THE

SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES.

BY

JAMES MOONEY.

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

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
[pg 309]
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
[pg 310]
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‘yûⁿ´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 Bear¹. 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
[pg 311]
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.

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
[pg 312]
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.

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
[pg 313]
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.

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
[pg 314]
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´ⁿwĕhĭ, 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
[pg 315]
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.

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
[pg 317]
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‘yûⁿ´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
[pg 318]
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

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

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,
[pg 319]
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
[pg 320]
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.”

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
[pg 321]
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
[pg 322]
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

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

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
[pg 323]
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
[pg 324]
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.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.

SELECTED LIST OF PLANTS USED.

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
[pg 328]
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
[pg 329]
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
[pg 331]
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 Didûⁿlĕ´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 Gûⁿwani´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´ⁿta 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´ⁿkĭ (The Mink) in charge of the patient and were told
that he had just that morning begun a four days’ gaktû´ⁿta 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´ⁿta 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
[pg 332]
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´ⁿta 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,
[pg 333]
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
[pg 334]
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
[pg 335]
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
[pg 336]
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
[pg 337]
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
[pg 338]
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
[pg 339]
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
[pg 340]
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
[pg 341]
Nû´ⁿtâ. 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
[pg 342]
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´ⁿlati) 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:

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
[pg 343]
remarkable that red was the emblem of power and triumph among
the ancient Oriental nations no less than among the modern Cherokees.⁹

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
[pg 344]
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´ⁿgani´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.

DIDÛⁿLĔ´SKĭ ADANÛⁿ´WÂTĭ KANÂHĔ´SKĭ.

Sgĕ! Ha-Nûⁿdâgû´ⁿyĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi´‘lĭ Gigage´ĭ, hanâ´gwa
hatû´ⁿgani´ga
usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsan´ultĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Ha-diskwûlti´yû tĭ´nanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sûⁿna tsagista´‘tĭ
adûⁿni´ga. Ulsg´eta hûⁿhihyû´ⁿstani´ga. Ha-usdig´iyu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´ⁿ
iytû´ⁿta dûhilâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-Uhûⁿtsâ´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Gi´‘lĭ Sa‘ka´nĭ, hanâ´gwa
hatû´ⁿgani´ga
usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Diskwûlti´yû ti´nanugai´, ase´gwû nige´sûⁿna tsagista´‘tĭ
adûⁿni´ga. Ulsge´ta hûⁿhihyûⁿstani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´ⁿ
iyû´ta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! (Ha)-Usûhi´(-yĭ) tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi‘l´ĭ Gûⁿnage´ĭ, hanâ´gwa
hatû´ⁿgani´ga usĭnuli´yû. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´sti tsanu´ltĭ nige´sû´ⁿna.
Diskwûlti´yû tinanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sûⁿna tsagista´‘tĭ
adûⁿni´ga. Ulsg´eta hûⁿhihyûⁿstani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû ha-e´lawastû´ⁿ
iyû´ⁿta dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! Wa´hală´ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Gi´‘lĭ Tsûne´ga, hanâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga
usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sûⁿna. Diskwûlti´yû
ti´nanugagĭ´, ase´gwû nige´sûⁿna tsagista´‘tĭ adûⁿni´ga.
Ha-ulsge´ta hûⁿhihyû´ⁿstani´ga. Ha-usdigi´yu-gwû e´lawastû´ⁿ iyû´ⁿta
dûhitâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! Wa´hală tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Tû´ksĭ Tsûne´ga, hanâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga
usĭnuli´yu. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, gahu´stĭ tsanu´ltĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Ha-kâ´lû gayûske´ta tsatûⁿ´neli´ga. Utsĭna´wa nu´tatănû´ⁿta.

(Degâsisisgû´ⁿĭ.)—Tûksĭ uhya´ska gûnsta‘tĭ´ na´skĭ igahi´ta gunstâ´ĭ
hĭ´skĭ iyuntale´gĭ tsûntûngi´ya. Ûⁿskwû´ta kĭlû´ atsâ´tastĭ sâ´gwa
iyûtsâ´tastĭ, nû´‘kĭ igû´ⁿkta‘tĭ, naski-gwû´ diûⁿlĕ´nĭskâhĭ´
igûⁿyi´yĭ
tsale´nihû. Nû´‘kine ûⁿskwû´ta kĭlû´ nû´‘kĭ iyatsâ´tastĭ. Uhyaskâ´hi-‘nû
ade´la degû‘la´ĭ tă´lĭ unine´ga-gwû´ nû´ⁿwâti-‘nû´ higûnehâ´ĭ
uhyaskâ´hĭ usdi´a-gwû. Une´lagi-‘nû sâĭ´ agadâ´ĭ agadi´dĭ û´ⁿti-gwû´
yĭkĭ´ âsi´yu-gwû na´ski-‘nû aganûⁿli´eskâ´ĭ da´gûnstanehû´ⁿĭ ŭ‘taâ´ta.
Hiă‘-nû´ nû´ⁿwâtĭ: Yâ´na-Unatsĕsdâ´gĭ tsana´sehâ´ĭ sâ´i-‘nû
Kâ´ga-Asgû´ⁿtagĕ
tsana´sehâ´ĭ, sâi-‘nû´ Egû´ⁿli-gwû, sâi-nû´ (U)wa´sgilĭ
tsĭgĭ´ Egû´ⁿlĭ Usdi´a tsĭgĭ´, nûⁿyâ´hi-‘nû tsuyĕ‘dâ´ĭ
Yâ´na-Utsĕsdâgĭ
naskiyû´ tsĭgĭ´, usdi´-gwû tsĭgĭ´. Egû´ⁿlĭ (u)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´;
sâ´ĭ Wâ´tige
Unas(te´)tsa tsĭgĭ´, sâ´i-‘nû Û´ⁿage Tsunaste´tsa, Niga´ta unaste´tsa gesâ´ĭ.

Sunale´-gwû ale´ndĭ adanû´ⁿwâtĭ; 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 akanûⁿwi´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´wĕhĭ¹⁰, 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´ⁿtagĭ
(“crow’s shin,” the Adianthum pedatum or Maidenhair fern); and the other is the
common Egû´ⁿlĭ (another fern); and the other is the Little Soft (-leaved)
Egû´ⁿlĭ
(Osmunda Cinnamonea or cinnamon fern), which grows in the rocks and resembles
Yâna-Utsĕ´sta and is a small and soft (-leaved) Egû´ⁿlĭ. 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.

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
[pg 348]
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
[pg 349]
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’ gaktuⁿ´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´ DIDÛⁿLĔ´SKĬ ADĂNÛ´ⁿWÂTĬ.

