The doctor beats up some bark from the trunk of the wild cherry and puts it into water together with seven coals of fire, the latter being intended to warm the decoction. The leaves of Tsâl-agayû['][n]li (Indian tobacco—Nicotiana rustica) are sometimes used in place of the wild cherry bark. The patient is placed facing the sunrise, and the doctor, taking the medicine in his mouth, blows it over the body of the sick man. First, standing between the patient and the sunrise and holding the medicine cup in his hand, he sings the first verse in a low tone. Then, taking some of the liquid in his mouth, he advances and blows it successively upon the top of the head, the right shoulder, left shoulder, and breast or back of the patient, making four blowings in all. He repeats the same ceremony with the second, third, and fourth verse, returning each time to his original position. The ceremony takes place in the morning, and if necessary is repeated in the evening. It is sometimes necessary also to repeat the treatment for several—generally four—consecutive days.

The recitation is not used excepting in the most serious cases, when, according to the formula, "a very small portion" of the disease still lingers. It is accompanied by blowing of the breath alone, without medicine, probably in this case typical of the action of the whirlwind. After repeating the whole ceremony accompanying the song, as above described, the doctor returns to his position in front of the patient and recites in a whisper the first paragraph to the Little Whirlwind, after which he advances and blows his breath upon the patient four times as he has already blown the medicine upon him. Then going around to the north he recites the second paragraph to the Great Whirlwind, and at its conclusion blows in the same manner. Then moving around to the west—behind the patient—he again prays to the Little Whirlwind with the same ceremonies, and finally moving around to the south side he closes with the prayer to the Great Whirlwind, blowing four times at its conclusion. The medicine must be prepared anew by the doctor at the house of the patient at each application morning or evening. Only as much as will be needed is made at a time, and the patient always drinks what remains after the blowing. Connected with the preparation and care of the medicine are a number of ceremonies which need not be detailed here. The wild cherry bark must always be procured fresh; but the Tsâl-agayû['][n]lĭ ("Old Tobacco") leaves may be dry. When the latter plant is used four leaves are taken and steeped in warm water with the fire coals, as above described.

HIĂ['] TSUNSDI[']GA DIL'TADI[']NATANTI[']YĬ. I.

Sgĕ! Hĭsga[']ya Ts'sdi[']ga ha-nâ[']gwa da[']tûlehû[n]gû['] kĭlû-gwû[']. Iyû['][n]ta agayû['][n]linasĭ['] taya[']ĭ. Eska[']niyŭ unayĕ[']histĭ['] nû[n]ta-yu[']tanatĭ[']. Sgĕ[']! tinû[']lĭtgĭ[']! Tleki[']yu tsûtsestâ[']gĭ hwĭnagĭ[']. Yû!

Sgĕ! Hige[']cya ts'sdi[']ga ha-nâ[']gwa da[']tûlehû[n]gû['] kĭlû-gwû[']. Iyû[n][']ta tsûtu[']tunasĭ['] tăya[']ĭ. Eska[']niyŭ unayĕ[']histĭ nû[n]tayu[']tanatĭ[']. Sgĕ! tinû[']lĭtgĭ[']! Tleki[']yu tsûtsestâ['] hwĭnagĭ[']. Yû!

Translation.

THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN.

Listen! You little man, get up now at once. There comes an old woman. The horrible [old thing] is coming, only a little way off. Listen! Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Yû!

Listen! You little woman, get up now at once. There comes your grandfather. The horrible old fellow is coming only a little way off. Listen! Quick! Get your bed and let us run away. Yû!

Explanation.

In this formula for childbirth the idea is to frighten the child and coax it to come, by telling it, if a boy, that an ugly old woman is coming, or if a girl, that her grandfather is coming only a short distance away. The reason of this lies in the fact that an old woman is the terror of all the little boys of the neighborhood, constantly teasing and frightening them by declaring that she means to live until they grow up and then compel one of them to marry her, old and shriveled as she is. For the same reason the maternal grandfather, who is always a privileged character in the family, is especially dreaded by the little girls, and nothing will send a group of children running into the house more quickly than the announcement that an old "granny," of either sex is in sight.

As the sex is an uncertain quantity, the possible boy is always first addressed in the formulas, and if no result seems to follow, the doctor then concludes that the child is a girl and addresses her in similar tones. In some cases an additional formula with the beads is used to determine whether the child will be born alive or dead. In most instances the formulas were formerly repeated with the appropriate ceremonies by some old female relative of the mother, but they are now the property of the ordinary doctors, men as well as women.

