearth +fire and generally placed in an earthen vessel by the side of the +patient. In some cases the decoction is heated by putting into it +seven live coals taken from the fire on the hearth.</p> + +<h4>UNAWA STÎ EGWA (ADANÛ<sup>n</sup>WÂTÏ).</h4> + +<table summary="verse" align="center"> +<tr><td> </td><td align="center">(2)</td><td align="center">(3)</td><td align="center">(4)</td><td align="center">(5)</td><td align="center">(6)</td></tr> +<tr><td>Sgĕ! Galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ´ </td><td> hinehi´ </td><td> hinehi´yû </td><td> hinida´we, </td><td> utsinâ´wa </td><td> adû<sup>n</sup>niga</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td colspan="4"> 12 12 22 34 33 566—Hayĭ´!</td></tr> +</table> +<table summary="verse" align="center"> +<tr><td> </td><td align="center">(1)</td><td align="center">(2)</td><td align="center">(3)</td><td align="center">(4)</td><td align="center">(5)</td><td align="center">(6)</td></tr> +<tr><td>Sgĕ! </td><td> U<sup>n</sup>wadâ´hi </td><td> hinehi´, </td><td> hinehi´yû </td><td> hinida´we, </td><td> utsinâ´wa </td><td> adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td colspan="4">12 12 22 34 33 566—Hayĭ´!</td></tr> +</table> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page360" id="page360"></a>[pg 360]</span> + +<table summary="verse" align="center"> +<tr><td> </td><td align="center">(1)</td><td align="center">(2)</td><td align="center">(3)</td><td align="center">(4)</td><td align="center">(5)</td><td align="center">(6)</td></tr> +<tr><td>Sgĕ!</td><td> Nâtsihi´</td><td> hinehi´</td><td> hinehi´yû</td><td> hinida´we</td><td> utsinâ´wa</td><td> adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td colspan="4">12 12 22 34 33 566—Hayĭ´!</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="center">(1)</td><td align="center">(2)</td><td align="center">(3)</td><td align="center">(4)</td><td align="center">(5)</td><td align="center">(6)</td></tr> +<tr><td>Sgĕ!</td><td> Amâyi´</td><td> hinehi´,</td><td> hinehi´yû</td><td> hinida´we</td><td> utsinâ´wa</td><td> adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td colspan="4">12 12 22 33 33 566—Hayĭ´!</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>ngani´ga, Agalu´ga Tsûsdi´ga, hida´wĕhĭ, +â´tali tsusdiga´hĭ duda´w‘satû´<sup>n</sup> ditsûldâ´histĭ. (Hida´wĕhĭ, gahu´stĭ +tsanu´lû<sup>n</sup>hû<sup>n</sup>sgĭ´ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.) Ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehû<sup>n</sup>gû´. Usdi´gi(yu) +utiya´stanû<sup>n</sup>´(hĭ) (higese´i). (Hû<sup>n</sup>)hiyala´gistani´ga igâ´tĭ usdigâ´hĭ +usa´hĭlagĭ´ Igâtu´ltĭ nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ wĭte´tsatănû<sup>n</sup>´û<sup>n</sup>sĭ´. +A´ne´tsâge´ta <i>getsatûnĕhĭ</i> +nû<sup>n</sup>gûlstani´ga igû<sup>n</sup>´wûlstanita´sti-gwû. Ati´gale´yata tsûtû´neli´ga. +Utsĭnâ´wa <a id="footnotetag11" name="footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11"><sup>11</sup></a> nigû<sup>n</sup>tisge´stĭ.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hû<sup>n</sup>hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Agalu´ga Hegwahigwû´. ´talĭ +tsegwâ´hĭ duda´w‘satû<sup>n</sup> iyû<sup>n</sup>ta ditsûldâ´histĭ. Agalu´ga He´gwa, hausĭnu´lĭ +da´tûlehû<sup>n</sup>gû. Usdi´giyu utiya´stanû´<sup>n</sup>hĭ. Hiyala´gistani´ga +ulsge´ta igâ´t-egwâ´hĭ<ins class = "correction" title = "all parentheses in this paragraph shown as printed">) </ins>usa´hĭlagĭ´. (Igat-(egwâ´hĭ iyû<sup>n</sup>´ta nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ +wĭtetsatanû´<sup>n</sup>û<sup>n</sup>sĭ´. A´ne´tsâge´ta <i>getsatûne´litise´sti</i> +igû<sup>n</sup>´wûlstanita´sti-gwû. +Utsĭnâ´wa-gwû nutatanû<sup>n</sup>ta. Nigagĭ´ Yû!</p> + +<p>(Degâsi´sisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ)—Unawa´stĭ e´gwa u´nitlû<sup>n</sup>gâ´ĭ. Ta´ya gû´<sup>n</sup>tatĭ, +ditsa´tista´‘ti. Tsâ´l-agayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ yă´hă ulû´<sup>n</sup>kwati-gwû nasgwû´.</p> + + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO TREAT THE GREAT CHILL.</h4> + +<p>Listen! On high you dwell, On high you dwell—you dwell, you dwell. Forever +you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has +come—has come. Hayĭ!</p> + +<p>Listen! On Û<sup>n</sup>wadâ´hĭ you dwell, On Û<sup>n</sup>wadâhĭ you dwell—you dwell, you dwell. +Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief +has come—has come. Hayĭ!</p> + +<p>Listen! In the pines you dwell, In the pines you dwell—you dwell, you dwell. +Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief +has come—has come. Hayĭ!</p> + +<p>Listen! In the water you dwell, In the water you dwell, you dwell, you dwell. +Forever you dwell, you anida´we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief +has come—has come. Hayiĭ!</p> + +<p>Listen! O now you have drawn near to hearken, O Little Whirlwind, O ada´wehi, +in the leafy shelter of the lower mountain, there you repose. O ada´wehi, you +can never fail in anything. Ha! Now rise up. A very small portion [of the disease] +remains. You have come to sweep it away into the small swamp on the +upland. You have laid down your paths near the swamp. It is ordained that you +shall scatter it as in play, so that it shall utterly disappear. By you it must be +scattered. So shall there be relief.</p> + +<p>Listen! O now again you have drawn near to hearken, O Whirlwind, surpassingly +great. In the leafy shelter of the great mountain there you repose. O Great +Whirlwind, arise quickly. A very small part [of the disease] remains. You have +come to sweep the intruder into the great swamp on the upland. You have laid +down your paths toward the great swamp. You shall scatter it as in play so that +it shall utterly disappear. And now relief has come. All is done. Yû!</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page361" id="page361"></a>[pg 361]</span> + +<p>(Prescription.)—(This is to use) when they are sick with the great chill. Take a +decoction of wild cherry to blow upon them. If you have Tsâ´l-agayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ ("old +tobacco"—<i>Nicotiana rustica</i>) it also is very effective.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>Unawa´stĭ, “that which chills one,” is a generic name for intermittent +fever, otherwise known as fever and ague. It is much dreaded +by the Indian doctors, who recognize several varieties of the disease, +and have various theories to account for them. The above formula +was obtained from A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>ni (Swimmer), who described the symptoms +of this variety, the “Great Chill,” as blackness in the face, +with alternate high fever and shaking chills. The disease generally +appeared in spring or summer, and might return year after year. In +the first stages the chill usually came on early in the morning, but +came on later in the day as the disease progressed. There might be +more than one chill during the day. There was no rule as to appetite, +but the fever always produced an excessive thirst. In one +instance the patient fainted from the heat and would even lie down in +a stream to cool himself. The doctor believed the disease was caused +by malicious tsgâ´ya, a general name for all small insects and worms, +excepting intestinal worms. These tsgâ´ya—that is, the disease tsgâ´ya, +not the real insects and worms—are held responsible for a large +number of diseases, and in fact the tsgâ´ya doctrine is to the Cherokee +practitioner what the microbe theory is to some modern scientists. +The tsgâ´ya live in the earth, in the water, in the air, in the foliage +of trees, in decaying wood, or wherever else insects lodge, and as +they are constantly being crushed, burned or otherwise destroyed +through the unthinking carelessness of the human race, they are +continually actuated by a spirit of revenge. To accomplish their +vengeance, according to the doctors, they “establish towns” under +the skin of their victims, thus producing an irritation which results +in fevers, boils, scrofula and other diseases.</p> + +<p>The formula begins with a song of four verses, in which the doctor +invokes in succession the spirits of the air, of the mountain, of +the forest, and of the water. Galû<sup>n</sup>latĭ, the word used in the first +verse, signifies, as has been already explained, “on high” or “above +everything,” and has been used by translators to mean heaven. +Û<sup>n</sup>wadâ´hĭ in the second verse is the name of a bald mountain east +of Webster, North Carolina, and is used figuratively to denote any +mountains of bold outline. The Cherokees have a tradition to account +for the name, which is derived from Û<sup>n</sup>wadâ´lĭ, “provision +house.” Nâ´tsihĭ´ in the third verse signifies “pinery,” from nâ´‘tsĭ, +“pine,” but is figuratively used to denote a forest of any kind.</p> + +<p>In the recitation which follows the song, but is used only in serious +cases, the doctor prays to the whirlwind, which is considered to +dwell among the trees on the mountain side, where the trembling of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page362" id="page362"></a>[pg 362]</span> +the leaves always gives the first intimation of its presence. He declares +that a small portion of the disease still remains, the spirits +invoked in the song having already taken the rest, and calls upon +the whirlwind to lay down a path for it and sweep it away into the +swamp on the upland, referring to grassy marshes common in the +small coves of the higher mountains, which, being remote from the +settlements, are convenient places to which to banish the disease. +Not satisfied with this, he goes on to direct the whirlwind to scatter +the disease as it scatters the leaves of the forest, so that it shall +utterly disappear. In the Cherokee formula the verb a‘ne´tsâge´ta +means literally “to play,” and is generally understood to refer to the +ball play, a´ne´tsâ, so that to a Cherokee the expression conveys the +idea of catching up the disease and driving it onward as a player +seizes the ball and sends it spinning through the air from between +his ball sticks. Niga´gĭ is a solemn expression about equivalent to +the Latin consummatum est.</p> + +<p>The doctor beats up some bark from the trunk of the wild cherry +and puts it into water together with seven coals of fire, the latter being +intended to warm the decoction. The leaves of Tsâl-agayû´<sup>n</sup>li +(Indian tobacco—Nicotiana rustica) are sometimes used in place of +the wild cherry bark. The patient is placed facing the sunrise, and +the doctor, taking the medicine in his mouth, blows it over the body +of the sick man. First, standing between the patient and the sunrise +and holding the medicine cup in his hand, he sings the first verse +in a low tone. Then, taking some of the liquid in his mouth, he advances +and blows it successively upon the top of the head, the right +shoulder, left shoulder, and breast or back of the patient, making +four blowings in all. He repeats the same ceremony with the second, +third, and fourth verse, returning each time to his original +position. The ceremony takes place in the morning, and if necessary +is repeated in the evening. It is sometimes necessary also to repeat +the treatment for several—generally four—consecutive days.</p> + +<p>The recitation is not used excepting in the most serious cases, +when, according to the formula, “a very small portion” of the disease +still lingers. It is accompanied by blowing <i>of the breath alone</i>, without +medicine, probably in this case typical of the action of the whirlwind. +After repeating the whole ceremony accompanying the song, +as above described, the doctor returns to his position in front of the +patient and recites in a whisper the first paragraph to the Little +Whirlwind, after which he advances and blows his breath upon the +patient four times as he has already blown the medicine upon him. +Then going around to the north he recites the second paragraph to +the Great Whirlwind, and at its conclusion blows in the same manner. +Then moving around to the west—behind the patient—he again +prays to the Little Whirlwind with the same ceremonies, and finally +moving around to the south side he closes with the prayer to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page363" id="page363"></a>[pg 363]</span> +Great Whirlwind, blowing four times at its conclusion. The medicine +must be prepared anew by the doctor at the house of the patient +at each application morning or evening. Only as much as will be +needed is made at a time, and the patient always drinks what remains +after the blowing. Connected with the preparation and care +of the medicine are a number of ceremonies which need not be detailed +here. The wild cherry bark must always be procured fresh; +but the Tsâl-agayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ ("Old Tobacco") leaves may be dry. When +the latter plant is used four leaves are taken and steeped in warm +water with the fire coals, as above described.</p> + +<h4>HIĂ´ TSUNSDI´GA DIL‘TADI´NATANTI´YĬ. I.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Hĭsga´ya Ts‘sdi´ga ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehû<sup>n</sup>gû´ kĭlû-gwû´. Iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta +agayû´<sup>n</sup>linasĭ´ taya´ĭ. Eska´niyŭ unayĕ´histĭ´ nû<sup>n</sup>ta-yu´tanatĭ´. +Sgĕ´! +tinû´lĭtgĭ´! Tleki´yu tsûtsestâ´gĭ hwĭnagĭ´. Yû!</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Hige´cya ts‘sdi´ga ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehû<sup>n</sup>gû´ kĭlû-gwû´. Iyû<sup>n</sup>´ta +tsûtu´tunasĭ´ tăya´ĭ. Eska´niyŭ unayĕ´histĭ nû<sup>n</sup>tayu´tanatĭ´. +Sgĕ! tinû´lĭtgĭ´! Tleki´yu tsûtsestâ´ hwĭnagĭ´. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN.</h4> + +<p>Listen! You little man, get up now at once. There comes an old woman. The +horrible [old thing] is coming, only a little way off. Listen! Quick! Get your bed +and let us run away. Yû!</p> + +<p>Listen! You little woman, get up now at once. There comes your grandfather. +The horrible old fellow is coming only a little way off. Listen! Quick! Get your +bed and let us run away. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>In this formula for childbirth the idea is to frighten the child and +coax it to come, by telling it, if a boy, that an ugly old woman is coming, +or if a girl, that her grandfather is coming only a short distance +away. The reason of this lies in the fact that an old woman is the +terror of all the little boys of the neighborhood, constantly teasing +and frightening them by declaring that she means to live until +they grow up and then compel one of them to marry her, old and +shriveled as she is. For the same reason the maternal grandfather, +who is always a privileged character in the family, is especially +dreaded by the little girls, and nothing will send a group of children +running into the house more quickly than the announcement that an +old “granny,” of either sex is in sight.</p> + +<p>As the sex is an uncertain quantity, the possible boy is always first +addressed in the formulas, and if no result seems to follow, the +doctor then concludes that the child is a girl and addresses her in similar +tones. In some cases an additional formula with the beads is used +to determine whether the child will be born alive or dead. In most +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page364" id="page364"></a>[pg 364]</span> +instances the formulas were formerly repeated with the appropriate +ceremonies by some old female relative of the mother, but they are +now the property of the ordinary doctors, men as well as women.</p> + +<p>This formula was obtained from the manuscript book of A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ, +who stated that the medicine used was a warm decoction of a plant +called Dalâ´nige Unaste´tsĭ ("yellow root"—not identified), which +was blown successively upon the top of the mother’s head, upon the +breast, and upon the palm of each hand. The doctor stands beside +the woman, who is propped up in a sitting position, while repeating +the first paragraph and then blows. If this produces no result he +then recites the paragraph addressed to the girl and again blows. +A part of the liquid is also given to the woman to drink. A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ +claimed this was always effectual.</p> + +<h4>(HIĂ´ TSUNSDI´GA DIL‘TADI´NATANTI´YI. II.)</h4> + +<p>Hitsutsa, hitsu´tsa, tleki´yu, tleki´yu, ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ, ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ! Hi´tsu´tsa, +tleki´yu, gûltsû´tĭ, gûltsû´tĭ, tinagâ´na, tinagâ´na!</p> + +<p>Higĕ‘yu´tsa, higĕ‘yu´tsa, tleki´yu, tleki´yu, ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ, ĕ´hinugâ´ĭ! +Higĕ‘yu´tsa, tleki´yu, gû<sup>n</sup>gu´stĭ, gû<sup>n</sup>gu´stĭ, tinagâ´na, tinagâ´na!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN.</h4> + +<p>Little boy, little boy, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little boy, hurry; a +bow, a bow; let’s see who’ll get it, let’s see who’ll get it!</p> + +<p>Little girl, little girl, hurry, hurry, come out, come out. Little girl, hurry; a +sifter, a sifter; let’s see who’ll get it, let’s see who’ll get it!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula was obtained from Takwati´hĭ, as given to him by a +specialist in this line. Takwatihi himself knew nothing of the treatment +involved, but a decoction is probably blown upon the patient +as described in the preceding formula. In many cases the medicine +used is simply cold water, the idea being to cause a sudden muscular +action by the chilling contact. In this formula the possible boy or +girl is coaxed out by the promise of a bow or a meal-sifter to the +one who can get it first. Among the Cherokees it is common, in +asking about the sex of a new arrival, to inquire, “Is it a bow or a +sifter?” or “Is it ball sticks or bread?”</p> + +<h4>DAL´NI Û<sup>n</sup>NĂGE´Ĭ ADANÛ´<sup>n</sup>WÂTĬ.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Yuha´ahi´, (yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´,)</p> +<p>Yuha´ahi´, (yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´), Yû!</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Sgĕ! Û<sup>n</sup>tal-e´gwâhĭ´ didultâ´hĭstĭ ulsge´ta. Usĭnu´lĭ dâtitu´lene´ĭ. +Usĭnu´lĭ dunu´y‘tani´leĭ´.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa statû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, nû<sup>n</sup>dâ´yĭ distul‘tâ´histĭ, Stisga´ya +Dĭst‘sdi´ga, stida´wehi-gâgû. Û<sup>n</sup>tal-e´gwa dâtitulene´(ĭ) ulsge´ta. +Usĭnu´lĭ detĭstû´l‘tani´ga ulsge´ta. Ditu´talenû´<sup>n</sup>itsa nû<sup>n</sup>na´hĭ +<sup>w</sup>i´de´tutanû´<sup>n</sup>tasĭ´, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page365" id="page365"></a>[pg 365]</span> +nû<sup>n</sup>tadu´ktahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Nû´‘gĭ +iyayû´<sup>n</sup>latăgĭ´ ayâwe´sâlû´<sup>n</sup>ta +de´dudûneli´sestĭ´, Gû´<sup>n</sup>tsatâtagi´yû tistadi´gûlahi´sestĭ. +Tiduda´le‘nû´(ĭ) û´<sup>n</sup>tale´gwâ <sup>w</sup><sup>i</sup>tĭ´stûl‘tati´nû<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Na´‘nă +witûl‘tâ´hĭstani´ga, +tadu´ktahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Ha-na´‘nă <sup>w</sup><sup>i</sup>d´ultâhiste´stĭ. (Yû!)</p> + +<p>(Degasisisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ)—Hiă´ anine´tsĭ ga´‘tiskĭ adanû´<sup>n</sup>wâtĭ. Ŭ´<sup>n</sup>tla +atsi´la +tĭ´‘tĭ yĭ´gĭ.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO TREAT THE BLACK YELLOWNESS.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´,</p> +<p>Yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´, yuha´ahi´ Yû!</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Listen! In the great lake the intruder reposes. Quickly he has risen up there. +Swiftly he has come and stealthily put himself (under the sick man).</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now you two have drawn near to hearken, there in the Sun Land +you repose, O Little Men, O great anida´wehi! The intruder has risen up there in +the great lake. Quickly you two have lifted up the intruder. His paths have laid +themselves down toward the direction whence he came. Let him never look back +(toward us). When he stops to rest at the four gaps you will drive him roughly +along. Now he has plunged into the great lake from which he came. There he is +compelled to remain, never to look back. Ha! there let him rest. (Yû!)</p> + +<p>(Directions.)—This is to treat them when their breast swells. Fire (coals) is not +put down.</p> + +<h4><i>Explanation.</i></h4> + +<p>This formula, from A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ’s manuscript, is used in treating +a disease known as Dalâni, literally, “yellow.” From the vague +description of symptoms given by the doctors, it appears to be an +aggravated form of biliousness, probably induced by late suppers and +bad food. According to the Indian theory it is caused by revengeful +animals, especially by the terrapin and its cousin, the turtle.</p> + +<p>The doctors recognize several forms of the disease, this variety +being distinguished as the “black dalâni” (Dalâni Û<sup>n</sup>nage´ĭ) and considered +the most dangerous. In this form of dalânĭ, according to +their account, the navel and abdomen of the patient swell, the ends +of his fingers become black, dark circles appear about his eyes, and +the throat contracts spasmodically and causes him to fall down suddenly +insensible. A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ’s method of treatment is to rub the +breast and abdomen of the patient with the hands, which have been +previously rubbed together in the warm infusion of wild cherry +(ta´ya) bark. The song is sung while rubbing the hands together in +the liquid, and the prayer is repeated while rubbing the swollen abdomen +of the patient. The operation may be repeated several times +on successive days.</p> + +<p>The song at the beginning has no meaning and is sung in a low +plaintive lullaby tone, ending with a sharp <i>Yu!</i> The prayer possesses +a special interest, as it brings out several new points in the +Cherokee mythologic theory of medicine. The “intruder,” which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page366" id="page366"></a>[pg 366]</span> +is held to be some amphibious animal—as a terrapin, turtle, or snake—is +declared to have risen up from his dwelling place in the great +lake, situated toward the sunset, and to have come by stealth under +the sick man. The verb implies that the disease spirit <i>creeps under</i> +as a snake might crawl under the coverlet of a bed.</p> + +<p>The two Little Men in the Sun Land are now invoked to drive out +the disease. Who these Little Men are is not clear, although they +are regarded as most powerful spirits and are frequently invoked in +the formulas. They are probably the two Thunder Boys, sons of Kanati.</p> + +<p>The Little Men come instantly when summoned by the shaman, +pull out the intruder from the body of the patient, turn his face toward +the sunset, and begin to drive him on by threats and blows +(expressed in the word gû´<sup>n</sup>tsatatagi´yû) to the great lake from +which he came. On the road there are four gaps in the mountains, +at each of which the disease spirit halts to rest, but is continually +forced onward by his two pursuers, who finally drive him into the +lake, where he is compelled to remain, without being permitted even +to look back again. The four gaps are mentioned also in other +formulas for medicine and the ball play and sometimes correspond +with the four stages of the treatment. The direction “No fire (coals) +is put down” indicates that no live coals are put into the decoction, +the doctor probably using water warmed in the ordinary manner.</p> + +<p>Takwati´hĭ uses for this disease a decoction of four herbs applied +in the same manner. He agrees with A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ in regard to the +general theory and says also that the disease may be contracted by +neglecting to wash the hands after handling terrapin shells, as, for +instance, the shell rattles used by women in the dance. The turtle +or water tortoise (seligu´gĭ) is considered as an inferior being, with +but little capacity for mischief, and is feared chiefly on account of +its relationship to the dreaded terrapin or land tortoise (tûksĭ´). In +Takwatihĭ’s formula he prays to the Ancient White (the fire), of +which these cold-blooded animals are supposed to be afraid, to put +the fish into the water, the turtle into the mud, and to send the terrapin +and snake to the hillside.</p> + +<h4>TSUNDAYE´LIGAKTANÛ´HĬ ADANÛ´<sup>n</sup>WÂTĬ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Hanâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>ganiga, galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ hetsadâ´histĭ, Kâ´lanû +Û´<sup>n</sup>nage, gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´<sup>n</sup>sgĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Ha-nâ´gwa +<ins class = "correction" title = "mismatched parenthesis in original">(</ins>hetsatsa´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. +Hanigû´<sup>n</sup>watû<sup>n</sup>nigwălâe´stigwû tsalâsû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ. Asgin-u´danû +higes´eĭ. Sanigala´gĭ gesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ hastigû´‘lani´ga, +duwâlu´wa´tû´tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, +nitû´neli´ga. Ha-Usûhi´yĭ wititâ´hĭstani´ga. Dadu´satahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Kâ´lanû Gĭgage´ĭ, hidawĕhi´yu. +Ha-gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´<sup>n</sup>sgĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, etsanetse´lûhĭ, +Ha-galû<sup>n</sup>lati´tsa +hetsatâ´histĭ. Nâ´gwa hetsatsâ´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Nigû´<sup>n</sup>watû´<sup>n</sup>nigwalâe´sti-gwû +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page367" id="page367"></a>[pg 367]</span> +tsalâsû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ. Asgin-udanû´hi-gwû higese´ĭ. Ha-Sanigalâgĭ +gesû´<sup>n</sup> hâstigû´‘lani´ga ulsge´ta, ha-utsĭnă´wa-gwû´ +nigû´<sup>n</sup>tisge´stĭ. +Usûhi´yĭ wĭntûnĕ´dû. Usûhi´yĭ wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga. +Utsĭnă´wa adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Kâ´lanû Sa´ka´ni; galû´latĭ +hetsadâ´histĭ, +hida´wĕhĭ. Gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´<sup>n</sup>sgĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, +etsanetse´lûhĭ. +Ha-nâ´gwa hetsatsâ´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Nigû´<sup>n</sup>watû´<sup>n</sup>nigwalâe´sti-gwû +tsalâsû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ. +Sanigalâ´gĭ gesu´<sup>n</sup> hastigû´‘lani´ga ulsge´ta. Duwâlu´watû´tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, nitû´neli´ga. Usûhi´yĭ wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga, +dadu´satahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Wa´hĭlĭ galû<sup>n</sup>lti´tsa +hetsadâ´histĭ, +Kâ´lanû Tsûne´ga, hida´wĕhĭ. Gahu´stĭ tsanu´l‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Hanâ´gwa +hetsatsâ´û<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Nigû´<sup>n</sup>watû´<sup>n</sup>nigwalâe´sti-gwû tsalâsû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ. +Ha-nâ´gwa detal‘tani´ga. Sanigalâ´gĭ gesû´<sup>n</sup> hastig´û‘lani´ga +ulsge´ta, duwâlu´watû´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na nitû´neli´ga. Usûhi´yĭ +wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga. +Dadu´satahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa +adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga.</p> + +<p>(Dega´sisisgû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ)—Hiă´agi‘li´ya unitlû<sup>n</sup>gû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ adanû´wâtĭ. +Askwanu´tsastĭ´. +Tsâ´l(a) Agayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭunitsi´lû<sup>n</sup>nû´hĭgû´<sup>n</sup>tatĭ, +anû´<sup>n</sup>sga‘lâ´-gwû; +Kanasâ´la-‘nû unali´gâhû, ade´la´-‘nû nû´‘gi-gwû ani´gage´ĭ dahâ´ĭ, +Tsâliyu´stĭ-‘nû Usdi´ga. Gahu´sti-´‘nu yuta´suyû´<sup>n</sup>na sâwatu´hi-gwû +atĭ´ dawâ´hila-gwû iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO TREAT FOR ORDEAL DISEASES.</h4> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken and are resting directly overhead. +O Black Raven, you never fail in anything. Ha! Now you are brought down. +Ha! There shall be left no more than a trace upon the ground where you have been. +It is an evolute ghost. You have now put it into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it +may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so +that it may never return. Let relief come.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Red Raven, most powerful +ada´wehi. Ha! You never fail in anything, for so it was ordained of you. Ha! +You are resting directly overhead. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall +remain but a trace upon the ground where you have been. It is an evolute ghost. +Ha! You have put the Intruder into a crevice of Sanigalagi and now the relief +shall come. It (the Intruder) is sent to the Darkening Land. You have put it to +rest in the Darkening Land. Let the relief come.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Raven; you are resting +directly overhead, ada´wehi. You never fail in anything, for so it was ordained +of you. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall be left but a trace upon +the ground where you have been. You have put the Intruder into a crevice in +Sanigalagi, that it may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the +Darkening Land, so that it may never return. Let the relief come.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken; you repose on high on Wa´hĭlĭ, +O White Raven, ada´wehi. You never fail in anything. Ha! Now you are brought +down. There shall be left but a trace upon the ground where you have been. Ha! +Now you have taken it up. You have put the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, +that it may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening +Land, never to return. Let the relief come.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page368" id="page368"></a>[pg 368]</span> + +<p>(Directions)—This is to treat them for a painful sickness. One must suck. Use +Tsâ´lagayû<sup>n</sup>´-li ("Old Tobacco"—Nicotiana rustica), blossoms, and just have them in +the mouth, and Kanasâ´la (Wild Parsnip), goes with it, and four red beads also must +lie there, and Tsâliyu´sti Usdi´ga ("Little (plant) Like Tobacco"—Indian +Tobacco—Lobelia +inflata.) And if there should be anything mixed with it (i.e., after sucking +the place), just put it about a hand’s-length into the mud.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>The Cherokee name for this disease gives no idea whatever of its +serious nature. The technical term, Tsundaye´liga´ktanû´hĭ, really +refers to the enthusiastic outburst of sociability that ensues when +two old friends meet. In this instance it might be rendered “an +ordeal.” The application of such a name to what is considered a +serious illness is in accordance with the regular formulistic practice +of making light of a dangerous malady in order to convey to the +disease spirit the impression that the shaman is not afraid of him. +A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ, from whom the formula was obtained, states also that the +disease is sometimes sent to a man by a friend or even by his parents, +in order to test his endurance and knowledge of counter spells.</p> + +<p>As with most diseases, the name simply indicates the shaman’s +theory of the occult cause of the trouble, and is no clue to the +symptoms, which may be those usually attendant upon fevers, indigestion, +or almost any other ailment.</p> + +<p>In some cases the disease is caused by the conjurations of an +enemy, through which the patient becomes subject to an inordinate +appetite, causing him to eat until his abdomen is unnaturally distended. +By the same magic spells tobacco may be conveyed into +the man’s body, causing him to be affected by faintness and languor. +The enemy, if bitterly revengeful, may even put into the body of +his victim a worm or insect (tsgâya), or a sharpened stick of black +locust or “fat” pine, which will result in death if not removed by +a good doctor. Sometimes a weed stalk is in some occult manner +conveyed into the patient’s stomach, where it is transformed into a +worm. As this disease is very common, owing to constant quarrels +and rival jealousies, there are a number of specialists who devote +their attention to it.</p> + +<p>The prayer is addressed to the Black, Red, Blue, and White +Ravens, their location at the four cardinal points not being specified, +excepting in the case of the white raven of Wa´hilĭ, which, as +already stated, is said to be a mountain in the south, and hence is +used figuratively to mean the south. The ravens are each in turn +declared to have put the disease into a crevice in Sanigala´gi—the +Cherokee name of Whiteside Mountain, at the head of Tuckasegee +River, in North Carolina, and used figuratively for any high precipitous +mountain—and to have left no more than a trace upon the +ground where it has been. The adjective translated “evolute” +(udanûhĭ) is of frequent occurrence in the formulas, but has no +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page369" id="page369"></a>[pg 369]</span> +exact equivalent in English. It signifies springing into being or +life from an embryonic condition. In this instance it would imply +that whatever object the enemy has put into the body of the sick +man has there developed into a ghost to trouble him.</p> + +<p>The directions are expressed in a rather vague manner, as is the +case with most of A‘yû<sup>n</sup>ini’s attempts at original composition. The +disease is here called by another name, agi‘li´ya unitlû<sup>n</sup>gû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ, signifying +“when they are painfully sick.” The treatment consists in sucking +the part most affected, the doctor having in his mouth during +the operation the blossoms of Tsâ´l-agayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ (Nicotiana rustica), +Kanasâ´la (wild parsnip,) and Tsâliyusti Usdiga (Lobelia inflata.) +The first and last of these names signify “tobacco” and “tobacco-like,” +while the other seems to contain the same word, tsâ´la, and the +original idea may have been to counteract the witchcraft by the use +of the various species of “tobacco,” the herb commonly used to drive +away a witch or wizard. During the sucking process four red beads +lie near upon a piece of (white) cloth, which afterward becomes the +perquisite of the doctor. Though not explicitly stated, it is probable +that the doctor holds in his mouth a decoction of the blossoms +named, rather than the blossoms themselves. On withdrawing his +mouth from the spot and ejecting the liquid into a bowl, it is expected +that there will be found “mixed” with it a small stick, a pebble, an +insect, or something of the kind, and this the shaman then holds up +to view as the cause of the disease. It is afterward buried a “hand’s +length” (awâ´hilû)<a id="footnotetag12" name="footnotetag12"></a><a href="#footnote12"><sup>12</sup></a> deep in the mud. No directions were given as +to diet or tabu.</p> + +<h4>HUNTING.</h4> + +<h4>GÛN´HILÛ´<sup>n</sup>TA UGÛ´<sup>n</sup>WA‘LĬ.</h4> + +<p>Una´lelŭ´ eskiska´l‘tasĭ´. Iskwa´lelŭ eskiska´l‘tasĭ´. Yû! Ela-Kana´tĭ +tsûlda´hĭstû´<sup>n</sup>, tsûwatsi´la astû´<sup>n</sup> detsatasi´ga. Ts’skwâ´lĭ +uda´nisă´‘testĭ, +ugwala´ga udu´yaheti´dege´stĭ. Sunûsi´ya-gwû udanisă´‘testĭ, +ts’su´lti-gwû nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.</p> + +<p>Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Gi´gage-gâgû´, tsine´tsĭ gesû´<sup>n</sup> aw’stitege´stĭ. <i>Tsăstû´ +utatiyĭ</i>, nâ´gwa <i>tsăs‘tû gasû‘hisă‘tĭ atisge´stĭ</i>. Ha-nâ´gwa +nû<sup>n</sup>nâ +tsusdi´ tutana´wa-tegû´ <i>digana´watû´<sup>n</sup>ta</i> atisge´stĭ. Utalĭ´ udanû´hĭ +ugwala´ga gû<sup>n</sup>watuy´ahĭti´tege´stĭ, hĭlahiyû´<sup>n</sup>ta-gwû <sup>w</sup>ustû´‘stĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +D’stiskwâ´lĭ deudû´nisă‘te´stĭ. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>CONCERNING HUNTING.</h4> + +<p>Give me the wind. Give me the breeze. Yû! O Great Terrestrial Hunter, I +come to the edge of your spittle where you repose. Let your stomach cover itself; +let it be covered with leaves. Let it cover itself at a single bend, and may you +never be satisfied.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page370" id="page370"></a>[pg 370]</span> + +<p>And you, O Ancient Red, may you hover above my breast while I sleep. Now +let good (dreams?) develop; let my experiences be propitious. Ha! Now let my +little trails be directed, as they lie down in various directions(?). Let the leaves be +covered with the clotted blood, and may it never cease to be so. You two (the +Water and the Fire) shall bury it in your stomachs. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This is a hunting formula, addressed to the two great gods of the +hunter, Fire and Water. The evening before starting the hunter +“goes to water,” as already explained, and recites the appropriate +formula. In the morning he sets out, while still fasting, and travels +without eating or drinking until nightfall. At sunset he again goes +to water, reciting this formula during the ceremony, after which he +builds his camp fire, eats his supper and lies down for the night, +first rubbing his breast with ashes from the fire. In the morning he +starts out to look for game.</p> + +<p>"Give me the wind," is a prayer that the wind may be in his favor, +so that the game may not scent him. The word rendered here +“Great Terrestrial Hunter,” is in the original “Ela-Kana´tĭ.” In this +<i>e´la</i> is the earth and <i>kana´tĭ</i> is a term applied to a successful hunter. +The great Kanatĭ, who, according to the myth, formerly kept all +the game shut up in his underground caverns, now dwells above the +sky, and is frequently invoked by hunters. The raven also is often addressed +as Kanatĭ in these hunting formulas. Ela-Kana´tĭ, the Great +Terrestrial Hunter—as distinguished from the other two—signifies +the river, the name referring to the way in which the tiny streams +and rivulets search out and bring down to the great river the leaves +and débris of the mountain forests. In formulas for medicine, love, +the ball play, etc., the river is always addressed as the Long Person +(Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĭ Gûnahi´ta). The “spittle” referred to is the foam at the +edge of the water. “Let your stomach be covered with leaves” +means, let the blood-stained leaves where the stricken game shall +fall be so numerous as to cover the surface of the water. The hunter +prays also that sufficient game may be found in a single bend of the +river to accomplish this result without the necessity of searching +through the whole forest, and to that end he further prays that +the river may never be satisfied, but continually longing for more. +The same idea is repeated in the second paragraph. The hunter is +supposed to feed the river with blood washed from the game. In +like manner he feeds the fire, addressed in the second paragraph as +the “Ancient Red,” with a piece of meat cut from the tongue of the +deer. The prayer that the fire may hover above his breast while he +sleeps and brings him favorable dreams, refers to his rubbing his +breast with ashes from his camp fire before lying down to sleep, in +order that the fire may bring him dream omens of success for the +morrow. The Fire is addressed either as the Ancient White or the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page371" id="page371"></a>[pg 371]</span> +Ancient Red, the allusion in the first case being to the light or the +ashes of the fire; in the other case, to the color of the burning coals. +“You two shall bury it in your stomachs” refers to the blood-stained +leaves and the piece of meat which are cast respectively into +the river and the fire. The formula was obtained from A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ, +who explained it in detail.</p> + +<h4>HIĂ´ TSI´SKWA GANÂHILIDASTI YĬ.</h4> + +<p>Tsĭgĕ´! Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>l-Une´ga, tsûltâ´histû´<sup>n</sup> gûlitâ´hĭstani´ga. Nâ´gwa +tsûda´ntâ talehĭ´sani´ga. Sâ´gwa igûnsi´ya ts’skwâlĭ´ udû´nisate´stĭ, +ts’su´ltĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Wane´(ĭ) tigi´gage(ĭ) tali´kanĕli´ga. <sup>U</sup>´<sup>n</sup>talĭ +udanû´hĭ +tsăgista´‘tĭ.</p> + +<p>Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>l-Une´ga, <i>anu´ya uwâtatâ´gĭ agi´stĭ tătsiskâ´ltane´lûhĭ</i>. +<sup>U</sup>´<sup>n</sup>talĭ u´danû´ <i>te´tûlskew´si´ga</i>.</p> + +<p>Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>l-Une´ga, nû<sup>n</sup>na´(hĭ) kana´tĭ skwatetâ´stani´ga. Unigwalû´<sup>n</sup>gĭ +te´gatû<sup>n</sup>tsi´ga. Nû<sup>n</sup>â´(hĭ) kana´tĭ tati´kiyû´<sup>n</sup>gwita´watise´stĭ. +Unigwalû´<sup>n</sup>gĭ tigû´<sup>n</sup>watû´tsanû´hĭ.</p> + +<p>Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>l-Une´ga, Kana´tĭ, sk´salatâ´titege´stĭ, sa‘ka´ni ginu´t’tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Sgĕ!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS IS FOR HUNTING BIRDS.</h4> + +<p>Listen! O Ancient White, where you dwell in peace I have come to rest. Now +let your spirit arise. Let it (the game brought down) be buried in your stomach, +and may your appetite never be satisfied. The red hickories have tied themselves +together. The clotted blood is your recompense.</p> + +<p>O Ancient White, * * * Accept the clotted blood (?)</p> + +<p>O Ancient White, put me in the successful hunting trail. Hang the mangled +things upon me. Let me come along the successful trail with them doubled up +(under my belt). It (the road) is clothed with the mangled things.</p> + +<p>O Ancient White, O Kanati, support me continually, that I may never become +blue. Listen!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ’s manuscript, is recited by the bird-hunter +in the morning while standing over the fire at his hunting +camp before starting out for the day’s hunt. A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ stated that +seven blowgun arrows are first prepared, including a small one only +a “hand-length” (awâ´hilû) long. On rising in the morning the +hunter, standing over the fire, addresses it as the “Ancient White.” +rubbing his hands together while repeating the prayer. He then +sets out for the hunting ground, where he expects to spend the day, +and on reaching it he shoots away the short arrow at random, without +attempting to trace its flight. There is of course some significance +attached to this action and perhaps an accompanying prayer, +but no further information upon this point was obtainable. Having +shot away the magic arrow, the hunter utters a peculiar hissing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page372" id="page372"></a>[pg 372]</span> +sound, intended to call up the birds, and then goes to work with his +remaining arrows. On all hunting expeditions it is the regular practice, +religiously enforced, to abstain from food until sunset.</p> + +<p>A favorite method with the bird-hunter during the summer season +is to climb a gum tree, which is much frequented by the smaller +birds on account of its berries, where, taking up a convenient position +amid the branches with his noiseless blowgun and arrows, he +deliberately shoots down one bird after another until his shafts are +exhausted, when he climbs down, draws out the arrows from the +bodies of the birds killed, and climbs up again to repeat the operation. +As the light darts used make no sound, the birds seldom +take the alarm, and are too busily engaged with the berries to notice +their comrades dropping to the ground from time to time, and pay +but slight attention even to the movements of the hunter.</p> + +<p>The prayer is addressed to the Ancient White (the Fire), the spirit +most frequently invoked by the hunter, who, as before stated, rubs +his hands together over the fire while repeating the words. The expressions +used are obscure when taken alone, but are full of meaning +when explained in the light of the hunting customs. The “clotted +blood” refers to the bloodstained leaves upon which the fallen game +has lain. The expression occurs constantly in the hunting formulas. +The hunter gathers up these bloody leaves and casts them upon the +fire, in order to draw omens for the morrow from the manner in +which they burn. A part of the tongue, or some other portion of +the animal, is usually cast upon the coals also for the same purpose. +This subject will be treated at length in a future account of the +hunting ceremonies.</p> + +<p>"Let it be buried in your stomach" refers also to the offering made +the fire. By the red hickories are meant the strings of hickory bark +which the bird hunter twists about his waist for a belt. The dead +birds are carried by inserting their heads under this belt. Red is, +of course, symbolic of his success. “The mangled things” (unigwalû´<sup>n</sup>gĭ) +are the wounded birds. Kana´tĭ is here used to designate the +fire, on account of its connection with the hunting ceremonies.</p> + +<h4>INAGĔ´HĬ AYÂSTI<sup>n</sup>YĬ.</h4> + +<p>Usĭnuli´yu Selagwû´tsĭ Gigage´ĭ getsû´<sup>n</sup>neliga tsûdandâgi´hĭ aye‘li´yu, +usĭnuli´yu. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS.</h4> + +<p>Instantly the Red Selagwû´tsĭ strike you in the very center of your soul—instantly. Yû!</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page373" id="page373"></a>[pg 373]</span> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This short formula, obtained from ‘wani´ta, is recited by the +hunter while taking aim. The bowstring is let go—or, rather, the +trigger is pulled—at the final <i>Yû!</i> He was unable to explain the +meaning of the word selagwû´tsĭ further than that it referred to the +bullet. Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that this +is the Cherokee name of a reed of the genus Erianthus, and the inference +follows that the stalk of the plant was formerly used for +arrow shafts. Red implies that the arrow is always successful in +reaching the mark aimed at, and in this instance may refer also to +its being bloody when withdrawn from the body of the animal. +Inagĕ´hĭ, “dwellers in the wilderness,” is the generic term for game, +including birds, but A‘wani´ta has another formula intended especially for deer.</p> + +<h4>(Y´NA TĬ´KANÂGI´TA.)</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p>Tsistuyi´ nehandu´yanû, Tsistuyi´ nehandu´yanû—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p>Kuwâhi´ nehandu´yanû´, Kuwâhi´ nehandu´yanû—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p>Uyâ‘ye´ nehandu´yanû´, Uya´ye´ nehahdu´yanû´—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>He+! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p>Gâtekwâ´(hĭ) nehandu´yanû´, Gâtekwâ´(hĭ) nehandu´yanû´—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>Ûlĕ-‘nû´ asĕhĭ´ tadeya´statakûhĭ´ gû´<sup>n</sup>nage astû´tsĭkĭ´.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>BEAR SONG.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p class="i2">In Rabbit Place you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p class="i2">In Mulberry Place you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p class="i2">In Uyâ´‘yĕ you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>He! Hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´, hayuya´haniwă´.</p> +<p class="i2">In the Great Swamp (?) you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho´+!</p> +<p>And now surely we and the good black things, the best of all, shall see each other.</p> +</div> +</div> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page374" id="page374"></a>[pg 374]</span> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This song, obtained from A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ in connection with the story of +the Origin of the Bear, as already mentioned, is sung by the bear +hunter, in order to attract the bears, while on his way from the +camp to the place where he expects to hunt during the day. It is +one of those taught the Cherokees by the Ani-Tsâ´kahĭ before they +lost their human shape and were transformed into bears. The +melody is simple and plaintive.</p> + +<p>The song consists of four verses followed by a short recitation. +Each verse begins with a loud prolonged <i>He+!</i> and ends with +<i>Yoho´+!</i> uttered in the same manner. Hayuya´haniwă´ has no meaning. +Tsistu´yĭ, Kuwâ´hĭ, Uyâ´‘yĕ, and Gâte´kwâhĭ are four mountains, +in each of which the bears have a townhouse and hold a dance before +going into their dens for the winter. The first three named are high +peaks in the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, in the neighborhood +of Clingman’s Dome and Mount Guyot. The fourth is +southeast of Franklin, North Carolina, toward the South Carolina +line, and may be identical with Fodderstack Mountain. In Kuwahi +dwells the great bear chief and doctor, in whose magic bath the +wounded bears are restored to health. They are said to originate or +be conceived in the mountains named, because these are their headquarters. +The “good black things” referred to in the recitation are the bears.</p> + +<h4>HIĂ´ ATSÛ‘TI´YĬ TSUN´TANÛ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa hitsatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga hitsiga´tugĭ´. Titsila´wisû´<sup>n</sup>hĭ +<sup>u</sup>wâgi´‘lĭ tege´tsûts‘gû´‘lawĭstĭ´. Tsuli´stana´lû ûlĕ´ waktûĭ, agi´stĭ +une´ka itsû´<sup>n</sup>yatanilû´ĭstani´ga. Gû<sup>n</sup>watu´hwĭtû´ nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ +degûndâltsi´dâhe´stĭ. +<sup>u</sup>Wâ´hisâ´nahĭ tigiwatsi´la. Tutsegû´‘lawistĭ´tege´stĭ. +Û<sup>n</sup>talĭ´ degû´<sup>n</sup>watanûhĭ, uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Tsuwatsi´la dadâl‘tsi´ga. +A‘yû A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ tigwadâ´ita. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS IS FOR CATCHING LARGE FISH.</h4> + +<p>Listen! Now you settlements have drawn near to hearken. Where you have +gathered in the foam you are moving about as one. You Blue Cat and the others, +I have come to offer you freely the white food. Let the paths from every direction +recognize each other. Our spittle shall be in agreement. Let them (your and my +spittle) be together as we go about. They (the fish) have become a prey and there +shall be no loneliness. Your spittle has become agreeable. I am called Swimmer. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ´s’ book, is for the purpose of catching +large fish. According to his instructions, the fisherman must first +chew a small piece of Yugwilû´ (Venus’ Flytrap—Dionæa muscipula) +and spit it upon the bait and also upon the hook. Then, standing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page375" id="page375"></a>[pg 375]</span> +facing the stream, he recites the formula and puts the bait upon the +hook. He will be able to pull out a fish at once, or if the fish are +not about at the moment they will come in a very short time.</p> + +<p>The Yugwilû´ is put upon the bait from the idea that it will enable +the hook to attract and hold the fish as the plant itself seizes and +holds insects in its cup. The root is much prized by the Cherokees +for this purpose, and those in the West, where the plant is not found, +frequently send requests for it to their friends in Carolina.</p> + +<p>The prayer is addressed directly to the fish, who are represented +as living in settlements. The same expression as has already been +mentioned is sometimes used by the doctors in speaking of the +<i>tsgâ´ya</i> or worms which are supposed to cause sickness by getting +under the skin of the patient. The Blue Cat (<i>Amiurus, genus</i>) is +addressed as the principal fish and the bait is spoken of as the “white +food,” an expression used also of the viands prepared at the feast of +the green corn dance, to indicate their wholesome character. “Let +the paths from every direction recognize each other,” means let the +fishes, which are supposed to have regular trails through the water, +assemble together at the place where the speaker takes his station, +as friends recognizing each other at a distance approach to greet +each other, <sup>u</sup>Wâhisâ´nahĭ tigiwatsi´la, rendered “our spittle shall be +in agreement,” is a peculiar archaic expression that can not be literally +translated. It implies that there shall be such close sympathy +between the fisher and the fish that their spittle shall be as the spittle +of one individual. As before stated, the spittle is believed to exert an +important influence upon the whole physical and mental being. The +expression “your spittle has become agreeable” is explained by +A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ as an assertion or wish that the fish may prove palatable, +while the words rendered “there shall be no loneliness” imply that +there shall be an abundant catch.</p> + +<h4>LOVE.</h4> + +<h4>(YÛ<sup>n</sup>WĔ´HĬ UGÛ´<sup>n</sup>WA‘LĬ I.)</h4> + +<p>Ku! Sgĕ! <i>Alahi´yĭ</i> tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Higĕ´‘ya tsûl‘di´yĭ, +hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga. +<i>Elahi´yĭ</i> iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta ditsûl‘da´histĭ, Higĕ´‘ya Tsûne´ga. +Tsisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Tsâduhi´yĭ. Nâ´gwa-skĭn´ĭ usĭnuli´yu +hû<sup>n</sup>skwane´‘lû<sup>n</sup>gû´ +tsisga´ya agine´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Nâ´gwa nû´<sup>n</sup>nâ, une´ga +hû<sup>n</sup>skwanû<sup>n</sup>neli´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Nâ´gwa skwade´tastani´ga. +Sa‘ka´ni u´tatĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Nû<sup>n</sup>nâ une´ga skiksa´‘û<sup>n</sup>taneli´ga. +Elaye´‘lĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta skwalewistă´‘tani´ga E´latĭ gesû´<sup>n</sup> +tsĭtage´stĭ. Agisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Agwâ´duhi´yu. Kûltsâ´te une´ga skiga´‘tani´ga. +Uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, gû<sup>n</sup>kwatsâti´tege´stĭ. Tsi-sa‘ka´ni +agwă´tatĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Usĭnuli´yu hû<sup>n</sup>skwane´‘lû<sup>n</sup>gû´.</p> + +<p>Ha-nâ´gwûlĕ <i>Elahi´yĭ</i> iyû´<sup>n</sup>tă dûhiyane´‘lû<sup>n</sup>gû´ a‘gĕ´‘ya +sa‘ka´ni. +Nâ´gwa nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ sa‘ka´ni hû<sup>n</sup>tane´‘laneli´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ-gwû u´danû +dudusa´gĭ tanela´sĭ. Nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ sa‘ka´ni tade´tâstani´ga. +Nâgwûlĕ´ +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page376" id="page376"></a>[pg 376]</span> +hû<sup>n</sup>hiyatsâ´û<sup>n</sup>taniga. E´latĭ gesû´<sup>n</sup> tû´l‘taniga. Dedu´laskû´<sup>n</sup>-gwû +igû´<sup>n</sup>wa‘lawĭ´stĭ uhi´sa‘ti´yĭ widaye´la‘ni´ga. Dedulaskû´<sup>n</sup>-gwû +igû´<sup>n</sup>wa‘lawĭ´stĭ +uhi´sa‘ti´yĭ nitû´<sup>n</sup>neli´ga.