Utsĭ(nă´)wa nu´tatanû´ⁿta. Usû´hita nutanû´na. Utsĭnă´wa-gwû
nigûⁿtisge´stĭ.

(Degâ´sisisgû´ⁿĭ)—Hiă-gwû´ nigaû´ kanâhe´ta. Nû´‘kiba
nagû´nkw’tisga´
dagû´ⁿstiskû´ĭ. Sâ´gwa nûⁿskwû´ta gûnstû´ⁿĭ agûnstagi´s-kâĭ
hûⁿtsatasgâ´ĭ nû´‘kine-‘nû ûⁿskwû´ta nû´‘kĭ nûⁿtsâtasgâ´ĭ.
Hiă-‘nû´ nû´ⁿwâtĭ: Egû´ⁿlĭ, Yâ´na-‘nû Utsĕsdâ´gĭ,
(U)wa´sgilĭ tsĭgĭ´ Egû´ⁿlĭ,
tă´lĭ tsinu´dalĕ´ha, Kâ´ga-‘nû Asgû´ⁿtagĕ tsiûⁿnâ´sehâ´ĭ,
Da´yĭ-‘nû
Uwâ´yĭ tsiûⁿnâ´sehâ´ĭ. Su´talĭ iyutale´gĭ unaste´tsa
agâ´tĭ, uga´nawû‘nû´
dagûnsta´‘tisgâ´ĭ nû´ⁿwâtĭ asûⁿga‘la´ĭ. Usû´hĭ
adanû´ⁿwâtĭ,
nu´‘kĭ tsusû´hita dulsi´nisû´ⁿ adanû´ⁿwâti. Ă‘nawa´gi-‘nû
dilasula´gĭ
gesû´ⁿĭ ûlĕ´ tsĭkani´kaga´ĭ gûw’sdi´-gwû utsawa´ta
ă‘nawa´-gwû-nû´.

Hiă-nû´ gaktû´ⁿta gûlkwâ´gĭ tsusû´hita.
Gû´ⁿwădana´datlahistĭ´
nige´sûⁿna—Salâ´lĭ, gi´‘li-‘nû, wĕ´sa-‘nû, ă´tatsû-nû´,
a´mă-‘nû´, anigĕ´‘ya-nû.
Uda‘lĭ´ ya´kanûⁿwi´ya nû´‘kiha tsusû´hita
unădană´lâtsi´-tastĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Gasgilâ´gi-‘nû uwă´suⁿ-gwû´ u´skĭladi´stĭ uwă´sû
nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hită´. Disâ´i-‘nû dega´sgilâ û´ⁿtsa 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´ⁿlĭ (a species of fern). Yâ´-na-Utsĕ´sta (“bear’s bed,”
the Aspidium
acrostichoides or Christmas fern), two varieties of the soft-(leaved)
Egû´ⁿlĭ (one,
the small variety, is the Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamonea), and what is called
Kâ´ga Asgû´ⁿtagĕ (“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
[pg 351]
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´NWÂTĬ.

(Degâ´sisisgû´ⁿĭ).—Kanâgi´ta nâyâ´ga hiă´ dilentisg´ûⁿĭ.
Tă´lĭ igû´nkw’ta‘tĭ,
ûlĕ´ talinĕ´ tsutanû´ⁿna nasgwû´ tâ´lĭ igû´nkw’ta‘tĭ´.
Tsâ´la
aganû´ⁿlieskâĭ´ tsâ´la yikani´gûⁿgû´âĭ´ watsi´la-gwû
ganûⁿli´yĕtĭ uniskûl‘tsû´ⁿĭ.
Nû´‘kĭ nagade´stisgâĭ´ aganûⁿli´esgûⁿĭ. Akskû´nĭ
gadest´a‘tĭ,
nûû‘kĭ nagade´ sta hûⁿtsatasgâ´ĭ. Hiă-‘nû´ i´natû akti´sĭ
udestâ´ĭ
yigû´n‘ka, naski-‘nû´ tsagadû´lăgisgâ´ĭ iyu´stĭ gatgû´ⁿĭ.

Translation.

THIS IS TO TREAT THEM IF THEY ARE BITTEN BY A SNAKE.

(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.
[pg 352]
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.
[pg 353]
The whole ceremony is repeated four times. The curious directions
for uncoiling the snake have parallels in European folk medicine.

GÛⁿWĂNI´GIST´Ĭ ADANU´ⁿWÂTĬ.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕiyu, gahus´tĭ aginúl‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Gûⁿgwădag´anad‘diyû´
tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Wăhuhu´-gwû hitagu´sgastanĕ‘hĕĭ.
Ha-nâ´gwa hŭ‘kikahûⁿû´ ha-dusŭ´‘gahĭ digesû´ⁿĭ, iyû´ⁿta
wûⁿ‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Gûⁿgwădaga´nad’diyû´
tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Uguku´-gwû hitagu´sgastanĕ´heĭ´
udâhi´yu tag´u´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ´. Ha-na´gwadi´na hûⁿkikahûⁿnû´.
Ha-nânâ´hĭ
digesŭ´ⁿĭ iyû´ⁿta wûⁿ‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Gûⁿgwădaga´nad’diyû´
tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-Tsistu-gwû hitagu´sgastanĕ´he´ĭudâhi´yu
tag´usgastanĕ´hĕĭ´. Ha-nâ´gwadi´na hû´ⁿkikahû´ⁿnû.
Ha-sunûⁿda´sĭ iyû´ⁿta kane´skawâ´dihĭ digesû´ⁿĭ,
wûⁿ‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida´wĕi´yu, gahu´stĭ aginu´l‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Gûⁿgwădaga´nad’di´yû
tsida´wĕi´yu. Ha-De´tsata´-gwû (hi)tagu´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ
udâhi´yu tagu´sgastanĕ´hĕĭ. Ha-nâ´gwadi´na hûⁿkikahû´ⁿa.
Ha-udâ´tale´ta
digesû´ⁿĭ, iyû´ⁿta wûⁿ‘kidâ´hĭstani´ga.

(Degâ´sisisgû´ⁿĭ)—Hiă´-skĭnĭ´ unsdi´ya dĭkanû´ⁿwâtĭ
tsa‘natsa´yihâ´ĭ
tsaniska´iha´ĭ; gûⁿwani´gista´ĭ hi´anûdĭ´sgaĭ´. Ămă´
dûtsati´stĭsgâ´ĭ
nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita dĭkanû´ⁿwâtĭ Ulsinide´na dakanû´ⁿwisgâ´ĭ.
Ŭ´ⁿtsa
iyû´ⁿta 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 Guⁿwani´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
[pg 355]
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.

GÛⁿWANI´GISTÛ´ⁿĬ DITANÛⁿWÂTI´YĬ

Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´ⁿgani´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´ⁿta.
Yû!

Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´ⁿgani´ga, Diga´tiskĭ Wâtige´ĭ,
galû´ⁿlatĭ
iyû´ⁿta 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
adûⁿni´ga. Yû!

Translation.

TO TREAT GÛⁿWANI´GISTÛ´ⁿĬ—(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 Gûⁿwani´gistû´ⁿĭ 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.
[pg 356]
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), Kanûⁿsi´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´ⁿÍ KANA´HÈHÛ.

Sgĕ! Nûⁿdâgû´ⁿyĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Kanani´skĭ Gigage. Usĭnu´lĭ
nû´ⁿnâ
gi´gage hĭnûⁿni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ digi´gage
usĭnû´lĭ
dehĭkssa´ûⁿtani´ga. Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´ⁿ, tsgâ´ya-gwû
higese´ĭ. Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy’teĭ´. Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´
digi´gage dehada´ûⁿtani´ga,
adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa gânagi´ta
da´tsatane´lĭ. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´ⁿta nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû´ⁿlĭ Tsûne´ga hatû´ⁿgani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´
gatû´ⁿgisge´stĭ
tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Na´ski-gâgû´
itsa´wesû´hĭ
[pg 357]
nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatu´ⁿgani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa
nútatanû´ta nûⁿtû´neli´ga. Yû!

Sgĕ! Uhyûⁿtlâ´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histi Kanani´skĭ Sa‘ka´nĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ
nû´ⁿnâ
sa‘ka´nĭ hĭnûⁿni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ (di)sa‘ka´nĭ
usĭnu´lĭ dehĭksa´ûⁿtani´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´ûⁿtaniga,
adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya
gûnagi´ta tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´ⁿta nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû´ⁿlĭ Tsûne´ga hatûⁿgani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ gatû´ⁿgisge´stĭ
tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Nas´kigâgû´
itsawesû´hĭ
nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatû´ⁿgani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´ⁿta
nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

Sgĕ! Usûhi´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ Kanani´skĭ Û´ⁿnage. Usĭnu´lĭ
nû´ⁿnâ
û´ⁿnage hĭnûⁿni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ digû´ⁿnage
usĭnu´lĭ dehĭksa´ûⁿtani´ga.
Ulsge´ta kane´ge kayu´‘ga gesû´ⁿ, tsgâ´ya-gwû higese´ĭ.
Ehĭstĭ´ hituwa´saniy‘teĭ´. Usĭnu´lĭ astĭ´ digû´ⁿnage
dehada´ûⁿtani´ga,
adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta
tsûtûneli´ga.
Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´ⁿta nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû´ⁿlĭ Tsûne´ga hatûⁿgani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´ gatû´ⁿgisge´stĭ
tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Na´skigâgû´
itsawesû´hĭ
nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatû´ⁿgani´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nutatanû´ⁿta
nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

Sgĕ! Galû´ⁿlatĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Kanani´skĭ Tsûne´ga.
Usĭnu´lĭ nû´ⁿnâ
une´ga hĭnûⁿni´ga. Hida´wĕhi-gâgû´, astĭ´ tsune´ga usĭnu´lĭ
dehĭksa´ûⁿ
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´ûⁿtani´ga,
adi´na tsûlstai-yû´‘ti-gwû higese´ĭ. Nâ´gwa tsgâ´ya gûnagi´ta
tsûtûneli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´ⁿta, nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû´ⁿlĭ Tsûne´ga hatû´ⁿgani´ga. “A´ya-gâgû´
gatû´ⁿgisge´stĭ
tsûngili´sĭ deagwûlstawĭ´stitege´stĭ,” tsadûnû´hĭ. Naski-gâgû´
itsawesû´hĭ
nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatûⁿgani´ga. U´tsĭna´wa nutatanû´ⁿta
nûⁿtûneli´ga. Yû!

(Degasi´sisgû´ⁿĭ)—Hiă´ duniyukwa´tisgû´ⁿĭ dĭkanû´ⁿwâtĭ
ătanû´ⁿsida´hĭ
yĭ´gĭ. Na´skĭ digû´nstanĕ´‘ti-gwû ûlĕ´ tsĭtsâtû´ yie´lisû.
Nigûⁿ´-gwû
usû´na [for usûnda´na?] gû´ⁿtatĭ nayâ´ga nû´ⁿwatĭ
unanû´ⁿskă‘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
[pg 359]
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
(galûⁿ´lati). It may be stated here that all these spirits are supposed
to dwell above, but when no point of the compass is assigned,
galûⁿ´lati is understood to mean directly overhead, but far above
everything of earth. The dweller in this overhead galûⁿ´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 (ADANÛⁿWÂTÏ).

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿngani´ga, Agalu´ga Tsûsdi´ga, hida´wĕhĭ,
â´tali tsusdiga´hĭ duda´w‘satû´ⁿ ditsûldâ´histĭ. (Hida´wĕhĭ, gahu´stĭ
tsanu´lûⁿhûⁿsgĭ´ nige´sûⁿna.) Ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehûⁿgû´. Usdi´gi(yu)
utiya´stanûⁿ´(hĭ) (higese´i). (Hûⁿ)hiyala´gistani´ga igâ´tĭ usdigâ´hĭ
usa´hĭlagĭ´ Igâtu´ltĭ nûⁿnâ´hĭ wĭte´tsatănûⁿ´ûⁿsĭ´.
A´ne´tsâge´ta getsatûnĕhĭ
nûⁿgûlstani´ga igûⁿ´wûlstanita´sti-gwû. Ati´gale´yata tsûtû´neli´ga.
Utsĭnâ´wa ¹¹ nigûⁿtisge´stĭ.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hûⁿhatû´ⁿgani´ga, Agalu´ga Hegwahigwû´. ´talĭ
tsegwâ´hĭ duda´w‘satûⁿ iyûⁿta ditsûldâ´histĭ. Agalu´ga He´gwa, hausĭnu´lĭ
da´tûlehûⁿgû. Usdi´giyu utiya´stanû´ⁿhĭ. Hiyala´gistani´ga
ulsge´ta igâ´t-egwâ´hĭ) usa´hĭlagĭ´. (Igat-(egwâ´hĭ iyûⁿ´ta nûⁿnâ´hĭ
wĭtetsatanû´ⁿûⁿsĭ´. A´ne´tsâge´ta getsatûne´litise´sti
igûⁿ´wûlstanita´sti-gwû.
Utsĭnâ´wa-gwû nutatanûⁿta. Nigagĭ´ Yû!