This formula was obtained from the manuscript book of A'yû['][n]inĭ, who stated that the medicine used was a warm decoction of a plant called Dalâ[']nige Unaste[']tsĭ ("yellow root"—not identified), which was blown successively upon the top of the mother's head, upon the breast, and upon the palm of each hand. The doctor stands beside the woman, who is propped up in a sitting position, while repeating the first paragraph and then blows. If this produces no result he then recites the paragraph addressed to the girl and again blows. A part of the liquid is also given to the woman to drink. A'yû['][n]inĭ claimed this was always effectual.

(HIĂ['] TSUNSDI[']GA DIL'TADI[']NATANTI[']YI. II.)

Hitsutsa, hitsu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, tleki[']yu, ĕ[']hinugâ[']ĭ, ĕ[']hinugâ[']ĭ! Hi[']tsu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, gûltsû[']tĭ, gûltsû[']tĭ, tinagâ[']na, tinagâ[']na!

Higĕ'yu[']tsa, higĕ'yu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, tleki[']yu, ĕ[']hinugâ[']ĭ, ĕ[']hinugâ[']ĭ! Higĕ'yu[']tsa, tleki[']yu, gû[n]gu[']stĭ, gû[n]gu[']stĭ, tinagâ[']na, tinagâ[']na!

Translation.

THIS IS TO MAKE CHILDREN JUMP DOWN.

Little boy, little boy, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little boy, hurry; a bow, a bow; let's see who'll get it, let's see who'll get it!

Little girl, little girl, hurry, hurry, come out, come out. Little girl, hurry; a sifter, a sifter; let's see who'll get it, let's see who'll get it!

Explanation.

This formula was obtained from Takwati[']hĭ, as given to him by a specialist in this line. Takwatihi himself knew nothing of the treatment involved, but a decoction is probably blown upon the patient as described in the preceding formula. In many cases the medicine used is simply cold water, the idea being to cause a sudden muscular action by the chilling contact. In this formula the possible boy or girl is coaxed out by the promise of a bow or a meal-sifter to the one who can get it first. Among the Cherokees it is common, in asking about the sex of a new arrival, to inquire, "Is it a bow or a sifter?" or "Is it ball sticks or bread?"

DALÂ[']NI Û[n]NĂGE[']Ĭ ADANÛ['][n]WÂTĬ.

Yuha[']ahi['], (yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['],) Yuha[']ahi['], (yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi[']), Yû!

Sgĕ! Û[n]tal-e[']gwâhĭ['] didultâ[']hĭstĭ ulsge[']ta. Usĭnu[']lĭ dâtitu[']lene[']ĭ. Usĭnu[']lĭ dunu[']y'tani[']leĭ['].

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa statû['][n]gani[']ga, nû[n]dâ[']yĭ distul'tâ[']histĭ, Stisga[']ya Dĭst'sdi[']ga, stida[']wehi-gâgû. Û[n]tal-e[']gwa dâtitulene['](ĭ) ulsge[']ta. Usĭnu[']lĭ detĭstû[']l'tani[']ga ulsge[']ta. Ditu[']talenû['][n]itsa nû[n]na[']hĭ [w]i[']de[']tutanû['][n]tasĭ['], nû[n]tadu[']ktahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Nû[']'gĭ iyayû['][n]latăgĭ['] ayâwe[']sâlû['][n]ta de[']dudûneli[']sestĭ['], Gû['][n]tsatâtagi[']yû tistadi[']gûlahi[']sestĭ. Tiduda[']le'nû['](ĭ) û['][n]tale[']gwâ [w][i]tĭ[']stûl'tati[']nû[n]tani[']ga. Na[']'nă witûl'tâ[']hĭstani[']ga, tadu[']ktahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Ha-na[']'nă [w][i]d[']ultâhiste[']stĭ. (Yû!)

(Degasisisgû['][n]ĭ)—Hiă['] anine[']tsĭ ga[']'tiskĭ adanû['][n]wâtĭ. Ŭ['][n]tla atsi[']la tĭ[']'tĭ yĭ[']gĭ.

Translation.

TO TREAT THE BLACK YELLOWNESS.

Yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], Yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['], yuha[']ahi['] Yû!