</p> + +<p>Ha-sâgwahi´yu itsilasta´lagĭ + + uwă´sahi´yu, etsane´‘laneli´ga. +Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Agwâ´duhĭ. A´yû agwadantâ´gĭ aye‘li´yu +d’ka´‘lani´lĭ duda´ntâ, uktahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĭ +tsu´tsatû<sup>n</sup> +widudante´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, nitû´<sup>n</sup>neli´ga. Sâ´gwahĭ itsilasta´lagĭ, +etsane´‘laneli´ga kûlkwâ´gi-nasĭ´ igûlstû´‘lĭ gegane´‘lanû´<sup>n</sup>.</p> + +<p>Anisga´ya anewadi´sû<sup>n</sup> unihisa‘ti´yĭ. Tsu´nada´neilti´yĭ. +Dĭ´la-gwû +degû´<sup>n</sup>wănatsegû´‘lawi´sdidegû´. Ayâ´ise´ta-gwû u´danû. +Tsunada´neilti´yĭ. +Utse´tsti-gwû degû´<sup>n</sup>wănatsegû´‘lawis´didegû´. Tsunada´neilti´yĭ. +Ka´ga-gwû degû´<sup>n</sup>wănatsegû´‘awisdidegû´. Tsunada´neilti´yĭ. +Da´l‘ka-gwû degû´<sup>n</sup>wănatsegû´‘lawisdidegû´.</p> + +<p>Kûlkwâ´gĭ igûlsta´lagĭ unihisa‘ti´yu. Ige´ski-gwû nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Ayâ´ise´ta-gwû +u´danû degû´<sup>n</sup>wănatsûn‘ti-degû´. K’si-gwû degû´<sup>n</sup>wănatsûn‘ti-degû´. +A´yagâgû´ tsisga´ya agine´ga û<sup>n</sup>gwane´‘lanû´hĭ ++ + Nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ iti´tsa ditsidâ´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Agwâduhi´yu. +Tsi-sa‘ka´nĭ agwă´tatĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Kûltsâ´te une´ga +û<sup>n</sup>ni´tagâgû´ +gûkwatsâ´nti-degû´. Agisă´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. A´yû agwadantâ´gĭ +aye‘li´yu gûlasi´ga tsûda´ntâ, uktahû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. A´yû +tsĭ´gĭ +tsûda´nta 0 0. Sgĕ!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>CONCERNING LIVING HUMANITY (LOVE).</h4> + +<p>Kû! Listen! In Alahi´yĭ you repose, O Terrible Woman, O you have drawn near +to hearken. There in Elahiyĭ you are at rest, O White Woman. No one is ever +lonely when with you. You are most beautiful. Instantly and at once you have +rendered me a white man. No one is ever lonely when with me. Now you have +made the path white for me. It shall never be dreary. Now you have put me into +it. It shall never become blue. You have brought down to me from above the +white road. There in mid-earth (mid-surface) you have placed me. I shall stand +erect upon the earth. No one is ever lonely when with me. I am very handsome. +You have put me into the white house. I shall be in it as it moves about and no +one with me shall ever be lonely. Verily, I shall never become blue. Instantly +you have caused it to be so with me.</p> + +<p>And now there in Elahiyĭ you have rendered the woman blue. Now you have +made the path blue for her. Let her be completely veiled in loneliness. Put her +into the blue road. And now bring her down. Place her standing upon the earth. +Where her feet are now and wherever she may go, let loneliness leave its mark +upon her. Let her be marked out for loneliness where she stands.</p> + +<p>Ha! I belong to the (Wolf) ( + + ) clan, that one alone which was allotted +into for you. No one is ever lonely with me. I am handsome. Let her put her +soul the very center of my soul, never to turn away. Grant that in the midst of +men she shall never think of them. I belong to the one clan alone which was +allotted for you when the seven clans were established.</p> + +<p>Where (other) men live it is lonely. They are very loathsome. The common +polecat has made them so like himself that they are fit only for his company. They +have became mere refuse. They are very loathsome. The common opossum has +made them so like himself that they are fit only to be with him. They are very +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page377" id="page377"></a>[pg 377]</span> +loathsome. Even the crow has made them so like himself that they are fit only +for his company. They are very loathsome. The miserable rain-crow has made +them so like himself that they are fit only to be with him.</p> + +<p>The seven clans all alike make one feel very lonely in their company. They are +not even good looking. They go about clothed with mere refuse. They even go +about covered with dung. But I—I was ordained to be a white man. I stand with +my face toward the Sun Land. No one is ever lonely with me. I am very handsome. +I shall certainly never become blue. I am covered by the everlasting white +house wherever I go. No one is ever lonely with me. Your soul has come into +the very center of my soul, never to turn away. I—(Gatigwanasti,) (0 0)—I take +your soul. Sgĕ!</p> + + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This unique formula is from one of the loose manuscript sheets +of Gatigwanasti, now dead, and belongs to the class known as +Yû<sup>n</sup>wĕ´hĭ or love charms (literally, concerning “living humanity”), +including all those referring in any way to the marital or sexual +relation. No explanation accompanies the formula, which must +therefore be interpreted from analogy. It appears to be recited by +the lover himself—not by a hired shaman—perhaps while painting +and adorning himself for the dance. (<i>See next two formulas.</i>)</p> + +<p>The formula contains several obscure expressions which require +further investigation. Elahiyĭ or Alahiyĭ, for it is written both +ways in the manuscript, does not occur in any other formula met +with thus far, and could not be explained by any of the shamans to +whom it was submitted. The nominative form may be Elahĭ, perhaps +from <i>ela</i>, “the earth,” and it may be connected with Wa´hĭlĭ, +the formulistic name for the south. The spirit invoked is the White +Woman, white being the color denoting the south.</p> + +<p>Uhisa´‘tĭ, rendered here “lonely,” is a very expressive word to +a Cherokee and is of constant recurrence in the love formulas. +It refers to that intangible something characteristic of certain persons +which inevitably chills and depresses the spirits of all who +may be so unfortunate as to come within its influence. Agisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, “I never render any one lonely,” is an intensified +equivalent for, “I am the best company in the world,” and to tell a +girl that a rival lover is uhisa´‘tĭ is to hold out to her the sum of all +dreary prospects should she cast in her lot with him.</p> + +<p>The speaker, who evidently has an exalted opinion of himself, +invokes the aid of the White Woman, who is most beautiful and is +never uhisa´‘tĭ. She at once responds by making him a white—that +is, a happy—man, and placing him in the white road of happiness, +which shall never become blue with grief or despondency. She +then places him standing in the middle of the earth, that he may be +seen and admired by the whole world, especially by the female +portion. She finally puts him into the white house, where happiness +abides forever. The verb implies that the house shelters him like a +cloak and goes about with him wherever he may go.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page378" id="page378"></a>[pg 378]</span> + +<p>There is something comical in the extreme self-complacency with +which he asserts that he is very handsome and will never become +blue and no one with him is ever lonely. As before stated, white +signifies peace and happiness, while blue is the emblem of sorrow +and disappointment.</p> + +<p>Having thus rendered himself attractive to womankind, he turns +his attention to the girl whom he particularly desires to win. He +begins by filling her soul with a sense of desolation and loneliness. +In the beautiful language of the formula, her path becomes +blue and she is veiled in loneliness. He then asserts, and reiterates, +that he is of the one only clan which was allotted for her when +the seven clans were established.</p> + +<p>He next pays his respects to his rivals and advances some very +forcible arguments to show that she could never be happy with any +of them. He says that they are all “lonesome” and utterly loathsome—the +word implies that they are mutually loathsome—and that +they are the veriest trash and refuse. He compares them to so many +polecats, opossums, and crows, and finally likens them to the rain-crow +(cuckoo; <i>Coccygus</i>), which is regarded with disfavor on account +of its disagreeable note. He grows more bitter in his denunciations +as he proceeds and finally disposes of the matter by saying that +all the seven clans alike are uhisa´‘tĭ and are covered with filth. +Then follows another glowing panegyric of himself, closing with +the beautiful expression, “your soul has come into the very center +of mine, never to turn away,” which reminds one forcibly of the +sentiment in the German love song, “Du liegst mir im Herzen.” +The final expression, “I take your soul,” implies that the formula +has now accomplished its purpose in fixing her thoughts upon himself.</p> + +<p>When successful, a ceremony of this kind has the effect of rendering +the victim so “blue” or lovesick that her life is in danger until +another formula is repeated to make her soul “white” or happy +again. Where the name of the individual or clan is mentioned in +these formulas the blank is indicated in the manuscript by crosses ++ + or ciphers 0 0 or by the word iyu´stĭ, “like.”</p> + + +<h4>HĬ´Ă ĂMA´YĬ Ă´TAWASTI´YĬ KAN´HEHÛ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga <i>Higĕ´‘yagu´ga</i>, +tsûwatsi´la +gi´gage tsiye´la skĭna´dû‘lani´ga. 0 0 digwadâ´ita. Sa‘ka´nĭ +tûgwadûne´lûhĭ. Atsanû´<sup>n</sup>gĭ gi´gage skwâsû´hisa‘tani´ga. + + +kûlstă´lagĭ + sa‘ka´nĭ nu´tatanû´<sup>n</sup>ta. Ditu´nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´gĭ +dagwû´laskû´<sup>n</sup>-gwû +deganu´y’tasi´ga. Galâ´nû<sup>n</sup>tse´ta-gwû dagwadûne´lidise´stĭ. Sgĕ!</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page379" id="page379"></a>[pg 379]</span> + + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS TELLS ABOUT GOING INTO THE WATER.</h4> + +<p>Listen! O, now instantly, you have drawn near to hearken, O Agĕ´‘yagu´ga. You +have come to put your red spittle upon my body. My name is (Gatigwanasti.) +The blue had affected me. You have come and clothed me with a red dress. She +is of the (Deer) clan. She has become blue. You have directed her paths straight +to where I have my feet, and I shall feel exultant. Listen!</p> + + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from Gatigwanasti’s book, is also of the Yû<sup>n</sup>wĕ´hĭ +class, and is repeated by the lover when about to bathe in the stream +preparatory to painting himself for the dance. The services of a +shaman are not required, neither is any special ceremony observed. +The technical word used in the heading, ă´tawasti´yĭ, signifies +plunging or going entirely into a liquid. The expression used for the +ordinary “going to water,” where the water is simply dipped up with +the hand, is ămâ´yĭ dita‘ti´yĭ, “taking them to water.”</p> + +<p>The prayer is addressed to Agĕ´‘yaguga, a formulistic name for +the moon, which is supposed to exert a great influence in love affairs, +because the dances, which give such opportunities for love making, +always take place at night. The shamans can not explain the meaning +of the term, which plainly contains the word agĕ´‘ya, “woman,” +and may refer to the moon’s supposed influence over women. In +Cherokee mythology the moon is a man. The ordinary name is +nû´<sup>n</sup>dâ, or more fully, nû´<sup>n</sup>dâ sû<sup>n</sup>nâyĕ´hĭ, “the sun living in the +night,” while the sun itself is designated as nû´<sup>n</sup>dâ igĕ´hĭ, “the sun +living in the day.”</p> + +<p>By the red spittle of Agĕ´‘yagu´ga and the red dress with which +the lover is clothed are meant the red paint which he puts upon +himself. This in former days was procured from a deep red clay +known as ela-wâ´tĭ, or “reddish brown clay.” The word red as used +in the formula is emblematic of success in attaining his object, besides +being the actual color of the paint. Red, in connection with +dress or ornamentation, has always been a favorite color with Indians +throughout America, and there is some evidence that among +the Cherokees it was regarded also as having a mysterious protective +power. In all these formulas the lover renders the woman blue or +disconsolate and uneasy in mind as a preliminary to fixing her +thoughts upon himself. (<i>See next formula.</i>)</p> + +<h4>(YÛ´<sup>n</sup>WĔ´HĬ UGÛ´<sup>n</sup>WA‘LĬ II.)</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</p> +<p>Galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ, datsila´ĭ—Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</p> +<p>Nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ gatla´ahĭ—Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</p> +</div> +</div> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page380" id="page380"></a>[pg 380]</span> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Ge‘yagu´ga Gi´gage, tsûwatsi´la gi´gage tsiye´la skĭna´dû‘lani´ga—</p> +<p>Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</p> +<p>Hiă-‘nû´ atawe´ladi´yĭ kanâ´hĕhû galû<sup>n</sup>lti´tla.</p> +</div> +</div> + + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>SONG FOR PAINTING.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p><i>Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</i></p> +<p>I am come from above—<i>Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</i></p> +<p>I am come down from the Sun Land—<i>Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</i></p> +<p>O Red Agĕ‘yagu´ga, you have come and put your red spittle upon my body—Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>And this above is to recite while one is painting himself.</p> + + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from Gatigwanasti, immediately follows the one +last given, in the manuscript book, and evidently comes immediately +after it also in practical use. The expressions used have been already +explained. The one using the formula first bathes in the running +stream, reciting at the same time the previous formula “Amâ´yĭ +Ă´tawasti´yĭ.” He then repairs to some convenient spot with his +paint, beads, and other paraphernalia and proceeds to adorn himself +for the dance, which usually begins about an hour after dark, but is +not fairly under way until nearly midnight. The refrain, yû´<sup>n</sup>wĕhĭ, +is probably <i>sung</i> while mixing the paint, and the other portion is +recited while applying the pigment, or vice versa. Although these +formula are still in use, the painting is now obsolete, beyond an +occasional daubing of the face, without any plan or pattern, on the +occasion of a dance or ball play.</p> + +<h4>ADALANI´STA‘TI´YĬ. Ĭ.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i10">Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga nihĭ´—</p> +<p>—Tsa´watsi´lû tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´.</p> +<p>—Hiyelû´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´.</p> +<p>—Tsăwiyû´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´.</p> +<p>—Tsûnahu´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga, Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>lige. Hiă´ asga´ya uda´ntâ +tsa‘ta´hisi´ga [Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>lige] hiye´lastû<sup>n</sup>. Tsaskûlâ´hĭsti-gwû´ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Dĭkana´watû´<sup>n</sup>ta-gwû tsûtû´neli´ga. Hĭlû dudantĕ´‘tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. +Duda´ntâ dûskalû<sup>n</sup>´tseli´ga. Astĭ´ digû´<sup>n</sup>nage tagu´talû<sup>n</sup>tani´ga.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO ATTRACT AND FIX THE AFFECTIONS.</h4> + +<table summary="song" align="center"> +<tr><td align="left"> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken—</p> +<p class="i4">—Your spittle, I take it, I eat it.</p> +<p class="i4">—Your body, I take it, I eat it,</p> +<p class="i4">—Your flesh, I take it, I eat it,</p> +<p class="i4">—Your heart, I take it, I eat it.</p> +</div> +</div> +</td><td><big><big><big><big>}</big></big></big></big></td><td align="left">Each sung four times.</td></tr> +</table> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page381" id="page381"></a>[pg 381]</span> + +<p>Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O, Ancient One. This man’s +(woman’s) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You are never to let go +your hold upon it. It is ordained that you shall do just as you are requested to do. +Let her never think upon any other place. Her soul has faded within her. She is +bound by the black threads.</p> + + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula is said by the young husband, who has just married +an especially engaging wife, who is liable to be attracted by other +men. The same formula may also be used by the woman to fix her +husband’s affections. On the first night that they are together the +husband watches until his wife is asleep, when, sitting up by her +side, he recites the first words: Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga nihĭ´, +and then sings the next four words: Tsawatsi´lû tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ ayû´, +“Your spittle, I take it, I eat it,” repeating the words four times. +While singing he moistens his fingers with spittle, which he rubs +upon the breast of the woman. The next night he repeats the operation, +this time singing the words, “I take your body.” The third +night, in the same way, he sings, “I take your flesh,” and the fourth +and last night, he sings “I take your heart,” after which he repeats +the prayer addressed to the Ancient One, by which is probably +meant the Fire (the Ancient White). A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ states that the final +sentences should be masculine, i.e., His soul has faded, etc., and +refer to any would-be seducer. There is no gender distinction in the +third person in Cherokee. He claimed that this ceremony was so +effective that no husband need have any fears for his wife after performing it.</p> + +<h4>ADAYE´LIGA´GTA‘TĬ´.</h4> + +<p>Yû! Galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ tsûl‘da´histĭ, Giya´giya´ Sa‘ka´ni, nâ´gwa nû<sup>n</sup>talû<sup>n</sup> +i´yû´<sup>n</sup>ta. Tsâ´la Sa‘ka´ni tsûgistâ´‘tĭ adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Nâ´gwa +nidâtsu´l‘tanû´<sup>n</sup>ta, +nû´<sup>n</sup>tātagû´ hisa´hasi´ga. Tani´dâgû<sup>n</sup>´ aye´‘lĭ dehidâ´siga. +Unada´ndâ dehiyâ´staneli´ga. Nidugale´ntanû´<sup>n</sup>ta nidûhû<sup>n</sup>neli´ga.</p> + +<p>Tsisga´ya agine´ga, nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ ditsidâ´‘stĭ. Gû´nĭ âstû´ +uhisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Agĕ´‘ya une´ga hi´ă iyu´stĭ gûlstû´‘lĭ, iyu´stĭ +tsûdâ´ita. +Uda´ndâ usĭnu´lĭ dâdatinilû´gû<sup>n</sup>elĭ´. Nû<sup>n</sup>dâgû´<sup>n</sup>yitsû´ +dâdatinilugûstanelĭ. +Tsisga´ya agine´ga, ditsidâstû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ nû‘nû´ kana´tlani´ga. +Tsûnkta´ tegă‘la´watege´stĭ. Tsiye´lû<sup>n</sup> gesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ uhisa´‘tĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>FOR SEPARATION (OF LOVERS).</h4> + +<p>Yû! On high you repose, O Blue Hawk, there at the far distant lake. The blue +tobacco has come to be your recompense. Now you have arisen at once and come +down. You have alighted midway between them where they two are standing. +You have spoiled their souls immediately. They have at once become separated.</p> + +<p>I am a white man; I stand at the sunrise. The good sperm shall never allow +any feeling of loneliness. This white woman is of the Paint (iyustĭ) clan; she is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page382" id="page382"></a>[pg 382]</span> +called (iyustĭ) Wâyĭ´. We shall instantly turn her soul over. We shall turn it over +as we go toward the Sun Land. I am a white man. Here where I stand it (her +soul) has attached itself to (literally, “come against”) mine. Let her eyes in their +sockets be forever watching (for me). There is no loneliness where my body is.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ’s book, is used to separate two lovers +or even a husband and wife, if the jealous rival so desires. In the +latter case the preceding formula, from the same source, would be +used to forestall this spell. No explanation of the ceremony is +given, but the reference to tobacco may indicate that tobacco is +smoked or thrown into the fire during the recitation. The particular +hawk invoked (giya´giya´) is a large species found in the coast +region but seldom met with in the mountains. Blue indicates that +it brings trouble with it, while white in the second paragraph indicates +that the man is happy and attractive in manner.</p> + +<p>In the first part of the formula the speaker calls upon the Blue +Hawk to separate the lovers and spoil their souls, <i>i.e.</i>, change their +feeling toward each other. In the second paragraph he endeavors +to attract the attention of the woman by eulogizing himself. The +expression, “we shall turn her soul over,” seems here to refer to +turning her affections, but as generally used, to turn one’s soul is +equivalent to killing him.</p> + +<h4>(ADALANĬ´STĂ‘TI´YĬ II.)</h4> + +<p>Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga, * * hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ), (* *) +ditsa(dâ´ita). +A´yû 0 0 tsila(stû´‘lĭ). Hiye´la tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´. (Yû!)</p> + +<p>Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga. * * hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ), * * +ditsa(dâ´íta). +A´yû 0 0 tsûwi´ya tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´. Yû!</p> + +<p>Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga. * * hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ) * * +ditsa(dâ´íta). +A´yû 0 0 tsûwatsi´la tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´ a´yû. Yû!</p> + +<p>Yû! Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dătsâsi´ga. * * hĭlû(stû´‘lĭ), * * +ditsadâ´(ita). +A´yû 0 0 tsûnahŭ´ tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´. Yû!</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! “Ha-nâ´gwa ada´ntĭ dutsase´, tsugale´ntĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na,” +tsûdûneĭ, +Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>lige galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ. Kananĕ´skĭ Û´<sup>n</sup>nage galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ +(h)etsatsâ´û<sup>n</sup>tănile´ĭ. +Tsănilta´gĭ tsûksâ´û<sup>n</sup>tanile´ĭ. ** gûla(stû´‘lĭ), +** ditsadâ´(ita). Dudantâ´gĭ uhani´latâ tĭkwenû´<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. +Kûlkwâ´gĭ +igûlsta´lagĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta yû´<sup>n</sup>wĭ adayû´<sup>n</sup>latawă´ dudûne´lida´lû<sup>n</sup> +uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwatĭ uhisa´‘tĭ dutlû´<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Tsû´nkta +daskâ´lû<sup>n</sup>tsi´ga. +Sâ´gwahĭ di´kta de´gayelû<sup>n</sup>tsi´ga. Ga´tsa igûnû´nugâ´ĭstû +uda´ntâ? Usû´hita nudanû´<sup>n</sup>na ûltû<sup>n</sup>ge´ta gû<sup>n</sup>wadûneli´dege´stĭ. +Igû<sup>n</sup>wûlsta´‘ti-gwû duwâlu´wa‘tû<sup>n</sup>tĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Kananĕ´skĭ +Û<sup>n</sup>nage´ĭ +tsanildew’se´stĭ ada´ntâ uktû<sup>n</sup>lesi´dastĭ nige´sûna. Gadâyu´stĭ +tsûdâ´ita +ada´ntĭ tside´atsasi´ga. A´ya a´kwatseli´ga.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page383" id="page383"></a>[pg 383]</span> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwûlĕ´ hû<sup>n</sup>hatû<sup>n</sup>ga´ga, Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ Gi´gage. +Tsetsûli´sĭ +hiye´lastû<sup>n</sup> a‘ta´hisi´ga. Ada´ntâ hasû‘gû´‘lawĭ´stani´ga, +tsa´skaláhĭstĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Hĭkayû´<sup>n</sup>lige denătsegû‘la´wĭstani´ga. Agĕ´‘ya +gĭ´nsû<sup>n</sup>gû‘lawĭs´tani´ga +uda´ntâ <i>uwahisĭ´sata</i>. Dĭgĭnaskûlâ´hĭstĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Yû!</p> + +<p>Hi´ănasgwû´ u‘tlâ´yi-gwû dĭgalû´<sup>n</sup>wistan´tĭ snû<sup>n</sup>â´yĭ +hani´‘lihû<sup>n</sup> gûnasgi´stĭ. +Gane´tsĭ aye´‘lĭ asi´tadis´tĭ watsi´la, ganû<sup>n</sup>li´yetĭ +aguwaye´nĭ +andisgâ´ĭ. Sâi´yĭ tsika´nâhe itsu´laha´gwû.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO FIX THE AFFECTIONS.</h4> + +<p>Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer (x x) clan. +Your name is (x x) Ayâsta, I am of the Wolf (o-o) clan. Your body, I take it, I +eat it. Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your flesh I take, I eat. Yû!</p> + +<p>Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. Your +name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your spittle I take, I eat. I! Yû!</p> + +<p>Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. Your +name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your heart I take, I eat. Yû!</p> + +<p>Listen! “Ha! Now the souls have met, never to part,” you have said, O Ancient +One above. O Black Spider, you have been brought down from on high. You have +let down your web. She is of the Deer clan; her name is Ayâsta. Her soul you +have wrapped up in (your) web. There where the people of the seven clans are +continually coming in sight and again disappearing (i.e. moving about, coming +and going), there was never any feeling of loneliness.</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! But now you have covered her over with loneliness. Her eyes have +faded. Her eyes have come to fasten themselves on one alone. Whither can her +soul escape? Let her be sorrowing as she goes along, and not for one night alone. +Let her become an aimless wanderer, whose trail may never be followed. O Black +Spider, may you hold her soul in your web so that it shall never get through the +meshes. What is the name of the soul? They two have come together. It is mine!</p> + +<p>Listen! Ha! And now you have hearkened, O Ancient Red. Your grandchildren +have come to the edge of your body. You hold them yet more firmly in your +grasp, never to let go your hold. O Ancient One, we have become as one. The +woman has put her (x x x) soul into our hands. We shall never let it go! Yû!</p> + +<p>(Directions.)—And this also is for just the same purpose (the preceding formula +in the manuscript book is also a love charm). It must be done by stealth at night +when they are asleep. One must put the hand on the middle of the breast and rub +on spittle with the hand, they say. The other formula is equally good.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula to fix the affections of a young wife is taken from +the manuscript sheets of the late Gatigwanasti. It very much resembles +the other formula for the same purpose, obtained from. +A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ, and the brief directions show that the ceremony is alike in +both. The first four paragraphs are probably sung, as in the other +formula, on four successive nights, and, as explained in the directions +and as stated verbally by A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ, this must be done stealthily +at night while the woman is asleep, the husband rubbing his spittle +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page384" id="page384"></a>[pg 384]</span> +on her breast with his hand while chanting the song in a low tone, +hardly above a whisper. The prayer to the Ancient One, or Ancient +Red (Fire), in both formulas, and the expression, “I come to the +edge of your body,” indicate that the hands are first warmed over +the fire, in accordance with the general practice when laying on the +hands. The prayer to the Black Spider is a beautiful specimen of +poetic imagery, and hardly requires an explanation. The final paragraph +indicates the successful accomplishment of his purpose. +“Your grandchildren” (tsetsûli´sĭ) is an expression frequently used +in addressing the more important deities.</p> + +<h3>MISCELLANEOUS FORMULAS.</h3> + +<h4>SÛ<sup>n</sup>N´YĬ ED´HĬ E´SGA ASTÛ<sup>n</sup>TI´YĬ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Uhyû<sup>n</sup>tsâ´yĭ galû<sup>n</sup>lti´tla tsûltâ´histĭ, Hĭsgaya Gigage´ĭ, +usĭnu´lĭ +di´tsakûnĭ´ denatlû<sup>n</sup>hi´sani´ga Uy-igawa´stĭ duda´ntĭ. +Nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ tatuna´watĭ. +Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ dani´yû<sup>n</sup>stanilĭ´.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Uhyû<sup>n</sup>tlâ´yĭ galû<sup>n</sup>lti´tla tsûltâ´histĭ, Hĭsga´ya Tĕ´halu, +<i>hinaw’sŭ´’ki</i>. +Ha-usĭnu´lĭ nâ´gwa di´tsakûnĭ´ denatlû<sup>n</sup>hisani´ga uy-igawa´stĭ +duda´ntĭ. Nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ tătuna´wătĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ +dani´galĭstanĭ´.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO SHORTEN A NIGHT-GOER ON THIS SIDE.</h4> + +<p>Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Red Man, quickly we two have +prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying along the +path. Quickly we two will take his soul as we go along.</p> + +<p>Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Purple Man, * * * *. Ha! +Quickly now we two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. +He has them lying along the path. Quickly we two will cut his soul in two.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭs’ book, is for the purpose of driving +away a witch from the house of a sick person, and opens up a most +interesting chapter of Cherokee beliefs. The witch is supposed to +go about chiefly under cover of darkness, and hence is called sû<sup>n</sup>nâ´yĭ +edâ´hĭ, “the night goer.” This is the term in common use; but +there are a number of formulistic expressions to designate a witch, +one of which, u´ya igawa´stĭ, occurs in the body of the formula and +may be rendered “the imprecator,” i.e., the sayer of evil things or +curses. As the counteracting of a deadly spell always results in the +death of its author, the formula is stated to be not merely to drive +away the wizard, but to kill him, or, according to the formulistic +expression, “to shorten him (his life) on this side.”</p> + +<p>When it becomes known that a man is dangerously sick the witches +from far and near gather invisibly about his house after nightfall +to worry him and even force their way in to his bedside unless prevented +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page385" id="page385"></a>[pg 385]</span> +by the presence of a more powerful shaman within the house. +They annoy the sick man and thus hasten his death by stamping +upon the roof and beating upon the sides of the house; and if they +can manage to get inside they raise up the dying sufferer from the +bed and let him fall again or even drag him out upon the floor. The +object of the witch in doing this is to prolong his term of years by +adding to his own life as much as he can take from that of the sick +man. Thus it is that a witch who is successful in these practices +lives to be very old. Without going into extended details, it may +be sufficient to state that the one most dreaded, alike by the friends +of the sick man and by the lesser witches, is the Kâ´lana-ayeli´skĭ or +Raven Mocker, so called because he flies through the air at night in +a shape of fire, uttering sounds like the harsh croak of a raven.</p> + +<p>The formula here given is short and simple as compared with some +others. There is evidently a mistake in regard to the Red Man, who +is here placed in the north, instead of in the east, as it should be. +The reference to the arrows will be explained further on. Purple, +mentioned in the second paragraph, has nearly the same symbolic +meaning as blue, viz: Trouble, vexation and defeat; hence the Purple +Man is called upon to frustrate the designs of the witch.</p> + +<p>To drive away the witch the shaman first prepares four sharpened +sticks, which he drives down into the ground outside the house at +each of the four corners, leaving the pointed ends projecting upward +and outward. Then, about noontime he gets ready the Tsâlagayû´<sup>n</sup>lĭ +or “Old Tobacco” (<i>Nicotiana rustica</i>), with which he fills +his pipe, repeating this formula during the operation, after which +he wraps the pipe thus filled in a black cloth. This sacred +tobacco is smoked only for this purpose. He then goes out into the +forest, and returns just before dark, about which time the witch may +be expected to put in an appearance. Lighting his pipe, he goes +slowly around the house, puffing the smoke in the direction of every +trail by which the witch might be able to approach, and probably +repeating the same or another formula the while. He then goes +into the house and awaits results. When the witch approaches +under cover of the darkness, whether in his own proper shape or in +the form of some animal, the sharpened stick on that side of the +house shoots up into the air and comes down like an arrow upon his +head, inflicting such a wound as proves fatal within seven days. +This explains the words of the formula, “We have prepared your +arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying along the +path”. A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ said nothing about the use of the sharpened sticks +in this connection, mentioning only the tobacco, but the ceremony, +as here described, is the one ordinarily used. When wounded the +witch utters a groan which is heard by those listening inside the +house, even at the distance of half a mile. No one knows certainly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page386" id="page386"></a>[pg 386]</span> +who the witch is until a day or two afterward, when some old man +or woman, perhaps in a remote settlement, is suddenly seized with a +mysterious illness and before seven days elapse is dead.</p> + +<h4>GAHU´STĬ A´GIYAHU´SA.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´<sup>n</sup>gani´ga Nû´<sup>n</sup>ya Wâtige´ĭ, gahu´stĭ +tsûtska´dĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Ha-nâ´gwa dû´<sup>n</sup>gihya´lĭ. Agiyahu´sa sĭ´kwa, haga´ +tsû<sup>n</sup>-nû´ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta dătsi´waktû´hĭ. Tla-‘ke´ a´ya a´kwatseli´ga. 0 0 +digwadâi´ta.</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>I HAVE LOST SOMETHING.</h4> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rock; you never +lie about anything. Ha! Now I am about to seek for it. I have lost a hog and +now tell me about where I shall find it. For is it not mine? My name is ——.</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, for finding anything lost, is so simple as to need +but little explanation. Brown in this instance has probably no +mythologic significance, but refers to the color of the stone used +in the ceremony. This is a small rounded water-worn pebble, in +substance resembling quartz and of a reddish-brown color. It is +suspended by a string held between the thumb and finger of the +shaman, who is guided in his search by the swinging of the pebble, +which, according to their theory, will swing farther in the direction +of the lost article than in the contrary direction! The shaman, who +is always fasting, repeats the formula, while closely watching +<ins class = "correction" title = "‘the / the’ at line break in original">the +the</ins> motions of the swinging pebble. He usually begins early in the +morning, making the first trial at the house of the owner of the lost +article. After noting the general direction toward which it seems +to lean he goes a considerable distance in that direction, perhaps half +a mile or more, and makes a second trial. This time the pebble may +swing off at an angle in another direction. He follows up in the +direction indicated for perhaps another half mile, when on a third +trial the stone may veer around toward the starting point, and a +fourth attempt may complete the circuit. Having thus arrived at +the conclusion that the missing article is somewhere within a certain +circumscribed area, he advances to the center of this space and marks +out upon the ground a small circle inclosing a cross with arms pointing +toward the four cardinal points. Holding the stone over the +center of the cross he again repeats the formula and notes the direction +in which the pebble swings. This is the final trial and he now +goes slowly and carefully over the whole surface in that direction, +between the center of the circle and the limit of the circumscribed +area until in theory, at least, the article is found. Should he fail, +he is never at a loss for excuses, but the specialists in this line are +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page387" id="page387"></a>[pg 387]</span> +generally very shrewd guessers well versed in the doctrine of probabilities.</p> + +<p>There are many formulas for this purpose, some of them being +long and elaborate. When there is reason to believe that the missing +article has been stolen, the specialist first determines the clan or +settlement to which the thief belongs and afterward the name of the +individual. Straws, bread balls, and stones of various kinds are +used in the different formulas, the ceremony differing according to +the medium employed. The stones are generally pointed crystals +or antique arrowheads, and are suspended as already described, the +point being supposed to turn finally in the direction of the missing +object. Several of these stones have been obtained on the reservation +and are now deposited in the National Museum. It need excite +no surprise to find the hog mentioned in the formula, as this animal +has been domesticated among the Cherokees for more than a century, +although most of them are strongly prejudiced against it.</p> + +<h4>HIA´ UNÁLE (ATESTI´YĬ).</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´,</p> +<p class="i2">Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´—Yû!</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hĭnahû<sup>n</sup>´ski tayĭ´. Ha-tâ´sti-gwû gû<sup>n</sup>ska´ihû. +Tsûtali´i-gwati´na halu´‘nĭ. Kû´nigwati´na dula´ska galû´<sup>n</sup>lati-gwû +witu´ktĭ. Wigû<sup>n</sup>yasĕ´hĭsĭ. ´talĭ tsugû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ +wite´tsatanû´<sup>n</sup>û<sup>n</sup>sĭ´ nû<sup>n</sup>nâhĭ +tsane´lagĭ de´gatsana´wadise´stĭ. Kûnstû´ dutsasû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ +atû´<sup>n</sup>wasûtĕ´hahĭ´ +tsûtûneli´sestĭ. Sgĕ!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS IS TO FRIGHTEN A STORM.</h4> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2">Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´,</p> +<p class="i2">Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´—Yû!</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Listen! O now you are coming in rut. Ha! I am exceedingly afraid of you. +But yet you are only tracking your wife. Her footprints can be seen there directed +upward toward the heavens. I have pointed them out for you. Let your paths +stretch out along the tree tops (?) on the lofty mountains (and) you shall have them +(the paths) lying down without being disturbed, Let (your path) as you go along +be where the waving branches meet. Listen!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ’s book, is for driving away, or +“frightening” a storm, which threatens to injure the growing corn. +The first part is a meaningless song, which is sung in a low tone in +the peculiar style of most of the sacred songs. The storm, which is +not directly named, is then addressed and declared to be coming on +in a fearful manner on the track of his wife, like an animal in the +rutting season. The shaman points out her tracks directed toward +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page388" id="page388"></a>[pg 388]</span> +the upper regions and begs the storm spirit to follow her along the +waving tree tops of the lofty mountains, where he shall be undisturbed.</p> + +<p>The shaman stands facing the approaching storm with one hand +stretched out toward it. After repeating the song and prayer he +gently blows in the direction toward which he wishes it to go, waving +his hand in the same direction as though pushing away the +storm. A part of the storm is usually sent into the upper regions of +the atmosphere. If standing at the edge of the field, he holds a +blade of corn in one hand while repeating the ceremony.</p> + +<h4>DANAWÛ´ TSUNEDÂLÛ´HĬ NUNATÛ´NELI´TALÛ´<sup>n</sup>HĬ U´NALSTELTA´‘TANÛ´HĬ.</h4> + +<p>Hayĭ! Yû! Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu A´tasu Gi´gage´ĭ +hinisa´latani´ga. +Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ u´nanugâ´tsidastĭ´ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Duda´ntâ +e‘lawi´nĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta ă´tasû digû<sup>n</sup>nage´ĭ +degû<sup>n</sup>lskwĭ´tahise´stĭ, anetsâge´ta +unanugâ´istĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, nitinû´<sup>n</sup>neli´ga. Ă´tasû +dusa´ladanû´<sup>n</sup>stĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, nitinû´<sup>n</sup>neli´ga. E‘lawi´nĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta ă´tasû û<sup>n</sup>nage´ +ugû<sup>n</sup>´hatû +û<sup>n</sup>nage´ sâ´gwa da‘liyĕ´kû‘lani´ga <i>unadutlâ´gĭ</i>. +Unanugâ´tsida´stĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na, nû<sup>n</sup>eli´ga.</p> + +<p>Usĭnuli´yu tsunada´ntâ kul‘kwâ´gine tigalû´<sup>n</sup>ltiyû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta +ada´ntâ +tega´yĕ‘ti´tege´stĭ. Tsunada´ntâ tsuligalĭ´stĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na +dudûni´tege´stĭ. +Usĭnu´lĭ deniû´<sup>n</sup>eli´ga galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta +widu´l‘tâhĭsti´tege´stĭ. Ă´tasû +gigage´ĭ dĕhatagû´<sup>n</sup>yastani´ga. Tsunada´ntâ tsudastû´nilida´stĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na +nû<sup>n</sup>eli´ga. Tsunada´ntâ galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta witĕ´‘titege´stĭ. +Tsunada´ntâ anigwalu´gĭ une´ga gû<sup>n</sup>wa´nadagû´<sup>n</sup>yastitege´stĭ. +Sa‘ka´nĭ +udûnu´hĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na usĭnuli´yu. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>WHAT THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TO WAR DID TO HELP THEMSELVES.</h4> + +<p>Hayĭ! Yû! Listen! Now instantly we have lifted up the red war club. Quickly +his soul shall be without motion. There under the earth, where the black war +clubs shall be moving about like ball sticks in the game, there his soul shall be, +never to reappear. We cause it to be so. He shall never go and lift up the war +club. We cause it to be so. There under the earth the black war club (and) the +black fog have come together as one for their covering. It shall never move about +(<i>i.e.</i>, the black fog shall never be lifted from them). We cause it to be so.</p> + +<p>Instantly shall their souls be moving about there in the seventh heaven. Their +souls shall never break in two. So shall it be. Quickly we have moved them (their +souls) on high for them, where they shall be going about in peace. You (?) have +shielded yourselves (?) with the red war club. Their souls shall never be knocked +about. Cause it to be so. There on high their souls shall be going about. Let +them shield themselves with the white war whoop. Instantly (grant that) they +shall never become blue. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, obtained from A‘wani´ta, may be repeated by the +doctor for as many as eight men at once when about to go to war. +It is recited for four consecutive nights, immediately before setting +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page389" id="page389"></a>[pg 389]</span> +out. There is no tabu enjoined and no beads are used, but the warriors +“go to water” in the regular way, that is, they stand at the +edge of the stream, facing the east and looking down upon the water, +while the shaman, standing behind them, repeats the formula. On +the fourth night the shaman gives to each man a small charmed root +which has the power to confer invulnerability. On the eve of battle +the warrior after bathing in the running stream chews a portion +of this and spits the juice upon his body in order that the bullets of +the enemy may pass him by or slide off from his skin like drops of +water. Almost every man of the three hundred East Cherokees +who served in the rebellion had this or a similar ceremony performed +before setting out—many of them also consulting the oracular ulû<sup>n</sup>sû´tĭ +stone at the same time—and it is but fair to state that not +more than two or three of the entire number were wounded in actual battle.</p> + +<p>In the formula the shaman identifies himself with the warriors, +asserting that “<i>we</i>” have lifted up the red war club, red being the +color symbolic of success and having no reference to blood, as might +be supposed from the connection. In the first paragraph he invokes +curses upon the enemy, the future tense verb <i>It shall be</i>, etc., having +throughout the force of <i>let it be</i>. He puts the souls of the doomed +enemy in the lower regions, where the black war clubs are constantly +waving about, and envelops them in a black fog, which shall never +be lifted and out of which they shall never reappear. From the expression +in the second paragraph, “their souls shall never be +knocked about,” the reference to the black war clubs moving about +like ball sticks in the game would seem to imply that they are continually +buffeting the doomed souls under the earth. The spirit +land of the Cherokees is in the west, but in these formulas of malediction +or blessing the soul of the doomed man is generally consigned +to the underground region, while that of the victor is raised by +antithesis to the seventh heaven.</p> + +<p>Having disposed of the enemy, the shaman in the second paragraph +turns his attention to his friends and at once raises their souls +to the seventh heaven, where they shall go about in peace, shielded +by (literally, “covered with”) the red war club of success, and never +to be knocked about by the blows of the enemy. “Breaking the +soul in two” is equivalent to snapping the thread of life, the soul +being regarded as an intangible something having length, like a rod +or a string. This formula, like others written down by the same shaman, +contains several evident inconsistencies both as to grammar +and mythology, due to the fact that A‘wanita is extremely careless +with regard to details and that this particular formula has probably +not been used for the last quarter of a century. The warriors are +also made to shield themselves with the white war whoop, which +should undoubtedly be the red war whoop, consistent with the red +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page390" id="page390"></a>[pg 390]</span> +war club, white being the color emblematic of peace, which is evidently +an incongruity. The war whoop is believed to have a positive +magic power for the protection of the warrior, as well as for +terrifying the foe.</p> + +<p>The mythologic significance of the different colors is well shown +in this formula. Red, symbolic of success, is the color of the war +club with which the warrior is to strike the enemy and also of the +other one with which he is to shield or “cover” himself. There +is no doubt that the war whoop also should be represented as red. +In conjuring with the beads for long life, for recovery from sickness, +or for success in love, the ball play, or any other undertaking, the red +beads represent the party for whose benefit the magic spell is +wrought, and he is figuratively clothed in red and made to stand +upon a red cloth or placed upon a red seat. The red spirits invoked +always live in the east and everything pertaining to them is of the same color.</p> + +<p>Black is always typical of death, and in this formula the soul of +the enemy is continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped +in a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy the shaman +uses black beads and invokes the black spirits—which always +live in the west—bidding them tear out the man’s soul, carry it to +the west, and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud, +with a black serpent coiled above it.</p> + +<p>Blue is emblematic of failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. +“They shall never become blue” means that they shall never fail +in anything they undertake. In love charms the lover figuratively +covers himself with red and prays that his rival shall become entirely +blue and walk in a blue path. The formulistic expression, “He is +entirely blue,” closely approximates in meaning the common English +phrase, “He feels blue.” The blue spirits live in the north.</p> + +<p>White—which occurs in this formula only by an evident error—denotes +peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as at the +green corn dance and ball play, the people figuratively partake of +white food and after the dance or the game return along the white +trail to their white houses. In love charms the man, in order to +induce the woman to cast her lot with his, boasts “I am a white +man,” implying that all is happiness where he is. White beads have +the same meaning in the bead conjuring and white was the color +of the stone pipe anciently used in ratifying peace treaties. The +white spirits live in the south (Wa´hală).</p> + +<p>Two other colors, brown and yellow, are also mentioned in the +formulas. Wâtige´ĭ, “brown,” is the term used to include brown, +bay, dun, and similar colors, especially as applied to animals. It +seldom occurs in the formulas and its mythologic significance is as +yet undetermined. Yellow is of more frequent occurrence and is +typical of trouble and all manner of vexation, the yellow spirits +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page391" id="page391"></a>[pg 391]</span> +being generally invoked when the shaman wishes to bring down calamities +upon the head of his victim, without actually destroying +him. So far as present knowledge goes, neither brown nor yellow +can be assigned to any particular point of the compass.</p> + +<p>Usĭnuli´yu, rendered “instantly,” is the intensive form of usĭnu´lĭ +“quickly,” both of which words recur constantly in the formulas, +in some entering into almost every sentence. This frequently +gives the translation an awkward appearance. Thus the final sentence +above, which means literally “they shall never become blue +instantly,” signifies “Grant that they shall never become blue”, i.e., +shall never fail in their purpose, <i>and grant our petition instantly</i>.</p> + +<h4>DIDA´LATLI´‘TĬ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa tsûdantâ´gĭ tegû´<sup>n</sup>yatawâ´ilateli´ga. Iyustĭ (0 0) +tsilastû´‘lĭ +Iyu´stĭ (0 0) ditsadâ´ita. Tsûwatsi´la elawi´nĭ tsidâ´hĭstani´ga. +Tsûdantâgĭ elawi´nĭ tsidâ´hĭstani´ga. Nû´<sup>n</sup>ya gû´<sup>n</sup>nage +gû<sup>n</sup>yu´tlû<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. +Ă‘nûwa´gĭ gû´<sup>n</sup>nage´ gû<sup>n</sup>yu´tlû<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Sû<sup>n</sup>talu´ga gû´<sup>n</sup>nage +degû´<sup>n</sup>yanu´galû´<sup>n</sup>tani´ga, tsû´nanugâ´istĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Usûhi´yĭ +nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ +wite´tsatanû´<sup>n</sup>û<sup>n</sup>sĭ gûne´sâ gû´<sup>n</sup>nage asahalagĭ´. Tsûtû´neli´ga. +Elawâ´tĭ asa´halagĭ´a´dû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Usĭnuli´yu Usûhi´yĭ +gûltsâ´tĕ digû´<sup>n</sup>nagesta´yĭ, +elawâ´ti gû´<sup>n</sup>nage tidâ´hĭstĭ wa‘yanu´galû<sup>n</sup>tsi´ga. Gûne´sa +gû´<sup>n</sup>age sû<sup>n</sup>talu´ga gû´<sup>n</sup>nage gayu´tlû<sup>n</sup>tani´ga. Tsûdantâ´gĭ +ûska´lû<sup>n</sup>tsi´ga. +Sa‘ka´nĭ adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga. Usû´hita atanis´se´tĭ, ayâ´lâtsi´sestĭ +tsûdantâ´gĭ, tsû´nanugâ´istĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Sgĕ!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>TO DESTROY LIFE.</h4> + +<p>Listen! Now I have come to step over your soul. You are of the (wolf) clan. +Your name is (A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ). Your spittle I have put at rest under the earth. Your +soul I have put at rest under the earth. I have come to cover you over with the +black rock. I have come to cover you over with the black cloth. I have come to +cover you with the black slabs, never to reappear. Toward the black coffin +of the upland in the Darkening Land your paths shall stretch out. So shall it be +for you. The clay of the upland has come (to cover you. (?)) Instantly the black +clay has lodged there where it is at rest at the black houses in the Darkening Land. +With the black coffin and with the black slabs I have come to cover you. Now +your soul has faded away. It has become blue. When darkness comes your spirit +shall grow less and dwindle away, never to reappear. Listen!</p> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula is from the manuscript book of A‘yû´<sup>n</sup>inĭ, who explained +the whole ceremony. The language needs but little explanation. +A blank is left for the name and clan of the victim, and is +filled in by the shaman. As the purpose of the ceremony is to bring +about the death of the victim, everything spoken of is symbolically +colored black, according to the significance of the colors as already +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page392" id="page392"></a>[pg 392]</span> +explained. The declaration near the end, “It has become blue,” +indicates that the victim now begins to feel in himself the effects of +the incantation, and that as darkness comes on his spirit will shrink +and gradually become less until it dwindles away to nothingness.</p> + +<p>When the shaman wishes to destroy the life of another, either for +his own purposes or for hire, he conceals himself near the trail along +which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears +the shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly +until he chances to spit upon the ground. On coming up to the +spot the shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust +thus moistened with the victim’s spittle. The possession of the +man’s spittle gives him power over the life of the man himself. +Many ailments are said by the doctors to be due to the fact that +some enemy has by this means “changed the spittle” of the patient +and caused it to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man’s body. +In the love charms also the lover always figuratively “takes the +spittle” of the girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. The +same idea in regard to spittle is found in European folk medicine.