(Degâsi´sisgû´ⁿĭ)—Unawa´stĭ e´gwa u´nitlûⁿgâ´ĭ. Ta´ya gû´ⁿtatĭ,
ditsa´tista´‘ti. Tsâ´l-agayû´ⁿlĭ yă´hă ulû´ⁿkwati-gwû nasgwû´.

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 Ûⁿwadâ´hĭ you dwell, On Ûⁿwadâhĭ 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´ⁿlĭ (“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´ⁿni (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. Galûⁿlatĭ, 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.
Ûⁿwadâ´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 Ûⁿwadâ´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
[pg 362]
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´ⁿli
(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
[pg 363]
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´ⁿlĭ (“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´YĬ. I.

Sgĕ! Hĭsga´ya Ts‘sdi´ga ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehûⁿgû´ kĭlû-gwû´. Iyû´ⁿta
agayû´ⁿlinasĭ´ taya´ĭ. Eska´niyŭ unayĕ´histĭ´ nûⁿta-yu´tanatĭ´.
Sgĕ´!
tinû´lĭtgĭ´! Tleki´yu tsûtsestâ´gĭ hwĭnagĭ´. Yû!

Sgĕ! Hige´cya ts‘sdi´ga ha-nâ´gwa da´tûlehûⁿgû´ kĭlû-gwû´. Iyûⁿ´ta
tsûtu´tunasĭ´ tăya´ĭ. Eska´niyŭ unayĕ´histĭ nûⁿtayu´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
[pg 364]
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´ⁿinĭ,
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´ⁿinĭ
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, gûⁿgu´stĭ, gûⁿgu´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 ÛⁿNĂGE´Ĭ ADANÛ´ⁿWÂTĬ.

Sgĕ! Ûⁿtal-e´gwâhĭ´ didultâ´hĭstĭ ulsge´ta. Usĭnu´lĭ dâtitu´lene´ĭ.
Usĭnu´lĭ dunu´y‘tani´leĭ´.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa statû´ⁿgani´ga, nûⁿdâ´yĭ distul‘tâ´histĭ, Stisga´ya
Dĭst‘sdi´ga, stida´wehi-gâgû. Ûⁿtal-e´gwa dâtitulene´(ĭ) ulsge´ta.
Usĭnu´lĭ detĭstû´l‘tani´ga ulsge´ta. Ditu´talenû´ⁿitsa nûⁿna´hĭ
^wi´de´tutanû´ⁿtasĭ´,
[pg 365]
nûⁿtadu´ktahû´ⁿstĭ nige´sûⁿna. Nû´‘gĭ
iyayû´ⁿlatăgĭ´ ayâwe´sâlû´ⁿta
de´dudûneli´sestĭ´, Gû´ⁿtsatâtagi´yû tistadi´gûlahi´sestĭ.
Tiduda´le‘nû´(ĭ) û´ⁿtale´gwâ ^witĭ´stûl‘tati´nûⁿtani´ga. Na´‘nă
witûl‘tâ´hĭstani´ga,
tadu´ktahû´ⁿstĭ nige´sûⁿna. Ha-na´‘nă ^wid´ultâhiste´stĭ. (Yû!)

(Degasisisgû´ⁿĭ)—Hiă´ anine´tsĭ ga´‘tiskĭ adanû´ⁿwâtĭ. Ŭ´ⁿtla
atsi´la
tĭ´‘tĭ yĭ´gĭ.

Translation.

TO TREAT THE BLACK YELLOWNESS.

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‘yûⁿinĭ’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 Ûⁿnage´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‘yûⁿinĭ’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
[pg 366]
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´ⁿtsatatagi´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‘yûⁿinĭ 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´HĬ ADANÛ´ⁿWÂTĬ.

Sgĕ! Hanâ´gwa hatû´ⁿganiga, galû´ⁿlatĭ hetsadâ´histĭ, Kâ´lanû
Û´ⁿnage, gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´ⁿsgĭ nige´sûⁿna. Ha-nâ´gwa
(hetsatsa´ûⁿtani´ga.
Hanigû´ⁿwatûⁿnigwălâe´stigwû tsalâsû´ⁿĭ. Asgin-u´danû
higes´eĭ. Sanigala´gĭ gesû´ⁿĭ hastigû´‘lani´ga,
duwâlu´wa´tû´tĭ nige´sûⁿna,
nitû´neli´ga. Ha-Usûhi´yĭ wititâ´hĭstani´ga. Dadu´satahû´ⁿstĭ
nige´sûⁿna nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´ⁿta.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga, Kâ´lanû Gĭgage´ĭ, hidawĕhi´yu.
Ha-gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´ⁿsgĭ nige´sûⁿna, etsanetse´lûhĭ,
Ha-galûⁿlati´tsa
hetsatâ´histĭ. Nâ´gwa hetsatsâ´ûⁿtani´ga. Nigû´ⁿwatû´ⁿnigwalâe´sti-gwû
[pg 367]
tsalâsû´ⁿĭ. Asgin-udanû´hi-gwû higese´ĭ. Ha-Sanigalâgĭ
gesû´ⁿ hâstigû´‘lani´ga ulsge´ta, ha-utsĭnă´wa-gwû´
nigû´ⁿtisge´stĭ.
Usûhi´yĭ wĭntûnĕ´dû. Usûhi´yĭ wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga.
Utsĭnă´wa adûⁿni´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga, Kâ´lanû Sa´ka´ni; galû´latĭ
hetsadâ´histĭ,
hida´wĕhĭ. Gahu´stĭ tsanu´lahû´ⁿsgĭ nige´sûⁿna,
etsanetse´lûhĭ.
Ha-nâ´gwa hetsatsâ´ûⁿtani´ga. Nigû´ⁿwatû´ⁿnigwalâe´sti-gwû
tsalâsû´ⁿĭ.
Sanigalâ´gĭ gesu´ⁿ hastigû´‘lani´ga ulsge´ta. Duwâlu´watû´tĭ
nige´sûⁿna, nitû´neli´ga. Usûhi´yĭ wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga,
dadu´satahû´ⁿstĭ
nige´sûⁿna nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa adûⁿni´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga, Wa´hĭlĭ galûⁿlti´tsa
hetsadâ´histĭ,
Kâ´lanû Tsûne´ga, hida´wĕhĭ. Gahu´stĭ tsanu´l‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Hanâ´gwa
hetsatsâ´ûⁿtani´ga. Nigû´ⁿwatû´ⁿnigwalâe´sti-gwû tsalâsû´ⁿĭ.
Ha-nâ´gwa detal‘tani´ga. Sanigalâ´gĭ gesû´ⁿ hastig´û‘lani´ga
ulsge´ta, duwâlu´watû´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna nitû´neli´ga. Usûhi´yĭ
wĭtitâ´hĭstani´ga.
Dadu´satahû´ⁿstĭ nige´sûⁿna nitû´neli´ga. Utsĭnă´wa
adûⁿni´ga.