Listen! In the great lake the intruder reposes. Quickly he has risen up there. Swiftly he has come and stealthily put himself (under the sick man).

Listen! Ha! Now you two have drawn near to hearken, there in the Sun Land you repose, O Little Men, O great anida[']wehi! The intruder has risen up there in the great lake. Quickly you two have lifted up the intruder. His paths have laid themselves down toward the direction whence he came. Let him never look back (toward us). When he stops to rest at the four gaps you will drive him roughly along. Now he has plunged into the great lake from which he came. There he is compelled to remain, never to look back. Ha! there let him rest. (Yû!)

(Directions.)—This is to treat them when their breast swells. Fire (coals) is not put down.

Explanation.

This formula, from A'yû[n]inĭ's manuscript, is used in treating a disease known as Dalâni, literally, "yellow." From the vague description of symptoms given by the doctors, it appears to be an aggravated form of biliousness, probably induced by late suppers and bad food. According to the Indian theory it is caused by revengeful animals, especially by the terrapin and its cousin, the turtle.

The doctors recognize several forms of the disease, this variety being distinguished as the "black dalâni" (Dalâni Û[n]nage[']ĭ) andconsidered the most dangerous. In this form of dalânĭ, according totheir account, the navel and abdomen of the patient swell, the ends of his fingers become black, dark circles appear about his eyes, and the throat contracts spasmodically and causes him to fall down suddenly insensible. A'yû[n]inĭ's method of treatment is to rub the breast and abdomen of the patient with the hands, which have been previously rubbed together in the warm infusion of wild cherry (ta[']ya) bark. The song is sung while rubbing the hands together in the liquid, and the prayer is repeated while rubbing the swollen abdomen of the patient. The operation may be repeated several times on successive days.

The song at the beginning has no meaning and is sung in a low plaintive lullaby tone, ending with a sharp Yu! The prayer possesses a special interest, as it brings out several new points in the Cherokee mythologic theory of medicine. The "intruder," which is held to be some amphibious animal—as a terrapin, turtle, or snake—is declared to have risen up from his dwelling place in the great lake, situated toward the sunset, and to have come by stealth under the sick man. The verb implies that the disease spirit creeps under as a snake might crawl under the coverlet of a bed.

The two Little Men in the Sun Land are now invoked to drive out the disease. Who these Little Men are is not clear, although they are regarded as most powerful spirits and are frequently invoked in the formulas. They are probably the two Thunder Boys, sons of Kanati.

The Little Men come instantly when summoned by the shaman, pull out the intruder from the body of the patient, turn his face toward the sunset, and begin to drive him on by threats and blows (expressed in the word gû['][n]tsatatagi[']yû) to the great lake from which he came. On the road there are four gaps in the mountains, at each of which the disease spirit halts to rest, but is continually forced onward by his two pursuers, who finally drive him into the lake, where he is compelled to remain, without being permitted even to look back again. The four gaps are mentioned also in other formulas for medicine and the ball play and sometimes correspond with the four stages of the treatment. The direction "No fire (coals) is put down" indicates that no live coals are put into the decoction, the doctor probably using water warmed in the ordinary manner.

Takwati[']hĭ uses for this disease a decoction of four herbs applied in the same manner. He agrees with A'yû[n]inĭ in regard to the general theory and says also that the disease may be contracted by neglecting to wash the hands after handling terrapin shells, as, for instance, the shell rattles used by women in the dance. The turtle or water tortoise (seligu[']gĭ) is considered as an inferior being, with but little capacity for mischief, and is feared chiefly on account of its relationship to the dreaded terrapin or land tortoise (tûksĭ[']). In Takwatihĭ's formula he prays to the Ancient White (the fire), of which these cold-blooded animals are supposed to be afraid, to put the fish into the water, the turtle into the mud, and to send the terrapin and snake to the hillside.

TSUNDAYE[']LIGAKTANÛ[']HĬ ADANÛ['][n]WÂTĬ.