</p> + +<p>The shaman then puts the clay thus moistened into a tube consisting +of a joint of the Kanesâ´la or wild parsnip, a poisonous plant of +considerable importance in life-conjuring ceremonies. He also puts +into the tube seven earthworms beaten into a paste, and several +splinters from a tree which has been struck by lightning. The idea +in regard to the worms is not quite clear, but it may be that they +are expected to devour the soul of the victim as earthworms are +supposed to feed upon dead bodies, or perhaps it is thought that +from their burrowing habits they may serve to hollow out a grave +for the soul under the earth, the quarter to which the shaman consigns +it. In other similar ceremonies the dirt-dauber wasp or the +stinging ant is buried in the same manner in order that it may kill +the soul, as these are said to kill other more powerful insects by their +poisonous sting or bite. The wood of a tree struck by lightning is +also a potent spell for both good and evil and is used in many formulas +of various kinds.</p> + +<p>Having prepared the tube, the shaman goes into the forest to a +tree which has been struck by lightning. At its base he digs a hole, +in the bottom of which he puts a large yellow stone slab. He then +puts in the tube, together with seven yellow pebbles, fills in the +earth, and finally builds a fire over the spot to destroy all traces of +his work. The yellow stones are probably chosen as the next best +substitute for black stones, which are not always easy to find. The +formula mentions “black rock,” black being the emblem of death, +while yellow typifies trouble. The shaman and his employer fast +until after the ceremony.</p> + +<p>If the ceremony has been properly carried out, the victim becomes +blue, that is, he feels the effects in himself at once, and, unless +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page393" id="page393"></a>[pg 393]</span> +he employs the countercharms of some more powerful shaman, his +soul begins to shrivel up and dwindle, and within seven days he is +dead. When it is found that the spell has no effect upon the intended +victim it is believed that he has discovered the plot and has +taken measures for his own protection, or that, having suspected a +design against him—as, for instance, after having won a girl’s affections +from a rival or overcoming him in the ball play—he has already +secured himself from all attempts by counterspells. It then +becomes a serious matter, as, should he succeed in turning the curse +aside from himself, it will return upon the heads of his enemies.</p> + +<p>The shaman and his employer then retire to a lonely spot in the +mountains, in the vicinity of a small stream, and begin a new series +of conjurations with the beads. After constructing a temporary shelter +of bark laid over poles, the two go down to the water, the shaman +taking with him two pieces of cloth, a yard or two yards in length, one +white, the other black, together with seven red and seven black +beads. The cloth is the shaman’s pay for his services, and is furnished +by his employer, who sometimes also supplies the beads. +There are many formulas for conjuring with the beads, which are +used on almost all important occasions, and differences also in the +details of the ceremony, but the general practice is the same in all +cases. The shaman selects a bend in the river where his client can +look toward the east while facing up stream. The man then takes up +his position on the bank or wades into the stream a short distance, +where—in the ceremonial language—the water is a “hand length” +(<i>awâ´hilû</i>) in depth and stands silently with his eyes fixed upon the +water and his back to the shaman on the bank. The shaman then +lays upon the ground the two pieces of cloth, folded into convenient +size, and places the red beads—typical of success and his client upon +the white cloth, while the black beads—emblematic of death +and the intended victim—are laid upon the black cloth. It is probable +that the first cloth should properly be red instead of white, but +as it is difficult to get red cloth, except in the shape of handkerchiefs, +a substitution has been made, the two colors having a close mythologic +relation. In former days a piece of buckskin and the small +glossy, seeds of the Viper’s Bugloss (<i>Echium vulgare</i>) were used +instead of the cloth and beads. The formulistic name for the bead is +<i>sû´nĭkta</i>, which the priests are unable to analyze, the ordinary word +for beads or coin being <i>adélâ</i>.</p> + +<p>The shaman now takes a red bead, representing his client, between +the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and a black bead, +representing the victim, in like manner, in his left hand. Standing +a few feet behind his client he turns toward the east, fixes his eyes +upon the bead between the thumb and finger of his right hand, and +addresses it as the Sû´nĭkta Gigăge´ĭ, the Red Bead, invoking blessings +upon his client and clothing him with the red garments of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page394" id="page394"></a>[pg 394]</span> +success. The formula is repeated in a low chant or intonation, the +voice rising at intervals, after the manner of a revival speaker. +Then turning to the black bead in his left hand he addresses it in similar +manner, calling down the most withering curses upon the head +of the victim. Finally looking up he addresses the stream, under +the name of Yû´<sup>n</sup>wĭ Gûnahi´ta, the “Long Person,” imploring it to +protect his client and raise him to the seventh heaven, where he will +be secure from all his enemies. The other, then stooping down, dips +up water in his hand seven times and pours it upon his head, rubbing +it upon his shoulders and breast at the same time. In some +cases he dips completely under seven times, being stripped, of course, +even when the water is of almost icy coldness. The shaman, then +stooping down, makes a small hole in the ground with his finger, +drops into it the fatal black bead, and buries it out of sight with a +stamp of his foot. This ends the ceremony, which is called “taking to water.”</p> + +<p>While addressing the beads the shaman attentively observes them +as they are held between the thumb and finger of his outstretched +hands. In a short time they begin to move, slowly and but a short +distance at first, then faster and farther, often coming down as far +as the first joint of the finger or even below, with an irregular serpentine +motion from side to side, returning in the same manner. +Should the red bead be more lively in its movements and come down +lower on the finger than the black bead, he confidently predicts for +the client the speedy accomplishment of his desire. On the other +hand, should the black bead surpass the red in activity, the spells of +the shaman employed by the intended victim are too strong, and the +whole ceremony must be gone over again with an additional and +larger quantity of cloth. This must be kept up until the movements +of the red beads give token of success or until they show by their +sluggish motions or their failure to move down along the finger that +the opposing shaman can not be overcome. In the latter case the +discouraged plotter gives up all hope, considering himself as cursed +by every imprecation which he has unsuccessfully invoked upon his +enemy, goes home and—theoretically—lies down and dies. As a +matter of fact, however, the shaman is always ready with other formulas +by means of which he can ward off such fatal results, in consideration, +of a sufficient quantity of cloth.</p> + +<p>Should the first trial, which takes place at daybreak, prove unsuccessful, +the shaman and his client fast until just before sunset. They +then eat and remain awake until midnight, when the ceremony is +repeated, and if still unsuccessful it may be repeated four times before +daybreak (or the following noon?), both men remaining awake +and fasting throughout the night. If still unsuccessful, they continue +to fast all day until just before sundown. Then they eat again +and again remain awake until midnight, when the previous night’s +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page395" id="page395"></a>[pg 395]</span> +programme is repeated. It has now become a trial of endurance +between the revengeful client and his shaman on the one side and +the intended victim and his shaman on the other, the latter being +supposed to be industriously working countercharms all the while, +as each party must subsist upon one meal per day and abstain entirely +from sleep until the result has been decided one way or the +other. Failure to endure this severe strain, even so much as closing +the eyes in sleep for a few moments or partaking of the least nourishment +excepting just before sunset, neutralizes all the previous +work and places the unfortunate offender at the mercy of his more +watchful enemy. If the shaman be still unsuccessful on the fourth +day, he acknowledges himself defeated and gives up the contest. +Should his spells prove the stronger, his victim will die within seven +days, or, as the Cherokees say, seven nights. These “seven nights,” +however, are frequently interpreted, figuratively, to mean <i>seven +years</i>, a rendering which often serves to relieve the shaman from a +very embarrassing position.</p> + +<p>With regard to the oracle of the whole proceeding, the beads do +move; but the explanation is simple, although the Indians account +for it by saying that the beads become alive by the recitation of the +sacred formula. The shaman is laboring under strong, though suppressed, +emotion. He stands with his hands stretched out in a constrained +position, every muscle tense, his breast heaving and voice +trembling from the effort, and the natural result is that before he is +done praying his fingers begin to twitch involuntarily and thus cause +the beads to move. As before stated, their motion is irregular; but +the peculiar delicacy of touch acquired by long practice probably +imparts more directness to their movements than would at first seem possible.</p> + +<h4>HIĂ´ A´NE´TS UGÛ´<sup>n</sup>WA´LĬ AM´YĬ DITSÛ´<sup>n</sup>STA´TĬ.</h4> + +<p>Sgĕ! Ha-nâgwa ă´stĭ une´ga aksâ´û<sup>n</sup>tanû´<sup>n</sup> usĭnu´lĭ a‘ne´tsâ +unatsâ´nû<sup>n</sup>tse´lahĭ +akta´‘tĭ adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga.</p> + +<p>Iyu´stĭ utadâ´ta, iyu´stĭ tsunadâ´ita. Nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ anite´lahĕhû´ +ige´skĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Dû´ksi-gwu´ dedu´natsgû‘la´wate´gû. Da´‘sû<sup>n</sup> unilâtsi´satû. +Sa‘ka´ni unati´satû´.</p> + +<p>Nû<sup>n</sup>nâ´hĭ dâ´tadu´nina´watĭ´ a´yû-‘nû´ digwatseli´ga a‘ne´tsâ +unatsâ´nû<sup>n</sup>tse´lahĭ. Tla´mehû Gigage´ĭ sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga. +Igû´<sup>n</sup>yĭ galû´<sup>n</sup>lâ ge´sû<sup>n</sup> i´yû<sup>n</sup> kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ +<sup>u</sup>wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ. Ta´line galû´<sup>n</sup>lâ +ge´su<sup>n</sup> i´yû<sup>n</sup> kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ <sup>u</sup>wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ. He´nilû +danûtsgû´‘lani´ga. +Tla´ma û<sup>n</sup>ni´ta a´nigwalu´gĭ gû<sup>n</sup>tla´‘tisge´stĭ, ase´gwû +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.</p> + +<p>Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nû<sup>n</sup>tse´lahĭ saligu´gi-gwû +dedu´natsgû´‘lawĭsti´tegû´. +Elawi´nĭ da´‘sû<sup>n</sup> unilâtsi´satû.</p> + +<p>Tsâ´ine digalû´<sup>n</sup>latiyu´<sup>n</sup> Să´niwă Gi´gageĭ sâ´gwa +danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, +asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ <sup>u</sup>*wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ +nû´‘gine digalû´<sup>n</sup>latiyû´<sup>n</sup>. +Gulĭ´sgulĭ´ Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page396" id="page396"></a>[pg 396]</span> +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ <sup>u</sup>wâhâ´hĭstâgĭ hĭ´skine +digalû´<sup>n</sup>latiyû´<sup>n</sup>. +Tsŭtsŭ´ Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ +nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.</p> + +<p>Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ utsâ´nû<sup>n</sup>tse´lahĭ Tĭne´gwa Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa +danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, +ige´skĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Da´‘sû<sup>n</sup> unilâtsi´satû. Kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ +<sup>u</sup>wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ sutali´ne digalû´<sup>n</sup>latiyû´<sup>n</sup>. A´nigâsta´ya +sâ´gwa danûtsgu´‘lani´ga, +asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´su<sup>n</sup>na. Kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ <sup>u</sup>wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ +kûl‘kwâgine +digalû´<sup>n</sup>latiyû´<sup>n</sup>. Wâtatû´ga Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, +asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na.</p> + +<p>Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nû<sup>n</sup>tse´lahĭ, Yâ´na +dedu´natsgû´‘lawĭstani´ga, +ige´skĭ nige´sû<sup>n</sup>na. Da‘sû<sup>n</sup> du´nilâtsi´satû. Kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ +de´tagaskalâ´û<sup>n</sup>tanû´<sup>n</sup>, igû<sup>n</sup>´wûlstanûhi-gwûdi´na tsuye´listi +gesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ. +Akta´‘tĭ adû<sup>n</sup>ni´ga.</p> + +<p>Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa t’skĭ´nâne´lĭ ta´lădŭ´ iyû´<sup>n</sup>ta a´gwatseli´ga, +Wătatu´ga +Tsûne´ga. Tsuye´listĭ gesû´<sup>n</sup>ĭ skĭ´nâhû<sup>n</sup>sĭ´ +a´gwatseli´ga—kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ +a´gwatseli´ga. Nă´‘nâ utadâ´ta kanû´<sup>n</sup>lagĭ dedu´skalâ´asi´ga.</p> + +<p>Dedû´ndagû´<sup>n</sup>yastani´ga, gû<sup>n</sup>wâ´hisâ´nûhĭ. Yû!</p> + +<h3><i>Translation.</i></h3> + +<h4>THIS CONCERNS THE BALL PLAY—TO TAKE THEM TO WATER WITH IT.</h4> + +<p>Listen! Ha! Now where the white thread has been let down, quickly we are +about to examine into (the fate of) the admirers of the ball play.</p> + +<p>They are of—such a (iyu´stĭ) descent. They are called—so and so (iyu´stĭ). They +are shaking the road which shall never be joyful. The miserable Terrapin has +come and fastened himself upon them as they go about. They have lost all strength. +They have become entirely blue.</p> + +<p>But now my admirers of the ball play have their roads lying along in this direction. +The Red Bat has come and made himself one of them. There in the first +heaven are the pleasing stakes. There in the second heaven are the pleasing stakes. +The Pewee has come and joined them. The immortal ball stick shall place itself +upon the whoop, never to be defeated.</p> + +<p>As for the lovers of the ball play on the other side, the common Turtle has come +and fastened himself upon them as they go about. Under the earth they have lost +all strength.</p> + +<p>The pleasing stakes are in the third heaven. The Red Tlăniwă has come and +made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The pleasing stakes +are in the fourth heaven. The Blue Fly-catcher has made himself one of them, +that they may never be defeated. The pleasing stakes are in the fifth heaven. The +Blue Martin has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated.</p> + +<p>The other lovers of the ball play, the Blue Mole has come and fastened upon them, +that they may never be joyous. They have lost all strength.</p> + +<p>The pleasing stakes are there in the sixth heaven. The Chimney Swift has made +himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The pleasing stakes are in +the seventh heaven. The Blue Dragon-fly has made himself one of them, that they +may never be defeated.</p> + +<p>As for the other admirers of the ball play, the Bear has just come and fastened +him upon them, that they may never be happy. They have lost all strength. He +has let the stakes slip from his grasp and there shall be nothing left for their share.</p> + +<p>The examination is ended.</p> + +<p>Listen! Now let me know that the twelve are mine, O White Dragon-fly. Tell +me that the share is to be mine—that the stakes are mine. As for the player there +on the other side, he has been forced to let go his hold upon the stakes.</p> + +<p>Now they are become exultant and happy. Yû!</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page397" id="page397"></a>[pg 397]</span> + +<h3><i>Explanation.</i></h3> + +<p>This formula, from the A‘yû<sup>n</sup>inĭ manuscript is one of those used +by the shaman in taking the ball players to water before the game. +The ceremony is performed in connection with red and black beads, +as described in the formula just given for destroying life. The formulistic +name given to the ball players signifies literally, “admirers +of the ball play.” The Tlă´niwă (să´niwă in the Middle dialect) is +the mythic great hawk, as large and powerful as the roc of Arabian +tales. The shaman begins by declaring that it is his purpose to examine +or inquire into the fate of the ball players, and then gives his +attention by turns to his friends and their opponents, fixing his eyes +upon the red bead while praying for his clients, and upon the black +bead while speaking of their rivals. His friends he raises gradually +to the seventh or highest <i>galû´<sup>n</sup>latĭ</i>. This word literally signifies +height, and is the name given to the abode of the gods dwelling +above the earth, and is also used to mean heaven in the Cherokee +bible translation. The opposing players, on the other hand, are put +down under the earth, and are made to resemble animals slow and +clumsy of movement, while on behalf of his friends the shaman invokes +the aid of swift-flying birds, which, according to the Indian +belief, never by any chance fail to secure their prey. The birds invoked +are the He´nilû or wood pewee (<i>Contopus virens</i>), the Tlăniwă +or mythic hawk, the Gulĭ´sgulĭ´ or great crested flycatcher (<i>Myiarchus +crinitus</i>), the Tsûtsû or martin (<i>Progne subis</i>), and the A´nigâsta´ya +or chimney swift (<i>Chætura pelasgia</i>). In the idiom of the +formulas it is said that these “have just come and are sticking to +them” (the players), the same word (<i>danûtsgû´lani’ga</i>) being used to +express the devoted attention of a lover to his mistress. The Watatuga, +a small species of dragon-fly, is also invoked, together with +the bat, which, according to a Cherokee myth, once took sides with +the birds in a great ball contest with the four-footed animals, and +won the victory for the birds by reason of his superior skill in dodging. +This myth explains also why birds, and no quadrupeds, are +invoked by the shaman to the aid of his friends. In accordance +with the regular color symbolism the flycatcher, martin, and dragon-fly, +like the bat and the tlă´niwă, should be red, the color of success, +instead of blue, evidently so written by mistake. The white thread +is frequently mentioned in the formulas, but in this instance the +reference is not clear. The twelve refers to the number of runs +made in the game.</p> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1: </b><a href="#footnotetag1">(return) </a><p>To appear later with the collection of Cherokee myths.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2: </b><a href="#footnotetag2">(return) </a><p>Brinton, D.G.: The books of Chilan Balam 10, Philadelphia, n.d., (1882).</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote3" name="footnote3"></a><b>Footnote 3: </b><a href="#footnotetag3">(return) </a><p>Brinton, D.G.: Names of the Gods in the Kiché Myths, in Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., Philadelphia, 1881, vol. 19, p. 613.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote4" name="footnote4"></a><b>Footnote 4: </b><a href="#footnotetag4">(return) </a><p>One of the High peaks of the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, near Clingman’s Dome.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote5" name="footnote5"></a><b>Footnote 5: </b><a href="#footnotetag5">(return) </a><p>Haywood, John: Natural and Aboriginal History of East Tennessee, 267-8, Nashville, 1823.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote6" name="footnote6"></a><b>Footnote 6: </b><a href="#footnotetag6">(return) </a><p>Ibid., p. 281.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote7" name="footnote7"></a><b>Footnote 7: </b><a href="#footnotetag7">(return) </a><p>Wood, T.B., and Bache, F.: Dispensatory of the United States of America, 14th ed., Philadelphia, 1877.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote8" name="footnote8"></a><b>Footnote 8: </b><a href="#footnotetag8">(return) </a><p>The Cherokee plant names here given are generic names, which are the names +commonly used. In many cases the same name is applied to several species and it +is only when it is necessary to distinguish between them that the Indians use what +might be called specific names. Even then the descriptive term used serves to distinguish +only the particular plants under discussion and the introduction of another +variety bearing the same generic name would necessitate a new classification of +species on a different basis, while hardly any two individuals would classify the +species by the same characteristics.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote9" name="footnote9"></a><b>Footnote 9: </b><a href="#footnotetag9">(return) </a><p>For more in regard to color symbolism, see Mallery’s Pictographs of the North +American Indians in Fourth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 53-37, Washington, +1886; Gatschet’s Creek Migration Legend, vol. 3, pp. 31-41, St. Louis, 1888; +Brinton’s Kiche Myths in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. +19, pp. 646-647, Philadelphia, 1882.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote10" name="footnote10"></a><b>Footnote 10: </b><a href="#footnotetag10">(return) </a><p><i>Ada´wĕhĭ</i> is a word used to designate one supposed to have +supernatural powers, +and is applied alike to human beings and to the spirits invoked in the formulas. +Some of the mythic heroes famous for their magic deeds are spoken of as +<i>ada´wĕhĭ</i> +(plural <i>anida´wĕhĭ</i> or <i>anida´we</i>), but in its application to mortals the +term is used +only of the very greatest shamans. None of those now belonging to the band are +considered worthy of being thus called, although the term was sometimes applied +to one, Usawĭ, who died some years ago. In speaking of himself as an ada´wĕhĭ, as +occurs in some of the formulas, the shaman arrogates to himself the same powers +that belong to the gods. Our nearest equivalent is the word magician, but this falls +far short of the idea conveyed by the Cherokee word. In the bible translation the +word is used as the equivalent of angel or spirit.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote11" name="footnote11"></a><b>Footnote 11: </b><a href="#footnotetag11">(return) </a><p>So written and pronounced by A‘yû<sup>n</sup>´ini instead of utsĭnă´wa.</p></blockquote> + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote12" name="footnote12"></a><b>Footnote 12: </b><a href="#footnotetag12">(return) </a><p>This word, like the expression “seven days,” frequently has a figurative meaning. Thus the sun is said to be seven awâ´hilû above the earth.</p></blockquote> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page399" id="page399"></a>[pg 399]</span> + +<h3>Index.</h3> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>A‘wanita, or Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by <a href="#page316">316</a></p> +<p>Ayasta, Cherokee manuscript obtained from <a href="#page313">313</a></p> +<p>A‘yû<sup>n</sup>´inĭ, or Swimmer, Cherokee manuscripts obtained from <a href="#page310">310</a>-312</p> +<p>Bathing in medical practice of Cherokees <a href="#page333">333</a>-334, <a href="#page335">335</a>-336</p> +<p>Bleeding, practice of among the Cherokees <a href="#page334">334</a>-335</p> +<p>Brinton, D.G., cited on linguistic value of Indian records <a href="#page318">318</a></p> +<p>Catawba Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by <a href="#page316">316</a></p> +<p>Cherokees, paper on Sacred Formulas of, by James Mooney <a href="#page301">301</a>-397</p> +<p class="i2">bathing, rubbing, and bleeding in medical practice of <a href="#page333">333</a>-336</p> +<p class="i2">manuscripts of, containing sacred, medical, and other formulas, character and age of <a href="#page307">307</a>-318</p> +<p class="i2">medical practice of, list of plants used in <a href="#page324">324</a>-327</p> +<p class="i2">medicine dance of <a href="#page337">337</a></p> +<p class="i2">color symbolism of <a href="#page342">342</a>-343</p> +<p class="i2">gods of, and their abiding places <a href="#page340">340</a>-342</p> +<p class="i2">religion of <a href="#page319">319</a></p> +<p>Cherokee Sacred Formulas, language of <a href="#page343">343</a>-344</p> +<p class="i2">specimens of <a href="#page344">344</a>-397</p> +<p class="i2">for rheumatism <a href="#page345">345</a>-351</p> +<p class="i2">for snake bite <a href="#page351">351</a>-353</p> +<p class="i2">for worms <a href="#page353">353</a>-356</p> +<p class="i2">for neuralgia <a href="#page356">356</a>-359</p> +<p class="i2">for fever and ague <a href="#page359">359</a>-363</p> +<p class="i2">for child birth <a href="#page363">363</a>-364</p> +<p class="i2">for biliousness <a href="#page365">365</a>-366</p> +<p class="i2">for ordeal diseases <a href="#page367">367</a>-369</p> +<p class="i2">for hunting and fishing <a href="#page369">369</a>-375</p> +<p class="i2">for love <a href="#page375">375</a>-384</p> +<p class="i2">to kill a witch <a href="#page384">384</a>-386</p> +<p class="i2">to find something <a href="#page386">386</a>-387</p> +<p class="i2">to prevent a storm <a href="#page387">387</a>-388</p> +<p class="i2">for going to war <a href="#page388">388</a>-391</p> +<p class="i2">for destroying an enemy <a href="#page391">391</a>-395</p> +<p class="i2">for ball play <a href="#page395">395</a>-397</p> +<p>Color symbolism of the Cherokees <a href="#page342">342</a>, <a href="#page343">343</a></p> +<p>Disease, Cherokee theory of <a href="#page322">322</a>-324</p> +<p>Disease and medicine, Cherokee tradition of origin of <a href="#page319">319</a>-322</p> +<p>Gahuni manuscript of Cherokee formulas <a href="#page313">313</a>, <a href="#page314">314</a></p> +<p>Gatigwanasti manuscript of Cherokee formulas <a href="#page312">312</a>, <a href="#page313">313</a></p> +<p>Gods of the Cherokees and their abiding places <a href="#page340">340</a>-342</p> +<p>Haywood, John, cited on witchcraft beliefs among the Cherokees <a href="#page322">322</a></p> +<p>Inali manuscript of Cherokee formulas <a href="#page314">314</a>-316</p> +<p>Long, W.W., collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by <a href="#page317">317</a></p> +<p>Medical practice of Cherokees, plants used <a href="#page322">322</a>-331</p> +<p>Medicine dance of Cherokees <a href="#page337">337</a></p> +<p>Mooney, James, paper on sacred formulas of the Cherokees, by <a href="#page301">301</a>-397</p> +<p>Names, importance attached to, in Cherokee sacred formulas <a href="#page343">343</a></p> +<p>Plants used by Cherokees for medical purposes <a href="#page322">322</a>-331</p> +<p class="i2">ceremonies for gathering <a href="#page339">339</a></p> +<p>Religion of the Cherokees, character of <a href="#page319">319</a></p> +<p>Religion of the Cherokees, gods of <a href="#page340">340</a>-342</p> +<p>Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, paper by James Mooney on <a href="#page301">301</a>-397</p> +<p>Sanitary regulations among the Cherokee Indians, neglect of <a href="#page332">332</a>, <a href="#page333">333</a></p> +<p>Shamans, decline of power of among Cherokees <a href="#page336">336</a></p> +<p class="i2">mode of payment of among Cherokees <a href="#page337">337</a>-339</p> +<p>Sweat bath, use of, among Cherokees <a href="#page333">333</a>-334</p> +<p>Swimmer manuscript of Cherokee formulas <a href="#page310">310</a>, <a href="#page312">312</a></p> +<p>Tabu among Cherokees, illustrations of <a href="#page331">331</a>-332</p> +<p>Takwatihi, or Catawba-Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by <a href="#page316">316</a></p> +<p>Will West, collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by <a href="#page317">317</a></p> +<p>Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by <a href="#page316">316</a></p> +</div> +</div> + +<hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, by +James Mooney + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24788-h.htm or 24788-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/8/24788/ + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees + Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the + Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, + Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398 + +Author: James Mooney + +Release Date: March 9, 2008 [EBook #24788] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + + + + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + +Transcriber's note: The following symbols are used to represent +special characters: + + ['] for accent (not apostrophe) + ' for apostrophe (single closing quote) + ` for opening single quote + + [n], [i], [u], [w], [U] = raised (superscript) letters + [)x] = any letter "x" with breve + [=a] = "a" with macron + [^x] = any letter "x" with circumflex + [/x] = any letter "x" with acute accent + [`x] = any letter "x" with grave accent + [:x] = any letter "x" with diaeresis + + + + +THE + +SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES. + +BY + +JAMES MOONEY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Introduction 307 + + How the formulas were obtained. 310 + + The A`y[^u][n]in[)i] (Swimmer) manuscript 310 + + The Gatigwanast[)i] (Belt) manuscript 312 + + The Gahun[)i] manuscript 313 + + The In[^a]l[)i] (Black Fox) manuscript 314 + + Other manuscripts 316 + + The Kan[^a]he[']ta Ani-Tsa[']lag[)i] Et[)i] or Ancient Cherokee + Formulas 317 + + Character of the formulas--the Cherokee religion 318 + + Myth of the origin of disease and medicine 319 + + Theory of disease--animals, ghosts, witches 322 + + Selected list of plants used 324 + + Medical practice--theory of + resemblances--fasting--tabu--seclusion--women 328 + + Illustration of the gakt[^u][n]ta or tabu 331 + + Neglect of sanitary regulations 332 + + The sweat bath--bleeding--rubbing--bathing 338 + + Opposition of shamans to white physicians 336 + + Medicine dances 337 + + Description of symptoms 337 + + The ugista[']`t[)i] or pay of the shaman 337 + + Ceremonies for gathering plants and preparing medicine 339 + + The Cherokee gods and their abiding places 340 + + Color symbolism 342 + + Importance attached to names 343 + + Language of the formulas 343 + + Specimen formulas 344 + + Medicine. 345 + + To treat the crippler (rheumatism)--from Gahuni 345 + + Second formula for the crippler--from Gahuni 349 + + Song and prescription for snake bites--from Gahuni 351 + + When something is causing something to eat them--Gahuni 353 + + Second formula for the same disease--A`wanita 355 + + For moving pains in the teeth (neuralgia?)--Gatigwanasti 356 + + Song and prayer for the great chill--A`y[^u][n]ini 359 + + To make children jump down (child birth)--A`y[^u][n]ini 363 + + Second formula for child birth--Takwatihi 364 + + Song and prayer for the black yellowness + (biliousness)--A`y[^u][n]ini 365 + + To treat for ordeal diseases (witchcraft)--A`y[^u][n]ini 366 + + Hunting 369 + + Concerning hunting--A`y[^u][n]ini 369 + + For hunting birds--A`y[^u][n]ini 371 + + To shoot dwellers in the wilderness--A`wanita 372 + + Bear song--A`y[^u][n]ini 373 + + For catching large fish--A`y[^u][n]ini 374 + + Love 375 + + Concerning living humanity--Gatigwanasti 376 + + For going to water--Gatigwanasti 378 + + Y[^u][n]wehi song for painting--Gatigwanasti 379 + + Song and prayer to fix the affections--A`y[^u][n]ini 380 + + To separate lovers--A`y[^u][n]ini 381 + + Song and prayer to fix the affections--Gatigwanasti 382 + + Miscellaneous 384 + + To shorten a night goer on this side--A`y[^u][n]ini 384 + + To find lost articles--Gatigwanasti 386 + + To frighten away a storm--A`y[^u][n]ini 387 + + To help warriors--A[']wanita 388 + + To destroy life (ceremony with beads)--A`y[^u][n]ini 391 + + To take to water for the ball play--A`y[^u][n]ini 395 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Pl. XXIV. Portrait of A`y[^u][n]ini (Swimmer) 306 + + XXV. Facsimile of A`y[^u][n]ini manuscript--Formula for + Dal[^a]ni [^U][n]nagei 310 + + XXVI. Facsimile of Gatigwanasti manuscript--Y[^u][n]w[)e]h[)i] + formula 312 + + XXVII. Facsimile of Gahuni manuscript--Formula for + Did[^u][n]l[)e]sk[)i] 314 + + + + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXIV + +A`YU[N]INI (SWIMMER).] + + + + +SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES. + +By James Mooney. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +The sacred formulas here given are selected from a collection of about +six hundred, obtained on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina in +1887 and 1888, and covering every subject pertaining to the daily life +and thought of the Indian, including medicine, love, hunting, fishing, +war, self-protection, destruction of enemies, witchcraft, the crops, +the council, the ball play, etc., and, in fact, embodying almost +the whole of the ancient religion of the Cherokees. The original +manuscripts, now in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, +were written by the shamans of the tribe, for their own use, in +the Cherokee characters invented by Sikw[^a][']ya (Sequoyah) in 1821, +and were obtained, with the explanations, either from the writers +themselves or from their surviving relatives. + +Some of these manuscripts are known to be at least thirty years +old, and many are probably older. The medical formulas of all kinds +constitute perhaps one-half of the whole number, while the love charms +come next in number, closely followed by the songs and prayers used in +hunting and fishing. The great number of love charms will doubtless be +a surprise to those who have been educated in the old theory that the +Indian is insensible to the attractions of woman. The comparatively +small number of war formulas is explained by the fact that the last +war in which the Cherokees, as a tribe, were engaged on their own +account, closed with the Revolutionary period, so that these things +were well nigh forgotten before the invention of the alphabet, a +generation later. The Cherokees who engaged in the Creek war and the +late American civil war fought in the interests of the whites, and +their leaders were subordinated to white officers, hence there was not +the same opportunity for the exercise of shamanistic rites that there +would have been had Indians alone been concerned. The prayers for +hunting, fishing, and the ball play being in more constant demand, +have been better preserved. + +These formulas had been handed down orally from a remote antiquity +until the early part of the present century, when the invention of +the Cherokee syllabary enabled the priests of the tribe to put them +into writing. The same invention made it possible for their rivals, +the missionaries, to give to the Indians the Bible in their own +language, so that the opposing forces of Christianity and shamanism +alike profited by the genius of Sikw[^a]ya. The pressure of the new +civilization was too strong to be withstood, however, and though +the prophets of the old religion still have much influence with the +people, they are daily losing ground and will soon be without honor in +their own country. + +Such an exposition of the aboriginal religion could be obtained from +no other tribe in North America, for the simple reason that no other +tribe has an alphabet of its own in which to record its sacred lore. +It is true that the Crees and Micmacs of Canada and the Tukuth of +Alaska have so-called alphabets or ideographic systems invented for +their use by the missionaries, while, before the Spanish conquest, +the Mayas of Central America were accustomed to note down their hero +legends and priestly ceremonials in hieroglyphs graven upon the walls +of their temples or painted upon tablets made of the leaves of the +maguey. But it seems never to have occurred to the northern tribes +that an alphabet coming from a missionary source could be used for any +other purpose than the transcription of bibles and catechisms, while +the sacred books of the Mayas, with a few exceptions, have long since +met destruction at the hands of fanaticism, and the modern copies +which have come down to the present day are written out from imperfect +memory by Indians who had been educated under Spanish influences in +the language, alphabet and ideas of the conquerors, and who, as is +proved by an examination of the contents of the books themselves, +drew from European sources a great part of their material. Moreover, +the Maya tablets were so far hieratic as to be understood only +by the priests and those who had received a special training in +this direction, and they seem therefore to have been entirely +unintelligible to the common people. + +The Cherokee alphabet, on the contrary, is the invention or adaptation +of one of the tribe, who, although he borrowed most of the Roman +letters, in addition to the forty or more characters of his own +devising, knew nothing of their proper use or value, but reversed them +or altered their forms to suit his purpose, and gave them a name and +value determined by himself. This alphabet was at once adopted by the +tribe for all purposes for which writing can be used, including the +recording of their shamanistic prayers and ritualistic ceremonies. The +formulas here given, as well as those of the entire collection, were +written out by the shamans themselves--men who adhere to the ancient +religion and speak only their native language--in order that their +sacred knowledge might be preserved in a systematic manner for their +mutual benefit. The language, the conception, and the execution +are all genuinely Indian, and hardly a dozen lines of the hundreds +of formulas show a trace of the influence of the white man or +his religion. The formulas contained in these manuscripts are not +disjointed fragments of a system long since extinct, but are the +revelation of a living faith which still has its priests and devoted +adherents, and it is only necessary to witness a ceremonial ball +play, with its fasting, its going to water, and its mystic bead +manipulation, to understand how strong is the hold which the old faith +yet has upon the minds even of the younger generation. The numerous +archaic and figurative expressions used require the interpretation +of the priests, but, as before stated, the alphabet in which they are +written is that in daily use among the common people. + +In all tribes that still retain something of their ancient +organization we find this sacred knowledge committed to the keeping of +various secret societies, each of which has its peculiar ritual with +regular initiation and degrees of advancement. From this analogy +we may reasonably conclude that such was formerly the case with the +Cherokees also, but by the breaking down of old customs consequent +upon their long contact with the whites and the voluntary adoption +of a civilized form of government in 1827, all traces of such society +organization have long since disappeared, and at present each priest +or shaman is isolated and independent, sometimes confining himself +to a particular specialty, such as love or medicine, or even the +treatment of two or three diseases, in other cases broadening his +field of operations to include the whole range of mystic knowledge. + +It frequently happens, however, that priests form personal friendships +and thus are led to divulge their secrets to each other for their +mutual advantage. Thus when one shaman meets another who he thinks can +probably give him some valuable information, he says to him, "Let us +sit down together." This is understood by the other to mean, "Let us +tell each other our secrets." Should it seem probable that the seeker +after knowledge can give as much as he receives, an agreement is +generally arrived at, the two retire to some convenient spot secure +from observation, and the first party begins by reciting one of his +formulas with the explanations. The other then reciprocates with +one of his own, unless it appears that the bargain is apt to prove a +losing one, in which case the conference comes to an abrupt ending. + +It is sometimes possible to obtain a formula by the payment of a coat, +a quantity of cloth, or a sum of money. Like the Celtic Druids of old, +the candidate for the priesthood in former times found it necessary to +cultivate a long memory, as no formula was repeated more than once for +his benefit. It was considered that one who failed to remember after +the first hearing was not worthy to be accounted a shaman. This task, +however, was not so difficult as might appear on first thought, when +once the learner understood the theory involved, as the formulas are +all constructed on regular principles, with constant repetition of +the same set of words. The obvious effect of such a regulation was +to increase the respect in which this sacred knowledge was held by +restricting it to the possession of a chosen few. + +Although the written formulas can be read without difficulty by any +Cherokee educated in his own language, the shamans take good care that +their sacred writings shall not fall into the hands of the laity or +of their rivals in occult practices, and in performing the ceremonies +the words used are uttered in such a low tone of voice as to be +unintelligible even to the one for whose benefit the formula is +repeated. Such being the case, it is in order to explain how the +formulas collected were obtained. + + +HOW THE FORMULAS WERE OBTAINED. + +On first visiting the reservation in the summer of 1887, I devoted +considerable time to collecting plants used by the Cherokees for food +or medicinal purposes, learning at the same time their Indian names +and the particular uses to which each was applied and the mode of +preparation. It soon became evident that the application of the +medicine was not the whole, and in fact was rather the subordinate, +part of the treatment, which was always accompanied by certain +ceremonies and "words." From the workers employed at the time no +definite idea could be obtained as to the character of these words. +One young woman, indeed, who had some knowledge of the subject, +volunteered to write the words which she used in her prescriptions, +but failed to do so, owing chiefly to the opposition of the half-breed +shamans, from whom she had obtained her information. + + +THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT. + +Some time afterward an acquaintance was formed with a man named +A`y[^u][n][']in[)i] or "Swimmer," who proved to be so intelligent that +I spent several days with him, procuring information in regard to myths +and old customs. He told a number of stories in very good style, and +finally related the Origin of the Bear[1]. The bears were formerly a +part of the Cherokee tribe who decided to leave their kindred and go +into the forest. Their friends followed them and endeavored to induce +them to return, but the Ani-Ts[^a][']kah[)i], as they were called, were +determined to go. Just before parting from their relatives at the +edge of the forest, they turned to them and said, "It is better for +you that we should go; but we will teach you songs, and some day +when you are in want of food come out to the woods and sing these +songs and we shall appear and give you meat." Their friends, after +learning several songs from them, started back to their homes, and +after proceeding a short distance, turned around to take one last +look, but saw only a number of bears disappearing in the depths of +the forest. The songs which they learned are still sung by the hunter +to attract the bears. + +[Footnote 1: To appear later with the collection of Cherokee myths.] + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXV + +FACSIMILE OF GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. + +Formula for Did[`u][n]l[)e]ck[)i]. (Page 349.)] + +When Swimmer had finished the story he was asked if he knew these +songs. He replied that he did, but on being requested to sing one +he made some excuse and was silent. After some further efforts the +interpreter said it would be useless to press the matter then as there +were several other Indians present, but that to-morrow we should have +him alone with us and could then make another attempt. + +The next day Swimmer was told that if he persisted in his refusal it +would be necessary to employ some one else, as it was unfair in him to +furnish incomplete information when he was paid to tell all he knew. +He replied that he was willing to tell anything in regard to stories +and customs, but that these songs were a part of his secret knowledge +and commanded a high price from the hunters, who sometimes paid as +much as $5 for a single song, "because you can't kill any bears or +deer unless you sing them." + +He was told that the only object in asking about the songs was to put +them on record and preserve them, so that when he and the half dozen +old men of the tribe were dead the world might be aware how much the +Cherokees had known. This appeal to his professional pride proved +effectual, and when he was told that a great many similar songs had +been sent to Washington by medicine men of other tribes, he promptly +declared that he knew as much as any of them, and that he would give +all the information in his possession, so that others might be able to +judge for themselves who knew most. The only conditions he made were +that these secret matters should be heard by no one else but the +interpreter, and should not be discussed when other Indians were +present. + +As soon as the other shamans learned what was going on they endeavored +by various means to persuade him to stop talking, or failing in this, +to damage his reputation by throwing out hints as to his honesty or +accuracy of statement. Among other objections which they advanced +was one which, however incomprehensible to a white man, was perfectly +intelligible to an Indian, viz: That when he had told everything this +information would be taken to Washington and locked up there, and thus +they would be deprived of the knowledge. This objection was one of +the most difficult to overcome, as there was no line of argument with +which to oppose it. + +These reports worried Swimmer, who was extremely sensitive in regard +to his reputation, and he became restive under the insinuations of +his rivals. Finally on coming to work one day he produced a book from +under his ragged coat as he entered the house, and said proudly: +"Look at that and now see if I don't know something." It was a small +day-book of about 240 pages, procured originally from a white man, and +was about half filled with writing in the Cherokee characters. A brief +examination disclosed the fact that it contained just those matters +that had proved so difficult to procure. Here were prayers, songs, +and prescriptions for the cure of all kinds of diseases--for chills, +rheumatism, frostbites, wounds, bad dreams, and witchery; love charms, +to gain the affections of a woman or to cause her to hate a detested +rival; fishing charms, hunting charms--including the songs without +which none could ever hope to kill any game; prayers to make the corn +grow, to frighten away storms, and to drive off witches; prayers for +long life, for safety among strangers, for acquiring influence in +council and success in the ball play. There were prayers to the Long +Man, the Ancient White, the Great Whirlwind, the Yellow Rattlesnake, +and to a hundred other gods of the Cherokee pantheon. It was in fact +an Indian ritual and pharmacopoeia. + +After recovering in a measure from the astonishment produced by this +discovery I inquired whether other shamans had such books. "Yes," +said Swimmer, "we all have them." Here then was a clew to follow up. A +bargain was made by which he was to have another blank book into which +to copy the formulas, after which the original was bought. It is now +deposited in the library of the Bureau of Ethnology. The remainder of +the time until the return was occupied in getting an understanding of +the contents of the book. + + +THE GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT. + +Further inquiry elicited the names of several others who might be +supposed to have such papers. Before leaving a visit was paid to one +of these, a young man named Wilnoti, whose father, Gatigwanasti, had +been during his lifetime a prominent shaman, regarded as a man of +superior intelligence. Wilnoti, who is a professing Christian, said +that his father had had such papers, and after some explanation from +the chief he consented to show them. He produced a box containing a +lot of miscellaneous papers, testaments, and hymnbooks, all in the +Cherokee alphabet. Among them was his father's chief treasure, a +manuscript book containing 122 pages of foolscap size, completely +filled with formulas of the same kind as those contained in Swimmer's +book. There were also a large number of loose sheets, making in all +nearly 200 foolscap pages of sacred formulas. + +On offering to buy the papers, he replied that he wanted to keep them +in order to learn and practice these things himself--thus showing +how thin was the veneer of Christianity, in his case at least. On +representing to him that in a few years the new conditions would +render such knowledge valueless with the younger generation, and that +even if he retained the papers he would need some one else to explain +them to him, he again refused, saying that they might fall into the +hands of Swimmer, who, he was determined, should never see his +father's papers. Thus the negotiations came to an end for the time. + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVI + +FACSIMILE OF SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT. + +Formula for Dal[`a]ni ['U][n]nagei (Page 364.)] + +On returning to the reservation in July, 1888, another effort was made +to get possession of the Gatigwanasti manuscripts and any others of +the same kind which could be procured. By this time the Indians had +had several months to talk over the matter, and the idea had gradually +dawned upon them that instead of taking their knowledge away from them +and locking it up in a box, the intention was to preserve it to the +world and pay them for it at the same time. In addition the writer +took every opportunity to impress upon them the fact that he was +acquainted with the secret knowledge of other tribes and perhaps could +give them as much as they gave. It was now much easier to approach +them, and on again visiting Wilnoti, in company with the interpreter, +who explained the matter fully to him, he finally consented to lend +the papers for a time, with the same condition that neither Swimmer +nor anyone else but the chief and interpreter should see them, but +he still refused to sell them. However, this allowed the use of +the papers, and after repeated efforts during a period of several +weeks, the matter ended in the purchase of the papers outright, +with unreserved permission to show them for copying or explanation +to anybody who might be selected. Wilnoti was not of a mercenary +disposition, and after the first negotiations the chief difficulty was +to overcome his objection to parting with his father's handwriting, +but it was an essential point to get the originals, and he was allowed +to copy some of the more important formulas, as he found it utterly +out of the question to copy the whole. + +These papers of Gatigwanasti are the most valuable of the whole, and +amount to fully one-half the entire collection, about fifty pages +consisting of love charms. The formulas are beautifully written +in bold Cherokee characters, and the directions and headings are +generally explicit, bearing out the universal testimony that he was a +man of unusual intelligence and ability, characteristics inherited by +his son, who, although a young man and speaking no English, is one of +the most progressive and thoroughly reliable men of the band. + + +THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. + +The next book procured was obtained from a woman named Ay[^a]sta, "The +Spoiler," and had been written by her husband, Gahuni, who died about +30 years ago. The matter was not difficult to arrange, as she had +already been employed on several occasions, so that she understood the +purpose of the work, besides which her son had been regularly engaged +to copy and classify the manuscripts already procured. The book +was claimed as common property by Ay[^a]sta and her three sons, and +negotiations had to be carried on with each one, although in this +instance the cash amount involved was only half a dollar, in addition +to another book into which to copy some family records and personal +memoranda. The book contains only eight formulas, but these are of +a character altogether unique, the directions especially throwing a +curious light on Indian beliefs. There had been several other formulas +of the class called Y['][^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], to cause hatred between +man and wife, but these had been torn out and destroyed by Ay[^a]sta +on the advice of an old shaman, in order that her sons might never +learn them. In referring to the matter she spoke in a whisper, and it +was evident enough that she had full faith in the deadly power of these +spells. + +In addition to the formulas the book contains about twenty pages of +Scripture extracts in the same handwriting, for Gahuni, like several +others of their shamans, combined the professions of Indian conjurer +and Methodist preacher. After his death the book fell into the hands +of the younger members of the family, who filled it with miscellaneous +writings and scribblings. Among other things there are about seventy +pages of what was intended to be a Cherokee-English pronouncing +dictionary, probably written by the youngest son, already mentioned, +who has attended school, and who served for some time as copyist on +the formulas. This curious Indian production, of which only a few +columns are filled out, consists of a list of simple English words +and phrases, written in ordinary English script, followed by Cherokee +characters intended to give the approximate pronunciation, together +with the corresponding word in the Cherokee language and characters. +As the language lacks a number of sounds which are of frequent +occurrence in English, the attempts to indicate the pronunciation +sometimes give amusing results. Thus we find: _Fox_ (English +script); _kw[^a]gis[)i][']_ (Cherokee characters); _ts[/u]`l[^u][']_ +(Cherokee characters). As the Cherokee language lacks the labial _f_ +and has no compound sound equivalent to our _x_, _kw[^a]gis[)i][']_ is +as near as the Cherokee speaker can come to pronouncing our word _fox_. +In the same way "bet" becomes _w[)e]t[)i]_, and "sheep" is _s[/i]kw[)i]_, +while "if he has no dog" appears in the disguise of _ikw[)i] h[^a]s[)i] +n[^a] d[^a][']ga_. + + +THE IN[^A]LI MANUSCRIPT. + +In the course of further inquiries in regard to the whereabouts +of other manuscripts of this kind we heard a great deal about +In[^a][']l[)i], or "Black Fox," who had died a few years before at an +advanced age, and who was universally admitted to have been one of +their most able men and the most prominent literary character among +them, for from what has been said it must be sufficiently evident +that the Cherokees have their native literature and literary men. Like +those already mentioned, he was a full-blood Cherokee, speaking no +English, and in the course of a long lifetime he had filled almost +every position of honor among his people, including those of +councilor, keeper of the townhouse records, Sunday-school leader, +conjurer, officer in the Confederate service, and Methodist preacher, +at last dying, as he was born, in the ancient faith of his forefathers. + +[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVII + +FACSIMILE OF GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT. + +Yugwil[^u]['] formula. (Page 375.)] + +On inquiring of his daughter she stated that her father had left a +great many papers, most of which were still in her possession, and +on receiving from the interpreter an explanation of our purpose she +readily gave permission to examine and make selections from them on +condition that the matter should be kept secret from outsiders. A day +was appointed for visiting her, and on arriving we found her living in +a comfortable log house, built by In[^a]l[)i] himself, with her children +and an ancient female relative, a decrepit old woman with snow-white +hair and vacant countenance. This was the oldest woman of the tribe, +and though now so feeble and childish, she had been a veritable savage +in her young days, having carried a scalp in the scalp dance in the +Creek war 75 years before. + +Having placed chairs for us in the shade In[^a]l[)i]'s daughter brought +out a small box filled with papers of various kinds, both Cherokee and +English. The work of examining these was a tedious business, as each +paper had to be opened out and enough of it read to get the general +drift of the contents, after which the several classes were arranged +in separate piles. While in the midst of this work she brought out +another box nearly as large as a small trunk, and on setting it down +there was revealed to the astonished gaze such a mass of material as +it had not seemed possible could exist in the entire tribe. + +In addition to papers of the sort already mentioned there were a +number of letters in English from various officials and religious +organizations, and addressed to "Enola," to "Rev. Black Fox," and to +"Black Fox, Esq," with a large number of war letters written to him +by Cherokees who had enlisted in the Confederate service. These latter +are all written in the Cherokee characters, in the usual gossipy style +common among friends, and several of them contain important historic +material in regard to the movements of the two armies in East +Tennessee. Among other things was found his certificate as a Methodist +preacher, dated in 1848. "Know all men by these presents that Black +Fox (Cherokee) is hereby authorized to exercise his Gifts and Graces +as a local preacher in M.E. Church South.". + +There was found a manuscript book in In[^a]l[)i]'s handwriting +containing the records of the old council of Wolftown, of which he had +been secretary for several years down to the beginning of the war. This +also contains some valuable materials. + +There were also a number of miscellaneous books, papers, and pictures, +together with various trinkets and a number of conjuring stones. + +In fact the box was a regular curiosity shop, and it was with a +feeling akin, to despair that we viewed the piles of manuscript which +had to be waded through and classified. There was a day's hard work +ahead, and it was already past noon; but the woman was not done yet, +and after rummaging about inside the house for a while longer she +appeared with another armful of papers, which she emptied on top of +the others. This was the last straw; and finding it impossible to +examine in detail such a mass of material we contented ourselves +with picking out the sacred formulas and the two manuscript books +containing the town-house records and scriptural quotations and +departed. + +The daughter of Black Fox agreed to fetch down the other papers in +a few days for further examination at our leisure; and she kept her +promise, bringing with her at the same time a number of additional +formulas which she had not been able to obtain before. A large number +of letters and other papers were selected from the miscellaneous lot, +and these, with the others obtained from her, are now deposited also +with the Bureau of Ethnology. Among other things found at this house +were several beads of the old shell wampum, of whose use the Cherokees +have now lost even the recollection. She knew only that they were +very old and different from the common beads, but she prized them as +talismans, and firmly refused to part with them. + + +OTHER MANUSCRIPTS. + +Subsequently a few formulas were obtained from an old shaman named +Tsiskwa or "Bird," but they were so carelessly written as to be almost +worthless, and the old man who wrote them, being then on his dying +bed, was unable to give much help in the matter. However, as he was +anxious to tell what he knew an attempt was made to take down some +formulas from his dictation. A few more were obtained in this way but +the results were not satisfactory and the experiment was abandoned. +About the same time A`wani[']ta or "Young Deer," one of their best +herb doctors, was engaged to collect the various plants used in +medicine and describe their uses. While thus employed he wrote in a +book furnished him for the purpose a number of formulas used by him +in his practice, giving at the same time a verbal explanation of the +theory and ceremonies. Among these was one for protection in battle, +which had been used by himself and a number of other Cherokees in the +late war. Another doctor named Takwati[']h[)i] or "Catawba Killer," +was afterward employed on the same work and furnished some additional +formulas which he had had his son write down from his dictation, +he himself being unable to write. His knowledge was limited to the +practice of a few specialties, but in regard to these his information +was detailed and accurate. There was one for bleeding with the cupping +horn. All these formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, A[']wanita, and +Takwtihi are now in possession of the Bureau. + + +THE KAN[^A]HETA ANI-TSALAGI ETI. + +Among the papers thus obtained was a large number which for various +reasons it was found difficult to handle or file for preservation. +Many of them had been written so long ago that the ink had almost +faded from the paper; others were written with lead pencil, so that in +handling them the characters soon became blurred and almost illegible; +a great many were written on scraps of paper of all shapes and sizes; +and others again were full of omissions and doublets, due to the +carelessness of the writer, while many consisted simply of the prayer, +with nothing in the nature of a heading or prescription to show its +purpose. + +Under the circumstances it was deemed expedient to have a number +of these formulas copied in more enduring form. For this purpose +it was decided to engage the services of Ay[^a]sta's youngest son, an +intelligent young man about nineteen years of age, who had attended +school long enough to obtain a fair acquaintance with English in +addition to his intimate knowledge of Cherokee. He was also gifted +with a ready comprehension, and from his mother and uncle Tsiskwa had +acquired some familiarity with many of the archaic expressions used in +the sacred formulas. He was commonly known as "Will West," but signed +himself W.W. Long, Long being the translation of his father's name, +G[^u]nahi[']ta. After being instructed as to how the work should be +done with reference to paragraphing, heading, etc., he was furnished a +blank book of two hundred pages into which to copy such formulas as it +seemed desirable to duplicate. He readily grasped the idea and in the +course of about a month, working always under the writer's personal +supervision, succeeded in completely filling the book according to +the plan outlined. In addition to the duplicate formulas he wrote +down a number of dance and drinking songs, obtained originally from +A`y[^u][n][']in[)i], with about thirty miscellaneous formulas obtained +from various sources. The book thus prepared is modeled on the plan of +an ordinary book, with headings, table of contents, and even with an +illuminated title page devised by the aid of the interpreter according +to the regular Cherokee idiomatic form, and is altogether a unique +specimen of Indian literary art. It contains in all two hundred and +fifty-eight formulas and songs, which of course are native aboriginal +productions, although the mechanical arrangement was performed under +the direction of a white man. This book also, under its Cherokee +title, _Kan[^a]he[']ta Ani-Tsa[']lag[)i] E[']t[)i]_ or "Ancient Cherokee +Formulas," is now in the library of the Bureau. + +There is still a considerable quantity of such manuscript in the hands +of one or two shamans with whom there was no chance for negotiating, +but an effort will be made to obtain possession of these on some +future visit, should opportunity present. Those now in the Bureau +library comprised by far the greater portion of the whole quantity +held by the Indians, and as only a small portion of this was copied +by the owners it can not be duplicated by any future collector. + + +CHARACTER OF THE FORMULAS--THE CHEROKEE RELIGION. + +It is impossible to overestimate the ethnologic importance of the +materials thus obtained. They are invaluable as the genuine production +of the Indian mind, setting forth in the clearest light the state of +the aboriginal religion before its contamination by contact with the +whites. To the psychologist and the student of myths they are equally +precious. In regard to their linguistic value we may quote the +language of Brinton, speaking of the sacred books of the Mayas, +already referred to: + + Another value they have,... and it is one which will be + properly appreciated by any student of languages. They are, + by common consent of all competent authorities, the genuine + productions of native minds, cast in the idiomatic forms of + the native tongue by those born to its use. No matter how + fluent a foreigner becomes in a language not his own, he can + never use it as does one who has been familiar with it from + childhood. This general maxim is tenfold true when we apply + it to a European learning an American language. The flow of + thought, as exhibited in these two linguistic families, is + in such different directions that no amount of practice can + render one equally accurate in both. Hence the importance of + studying a tongue as it is employed by natives; and hence the + very high estimate I place on these "Books of Chilan Balam" as + linguistic material--an estimate much increased by the great + rarity of independent compositions in their own tongues by + members of the native races of this continent.[2] + +[Footnote 2: Brinton, D.G.: The books of Chilan Balam 10, +Philadelphia, n.d., (1882).] + +The same author, in speaking of the internal evidences of authenticity +contained in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Kich[/e]s, uses the +following words, which apply equally well to these Cherokee formulas: + + To one familiar with native American myths, this one bears + undeniable marks of its aboriginal origin. Its frequent + puerilities and inanities, its generally low and coarse range + of thought and expression, its occasional loftiness of both, + its strange metaphors and the prominence of strictly heathen + names and potencies, bring it into unmistakable relationship + to the true native myth.[3] + +[Footnote 3: Brinton, D.G.: Names of the Gods in the Kich[/e] Myths, +in Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., Philadelphia, 1881, vol. 19, p. 613.] + +These formulas furnish a complete refutation of the assertion so +frequently made by ignorant and prejudiced writers that the Indian had +no religion excepting what they are pleased to call the meaning less +mummeries of the medicine man. This is the very reverse of the truth. +The Indian is essentially religious and contemplative, and it might +almost be said that every act of his life is regulated and determined +by his religious belief. It matters not that some may call this +superstition. The difference is only relative. The religion of +to-day has developed from the cruder superstitions of yesterday, and +Christianity itself is but an outgrowth and enlargement of the beliefs +and ceremonies which have been preserved by the Indian in their more +ancient form. When we are willing to admit that the Indian has a +religion which he holds sacred, even though it be different from +our own, we can then admire the consistency of the theory, the +particularity of the ceremonial and the beauty of the expression. +So far from being a jumble of crudities, there is a wonderful +completeness about the whole system which is not surpassed even by the +ceremonial religions of the East. It is evident from a study of these +formulas that the Cherokee Indian was a polytheist and that the spirit +world was to him only a shadowy counterpart of this. All his prayers +were for temporal and tangible blessings--for health, for long life, +for success in the chase, in fishing, in war and in love, for good +crops, for protection and for revenge. He had no Great Spirit, no +happy hunting ground, no heaven, no hell, and consequently death had +for him no terrors and he awaited the inevitable end with no anxiety +as to the future. He was careful not to violate the rights of his +tribesman or to do injury to his feelings, but there is nothing to +show that he had any idea whatever of what is called morality in the +abstract. + +As the medical formulas are first in number and importance it may be +well, for the better understanding of the theory involved, to give the +Cherokee account of + + +THE ORIGIN OF DISEASE AND MEDICINE. + +In the old days quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and insects could all talk, +and they and the human race lived together in peace and friendship. +But as time went on the people increased so rapidly that their +settlements spread over the whole earth and the poor animals found +themselves beginning to be cramped for room. This was bad enough, +but to add to their misfortunes man invented bows, knives, blowguns, +spears, and hooks, and began to slaughter the larger animals, birds +and fishes for the sake of their flesh or their skins, while the +smaller creatures, such as the frogs and worms, were crushed and +trodden upon without mercy, out of pure carelessness or contempt. In +this state of affairs the animals resolved to consult upon measures +for their common safety. + +The bears were the first to meet in council in their townhouse in +Kuwa[']h[)i], the "Mulberry Place,"[4] and the old White Bear chief +presided. After each in turn had made complaint against the way in +which man killed their friends, devoured their flesh and used their +skins for his own adornment, it was unanimously decided to begin war +at once against the human race. Some one asked what weapons man used +to accomplish their destruction. "Bows and arrows, of course," cried +all the bears in chorus. "And what are they made of?" was the next +question. "The bow of wood and the string of our own entrails," +replied one of the bears. It was then proposed that they make a bow +and some arrows and see if they could not turn man's weapons against +himself. So one bear got a nice piece of locust wood and another +sacrificed himself for the good of the rest in order to furnish a +piece of his entrails for the string. But when everything was ready +and the first bear stepped up to make the trial it was found that +in letting the arrow fly after drawing back the bow, his long claws +caught the string and spoiled the shot. This was annoying, but another +suggested that he could overcome the difficulty by cutting his claws, +which was accordingly done, and on a second trial it was found that +the arrow went straight to the mark. But here the chief, the old White +Bear, interposed and said that it was necessary that they should have +long claws in order to be able to climb trees. "One of us has already +died to furnish the bowstring, and if we now cut off our claws we +shall all have to starve together. It is better to trust to the teeth +and claws which nature has given us, for it is evident that man's +weapons were not intended for us." + +[Footnote 4: One of the High peaks of the Smoky Mountains, on the +Tennessee line, near Clingman's Dome.] + +No one could suggest any better plan, so the old chief dismissed the +council and the bears dispersed to their forest haunts without having +concerted any means for preventing the increase of the human race. Had +the result of the council been otherwise, we should now be at war with +the bears, but as it is the hunter does not even ask the bear's pardon +when he kills one. + +The deer next held a council under their chief, the Little Deer, and +after some deliberation resolved to inflict rheumatism upon every +hunter who should kill one of their number, unless he took care to ask +their pardon for the offense. They sent notice of their decision to +the nearest settlement of Indians and told them at the same time how +to make propitiation when necessity forced them to kill one of the +deer tribe. Now, whenever the hunter brings down a deer, the Little +Deer, who is swift as the wind and can not be wounded, runs quickly up +to the spot and bending over the blood stains asks the spirit of the +deer if it has heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon. If the reply +be "Yes" all is well and the Little Deer goes on his way, but if the +reply be in the negative he follows on the trail of the hunter, guided +by the drops of blood on the ground, until he arrives at the cabin in +the settlement, when the Little Deer enters invisibly and strikes +the neglectful hunter with rheumatism, so that he is rendered on the +instant a helpless cripple. No hunter who has regard for his health +ever fails to ask pardon of the deer for killing it, although some +who have not learned the proper formula may attempt to turn aside the +Little Deer from his pursuit by building a fire behind them in the +trail. + +Next came the fishes and reptiles, who had their own grievances +against humanity. They held a joint council and determined to make +their victims dream of snakes twining about them in slimy folds and +blowing their fetid breath in their faces, or to make them dream of +eating raw or decaying fish, so that they would lose appetite, sicken, +and die. Thus it is that snake and fish dreams are accounted for. + +Finally the birds, insects, and smaller animals came together for a +like purpose, and the Grubworm presided over the deliberations. It +was decided that each in turn should express an opinion and then vote +on the question as to whether or not man should be deemed guilty. +Seven votes were to be sufficient to condemn him. One after another +denounced man's cruelty and injustice toward the other animals and +voted in favor of his death. The Frog (wal[^a][']s[)i]) spoke first +and said: "We must do something to check the increase of the race or +people will become so numerous that we shall be crowded from off the +earth. See how man has kicked me about because I'm ugly, as he says, +until my back is covered with sores;" and here he showed the spots +on his skin. Next came the Bird (tsi[']skwa; no particular species is +indicated), who condemned man because "he burns my feet off," alluding +to the way in which the hunter barbecues birds by impaling them on a +stick set over the fire, so that their feathers and tender feet are +singed and burned. Others followed in the same strain. The Ground +Squirrel alone ventured to say a word in behalf of man, who seldom +hurt him because he was so small; but this so enraged the others that +they fell upon the Ground Squirrel and tore him with their teeth and +claws, and the stripes remain on his back to this day. + +The assembly then began to devise and name various diseases, one after +another, and had not their invention finally failed them not one of +the human race would have been able to survive. The Grubworm in his +place of honor hailed each new malady with delight, until at last they +had reached the end of the list, when some one suggested that it be +arranged so that menstruation should sometimes prove fatal to woman. +On this he rose up in his place and cried: "Wata['][n] Thanks! I'm +glad some of them will die, for they are getting so thick that they +tread on me." He fairly shook with joy at the thought, so that he fell +over backward and could not get on his feet again, but had to wriggle +off on his back, as the Grubworm has done ever since. + +When the plants, who were friendly to man, heard what had been done by +the animals, they determined to defeat their evil designs. Each tree, +shrub, and herb, down, even to the grasses and mosses, agreed to +furnish a remedy for some one of the diseases named, and each said: "I +shall appear to help man when he calls upon me in his need." Thus did +medicine originate, and the plants, every one of which has its use if +we only knew it, furnish the antidote to counteract the evil wrought +by the revengeful animals. When the doctor is in doubt what treatment +to apply for the relief of a patient, the spirit of the plant suggests +to him the proper remedy. + + +THEORY OF DISEASE--ANIMALS, GHOSTS, WITCHES. + +Such is the belief upon which their medical practice is based, and +whatever we may think of the theory it must be admitted that the +practice is consistent in all its details with the views set forth +in the myth. Like most primitive people the Cherokees believe that +disease and death are not natural, but are due to the evil influence +of animal spirits, ghosts, or witches. Haywood, writing in 1823, +states on the authority of two intelligent residents of the Cherokee +nation: + + In ancient times the Cherokees had no conception of anyone + dying a natural death. They universally ascribed the death of + those who perished by disease to the intervention or agency of + evil spirits and witches and conjurers who had connection with + the Shina (Anisgi[']na) or evil spirits.... A person dying by + disease and charging his death to have been procured by means + of witchcraft or spirits, by any other person, consigns that + person to inevitable death. They profess to believe that their + conjurations have no effect upon white men.[5] + +[Footnote 5: Haywood, John: Natural and Aboriginal History of East +Tennessee, 267-8, Nashville, 1823.] + +On the authority of one of the same informants, he also mentions +the veneration which "their physicians have for the numbers four and +seven, who say that after man was placed upon the earth four and seven +nights were instituted for the cure of diseases in the human body and +the seventh night as the limit for female impurity."[6] + +[Footnote 6: Ibid., p. 281.] + +Viewed from a scientific standpoint, their theory and diagnosis +are entirely wrong, and consequently we can hardly expect their +therapeutic system to be correct. As the learned Doctor Berendt +states, after an exhaustive study of the medical books of the Mayas, +the scientific value of their remedies is "next to nothing." It must +be admitted that many of the plants used in their medical practice +possess real curative properties, but it is equally true that many +others held in as high estimation are inert. It seems probable that in +the beginning the various herbs and other plants were regarded as so +many fetiches and were selected from some fancied connection with the +disease animal, according to the idea known to modern folklorists as +the doctrine of signatures. Thus at the present day the doctor puts +into the decoction intended as a vermifuge some of the red fleshy +stalks of the common purslane or chickweed (Portulaca oleracea), +because these stalks somewhat resemble worms and consequently must +have some occult influence over worms. Here the chickweed is a fetich +precisely as is the flint arrow head which is put into the same +decoction, in order that in the same mysterious manner its sharp +cutting qualities may be communicated to the liquid and enable it to +cut the worms into pieces. In like manner, biliousness is called by +the Cherokees dal[^a][']n[)i] or "yellow," because the most apparent +symptom of the disease is the vomiting by the patient of the yellow +bile, and hence the doctor selects for the decoction four different +herbs, each of which is also called dal[^a]n[)i], because of the color +of the root, stalk, or flower. The same idea is carried out in the tabu +which generally accompanies the treatment. Thus a scrofulous patient +must abstain from eating the meat of a turkey, because the fleshy +dewlap which depends from its throat somewhat resembles an inflamed +scrofulous eruption. On killing a deer the hunter always makes an +incision in the hind quarter and removes the hamstring, because this +tendon, when severed, draws up into the flesh; ergo, any one who +should unfortunately partake of the hamstring would find his limbs +draw up in the same manner. + +There can be no doubt that in course of time a haphazard use of +plants would naturally lead to the discovery that certain herbs are +efficacious in certain combinations of symptoms. These plants would +thus come into more frequent use and finally would obtain general +recognition in the Indian materia medica. By such a process of +evolution an empiric system of medicine has grown up among the +Cherokees, by which they are able to treat some classes of ailments +with some degree of success, although without any intelligent idea +of the process involved. It must be remembered that our own medical +system has its remote origin in the same mythic conception of disease, +and that within two hundred years judicial courts have condemned +women to be burned to death for producing sickness by spells and +incantations, while even at the present day our faith-cure professors +reap their richest harvest among people commonly supposed to belong +to the intelligent classes. In the treatment of wounds the Cherokee +doctors exhibit a considerable degree of skill, but as far as any +internal ailment is concerned the average farmer's wife is worth all +the doctors in the whole tribe. + +The faith of the patient has much to do with his recovery, for the +Indian has the same implicit confidence in the shaman that a child has +in a more intelligent physician. The ceremonies and prayers are well +calculated to inspire this feeling, and the effect thus produced +upon the mind of the sick man undoubtedly reacts favorably upon his +physical organization. + +The following list of twenty plants used in Cherokee practice will +give a better idea of the extent of their medical knowledge than +could be conveyed by a lengthy dissertation. The names are given +in the order in which they occur in the botanic notebook filled on +the reservation, excluding names of food plants and species not +identified, so that no attempt has been made to select in accordance +with a preconceived theory. Following the name of each plant are +given its uses as described by the Indian doctors, together with its +properties as set forth in the United States Dispensatory, one of the +leading pharmacopoeias in use in this country.[7] For the benefit +of those not versed in medical phraseology it may be stated that +aperient, cathartic, and deobstruent are terms applied to medicines +intended to open or purge the bowels, a diuretic has the property of +exciting the flow of urine, a diaphoretic excites perspiration, and +a demulcent protects or soothes irritated tissues, while haemoptysis +denotes a peculiar variety of blood-spitting and aphthous is an +adjective applied to ulcerations in the mouth. + +[Footnote 7: Wood, T.B., and Bache, F.: Dispensatory of the United +States of America, 14th ed., Philadelphia, 1877.] + + +SELECTED LIST OF PLANTS USED. + +1. UNASTE[']TSTIY[^U]="very small root"--Aristolochia +serpentaria--Virginia or black snakeroot: Decoction of root blown upon +patient for fever and feverish headache, and drunk for coughs; root +chewed and spit upon wound to cure snake bites; bruised root placed +in hollow tooth for toothache, and held against nose made sore by +constant blowing in colds. Dispensatory: "A stimulant tonic, acting +also as a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its +application; * * * also been highly recommended in intermittent +fevers, and though itself generally inadequate to the cure often +proves serviceable as an adjunct to Peruvian bark or sulphate of +quinia." Also used for typhous diseases, in dyspepsia, as a gargle +for sore throat, as a mild stimulant in typhoid fevers, and to promote +eruptions. The genus derives its scientific name from its supposed +efficacy in promoting menstrual discharge, and some species have +acquired the "reputation of antidotes for the bites of serpents." + +2. UNISTIL['][^U][n]IST[^I][8]="they stick on"--Cynoglossum +Morrisoni--Beggar lice: Decoction of root or top drunk for kidney +troubles; bruised root used with bear oil as an ointment for cancer; +forgetful persons drink a decoction of this plant, and probably also +of other similar bur plants, from an idea that the sticking qualities +of the burs will thus be imparted to the memory. From a similar +connection of ideas the root is also used in the preparation of love +charms. Dispensatory: Not named. C. officinale "has been used as +a demulcent and sedative in coughs, catarrh, spitting of blood, +dysentery, and diarrhea, and has been also applied externally in +burns, ulcers, scrofulous tumors and goiter." + +[Footnote 8: The Cherokee plant names here given are generic names, +which are the names commonly used. In many cases the same name is +applied to several species and it is only when it is necessary to +distinguish between them that the Indians use what might be called +specific names. Even then the descriptive term used serves to +distinguish only the particular plants under discussion and the +introduction of another variety bearing the same generic name would +necessitate a new classification of species on a different basis, +while hardly any two individuals would classify the species by the +same characteristics.] + +3. [^U][n]NAG[/E]I="black"--Cassia Marilandica--Wild senna: Root bruised +and moistened with water for poulticing sores; decoction drunk for fever +and for a disease also called [^u][n]nage[']i, or "black" (same name +as plant), in which the hands and eye sockets are said to turn black; +also for a disease described as similar to [^u][n]nagei, but more +dangerous, in which the eye sockets become black, while black spots +appear on the arms, legs, and over the ribs on one side of the body, +accompanied by partial paralysis, and resulting in death should the +black spots appear also on the other side. Dispensatory: Described as +"an efficient and safe cathartic, * * * most conveniently given in the +form of infusion." + +4. K[^A]SD['][/U]TA="simulating ashes," so called on account of the +appearance of the leaves--Gnaphalium decurrens--Life everlasting: +Decoction drunk for colds; also used in the sweat bath for various +diseases and considered one of their most valuable medical plants. +Dispensatory: Not named. Decoctions of two other species of this genus +are mentioned as used by country people for chest and bowel diseases, +and for hemorrhages, bruises, ulcers, etc., although "probably +possessing little medicinal virtue." + +5. ALTSA[']STI="a wreath for the head"--Vicia Caroliniana--Vetch: +Decoction drunk for dyspepsia and pains in the back, and rubbed on +stomach for cramp; also rubbed on ball-players after scratching, to +render their muscles tough, and used in the same way after scratching +in the disease referred to under [^u][n]nagei, in which one side becomes +black in spots, with partial paralysis; also used in same manner in +decoction with K[^a]sduta for rheumatism; considered one of their most +valuable medicinal herbs. Dispensatory: Not named. + +6. DISTAI[']Y[)I]="they (the roots) are tough"--Tephrosia +Virginiana--Catgut, Turkey Pea, Goat's Rue, or Devil's Shoestrings: +Decoction drunk for lassitude. Women wash their hair in decoction of +its roots to prevent its breaking or falling out, because these roots +are very tough and hard to break; from the same idea ball-players +rub the decoction on their limbs after scratching, to toughen them. +Dispensatory: Described as a cathartic with roots tonic and aperient. + +7. U[']GA-ATASGI[']SK[)I]="the pus oozes out"--Euphorbia +hypericifolia--Milkweed: Juice rubbed on for skin eruptions, +especially on children's heads; also used as a purgative; decoction +drunk for gonorrhoea and similar diseases in both sexes, and held in +high estimation for this purpose; juice used as an ointment for sores +and for sore nipples, and in connection with other herbs for cancer. +Dispensatory: The juice of all of the genus has the property of +"powerfully irritating the skin when applied to it," while nearly all +are powerful emetics and cathartics. This species "has been highly +commended as a remedy in dysentery after due depletion, diarrhea, +menorrhagia, and leucorrhea." + +8. G[^U][']N[)I]GWAL[)I][']SK[)I]="It becomes discolored when +bruised"--Scutellaria lateriflora--Skullcap. The name refers to +the red juice which comes out of the stalk when bruised or chewed. +A decoction of the four varieties of G[^u]nigwal[)i][']sk[)i]--S. +lateriflora, S. pilosa, Hypericum corymbosum, and Stylosanthes +elatior--is drunk to promote menstruation, and the same decoction is +also drunk and used as a wash to counteract the ill effects of eating +food prepared by a woman in the menstrual condition, or when such a +woman by chance comes into a sick room or a house under the tabu; also +drunk for diarrhea and used with other herbs in decoction for breast +pains. Dispensatory: This plant "produces no very obvious effects," +but some doctors regard it as possessed of nervine, antispasmodic and +tonic properties. None of the other three species are named. + +9. K[^A][']GA SK[^U]['][n]TAG[)I]="crow shin"--Adiantum +pedatum--Maidenhair Fern: Used either in decoction or poultice for +rheumatism and chills, generally in connection with some other fern. +The doctors explain that the fronds of the different varieties of fern +are curled up in the young plant, but unroll and straighten out as it +grows, and consequently a decoction of ferns causes the contracted muscles +of the rheumatic patient to unbend and straighten out in like manner. +It is also used in decoction for fever. Dispensatory: The leaves "have +been supposed to be useful in chronic catarrh and other pectoral +affections." + +10. ANDA[']NKALAGI[']SK[)I]="it removes things from the +gums"--Geranium maculatum--Wild Alum, Cranesbill: Used in decoction +with Y[^a]n[^u] Unihye[']st[)i] (Vitis cordifolia) to wash the mouths +of children in thrush; also used alone for the same purpose by blowing +the chewed fiber into the mouth. Dispensatory: "One of our best +indigenous astringents. * * * Diarrhea, chronic dysentery, cholora +infantum in the latter stages, and the various hemorrhages are the +forms of disease in which it is most commonly used." Also valuable +as "an application to indolent ulcers, an injection in gleet +and leucorrhea, a gargle in relaxation of the uvula and aphthous +ulcerations of the throat." The other plant sometimes used with it is +not mentioned. + +11. [^U]['][n]L[)E] UK[)I][']LT[)I]="the locust frequents it"--Gillenia +trifoliata--Indian Physic. Two doctors state that it is good as a tea +for bowel complaints, with fever and yellow vomit; but another says +that it is poisonous and that no decoction is ever drunk, but that the +beaten root is a good poultice for swellings. Dispensatory: "Gillenia +is a mild and efficient emetic, and like most substances belonging to +the same class occasionally acts upon the bowels. In very small doses +it has been thought to be tonic." + +12. SKWA[']L[)I]=Hepatica acutiloba--Liverwort, Heartleaf: Used for +coughs either in tea or by chewing root. Those who dream of snakes +drink a decoction of this herb and I[']nat[^u] Ga[']n`ka=="snake tongue" +(Camptosorus rhizophyllus or Walking Fern) to produce vomiting, after +which the dreams do not return. The traders buy large quantities of +liverwort from the Cherokees, who may thus have learned to esteem it +more highly than they otherwise would. The appearance of the other +plant, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, has evidently determined its Cherokee +name and the use to which it is applied. Dispensatory: "Liverwort is a +very mild demulcent tonic and astringent, supposed by some to possess +diuretic and deobstruent virtues. It was formerly used in Europe +in various complaints, especially chronic hepatic affections, but +has fallen into entire neglect. In this country, some years since, +it acquired considerable reputation, which, however, it has not +maintained as a remedy in haemoptysis and chronic coughs." The other +plant is not named. + +13. DA[']YEW[^U]="it sews itself up," because the leaves are said to grow +together again when torn--Cacalia atriplicifolia--Tassel Flower: Held +in great repute as a poultice for cuts, bruises, and cancer, to draw +out the blood or poisonous matter. The bruised leaf is bound over the +spot and frequently removed. The dry powdered leaf was formerly used +to sprinkle over food like salt. Dispensatory: Not named. + +14. A[']TAL[)I] K[^U]L[)I][']="it climbs the mountain."--Aralia +quinquefolia--Ginseng or "Sang:" Decoction of root drunk for headache, +cramps, etc., and for female troubles; chewed root blown on spot for +pains in the side. The Cherokees sell large quantities of sang to +the traders for 50 cents per pound, nearly equivalent there to two +days' wages, a fact which has doubtless increased their idea of its +importance. Dispensatory: "The extraordinary medical virtues formerly +ascribed to ginseng had no other existence than in the imagination of +the Chinese. It is little more than a demulcent, and in this country +is not employed as a medicine." The Chinese name, ginseng, is said to +refer to the fancied resemblance of the root to a human figure, while +in the Cherokee formulas it is addressed as the "great man" or "little +man," and this resemblance no doubt has much to do with the estimation +in which it is held by both peoples. + +15. [^U][']TSAT[)I] UWADS[)I]SKA="fish scales," from shape of +leaves--Thalictrum anemonoides--Meadow Rue: Decoction of root drunk +for diarrhea with vomiting. Dispensatory: Not named. + +16. K[']KW[)E] ULASU[']LA="partridge moccasin"--Cypripedium +parviflorum--Lady-slipper: Decoction of root used for worms in +children. In the liquid are placed some stalks of the common chickweed +or purslane (Cerastium vulgatum) which, from the appearance of its +red fleshy stalks, is supposed to have some connection with worms. +Dispensatory: Described as "a gentle nervous stimulant" useful in +diseases in which the nerves are especially affected. The other herb +is not named. + +17. A[']HAW[)I]['] AK[)A][']T[)A][']="deer eye," from the appearance +of the flower--Rudbeckia fulgida--Cone Flower: Decoction of root drunk +for flux and for some private diseases; also used as a wash for snake +bites and swellings caused by (mythic) tsg[^a]ya or worms; also dropped +into weak or inflamed eyes. This last is probably from the supposed +connection between the eye and the flower resembling the eye. +Dispensatory: Not named. + +18. UT[)I]STUG[)I][']=Polygonatum multiflorum latifolium--Solomon's +Seal: Root heated and bruised and applied as a poultice to remove +an ulcerating swelling called tu[']st[)i]['], resembling a boil or +carbuncle. Dispensatory: "This species acts like P. uniflorum, which +is said to be emetic. In former times it was used externally in +bruises, especially those about the eyes, in tumors, wounds, and +cutaneous eruptions and was highly esteemed as a cosmetic. At present +it is not employed, though recommended by Hermann as a good remedy +in gout and rheumatism." This species in decoction has been found +to produce "nausea, a cathartic effect and either diaphoresis +or diuresis," and is useful "as an internal remedy in piles, and +externally in the form of decoction, in the affection of the skin +resulting from the poisonous exhalations of certain plants." + +19. [)A]M[)A]DITA`T['I]="water dipper," because water can be sucked up +through its hollow stalk--Eupatorium purpureum--Queen of the Meadow, +Gravel Root: Root used in decoction with a somewhat similar plant +called [)A]m[)a]dit[/a][']t[)i] [^u][']tanu, or "large water dipper" +(not identified) for difficult urination. Dispensatory: "Said to operate +as a diuretic. Its vulgar name of gravel root indicates the popular +estimation of its virtues." The genus is described as tonic, +diaphoretic, and in large doses emetic and aperient. + +20. Y[^A]NA UTS[)E]STA="the bear lies on it"--Aspidium +acrostichoides--Shield Fern: Root decoction drunk to produce vomiting, +and also used to rub on the skin, after scratching, for rheumatism--in +both cases some other plant is added to the decoction; the +warm decoction is also held in the mouth to relieve toothache. +Dispensatory: Not named. + +The results obtained from a careful study of this list may be +summarized as follows: Of the twenty plants described as used by the +Cherokees, seven (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 17, and 20) are not noticed +in the Dispensatory even in the list of plants sometimes used although +regarded as not officinal. It is possible that one or two of these +seven plants have medical properties, but this can hardly be true of +a larger number unless we are disposed to believe that the Indians are +better informed in this regard than the best educated white physicians +in the country. Two of these seven plants, however (Nos. 2 and 4), +belong to genera which seem to have some of the properties ascribed +by the Indians to the species. Five others of the list (Nos. 8, 9, +11, 14, and 16) are used for entirely wrong purposes, taking the +Dispensatory as authority, and three of these are evidently used on +account of some fancied connection between the plant and the disease, +according to the doctrine of signatures. Three of the remainder (Nos. +1, 3, and 6) may be classed as uncertain in their properties, that is, +while the plants themselves seem to possess some medical value, the +Indian mode of application is so far at variance with recognized +methods, or their own statements are so vague and conflicting, that +it is doubtful whether any good can result from the use of the herbs. +Thus the Unaste[']tstiy[^u], or Virginia Snakeroot, is stated by the +Dispensatory to have several uses, and among other things is said to +have been highly recommended in intermittent fevers, although alone +it is "generally inadequate to the cure." Though not expressly stated, +the natural inference is that it must be applied internally, but the +Cherokee doctor, while he also uses it for fever, takes the decoction +in his mouth and blows it over the head and shoulders of the patient. +Another of these, the Distai[']y[)i], or Turkey Pea, is described in +the Dispensatory as having roots tonic and aperient. The Cherokees +drink a decoction of the roots for a feeling of weakness and languor, +from which it might be supposed that they understood the tonic +properties of the plant had not the same decoction been used by the +women as a hair wash, and by the ball players to bathe their limbs, +under the impression that the toughness of the roots would thus be +communicated to the hair or muscles. From this fact and from the name +of the plant, which means at once hard, tough, or strong, it is quite +probable that its roots are believed to give strength to the patient +solely because they themselves are so strong and not because they +have been proved to be really efficacious. The remaining five plants +have generally pronounced medicinal qualities, and are used by +the Cherokees for the very purposes for which, according to the +Dispensatory, they are best adapted; so that we must admit that so +much of their practice is correct, however false the reasoning by +which they have arrived at this result. + + +MEDICAL PRACTICE. + +Taking the Dispensatory as the standard, and assuming that this list +is a fair epitome of what the Cherokees know concerning the medical +properties of plants, we find that five plants, or 25 per cent of +the whole number, are correctly used; twelve, or 60 per cent, are +presumably either worthless or incorrectly used, and three plants, or +15 per cent, are so used that it is difficult to say whether they are +of any benefit or not. Granting that two of these three produce good +results as used by the Indians, we should have 35 per cent, or about +one-third of the whole, as the proportion actually possessing medical +virtues, while the remaining two-thirds are inert, if not positively +injurious. It is not probable that a larger number of examples would +change the proportion to any appreciable extent. A number of herbs +used in connection with these principal plants may probably be set +down as worthless, inasmuch as they are not named in the Dispensatory. + +The results here arrived at will doubtless be a surprise to those +persons who hold that an Indian must necessarily be a good doctor, +and that the medicine man or conjurer, with his theories of ghosts, +witches, and revengeful animals, knows more about the properties +of plants and the cure of disease than does the trained botanist +or physician who has devoted a lifetime of study to the patient +investigation of his specialty, with all the accumulated information +contained in the works of his predecessors to build upon, and with +all the light thrown upon his pathway by the discoveries of modern +science. It is absurd to suppose that the savage, a child in +intellect, has reached a higher development in any branch of science +than has been attained by the civilized man, the product of long ages +of intellectual growth. It would be as unreasonable to suppose that +the Indian could be entirely ignorant of the medicinal properties +of plants, living as he did in the open air in close communion with +nature; but neither in accuracy nor extent can his knowledge be +compared for a moment with that of the trained student working upon +scientific principles. + +Cherokee medicine is an empiric development of the fetich idea. For +a disease caused by the rabbit the antidote must be a plant called +"rabbit's food," "rabbit's ear," or "rabbit's tail;" for snake dreams +the plant used is "snake's tooth;" for worms a plant resembling a worm +in appearance, and for inflamed eyes a flower having the appearance +and name of "deer's eye." A yellow root must be good when the patient +vomits yellow bile, and a black one when dark circles come about his +eyes, and in each case the disease and the plant alike are named from +the color. A decoction of burs must be a cure for forgetfulness, for +there is nothing else that will stick like a bur; and a decoction of +the wiry roots of the "devil's shoestrings" must be an efficacious +wash to toughen the ballplayer's muscles, for they are almost strong +enough to stop the plowshare in the furrow. It must be evident that +under such a system the failures must far outnumber the cures, yet it +is not so long since half our own medical practice was based upon the +same idea of correspondences, for the mediaeval physicians taught that +_similia similibus curantur_, and have we not all heard that "the hair +of the dog will cure the bite?" + +Their ignorance of the true medical principles involved is shown by +the regulations prescribed for the patient. With the exception of the +fasting, no sanitary precautions are taken to aid in the recovery of +the sick man or to contribute to his comfort. Even the fasting is as +much religious as sanative, for in most cases where it is prescribed +the doctor also must abstain from food until sunset, just as in the +Catholic church both priest and communicants remain fasting from +midnight until after the celebration of the divine mysteries. As the +Indian cuisine is extremely limited, no delicate or appetizing dishes +are prepared for the patient, who partakes of the same heavy, sodden +cornmeal dumplings and bean bread which form his principal food in +health. In most cases certain kinds of food are prohibited, such as +squirrel meat, fish, turkey, etc.; but the reason is not that such +food is considered deleterious to health, as we understand it, but +because of some fanciful connection with the disease spirit. Thus if +squirrels have caused the illness the patient must not eat squirrel +meat. If the disease be rheumatism, he must not eat the leg of any +animal, because the limbs are generally the seat of this malady. Lye, +salt, and hot food are always forbidden when there is any prohibition +at all; but here again, in nine cases out of ten, the regulation, +instead of being beneficial, serves only to add to his discomfort. +Lye enters into almost all the food preparations of the Cherokees, the +alkaline potash taking the place of salt, which is seldom used among +them, having been introduced by the whites. Their bean and chestnut +bread, cornmeal dumplings, hominy, and gruel are all boiled in a pot, +all contain lye, and are all, excepting the last, served up hot from +the fire. When cold their bread is about as hard and tasteless as a +lump of yesterday's dough, and to condemn a sick man to a diet of such +dyspeptic food, eaten cold without even a pinch of salt to give it a +relish, would seem to be sufficient to kill him without any further +aid from the doctor. The salt or lye so strictly prohibited is really +a tonic and appetizer, and in many diseases acts with curative effect. +So much for the health regimen. + +In serious cases the patient is secluded and no strangers are allowed +to enter the house. On first thought this would appear to be a genuine +sanitary precaution for the purpose of securing rest and quiet to the +sick man. Such, however, is not the case. The necessity for quiet has +probably never occurred to the Cherokee doctor, and this regulation is +intended simply to prevent any direct or indirect contact with a woman +in a pregnant or menstrual condition. Among all primitive nations, +including the ancient Hebrews, we find an elaborate code of rules +in regard to the conduct and treatment of women on arriving at the +age of puberty, during pregnancy and the menstrual periods, and at +childbirth. Among the Cherokees the presence of a woman under any of +these conditions, or even the presence of any one who has come from +a house where such a woman resides, is considered to neutralize all +the effects of the doctor's treatment. For this reason all women, +excepting those of the household, are excluded. A man is forbidden to +enter, because he may have had intercourse with a tabued woman, or may +have come in contact with her in some other way; and children also +are shut out, because they may have come from a cabin where dwells a +woman subject to exclusion. What is supposed to be the effect of the +presence of a menstrual woman in the family of the patient is not +clear; but judging from analogous customs in other tribes and from +rules still enforced among the Cherokees, notwithstanding their long +contact with the whites, it seems probable that in former times the +patient was removed to a smaller house or temporary bark lodge built +for his accommodation whenever the tabu as to women was prescribed +by the doctor. Some of the old men assert that in former times sick +persons were removed to the public townhouse, where they remained +under the care of the doctors until they either recovered or died. +A curious instance of this prohibition is given in the second +Did[^u][n]l[)e][']sk[)i] (rheumatism) formula from the Gahuni manuscript +(see page 350), where the patient is required to abstain from touching +a squirrel, a dog, a cat, a mountain trout, or a woman, and must also +have a chair appropriated to his use alone during the four days that +he is under treatment. + +In cases of the children's disease known as G[^u][n]wani[']gista['][)i] +(see formulas) it is forbidden to carry the child outdoors, but +this is not to procure rest for the little one, or to guard against +exposure to cold air, but because the birds send this disease, and +should a bird chance to be flying by overhead at the moment the +napping of its wings would _fan the disease back_ into the body of +the patient. + + +ILLUSTRATION OF THE TABU. + +On a second visit to the reservation the writer once had a practical +illustration of the gakt[^u]['][n]ta or tabu, which may be of interest +as showing how little sanitary ideas have to do with these precautions. +Having received several urgent invitations from Tsiskwa (Bird), an old +shaman of considerable repute, who was anxious to talk, but confined +to his bed by sickness, it was determined to visit him at his house, +several miles distant. On arriving we found another doctor named +S[^u]['][n]k[)i] (The Mink) in charge of the patient and were told that +he had just that morning begun a four days' gakt[^u]['][n]ta which, +among other provisions, excluded all visitors. It was of no use to argue +that we had come by the express request of Tsiskwa. The laws of the +gakt[^u]['][n]ta were as immutable as those of the Medes and Persians, +and neither doctor nor patient could hope for favorable results from +the treatment unless the regulations were enforced to the letter. +But although we might not enter the house, there was no reason why we +should not talk to the old man, so seats were placed for us outside +the door, while Tsiskwa lay stretched out on the bed just inside and +The Mink perched himself on the fence a few yards distant to keep an +eye on the proceedings. As there was a possibility that a white man +might unconsciously affect the operation of the Indian medicine, +the writer deemed it advisable to keep out of sight altogether, and +accordingly took up a position just around the corner of the house, +but within easy hearing distance, while the interpreter sat facing +the doorway within a few feet of the sick man inside. Then began an +animated conversation, Tsiskwa inquiring, through