(Dega´sisisgû´ⁿĭ)—Hiă´agi‘li´ya unitlûⁿgû´ⁿĭ adanû´wâtĭ.
Askwanu´tsastĭ´.
Tsâ´l(a) Agayû´ⁿlĭunitsi´lûⁿnû´hĭgû´ⁿtatĭ,
anû´ⁿsga‘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´ⁿna sâwatu´hi-gwû
atĭ´ dawâ´hila-gwû iyû´ⁿta.

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´lagayûⁿ´-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‘yûⁿinĭ, 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
[pg 369]
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‘yûⁿini’s attempts at original composition. The
disease is here called by another name, agi‘li´ya unitlûⁿgû´ⁿĭ, 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´ⁿlĭ (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.

HUNTING.

GÛN´HILÛ´ⁿTA UGÛ´ⁿWA‘LĬ.

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´sûⁿna.

Hĭkayû´ⁿlĭ Gi´gage-gâgû´, tsine´tsĭ gesû´ⁿ aw’stitege´stĭ. Tsăstû´
utatiyĭ, nâ´gwa tsăs‘tû gasû‘hisă‘tĭ atisge´stĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa
nûⁿnâ
tsusdi´ tutana´wa-tegû´ digana´watû´ⁿta atisge´stĭ. Utalĭ´ udanû´hĭ
ugwala´ga gûⁿwatuy´ahĭti´tege´stĭ, hĭlahiyû´ⁿta-gwû ^wustû´‘stĭ
nige´sûⁿna.
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´ⁿwĭ 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
[pg 371]
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‘yûⁿinĭ,
who explained it in detail.

HIĂ´ TSI´SKWA GANÂHILIDASTI YĬ.

Tsĭgĕ´! Hĭkayû´ⁿl-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´sûⁿna. Wane´(ĭ) tigi´gage(ĭ) tali´kanĕli´ga. ^U´ⁿtalĭ
udanû´hĭ
tsăgista´‘tĭ.

Hĭkayû´ⁿl-Une´ga, anu´ya uwâtatâ´gĭ agi´stĭ tătsiskâ´ltane´lûhĭ.
^U´ⁿtalĭ u´danû´ te´tûlskew´si´ga.

Hĭkayû´ⁿl-Une´ga, nûⁿna´(hĭ) kana´tĭ skwatetâ´stani´ga. Unigwalû´ⁿgĭ
te´gatûⁿtsi´ga. Nûⁿâ´(hĭ) kana´tĭ tati´kiyû´ⁿgwita´watise´stĭ.
Unigwalû´ⁿgĭ tigû´ⁿwatû´tsanû´hĭ.

Hĭkayû´ⁿl-Une´ga, Kana´tĭ, sk´salatâ´titege´stĭ, sa‘ka´ni ginu´t’tĭ
nige´sûⁿna. 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‘yûⁿinĭ’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‘yûⁿinĭ 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
[pg 372]
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´ⁿgĭ)
are the wounded birds. Kana´tĭ is here used to designate the
fire, on account of its connection with the hunting ceremonies.

INAGĔ´HĬ AYÂSTIⁿYĬ.

Usĭnuli´yu Selagwû´tsĭ Gigage´ĭ getsû´ⁿneliga 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 TĬ´KANÂGI´TA.)

Translation.

BEAR SONG.

Explanation.

This song, obtained from A‘yû´ⁿinĭ 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´YĬ TSUN´TANÛ.

Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa hitsatû´ⁿgani´ga hitsiga´tugĭ´. Titsila´wisû´ⁿhĭ
^uwâgi´‘lĭ tege´tsûts‘gû´‘lawĭstĭ´. Tsuli´stana´lû ûlĕ´ waktûĭ, agi´stĭ
une´ka itsû´ⁿyatanilû´ĭstani´ga. Gûⁿwatu´hwĭtû´ nûⁿnâ´hĭ
degûndâltsi´dâhe´stĭ.
^uWâ´hisâ´nahĭ tigiwatsi´la. Tutsegû´‘lawistĭ´tege´stĭ.
Ûⁿtalĭ´ degû´ⁿwatanûhĭ, uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna. Tsuwatsi´la dadâl‘tsi´ga.
A‘yû A‘yû´ⁿinĭ 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‘yûⁿinĭ´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
[pg 375]
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, ^uWâhisâ´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‘yûⁿinĭ 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.

(YÛⁿWĔ´HĬ UGÛ´ⁿWA‘LĬ I.)

Ku! Sgĕ! Alahi´yĭ tsûl‘dâ´histĭ, Higĕ´‘ya tsûl‘di´yĭ,
hatû´ⁿgani´ga.
Elahi´yĭ iyû´ⁿta ditsûl‘da´histĭ, Higĕ´‘ya Tsûne´ga.
Tsisa´‘tĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Tsâduhi´yĭ. Nâ´gwa-skĭn´ĭ usĭnuli´yu
hûⁿskwane´‘lûⁿgû´
tsisga´ya agine´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna. Nâ´gwa nû´ⁿnâ, une´ga
hûⁿskwanûⁿneli´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna. Nâ´gwa skwade´tastani´ga.
Sa‘ka´ni u´tatĭ nige´sûⁿna. Nûⁿnâ une´ga skiksa´‘ûⁿtaneli´ga.
Elaye´‘lĭ iyû´ⁿta skwalewistă´‘tani´ga E´latĭ gesû´ⁿ
tsĭtage´stĭ. Agisa´‘tĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Agwâ´duhi´yu. Kûltsâ´te une´ga skiga´‘tani´ga.
Uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna, gûⁿkwatsâti´tege´stĭ. Tsi-sa‘ka´ni
agwă´tatĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Usĭnuli´yu hûⁿskwane´‘lûⁿgû´.

Ha-nâ´gwûlĕ Elahi´yĭ iyû´ⁿtă dûhiyane´‘lûⁿgû´ a‘gĕ´‘ya
sa‘ka´ni.
Nâ´gwa nûⁿnâ´hĭ sa‘ka´ni hûⁿtane´‘laneli´ga. Uhisa´‘tĭ-gwû u´danû
dudusa´gĭ tanela´sĭ. Nûⁿnâ´hĭ sa‘ka´ni tade´tâstani´ga.
Nâgwûlĕ´
[pg 376]
hûⁿhiyatsâ´ûⁿtaniga. E´latĭ gesû´ⁿ tû´l‘taniga. Dedu´laskû´ⁿ-gwû
igû´ⁿwa‘lawĭ´stĭ uhi´sa‘ti´yĭ widaye´la‘ni´ga. Dedulaskû´ⁿ-gwû
igû´ⁿwa‘lawĭ´stĭ
uhi´sa‘ti´yĭ nitû´ⁿneli´ga.

Ha-sâgwahi´yu itsilasta´lagĭ + + uwă´sahi´yu, etsane´‘laneli´ga.
Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna. Agwâ´duhĭ. A´yû agwadantâ´gĭ aye‘li´yu
d’ka´‘lani´lĭ duda´ntâ, uktahû´ⁿstĭ nige´sûⁿna. Yû´ⁿwĭ
tsu´tsatûⁿ
widudante´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna, nitû´ⁿneli´ga. Sâ´gwahĭ itsilasta´lagĭ,
etsane´‘laneli´ga kûlkwâ´gi-nasĭ´ igûlstû´‘lĭ gegane´‘lanû´ⁿ.

Anisga´ya anewadi´sûⁿ unihisa‘ti´yĭ. Tsu´nada´neilti´yĭ.
Dĭ´la-gwû
degû´ⁿwănatsegû´‘lawi´sdidegû´. Ayâ´ise´ta-gwû u´danû.
Tsunada´neilti´yĭ.
Utse´tsti-gwû degû´ⁿwănatsegû´‘lawis´didegû´. Tsunada´neilti´yĭ.
Ka´ga-gwû degû´ⁿwănatsegû´‘awisdidegû´. Tsunada´neilti´yĭ.
Da´l‘ka-gwû degû´ⁿwănatsegû´‘lawisdidegû´.

Kûlkwâ´gĭ igûlsta´lagĭ unihisa‘ti´yu. Ige´ski-gwû nige´sûⁿna.
Ayâ´ise´ta-gwû
u´danû degû´ⁿwănatsûn‘ti-degû´. K’si-gwû degû´ⁿwănatsûn‘ti-degû´.
A´yagâgû´ tsisga´ya agine´ga ûⁿgwane´‘lanû´hĭ
+ + Nûⁿdâgû´ⁿyĭ iti´tsa ditsidâ´ga. Agisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.
Agwâduhi´yu.
Tsi-sa‘ka´nĭ agwă´tatĭ nige´sûⁿna. Kûltsâ´te une´ga
ûⁿni´tagâgû´
gûkwatsâ´nti-degû´. Agisă´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna. A´yû agwadantâ´gĭ
aye‘li´yu gûlasi´ga tsûda´ntâ, uktahû´ⁿstĭ nige´sûⁿna. 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
[pg 377]
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
Yûⁿwĕ´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´sûⁿna, “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.”

HĬ´Ă ĂMA´YĬ Ă´TAWASTI´YĬ KAN´HEHÛ.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu hatû´ⁿgani´ga Higĕ´‘yagu´ga,
tsûwatsi´la
gi´gage tsiye´la skĭna´dû‘lani´ga. 0 0 digwadâ´ita. Sa‘ka´nĭ
tûgwadûne´lûhĭ. Atsanû´ⁿgĭ gi´gage skwâsû´hisa‘tani´ga. + +
kûlstă´lagĭ + sa‘ka´nĭ nu´tatanû´ⁿta. Ditu´nûⁿnâ´gĭ
dagwû´laskû´ⁿ-gwû
deganu´y’tasi´ga. Galâ´nûⁿtse´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 Yûⁿwĕ´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´ⁿdâ, or more fully, nû´ⁿdâ sûⁿnâyĕ´hĭ, “the sun living in the
night,” while the sun itself is designated as nû´ⁿdâ 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´ⁿWĔ´HĬ UGÛ´ⁿWA‘LĬ II.)

Translation.

SONG FOR PAINTING.

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´ⁿwĕhĭ,
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´YĬ. Ĭ.

Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga, Hĭkayû´ⁿlige. Hiă´ asga´ya uda´ntâ
tsa‘ta´hisi´ga [Hĭkayû´ⁿlige] hiye´lastûⁿ. Tsaskûlâ´hĭsti-gwû´
nige´sûⁿna.
Dĭkana´watû´ⁿta-gwû tsûtû´neli´ga. Hĭlû dudantĕ´‘tĭ
nige´sûⁿna.
Duda´ntâ dûskalûⁿ´tseli´ga. Astĭ´ digû´ⁿnage tagu´talûⁿtani´ga.

Translation.

TO ATTRACT AND FIX THE AFFECTIONS.

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´ⁿgani´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´ⁿinĭ 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‘TĬ´.

Yû! Galû´ⁿlatĭ tsûl‘da´histĭ, Giya´giya´ Sa‘ka´ni, nâ´gwa nûⁿtalûⁿ
i´yû´ⁿta. Tsâ´la Sa‘ka´ni tsûgistâ´‘tĭ adûⁿni´ga. Nâ´gwa
nidâtsu´l‘tanû´ⁿta,
nû´ⁿtātagû´ hisa´hasi´ga. Tani´dâgûⁿ´ aye´‘lĭ dehidâ´siga.
Unada´ndâ dehiyâ´staneli´ga. Nidugale´ntanû´ⁿta nidûhûⁿneli´ga.

Tsisga´ya agine´ga, nûⁿdâgû´ⁿyĭ ditsidâ´‘stĭ. Gû´nĭ âstû´
uhisa´‘tĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Agĕ´‘ya une´ga hi´ă iyu´stĭ gûlstû´‘lĭ, iyu´stĭ
tsûdâ´ita.
Uda´ndâ usĭnu´lĭ dâdatinilû´gûⁿelĭ´. Nûⁿdâgû´ⁿyitsû´
dâdatinilugûstanelĭ.
Tsisga´ya agine´ga, ditsidâstû´ⁿĭ nû‘nû´ kana´tlani´ga.
Tsûnkta´ tegă‘la´watege´stĭ. Tsiye´lûⁿ gesû´ⁿĭ uhisa´‘tĭ
nige´sûⁿna.

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
[pg 382]
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‘yûⁿinĭ’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.