the interpreter, +as to the purpose of the Government in gathering such information, +wanting to know how we had succeeded with other shamans and asking +various questions in regard to other tribes and their customs. The +replies were given in the same manner, an attempt being also made +to draw him out as to the extent of his own knowledge. Thus we +talked until the old man grew weary, but throughout the whole of +this singular interview neither party saw the other, nor was the +gakt[^u]['][n]ta violated by entering the house. From this example it +must be sufficiently evident that the tabu as to visitors is not a +hygienic precaution for securing greater quiet to the patient, or to +prevent the spread of contagion, but that it is simply a religious +observance of the tribe, exactly parallel to many of the regulations +among the ancient Jews, as laid down in the book of Leviticus. + + +NEGLECT OF SANITARY REGULATIONS. + +No rules are ever formulated as to fresh air or exercise, for the +sufficient reason that the door of the Cherokee log cabin is always +open, excepting at night and on the coldest days in winter, while +the Indian is seldom in the house during his waking hours unless when +necessity compels him. As most of their cabins are still built in the +old Indian style, without windows, the open door furnishes the only +means by which light is admitted to the interior, although when closed +the fire on the hearth helps to make amends for the deficiency. On the +other hand, no precautions are taken to guard against cold, dampness, +or sudden drafts. During the greater part of the year whole families +sleep outside upon the ground, rolled up in an old blanket. The +Cherokee is careless of exposure and utterly indifferent to the +simplest rules of hygiene. He will walk all day in a pouring rain +clad only in a thin shirt and a pair of pants. He goes barefoot and +frequently bareheaded nearly the entire year, and even on a frosty +morning in late November, when the streams are of almost icy coldness, +men and women will deliberately ford the river where the water is +waist deep in preference to going a few hundred yards to a foot-log. +At their dances in the open air men, women, and children, with bare +feet and thinly clad, dance upon the damp ground from darkness until +daylight, sometimes enveloped in a thick mountain fog which makes +even the neighboring treetops invisible, while the mothers have their +infants laid away under the bushes with only a shawl between them and +the cold ground. In their ball plays also each young man, before going +into the game, is subjected to an ordeal of dancing, bleeding, and +cold plunge baths, without food or sleep, which must unquestionably +waste his physical energy. + +In the old days when the Cherokee was the lord of the whole country +from the Savannah to the Ohio, well fed and warmly clad and leading +an active life in the open air, he was able to maintain a condition of +robust health notwithstanding the incorrectness of his medical ideas +and his general disregard of sanitary regulations. But with the advent +of the white man and the destruction of the game all this was changed. +The East Cherokee of to-day is a dejected being; poorly fed, and worse +clothed, rarely tasting meat, cut off from the old free life, and +with no incentive to a better, and constantly bowed down by a sense of +helpless degradation in the presence of his conqueror. Considering all +the circumstances, it may seem a matter of surprise that any of them +are still in existence. As a matter of fact, the best information that +could be obtained in the absence of any official statistics indicated +a slow but steady decrease during the last five years. Only the +constitutional vigor, inherited from their warrior ancestors, has +enabled them to sustain the shock of the changed conditions of the +last half century. The uniform good health of the children in the +training school shows that the case is not hopeless, however, and that +under favorable conditions, with a proper food supply and a regular +mode of living, the Cherokee can hold his own with the white man. + + +THE SWEAT BATH--BLEEDING--RUBBING--BATHING. + +In addition to their herb treatment the Cherokees frequently resort +to sweat baths, bleeding, rubbing, and cold baths in the running +stream, to say nothing of the beads and other conjuring paraphernalia +generally used in connection with the ceremony. The sweat bath was in +common use among almost all the tribes north of Mexico excepting the +central and eastern Eskimo, and was considered the great cure-all in +sickness and invigorant in health. Among many tribes it appears to +have been regarded as a ceremonial observance, but the Cherokees seem +to have looked upon it simply as a medical application, while the +ceremonial part was confined to the use of the plunge bath. The person +wishing to make trial of the virtues of the sweat bath entered the +[^a][']s[)i], a small earth-covered log house only high enough to allow +of sitting down. After divesting himself of his clothing, some large +bowlders, previously heated in a fire, were placed near him, and over +them was poured a decoction of the beaten roots of the wild parsnip. +The door was closed so that no air could enter from the outside, and +the patient sat in the sweltering steam until he was in a profuse +perspiration and nearly choked by the pungent fumes of the decoction. +In accordance with general Indian practice it may be that he plunged +into the river before resuming his clothing; but in modern times this +part of the operation is omitted and the patient is drenched with +cold water instead. Since the [^a]s[)i] has gone out of general use +the sweating takes place in the ordinary dwelling, the steam being +confined under a blanket wrapped around the patient. During the +prevalence of the smallpox epidemic among the Cherokees at the close +of the late war the sweat bath was universally called into requisition +to stay the progress of the disease, and as the result about three +hundred of the band died, while many of the survivors will carry +the marks of the visitation to the grave. The sweat bath, with the +accompanying cold water application, being regarded as the great +panacea, seems to have been resorted to by the Indians in all parts of +the country whenever visited by smallpox--originally introduced by the +whites--and in consequence of this mistaken treatment they have died, +in the language of an old writer, "like rotten sheep" and at times +whole tribes have been almost swept away. Many of the Cherokees tried +to ward off the disease by eating the flesh of the buzzard, which +they believe to enjoy entire immunity from sickness, owing to its foul +smell, which keeps the disease spirits at a distance. + +Bleeding is resorted to in a number of cases, especially in rheumatism +and in preparing for the ball play. There are two methods of +performing the operation, bleeding proper and scratching, the latter +being preparatory to rubbing on the medicine, which is thus brought +into more direct contact with the blood. The bleeding is performed +with a small cupping horn, to which suction is applied in the ordinary +manner, after scarification with a flint or piece of broken glass. In +the blood thus drawn out the shaman claims sometimes to find a minute +pebble, a sharpened stick or something of the kind, which he asserts +to be the cause of the trouble and to have been conveyed into the +body of the patient through the evil spells of an enemy. He frequently +pretends to suck out such an object by the application of the lips +alone, without any scarification whatever. Scratching is a painful +process and is performed with a brier, a flint arrowhead, a +rattlesnake's tooth, or even with a piece of glass, according to the +nature of the ailment, while in preparing the young men for the ball +play the shaman uses an instrument somewhat resembling a comb, having +seven teeth made from the sharpened splinters of the leg bone of +a turkey. The scratching is usually done according to a particular +pattern, the regular method for the ball play being to draw the +scratcher four times down the upper part of each arm, thus making +twenty-eight scratches each about 6 inches in length, repeating the +operation on each arm below the elbow and on each leg above and below +the knee. Finally, the instrument is drawn across the breast from the +two shoulders so as to form a cross; another curving stroke is made +to connect the two upper ends of the cross, and the same pattern +is repeated on the back, so that the body is thus gashed in nearly +three hundred places. Although very painful for a while, as may well +be supposed, the scratches do not penetrate deep enough to result +seriously, excepting in some cases where erysipelas sets in. While +the blood is still flowing freely the medicine, which in this case +is intended to toughen, the muscles of the player, is rubbed into the +wounds after which the sufferer plunges into the stream and washes +off the blood. In order that the blood may flow the longer without +clotting it is frequently scraped off with a small switch as it flows. +In rheumatism and other local diseases the scratching is confined to +the part affected. The instrument used is selected in accordance with +the mythologic theory, excepting in the case of the piece of glass, +which is merely a modern makeshift for the flint arrowhead. + +Rubbing, used commonly for pains and swellings of the abdomen, is a +very simple operation performed with the tip of the finger or the palm +of the hand, and can not be dignified with the name of massage. In +one of the Gahuni formulas for treating snake bites (page 351) the +operator is told to rub in a direction contrary to that in which the +snake coils itself, because "this is just the same as uncoiling it." +Blowing upon the part affected, as well as upon the head, hands, +and other parts of the body, is also an important feature of the +ceremonial performance. In one of the formulas it is specified that +the doctor must blow first upon the right hand of the patient, then +upon the left foot, then upon the left hand, and finally upon the +right foot, thus making an imaginary cross. + +Bathing in the running stream, or "going to water," as it is called, +is one of their most frequent medico-religious ceremonies, and is +performed on a great variety of occasions, such as at each new +moon, before eating the new food at the green corn dance, before the +medicine dance and other ceremonial dances before and after the ball +play, in connection with the prayers for long life, to counteract the +effects of bad dreams or the evil spells of an enemy, and as a part of +the regular treatment in various diseases. The details of the ceremony +are very elaborate and vary according to the purpose for which it is +performed, but in all cases both shaman and client are fasting from +the previous evening, the ceremony being generally performed just at +daybreak. The bather usually dips completely under the water four or +seven times, but in some cases it is sufficient to pour the water from +the hand upon the head and breast. In the ball play the ball sticks +are dipped into the water at the same time. While the bather is in the +water the shaman is going through with his part of the performance +on the bank and draws omens from the motion of the beads between his +thumb and finger, or of the fishes in the water. Although the old +customs are fast dying out this ceremony is never neglected at the +ball play, and is also strictly observed by many families on occasion +of eating the new corn, at each new moon, and on other special +occasions, even when it is necessary to break the ice in the stream +for the purpose, and to the neglect of this rite the older people +attribute many of the evils which have come upon the tribe in later +days. The latter part of autumn is deemed the most suitable season of +the year for this ceremony, as the leaves which then cover the surface +of the stream are supposed to impart their medicinal virtues to the +water. + + +SHAMANS AND WHITE PHYSICIANS. + +Of late years, especially since the establishment of schools among +them, the Cherokees are gradually beginning to lose confidence in +the abilities of their own doctors and are becoming more disposed +to accept treatment from white physicians. The shamans are naturally +jealous of this infringement upon their authority and endeavor to +prevent the spread of the heresy by asserting the convenient doctrine +that the white man's medicine is inevitably fatal to an Indian unless +eradicated from the system by a continuous course of treatment for +four years under the hands of a skillful shaman. The officers of the +training school established by the Government a few years ago met with +considerable difficulty on this account for some time, as the parents +insisted on removing the children at the first appearance of illness +in order that they might be treated by the shamans, until convinced by +experience that the children received better attention at the school +than could possibly be had in their own homes. In one instance, where +a woman was attacked by a pulmonary complaint akin to consumption, her +husband, a man of rather more than the usual amount of intelligence, +was persuaded to call in the services of a competent white physician, +who diagnosed the case and left a prescription. On a second visit, a +few days later, he found that the family, dreading the consequences of +this departure from old customs, had employed a shaman, who asserted +that the trouble was caused by a sharpened stick which some enemy +had caused to be imbedded in the woman's side. He accordingly began a +series of conjurations for the removal of the stick, while the white +physician and his medicine were disregarded, and in due time the woman +died. Two children soon followed her to the grave, from the contagion +or the inherited seeds of the same disease, but here also the +sharpened sticks were held responsible, and, notwithstanding the three +deaths under such treatment, the husband and father, who was at one +time a preacher, still has faith in the assertions of the shaman. +The appointment of a competent physician to look after the health of +the Indians would go far to eradicate these false ideas and prevent +much sickness and suffering; but, as the Government has made no such +provision, the Indians, both on and off the reservation, excepting the +children in the home school, are entirely without medical care. + + +MEDICINE DANCES. + +The Cherokees have a dance known as the Medicine Dance, which is +generally performed in connection with other dances when a number of +people assemble for a night of enjoyment. It possesses no features +of special interest and differs in no essential respect from a dozen +other of the lesser dances. Besides this, however, there was another, +known as the Medicine Boiling Dance, which, for importance and solemn +ceremonial, was second only to the great Green Corn Dance. It has +now been discontinued on the reservation for about twenty years. It +took place in the fall, probably preceding the Green Corn Dance, and +continued four days. The principal ceremony in connection with it was +the drinking of a strong decoction of various herbs, which acted as +a violent emetic and purgative. The usual fasting and going to water +accompanied the dancing and medicine-drinking. + + +DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS. + +It is exceedingly difficult to obtain from the doctors any accurate +statement of the nature of a malady, owing to the fact that their +description of the symptoms is always of the vaguest character, while +in general the name given to the disease by the shaman expresses only +his opinion as to the occult cause of the trouble. Thus they have +definite names for rheumatism, toothache, boils, and a few other +ailments of like positive character, but beyond this their description +of symptoms generally resolves itself into a statement that the +patient has bad dreams, looks black around the eyes, or feels tired, +while the disease is assigned such names as "when they dream of +snakes," "when they dream of fish," "when ghosts trouble them," "when +something is making something else eat them," or "when the food is +changed," i.e., when a witch causes it to sprout and grow in the body +of the patient or transforms it into a lizard, frog, or sharpened +stick. + + +THE PAY OF THE SHAMAN. + +The consideration which the doctor receives for his services is called +ugista[']`t[)i], a word of doubtful etymology, but probably derived +from the verb ts[)i][']gi[^u], "I take" or "I eat." In former times this +was generally a deer-skin or a pair of moccasins, but is now a certain +quantity of cloth, a garment, or a handkerchief. The shamans disclaim +the idea that the ugist[^a][']`t[)i] is pay, in our sense of the +word, but assert that it is one of the agencies in the removal and +banishment of the disease spirit. Their explanation is somewhat +obscure, but the cloth seems to be intended either as an offering to +the disease spirit, as a ransom to procure the release of his intended +victim, or as a covering to protect the hand of a shaman while engaged +in pulling the disease from the body of the patient. The first theory, +which includes also the idea of vicarious atonement, is common to many +primitive peoples. Whichever may be the true explanation, the evil +influence of the disease is believed to enter into the cloth, which +must therefore be sold or given away by the doctor, as otherwise +it will cause his death when the pile thus accumulating reaches the +height of his head. No evil results seem to follow its transfer from +the shaman to a third party. The doctor can not bestow anything thus +received upon a member of his own family unless that individual gives +him something in return. If the consideration thus received, however, +be anything eatable, the doctor may partake along with the rest of the +family. As a general rule the doctor makes no charge for his services, +and the consideration is regarded as a free-will offering. This remark +applies only to the medical practice, as the shaman always demands +and receives a fixed remuneration for performing love charms, hunting +ceremonials, and other conjurations of a miscellaneous character. +Moreover, whenever the beads are used the patient must furnish a +certain quantity of new cloth upon which to place them, and at the +close of the ceremony the doctor rolls up the cloth, beads and all, +and takes them away with him. The cloth thus received by the doctor +for working with the beads must not be used by him, but must be sold. +In one instance a doctor kept a handkerchief which he received for his +services, but instead sold a better one of his own. Additional cloth +is thus given each time the ceremony is repeated, each time a second +four days' course of treatment is begun, and as often as the doctor +sees fit to change his method of procedure. Thus, when he begins +to treat a sick man for a disease caused by rabbits, he expects to +receive a certain ugista[']`t[)i]; but, should he decide after a time +that the terrapin or the red bird is responsible for the trouble, +he adopts a different course of treatment, for which another +ugista[']`t[)i] is necessary. Should the sickness not yield readily +to his efforts, it is because the disease animal requires a greater +ugista[']`t[)i], and the quantity of cloth must be doubled, so that +on the whole the doctrine is a very convenient one for the shaman. In +many of the formulas explicit directions are given as to the pay which +the shaman is to receive for performing the ceremony. In one of the +Gatigwanasti formulas, after specifying the amount of cloth to be +paid, the writer of it makes the additional proviso that it must be +"pretty good cloth, too," asserting as a clincher that "this is what +the old folks said a long time ago." + +The ugista[']`t[)i] can not be paid by either one of a married couple +to the other, and, as it is considered a necessary accompaniment of +the application, it follows that a shaman can not treat his own wife +in sickness, and vice versa. Neither can the husband or wife of the +sick person send for the doctor, but the call must come from some +one of the blood relatives of the patient. In one instance within the +writer's knowledge a woman complained that her husband was very sick +and needed a doctor's attention, but his relatives were taking no +steps in the matter and it was not permissible for her to do so. + + +CEREMONIES FOR GATHERING PLANTS AND PREPARING MEDICINE. + +There are a number of ceremonies and regulations observed in +connection with the gathering of the herbs, roots, and barks, which +can not be given in detail within the limits of this paper. In +searching for his medicinal plants the shaman goes provided with a +number of white and red beads, and approaches the plant from a certain +direction, going round it from right to left one or four times, +reciting certain prayers the while. He then pulls up the plant by the +roots and drops one of the beads into the hole and covers it up with +the loose earth. In one of the formulas for hunting ginseng the hunter +addresses the mountain as the "Great Man" and assures it that he comes +only to take a small piece of flesh (the ginseng) from its side, so +that it seems probable that the bead is intended as a compensation to +the earth for the plant thus torn from her bosom. In some cases the +doctor must pass by the first three plants met until he comes to the +fourth, which he takes and may then return for the others. The bark +is always taken from the east side of the tree, and when the root or +branch is used it must also be one which runs out toward the east, the +reason given being that these have imbibed more medical potency from +the rays of the sun. + +When the roots, herbs, and barks which enter into the prescription +have been thus gathered the doctor ties them up into a convenient +package, which he takes to a running stream and casts into the water +with appropriate prayers. Should the package float, as it generally +does, he accepts the fact as an omen that his treatment will be +successful. On the other hand, should it sink, he concludes that some +part of the preceding ceremony has been improperly carried out and +at once sets about procuring a new package, going over the whole +performance from the beginning. Herb-gathering by moonlight, so +important a feature in European folk medicine, seems to be no part +of Cherokee ceremonial. There are fixed regulations in regard to +the preparing of the decoction, the care of the medicine during +the continuance of the treatment, and the disposal of what remains +after the treatment is at an end. In the arrangement of details the +shaman frequently employs the services of a lay assistant. In these +degenerate days a number of upstart pretenders to the healing art have +arisen in the tribe and endeavor to impose upon the ignorance of their +fellows by posing as doctors, although knowing next to nothing of the +prayers and ceremonies, without which there can be no virtue in the +application. These impostors are sternly frowned down and regarded +with the utmost contempt by the real professors, both men and women, +who have been initiated into the sacred mysteries and proudly look +upon themselves as conservators of the ancient ritual of the past. + + +THE CHEROKEE GODS AND THEIR ABIDING PLACES. + +After what has been said in elucidation of the theories involved in +the medical formulas, the most important and numerous of the series, +but little remains to be added in regard to the others, beyond what +is contained in the explanation accompanying each one. A few points, +however, may be briefly noted. + +The religion of the Cherokees, like that of most of our North American +tribes, is zootheism or animal worship, with the survival of that +earlier stage designated by Powell as hecastotheism, or the worship +of all things tangible, and the beginnings of a higher system in +which the elements and the great powers of nature are deified. Their +pantheon includes gods in the heaven above, on the earth beneath, and +in the waters under the earth, but of these the animal gods constitute +by far the most numerous class, although the elemental gods are +more important. Among the animal gods insects and fishes occupy a +subordinate place, while quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles are invoked +almost constantly. The uktena (a mythic great horned serpent), the +rattlesnake, and the terrapin, the various species of hawk, and the +rabbit, the squirrel, and the dog are the principal animal gods. The +importance of the god bears no relation to the size of the animal, +and in fact the larger animals are but seldom invoked. The spider also +occupies a prominent place in the love and life-destroying formulas, +his duty being to entangle the soul of his victim in the meshes of his +web or to pluck it from the body of the doomed man and drag it way to +the black coffin in the Darkening Land. + +Among what may be classed as elemental gods the principal are fire, +water, and the sun, all of which are addressed under figurative names. +The sun is called Une[']`lan[^u][']h[)i], "the apportioner," just as our +word moon means originally "the measurer." Indians and Aryans alike, +having noticed how these great luminaries divide and measure day and +night, summer and winter, with never-varying regularity, have given to +each a name which should indicate these characteristics, thus showing +how the human mind constantly moves on along the same channels. +Missionaries have naturally, but incorrectly, assumed this apportioner +of all things to be the suppositional "Great Spirit" of the Cherokees, +and hence the word is used in the Bible translation as synonymous +with God. In ordinary conversation and in the lesser myths the +sun is called N[^u]['][n]t[^a]. The sun is invoked chiefly by the +ball-player, while the hunter prays to the fire; but every important +ceremony--whether connected with medicine, love, hunting, or the ball +play--contains a prayer to the "Long Person," the formulistic name for +water, or, more strictly speaking, for the river. The wind, the storm, +the cloud, and the frost are also invoked in different formulas. + +But few inanimate gods are included in the category, the principal +being the Stone, to which the shaman prays while endeavoring to find a +lost article by means of a swinging pebble suspended by a string; the +Flint, invoked when the shaman is about to scarify the patient with +a flint arrow-head before rubbing on the medicine; and the Mountain, +which is addressed in one or two of the formulas thus far translated. +Plant gods do not appear prominently, the chief one seeming to be the +ginseng, addressed in the formulas as the "Great Man" or "Little Man," +although its proper Cherokee name signifies the "Mountain Climber." + +A number of personal deities are also invoked, the principal being +the Red Man. He is one of the greatest of the gods, being repeatedly +called upon in formulas of all kinds, and is hardly subordinate to the +Fire, the Water, or the Sun. His identity is as yet uncertain, but he +seems to be intimately connected with the Thunder family. In a curious +marginal note in one of the Gahuni formulas (page 350), it is stated +that when the patient is a woman the doctor must pray to the Red Man, +but when treating a man he must pray to the Red Woman, so that this +personage seems to have dual sex characteristics. Another god invoked +in the hunting songs is Tsu[']l'kal[^u]['], or "Slanting Eyes" +(see Cherokee Myths), a giant hunter who lives in one of the great +mountains of the Blue Ridge and owns all the game. Others are the +Little Men, probably the two Thunder boys; the Little People, the +fairies who live in the rock cliffs; and even the De[']tsata, a +diminutive sprite who holds the place of our Puck. One unwritten +formula, which could not be obtained correctly by dictation, was +addressed to the "Red-Headed Woman, whose hair hangs down to the +ground." + +The personage invoked is always selected in accordance with the theory +of the formula and the duty to be performed. Thus, when a sickness is +caused by a fish, the Fish-hawk, the Heron, or some other fish-eating +bird is implored to come and seize the intruder and destroy it, so +that the patient may find relief. When the trouble is caused by a +worm or an insect, some insectivorous bird is called in for the same +purpose. When a flock of redbirds is pecking at the vitals of the sick +man the Sparrow-hawk is brought down to scatter them, and when the +rabbit, the great mischief-maker, is the evil genius, he is driven +out by the Rabbit-hawk. Sometimes after the intruder has been thus +expelled "a small portion still remains," in the words of the formula, +and accordingly the Whirlwind is called down from the treetops to +carry the remnant to the uplands and there scatter it so that it shall +never reappear. The hunter prays to the fire, from which he draws his +omens; to the reed, from which he makes his arrows; to Tsu[']l'kal[^u], +the great lord of the game, and finally addresses in songs the very +animals which he intends to kill. The lover prays to the Spider to +hold fast the affections of his beloved one in the meshes of his web, +or to the Moon, which looks down upon him in the dance. The warrior +prays to the Red War-club, and the man about to set out on a dangerous +expedition prays to the Cloud to envelop him and conceal him from his +enemies. + +Each spirit of good or evil has its distinct and appropriate place +of residence. The Rabbit is declared to live in the broomsage on the +hillside, the Fish dwells in a bend of the river under the pendant +hemlock branches, the Terrapin lives in the great pond in the West, +and the Whirlwind abides in the leafy treetops. Each disease animal, +when driven away from his prey by some more powerful animal, endeavors +to find shelter in his accustomed haunt. It must be stated here +that the animals of the formulas are not the ordinary, everyday +animals, but their great progenitors, who live in the upper world +(gal[^u]['][n]lati) above the arch of the firmament. + + +COLOR SYMBOLISM. + +Color symbolism plays an important part in the shamanistic system +of the Cherokees, no less than in that of other tribes. Each one of +the cardinal points has its corresponding color and each color its +symbolic meaning, so that each spirit invoked corresponds in color +and local habitation with the characteristics imputed to him, and is +connected with other spirits of the same name, but of other colors, +living in other parts of the upper world and differing widely in their +characteristics. Thus the Red Man, living in the east, is the spirit +of power, triumph, and success, but the Black Man, in the West, is +the spirit of death. The shaman therefore invokes the Red Man to +the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal +influences of the Black Man. + +The symbolic color system of the Cherokees, which will be explained +more fully in connection with the formulas, is as follows: + + East red success; triumph. + North blue defeat; trouble. + West black death. + South white peace; happiness. + Above? brown unascertained, but propitious. + ------ yellow about the same as blue. + +There is a great diversity in the color systems of the various tribes, +both as to the location and significance of the colors, but for +obvious reasons black was generally taken as the symbol of death; +while white and red signified, respectively, peace and war. It is +somewhat remarkable that red was the emblem of power and triumph +among the ancient Oriental nations no less than among the modern +Cherokees.[9] + +[Footnote 9: For more in regard to color symbolism, see Mallery's +Pictographs of the North American Indians in Fourth Report of the +Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 53-37, Washington, 1886; Gatschet's Creek +Migration Legend, vol. 3, pp. 31-41, St. Louis, 1888; Brinton's Kiche +Myths in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 19, +pp. 646-647, Philadelphia, 1882.] + + +IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES. + +In many of the formulas, especially those relating to love and to +life-destroying, the shaman mentions the name and clan of his client, +of the intended victim, or of the girl whose affections it is desired +to win. The Indian regards his name, not as a mere label, but as a +distinct part of his personality, just as much as are his eyes or +his teeth, and believes that injury will result as surely from the +malicious handling of his name as from a wound inflicted on any part +of his physical organism. This belief was found among the various +tribes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and has occasioned a number +of curious regulations in regard to the concealment and change of +names. It may be on this account that both Powhatan and Pocahontas are +known in history under assumed appellations, their true names having +been concealed from the whites until the pseudonyms were too firmly +established to be supplanted. Should his prayers have no apparent +effect when treating a patient for some serious illness, the shaman +sometimes concludes that the name is affected, and accordingly goes +to water, with appropriate ceremonies, and christens the patient with +a new name, by which he is henceforth to be known. He then begins +afresh, repeating the formulas with the new name selected for the +patient, in the confident hope that his efforts will be crowned with +success. + + +LANGUAGE OF THE FORMULAS. + +A few words remain to be said in regard to the language of the +formulas. They are full of archaic and figurative expressions, many of +which are unintelligible to the common people, and some of which even +the shamans themselves are now unable to explain. These archaic forms, +like the old words used by our poets, lend a peculiar beauty which can +hardly be rendered in a translation. They frequently throw light on +the dialectic evolution of the language, as many words found now only +in the nearly extinct Lower Cherokee dialect occur in formulas which +in other respects are written in the Middle or Upper dialect. The +R sound, the chief distinguishing characteristic of the old Lower +dialect, of course does not occur, as there are no means of indicating +it in the Cherokee syllabary. Those who are accustomed to look to the +Bible for all beauty in sacred expression will be surprised to find +that these formulas abound in the loftiest nights of poetic imagery. +This is especially true of the prayers used to win the love of a woman +or to destroy the life of an enemy, in which we find such expressions +as--"Now your soul fades away--your spirit shall grow less and +dwindle away, never to reappear;" "Let her be completely veiled in +loneliness--O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in your web, so that +it may never get through the meshes;" and the final declaration of the +lover, "Your soul has come into the very center of my soul, never to +turn away." + +In the translation it has been found advisable to retain as technical +terms a few words which could not well be rendered literally, such +as ada[']w[)e]h[)i] and ugist[=a][']`t[)i]. These words will be found +explained in the proper place. Transliterations of the Cherokee text +of the formulas are given, but it must be distinctly understood that +the translations are intended only as free renderings of the spirit of +the originals, exact translations with grammatic and glossarial notes +being deferred until a more extended study of the language has been +made, when it is hoped to present with more exactness of detail the +whole body of the formulas, of which the specimens here given are but +a small portion. + +The facsimile formulas are copies from the manuscripts now in +possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, and the portraits are from +photographs taken by the author in the field. + + +SPECIMEN FORMULAS. + +NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY AND TRANSLATION. + +In the Cherokee text both _d_ and _g_ have a medial sound, +approximating the sounds of _t_ and _k_ respectively. The other +letters are pronounced in regular accordance with the alphabet of +the Bureau of Ethnology. The language abounds in nasal and aspirate +sounds, the most difficult of the latter being the aspirate _`l_, +which to one familiar only with English sounds like _tl_. + +A few words whose meaning could not be satisfactorily ascertained have +been distinctively indicated in the Cherokee text by means of italics. +In the translation the corresponding expression has been queried, or +the space left entirely blank. On examining the text the student can +not fail to be struck by the great number of verbs ending in _iga_. +This is a peculiar form hardly ever used excepting in these formulas, +where almost every paragraph contains one or more such verbs. It +implies that the subject has just come and is now performing the +action, and that he came for that purpose. In addition to this, many +of these verbs may be either assertive or imperative (expressing +entreaty), according to the accent. Thus _hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga_ means +"you have just come and are listening and it is for that purpose you +came." By slightly accenting the final syllable it becomes "come at +once to listen." It will thus be seen that the great majority of the +formulas are declarative rather than petitional in form--laudatory +rhapsodies instead of prayers, in the ordinary sense of the word. + + +MEDICINE. + +DID[^U][n]L[)E][']SK[)i] ADAN[^U][n][']W[^A]T[)i] KAN[^A]H[)E][']SK[)i]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-N[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]y[)i] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i], +Gi[']`l[)i] Gigage['][)i], han[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga +us[)i]nuli[']yu. Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], gahu[']st[)i] +tsan[']ult[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ha-diskw[^u]lti[']y[^u] +t[)i][']nanugag[)i]['], ase[']gw[^u] nige[']s[^u][n]na tsagista[']`t[)i] +ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. Ulsg[']eta h[^u][n]hihy[^u]['][n]stani[']ga. +Ha-usdig[']iyu-gw[^u] ha-e[']lawast[^u]['][n] iyt[^u]['][n]ta +d[^u]hil[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-Uh[^u][n]ts[^a][']y[)i] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i] Gi[']`l[)i] +Sa`ka[']n[)i], han[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lt[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Diskw[^u]lti[']y[^u] ti[']nanugai['], ase[']gw[^u] +nige[']s[^u][n]na tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. Ulsge[']ta +h[^u][n]hihy[^u][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gw[^u] +ha-e[']lawast[^u]['][n] iy[^u][']ta d[^u]hit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! (Ha)-Us[^u]hi['](-y[)i]) ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i], Gi`l['][)i] +G[^u][n]nage['][)i], han[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga +us[)i]nuli[']y[^u]. Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], gahu[']sti tsanu[']lt[)i] +nige[']s[^u]['][n]na. Diskw[^u]lti[']y[^u] tinanugag[)i]['], ase[']gw[^u] +nige[']s[^u][n]na tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. Ulsg[']eta +h[^u][n]hihy[^u][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gw[^u] +ha-e[']lawast[^u]['][n] iy[^u]['][n]ta d[^u]hit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Wa[']hal[)a]['] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i], Gi[']`l[)i] +Ts[^u]ne[']ga, han[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lt[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Diskw[^u]lti[']y[^u] ti[']nanugag[)i]['], ase[']gw[^u] +nige[']s[^u][n]na tsagista[']`t[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. Ha-ulsge[']ta +h[^u][n]hihy[^u]['][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gw[^u] +e[']lawast[^u]['][n] iy[^u]['][n]ta d[^u]hit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Wa[']hal[)a] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i] T[^u][']ks[)i] +Ts[^u]ne[']ga, han[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga us[)i]nuli[']yu. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lt[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ha-k[^a][']l[^u] _gay[^u]ske[']ta_ +tsat[^u][n][']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]na[']wa nu[']tat[)a]n[^u]['][n]ta. + +(Deg[^a]sisisg[^u]['][n][)i].)--T[^u]ks[)i] uhya[']ska g[^u]nsta`t[)i]['] +na[']sk[)i] igahi[']ta gunst[^a]['][)i] h[)i][']sk[)i] iyuntale[']g[)i] +ts[^u]nt[^u]ngi[']ya. [^U][n]skw[^u][']ta k[)i]l[^u]['] ats[^a][']tast[)i] +s[^a][']gwa iy[^u]ts[^a][']tast[)i], n[^u][']`k[)i] ig[^u]['][n]kta`t[)i], +naski-gw[^u]['] di[^u][n]l[)e][']n[)i]sk[^a]h[)i]['] ig[^u][n]yi[']y[)i] +tsale[']nih[^u]. N[^u][']`kine [^u][n]skw[^u][']ta k[)i]l[^u]['] +n[^u][']`k[)i] iyats[^a][']tast[)i]. Uhyask[^a][']hi-`n[^u] ade[']la +deg[^u]`la['][)i] t[)a][']l[)i] unine[']ga-gw[^u]['] +n[^u]['][n]w[^a]ti-`n[^u]['] hig[^u]neh[^a]['][)i] uhyask[^a][']h[)i] +usdi[']a-gw[^u]. Une[']lagi-`n[^u] s[^a][)i]['] agad[^a]['][)i] +agadi[']d[)i] [^u]['][n]ti-gw[^u]['] y[)i]k[)i]['] [^a]si[']yu-gw[^u] +na[']ski-`n[^u] agan[^u][n]li[']esk[^a]['][)i] +da[']g[^u]nstaneh[^u]['][n][)i] [)u]`ta[^a][']ta. Hi[)a]`-n[^u]['] +n[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i]: Y[^a][']na-Unats[)e]sd[^a][']g[)i] +tsana[']seh[^a]['][)i] s[^a][']i-`n[^u] K[^a][']ga-Asg[^u]['][n]tag[)e] +tsana[']seh[^a]['][)i], s[^a]i-`n[^u]['] _Eg[^u]['][n]li_-gw[^u], +s[^a]i-n[^u]['] (U)wa[']sgil[)i] ts[)i]g[)i]['] Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i] Usdi[']a +ts[)i]g[)i]['], n[^u][n]y[^a][']hi-`n[^u] tsuy[)e]`d[^a]['][)i] +Y[^a][']na-Uts[)e]sd[^a]g[)i] naskiy[^u]['] ts[)i]g[)i]['], usdi[']-gw[^u] +ts[)i]g[)i][']. Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i] (u)wa[']sgil[)i] ts[)i]g[)i][']; +s[^a]['][)i] W[^a][']tige Unas(te['])tsa ts[)i]g[)i]['], s[^a][']i-`n[^u] +[^U]['][n]age Tsunaste[']tsa, Niga[']ta unaste[']tsa ges[^a]['][)i]. + +Sunale[']-gw[^u] ale[']nd[)i] adan[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i]; t[)a][']line +e[']lad[)i] tsitkala['][)i]; ts[^a][']ine u[']lsalad[)i][']`sat[^u][']; +n[^u][']`kine ig[^u]['] ts[']kal[^a]['][)i]. Yeli[']gw[^u]['] +iges[^a]['][)i]. N[^u][']lst[^a]iyan[^u][']na ges[^a]['][)i] +akan[^u][n]wi[']sk[)i], nasgw[^u]['] nulstaiyan[^u][']na. + + +_Translation._ + +FORMULA FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER (RHEUMATISM). + +Listen! Ha! In the Sun Land you repose, O Red Dog, O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i][10], you never +fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! Ha! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Dog. O now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken, O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you never +fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never +escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled +a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! Ha! In the darkening land you repose, O Black Dog. O, now +you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you +never fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey +never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have +settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! On Wa[']hal[)a] you repose. O White Dog. Oh, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you never +fail in anything. Oh, appear and draw near running, for your prey +never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have +settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. + +Listen! On Wa[']hal[)a], you repose, O White Terrapin. O, now you have +swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']w[)e]h[)i], you never +fail in anything. Ha! It is for you to loosen its hold on the bone. +Belief is accomplished. + +(Prescription.)--Lay a terrapin shell upon (the spot) and keep it +there while the five kinds (of spirits) listen. On finishing, then +blow once. Repeat four times, beginning each time from the start. +On finishing the fourth time, then blow four times. Have two white +beads lying in the shell, together with a little of the medicine. +Don't interfere with it, but have a good deal boiling in another +vessel--a bowl will do very well--and rub it on warm while treating +by applying the hands. And this is the medicine: What is called +Y[^a][']na-Uts[)e][']sta ("bear's bed," the Aspidium acrostichoides or +Christmas fern); and the other is called K[^a][']ga-Asg[^u]['][n]tag[)i] +("crow's shin," the Adianthum pedatum or Maidenhair fern); and the +other is the common Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i] (another fern); and the other +is the Little Soft (-leaved) Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i] (Osmunda Cinnamonea +or cinnamon fern), which grows in the rocks and resembles +Y[^a]na-Uts[)e][']sta and is a small and soft (-leaved) +Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i]. Another has brown roots and another has black roots. +The roots of all should be (used). + +Begin doctoring early in the morning; let the second (application) be +while the sun is still near the horizon; the third when it has risen +to a considerable height (10 a.m.); the fourth when it is above at +noon. This is sufficient. (The doctor) must not eat, and the patient +also must be fasting. + +[Footnote 10: _Ada[']w[)e]h[)i]_ is a word used to designate one +supposed to have supernatural powers, and is applied alike to human +beings and to the spirits invoked in the formulas. Some of the +mythic heroes famous for their magic deeds are spoken of as +_ada[']w[)e]h[)i]_ (plural _anida[']w[)e]h[)i]_ or _anida[']we_), +but in its application to mortals the term is used only of the +very greatest shamans. None of those now belonging to the band +are considered worthy of being thus called, although the term was +sometimes applied to one, Usaw[)i], who died some years ago. In +speaking of himself as an ada[']w[)e]h[)i], as occurs in some of the +formulas, the shaman arrogates to himself the same powers that belong +to the gods. Our nearest equivalent is the word magician, but this +falls far short of the idea conveyed by the Cherokee word. In the +bible translation the word is used as the equivalent of angel or +spirit.] + + +_Explanation._ + +As this formula is taken from the manuscript of Gahuni, who died +nearly thirty years ago, no definite statement of the theory of the +disease, or its treatment, can be given, beyond what is contained in +the formula itself, which, fortunately, is particularly explicit; +most doctors contenting themselves with giving only the words of the +prayer, without noting the ceremonies or even the medicine used. There +are various theories as to the cause of each disease, the most common +idea in regard to rheumatism being that it is caused by the spirits of +the slain animals, generally the deer, thirsting for vengeance on the +hunter, as has been already explained in the myth of the origin of +disease and medicine. + +The measuring-worm (Catharis) is also held to cause rheumatism, from +the resemblance of its motions to those of a rheumatic patient, and +the name of the worm _wahh[)i]l[)i][']_ is frequently applied also to +the disease. + +There are formulas to propitiate the slain animals, but these are a +part of the hunting code and can only be noticed here, although it may +be mentioned in passing that the hunter, when about to return to the +settlement, builds a fire in the path behind him, in order that the +deer chief may not be able to follow him to his home. + +The disease, figuratively called the intruder (ulsg[/e]ta), is regarded +as a living being, and the verbs used in speaking of it show that it +is considered to be long, like a snake or fish. It is brought by the +deer chief and put into the body, generally the limbs, of the hunter, +who at once begins to suffer intense pain. It can be driven out only +by some more powerful animal spirit which is the natural enemy of the +deer, usually the dog or the Wolf. These animal gods live up above +beyond the seventh heaven and are the great prototypes of which the +earthly animals are only diminutive copies. They are commonly located +at the four cardinal points, each of which has a peculiar formulistic +name and a special color which applies to everything in the same +connection. Thus the east, north, west, and south are respectively the +Sun Land, the Frigid Land, the Darkening Land, and W[)a][']hal[)a]['], +while their respective mythologic colors are Red, Blue, Black, and +White. W[/a]hal[)a] is said to be a mountain far to the south. The +white or red spirits are generally invoked for peace, health, and other +blessings, the red alone for the success of an undertaking, the blue +spirits to defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring down troubles upon +him, and the black to compass his death. The white and red spirits +are regarded as the most powerful, and one of these two is generally +called upon to accomplish the final result. + +In this case the doctor first invokes the Red Dog in the Sun Land, +calling him a great ad[/a]wehi, to whom nothing is impossible and who +never fails to accomplish his purpose. He is addressed as if out of +sight in the distance and is implored to appear running swiftly to the +help of the sick man. Then the supplication changes to an assertion +and the doctor declares that the Red Dog has already arrived to take +the disease and has borne away a small portion of it to the uttermost +ends of the earth. In the second, third, and fourth paragraphs the +Blue Dog of the Frigid Land, the Black Dog of the Darkening Land, and +the White Dog of W[/a]hal[)a] are successively invoked in the same terms +and each bears away a portion of the disease and disposes of it in +the same way. Finally, in the fifth paragraph, the White Terrapin of +W[/a]h[)a]l[)a] is invoked. He bears off the remainder of the disease +and the doctor declares that relief is accomplished. The connection of +the terrapin in this formula is not evident, beyond the fact that he +is regarded as having great influence in disease, and in this case +the beads and a portion of the medicine are kept in a terrapin shell +placed upon the diseased part while the prayer is being recited. + +The formulas generally consist of four paragraphs, corresponding to +four steps in the medical ceremony. In this case there are five, the +last being addressed to the terrapin instead of to a dog. The prayers +are recited in an undertone hardly audible at the distance of a few +feet, with the exception of the frequent _ha_, which seems to be used +as an interjection to attract attention and is always uttered in a +louder tone. The beads--which are here white, symbolic of relief--are +of common use in connection with these formulas, and are held between +the thumb and finger, placed upon a cloth on the ground, or, as in +this case, put into a terrapin shell along with a small portion of the +medicine. According to directions, the shell has no other part in the +ceremony. + +The blowing is also a regular part of the treatment, the doctor either +holding the medicine in his mouth and blowing it upon the patient, or, +as it seems to be the case here, applying the medicine by rubbing, +and blowing his breath upon the spot afterwards. In some formulas the +simple blowing of the breath constitutes the whole application. In +this instance the doctor probably rubs the medicine upon the affected +part while reciting the first paragraph in a whisper, after which he +blows once upon the spot. The other paragraphs are recited in the +same manner, blowing once after each. In this way the whole formula +is repeated four times, with four blows at the end of the final +repetition. The directions imply that the doctor blows only at the end +of the whole formula, but this is not in accord with the regular mode +of procedure and seems to be a mistake. + +The medicine consists of a warm decoction of the roots of four +varieties of fern, rubbed on with the hand. The awkward description +of the species shows how limited is the Indian's power of botanic +classification. The application is repeated four times during the same +morning, beginning just at daybreak and ending at noon. Four is the +sacred number running through every detail of these formulas, there +being commonly four spirits invoked in four paragraphs, four blowings +with four final blows, four herbs in the decoction, four applications, +and frequently four days' gaktu[n][']ta or tabu. In this case no tabu +is specified beyond the fact that both doctor and patient must be +fasting. The tabu generally extends to salt or lye, hot food and +women, while in rheumatism some doctors forbid the patient to eat the +foot or leg of any animal, the reason given being that the limbs are +generally the seat of the disease. For a similar reason the patient is +also forbidden to eat or even to touch a squirrel, a buffalo, a cat, +or any animal which "humps" itself. In the same way a scrofulous +patient must not eat turkey, as that bird seems to have a scrofulous +eruption on its head, while ball players must abstain from eating +frogs, because the bones of that animal are brittle and easily broken. + +HI[)A]`-N[^U]['] NASGW[^U]['] DID[^U][n]L[)E][']SK[)I] +AD[)A]N[^U]['][n]W[^A]T[)I]. + + Asga[']ya y[^u]kan[^u]['][n]w[)i] + _Ag[)e][']`ya Giagage['][)i]_ at[)a]t[)i][']; + ag[)e][']`ya-n[^u] y[^u]kan[^u]['][n]w[)i] + _Asga[']ya Gigage['][)i]_ at[)a]t[)i][']. + +Y[^u]! Hig[)e][']`ya Gigage['][)i] ts[^u]dante[']l[^u]h[)i] gese['][)i]. +Ulsge[']ta hi[']tsanu[']y'tani[']le[)i][']. +Ha-N[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]y[)i] n[^u]nta[']ts[^u]d[)a]len[^u][']h[)i] +gese['][)i]. Gasgil[^a]['] gigage['][)i] tsusdi[']ga tetsad[)i][']il[)e]['] +detsala[']sidit[)e]-g[)e]['][)i]. Han[^a][']gwa us[)i]nuli[']yu +detsaldisi[']y[^u][)i]. + +Uts[)i](n[)a]['])wa nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta. Us[^u][']hita nutan[^u][']na. +Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa-gw[^u] nig[^u][n]tisge[']st[)i]. + +(Deg[^a][']sisisg[^u]['][n][)i])--Hi[)a]-gw[^u]['] niga[^u]['] +kan[^a]he[']ta. N[^u][']`kiba nag[^u][']nkw'tisga['] +dag[^u]['][n]stisk[^u]['][)i]. S[^a][']gwa n[^u][n]skw[^u][']ta +g[^u]nst[^u]['][n][)i] ag[^u]nstagi[']s-k[^a][)i] + h[^u][n]tsatasg[^a]['][)i] +n[^u][']`kine-`n[^u] [^u][n]skw[^u][']ta n[^u][']`k[)i] +n[^u][n]ts[^a]tasg[^a]['][)i]. Hi[)a]-`n[^u]['] n[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i]: +Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i], Y[^a][']na-`n[^u] Uts[)e]sd[^a][']g[)i], + (U)wa[']sgil[)i] +ts[)i]g[)i]['] Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i], t[)a][']l[)i] tsinu[']dal[)e][']ha, +K[^a][']ga-`n[^u] Asg[^u]['][n]tag[)e] tsi[^u][n]n[^a][']seh[^a]['][)i], +Da[']y[)i]-`n[^u] Uw[^a][']y[)i] tsi[^u][n]n[^a][']seh[^a]['][)i]. +Su[']tal[)i] iyutale[']g[)i] unaste[']tsa ag[^a][']t[)i], +uga[']naw[^u]`n[^u]['] dag[^u]nsta[']`tisg[^a]['][)i] n[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i] +as[^u][n]ga`la['][)i]. Us[^u][']h[)i] adan[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i], nu[']`k[)i] +tsus[^u][']hita dulsi[']nis[^u]['][n] adan[^u]['][n]w[^a]ti. +[)A]`nawa[']gi-`n[^u] dilasula[']g[)i] ges[^u]['][n][)i] [^u]l[)e]['] +ts[)i]kani[']kaga['][)i] g[^u]w'sdi[']-gw[^u] utsawa[']ta +[)a]`nawa[']-gw[^u]-n[^u][']. + +Hi[)a]-n[^u]['] gakt[^u]['][n]ta g[^u]lkw[^a][']g[)i] tsus[^u][']hita. +G[^u]['][n]w[)a]dana[']datlahist[)i]['] nige[']s[^u][n]na--Sal[^a][']l[)i], +gi[']`li-`n[^u], w[)e][']sa-`n[^u], [)a][']tats[^u]-n[^u]['], +a[']m[)a]-`n[^u]['], anig[)e][']`ya-n[^u]. Uda`l[)i]['] +ya[']kan[^u][n]wi[']ya n[^u][']`kiha tsus[^u][']hita +un[)a]dan[)a][']l[^a]tsi[']-tast[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Gasgil[^a][']gi-`n[^u] uw[)a][']su[n]-gw[^u]['] u[']sk[)i]ladi[']st[)i] +uw[)a][']s[^u] n[^u][']`k[)i] tsus[^u][']hit[)a][']. Dis[^a][']i-`n[^u] +dega[']sgil[^a] [^u]['][n]tsa n[^u]`n[)a]['] uwa[']`t[)i] yiges[^u][)i] +n[^u][']`k[)i] tsus[^u][']hita. + + +_Translation._ + +AND THIS ALSO IS FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER. + +Y[^u]! O Red Woman, you have caused it. You have put the intruder under +him. Ha! now you have come from the Sun Land. You have brought the +small red seats, with your feet resting upon them. Ha! now they have +swiftly moved away from you. Relief is accomplished. Let it not be for +one night alone. Let the relief come at once. + +(Prescription)--(_corner note at top_.) If treating a man one must say +_Red Woman_, and if treating a woman one must say _Red Man_. + +This is just all of the prayer. Repeat it four times while laying on +the hands. After saying it over once, with the hands on (the body +of the patient), take off the hands and blow once, and at the fourth +repetition blow four times. And this is the medicine. Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i] +(a species of fern). Y[^a][']-na-Uts[)e][']sta ("bear's bed," the +Aspidium acrostichoides or Christmas fern), _two_ varieties of +the soft-(leaved) Eg[^u]['][n]l[)i] (one, the small variety, is the +Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamonea), and what is called K[^a][']ga +Asg[^u]['][n]tag[)e] ("crow's shin," the Adiantum pedatum or Maidenhair +fern) and what is called Da[']y[)i]-Uw[^a][']y[)i] ("beaver's paw"--not +identified). Boil the roots of the six varieties together and apply +the hands warm with the medicine upon them. Doctor in the evening. +Doctor four consecutive nights. (The pay) is cloth and moccasins; or, +if one does not have them, just a little dressed deerskin and some +cloth. + +And this is the tabu for seven nights. One must not touch a squirrel, +a dog, a cat, the mountain trout, or women. If one is treating a +married man they (_sic_) must not touch his wife for four nights. And +he must sit on a seat by himself for four nights, and must not sit on +the other seats for four nights. + + +_Explanation._ + +The treatment and medicine in this formula are nearly the same as in +that just given, which is also for rheumatism, both being written +by Gahuni. The prayer differs in several respects from any other +obtained, but as the doctor has been dead for years it is impossible +to give a full explanation of all the points. This is probably the +only formula in the collection in which the spirit invoked is the "Red +Woman," but, as explained in the corner note at the top, this is only +the form used instead of "Red Man," when the patient is a man. The Red +Man, who is considered perhaps the most powerful god in the Cherokee +pantheon, is in some way connected with the thunder, and is invoked +in a large number of formulas. The change in the formula, according +to the sex of the patient, brings to mind a belief in Irish folk +medicine, that in applying certain remedies the doctor and patient +must be of opposite sexes. The Red Man lives in the east, in +accordance with the regular mythologic color theory, as already +explained. The seats also are red, and the form of the verb indicates +that the Red Woman is either standing upon them (plural) or sitting +with her feet resting upon the rounds. These seats or chairs are +frequently mentioned in the formulas, and always correspond in color +with the spirit invoked. It is not clear why the Red Woman is held +responsible for the disease, which is generally attributed to the +revengeful efforts of the game, as already explained. In agreement +with the regular form, the disease is said to be put under (not into) +the patient. The assertion that the chairs "have swiftly moved away" +would seem from analogy to mean that the disease has been placed upon +the seats and thus borne away. The verb implies that the seats move by +their own volition. Immediately afterward it is declared that relief +is accomplished. The expression "us[^u][']hita nutan[^u][']na" occurs +frequently in these formulas, and may mean either "let it not be for +one night alone," or "let it not stay a single night," according to +the context. + +The directions specify not only the medicine and the treatment, but +also the doctor's fee. From the form of the verb the tabu, except as +regards the seat to be used by the sick person, seems to apply to +both doctor and patient. It is not evident why the mountain trout +is prohibited, but the dog, squirrel, and cat are tabued, as already +explained, from the fact that these animals frequently assume +positions resembling the cramped attitude common to persons afflicted +by rheumatism. The cat is considered especially uncanny, as coming +from the whites. Seven, as well as four, is a sacred number with the +tribe, being also the number of their gentes. It will be noted that +time is counted by nights instead of by days. + + +HI[^A]['] I[']NAT[^U] YUNISK[^U][']LTSA ADAN[^U][']NW[^A]T[)I]. + + 1. _D[^u]nu[']wa_, d[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa, + d[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa (_song_). + Sg[)e]! Ha-Wal[^a][']s[)i]-gw[^u] ts[^u][n]l[^u]['][n]tani[']ga. + 2. _Dayuha_, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha dayuha (_song_). + Sg[)e]! Ha-_Usug[)i]_-gw[^u] ts[^u][n]-l[^u][n][']-tani[']ga. + +(Deg[^a][']sisisg[^u]['][n][)i]).--Kan[^a]gi[']ta n[^a]y[^a][']ga +hi[)a]['] dilentisg['][^u][n][)i]. T[)a][']l[)i] ig[^u][']nkw'ta`t[)i], +[^u]l[)e]['] talin[)e]['] tsutan[^u]['][n]na nasgw[^u]['] t[^a][']l[)i] +ig[^u][']nkw'ta`t[)i][']. Ts[^a][']la agan[^u]['][n]liesk[^a][)i]['] +ts[^a][']la yikani[']g[^u][n]g[^u]['][^a][)i]['] watsi[']la-gw[^u] +gan[^u][n]li[']y[)e]t[)i] unisk[^u]l`ts[^u]['][n][)i]. N[^u][']`k[)i] +nagade[']stisg[^a][)i]['] agan[^u][n]li[']esg[^u][n][)i]. Aksk[^u][']n[)i] +gadest[']a`t[)i], n[^u][^u]`k[)i] nagade['] sta h[^u][n]tsatasg[^a]['][)i]. +Hi[)a]-`n[^u]['] i[']nat[^u] akti[']s[)i] udest[^a]['][)i] yig[^u][']n`ka, +naski-`n[^u]['] tsagad[^u][']l[)a]gisg[^a]['][)i] iyu[']st[)i] +gatg[^u]['][n][)i]. + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO TREAT THEM IF THEY ARE BITTEN BY A SNAKE. + + 1. D[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa, d[^u]nu[']wa, + d[^u]nu[']wa. + Listen! Ha! It is only a common frog which has passed by and put + it (the intruder) into you. + 2. Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha. + Listen! Ha! It is only an _Usu[']`g[)i]_ which has passed by and + put it into you. + +(Prescription.)--Now this at the beginning is a song. One should say +it twice and also say the second line twice. Rub tobacco (juice) on +the bite for some time, or if there be no tobacco just rub on saliva +once. In rubbing it on, one must go around four times. Go around +toward the left and blow four times in a circle. This is because in +lying down the snake always coils to the right and this is just the +same (_lit._ "means like") as uncoiling it. + + +_Explanation._ + +This is also from the manuscript book of Gahuni, deceased, so that no +explanation could be obtained from the writer. The formula consists of +a song of two verses, each followed by a short recitation. The whole +is repeated, according to the directions, so as to make four verses +or songs; four, as already stated, being the sacred number running +through most of these formulas. Four blowings and four circuits in the +rubbing are also specified. The words used in the songs are sometimes +composed of unmeaning syllables, but in this case d[^u]nuwa and dayuha +seem to have a meaning, although neither the interpreter nor the +shaman consulted could explain them, which may be because the words +have become altered in the song, as frequently happens. D[^u]nu[']wa +appears to be an old verb, meaning "it has penetrated," probably +referring to the tooth of the reptile. These medicine songs are +always sung in a low plaintive tone, somewhat resembling a lullaby. +Usu[']`g[)i] also is without explanation, but is probably the name of +some small reptile or batrachian. + +As in this case the cause of the trouble is evident, the Indians have +no theory to account for it. It may be remarked, however, that when +one dreams of being bitten, the same treatment and ceremonies must +be used as for the actual bite; otherwise, although perhaps years +afterward, a similar inflammation will appear on the spot indicated +in the dream, and will be followed by the same fatal consequences. The +rattlesnake is regarded as a supernatural being or ada[']wehi, whose +favor must be propitiated, and great pains are taken not to offend +him. In consonance with this idea it is never said among the people +that a person has been bitten by a snake, but that he has been +"scratched by a brier." In the same way, when an eagle has been shot +for a ceremonial dance, it is announced that "a snowbird has been +killed," the purpose being to deceive the rattlesnake or eagle spirits +which might be listening. + +The assertion that it is "only a common frog" or "only an +Usu[']`g[)i]" brings out another characteristic idea of these +formulas. Whenever the ailment is of a serious character, or, +according to the Indian theory, whenever it is due to the influence +of some powerful disease spirit the doctor always endeavors to throw +contempt upon the intruder, and convince it of his own superior power +by asserting the sickness to be the work of some inferior being, +just as a white physician might encourage a patient far gone with +consumption by telling him that the illness was only a slight cold. +Sometimes there is a regular scale of depreciation, the doctor first +ascribing the disease to a rabbit or groundhog or some other weak +animal, then in succeeding paragraphs mentioning other still less +important animals and finally declaring it to be the work of a mouse, +a small fish, or some other insignificant creature. In this instance +an ailment caused by the rattlesnake, the most dreaded of the animal +spirits, is ascribed to a frog, one of the least importance. + +In applying the remedy the song is probably sung while rubbing the +tobacco juice around the wound. Then the short recitation is repeated +and the doctor blows four times in a circle about the spot. The whole +ceremony is repeated four times. The curious directions for uncoiling +the snake have parallels in European folk medicine. + + +G[^U][n]W[)A]NI[']GIST[^A]['][)I] ADANU['][n]W[^A]T[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]iyu, gahus[']t[)i] agin[/u]l`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. G[^u][n]gw[)a]dag[']anad`diy[^u]['] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-W[)a]huhu[']-gw[^u] hitagu[']sgastan[)e]`h[)e][)i]. Ha-n[^a][']gwa +h[)u]`kikah[^u][n][^u]['] ha-dus[)u][']`gah[)i] diges[^u]['][n][)i], +iy[^u]['][n]ta w[^u][n]`kid[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu, gahu[']st[)i] aginu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. G[^u][n]gw[)a]daga[']nad'diy[^u]['] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-Uguku[']-gw[^u] hitagu[']sgastan[)e][']he[)i]['] ud[^a]hi[']yu +tag[']u[']sgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i][']. Ha-na[']gwadi[']na +h[^u][n]kikah[^u][n]n[^u][']. Ha-n[^a]n[^a][']h[)i] diges[)u]['][n][)i] +iy[^u]['][n]ta w[^u][n]`kid[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu, gahu[']st[)i] aginu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. G[^u][n]gw[)a]daga[']nad'diy[^u]['] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-Tsistu-gw[^u] hitagu[']sgastan[)e][']he['][)i]ud[^a]hi[']yu +tag[']usgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i][']. Ha-n[^a][']gwadi[']na +h[^u]['][n]kikah[^u]['][n]n[^u]. Ha-sun[^u][n]da[']s[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta +kane[']skaw[^a][']dih[)i] diges[^u]['][n][)i], +w[^u][n]`kid[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu, gahu[']st[)i] aginu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. G[^u][n]gw[)a]daga[']nad'di[']y[^u] tsida[']w[)e]i[']yu. +Ha-De[']tsata[']-gw[^u] (hi)tagu[']sgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i] ud[^a]hi[']yu +tagu[']sgastan[)e][']h[)e][)i]. Ha-n[^a][']gwadi[']na +h[^u][n]kikah[^u]['][n]a. Ha-ud[^a][']tale[']ta diges[^u]['][n][)i], +iy[^u]['][n]ta w[^u][n]`kid[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + +(Deg[^a][']sisisg[^u]['][n][)i])--Hi[)a][']-sk[)i]n[)i]['] unsdi[']ya +d[)i]kan[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i] tsa`natsa[']yih[^a]['][)i] +tsaniska[']iha['][)i]; g[^u][n]wani[']gista['][)i] +hi[']an[^u]d[)i][']sga[)i][']. [)A]m[)a]['] + d[^u]tsati[']st[)i]sg[^a]['][)i] +n[^u][']`k[)i] tsus[^u][']hita d[)i]kan[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i] Ulsinide[']na +dakan[^u]['][n]wisg[^a]['][)i]. [)U]['][n]tsa iy[^u]['][n]ta +witunini[']dast[)i] yiges[^a]['][)i]. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THEM WHEN SOMETHING IS CAUSING SOMETHING TO EAT THEM. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is a mere screech +owl that has frightened him. Ha! now I have put it away in the laurel +thickets. There I compel it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is a mere hooting +owl that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! +At once I have put it away in the spruce thickets. Ha! There I compel +it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is only a rabbit +that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! +Instantly I have put it away on the mountain ridge. Ha! There in the +broom sage I compel it to remain. + +Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I +surpass all others--I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is only a mountain +sprite that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. +Ha! Instantly I have put it away on the bluff. Ha! There I compel it +to remain. + +(Prescription)--Now this is to treat infants if they are affected by +crying and nervous fright. (Then) it is said that something is causing +something to eat them. To treat them one may blow water on them for +four nights. Doctor them just before dark. Be sure not to carry them +about outside the house. + + +_Explanation._ + +The Cherokee name for this disease is Gu[n]wani[']gist[^a][)i]['], which +signifies that "something is causing something to eat," or gnaw the +vitals of the patient. The disease attacks only infants of tender age +and the symptoms are nervousness and troubled sleep, from which the +child wakes suddenly crying as if frightened. The civilized doctor +would regard these as symptoms of the presence of worms, but although +the Cherokee name might seem to indicate the same belief, the real +theory is very different. + +Cherokee mothers sometimes hush crying children, by telling them +that the screech owl is listening out in the woods or that the +De[']tsata--a malicious little dwarf who lives in caves in the river +bluffs--will come and get them. This quiets the child for the time and +is so far successful, but the animals, or the De[']tsata, take offense +at being spoken of in this way, and visit their displeasure upon the +_children born to the mother afterward_. This they do by sending an +animal into the body of the child to gnaw its vitals. The disease +is very common and there are several specialists who devote their +attention to it, using various formulas and prescriptions. It is also +called [)a]tawi[']n[)e]h[)i], signifying that it is caused by the +"dwellers in the forest," i.e., the wild game and birds, and some +doctors declare that it is caused by the revengeful comrades of the +animals, especially birds, killed by the father of the child, the +animals tracking the slayer to his home by the blood drops on the +leaves. The next formula will throw more light upon this theory. + +In this formula the doctor, who is certainly not overburdened with +modesty, starts out by asserting that he is a great ada[']wehi, who +never fails and who surpasses all others. He then declares that the +disease is caused by a mere screech owl, which he at once banishes +to the laurel thicket. In the succeeding paragraphs he reiterates his +former boasting, but asserts in turn that the trouble is caused by a +mere hooting owl, a rabbit, or even by the De[']tsata, whose greatest +exploit is hiding the arrows of the boys, for which the youthful +hunters do not hesitate to rate him soundly. These various +mischief-makers the doctor banishes to their proper haunts, the +hooting owl to the spruce thicket, the rabbit to the broom sage on the +mountain side, and the De[']tsata to the bluffs along the river bank. + +Some doctors use herb decoctions, which are blown upon the body of the +child, but in this formula the only remedy prescribed is water, which +must be blown upon the body of the little sufferer just before dark +for four nights. The regular method is to blow once each at the end of +the first, second, and third paragraphs and four times at the end of +the fourth or last. In diseases of this kind, which are not supposed +to be of a local character, the doctor blows first upon the back of +the head, then upon the left shoulder, next upon the right shoulder, +and finally upon the breast, the patient being generally sitting, or +propped up in bed, facing the east. The child must not be taken out +of doors during the four days, because should a bird chance to fly +overhead so that its shadow would fall upon the infant, it would _fan +the disease back_ into the body of the little one. + + +G[^U][n]WANI[']GIST[^U]['][n][)I] DITAN[^U][n]W[^A]TI[']Y[)I] + +Y[^u]! Sg[)e]! Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, Giya[']giya['] +Sa`ka[']n[)i], ew'sat[^a][']g[)i] ts[^u]l`da[']hist[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +hatlasi[']ga. Tsis[']kwa-gw[^u]['] ulsge[']ta uwu[']tlani`l[)e][)i][']. +Us[)i]nuli[']yu atsahilu[']g[)i]si[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta. Y[^u]! + +Y[^u]! Sg[)e]! Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, Diga[']tisk[)i] +W[^a]tige['][)i], gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta +dits[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i]. Ha-n[^a][']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hatlasi[']ga. +Tsi[']skwa-gw[^u] d[)i]tu[']nila[']w'its[^u][']h[)i] higese['][)i]. +Us[)i]n[^u]l[)i] k[)e]`tati[']g[^u]`lahi[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT G[^U][n]WANI[']GIST[^U]['][n][)I]--(SECOND). + +Y[^u]! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue +Sparrow-Hawk; in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you +have come down. The intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed +him. Swiftly you have swooped down upon it. Relief is accomplished. +Y[^u]! + +Y[^u]! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown +Rabbit-Hawk; you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have +come down. It is only the birds which have come together for +a council. Quickly you have come and scattered them. Relief is +accomplished. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, also for G[^u][n]wani[']gist[^u]['][n][)i] or +Atawin[)e][']h[)i], was obtained from A`wan[']ita (Young Deer), who +wrote down only the prayer and explained the treatment orally. He +coincides in the opinion that this disease in children is caused +by the birds, but says that it originates from the shadow of a bird +flying overhead having fallen upon the pregnant mother. He says +further that the disease is easily recognized in children, but that it +sometimes does not develop until the child has attained maturity, when +it is more difficult to discern the cause of the trouble, although in +the latter case dark circles around the eyes are unfailing symptoms. + +The prayer--like several others from the same source--seems +incomplete, and judging from analogy is evidently incorrect in some +respects, but yet exemplifies the disease theory in a striking manner. +The disease is declared to have been caused by the birds, it being +asserted in the first paragraph that a bird has cast its shadow +upon the sufferer, while in the second it is declared that they +have gathered in council (in his body). This latter is a favorite +expression in these formulas to indicate the great number of the +disease animals. Another expression of frequent occurrence is to +the effect that the disease animals have formed a settlement or +established a townhouse in the patient's body. The disease animal, +being a bird or birds, must be dislodged by something which preys upon +birds, and accordingly the Blue Sparrow-Hawk from the tree tops and +the Brown Rabbit-Hawk (Diga[']tisk[)i]--"One who snatches up"), from +above are invoked to drive out the intruders. The former is then said +to have swooped down upon them as a hawk darts upon its prey, while +the latter is declared to have scattered the birds which were +holding a council. This being done, relief is accomplished. Y[^u]! is +a meaningless interjection frequently used to introduce or close +paragraphs or songs. + +The medicine used is a warm decoction of the bark of K[^u]nst[^u][']ts[)i] +(Sassafras--Sassafras officinale), Kan[^u][n]si[']ta (Flowering +Dogwood--Cornus florida), Ud[^a][']lana (Service tree--Amelanchier +Canadensis), and Uni[']kwa (Black Gum--Nyssa multiflora), with the +roots of two species (large and small) of Da[']yakal[)i][']sk[)i] +(Wild Rose--Rosa lucida). The bark in every case is taken from the +east side of the tree, and the roots selected are also generally, if +not always, those growing toward the east. In this case the roots and +barks are not bruised, but are simply steeped in warm water for +four days. The child is then stripped and bathed all over with the +decoction morning and night for four days, no formula being used +during the bathing. It is then made to hold up its hands in front of +its face with the palms turned out toward the doctor, who takes some +of the medicine in his mouth and repeats the prayer mentally, blowing +the medicine upon the head and hands of the patient at the final _Y[^u]!_ +of each paragraph. It is probable that the prayer originally consisted +of four paragraphs, or else that these two paragraphs were repeated. +The child drinks a little of the medicine at the end of each +treatment. + +The use of salt is prohibited during the four days of the treatment, +the word (am[)a][']) being understood to include lye, which enters +largely into Cherokee food preparations. No chicken or other feathered +animal is allowed to enter the house during the same period, for +obvious reasons, and strangers are excluded for reasons already +explained. + + +HIA['] DU[']NIYUKWATISG[^U]['][n][/I] KANA[']H['E]H[^U]. + +Sg[)e]! N[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]y[)i] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i], +Kanani[']sk[)i] Gigage. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n[^u]['][n]n[^a] gi[']gage +h[)i]n[^u][n]ni[']ga. Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], ast[)i]['] digi[']gage +us[)i]n[^u][']l[)i] deh[)i]kssa['][^u][n]tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge +kayu[']`ga ges[^u]['][n], tsg[^a][']ya-gw[^u] higese['][)i]. + Eh[)i]st[)i]['] +hituwa[']saniy'te[)i][']. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] digi[']gage +dehada['][^u][n]tani[']ga, adi[']na ts[^u]lstai-y[^u][']`ti-gw[^u] +higese['][)i]. N[^a][']gwa g[^a]nagi[']ta da[']tsatane[']l[)i]. +Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +H[)i]gay[^u]['][n]l[)i] Ts[^u]ne[']ga hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-g[^a]g[^u]['] gat[^u]['][n]gisge[']st[)i] ts[^u]ngili[']s[)i] +deagw[^u]lstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsad[^u]n[^u][']h[)i]. +Na[']ski-g[^a]g[^u]['] itsa[']wes[^u][']h[)i] n[^a][']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +hatu['][n]gani[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa n[/u]tatan[^u][']ta +n[^u][n]t[^u][']neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! Uhy[^u][n]tl[^a][']y[)i] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']histi Kanani[']sk[)i] +Sa`ka[']n[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n[^u]['][n]n[^a] sa`ka[']n[)i] +h[)i]n[^u][n]ni[']ga. Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], ast[)i]['] +(di)sa`ka[']n[)i] us[)i]nu[']l[)i] deh[)i]ksa['][^u][n]tani[']ga. +Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga ges[^u]['][n], tsg[^a][']ya-gw[^u] +higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] hituwa[']saniy`te([)i][']). +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] disa`ka[']nige dehada['][^u][n]taniga, +adi[']na ts[^u]lstai-y[^u][']`ti-gw[^u] higese['][)i]. N[^a][']gwa +tsg[^a][']ya g[^u]nagi[']ta ts[^u]t[^u]neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +H[)i]gay[^u]['][n]l[)i] Ts[^u]ne[']ga hat[^u][n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-g[^a]g[^u]['] gat[^u]['][n]gisge[']st[)i] ts[^u]ngili[']s[)i] +deagw[^u]lstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsad[^u]n[^u][']h[)i]. +Nas[']kig[^a]g[^u]['] itsawes[^u][']h[)i] n[^a][']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nutatan[^u]['][n]ta +n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i] Kanani[']sk[)i] +[^U]['][n]nage. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n[^u]['][n]n[^a] [^u]['][n]nage +h[)i]n[^u][n]ni[']ga. Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], ast[)i]['] +dig[^u]['][n]nage us[)i]nu[']l[)i] deh[)i]ksa['][^u][n]tani[']ga. +Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga ges[^u]['][n], tsg[^a][']ya-gw[^u] +higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] hituwa[']saniy`te[)i][']. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +ast[)i]['] dig[^u]['][n]nage dehada['][^u][n]tani[']ga, adi[']na +ts[^u]lstai-y[^u][']`ti-gw[^u] higese['][)i]. N[^a][']gwa tsg[^a][']ya +g[^u]nagi[']ta ts[^u]t[^u]neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nutatan[^u]['][n]ta +n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +H[)i]gay[^u]['][n]l[)i] Ts[^u]ne[']ga hat[^u][n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-g[^a]g[^u]['] gat[^u]['][n]gisge[']st[)i] ts[^u]ngili[']s[)i] +deagw[^u]lstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsad[^u]n[^u][']h[)i]. +Na[']skig[^a]g[^u]['] itsawes[^u][']h[)i] n[^a][']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nutatan[^u]['][n]ta +n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! Gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i], Kanani[']sk[)i] +Ts[^u]ne[']ga. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] n[^u]['][n]n[^a] une[']ga + h[)i]n[^u][n]ni[']ga. +Hida[']w[)e]hi-g[^a]g[^u]['], ast[)i]['] tsune[']ga us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +deh[)i]ksa['][^u][n] tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']`ga +ges[^u]['][n], tsg[^a][']ya-gw[^u] higese['][)i]. Eh[)i]st[)i]['] +hituwa[']s[)a]niy'te[)i][']. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] ast[)i]['] tsune[']ga +dehada['][^u][n]tani[']ga, adi[']na ts[^u]lstai-y[^u][']`ti-gw[^u] + higese['][)i]. +N[^a][']gwa tsg[^a][']ya g[^u]nagi[']ta ts[^u]t[^u]neli[']ga. + Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta, n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +H[)i]gay[^u]['][n]l[)i] Ts[^u]ne[']ga hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga. +"A[']ya-g[^a]g[^u]['] gat[^u]['][n]gisge[']st[)i] ts[^u]ngili[']s[)i] +deagw[^u]lstaw[)i][']stitege[']st[)i]," tsad[^u]n[^u][']h[)i]. + Naski-g[^a]g[^u]['] +itsawes[^u][']h[)i] n[^a][']gwa us[)i]nu[']l[)i] hat[^u][n]gani[']ga. +U[']ts[)i]na[']wa nutatan[^u]['][n]ta n[^u][n]t[^u]neli[']ga. Y[^u]! + +(Degasi[']sisg[^u]['][n][)i])--Hi[)a]['] duniyukwa[']tisg[^u]['][n][)i] +d[)i]kan[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i] [)a]tan[^u]['][n]sida[']h[)i] y[)i][']g[)i]. +Na[']sk[)i] dig[^u][']nstan[)e][']`ti-gw[^u] [^u]l[)e]['] + ts[)i]ts[^a]t[^u]['] +yie[']lis[^u]. Nig[^u][n][']-gw[^u] us[^u][']na [_for_ us[^u]nda[']na?] +g[^u]['][n]tat[)i] nay[^a][']ga n[^u]['][n]wat[)i] + unan[^u]['][n]sk[)a]`la['][)i]. +Kane[']ska dal[^a][']nige unaste[']tla ts[)i][']g[)i]. Se[']lu +d[)i]gah[^u]`n[^u][']h[)i] tsuni[']yah[)i]st[)i]['] n[^u][']`k[)i] +tsus[^u][']hita, kan[^a]he[']na-`n[^u] nask[)i]['] iga['][)i] + udan[^u][']st[)i] +hi[']g[)i] nay[^a][']ga. + + +_Translation._ + +THIS TELLS ABOUT MOVING PAINS IN THE TEETH (NEURALGIA?). + +Listen! In the Sunland you repose, O Red Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the red path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you +have brought down the red threads from above. The intruder in the +tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +red threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it +up. The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +Listen! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Spider. Quickly you have +brought and laid down the blue path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you +have brought down the blue threads from above. The intruder in the +tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +blue threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick +it up. The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +Listen! In the Darkening Land you repose, O Black Spider. Quickly you +have brought and laid down the black path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly +you have brought down the black threads from above. The intruder in +the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped +itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the +black threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick +it up. The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +Listen! You repose on high, O White Spider. Quickly you have brought +and laid down the white path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you have +brought down the white threads from above. The intruder in the tooth +has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself +around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the white +threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. +The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, +"When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." +Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. +The relief has been caused to come. Y[^u]! + +(Prescription)--This is to treat them if there are pains moving about +in the teeth. It is only (necessary) to lay on the hands, or to blow, +if one should prefer. One may use any kind of a tube, but usually they +have the medicine in the mouth. It is the Yellow-rooted Grass (kane['] +ska dal[^a][']nige unaste[']tla; not identified.) One must abstain four +nights from cooked corn (hominy), and kan[^a]he[']na (fermented corn +gruel) is especially forbidden during the same period. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is taken from the manuscript book of Gatigwanasti, +now dead, and must therefore be explained from general analogy. The +ailment is described as "pains moving about in the teeth"--that is, +affecting several teeth simultaneously--and appears to be neuralgia. +The disease spirit is called "the intruder" and "the tormentor" and +is declared to be a mere worm (tsg[^a][']ya), which has wrapped itself +around the base of the tooth. This is the regular toothache theory. +The doctor then calls upon the Red Spider of the Sunland to let down +the red threads from above, along the red path, and to take up the +intruder, which is just what the spider eats. The same prayer is +addressed in turn to the Blue Spider in the north, the Black Spider in +the west and the White Spider above (gal[^u][n][']lati). It may be stated +here that all these spirits are supposed to dwell above, but when no +point of the compass is assigned, gal[^u][n][']lati is understood to mean +directly overhead, but far above everything of earth. The dweller in +this overhead gal[^u][n][']lati may be red, white, or brown in color. In +this formula it is white, the ordinary color assigned spirits dwelling +in the south. In another toothache formula the Squirrel is implored +to take the worm and put it between the forking limbs of a tree on the +north side of the mountain. + +Following each supplication to the spider is another addressed to the +Ancient White, the formulistic name for fire. The name refers to its +antiquity and light-giving properties and perhaps also to the fact +that when dead it is covered with a coat of white ashes. In those +formulas in which the hunter draws omens from the live coals it is +frequently addressed as the Ancient Red. + +The directions are not explicit and must be interpreted from analogy. +"Laying on the hands" refers to pressing the thumb against the jaw +over the aching tooth, the hand having been previously warmed over +the fire, this being a common method of treating toothache. The other +method suggested is to blow upon the spot (tooth or outside of jaw?) a +decoction of an herb described rather vaguely as "yellow-rooted grass" +either through a tube or from the mouth of the operator. Igaw[)i]['], +a toothache specialist, treats this ailment either by pressure +with the warm thumb, or by blowing tobacco smoke from a pipe +placed directly against the tooth. Hominy and fermented corn gruel +(kan[^a]he[']na) are prohibited for the regular term of four nights, or, +as we are accustomed to say, four days, and special emphasis is laid +upon the gruel tabu. + +The prayer to the Spider is probably repeated while the doctor is +warming his hands over the fire, and the following paragraph to the +Ancient White (the Fire) while holding the warm thumb upon the aching +spot. This reverses the usual order, which is to address the fire +while warming the hands. In this connection it must be noted that the +fire used by the doctor is never the ordinary fire on the hearth, but +comes from four burning chips taken from the hearth fire and generally +placed in an earthen vessel by the side of the patient. In some cases +the decoction is heated by putting into it seven live coals taken from +the fire on the hearth. + + +UNAWA ST[^I] EGWA (ADAN[^U][n]W[^A]T[:I]). + + (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! Gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i]['] hinehi['] hinehi[']y[^u] hinida[']we, + (5) (6) + utsin[^a][']wa ad[^u][n]niga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! U[n]wad[^a][']hi hinehi['], hinehi[']y[^u] hinida[']we, + (5) (6) + utsin[^a][']wa ad[^u][n]ni[']ga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! N[^a]tsihi['] hinehi['] hinehi[']y[^u] hinida[']we + (5) (6) + utsin[^a][']wa ad[^u][n]ni[']ga + 12 12 22 34 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + + (1) (2) (3) (4) +Sg[)e]! Am[^a]yi['] hinehi['], hinehi[']y[^u] hinida[']we + (5) (6) + utsin[^a][']wa ad[^u][n]ni[']ga + 12 12 22 33 33 566--Hay[)i][']! + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]ngani[']ga, Agalu[']ga Ts[^u]sdi[']ga, +hida[']w[)e]h[)i], [^a][']tali tsusdiga[']h[)i] duda[']w`sat[^u]['][n] +dits[^u]ld[^a][']hist[)i]. (Hida[']w[)e]h[)i], gahu[']st[)i] +tsanu[']l[^u][n]h[^u][n]sg[)i]['] nige[']s[^u][n]na.) Ha-n[^a][']gwa +da[']t[^u]leh[^u][n]g[^u][']. Usdi[']gi(yu) utiya[']stan[^u][n]['](h[)i]) +(higese[']i). (H[^u][n])hiyala[']gistani[']ga ig[^a][']t[)i] +usdig[^a][']h[)i] usa[']h[)i]lag[)i]['] Ig[^a]tu[']lt[)i] +n[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] w[)i]te[']tsat[)a]n[^u][n]['][^u][n]s[)i][']. +A[']ne[']ts[^a]ge[']ta _getsat[^u]n[)e]h[)i]_ n[^u][n]g[^u]lstani[']ga +ig[^u][n][']w[^u]lstanita[']sti-gw[^u]. Ati[']gale[']yata +ts[^u]t[^u][']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[^a][']wa [11] nig[^u][n]tisge[']st[)i]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa h[^u][n]hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, Agalu[']ga +Hegwahigw[^u][']. [^A][']tal[)i] tsegw[^a][']h[)i] duda[']w`sat[^u][n] +iy[^u][n]ta dits[^u]ld[^a][']hist[)i]. Agalu[']ga He[']gwa, + haus[)i]nu[']l[)i] +da[']t[^u]leh[^u][n]g[^u]. Usdi[']giyu utiya[']stan[^u]['][n]h[)i]. +Hiyala[']gistani[']ga ulsge[']ta ig[^a][']t-egw[^a][']h[)i]) +usa[']h[)i]lag[)i][']. (Igat-(egw[^a][']h[)i] iy[^u][n][']ta +n[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] w[)i]tetsatan[^u]['][n][^u][n]s[)i][']. +A[']ne[']ts[^a]ge[']ta _getsat[^u]ne[']litise[']sti_ +ig[^u][n][']w[^u]lstanita[']sti-gw[^u]. Uts[)i]n[^a][']wa-gw[^u] +nutatan[^u][n]ta. Nigag[)i]['] Y[^u]! + +(Deg[^a]si[']sisg[^u]['][n][)i])--Unawa[']st[)i] e[']gwa +u[']nitl[^u][n]g[^a]['][)i]. Ta[']ya g[^u]['][n]tat[)i], +ditsa[']tista[']`ti. Ts[^a][']l-agay[^u]['][n]l[)i] y[)a][']h[)a] +ul[^u]['][n]kwati-gw[^u] nasgw[^u][']. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THE GREAT CHILL. + +Listen! On high you dwell, On high you dwell--you dwell, you dwell. +Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever you +dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hay[)i]! + +Listen! On [^U][n]wad[^a][']h[)i] you dwell, On [^U][n]wad[^a]h[)i] you +dwell--you dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever +you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hay[)i]! + +Listen! In the pines you dwell, In the pines you dwell--you dwell, you +dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever +you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hay[)i]! + +Listen! In the water you dwell, In the water you dwell, you dwell, you +dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever +you dwell. Relief has come--has come. Hayi[)i]! + +Listen! O now you have drawn near to hearken, O Little Whirlwind, +O ada[']wehi, in the leafy shelter of the lower mountain, there you +repose. O ada[']wehi, you can never fail in anything. Ha! Now rise up. +A very small portion [of the disease] remains. You have come to sweep +it away into the small swamp on the upland. You have laid down your +paths near the swamp. It is ordained that you shall scatter it as in +play, so that it shall utterly disappear. By you it must be scattered. +So shall there be relief. + +Listen! O now again you have drawn near to hearken, O Whirlwind, +surpassingly great. In the leafy shelter of the great mountain there +you repose. O Great Whirlwind, arise quickly. A very small part [of +the disease] remains. You have come to sweep the intruder into the +great swamp on the upland. You have laid down your paths toward the +great swamp. You shall scatter it as in play so that it shall utterly +disappear. And now relief has come. All is done. Y[^u]! + +[Footnote 11: So written and pronounced by A`y[^u][n][']ini instead of +uts[)i]n[)a][']wa.] + +(Prescription.)--(This is to use) when they are sick with the great +chill. Take a decoction of wild cherry to blow upon them. If you have +Ts[^a][']l-agay[^u]['][n]l[)i] ("old tobacco"--_Nicotiana rustica_) it +also is very effective. + + +_Explanation._ + +Unawa[']st[)i], "that which chills one," is a generic name for +intermittent fever, otherwise known as fever and ague. It is much +dreaded by the Indian doctors, who recognize several varieties of +the disease, and have various theories to account for them. The above +formula was obtained from A`y[^u]['][n]ni (Swimmer), who described the +symptoms of this variety, the "Great Chill," as blackness in the face, +with alternate high fever and shaking chills. The disease generally +appeared in spring or summer, and might return year after year. In the +first stages the chill usually came on early in the morning, but came +on later in the day as the disease progressed. There might be more +than one chill during the day. There was no rule as to appetite, but +the fever always produced an excessive thirst. In one instance the +patient fainted from the heat and would even lie down in a stream to +cool himself. The doctor believed the disease was caused by malicious +tsg[^a][']ya, a general name for all small insects and worms, excepting +intestinal worms. These tsg[^a][']ya--that is, the disease tsg[^a][']ya, +not the real insects and worms--are held responsible for a large number +of diseases, and in fact the tsg[^a][']ya doctrine is to the Cherokee +practitioner what the microbe theory is to some modern scientists. +The tsg[^a][']ya live in the earth, in the water, in the air, in the +foliage of trees, in decaying wood, or wherever else insects lodge, and +as they are constantly being crushed, burned or otherwise destroyed +through the unthinking carelessness of the human race, they are +continually actuated by a spirit of revenge. To accomplish their +vengeance, according to the doctors, they "establish towns" under the +skin of their victims, thus producing an irritation which results in +fevers, boils, scrofula and other diseases. + +The formula begins with a song of four verses, in which the doctor +invokes in succession the spirits of the air, of the mountain, of +the forest, and of the water. Gal[^u][n]lat[)i], the word used in the +first verse, signifies, as has been already explained, "on high" or +"above everything," and has been used by translators to mean heaven. +[^U][n]wad[^a][']h[)i] in the second verse is the name of a bald +mountain east of Webster, North Carolina, and is used figuratively to +denote any mountains of bold outline. The Cherokees have a tradition +to account for the name, which is derived from [^U][n]wad[^a][']l[)i], +"provision house." N[^a][']tsih[)i]['] in the third verse signifies +"pinery," from n[^a][']`ts[)i], "pine," but is figuratively used to +denote a forest of any kind. + +In the recitation which follows the song, but is used only in serious +cases, the doctor prays to the whirlwind, which is considered to +dwell among the trees on the mountain side, where the trembling of the +leaves always gives the first intimation of its presence. He declares +that a small portion of the disease still remains, the spirits +invoked in the song having already taken the rest, and calls upon the +whirlwind to lay down a path for it and sweep it away into the swamp +on the upland, referring to grassy marshes common in the small coves +of the higher mountains, which, being remote from the settlements, are +convenient places to which to banish the disease. Not satisfied with +this, he goes on to direct the whirlwind to scatter the disease as it +scatters the leaves of the forest, so that it shall utterly disappear. +In the Cherokee formula the verb a`ne[']ts[^a]ge[']ta means literally +"to play," and is generally understood to refer to the ball play, +a[']ne[']ts[^a], so that to a Cherokee the expression conveys the idea +of catching up the disease and driving it onward as a player seizes +the ball and sends it spinning through the air from between his ball +sticks. Niga[']g[)i] is a solemn expression about equivalent to the +Latin consummatum est. + +The doctor beats up some bark from the trunk of the wild cherry +and puts it into water together with seven coals of fire, the +latter being intended to warm the decoction. The leaves of +Ts[^a]l-agay[^u]['][n]li (Indian tobacco--Nicotiana rustica) are +sometimes used in place of the wild cherry bark. The patient is placed +facing the sunrise, and the doctor, taking the medicine in his mouth, +blows it over the body of the sick man. First, standing between the +patient and the sunrise and holding the medicine cup in his hand, he +sings the first verse in a low tone. Then, taking some of the liquid in +his mouth, he advances and blows it successively upon the top of the +head, the right shoulder, left shoulder, and breast or back of the +patient, making four blowings in all. He repeats the same ceremony with +the second, third, and fourth verse, returning each time to his original +position. The ceremony takes place in the morning, and if necessary is +repeated in the evening. It is sometimes necessary also to repeat the +treatment for several--generally four--consecutive days. + +The recitation is not used excepting in the most serious cases, when, +according to the formula, "a very small portion" of the disease +still lingers. It is accompanied by blowing _of the breath alone_, +without medicine, probably in this case typical of the action of the +whirlwind. After repeating the whole ceremony accompanying the song, +as above described, the doctor returns to his position in front of +the patient and recites in a whisper the first paragraph to the Little +Whirlwind, after which he advances and blows his breath upon the +patient four times as he has already blown the medicine upon him. Then +going around to the north he recites the second paragraph to the Great +Whirlwind, and at its conclusion blows in the same manner. Then moving +around to the west--behind the patient--he again prays to the Little +Whirlwind with the same ceremonies, and finally moving around to the +south side he closes with the prayer to the Great Whirlwind, blowing +four times at its conclusion. The medicine must be prepared anew by +the doctor at the house of the patient at each application morning +or evening. Only as much as will be needed is made at a time, and the +patient always drinks what remains after the blowing. Connected with +the preparation and care of the medicine are a number of ceremonies +which need not be detailed here. The wild cherry bark must always be +procured fresh; but the Ts[^a]l-agay[^u]['][n]l[)i] ("Old Tobacco") +leaves may be dry. When the latter plant is used four leaves are taken +and steeped in warm water with the fire coals, as above described. + + +HI[)A]['] TSUNSDI[']GA DIL`TADI[']NATANTI[']Y[)I]. I. + +Sg[)e]! H[)i]sga[']ya Ts`sdi[']ga ha-n[^a][']gwa + da[']t[^u]leh[^u][n]g[^u]['] +k[)i]l[^u]-gw[^u][']. Iy[^u]['][n]ta agay[^u]['][n]linas[)i]['] + taya['][)i]. +Eska[']niy[)u] unay[)e][']hist[)i]['] n[^u][n]ta-yu[']tanat[)i][']. +Sg[)e][']! tin[^u][']l[)i]tg[)i][']! Tleki[']yu ts[^u]tsest[^a][']g[)i] +hw[)i]nag[)i][']. Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! Hige[']cya ts`sdi[']ga ha-n[^a][']gwa da[']t[^u]leh[^u][n]g[^u]['] +k[)i]l[^u]-gw[^u][']. Iy[^u][n][']ta ts[^u]tu[']tunas[)i]['] + t[)a]ya['][)i]. +Eska[']niy[)u] unay[)e][']hist[)i] n[^u][n]tayu[']tanat[)i][']. Sg[)e]! +tin[^u][']l[)i]tg[)i][']! Tleki[']yu ts[^u]tsest[^a]['] + hw[)i]nag[)i][']. Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN. + +Listen! You little man, get up now at once. There comes an old woman. +The horrible [old thing] is coming, only a little way off. Listen! +Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Y[^u]! + +Listen! You little woman, get up now at once. There comes your +grandfather. The horrible old fellow is coming only a little way off. +Listen! Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +In this formula for childbirth the idea is to frighten the child and +coax it to come, by telling it, if a boy, that an ugly old woman is +coming, or if a girl, that her grandfather is coming only a short +distance away. The reason of this lies in the fact that an old woman +is the terror of all the little boys of the neighborhood, constantly +teasing and frightening them by declaring that she means to live +until they grow up and then compel one of them to marry her, old and +shriveled as she is. For the same reason the maternal grandfather, who +is always a privileged character in the family, is especially dreaded +by the little girls, and nothing will send a group of children +running into the house more quickly than the announcement that an old +"granny," of either sex is in sight. + +As the sex is an uncertain quantity, the possible boy is always first +addressed in the formulas, and if no result seems to follow, the +doctor then concludes that the child is a girl and addresses her in +similar tones. In some cases an additional formula with the beads +is used to determine whether the child will be born alive or dead. +In most instances the formulas were formerly repeated with the +appropriate ceremonies by some old female relative of the mother, +but they are now the property of the ordinary doctors, men as well +as women. + +This formula was obtained from the manuscript book of +A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i], who stated that the medicine used was a warm +decoction of a plant called Dal[^a][']nige Unaste[']ts[)i] ("yellow +root"--not identified), which was blown successively upon the top of +the mother's head, upon the breast, and upon the palm of each hand. +The doctor stands beside the woman, who is propped up in a sitting +position, while repeating the first paragraph and then blows. If this +produces no result he then recites the paragraph addressed to the girl +and again blows. A part of the liquid is also given to the woman to +drink. A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i] claimed this was always effectual. + + +(HI[)A]['] TSUNSDI[']GA DIL`TADI[']NATANTI[']YI. II.) + +Hitsutsa, hitsu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, tleki[']yu, [)e][']hinug[^a]['][)i], +[)e][']hinug[^a]['][)i]! Hi[']tsu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, g[^u]lts[^u][']t[)i], +g[^u]lts[^u][']t[)i], tinag[^a][']na, tinag[^a][']na! + +Hig[)e]`yu[']tsa, hig[)e]`yu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, tleki[']yu, +[)e][']hinug[^a]['][)i], [)e][']hinug[^a]['][)i]! Hig[)e]`yu[']tsa, +tleki[']yu, g[^u][n]gu[']st[)i], g[^u][n]gu[']st[)i], tinag[^a][']na, +tinag[^a][']na! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN. + +Little boy, little boy, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little boy, +hurry; a bow, a bow; let's see who'll get it, let's see who'll get it! + +Little girl, little girl, hurry, hurry, come out, come out. Little +girl, hurry; a sifter, a sifter; let's see who'll get it, let's see +who'll get it! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula was obtained from Takwati[']h[)i], as given to him by +a specialist in this line. Takwatihi himself knew nothing of the +treatment involved, but a decoction is probably blown upon the patient +as described in the preceding formula. In many cases the medicine used +is simply cold water, the idea being to cause a sudden muscular action +by the chilling contact. In this formula the possible boy or girl is +coaxed out by the promise of a bow or a meal-sifter to the one who can +get it first. Among the Cherokees it is common, in asking about the +sex of a new arrival, to inquire, "Is it a bow or a sifter?" or "Is it +ball sticks or bread?" + + +DAL[^A][']NI [^U][n]N[)A]GE['][)I] ADAN[^U]['][n]W[^A]T[)I]. + + Yuha[']ahi['], (yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['],) + Yuha[']ahi['], (yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi[']), Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! [^U][n]tal-e[']gw[^a]h[)i]['] didult[^a][']h[)i]st[)i] ulsge[']ta. +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] d[^a]titu[']lene['][)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +dunu[']y`tani[']le[)i][']. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa stat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, n[^u][n]d[^a][']y[)i] +distul`t[^a][']hist[)i], Stisga[']ya D[)i]st`sdi[']ga, +stida[']wehi-g[^a]g[^u]. [^U][n]tal-e[']gwa d[^a]titulene[']([)i]) +ulsge[']ta. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] det[)i]st[^u][']l`tani[']ga ulsge[']ta. +Ditu[']talen[^u]['][n]itsa n[^u][n]na[']h[)i] +[w]i[']de[']tutan[^u]['][n]tas[)i]['], n[^u][n]tadu[']ktah[^u]['][n]st[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. N[^u][']`g[)i] iyay[^u]['][n]lat[)a]g[)i]['] +ay[^a]we[']s[^a]l[^u]['][n]ta de[']dud[^u]neli[']sest[)i]['], +G[^u]['][n]tsat[^a]tagi[']y[^u] tistadi[']g[^u]lahi[']sest[)i]. +Tiduda[']le`n[^u][']([)i]) [^u]['][n]tale[']gw[^a] +[w][i]t[)i][']st[^u]l`tati[']n[^u][n]tani[']ga. Na[']`n[)a] +wit[^u]l`t[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga, tadu[']ktah[^u]['][n]st[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ha-na[']`n[)a] [w][i]d[']ult[^a]histe[']st[)i]. +(Y[^u]!) + +(Degasisisg[^u]['][n][)i])--Hi[)a]['] anine[']ts[)i] ga[']`tisk[)i] +adan[^u]['][n]w[^a]t[)i]. [)U]['][n]tla atsi[']la t[)i][']`t[)i] +y[)i][']g[)i]. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT THE BLACK YELLOWNESS. + + Yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], + Yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['] Y[^u]! + +Listen! In the great lake the intruder reposes. Quickly he has risen +up there. Swiftly he has come and stealthily put himself (under the +sick man). + +Listen! Ha! Now you two have drawn near to hearken, there in the Sun +Land you repose, O Little Men, O great anida[']wehi! The intruder has +risen up there in the great lake. Quickly you two have lifted up the +intruder. His paths have laid themselves down toward the direction +whence he came. Let him never look back (toward us). When he stops +to rest at the four gaps you will drive him roughly along. Now he has +plunged into the great lake from which he came. There he is compelled +to remain, never to look back. Ha! there let him rest. (Y[^u]!) + +(Directions.)--This is to treat them when their breast swells. Fire +(coals) is not put down. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[^u][n]in[)i]'s manuscript, is used in treating +a disease known as Dal[^a]ni, literally, "yellow." From the vague +description of symptoms given by the doctors, it appears to be an +aggravated form of biliousness, probably induced by late suppers and +bad food. According to the Indian theory it is caused by revengeful +animals, especially by the terrapin and its cousin, the turtle. + +The doctors recognize several forms of the disease, this variety +being distinguished as the "black dal[^a]ni" (Dal[^a]ni [^U][n]nage['][)i]) +andconsidered the most dangerous. In this form of dal[^a]n[)i], according +totheir account, the navel and abdomen of the patient swell, the ends of +his fingers become black, dark circles appear about his eyes, and the +throat contracts spasmodically and causes him to fall down suddenly +insensible. A`y[^u][n]in[)i]'s method of treatment is to rub the breast +and abdomen of the patient with the hands, which have been previously +rubbed together in the warm infusion of wild cherry (ta[']ya) bark. +The song is sung while rubbing the hands together in the liquid, +and the prayer is repeated while rubbing the swollen abdomen of the +patient. The operation may be repeated several times on successive +days. + +The song at the beginning has no meaning and is sung in a low +plaintive lullaby tone, ending with a sharp _Yu!