(ADALANĬ´STĂ‘TI´YĬ 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´sûⁿna,”
tsûdûneĭ,
Hĭkayû´ⁿlige galû´ⁿlatĭ. Kananĕ´skĭ Û´ⁿnage galû´ⁿlatĭ
(h)etsatsâ´ûⁿtănile´ĭ.
Tsănilta´gĭ tsûksâ´ûⁿtanile´ĭ. ** gûla(stû´‘lĭ),
** ditsadâ´(ita). Dudantâ´gĭ uhani´latâ tĭkwenû´ⁿtani´ga.
Kûlkwâ´gĭ
igûlsta´lagĭ iyû´ⁿta yû´ⁿwĭ adayû´ⁿlatawă´ dudûne´lida´lûⁿ
uhisa´‘tĭ nige´sûⁿna.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwatĭ uhisa´‘tĭ dutlû´ⁿtani´ga. Tsû´nkta
daskâ´lûⁿtsi´ga.
Sâ´gwahĭ di´kta de´gayelûⁿtsi´ga. Ga´tsa igûnû´nugâ´ĭstû
uda´ntâ? Usû´hita nudanû´ⁿna ûltûⁿge´ta gûⁿwadûneli´dege´stĭ.
Igûⁿwûlsta´‘ti-gwû duwâlu´wa‘tûⁿtĭ nige´sûⁿna. Kananĕ´skĭ
Ûⁿnage´ĭ
tsanildew’se´stĭ ada´ntâ uktûⁿlesi´dastĭ nige´sûna. Gadâyu´stĭ
tsûdâ´ita
ada´ntĭ tside´atsasi´ga. A´ya a´kwatseli´ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwûlĕ´ hûⁿhatûⁿga´ga, Hĭkayû´ⁿlĭ Gi´gage.
Tsetsûli´sĭ
hiye´lastûⁿ a‘ta´hisi´ga. Ada´ntâ hasû‘gû´‘lawĭ´stani´ga,
tsa´skaláhĭstĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Hĭkayû´ⁿlige denătsegû‘la´wĭstani´ga. Agĕ´‘ya
gĭ´nsûⁿgû‘lawĭs´tani´ga
uda´ntâ uwahisĭ´sata. Dĭgĭnaskûlâ´hĭstĭ nige´sûⁿna. Yû!

Hi´ănasgwû´ u‘tlâ´yi-gwû dĭgalû´ⁿwistan´tĭ snûⁿâ´yĭ
hani´‘lihûⁿ gûnasgi´stĭ.
Gane´tsĭ aye´‘lĭ asi´tadis´tĭ watsi´la, ganûⁿli´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´ⁿinĭ, 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´ⁿinĭ, this must be done stealthily
at night while the woman is asleep, the husband rubbing his spittle
[pg 384]
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.

SÛⁿN´YĬ ED´HĬ E´SGA ASTÛⁿTI´YĬ.

Sgĕ! Uhyûⁿtsâ´yĭ galûⁿlti´tla tsûltâ´histĭ, Hĭsgaya Gigage´ĭ,
usĭnu´lĭ
di´tsakûnĭ´ denatlûⁿhi´sani´ga Uy-igawa´stĭ duda´ntĭ.
Nûⁿnâ´hĭ tatuna´watĭ.
Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ dani´yûⁿstanilĭ´.

Sgĕ! Uhyûⁿtlâ´yĭ galûⁿlti´tla tsûltâ´histĭ, Hĭsga´ya Tĕ´halu,
hinaw’sŭ´’ki.
Ha-usĭnu´lĭ nâ´gwa di´tsakûnĭ´ denatlûⁿhisani´ga uy-igawa´stĭ
duda´ntĭ. Nûⁿnâ´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´ⁿinĭs’ 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 sûⁿnâ´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
[pg 385]
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´ⁿlĭ
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´ⁿinĭ 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
[pg 386]
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´STĬ A´GIYAHU´SA.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga Nû´ⁿya Wâtige´ĭ, gahu´stĭ
tsûtska´dĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Ha-nâ´gwa dû´ⁿgihya´lĭ. Agiyahu´sa sĭ´kwa, haga´
tsûⁿ-nû´ iyû´ⁿta 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
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
[pg 387]
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´YĬ).

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hĭnahûⁿ´ski tayĭ´. Ha-tâ´sti-gwû gûⁿska´ihû.
Tsûtali´i-gwati´na halu´‘nĭ. Kû´nigwati´na dula´ska galû´ⁿlati-gwû
witu´ktĭ. Wigûⁿyasĕ´hĭsĭ. ´talĭ tsugû´ⁿyĭ
wite´tsatanû´ⁿûⁿsĭ´ nûⁿnâhĭ
tsane´lagĭ de´gatsana´wadise´stĭ. Kûnstû´ dutsasû´ⁿĭ
atû´ⁿwasûtĕ´hahĭ´
tsûtûneli´sestĭ. Sgĕ!

Translation.

THIS IS TO FRIGHTEN A STORM.

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´ⁿinĭ’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
[pg 388]
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´HĬ NUNATÛ´NELI´TALÛ´ⁿHĬ U´NALSTELTA´‘TANÛ´HĬ.

Hayĭ! Yû! Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa usĭnuli´yu A´tasu Gi´gage´ĭ
hinisa´latani´ga.
Usĭnu´lĭ duda´ntâ u´nanugâ´tsidastĭ´ nige´sûⁿna. Duda´ntâ
e‘lawi´nĭ iyû´ⁿta ă´tasû digûⁿnage´ĭ
degûⁿlskwĭ´tahise´stĭ, anetsâge´ta
unanugâ´istĭ nige´sûⁿna, nitinû´ⁿneli´ga. Ă´tasû
dusa´ladanû´ⁿstĭ
nige´sûⁿna, nitinû´ⁿneli´ga. E‘lawi´nĭ iyû´ⁿta ă´tasû ûⁿnage´
ugûⁿ´hatû
ûⁿnage´ sâ´gwa da‘liyĕ´kû‘lani´ga unadutlâ´gĭ.
Unanugâ´tsida´stĭ
nige´sûⁿna, nûⁿeli´ga.

Usĭnuli´yu tsunada´ntâ kul‘kwâ´gine tigalû´ⁿltiyû´ⁿĭ iyû´ⁿta
ada´ntâ
tega´yĕ‘ti´tege´stĭ. Tsunada´ntâ tsuligalĭ´stĭ nige´sûⁿna
dudûni´tege´stĭ.
Usĭnu´lĭ deniû´ⁿeli´ga galû´ⁿlatĭ iyû´ⁿta
widu´l‘tâhĭsti´tege´stĭ. Ă´tasû
gigage´ĭ dĕhatagû´ⁿyastani´ga. Tsunada´ntâ tsudastû´nilida´stĭ
nige´sûⁿna
nûⁿeli´ga. Tsunada´ntâ galû´ⁿlatĭ iyû´ⁿta witĕ´‘titege´stĭ.
Tsunada´ntâ anigwalu´gĭ une´ga gûⁿwa´nadagû´ⁿyastitege´stĭ.
Sa‘ka´nĭ
udûnu´hĭ nige´sûⁿna 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
[pg 389]
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 ulûⁿsû´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
[pg 390]
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
[pg 391]
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´‘TĬ.

Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa tsûdantâ´gĭ tegû´ⁿyatawâ´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´ⁿya gû´ⁿnage
gûⁿyu´tlûⁿtani´ga.
Ă‘nûwa´gĭ gû´ⁿnage´ gûⁿyu´tlûⁿtani´ga. Sûⁿtalu´ga gû´ⁿnage
degû´ⁿyanu´galû´ⁿtani´ga, tsû´nanugâ´istĭ nige´sûⁿna. Usûhi´yĭ
nûⁿnâ´hĭ
wite´tsatanû´ⁿûⁿsĭ gûne´sâ gû´ⁿnage asahalagĭ´. Tsûtû´neli´ga.
Elawâ´tĭ asa´halagĭ´a´dûⁿni´ga. Usĭnuli´yu Usûhi´yĭ
gûltsâ´tĕ digû´ⁿnagesta´yĭ,
elawâ´ti gû´ⁿnage tidâ´hĭstĭ wa‘yanu´galûⁿtsi´ga. Gûne´sa
gû´ⁿage sûⁿtalu´ga gû´ⁿnage gayu´tlûⁿtani´ga. Tsûdantâ´gĭ
ûska´lûⁿtsi´ga.
Sa‘ka´nĭ adûⁿni´ga. Usû´hita atanis´se´tĭ, ayâ´lâtsi´sestĭ
tsûdantâ´gĭ, tsû´nanugâ´istĭ nige´sûⁿna. 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´ⁿinĭ). 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´ⁿinĭ, 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
[pg 392]
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
[pg 393]
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
[pg 394]
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´ⁿwĭ 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
[pg 395]
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´ⁿWA´LĬ AM´YĬ DITSÛ´ⁿSTA´TĬ.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâgwa ă´stĭ une´ga aksâ´ûⁿtanû´ⁿ usĭnu´lĭ a‘ne´tsâ
unatsâ´nûⁿtse´lahĭ
akta´‘tĭ adûⁿni´ga.

Iyu´stĭ utadâ´ta, iyu´stĭ tsunadâ´ita. Nûⁿnâ´hĭ anite´lahĕhû´
ige´skĭ
nige´sûⁿna. Dû´ksi-gwu´ dedu´natsgû‘la´wate´gû. Da´‘sûⁿ unilâtsi´satû.
Sa‘ka´ni unati´satû´.

Nûⁿnâ´hĭ dâ´tadu´nina´watĭ´ a´yû-‘nû´ digwatseli´ga a‘ne´tsâ
unatsâ´nûⁿtse´lahĭ. Tla´mehû Gigage´ĭ sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga.
Igû´ⁿyĭ galû´ⁿlâ ge´sûⁿ i´yûⁿ kanû´ⁿlagĭ
^uwâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ. Ta´line galû´ⁿlâ
ge´suⁿ i´yûⁿ kanû´ⁿlagĭ ^uwâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ. He´nilû
danûtsgû´‘lani´ga.
Tla´ma ûⁿni´ta a´nigwalu´gĭ gûⁿtla´‘tisge´stĭ, ase´gwû
nige´sûⁿna.

Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nûⁿtse´lahĭ saligu´gi-gwû
dedu´natsgû´‘lawĭsti´tegû´.
Elawi´nĭ da´‘sûⁿ unilâtsi´satû.

Tsâ´ine digalû´ⁿlatiyu´ⁿ Să´niwă Gi´gageĭ sâ´gwa
danûtsgû´‘lani´ga,
asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sûⁿna. Kanû´ⁿlagĭ ^u*wâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ
nû´‘gine digalû´ⁿlatiyû´ⁿ.
Gulĭ´sgulĭ´ Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ
[pg 396]
nige´sûⁿna. Kanû´ⁿlagĭ ^uwâhâ´hĭstâgĭ hĭ´skine
digalû´ⁿlatiyû´ⁿ.
Tsŭtsŭ´ Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga, asĕ‘gâ´gĭ
nige´sûⁿna.

Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ utsâ´nûⁿtse´lahĭ Tĭne´gwa Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa
danûtsgû´‘lani´ga,
ige´skĭ nige´sûⁿna. Da´‘sûⁿ unilâtsi´satû. Kanû´ⁿlagĭ
^uwâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ sutali´ne digalû´ⁿlatiyû´ⁿ. A´nigâsta´ya
sâ´gwa danûtsgu´‘lani´ga,
asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´suⁿna. Kanû´ⁿlagĭ ^uwâhâ´hĭstâ´gĭ
kûl‘kwâgine
digalû´ⁿlatiyû´ⁿ. Wâtatû´ga Sa‘ka´ni sâ´gwa danûtsgû´‘lani´ga,
asĕ‘gâ´gĭ nige´sûⁿna.

Du´talĕ a‘ne´tsâ unatsâ´nûⁿtse´lahĭ, Yâ´na
dedu´natsgû´‘lawĭstani´ga,
ige´skĭ nige´sûⁿna. Da‘sûⁿ du´nilâtsi´satû. Kanû´ⁿlagĭ
de´tagaskalâ´ûⁿtanû´ⁿ, igûⁿ´wûlstanûhi-gwûdi´na tsuye´listi
gesû´ⁿĭ.
Akta´‘tĭ adûⁿni´ga.

Sgĕ! Nâ´gwa t’skĭ´nâne´lĭ ta´lădŭ´ iyû´ⁿta a´gwatseli´ga,
Wătatu´ga
Tsûne´ga. Tsuye´listĭ gesû´ⁿĭ skĭ´nâhûⁿsĭ´
a´gwatseli´ga—kanû´ⁿlagĭ
a´gwatseli´ga. Nă´‘nâ utadâ´ta kanû´ⁿlagĭ dedu´skalâ´asi´ga.

Dedû´ndagû´ⁿyastani´ga, gûⁿwâ´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‘yûⁿinĭ 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´ⁿlatĭ. 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.

Footnote 1: (return)

To appear later with the collection of Cherokee myths.

Footnote 2: (return)

Brinton, D.G.: The books of Chilan Balam 10, Philadelphia, n.d., (1882).

Footnote 3: (return)

Brinton, D.G.: Names of the Gods in the Kiché Myths, in Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., Philadelphia, 1881, vol. 19, p. 613.

Footnote 4: (return)

One of the High peaks of the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, near Clingman’s Dome.

Footnote 5: (return)

Haywood, John: Natural and Aboriginal History of East Tennessee, 267-8, Nashville, 1823.

Footnote 6: (return)

Ibid., p. 281.

Footnote 7: (return)

Wood, T.B., and Bache, F.: Dispensatory of the United States of America, 14th ed., Philadelphia, 1877.

Footnote 8: (return)

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.

Footnote 9: (return)

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.

Footnote 10: (return)

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.

Footnote 11: (return)

So written and pronounced by A‘yûⁿ´ini instead of utsĭnă´wa.

Footnote 12: (return)

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.

Index.