_ The prayer possesses +a special interest, as it brings out several new points in the +Cherokee mythologic theory of medicine. The "intruder," which is held +to be some amphibious animal--as a terrapin, turtle, or snake--is +declared to have risen up from his dwelling place in the great lake, +situated toward the sunset, and to have come by stealth under the +sick man. The verb implies that the disease spirit _creeps under_ as +a snake might crawl under the coverlet of a bed. + +The two Little Men in the Sun Land are now invoked to drive out the +disease. Who these Little Men are is not clear, although they are +regarded as most powerful spirits and are frequently invoked in the +formulas. They are probably the two Thunder Boys, sons of Kanati. + +The Little Men come instantly when summoned by the shaman, pull out +the intruder from the body of the patient, turn his face toward the +sunset, and begin to drive him on by threats and blows (expressed in +the word g[^u]['][n]tsatatagi[']y[^u]) to the great lake from which he +came. On the road there are four gaps in the mountains, at each of which +the disease spirit halts to rest, but is continually forced onward by +his two pursuers, who finally drive him into the lake, where he is +compelled to remain, without being permitted even to look back again. +The four gaps are mentioned also in other formulas for medicine and +the ball play and sometimes correspond with the four stages of the +treatment. The direction "No fire (coals) is put down" indicates that +no live coals are put into the decoction, the doctor probably using +water warmed in the ordinary manner. + +Takwati[']h[)i] uses for this disease a decoction of four herbs +applied in the same manner. He agrees with A`y[^u][n]in[)i] in regard to +the general theory and says also that the disease may be contracted by +neglecting to wash the hands after handling terrapin shells, as, for +instance, the shell rattles used by women in the dance. The turtle or +water tortoise (seligu[']g[)i]) is considered as an inferior being, +with but little capacity for mischief, and is feared chiefly on +account of its relationship to the dreaded terrapin or land tortoise +(t[^u]ks[)i][']). In Takwatih[)i]'s formula he prays to the Ancient +White (the fire), of which these cold-blooded animals are supposed to be +afraid, to put the fish into the water, the turtle into the mud, and +to send the terrapin and snake to the hillside. + + +TSUNDAYE[']LIGAKTAN[^U][']H[)I] ADAN[^U]['][n]W[^A]T[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Han[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]ganiga, gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] +hetsad[^a][']hist[)i], K[^a][']lan[^u] [^U]['][n]nage, gahu[']st[)i] +tsanu[']lah[^u]['][n]sg[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ha-n[^a][']gwa +(hetsatsa['][^u][n]tani[']ga. + Hanig[^u]['][n]wat[^u][n]nigw[)a]l[^a]e[']stigw[^u] +tsal[^a]s[^u]['][n][)i]. Asgin-u[']dan[^u] higes[']e[)i]. Sanigala[']g[)i] +ges[^u]['][n][)i] hastig[^u][']`lani[']ga, duw[^a]lu[']wa[']t[^u][']t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na, nit[^u][']neli[']ga. Ha-Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] +witit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. Dadu[']satah[^u]['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na +nit[^u][']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, K[^a][']lan[^u] + G[)i]gage['][)i], +hidaw[)e]hi[']yu. Ha-gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']lah[^u]['][n]sg[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na, etsanetse[']l[^u]h[)i], Ha-gal[^u][n]lati[']tsa +hetsat[^a][']hist[)i]. N[^a][']gwa hetsats[^a]['][^u][n]tani[']ga. +Nig[^u]['][n]wat[^u]['][n]nigwal[^a]e[']sti-gw[^u] tsal[^a]s[^u]['][n][)i]. +Asgin-udan[^u][']hi-gw[^u] higese['][)i]. Ha-Sanigal[^a]g[)i] ges[^u]['][n] +h[^a]stig[^u][']`lani[']ga ulsge[']ta, ha-uts[)i]n[)a][']wa-gw[^u]['] +nig[^u]['][n]tisge[']st[)i]. Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] w[)i]nt[^u]n[)e][']d[^u]. +Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] w[)i]tit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa +ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, K[^a][']lan[^u] + Sa[']ka[']ni; +gal[^u][']lat[)i] hetsad[^a][']hist[)i], hida[']w[)e]h[)i]. Gahu[']st[)i] +tsanu[']lah[^u]['][n]sg[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na, +etsanetse[']l[^u]h[)i]. Ha-n[^a][']gwa hetsats[^a]['][^u][n]tani[']ga. +Nig[^u]['][n]wat[^u]['][n]nigwal[^a]e[']sti-gw[^u] tsal[^a]s[^u]['][n][)i]. +Sanigal[^a][']g[)i] gesu['][n] hastig[^u][']`lani[']ga ulsge[']ta. +Duw[^a]lu[']wat[^u][']t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na, nit[^u][']neli[']ga. +Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] w[)i]tit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga, + dadu[']satah[^u]['][n]st[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na nit[^u][']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, Wa[']h[)i]l[)i] +gal[^u][n]lti[']tsa hetsad[^a][']hist[)i], K[^a][']lan[^u] Ts[^u]ne[']ga, +hida[']w[)e]h[)i]. Gahu[']st[)i] tsanu[']l`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Han[^a][']gwa hetsats[^a]['][^u][n]tani[']ga. +Nig[^u]['][n]wat[^u]['][n]nigwal[^a]e[']sti-gw[^u] tsal[^a]s[^u]['][n][)i]. +Ha-n[^a][']gwa detal`tani[']ga. Sanigal[^a][']g[)i] ges[^u]['][n] +hastig['][^u]`lani[']ga ulsge[']ta, duw[^a]lu[']wat[^u][']`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na nit[^u][']neli[']ga. Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] +w[)i]tit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. Dadu[']satah[^u]['][n]st[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na nit[^u][']neli[']ga. Uts[)i]n[)a][']wa ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. + +(Dega[']sisisg[^u]['][n][)i])--Hi[)a][']agi`li[']ya + unitl[^u][n]g[^u]['][n][)i] +adan[^u][']w[^a]t[)i]. Askwanu[']tsast[)i][']. Ts[^a][']l(a) +Agay[^u]['][n]l[)i]unitsi[']l[^u][n]n[^u][']h[)i]g[^u]['][n]tat[)i], +an[^u]['][n]sga`l[^a][']-gw[^u]; Kanas[^a][']la-`n[^u] unali[']g[^a]h[^u], +ade[']la[']-`n[^u] n[^u][']`gi-gw[^u] ani[']gage['][)i] dah[^a]['][)i], +Ts[^a]liyu[']st[)i]-`n[^u] Usdi[']ga. Gahu[']sti-[']`nu + yuta[']suy[^u]['][n]na +s[^a]watu[']hi-gw[^u] at[)i]['] daw[^a][']hila-gw[^u] iy[^u]['][n]ta. + + +_Translation._ + +TO TREAT FOR ORDEAL DISEASES. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken and are resting +directly overhead. O Black Raven, you never fail in anything. Ha! Now +you are brought down. Ha! There shall be left no more than a trace +upon the ground where you have been. It is an evolute ghost. You have +now put it into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the +way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it +may never return. Let relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Red Raven, most +powerful ada[']wehi. Ha! You never fail in anything, for so it was +ordained of you. Ha! You are resting directly overhead. Ha! Now you +are brought down. There shall remain but a trace upon the ground where +you have been. It is an evolute ghost. Ha! You have put the Intruder +into a crevice of Sanigalagi and now the relief shall come. It (the +Intruder) is sent to the Darkening Land. You have put it to rest in +the Darkening Land. Let the relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Raven; you are +resting directly overhead, ada[']wehi. You never fail in anything, for +so it was ordained of you. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall +be left but a trace upon the ground where you have been. You have put +the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the +way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it +may never return. Let the relief come. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken; you repose on high +on Wa[']h[)i]l[)i], O White Raven, ada[']wehi. You never fail in +anything. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall be left but a +trace upon the ground where you have been. Ha! Now you have taken it +up. You have put the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it +may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening +Land, never to return. Let the relief come. + +(Directions)--This is to treat them for a painful sickness. One must +suck. Use Ts[^a][']lagay[^u][n][']-li ("Old Tobacco"--Nicotiana rustica), +blossoms, and just have them in the mouth, and Kanas[^a][']la (Wild +Parsnip), goes with it, and four red beads also must lie there, +and Ts[^a]liyu[']sti Usdi[']ga ("Little (plant) Like Tobacco"--Indian +Tobacco--Lobelia inflata.) And if there should be anything mixed with +it (i.e., after sucking the place), just put it about a hand's-length +into the mud. + + +_Explanation._ + +The Cherokee name for this disease gives no idea whatever of its +serious nature. The technical term, Tsundaye[']liga[']ktan[^u][']h[)i], +really refers to the enthusiastic outburst of sociability that ensues +when two old friends meet. In this instance it might be rendered +"an ordeal." The application of such a name to what is considered a +serious illness is in accordance with the regular formulistic practice +of making light of a dangerous malady in order to convey to the +disease spirit the impression that the shaman is not afraid of him. +A`y[^u][n]in[)i], from whom the formula was obtained, states also that +the disease is sometimes sent to a man by a friend or even by his +parents, in order to test his endurance and knowledge of counter +spells. + +As with most diseases, the name simply indicates the shaman's theory +of the occult cause of the trouble, and is no clue to the symptoms, +which may be those usually attendant upon fevers, indigestion, or +almost any other ailment. + +In some cases the disease is caused by the conjurations of an enemy, +through which the patient becomes subject to an inordinate appetite, +causing him to eat until his abdomen is unnaturally distended. By the +same magic spells tobacco may be conveyed into the man's body, causing +him to be affected by faintness and languor. The enemy, if bitterly +revengeful, may even put into the body of his victim a worm or insect +(tsg[^a]ya), or a sharpened stick of black locust or "fat" pine, which +will result in death if not removed by a good doctor. Sometimes a weed +stalk is in some occult manner conveyed into the patient's stomach, +where it is transformed into a worm. As this disease is very common, +owing to constant quarrels and rival jealousies, there are a number of +specialists who devote their attention to it. + +The prayer is addressed to the Black, Red, Blue, and White Ravens, +their location at the four cardinal points not being specified, +excepting in the case of the white raven of Wa[']hil[)i], which, as +already stated, is said to be a mountain in the south, and hence +is used figuratively to mean the south. The ravens are each in turn +declared to have put the disease into a crevice in Sanigala[']gi--the +Cherokee name of Whiteside Mountain, at the head of Tuckasegee River, +in North Carolina, and used figuratively for any high precipitous +mountain--and to have left no more than a trace upon the ground where +it has been. The adjective translated "evolute" (udan[^u]h[)i]) is of +frequent occurrence in the formulas, but has no exact equivalent in +English. It signifies springing into being or life from an embryonic +condition. In this instance it would imply that whatever object the +enemy has put into the body of the sick man has there developed into a +ghost to trouble him. + +The directions are expressed in a rather vague manner, as is the +case with most of A`y[^u][n]ini's attempts at original composition. +The disease is here called by another name, agi`li[']ya +unitl[^u][n]g[^u]['][n][)i], signifying "when they are painfully +sick." The treatment consists in sucking the part most affected, the +doctor having in his mouth during the operation the blossoms of +Ts[^a][']l-agay[^u]['][n]l[)i] (Nicotiana rustica), Kanas[^a][']la (wild +parsnip,) and Ts[^a]liyusti Usdiga (Lobelia inflata.) The first and last +of these names signify "tobacco" and "tobacco-like," while the other +seems to contain the same word, ts[^a][']la, and the original idea +may have been to counteract the witchcraft by the use of the various +species of "tobacco," the herb commonly used to drive away a witch +or wizard. During the sucking process four red beads lie near upon a +piece of (white) cloth, which afterward becomes the perquisite of the +doctor. Though not explicitly stated, it is probable that the doctor +holds in his mouth a decoction of the blossoms named, rather than +the blossoms themselves. On withdrawing his mouth from the spot and +ejecting the liquid into a bowl, it is expected that there will be +found "mixed" with it a small stick, a pebble, an insect, or something +of the kind, and this the shaman then holds up to view as the +cause of the disease. It is afterward buried a "hand's length" +(aw[^a][']hil[^u])[12] deep in the mud. No directions were given as to +diet or tabu. + +[Footnote 12: This word, like the expression "seven days," frequently +has a figurative meaning. Thus the sun is said to be seven aw[^a][']hil[^u] +above the earth.] + + +HUNTING. + +G[^U]N[^A][']HIL[^U]['][n]TA UG[^U]['][n]WA`L[)I]. + +Una[']lel[)u]['] eskiska[']l`tas[)i][']. Iskwa[']lel[)u] +eskiska[']l`tas[)i][']. Y[^u]! Ela-Kana[']t[)i] + ts[^u]lda[']h[)i]st[^u]['][n], +ts[^u]watsi[']la ast[^u]['][n] detsatasi[']ga. Ts'skw[^a][']l[)i] +uda[']nis[)a][']`test[)i], ugwala[']ga udu[']yaheti[']dege[']st[)i]. +Sun[^u]si[']ya-gw[^u] udanis[)a][']`test[)i], ts'su[']lti-gw[^u] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. + +H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]l[)i] Gi[']gage-g[^a]g[^u]['], tsine[']ts[)i] + ges[^u]['][n] +aw'stitege[']st[)i]. _Ts[)a]st[^u]['] utatiy[)i]_, n[^a][']gwa + _ts[)a]s`t[^u] +gas[^u]`his[)a]`t[)i] atisge[']st[)i]_. Ha-n[^a][']gwa +n[^u][n]n[^a] tsusdi['] tutana[']wa-teg[^u]['] _digana[']wat[^u]['][n]ta_ +atisge[']st[)i]. Utal[)i]['] udan[^u][']h[)i] ugwala[']ga +g[^u][n]watuy[']ah[)i]ti[']tege[']st[)i], h[)i]lahiy[^u]['][n]ta-gw[^u] +[w]ust[^u][']`st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. D'stiskw[^a][']l[)i] +deud[^u][']nis[)a]`te[']st[)i]. Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +CONCERNING HUNTING. + +Give me the wind. Give me the breeze. Y[^u]! O Great Terrestrial Hunter, +I come to the edge of your spittle where you repose. Let your stomach +cover itself; let it be covered with leaves. Let it cover itself at a +single bend, and may you never be satisfied. + +And you, O Ancient Red, may you hover above my breast while I sleep. +Now let good (dreams?) develop; let my experiences be propitious. +Ha! Now let my little trails be directed, as they lie down in various +directions(?). Let the leaves be covered with the clotted blood, and +may it never cease to be so. You two (the Water and the Fire) shall +bury it in your stomachs. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This is a hunting formula, addressed to the two great gods of the +hunter, Fire and Water. The evening before starting the hunter "goes +to water," as already explained, and recites the appropriate formula. +In the morning he sets out, while still fasting, and travels without +eating or drinking until nightfall. At sunset he again goes to water, +reciting this formula during the ceremony, after which he builds his +camp fire, eats his supper and lies down for the night, first rubbing +his breast with ashes from the fire. In the morning he starts out to +look for game. + +"Give me the wind," is a prayer that the wind may be in his favor, +so that the game may not scent him. The word rendered here "Great +Terrestrial Hunter," is in the original "Ela-Kana[']t[)i]." In this +_e[']la_ is the earth and _kana[']t[)i]_ is a term applied to a +successful hunter. The great Kanat[)i], who, according to the myth, +formerly kept all the game shut up in his underground caverns, now +dwells above the sky, and is frequently invoked by hunters. The +raven also is often addressed as Kanat[)i] in these hunting formulas. +Ela-Kana[']t[)i], the Great Terrestrial Hunter--as distinguished from +the other two--signifies the river, the name referring to the way in +which the tiny streams and rivulets search out and bring down to the +great river the leaves and d[/e]bris of the mountain forests. In formulas +for medicine, love, the ball play, etc., the river is always addressed +as the Long Person (Y[^u]['][n]w[)i] G[^u]nahi[']ta). The "spittle" +referred to is the foam at the edge of the water. "Let your stomach be +covered with leaves" means, let the blood-stained leaves where the +stricken game shall fall be so numerous as to cover the surface of the +water. The hunter prays also that sufficient game may be found in a +single bend of the river to accomplish this result without the necessity +of searching through the whole forest, and to that end he further prays +that the river may never be satisfied, but continually longing for +more. The same idea is repeated in the second paragraph. The hunter +is supposed to feed the river with blood washed from the game. In like +manner he feeds the fire, addressed in the second paragraph as the +"Ancient Red," with a piece of meat cut from the tongue of the deer. +The prayer that the fire may hover above his breast while he sleeps +and brings him favorable dreams, refers to his rubbing his breast with +ashes from his camp fire before lying down to sleep, in order that the +fire may bring him dream omens of success for the morrow. The Fire is +addressed either as the Ancient White or the Ancient Red, the allusion +in the first case being to the light or the ashes of the fire; in the +other case, to the color of the burning coals. "You two shall bury it +in your stomachs" refers to the blood-stained leaves and the piece +of meat which are cast respectively into the river and the fire. The +formula was obtained from A`y[^u][n]in[)i], who explained it in detail. + + +HI[)A]['] TSI[']SKWA GAN[^A]HILIDASTI Y[)I]. + +Ts[)i]g[)e][']! H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]l-Une[']ga, ts[^u]lt[^a][']hist[^u]['][n] +g[^u]lit[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. N[^a][']gwa ts[^u]da[']nt[^a] +taleh[)i][']sani[']ga. S[^a][']gwa ig[^u]nsi[']ya ts'skw[^a]l[)i]['] +ud[^u][']nisate[']st[)i], ts'su[']lt[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Wane[']([)i]) +tigi[']gage([)i]) tali[']kan[)e]li[']ga. [U]['][n]tal[)i] udan[^u][']h[)i] +ts[)a]gista[']`t[)i]. + +H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]l-Une[']ga, _anu[']ya uw[^a]tat[^a][']g[)i] agi[']st[)i] +t[)a]tsisk[^a][']ltane[']l[^u]h[)i]_. [U]['][n]tal[)i] u[']dan[^u]['] +_te[']t[^u]lskew[']si[']ga_. + +H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]l-Une[']ga, n[^u][n]na['](h[)i]) kana[']t[)i] +skwatet[^a][']stani[']ga. Unigwal[^u]['][n]g[)i] +te[']gat[^u][n]tsi[']ga. N[^u][n][^a]['](h[)i]) kana[']t[)i] +tati[']kiy[^u]['][n]gwita[']watise[']st[)i]. Unigwal[^u]['][n]g[)i] +tig[^u]['][n]wat[^u][']tsan[^u][']h[)i]. + +H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]l-Une[']ga, Kana[']t[)i], +sk[']salat[^a][']titege[']st[)i], sa`ka[']ni ginu[']t't[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS FOR HUNTING BIRDS. + +Listen! O Ancient White, where you dwell in peace I have come to rest. +Now let your spirit arise. Let it (the game brought down) be buried +in your stomach, and may your appetite never be satisfied. The red +hickories have tied themselves together. The clotted blood is your +recompense. + +O Ancient White, * * * Accept the clotted blood (?) + +O Ancient White, put me in the successful hunting trail. Hang the +mangled things upon me. Let me come along the successful trail with +them doubled up (under my belt). It (the road) is clothed with the +mangled things. + +O Ancient White, O Kanati, support me continually, that I may never +become blue. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[^u][n]in[)i]'s manuscript, is recited by the +bird-hunter in the morning while standing over the fire at his hunting +camp before starting out for the day's hunt. A`y[^u][n]in[)i] stated that +seven blowgun arrows are first prepared, including a small one only a +"hand-length" (aw[^a][']hil[^u]) long. On rising in the morning the hunter, +standing over the fire, addresses it as the "Ancient White." rubbing +his hands together while repeating the prayer. He then sets out for +the hunting ground, where he expects to spend the day, and on reaching +it he shoots away the short arrow at random, without attempting to +trace its flight. There is of course some significance attached +to this action and perhaps an accompanying prayer, but no further +information upon this point was obtainable. Having shot away the magic +arrow, the hunter utters a peculiar hissing sound, intended to call +up the birds, and then goes to work with his remaining arrows. On all +hunting expeditions it is the regular practice, religiously enforced, +to abstain from food until sunset. + +A favorite method with the bird-hunter during the summer season is +to climb a gum tree, which is much frequented by the smaller birds on +account of its berries, where, taking up a convenient position amid +the branches with his noiseless blowgun and arrows, he deliberately +shoots down one bird after another until his shafts are exhausted, +when he climbs down, draws out the arrows from the bodies of the birds +killed, and climbs up again to repeat the operation. As the light +darts used make no sound, the birds seldom take the alarm, and are too +busily engaged with the berries to notice their comrades dropping to +the ground from time to time, and pay but slight attention even to the +movements of the hunter. + +The prayer is addressed to the Ancient White (the Fire), the spirit +most frequently invoked by the hunter, who, as before stated, rubs +his hands together over the fire while repeating the words. The +expressions used are obscure when taken alone, but are full of meaning +when explained in the light of the hunting customs. The "clotted +blood" refers to the bloodstained leaves upon which the fallen game +has lain. The expression occurs constantly in the hunting formulas. +The hunter gathers up these bloody leaves and casts them upon the +fire, in order to draw omens for the morrow from the manner in which +they burn. A part of the tongue, or some other portion of the animal, +is usually cast upon the coals also for the same purpose. This +subject will be treated at length in a future account of the hunting +ceremonies. + +"Let it be buried in your stomach" refers also to the offering made +the fire. By the red hickories are meant the strings of hickory +bark which the bird hunter twists about his waist for a belt. The +dead birds are carried by inserting their heads under this belt. +Red is, of course, symbolic of his success. "The mangled things" +(unigwal[^u]['][n]g[)i]) are the wounded birds. Kana[']t[)i] is here +used to designate the fire, on account of its connection with the +hunting ceremonies. + + +INAG[)E][']H[)I] AY[^A]STI[n]Y[)I]. + +Us[)i]nuli[']yu Selagw[^u][']ts[)i] Gigage['][)i] gets[^u]['][n]neliga +ts[^u]dand[^a]gi[']h[)i] aye`li[']yu, us[)i]nuli[']yu. Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS. + +Instantly the Red Selagw[^u][']ts[)i] strike you in the very center of +your soul--instantly. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This short formula, obtained from [^A]`wani[']ta, is recited by the +hunter while taking aim. The bowstring is let go--or, rather, the +trigger is pulled--at the final _Y[^u]!_ He was unable to explain the +meaning of the word selagw[^u][']ts[)i] further than that it referred +to the bullet. Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that +this is the Cherokee name of a reed of the genus Erianthus, and the +inference follows that the stalk of the plant was formerly used for +arrow shafts. Red implies that the arrow is always successful in +reaching the mark aimed at, and in this instance may refer also to +its being bloody when withdrawn from the body of the animal. +Inag[)e][']h[)i], "dwellers in the wilderness," is the generic +term for game, including birds, but A`wani[']ta has another formula +intended especially for deer. + + +(Y[^A][']NA T[)I][']KAN[^A]GI[']TA.) + + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Tsistuyi['] nehandu[']yan[^u], Tsistuyi['] + nehandu[']yan[^u]--Yoho[']+! + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Kuw[^a]hi['] nehandu[']yan[^u]['], Kuw[^a]hi['] + nehandu[']yan[^u]--Yoho[']+! + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + Uy[^a]`ye['] nehandu[']yan[^u]['], Uya[']ye['] + nehahdu[']yan[^u][']--Yoho[']+! + He+! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + G[^a]tekw[^a]['](h[)i]) nehandu[']yan[^u]['], + G[^a]tekw[^a]['](h[)i]) nehandu[']yan[^u][']--Yoho[']+! + [^U]l[)e]-`n[^u]['] as[)e]h[)i]['] tadeya[']statak[^u]h[)i]['] + g[^u]['][n]nage ast[^u][']ts[)i]k[)i][']. + + +_Translation._ + +BEAR SONG. + + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In Rabbit Place you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In Mulberry Place you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In Uy[^a][']`y[)e] you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + He! Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], + hayuya[']haniw[)a]['], hayuya[']haniw[)a][']. + In the Great Swamp (?) you were conceived (repeat)--Yoho[']+! + And now surely we and the good black things, the best of all, + shall see each other. + + +_Explanation._ + +This song, obtained from A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i] in connection with the story +of the Origin of the Bear, as already mentioned, is sung by the bear +hunter, in order to attract the bears, while on his way from the camp +to the place where he expects to hunt during the day. It is one of +those taught the Cherokees by the Ani-Ts[^a][']kah[)i] before they lost +their human shape and were transformed into bears. The melody is +simple and plaintive. + +The song consists of four verses followed by a short recitation. Each +verse begins with a loud prolonged _He+!_ and ends with _Yoho[']+!_ +uttered in the same manner. Hayuya[']haniw[)a]['] has no meaning. +Tsistu[']y[)i], Kuw[^a][']h[)i], Uy[^a][']`y[)e], and G[^a]te[']kw[^a]h[)i] +are four mountains, in each of which the bears have a townhouse and hold +a dance before going into their dens for the winter. The first three +named are high peaks in the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, +in the neighborhood of Clingman's Dome and Mount Guyot. The fourth is +southeast of Franklin, North Carolina, toward the South Carolina line, +and may be identical with Fodderstack Mountain. In Kuwahi dwells the +great bear chief and doctor, in whose magic bath the wounded bears are +restored to health. They are said to originate or be conceived in the +mountains named, because these are their headquarters. The "good black +things" referred to in the recitation are the bears. + + +HI[)A]['] ATS[^U]`TI[']Y[)I] TSUN[']TAN[^U]. + +Sg[)e]! N[^a][']gwa hitsat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga hitsiga[']tug[)i][']. +Titsila[']wis[^u]['][n]h[)i] [u]w[^a]gi[']`l[)i] +tege[']ts[^u]ts`g[^u][']`law[)i]st[)i][']. Tsuli[']stana[']l[^u] +[^u]l[)e]['] wakt[^u][)i], agi[']st[)i] une[']ka +its[^u]['][n]yatanil[^u]['][)i]stani[']ga. +G[^u][n]watu[']hw[)i]t[^u]['] n[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] +deg[^u]nd[^a]ltsi[']d[^a]he[']st[)i]. [u]W[^a][']his[^a][']nah[)i] +tigiwatsi[']la. Tutseg[^u][']`lawist[)i][']tege[']st[)i]. [^U][n]tal[)i]['] +deg[^u]['][n]watan[^u]h[)i], uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. + Tsuwatsi[']la +dad[^a]l`tsi[']ga. A`y[^u] A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i] tigwad[^a][']ita. Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS FOR CATCHING LARGE FISH. + +Listen! Now you settlements have drawn near to hearken. Where you have +gathered in the foam you are moving about as one. You Blue Cat and the +others, I have come to offer you freely the white food. Let the paths +from every direction recognize each other. Our spittle shall be in +agreement. Let them (your and my spittle) be together as we go about. +They (the fish) have become a prey and there shall be no loneliness. +Your spittle has become agreeable. I am called Swimmer. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[^u][n]in[)i][']s' book, is for the purpose of +catching large fish. According to his instructions, the fisherman +must first chew a small piece of Yugwil[^u]['] (Venus' Flytrap--Dionaea +muscipula) and spit it upon the bait and also upon the hook. Then, +standing facing the stream, he recites the formula and puts the bait +upon the hook. He will be able to pull out a fish at once, or if the +fish are not about at the moment they will come in a very short time. + +The Yugwil[^u]['] is put upon the bait from the idea that it will enable +the hook to attract and hold the fish as the plant itself seizes and +holds insects in its cup. The root is much prized by the Cherokees +for this purpose, and those in the West, where the plant is not found, +frequently send requests for it to their friends in Carolina. + +The prayer is addressed directly to the fish, who are represented +as living in settlements. The same expression as has already been +mentioned is sometimes used by the doctors in speaking of the +_tsg[^a][']ya_ or worms which are supposed to cause sickness by +getting under the skin of the patient. The Blue Cat (_Amiurus, genus_) +is addressed as the principal fish and the bait is spoken of as the +"white food," an expression used also of the viands prepared at the +feast of the green corn dance, to indicate their wholesome character. +"Let the paths from every direction recognize each other," means let +the fishes, which are supposed to have regular trails through the +water, assemble together at the place where the speaker takes his +station, as friends recognizing each other at a distance approach to +greet each other, [u]W[^a]his[^a][']nah[)i] tigiwatsi[']la, rendered +"our spittle shall be in agreement," is a peculiar archaic expression +that can not be literally translated. It implies that there shall be +such close sympathy between the fisher and the fish that their spittle +shall be as the spittle of one individual. As before stated, the +spittle is believed to exert an important influence upon the whole +physical and mental being. The expression "your spittle has become +agreeable" is explained by A`y[^u][n]in[)i] as an assertion or wish that +the fish may prove palatable, while the words rendered "there shall be +no loneliness" imply that there shall be an abundant catch. + + +LOVE. + +(Y[^U][n]W[)E][']H[)I] UG[^U]['][n]WA`L[)I] I.) + +Ku! Sg[)e]! _Alahi[']y[)i]_ ts[^u]l`d[^a][']hist[)i], +Hig[)e][']`ya ts[^u]l`di[']y[)i], hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga. +_Elahi[']y[)i]_ iy[^u]['][n]ta dits[^u]l`da[']hist[)i], +Hig[)e][']`ya Ts[^u]ne[']ga. Tsisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Ts[^a]duhi[']y[)i]. N[^a][']gwa-sk[)i]n['][)i] us[)i]nuli[']yu +h[^u][n]skwane[']`l[^u][n]g[^u]['] tsisga[']ya agine[']ga. +Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. N[^a][']gwa n[^u]['][n]n[^a], +une[']ga h[^u][n]skwan[^u][n]neli[']ga. Uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +N[^a][']gwa skwade[']tastani[']ga. Sa`ka[']ni u[']tat[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. N[^u][n]n[^a] une[']ga skiksa[']`[^u][n]taneli[']ga. +Elaye[']`l[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta skwalewist[)a][']`tani[']ga E[']lat[)i] +ges[^u]['][n] ts[)i]tage[']st[)i]. Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Agw[^a][']duhi[']yu. K[^u]lts[^a][']te une[']ga skiga[']`tani[']ga. +Uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na, g[^u][n]kwats[^a]ti[']tege[']st[)i]. +Tsi-sa`ka[']ni agw[)a][']tat[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Us[)i]nuli[']yu +h[^u][n]skwane[']`l[^u][n]g[^u][']. + +Ha-n[^a][']gw[^u]l[)e] _Elahi[']y[)i]_ iy[^u]['][n]t[)a] +d[^u]hiyane[']`l[^u][n]g[^u]['] a`g[)e][']`ya sa`ka[']ni. N[^a][']gwa +n[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] sa`ka[']ni h[^u][n]tane[']`laneli[']ga. +Uhisa[']`t[)i]-gw[^u] u[']dan[^u] dudusa[']g[)i] tanela[']s[)i]. +N[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] sa`ka[']ni tade[']t[^a]stani[']ga. +N[^a]gw[^u]l[)e]['] h[^u][n]hiyats[^a]['][^u][n]taniga. E[']lat[)i] +ges[^u]['][n] t[^u][']l`taniga. Dedu[']lask[^u]['][n]-gw[^u] +ig[^u]['][n]wa`law[)i][']st[)i] uhi[']sa`ti[']y[)i] widaye[']la`ni[']ga. +Dedulask[^u]['][n]-gw[^u] ig[^u]['][n]wa`law[)i][']st[)i] +uhi[']sa`ti[']y[)i] nit[^u]['][n]neli[']ga. + +Ha-s[^a]gwahi[']yu itsilasta[']lag[)i] + + uw[)a][']sahi[']yu, +etsane[']`laneli[']ga. Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Agw[^a][']duh[)i]. A[']y[^u] agwadant[^a][']g[)i] aye`li[']yu +d'ka[']`lani[']l[)i] duda[']nt[^a], uktah[^u]['][n]st[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Y[^u]['][n]w[)i] tsu[']tsat[^u][n] widudante[']`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na, nit[^u]['][n]neli[']ga. S[^a][']gwah[)i] +itsilasta[']lag[)i], etsane[']`laneli[']ga k[^u]lkw[^a][']gi-nas[)i]['] +ig[^u]lst[^u][']`l[)i] gegane[']`lan[^u]['][n]. + +Anisga[']ya anewadi[']s[^u][n] unihisa`ti[']y[)i]. +Tsu[']nada[']neilti[']y[)i]. D[)i][']la-gw[^u] +deg[^u]['][n]w[)a]natseg[^u][']`lawi[']sdideg[^u][']. +Ay[^a][']ise[']ta-gw[^u] u[']dan[^u]. Tsunada[']neilti[']y[)i]. +Utse[']tsti-gw[^u] deg[^u]['][n]w[)a]natseg[^u][']`lawis[']dideg[^u][']. +Tsunada[']neilti[']y[)i]. Ka[']ga-gw[^u] +deg[^u]['][n]w[)a]natseg[^u][']`awisdideg[^u][']. +Tsunada[']neilti[']y[)i]. Da[']l`ka-gw[^u] +deg[^u]['][n]w[)a]natseg[^u][']`lawisdideg[^u][']. + +K[^u]lkw[^a][']g[)i] ig[^u]lsta[']lag[)i] unihisa`ti[']yu. +Ige[']ski-gw[^u] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ay[^a][']ise[']ta-gw[^u] +u[']dan[^u] deg[^u]['][n]w[)a]nats[^u]n`ti-deg[^u][']. K'si-gw[^u] +deg[^u]['][n]w[)a]nats[^u]n`ti-deg[^u][']. A[']yag[^a]g[^u]['] tsisga[']ya +agine[']ga [^u][n]gwane[']`lan[^u][']h[)i] + + + N[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]y[)i] +iti[']tsa ditsid[^a][']ga. Agisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Agw[^a]duhi[']yu. Tsi-sa`ka[']n[)i] agw[)a][']tat[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +K[^u]lts[^a][']te une[']ga [^u][n]ni[']tag[^a]g[^u]['] +g[^u]kwats[^a][']nti-deg[^u][']. Agis[)a][']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +A[']y[^u] agwadant[^a][']g[)i] aye`li[']yu g[^u]lasi[']ga + ts[^u]da[']nt[^a], +uktah[^u]['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. A[']y[^u] ts[)i][']g[)i] +ts[^u]da[']nta 0 0. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +CONCERNING LIVING HUMANITY (LOVE). + +K[^u]! Listen! In Alahi[']y[)i] you repose, O Terrible Woman, O you have +drawn near to hearken. There in Elahiy[)i] you are at rest, O White +Woman. No one is ever lonely when with you. You are most beautiful. +Instantly and at once you have rendered me a white man. No one is ever +lonely when with me. Now you have made the path white for me. It shall +never be dreary. Now you have put me into it. It shall never become +blue. You have brought down to me from above the white road. There in +mid-earth (mid-surface) you have placed me. I shall stand erect upon +the earth. No one is ever lonely when with me. I am very handsome. You +have put me into the white house. I shall be in it as it moves about +and no one with me shall ever be lonely. Verily, I shall never become +blue. Instantly you have caused it to be so with me. + +And now there in Elahiy[)i] you have rendered the woman blue. Now +you have made the path blue for her. Let her be completely veiled in +loneliness. Put her into the blue road. And now bring her down. Place +her standing upon the earth. Where her feet are now and wherever she +may go, let loneliness leave its mark upon her. Let her be marked out +for loneliness where she stands. + +Ha! I belong to the (Wolf) ( + + ) clan, that one alone which was +allotted into for you. No one is ever lonely with me. I am handsome. +Let her put her soul the very center of my soul, never to turn away. +Grant that in the midst of men she shall never think of them. I belong +to the one clan alone which was allotted for you when the seven clans +were established. + +Where (other) men live it is lonely. They are very loathsome. The +common polecat has made them so like himself that they are fit +only for his company. They have became mere refuse. They are very +loathsome. The common opossum has made them so like himself that they +are fit only to be with him. They are very loathsome. Even the crow +has made them so like himself that they are fit only for his company. +They are very loathsome. The miserable rain-crow has made them so like +himself that they are fit only to be with him. + +The seven clans all alike make one feel very lonely in their company. +They are not even good looking. They go about clothed with mere +refuse. They even go about covered with dung. But I--I was ordained +to be a white man. I stand with my face toward the Sun Land. No one +is ever lonely with me. I am very handsome. I shall certainly never +become blue. I am covered by the everlasting white house wherever I +go. No one is ever lonely with me. Your soul has come into the very +center of my soul, never to turn away. I--(Gatigwanasti,) (0 0)--I +take your soul. Sg[)e]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This unique formula is from one of the loose manuscript sheets +of Gatigwanasti, now dead, and belongs to the class known as +Y[^u][n]w[)e][']h[)i] or love charms (literally, concerning "living +humanity"), including all those referring in any way to the marital +or sexual relation. No explanation accompanies the formula, which must +therefore be interpreted from analogy. It appears to be recited by +the lover himself--not by a hired shaman--perhaps while painting and +adorning himself for the dance. (_See next two formulas._) + +The formula contains several obscure expressions which require further +investigation. Elahiy[)i] or Alahiy[)i], for it is written both ways +in the manuscript, does not occur in any other formula met with thus +far, and could not be explained by any of the shamans to whom it was +submitted. The nominative form may be Elah[)i], perhaps from _ela_, +"the earth," and it may be connected with Wa[']h[)i]l[)i], the +formulistic name for the south. The spirit invoked is the White Woman, +white being the color denoting the south. + +Uhisa[']`t[)i], rendered here "lonely," is a very expressive word +to a Cherokee and is of constant recurrence in the love formulas. It +refers to that intangible something characteristic of certain persons +which inevitably chills and depresses the spirits of all who may +be so unfortunate as to come within its influence. Agisa[']`t[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na, "I never render any one lonely," is an intensified +equivalent for, "I am the best company in the world," and to tell a +girl that a rival lover is uhisa[']`t[)i] is to hold out to her the +sum of all dreary prospects should she cast in her lot with him. + +The speaker, who evidently has an exalted opinion of himself, invokes +the aid of the White Woman, who is most beautiful and is never +uhisa[']`t[)i]. She at once responds by making him a white--that is, +a happy--man, and placing him in the white road of happiness, which +shall never become blue with grief or despondency. She then places him +standing in the middle of the earth, that he may be seen and admired +by the whole world, especially by the female portion. She finally puts +him into the white house, where happiness abides forever. The verb +implies that the house shelters him like a cloak and goes about with +him wherever he may go. + +There is something comical in the extreme self-complacency with which +he asserts that he is very handsome and will never become blue and no +one with him is ever lonely. As before stated, white signifies peace +and happiness, while blue is the emblem of sorrow and disappointment. + +Having thus rendered himself attractive to womankind, he turns his +attention to the girl whom he particularly desires to win. He begins +by filling her soul with a sense of desolation and loneliness. In the +beautiful language of the formula, her path becomes blue and she is +veiled in loneliness. He then asserts, and reiterates, that he is of +the one only clan which was allotted for her when the seven clans were +established. + +He next pays his respects to his rivals and advances some very +forcible arguments to show that she could never be happy with any of +them. He says that they are all "lonesome" and utterly loathsome--the +word implies that they are mutually loathsome--and that they are +the veriest trash and refuse. He compares them to so many polecats, +opossums, and crows, and finally likens them to the rain-crow (cuckoo; +_Coccygus_), which is regarded with disfavor on account of its +disagreeable note. He grows more bitter in his denunciations as he +proceeds and finally disposes of the matter by saying that all the +seven clans alike are uhisa[']`t[)i] and are covered with filth. +Then follows another glowing panegyric of himself, closing with the +beautiful expression, "your soul has come into the very center of +mine, never to turn away," which reminds one forcibly of the sentiment +in the German love song, "Du liegst mir im Herzen." The final +expression, "I take your soul," implies that the formula has now +accomplished its purpose in fixing her thoughts upon himself. + +When successful, a ceremony of this kind has the effect of rendering +the victim so "blue" or lovesick that her life is in danger until +another formula is repeated to make her soul "white" or happy again. +Where the name of the individual or clan is mentioned in these +formulas the blank is indicated in the manuscript by crosses + + or +ciphers 0 0 or by the word iyu[']st[)i], "like." + + +H[)I]['][)A] [)A]MA[']Y[)I] [)A][']TAWASTI[']Y[)I] KAN[^A][']HEH[^U]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa us[)i]nuli[']yu hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga +_Hig[)e][']`yagu[']ga_, ts[^u]watsi[']la gi[']gage tsiye[']la +sk[)i]na[']d[^u]`lani[']ga. 0 0 digwad[^a][']ita. Sa`ka[']n[)i] +t[^u]gwad[^u]ne[']l[^u]h[)i]. Atsan[^u]['][n]g[)i] gi[']gage +skw[^a]s[^u][']hisa`tani[']ga. + + k[^u]lst[)a][']lag[)i] + sa`ka[']n[)i] +nu[']tatan[^u]['][n]ta. Ditu[']n[^u][n]n[^a][']g[)i] +dagw[^u][']lask[^u]['][n]-gw[^u] deganu[']y'tasi[']ga. +Gal[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']ta-gw[^u] dagwad[^u]ne[']lidise[']st[)i]. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS TELLS ABOUT GOING INTO THE WATER. + +Listen! O, now instantly, you have drawn near to hearken, O +Ag[)e][']`yagu[']ga. You have come to put your red spittle upon my +body. My name is (Gatigwanasti.) The blue had affected me. You have +come and clothed me with a red dress. She is of the (Deer) clan. She +has become blue. You have directed her paths straight to where I have +my feet, and I shall feel exultant. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from Gatigwanasti's book, is also of the +Y[^u][n]w[)e][']h[)i] class, and is repeated by the lover when about +to bathe in the stream preparatory to painting himself for the dance. +The services of a shaman are not required, neither is any special +ceremony observed. The technical word used in the heading, +[)a][']tawasti[']y[)i], signifies plunging or going entirely into +a liquid. The expression used for the ordinary "going to water," +where the water is simply dipped up with the hand, is +[)a]m[^a][']y[)i] dita`ti[']y[)i], "taking them to water." + +The prayer is addressed to Ag[)e][']`yaguga, a formulistic name +for the moon, which is supposed to exert a great influence in love +affairs, because the dances, which give such opportunities for love +making, always take place at night. The shamans can not explain the +meaning of the term, which plainly contains the word ag[)e][']`ya, +"woman," and may refer to the moon's supposed influence over women. +In Cherokee mythology the moon is a man. The ordinary name is +n[^u]['][n]d[^a], or more fully, n[^u]['][n]d[^a] +s[^u][n]n[^a]y[)e][']h[)i], "the sun living in the night," while +the sun itself is designated as n[^u]['][n]d[^a] ig[)e][']h[)i], +"the sun living in the day." + +By the red spittle of Ag[)e][']`yagu[']ga and the red dress with +which the lover is clothed are meant the red paint which he puts upon +himself. This in former days was procured from a deep red clay known +as ela-w[^a][']t[)i], or "reddish brown clay." The word red as used in +the formula is emblematic of success in attaining his object, besides +being the actual color of the paint. Red, in connection with dress +or ornamentation, has always been a favorite color with Indians +throughout America, and there is some evidence that among the +Cherokees it was regarded also as having a mysterious protective +power. In all these formulas the lover renders the woman blue or +disconsolate and uneasy in mind as a preliminary to fixing her +thoughts upon himself. (_See next formula._) + +(Y[^U]['][n]W[)E][']H[)I] UG[^U]['][n]WA`L[)I] II.) + + Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + Gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i], datsila['][)i]--Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + N[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]y[)i] gatla[']ah[)i]--Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + Ge`yagu[']ga Gi[']gage, ts[^u]watsi[']la gi[']gage tsiye[']la + sk[)i]na[']d[^u]`lani[']ga-- + Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + Hi[)a]-`n[^u]['] atawe[']ladi[']y[)i] kan[^a][']h[)e]h[^u] + gal[^u][n]lti[']tla. + + +_Translation._ + +SONG FOR PAINTING. + + _Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]._ + I am come from above--_Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]._ + I am come down from the Sun Land--_Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]._ + O Red Ag[)e]`yagu[']ga, you have come and put your red spittle + upon my body--Y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], + y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i]. + +And this above is to recite while one is painting himself. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from Gatigwanasti, immediately follows the one last +given, in the manuscript book, and evidently comes immediately after +it also in practical use. The expressions used have been already +explained. The one using the formula first bathes in the running +stream, reciting at the same time the previous formula "Am[^a][']y[)i] +[)A][']tawasti[']y[)i]." He then repairs to some convenient spot +with his paint, beads, and other paraphernalia and proceeds to adorn +himself for the dance, which usually begins about an hour after +dark, but is not fairly under way until nearly midnight. The refrain, +y[^u]['][n]w[)e]h[)i], is probably _sung_ while mixing the paint, and +the other portion is recited while applying the pigment, or vice versa. +Although these formula are still in use, the painting is now obsolete, +beyond an occasional daubing of the face, without any plan or pattern, +on the occasion of a dance or ball play. + +ADALANI[']STA`TI[']Y[)I]. [)I]. + + Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga nih[)i][']-- + --Tsa[']watsi[']l[^u] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u]['] ay[^u][']. + --Hiyel[^u]['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u]['] ay[^u][']. + --Ts[)a]wiy[^u]['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u]['] ay[^u][']. + --Ts[^u]nahu['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u]['] ay[^u][']. + +Sg[)e]! N[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga, H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]lige. +Hi[)a]['] asga[']ya uda[']nt[^a] tsa`ta[']hisi[']ga + [H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]lige] +hiye[']last[^u][n]. Tsask[^u]l[^a][']h[)i]sti-gw[^u]['] nige[']s[^u][n]na. +D[)i]kana[']wat[^u]['][n]ta-gw[^u] ts[^u]t[^u][']neli[']ga. +H[)i]l[^u] dudant[)e][']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Duda[']nt[^a] +d[^u]skal[^u][n][']tseli[']ga. Ast[)i]['] dig[^u]['][n]nage +tagu[']tal[^u][n]tani[']ga. + + +_Translation._ + +TO ATTRACT AND FIX THE AFFECTIONS. + + Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken-- + --Your spittle, I take it, I eat it. } + --Your body, I take it, I eat it, } + --Your flesh, I take it, I eat it, } Each sung four times. + --Your heart, I take it, I eat it. } + +Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O, Ancient One. This +man's (woman's) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You +are never to let go your hold upon it. It is ordained that you shall +do just as you are requested to do. Let her never think upon any +other place. Her soul has faded within her. She is bound by the black +threads. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is said by the young husband, who has just married an +especially engaging wife, who is liable to be attracted by other men. +The same formula may also be used by the woman to fix her husband's +affections. On the first night that they are together the husband +watches until his wife is asleep, when, sitting up by her side, he +recites the first words: Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga +nih[)i]['], and then sings the next four words: Tsawatsi[']l[^u] +ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u]['] ay[^u]['], "Your spittle, I take it, I +eat it," repeating the words four times. While singing he moistens his +fingers with spittle, which he rubs upon the breast of the woman. The +next night he repeats the operation, this time singing the words, "I +take your body." The third night, in the same way, he sings, "I take +your flesh," and the fourth and last night, he sings "I take your +heart," after which he repeats the prayer addressed to the Ancient +One, by which is probably meant the Fire (the Ancient White). +A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i] states that the final sentences should be masculine, +i.e., His soul has faded, etc., and refer to any would-be seducer. +There is no gender distinction in the third person in Cherokee. He +claimed that this ceremony was so effective that no husband need have +any fears for his wife after performing it. + + +ADAYE[']LIGA[']GTA`T[)I][']. + +Y[^u]! Gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] ts[^u]l`da[']hist[)i], Giya[']giya['] +Sa`ka[']ni, n[^a][']gwa n[^u][n]tal[^u][n] i[']y[^u]['][n]ta. Ts[^a][']la +Sa`ka[']ni ts[^u]gist[^a][']`t[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. N[^a][']gwa +nid[^a]tsu[']l`tan[^u]['][n]ta, n[^u]['][n]t[=a]tag[^u]['] + hisa[']hasi[']ga. +Tani[']d[^a]g[^u][n]['] aye[']`l[)i] dehid[^a][']siga. Unada[']nd[^a] +dehiy[^a][']staneli[']ga. + Nidugale[']ntan[^u]['][n]ta nid[^u]h[^u][n]neli[']ga. + +Tsisga[']ya agine[']ga, n[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]y[)i] ditsid[^a][']`st[)i]. +G[^u][']n[)i] [^a]st[^u]['] uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ag[)e][']`ya +une[']ga hi['][)a] iyu[']st[)i] g[^u]lst[^u][']`l[)i], iyu[']st[)i] +ts[^u]d[^a][']ita. Uda[']nd[^a] us[)i]nu[']l[)i] + d[^a]datinil[^u][']g[^u][n]el[)i][']. +N[^u][n]d[^a]g[^u]['][n]yits[^u]['] d[^a]datinilug[^u]stanel[)i]. + Tsisga[']ya +agine[']ga, ditsid[^a]st[^u]['][n][)i] n[^u]`n[^u]['] kana[']tlani[']ga. +Ts[^u]nkta['] teg[)a]`la[']watege[']st[)i]. Tsiye[']l[^u][n] + ges[^u]['][n][)i] +uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. + + +_Translation._ + +FOR SEPARATION (OF LOVERS). + +Y[^u]! On high you repose, O Blue Hawk, there at the far distant lake. +The blue tobacco has come to be your recompense. Now you have arisen +at once and come down. You have alighted midway between them where +they two are standing. You have spoiled their souls immediately. They +have at once become separated. + +I am a white man; I stand at the sunrise. The good sperm shall never +allow any feeling of loneliness. This white woman is of the Paint +(iyust[)i]) clan; she is called (iyust[)i]) W[^a]y[)i][']. We shall +instantly turn her soul over. We shall turn it over as we go toward +the Sun Land. I am a white man. Here where I stand it (her soul) has +attached itself to (literally, "come against") mine. Let her eyes in +their sockets be forever watching (for me). There is no loneliness +where my body is. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[^u][n]in[)i]'s book, is used to separate two +lovers or even a husband and wife, if the jealous rival so desires. In +the latter case the preceding formula, from the same source, would be +used to forestall this spell. No explanation of the ceremony is given, +but the reference to tobacco may indicate that tobacco is smoked +or thrown into the fire during the recitation. The particular hawk +invoked (giya[']giya[']) is a large species found in the coast region +but seldom met with in the mountains. Blue indicates that it brings +trouble with it, while white in the second paragraph indicates that +the man is happy and attractive in manner. + +In the first part of the formula the speaker calls upon the Blue +Hawk to separate the lovers and spoil their souls, i.e., change their +feeling toward each other. In the second paragraph he endeavors +to attract the attention of the woman by eulogizing himself. The +expression, "we shall turn her soul over," seems here to refer to +turning her affections, but as generally used, to turn one's soul is +equivalent to killing him. + + +(ADALAN[)I][']ST[)A]`TI[']Y[)I] II.) + +Y[^u]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]ts[^a]si[']ga, [*][*] +h[)i]l[^u](st[^u][']`l[)i]), ([*][*]) ditsa(d[^a][']ita). A[']y[^u] 0 0 +tsila(st[^u][']`l[)i]). Hiye[']la ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u][']. (Y[^u]!) + +Y[^u]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]ts[^a]si[']ga. [*][*] +h[)i]l[^u](st[^u][']`l[)i]), [*][*] ditsa(d[^a]['][/i]ta). A[']y[^u] 0 0 +ts[^u]wi[']ya ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u][']. Y[^u]! + +Y[^u]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]ts[^a]si[']ga. [*][*] +h[)i]l[^u](st[^u][']`l[)i]) [*][*] ditsa(d[^a]['][/i]ta). A[']y[^u] 0 0 +ts[^u]watsi[']la ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u]['] a[']y[^u]. Y[^u]! + +Y[^u]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa ada[']nt[)i] d[)a]ts[^a]si[']ga. [*][*] +h[)i]l[^u](st[^u][']`l[)i]), [*][*] ditsad[^a]['](ita). A[']y[^u] 0 0 +ts[^u]nah[)u]['] ts[)i]k[)i]['] ts[)i]k[^u][']. Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! "Ha-n[^a][']gwa ada[']nt[)i] dutsase['], tsugale[']nt[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na," ts[^u]d[^u]ne[)i], H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]lige +gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i]. Kanan[)e][']sk[)i] + [^U]['][n]nage gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] +(h)etsats[^a]['][^u][n]t[)a]nile['][)i]. Ts[)a]nilta[']g[)i] +ts[^u]ks[^a]['][^u][n]tanile['][)i]. [*][*] g[^u]la(st[^u][']`l[)i]), +[*][*] ditsad[^a]['](ita). Dudant[^a][']g[)i] uhani[']lat[^a] +t[)i]kwen[^u]['][n]tani[']ga. K[^u]lkw[^a][']g[)i] ig[^u]lsta[']lag[)i] +iy[^u]['][n]ta y[^u]['][n]w[)i] aday[^u]['][n]lataw[)a]['] +dud[^u]ne[']lida[']l[^u][n] uhisa[']`t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwat[)i] uhisa[']`t[)i] dutl[^u]['][n]tani[']ga. +Ts[^u][']nkta dask[^a][']l[^u][n]tsi[']ga. S[^a][']gwah[)i] di[']kta +de[']gayel[^u][n]tsi[']ga. Ga[']tsa ig[^u]n[^u][']nug[^a]['][)i]st[^u] +uda[']nt[^a]? Us[^u][']hita nudan[^u]['][n]na [^u]lt[^u][n]ge[']ta +g[^u][n]wad[^u]neli[']dege[']st[)i]. Ig[^u][n]w[^u]lsta[']`ti-gw[^u] +duw[^a]lu[']wa`t[^u][n]t[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Kanan[)e][']sk[)i] +[^U][n]nage['][)i] tsanildew'se[']st[)i] ada[']nt[^a] + ukt[^u][n]lesi[']dast[)i] +nige[']s[^u]na. Gad[^a]yu[']st[)i] ts[^u]d[^a][']ita ada[']nt[)i] +tside[']atsasi[']ga. A[']ya a[']kwatseli[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gw[^u]l[)e]['] h[^u][n]hat[^u][n]ga[']ga, +H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]l[)i] Gi[']gage. Tsets[^u]li[']s[)i] hiye[']last[^u][n] +a`ta[']hisi[']ga. Ada[']nt[^a] has[^u]`g[^u][']`law[)i][']stani[']ga, +tsa[']skal[/a]h[)i]st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. H[)i]kay[^u]['][n]lige +den[)a]tseg[^u]`la[']w[)i]stani[']ga. Ag[)e][']`ya +g[)i][']ns[^u][n]g[^u]`law[)i]s[']tani[']ga uda[']nt[^a] +_uwahis[)i][']sata_. D[)i]g[)i]nask[^u]l[^a][']h[)i]st[)i] + nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Y[^u]! + +Hi['][)a]nasgw[^u]['] u`tl[^a][']yi-gw[^u] d[)i]gal[^u]['][n]wistan[']t[)i] +sn[^u][n][^a][']y[)i] hani[']`lih[^u][n] g[^u]nasgi[']st[)i]. Gane[']ts[)i] +aye[']`l[)i] asi[']tadis[']t[)i] watsi[']la, gan[^u][n]li[']yet[)i] +aguwaye[']n[)i] andisg[^a]['][)i]. S[^a]i[']y[)i] tsika[']n[^a]he +itsu[']laha[']gw[^u]. + + +_Translation._ + +TO FIX THE AFFECTIONS. + +Y[^u]! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer (x x) +clan. Your name is (x x) Ay[^a]sta, I am of the Wolf (o-o) clan. Your +body, I take it, I eat it. Y[^u]! Ha! Now the souls have come together. +You are of the Deer clan. Your name is Ay[^a]sta. I am of the Wolf clan. +Your flesh I take, I eat. Y[^u]! + +Y[^u]! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Ay[^a]sta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your spittle I take, I +eat. I! Y[^u]! + +Y[^u]! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. +Your name is Ay[^a]sta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your heart I take, I eat. +Y[^u]! + +Listen! "Ha! Now the souls have met, never to part," you have said, O +Ancient One above. O Black Spider, you have been brought down from on +high. You have let down your web. She is of the Deer clan; her name +is Ay[^a]sta. Her soul you have wrapped up in (your) web. There where +the people of the seven clans are continually coming in sight and again +disappearing (i.e. moving about, coming and going), there was never +any feeling of loneliness. + +Listen! Ha! But now you have covered her over with loneliness. Her +eyes have faded. Her eyes have come to fasten themselves on one alone. +Whither can her soul escape? Let her be sorrowing as she goes along, +and not for one night alone. Let her become an aimless wanderer, whose +trail may never be followed. O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in +your web so that it shall never get through the meshes. What is the +name of the soul? They two have come together. It is mine! + +Listen! Ha! And now you have hearkened, O Ancient Red. Your +grandchildren have come to the edge of your body. You hold them yet +more firmly in your grasp, never to let go your hold. O Ancient One, +we have become as one. The woman has put her (x x x) soul into our +hands. We shall never let it go! Y[^u]! + +(Directions.)--And this also is for just the same purpose (the +preceding formula in the manuscript book is also a love charm). It +must be done by stealth at night when they are asleep. One must put +the hand on the middle of the breast and rub on spittle with the hand, +they say. The other formula is equally good. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula to fix the affections of a young wife is taken from the +manuscript sheets of the late Gatigwanasti. It very much resembles the +other formula for the same purpose, obtained from. A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i], +and the brief directions show that the ceremony is alike in both. The +first four paragraphs are probably sung, as in the other formula, on +four successive nights, and, as explained in the directions and as +stated verbally by A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i], this must be done stealthily +at night while the woman is asleep, the husband rubbing his spittle on +her breast with his hand while chanting the song in a low tone, hardly +above a whisper. The prayer to the Ancient One, or Ancient Red (Fire), +in both formulas, and the expression, "I come to the edge of your +body," indicate that the hands are first warmed over the fire, in +accordance with the general practice when laying on the hands. The +prayer to the Black Spider is a beautiful specimen of poetic imagery, +and hardly requires an explanation. The final paragraph indicates +the successful accomplishment of his purpose. "Your grandchildren" +(tsets[^u]li[']s[)i]) is an expression frequently used in addressing +the more important deities. + + +MISCELLANEOUS FORMULAS. + +S[^U][n]N[^A][']Y[)I] ED[^A][']H[)I] E[']SGA AST[^U][n]TI[']Y[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Uhy[^u][n]ts[^a][']y[)i] gal[^u][n]lti[']tla + ts[^u]lt[^a][']hist[)i], +H[)i]sgaya Gigage['][)i], us[)i]nu[']l[)i] di[']tsak[^u]n[)i]['] +denatl[^u][n]hi[']sani[']ga Uy-igawa[']st[)i] duda[']nt[)i]. +N[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] tatuna[']wat[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] duda[']nt[^a] +dani[']y[^u][n]stanil[)i][']. + +Sg[)e]! Uhy[^u][n]tl[^a][']y[)i] gal[^u][n]lti[']tla + ts[^u]lt[^a][']hist[)i], +H[)i]sga[']ya T[)e][']halu, _hinaw's[)u][']'ki_. Ha-us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +n[^a][']gwa di[']tsak[^u]n[)i]['] denatl[^u][n]hisani[']ga + uy-igawa[']st[)i] +duda[']nt[)i]. N[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] t[)a]tuna[']w[)a]t[)i]. +Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] duda[']nt[^a] dani[']gal[)i]stan[)i][']. + + +_Translation._ + +TO SHORTEN A NIGHT-GOER ON THIS SIDE. + +Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Red Man, quickly we +two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has +them lying along the path. Quickly we two will take his soul as we go +along. + +Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Purple Man, * * * *. +Ha! Quickly now we two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the +Imprecator. He has them lying along the path. Quickly we two will cut +his soul in two. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i]s' book, is for the purpose of +driving away a witch from the house of a sick person, and opens up a +most interesting chapter of Cherokee beliefs. The witch is supposed +to go about chiefly under cover of darkness, and hence is called +s[^u][n]n[^a][']y[)i] ed[^a][']h[)i], "the night goer." This is the +term in common use; but there are a number of formulistic expressions +to designate a witch, one of which, u[']ya igawa[']st[)i], occurs in +the body of the formula and may be rendered "the imprecator," i.e., the +sayer of evil things or curses. As the counteracting of a deadly spell +always results in the death of its author, the formula is stated to be +not merely to drive away the wizard, but to kill him, or, according to +the formulistic expression, "to shorten him (his life) on this side." + +When it becomes known that a man is dangerously sick the witches from +far and near gather invisibly about his house after nightfall to worry +him and even force their way in to his bedside unless prevented by the +presence of a more powerful shaman within the house. They annoy the +sick man and thus hasten his death by stamping upon the roof and +beating upon the sides of the house; and if they can manage to get +inside they raise up the dying sufferer from the bed and let him fall +again or even drag him out upon the floor. The object of the witch in +doing this is to prolong his term of years by adding to his own life +as much as he can take from that of the sick man. Thus it is that +a witch who is successful in these practices lives to be very old. +Without going into extended details, it may be sufficient to state +that the one most dreaded, alike by the friends of the sick man and by +the lesser witches, is the K[^a][']lana-ayeli[']sk[)i] or Raven Mocker, +so called because he flies through the air at night in a shape of +fire, uttering sounds like the harsh croak of a raven. + +The formula here given is short and simple as compared with some +others. There is evidently a mistake in regard to the Red Man, who is +here placed in the north, instead of in the east, as it should be. +The reference to the arrows will be explained further on. Purple, +mentioned in the second paragraph, has nearly the same symbolic +meaning as blue, viz: Trouble, vexation and defeat; hence the Purple +Man is called upon to frustrate the designs of the witch. + +To drive away the witch the shaman first prepares four sharpened +sticks, which he drives down into the ground outside the house at each +of the four corners, leaving the pointed ends projecting upward and +outward. Then, about noontime he gets ready the Ts[^a]lagay[^u]['][n]l[)i] +or "Old Tobacco" (_Nicotiana rustica_), with which he fills his pipe, +repeating this formula during the operation, after which he wraps the +pipe thus filled in a black cloth. This sacred tobacco is smoked only +for this purpose. He then goes out into the forest, and returns just +before dark, about which time the witch may be expected to put in +an appearance. Lighting his pipe, he goes slowly around the house, +puffing the smoke in the direction of every trail by which the witch +might be able to approach, and probably repeating the same or another +formula the while. He then goes into the house and awaits results. +When the witch approaches under cover of the darkness, whether in his +own proper shape or in the form of some animal, the sharpened stick on +that side of the house shoots up into the air and comes down like an +arrow upon his head, inflicting such a wound as proves fatal within +seven days. This explains the words of the formula, "We have prepared +your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying +along the path". A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i] said nothing about the use of +the sharpened sticks in this connection, mentioning only the tobacco, +but the ceremony, as here described, is the one ordinarily used. When +wounded the witch utters a groan which is heard by those listening +inside the house, even at the distance of half a mile. No one knows +certainly who the witch is until a day or two afterward, when some old +man or woman, perhaps in a remote settlement, is suddenly seized with +a mysterious illness and before seven days elapse is dead. + + +GAHU[']ST[)I] A[']GIYAHU[']SA. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga N[^u]['][n]ya + W[^a]tige['][)i], +gahu[']st[)i] ts[^u]tska[']d[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Ha-n[^a][']gwa +d[^u]['][n]gihya[']l[)i]. Agiyahu[']sa s[)i][']kwa, haga['] +ts[^u][n]-n[^u]['] iy[^u]['][n]ta d[)a]tsi[']wakt[^u][']h[)i]. +Tla-`ke['] a[']ya a[']kwatseli[']ga. 0 0 digwad[^a]i[']ta. + + +_Translation._ + +I HAVE LOST SOMETHING. + +Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rock; you +never lie about anything. Ha! Now I am about to seek for it. I have +lost a hog and now tell me about where I shall find it. For is it not +mine? My name is ----. + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, for finding anything lost, is so simple as to need but +little explanation. Brown in this instance has probably no mythologic +significance, but refers to the color of the stone used in the +ceremony. This is a small rounded water-worn pebble, in substance +resembling quartz and of a reddish-brown color. It is suspended by a +string held between the thumb and finger of the shaman, who is guided +in his search by the swinging of the pebble, which, according to their +theory, will swing farther in the direction of the lost article than +in the contrary direction! The shaman, who is always fasting, repeats +the formula, while closely watching the motions of the swinging +pebble. He usually begins early in the morning, making the first +trial at the house of the owner of the lost article. After noting the +general direction toward which it seems to lean he goes a considerable +distance in that direction, perhaps half a mile or more, and makes +a second trial. This time the pebble may swing off at an angle in +another direction. He follows up in the direction indicated for +perhaps another half mile, when on a third trial the stone may veer +around toward the starting point, and a fourth attempt may complete +the circuit. Having thus arrived at the conclusion that the missing +article is somewhere within a certain circumscribed area, he advances +to the center of this space and marks out upon the ground a small +circle inclosing a cross with arms pointing toward the four cardinal +points. Holding the stone over the center of the cross he again +repeats the formula and notes the direction in which the pebble +swings. This is the final trial and he now goes slowly and carefully +over the whole surface in that direction, between the center of the +circle and the limit of the circumscribed area until in theory, at +least, the article is found. Should he fail, he is never at a loss for +excuses, but the specialists in this line are generally very shrewd +guessers well versed in the doctrine of probabilities. + +There are many formulas for this purpose, some of them being long +and elaborate. When there is reason to believe that the missing +article has been stolen, the specialist first determines the clan or +settlement to which the thief belongs and afterward the name of the +individual. Straws, bread balls, and stones of various kinds are used +in the different formulas, the ceremony differing according to the +medium employed. The stones are generally pointed crystals or antique +arrowheads, and are suspended as already described, the point being +supposed to turn finally in the direction of the missing object. +Several of these stones have been obtained on the reservation and +are now deposited in the National Museum. It need excite no surprise +to find the hog mentioned in the formula, as this animal has been +domesticated among the Cherokees for more than a century, although +most of them are strongly prejudiced against it. + + +HIA['] UN[/A]LE (ATESTI[']Y[)I]). + + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi[']--Y[^u]! + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa h[)i]nah[^u][n][']ski tay[)i][']. + Ha-t[^a][']sti-gw[^u] +g[^u][n]ska[']ih[^u]. Ts[^u]tali[']i-gwati[']na halu[']`n[)i]. +K[^u][']nigwati[']na dula[']ska gal[^u]['][n]lati-gw[^u] witu[']kt[)i]. +Wig[^u][n]yas[)e][']h[)i]s[)i]. [^A][']tal[)i] tsug[^u]['][n]y[)i] +wite[']tsatan[^u]['][n][^u][n]s[)i]['] n[^u][n]n[^a]h[)i] tsane[']lag[)i] +de[']gatsana[']wadise[']st[)i]. K[^u]nst[^u]['] dutsas[^u]['][n][)i] +at[^u]['][n]was[^u]t[)e][']hah[)i]['] ts[^u]t[^u]neli[']sest[)i]. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS IS TO FRIGHTEN A STORM. + + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], + Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi[']--Y[^u]! + +Listen! O now you are coming in rut. Ha! I am exceedingly afraid of +you. But yet you are only tracking your wife. Her footprints can be +seen there directed upward toward the heavens. I have pointed them +out for you. Let your paths stretch out along the tree tops (?) on +the lofty mountains (and) you shall have them (the paths) lying down +without being disturbed, Let (your path) as you go along be where the +waving branches meet. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i]'s book, is for driving away, or +"frightening" a storm, which threatens to injure the growing corn. The +first part is a meaningless song, which is sung in a low tone in the +peculiar style of most of the sacred songs. The storm, which is not +directly named, is then addressed and declared to be coming on in a +fearful manner on the track of his wife, like an animal in the rutting +season. The shaman points out her tracks directed toward the upper +regions and begs the storm spirit to follow her along the waving tree +tops of the lofty mountains, where he shall be undisturbed. + +The shaman stands facing the approaching storm with one hand stretched +out toward it. After repeating the song and prayer he gently blows in +the direction toward which he wishes it to go, waving his hand in the +same direction as though pushing away the storm. A part of the storm +is usually sent into the upper regions of the atmosphere. If standing +at the edge of the field, he holds a blade of corn in one hand while +repeating the ceremony. + + +DANAW[^U]['] TSUNED[^A]L[^U][']H[)I] NUNAT[^U][']NELI[']TAL[^U]['][n]H[)I] +U[']NALSTELTA[']`TAN[^U][']H[)I]. + +Hay[)i]! Y[^u]! Sg[)e]! N[^a][']gwa us[)i]nuli[']yu A[']tasu +Gi[']gage['][)i] hinisa[']latani[']ga. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] duda[']nt[^a] +u[']nanug[^a][']tsidast[)i]['] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Duda[']nt[^a] +e`lawi[']n[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta [)a][']tas[^u] dig[^u][n]nage['][)i] +deg[^u][n]lskw[)i][']tahise[']st[)i], anets[^a]ge[']ta unanug[^a][']ist[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na, nitin[^u]['][n]neli[']ga. [)A][']tas[^u] +dusa[']ladan[^u]['][n]st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na, nitin[^u]['][n]neli[']ga. +E`lawi[']n[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta [)a][']tas[^u] [^u][n]nage['] +ug[^u][n][']hat[^u] [^u][n]nage['] s[^a][']gwa da`liy[)e][']k[^u]`lani[']ga +_unadutl[^a][']g[)i]_. Unanug[^a][']tsida[']st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na, +n[^u][n]eli[']ga. + +Us[)i]nuli[']yu tsunada[']nt[^a] kul`kw[^a][']gine +tigal[^u]['][n]ltiy[^u]['][n][)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta ada[']nt[^a] +tega[']y[)e]`ti[']tege[']st[)i]. Tsunada[']nt[^a] tsuligal[)i][']st[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na dud[^u]ni[']tege[']st[)i]. Us[)i]nu[']l[)i] +deni[^u]['][n]eli[']ga gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta +widu[']l`t[^a]h[)i]sti[']tege[']st[)i]. [)A][']tas[^u] +gigage['][)i] d[)e]hatag[^u]['][n]yastani[']ga. Tsunada[']nt[^a] +tsudast[^u][']nilida[']st[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na n[^u][n]eli[']ga. +Tsunada[']nt[^a] gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i] iy[^u]['][n]ta +wit[)e][']`titege[']st[)i]. Tsunada[']nt[^a] anigwalu[']g[)i] une[']ga +g[^u][n]wa[']nadag[^u]['][n]yastitege[']st[)i]. Sa`ka[']n[)i] + ud[^u]nu[']h[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na us[)i]nuli[']yu. Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +WHAT THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TO WAR DID TO HELP THEMSELVES. + +Hay[)i]! Y[^u]! Listen! Now instantly we have lifted up the red war club. +Quickly his soul shall be without motion. There under the earth, where +the black war clubs shall be moving about like ball sticks in the +game, there his soul shall be, never to reappear. We cause it to be +so. He shall never go and lift up the war club. We cause it to be so. +There under the earth the black war club (and) the black fog have come +together as one for their covering. It shall never move about (i.e., +the black fog shall never be lifted from them). We cause it to be so. + +Instantly shall their souls be moving about there in the seventh +heaven. Their souls shall never break in two. So shall it be. Quickly +we have moved them (their souls) on high for them, where they shall +be going about in peace. You (?) have shielded yourselves (?) with the +red war club. Their souls shall never be knocked about. Cause it to +be so. There on high their souls shall be going about. Let them shield +themselves with the white war whoop. Instantly (grant that) they shall +never become blue. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, obtained from A`wani[']ta, may be repeated by the +doctor for as many as eight men at once when about to go to war. It is +recited for four consecutive nights, immediately before setting out. +There is no tabu enjoined and no beads are used, but the warriors "go +to water" in the regular way, that is, they stand at the edge of the +stream, facing the east and looking down upon the water, while the +shaman, standing behind them, repeats the formula. On the fourth night +the shaman gives to each man a small charmed root which has the power +to confer invulnerability. On the eve of battle the warrior after +bathing in the running stream chews a portion of this and spits the +juice upon his body in order that the bullets of the enemy may pass +him by or slide off from his skin like drops of water. Almost every +man of the three hundred East Cherokees who served in the rebellion +had this or a similar ceremony performed before setting out--many of +them also consulting the oracular ul[^u][n]s[^u][']t[)i] stone at the +same time--and it is but fair to state that not more than two or three +of the entire number were wounded in actual battle. + +In the formula the shaman identifies himself with the warriors, +asserting that "_we_" have lifted up the red war club, red being the +color symbolic of success and having no reference to blood, as might +be supposed from the connection. In the first paragraph he invokes +curses upon the enemy, the future tense verb _It shall be_, etc., +having throughout the force of _let it be_. He puts the souls of +the doomed enemy in the lower regions, where the black war clubs are +constantly waving about, and envelops them in a black fog, which shall +never be lifted and out of which they shall never reappear. From +the expression in the second paragraph, "their souls shall never be +knocked about," the reference to the black war clubs moving about like +ball sticks in the game would seem to imply that they are continually +buffeting the doomed souls under the earth. The spirit land of the +Cherokees is in the west, but in these formulas of malediction or +blessing the soul of the doomed man is generally consigned to the +underground region, while that of the victor is raised by antithesis +to the seventh heaven. + +Having disposed of the enemy, the shaman in the second paragraph turns +his attention to his friends and at once raises their souls to the +seventh heaven, where they shall go about in peace, shielded by +(literally, "covered with") the red war club of success, and never to +be knocked about by the blows of the enemy. "Breaking the soul in two" +is equivalent to snapping the thread of life, the soul being regarded +as an intangible something having length, like a rod or a string. This +formula, like others written down by the same shaman, contains several +evident inconsistencies both as to grammar and mythology, due to the +fact that A`wanita is extremely careless with regard to details and +that this particular formula has probably not been used for the last +quarter of a century. The warriors are also made to shield themselves +with the white war whoop, which should undoubtedly be the red war +whoop, consistent with the red war club, white being the color +emblematic of peace, which is evidently an incongruity. The war whoop +is believed to have a positive magic power for the protection of the +warrior, as well as for terrifying the foe. + +The mythologic significance of the different colors is well shown in +this formula. Red, symbolic of success, is the color of the war club +with which the warrior is to strike the enemy and also of the other +one with which he is to shield or "cover" himself. There is no doubt +that the war whoop also should be represented as red. In conjuring +with the beads for long life, for recovery from sickness, or for +success in love, the ball play, or any other undertaking, the red +beads represent the party for whose benefit the magic spell is +wrought, and he is figuratively clothed in red and made to stand upon +a red cloth or placed upon a red seat. The red spirits invoked always +live in the east and everything pertaining to them is of the same +color. + +Black is always typical of death, and in this formula the soul of the +enemy is continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped in +a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy the shaman uses +black beads and invokes the black spirits--which always live in the +west--bidding them tear out the man's soul, carry it to the west, +and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud, with a black +serpent coiled above it. + +Blue is emblematic of failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. +"They shall never become blue" means that they shall never fail in +anything they undertake. In love charms the lover figuratively covers +himself with red and prays that his rival shall become entirely blue +and walk in a blue path. The formulistic expression, "He is entirely +blue," closely approximates in meaning the common English phrase, "He +feels blue." The blue spirits live in the north. + +White--which occurs in this formula only by an evident error--denotes +peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as at the green corn +dance and ball play, the people figuratively partake of white food +and after the dance or the game return along the white trail to their +white houses. In love charms the man, in order to induce the woman to +cast her lot with his, boasts "I am a white man," implying that all is +happiness where he is. White beads have the same meaning in the bead +conjuring and white was the color of the stone pipe anciently used +in ratifying peace treaties. The white spirits live in the south +(Wa[']hal[)a]). + +Two other colors, brown and yellow, are also mentioned in the +formulas. W[^a]tige['][)i], "brown," is the term used to include brown, +bay, dun, and similar colors, especially as applied to animals. It +seldom occurs in the formulas and its mythologic significance is as +yet undetermined. Yellow is of more frequent occurrence and is typical +of trouble and all manner of vexation, the yellow spirits being +generally invoked when the shaman wishes to bring down calamities upon +the head of his victim, without actually destroying him. So far as +present knowledge goes, neither brown nor yellow can be assigned to +any particular point of the compass. + +Us[)i]nuli[']yu, rendered "instantly," is the intensive form of +us[)i]nu[']l[)i] "quickly," both of which words recur constantly +in the formulas, in some entering into almost every sentence. This +frequently gives the translation an awkward appearance. Thus the final +sentence above, which means literally "they shall never become blue +instantly," signifies "Grant that they shall never become blue", i.e., +shall never fail in their purpose, _and grant our petition instantly_. + + +DIDA[']LATLI[']`T[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! N[^a][']gwa ts[^u]dant[^a][']g[)i] + teg[^u]['][n]yataw[^a][']ilateli[']ga. +Iyust[)i] (0 0) tsilast[^u][']`l[)i] Iyu[']st[)i] (0 0) ditsad[^a][']ita. +Ts[^u]watsi[']la elawi[']n[)i] tsid[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. + Ts[^u]dant[^a]g[)i] +elawi[']n[)i] tsid[^a][']h[)i]stani[']ga. N[^u]['][n]ya g[^u]['][n]nage +g[^u][n]yu[']tl[^u][n]tani[']ga. [)A]`n[^u]wa[']g[)i] g[^u]['][n]nage['] +g[^u][n]yu[']tl[^u][n]tani[']ga. S[^u][n]talu[']ga g[^u]['][n]nage +deg[^u]['][n]yanu[']gal[^u]['][n]tani[']ga, ts[^u][']nanug[^a][']ist[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] n[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] +wite[']tsatan[^u]['][n][^u][n]s[)i] g[^u]ne[']s[^a] g[^u]['][n]nage +asahalag[)i][']. Ts[^u]t[^u][']neli[']ga. Elaw[^a][']t[)i] +asa[']halag[)i][']a[']d[^u][n]ni[']ga. Us[)i]nuli[']yu Us[^u]hi[']y[)i] +g[^u]lts[^a][']t[)e] dig[^u]['][n]nagesta[']y[)i], elaw[^a][']ti +g[^u]['][n]nage tid[^a][']h[)i]st[)i] wa`yanu[']gal[^u][n]tsi[']ga. +G[^u]ne[']sa g[^u]['][n]age s[^u][n]talu[']ga g[^u]['][n]nage +gayu[']tl[^u][n]tani[']ga. Ts[^u]dant[^a][']g[)i] + [^u]ska[']l[^u][n]tsi[']ga. +Sa`ka[']n[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. Us[^u][']hita atanis[']se[']t[)i], +ay[^a][']l[^a]tsi[']sest[)i] ts[^u]dant[^a][']g[)i], +ts[^u][']nanug[^a][']ist[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Sg[)e]! + + +_Translation._ + +TO DESTROY LIFE. + +Listen! Now I have come to step over your soul. You are of the (wolf) +clan. Your name is (A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i]). Your spittle I have put at +rest under the earth. Your soul I have put at rest under the earth. I +have come to cover you over with the black rock. I have come to cover +you over with the black cloth. I have come to cover you with the black +slabs, never to reappear. Toward the black coffin of the upland in the +Darkening Land your paths shall stretch out. So shall it be for you. +The clay of the upland has come (to cover you. (?)) Instantly the +black clay has lodged there where it is at rest at the black houses in +the Darkening Land. With the black coffin and with the black slabs I +have come to cover you. Now your soul has faded away. It has become +blue. When darkness comes your spirit shall grow less and dwindle +away, never to reappear. Listen! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula is from the manuscript book of A`y[^u]['][n]in[)i], +who explained the whole ceremony. The language needs but little +explanation. A blank is left for the name and clan of the victim, and +is filled in by the shaman. As the purpose of the ceremony is to bring +about the death of the victim, everything spoken of is symbolically +colored black, according to the significance of the colors as already +explained. The declaration near the end, "It has become blue," +indicates that the victim now begins to feel in himself the effects of +the incantation, and that as darkness comes on his spirit will shrink +and gradually become less until it dwindles away to nothingness. + +When the shaman wishes to destroy the life of another, either for his +own purposes or for hire, he conceals himself near the trail along +which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears the +shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly until +he chances to spit upon the ground. On coming up to the spot the +shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust thus +moistened with the victim's spittle. The possession of the man's +spittle gives him power over the life of the man himself. Many +ailments are said by the doctors to be due to the fact that some enemy +has by this means "changed the spittle" of the patient and caused it +to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man's body. In the love +charms also the lover always figuratively "takes the spittle" of the +girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. The same idea in +regard to spittle is found in European folk medicine. + +The shaman then puts the clay thus moistened into a tube consisting +of a joint of the Kanes[^a][']la or wild parsnip, a poisonous plant +of considerable importance in life-conjuring ceremonies. He also puts +into the tube seven earthworms beaten into a paste, and several +splinters from a tree which has been struck by lightning. The idea in +regard to the worms is not quite clear, but it may be that they are +expected to devour the soul of the victim as earthworms are supposed +to feed upon dead bodies, or perhaps it is thought that from their +burrowing habits they may serve to hollow out a grave for the soul +under the earth, the quarter to which the shaman consigns it. In other +similar ceremonies the dirt-dauber wasp or the stinging ant is buried +in the same manner in order that it may kill the soul, as these are +said to kill other more powerful insects by their poisonous sting or +bite. The wood of a tree struck by lightning is also a potent spell +for both good and evil and is used in many formulas of various kinds. + +Having prepared the tube, the shaman goes into the forest to a tree +which has been struck by lightning. At its base he digs a hole, in the +bottom of which he puts a large yellow stone slab. He then puts in +the tube, together with seven yellow pebbles, fills in the earth, and +finally builds a fire over the spot to destroy all traces of his work. +The yellow stones are probably chosen as the next best substitute for +black stones, which are not always easy to find. The formula mentions +"black rock," black being the emblem of death, while yellow typifies +trouble. The shaman and his employer fast until after the ceremony. + +If the ceremony has been properly carried out, the victim becomes +blue, that is, he feels the effects in himself at once, and, unless +he employs the countercharms of some more powerful shaman, his soul +begins to shrivel up and dwindle, and within seven days he is dead. +When it is found that the spell has no effect upon the intended victim +it is believed that he has discovered the plot and has taken measures +for his own protection, or that, having suspected a design against +him--as, for instance, after having won a girl's affections from +a rival or overcoming him in the ball play--he has already secured +himself from all attempts by counterspells. It then becomes a serious +matter, as, should he succeed in turning the curse aside from himself, +it will return upon the heads of his enemies. + +The shaman and his employer then retire to a lonely spot in the +mountains, in the vicinity of a small stream, and begin a new series +of conjurations with the beads. After constructing a temporary shelter +of bark laid over poles, the two go down to the water, the shaman +taking with him two pieces of cloth, a yard or two yards in length, +one white, the other black, together with seven red and seven +black beads. The cloth is the shaman's pay for his services, and is +furnished by his employer, who sometimes also supplies the beads. +There are many formulas for conjuring with the beads, which are used +on almost all important occasions, and differences also in the details +of the ceremony, but the general practice is the same in all cases. +The shaman selects a bend in the river where his client can look +toward the east while facing up stream. The man then takes up his +position on the bank or wades into the stream a short distance, +where--in the ceremonial language--the water is a "hand length" +(_aw[^a][']hil[^u]_) in depth and stands silently with his eyes fixed +upon the water and his back to the shaman on the bank. The shaman then +lays upon the ground the two pieces of cloth, folded into convenient +size, and places the red beads--typical of success and his client upon +the white cloth, while the black beads--emblematic of death and the +intended victim--are laid upon the black cloth. It is probable that +the first cloth should properly be red instead of white, but as it is +difficult to get red cloth, except in the shape of handkerchiefs, a +substitution has been made, the two colors having a close mythologic +relation. In former days a piece of buckskin and the small glossy, +seeds of the Viper's Bugloss (_Echium vulgare_) were used instead +of the cloth and beads. The formulistic name for the bead is +_s[^u][']n[)i]kta_, which the priests are unable to analyze, the +ordinary word for beads or coin being _ad[/e]l[^a]_. + +The shaman now takes a red bead, representing his client, between +the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and a black bead, +representing the victim, in like manner, in his left hand. Standing +a few feet behind his client he turns toward the east, fixes his eyes +upon the bead between the thumb and finger of his right hand, and +addresses it as the S[^u][']n[)i]kta Gig[)a]ge['][)i], the Red Bead, +invoking blessings upon his client and clothing him with the red +garments of success. The formula is repeated in a low chant or +intonation, the voice rising at intervals, after the manner of a +revival speaker. Then turning to the black bead in his left hand he +addresses it in similar manner, calling down the most withering curses +upon the head of the victim. Finally looking up he addresses the +stream, under the name of Y[^u]['][n]w[)i] G[^u]nahi[']ta, the "Long +Person," imploring it to protect his client and raise him to the +seventh heaven, where he will be secure from all his enemies. The +other, then stooping down, dips up water in his hand seven times and +pours it upon his head, rubbing it upon his shoulders and breast at +the same time. In some cases he dips completely under seven times, +being stripped, of course, even when the water is of almost icy +coldness. The shaman, then stooping down, makes a small hole in the +ground with his finger, drops into it the fatal black bead, and buries +it out of sight with a stamp of his foot. This ends the ceremony, +which is called "taking to water." + +While addressing the beads the shaman attentively observes them as +they are held between the thumb and finger of his outstretched hands. +In a short time they begin to move, slowly and but a short distance at +first, then faster and farther, often coming down as far as the first +joint of the finger or even below, with an irregular serpentine motion +from side to side, returning in the same manner. Should the red bead +be more lively in its movements and come down lower on the finger +than the black bead, he confidently predicts for the client the speedy +accomplishment of his desire. On the other hand, should the black bead +surpass the red in activity, the spells of the shaman employed by the +intended victim are too strong, and the whole ceremony must be gone +over again with an additional and larger quantity of cloth. This must +be kept up until the movements of the red beads give token of success +or until they show by their sluggish motions or their failure to move +down along the finger that the opposing shaman can not be overcome. In +the latter case the discouraged plotter gives up all hope, considering +himself as cursed by every imprecation which he has unsuccessfully +invoked upon his enemy, goes home and--theoretically--lies down and +dies. As a matter of fact, however, the shaman is always ready with +other formulas by means of which he can ward off such fatal results, +in consideration, of a sufficient quantity of cloth. + +Should the first trial, which takes place at daybreak, prove +unsuccessful, the shaman and his client fast until just before sunset. +They then eat and remain awake until midnight, when the ceremony is +repeated, and if still unsuccessful it may be repeated four times +before daybreak (or the following noon?), both men remaining awake and +fasting throughout the night. If still unsuccessful, they continue to +fast all day until just before sundown. Then they eat again and again +remain awake until midnight, when the previous night's programme +is repeated. It has now become a trial of endurance between the +revengeful client and his shaman on the one side and the intended +victim and his shaman on the other, the latter being supposed to be +industriously working countercharms all the while, as each party must +subsist upon one meal per day and abstain entirely from sleep until +the result has been decided one way or the other. Failure to endure +this severe strain, even so much as closing the eyes in sleep for +a few moments or partaking of the least nourishment excepting just +before sunset, neutralizes all the previous work and places the +unfortunate offender at the mercy of his more watchful enemy. If +the shaman be still unsuccessful on the fourth day, he acknowledges +himself defeated and gives up the contest. Should his spells prove the +stronger, his victim will die within seven days, or, as the Cherokees +say, seven nights. These "seven nights," however, are frequently +interpreted, figuratively, to mean _seven years_, a rendering which +often serves to relieve the shaman from a very embarrassing position. + +With regard to the oracle of the whole proceeding, the beads do move; +but the explanation is simple, although the Indians account for it +by saying that the beads become alive by the recitation of the sacred +formula. The shaman is laboring under strong, though suppressed, +emotion. He stands with his hands stretched out in a constrained +position, every muscle tense, his breast heaving and voice trembling +from the effort, and the natural result is that before he is done +praying his fingers begin to twitch involuntarily and thus cause the +beads to move. As before stated, their motion is irregular; but the +peculiar delicacy of touch acquired by long practice probably imparts +more directness to their movements than would at first seem possible. + + +HI[)A]['] A[']NE[']TS[^A] UG[^U]['][n]WA[']L[)I] AM[^A][']Y[)I] +DITS[^U]['][n]STA[']T[)I]. + +Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a]gwa [)a][']st[)i] une[']ga aks[^a]['][^u][n]tan[^u]['][n] +us[)i]nu[']l[)i] a`ne[']ts[^a] unats[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']lah[)i] + akta[']`t[)i] +ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. + +Iyu[']st[)i] utad[^a][']ta, iyu[']st[)i] tsunad[^a][']ita. + N[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] +anite[']lah[)e]h[^u]['] ige[']sk[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. D[^u][']ksi-gwu['] +dedu[']natsg[^u]`la[']wate[']g[^u]. Da[']`s[^u][n] unil[^a]tsi[']sat[^u]. +Sa`ka[']ni unati[']sat[^u][']. + +N[^u][n]n[^a][']h[)i] d[^a][']tadu[']nina[']wat[)i]['] a[']y[^u]-`n[^u]['] +digwatseli[']ga a`ne[']ts[^a] unats[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']lah[)i]. + Tla[']meh[^u] +Gigage['][)i] s[^a][']gwa dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga. Ig[^u]['][n]y[)i] +gal[^u]['][n]l[^a] ge[']s[^u][n] i[']y[^u][n] kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] +[u]w[^a]h[^a][']h[)i]st[^a][']g[)i]. Ta[']line gal[^u]['][n]l[^a] + ge[']su[n] +i[']y[^u][n] kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] [u]w[^a]h[^a][']h[)i]st[^a][']g[)i]. +He[']nil[^u] dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga. Tla[']ma [^u][n]ni[']ta +a[']nigwalu[']g[)i] g[^u][n]tla[']`tisge[']st[)i], ase[']gw[^u] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. + +Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts[^a] unats[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']lah[)i] + saligu[']gi-gw[^u] +dedu[']natsg[^u][']`law[)i]sti[']teg[^u][']. Elawi[']n[)i] da[']`s[^u][n] +unil[^a]tsi[']sat[^u]. + +Ts[^a][']ine digal[^u]['][n]latiyu['][n] S[)a][']niw[)a] Gi[']gage[)i] +s[^a][']gwa dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[^a][']g[)i] + nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] [u]*w[^a]h[^a][']h[)i]st[^a][']g[)i] n[^u][']`gine +digal[^u]['][n]latiy[^u]['][n]. Gul[)i][']sgul[)i]['] Sa`ka[']ni +s[^a][']gwa dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[^a][']g[)i] + nige[']s[^u][n]na. +Kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] [u]w[^a]h[^a][']h[)i]st[^a]g[)i] h[)i][']skine +digal[^u]['][n]latiy[^u]['][n]. Ts[)u]ts[)u]['] Sa`ka[']ni s[^a][']gwa +dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[^a][']g[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. + +Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts[^a] uts[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']lah[)i] T[)i]ne[']gwa +Sa`ka[']ni s[^a][']gwa dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga, ige[']sk[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Da[']`s[^u][n] unil[^a]tsi[']sat[^u]. + Kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] +[u]w[^a]h[^a][']h[)i]st[^a][']g[)i] sutali[']ne + digal[^u]['][n]latiy[^u]['][n]. +A[']nig[^a]sta[']ya s[^a][']gwa dan[^u]tsgu[']`lani[']ga, + as[)e]`g[^a][']g[)i] +nige[']su[n]na. Kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] [u]w[^a]h[^a][']h[)i]st[^a][']g[)i] +k[^u]l`kw[^a]gine digal[^u]['][n]latiy[^u]['][n]. W[^a]tat[^u][']ga +Sa`ka[']ni s[^a][']gwa dan[^u]tsg[^u][']`lani[']ga, as[)e]`g[^a][']g[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. + +Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts[^a] unats[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']lah[)i], +Y[^a][']na dedu[']natsg[^u][']`law[)i]stani[']ga, ige[']sk[)i] +nige[']s[^u][n]na. Da`s[^u][n] du[']nil[^a]tsi[']sat[^u]. +Kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] de[']tagaskal[^a]['][^u][n]tan[^u]['][n], +ig[^u][n][']w[^u]lstan[^u]hi-gw[^u]di[']na tsuye[']listi +ges[^u]['][n][)i]. Akta[']`t[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga. + +Sg[)e]! N[^a][']gwa t'sk[)i][']n[^a]ne[']l[)i] ta[']l[)a]d[)u]['] +iy[^u]['][n]ta a[']gwatseli[']ga, W[)a]tatu[']ga Ts[^u]ne[']ga. +Tsuye[']list[)i] ges[^u]['][n][)i] sk[)i][']n[^a]h[^u][n]s[)i]['] +a[']gwatseli[']ga--kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] a[']gwatseli[']ga. N[)a][']`n[^a] +utad[^a][']ta kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] dedu[']skal[^a][']asi[']ga. + +Ded[^u][']ndag[^u]['][n]yastani[']ga, g[^u][n]w[^a][']his[^a][']n[^u]h[)i]. +Y[^u]! + + +_Translation._ + +THIS CONCERNS THE BALL PLAY--TO TAKE THEM TO WATER WITH IT. + +Listen! Ha! Now where the white thread has been let down, quickly we +are about to examine into (the fate of) the admirers of the ball play. + +They are of--such a (iyu[']st[)i]) descent. They are called--so and so +(iyu[']st[)i]). They are shaking the road which shall never be joyful. +The miserable Terrapin has come and fastened himself upon them as they +go about. They have lost all strength. They have become entirely blue. + +But now my admirers of the ball play have their roads lying along in +this direction. The Red Bat has come and made himself one of them. +There in the first heaven are the pleasing stakes. There in the second +heaven are the pleasing stakes. The Pewee has come and joined them. +The immortal ball stick shall place itself upon the whoop, never to be +defeated. + +As for the lovers of the ball play on the other side, the common +Turtle has come and fastened himself upon them as they go about. Under +the earth they have lost all strength. + +The pleasing stakes are in the third heaven. The Red Tl[)a]niw[)a] has +come and made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. +The pleasing stakes are in the fourth heaven. The Blue Fly-catcher +has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The +pleasing stakes are in the fifth heaven. The Blue Martin has made +himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. + +The other lovers of the ball play, the Blue Mole has come and fastened +upon them, that they may never be joyous. They have lost all strength. + +The pleasing stakes are there in the sixth heaven. The Chimney Swift +has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The +pleasing stakes are in the seventh heaven. The Blue Dragon-fly has +made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. + +As for the other admirers of the ball play, the Bear has just come and +fastened him upon them, that they may never be happy. They have lost +all strength. He has let the stakes slip from his grasp and there +shall be nothing left for their share. + +The examination is ended. + +Listen! Now let me know that the twelve are mine, O White Dragon-fly. +Tell me that the share is to be mine--that the stakes are mine. As for +the player there on the other side, he has been forced to let go his +hold upon the stakes. + +Now they are become exultant and happy. Y[^u]! + + +_Explanation._ + +This formula, from the A`y[^u][n]in[)i] manuscript is one of those +used by the shaman in taking the ball players to water before the +game. The ceremony is performed in connection with red and black +beads, as described in the formula just given for destroying life. +The formulistic name given to the ball players signifies literally, +"admirers of the ball play." The Tl[)a][']niw[)a] (s[)a][']niw[)a] in +the Middle dialect) is the mythic great hawk, as large and powerful +as the roc of Arabian tales. The shaman begins by declaring that it is +his purpose to examine or inquire into the fate of the ball players, +and then gives his attention by turns to his friends and their +opponents, fixing his eyes upon the red bead while praying for +his clients, and upon the black bead while speaking of their +rivals. His friends he raises gradually to the seventh or highest +_gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i]_. This word literally signifies height, and is +the name given to the abode of the gods dwelling above the earth, and +is also used to mean heaven in the Cherokee bible translation. The +opposing players, on the other hand, are put down under the earth, +and are made to resemble animals slow and clumsy of movement, while +on behalf of his friends the shaman invokes the aid of swift-flying +birds, which, according to the Indian belief, never by any chance +fail to secure their prey. The birds invoked are the He[']nil[^u] or +wood pewee (_Contopus virens_), the Tl[)a]niw[)a] or mythic hawk, +the Gul[)i][']sgul[)i]['] or great crested flycatcher (_Myiarchus +crinitus_), the Ts[^u]ts[^u] or martin (_Progne subis_), and the +A[']nig[^a]sta[']ya or chimney swift (_Chaetura pelasgia_). In the idiom +of the formulas it is said that these "have just come and are sticking +to them" (the players), the same word (_dan[^u]tsg[^u][']lani'ga_) being +used to express the devoted attention of a lover to his mistress. The +Watatuga, a small species of dragon-fly, is also invoked, together +with the bat, which, according to a Cherokee myth, once took sides +with the birds in a great ball contest with the four-footed animals, +and won the victory for the birds by reason of his superior skill in +dodging. This myth explains also why birds, and no quadrupeds, are +invoked by the shaman to the aid of his friends. In accordance with +the regular color symbolism the flycatcher, martin, and dragon-fly, +like the bat and the tl[)a][']niw[)a], should be red, the color of +success, instead of blue, evidently so written by mistake. The white +thread is frequently mentioned in the formulas, but in this instance +the reference is not clear. The twelve refers to the number of runs +made in the game. + + +Index. + + A`wanita, or Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Ayasta, Cherokee manuscript obtained from 313 + A`y[^u][n][']in[)i], or Swimmer, Cherokee manuscripts obtained + from 310-312 + Bathing in medical practice of Cherokees 333-334, 335-336 + Bleeding, practice of among the Cherokees 334-335 + Brinton, D.G., cited on linguistic value of Indian records 318 + Catawba Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Cherokees, paper on Sacred Formulas of, by James Mooney 301-397 + bathing, rubbing, and bleeding in medical practice of 333-336 + manuscripts of, containing sacred, medical, and other formulas, + character and age of 307-318 + medical practice of, list of plants used in 324-327 + medicine dance of 337 + color symbolism of 342-343 + gods of, and their abiding places 340-342 + religion of 319 + Cherokee Sacred Formulas, language of 343-344 + specimens of 344-397 + for rheumatism 345-351 + for snake bite 351-353 + for worms 353-356 + for neuralgia 356-359 + for fever and ague 359-363 + for child birth 363-364 + for biliousness 365-366 + for ordeal diseases 367-369 + for hunting and fishing 369-375 + for love 375-384 + to kill a witch 384-386 + to find something 386-387 + to prevent a storm 387-388 + for going to war 388-391 + for destroying an enemy 391-395 + for ball play 395-397 + Color symbolism of the Cherokees 342, 343 + Disease, Cherokee theory of 322-324 + Disease and medicine, Cherokee tradition of origin of 319-322 + Gahuni manuscript of Cherokee formulas 313, 314 + Gatigwanasti manuscript of Cherokee formulas 312, 313 + Gods of the Cherokees and their abiding places 340-342 + Haywood, John, cited on witchcraft beliefs among the Cherokees 322 + Inali manuscript of Cherokee formulas 314-316 + Long, W.W., collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by + 317 + Medical practice of Cherokees, plants used 322-331 + Medicine dance of Cherokees 337 + Mooney, James, paper on sacred formulas of the Cherokees, by + 301-397 + Names, importance attached to, in Cherokee sacred formulas 343 + Plants used by Cherokees for medical purposes 322-331 + ceremonies for gathering 339 + Religion of the Cherokees, character of 319 + Religion of the Cherokees, gods of 340-342 + Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, paper by James Mooney on 301-397 + Sanitary regulations among the Cherokee Indians, neglect of 332, + 333 + Shamans, decline of power of among Cherokees 336 + mode of payment of among Cherokees 337-339 + Sweat bath, use of, among Cherokees 333-334 + Swimmer manuscript of Cherokee formulas 310, 312 + Tabu among Cherokees, illustrations of 331-332 + Takwatihi, or Catawba-Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + Will West, collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by + 317 + Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 + + + + + Errors: + + Missing or superfluous quotation marks have been silently corrected. + + ... while closely watching the motions ... + [original has "the / the" at line break] + formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, Awanita, and / Takwtihi + [error for Takwati[']h[)i] ?] + Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa h[^u][n]hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga + [all parentheses in this paragraph shown as printed] + (hetsatsa['][^u][n]tani[']ga + [mismatched parenthesis in original] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, by +James Mooney + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SACRED FORMULAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24788.txt or 24788.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/8/24788/ + +Produced by William Flis, Carlo Traverso and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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