Sgĕ! Hanâ[']gwa hatû['][n]ganiga, galû['][n]latĭ hetsadâ[']histĭ, Kâ[']lanû Û['][n]nage, gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']lahû['][n]sgĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Ha-nâ[']gwa (hetsatsa[']û[n]tani[']ga. Hanigû['][n]watû[n]nigwălâe[']stigwû tsalâsû['][n]ĭ. Asgin-u[']danû higes[']eĭ. Sanigala[']gĭ gesû['][n]ĭ hastigû[']'lani[']ga, duwâlu[']wa[']tû[']tĭ nige[']sû[n]na, nitû[']neli[']ga. Ha-Usûhi[']yĭ wititâ[']hĭstani[']ga. Dadu[']satahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na nitû[']neli[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nu[']tatanû['][n]ta.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Kâ[']lanû Gĭgage[']ĭ, hidawĕhi[']yu. Ha-gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']lahû['][n]sgĭ nige[']sû[n]na, etsanetse[']lûhĭ, Ha-galû[n]lati[']tsa hetsatâ[']histĭ. Nâ[']gwa hetsatsâ[']û[n]tani[']ga. Nigû['][n]watû['][n]nigwalâe[']sti-gwû tsalâsû['][n]ĭ. Asgin-udanû[']hi-gwû higese[']ĭ. Ha-Sanigalâgĭ gesû['][n] hâstigû[']'lani[']ga ulsge[']ta, ha-utsĭnă[']wa-gwû['] nigû['][n]tisge[']stĭ. Usûhi[']yĭ wĭntûnĕ[']dû. Usûhi[']yĭ wĭtitâ[']hĭstani[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Kâ[']lanû Sa[']ka[']ni; galû[']latĭ hetsadâ[']histĭ, hida[']wĕhĭ. Gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']lahû['][n]sgĭ nige[']sû[n]na, etsanetse[']lûhĭ. Ha-nâ[']gwa hetsatsâ[']û[n]tani[']ga. Nigû['][n]watû['][n]nigwalâe[']sti-gwû tsalâsû['][n]ĭ. Sanigalâ[']gĭ gesu['][n] hastigû[']'lani[']ga ulsge[']ta. Duwâlu[']watû[']tĭ nige[']sû[n]na, nitû[']neli[']ga. Usûhi[']yĭ wĭtitâ[']hĭstani[']ga, dadu[']satahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na nitû[']neli[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Wa[']hĭlĭ galû[n]lti[']tsa hetsadâ[']histĭ, Kâ[']lanû Tsûne[']ga, hida[']wĕhĭ. Gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']l'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Hanâ[']gwa hetsatsâ[']û[n]tani[']ga. Nigû['][n]watû['][n]nigwalâe[']sti-gwû tsalâsû['][n]ĭ. Ha-nâ[']gwa detal'tani[']ga. Sanigalâ[']gĭ gesû['][n] hastig[']û'lani[']ga ulsge[']ta, duwâlu[']watû[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na nitû[']neli[']ga. Usûhi[']yĭ wĭtitâ[']hĭstani[']ga. Dadu[']satahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na nitû[']neli[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga.

(Dega[']sisisgû['][n]ĭ)—Hiă[']agi'li[']ya unitlû[n]gû['][n]ĭ adanû[']wâtĭ. Askwanu[']tsastĭ[']. Tsâ[']l(a) Agayû['][n]lĭunitsi[']lû[n]nû[']hĭgû['][n]tatĭ, anû['][n]sga'lâ[']-gwû; Kanasâ[']la-'nû unali[']gâhû, ade[']la[']-'nû nû[']'gi-gwû ani[']gage[']ĭ dahâ[']ĭ, Tsâliyu[']stĭ-'nû Usdi[']ga. Gahu[']sti-[']'nu yuta[']suyû['][n]na sâwatu[']hi-gwû atĭ['] dawâ[']hila-gwû iyû['][n]ta.

Translation.

TO TREAT FOR ORDEAL DISEASES.

Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken and are resting directly overhead. O Black Raven, you never fail in anything. Ha! Now you are brought down. Ha! There shall be left no more than a trace upon the ground where you have been. It is an evolute ghost. You have now put it into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it may never return. Let relief come.

Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Red Raven, most powerful ada[']wehi. Ha! You never fail in anything, for so it was ordained of you. Ha! You are resting directly overhead. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall remain but a trace upon the ground where you have been. It is an evolute ghost. Ha! You have put the Intruder into a crevice of Sanigalagi and now the relief shall come. It (the Intruder) is sent to the Darkening Land. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land. Let the relief come.

Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Raven; you are resting directly overhead, ada[']wehi. You never fail in anything, for so it was ordained of you. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall be left but a trace upon the ground where you have been. You have put the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, so that it may never return. Let the relief come.

Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken; you repose on high on Wa[']hĭlĭ, O White Raven, ada[']wehi. You never fail in anything. Ha! Now you are brought down. There shall be left but a trace upon the ground where you have been. Ha! Now you have taken it up. You have put the Intruder into a crevice in Sanigalagi, that it may never find the way back. You have put it to rest in the Darkening Land, never to return. Let the relief come.

(Directions)—This is to treat them for a painful sickness. One must suck. Use Tsâ[']lagayû[n][']-li ("Old Tobacco"—Nicotiana rustica), blossoms, and just have them in the mouth, and Kanasâ[']la (Wild Parsnip), goes with it, and four red beads also must lie there, and Tsâliyu[']sti Usdi[']ga ("Little (plant) Like Tobacco"—Indian Tobacco—Lobelia inflata.) And if there should be anything mixed with it (i.e., after sucking the place), just put it about a hand's-length into the mud.

Explanation.

The Cherokee name for this disease gives no idea whatever of its serious nature. The technical term, Tsundaye[']liga[']ktanû[']hĭ, really refers to the enthusiastic outburst of sociability that ensues when two old friends meet. In this instance it might be rendered "an ordeal." The application of such a name to what is considered a serious illness is in accordance with the regular formulistic practice of making light of a dangerous malady in order to convey to the disease spirit the impression that the shaman is not afraid of him. A'yû[n]inĭ, from whom the formula was obtained, states also that the disease is sometimes sent to a man by a friend or even by his parents, in order to test his endurance and knowledge of counter spells.

As with most diseases, the name simply indicates the shaman's theory of the occult cause of the trouble, and is no clue to the symptoms, which may be those usually attendant upon fevers, indigestion, or almost any other ailment.

In some cases the disease is caused by the conjurations of an enemy, through which the patient becomes subject to an inordinate appetite, causing him to eat until his abdomen is unnaturally distended. By the same magic spells tobacco may be conveyed into the man's body, causing him to be affected by faintness and languor. The enemy, if bitterly revengeful, may even put into the body of his victim a worm or insect (tsgâya), or a sharpened stick of black locust or "fat" pine, which will result in death if not removed by a good doctor. Sometimes a weed stalk is in some occult manner conveyed into the patient's stomach, where it is transformed into a worm. As this disease is very common, owing to constant quarrels and rival jealousies, there are a number of specialists who devote their attention to it.

The prayer is addressed to the Black, Red, Blue, and White Ravens, their location at the four cardinal points not being specified, excepting in the case of the white raven of Wa[']hilĭ, which, as already stated, is said to be a mountain in the south, and hence is used figuratively to mean the south. The ravens are each in turn declared to have put the disease into a crevice in Sanigala[']gi—the Cherokee name of Whiteside Mountain, at the head of Tuckasegee River, in North Carolina, and used figuratively for any high precipitous mountain—and to have left no more than a trace upon the ground where it has been. The adjective translated "evolute" (udanûhĭ) is of frequent occurrence in the formulas, but has no exact equivalent in English. It signifies springing into being or life from an embryonic condition. In this instance it would imply that whatever object the enemy has put into the body of the sick man has there developed into a ghost to trouble him.

The directions are expressed in a rather vague manner, as is the case with most of A'yû[n]ini's attempts at original composition. The disease is here called by another name, agi'li[']ya unitlû[n]gû['][n]ĭ, signifying "when they are painfully sick." The treatment consists in sucking the part most affected, the doctor having in his mouth during the operation the blossoms of Tsâ[']l-agayû['][n]lĭ (Nicotiana rustica), Kanasâ[']la (wild parsnip,) and Tsâliyusti Usdiga (Lobelia inflata.) The first and last of these names signify "tobacco" and "tobacco-like," while the other seems to contain the same word, tsâ[']la, and the original idea may have been to counteract the witchcraft by the use of the various species of "tobacco," the herb commonly used to drive away a witch or wizard. During the sucking process four red beads lie near upon a piece of (white) cloth, which afterward becomes the perquisite of the doctor. Though not explicitly stated, it is probable that the doctor holds in his mouth a decoction of the blossoms named, rather than the blossoms themselves. On withdrawing his mouth from the spot and ejecting the liquid into a bowl, it is expected that there will be found "mixed" with it a small stick, a pebble, an insect, or something of the kind, and this the shaman then holds up to view as the cause of the disease. It is afterward buried a "hand's length" (awâ[']hilû)[12] deep in the mud. No directions were given as to diet or tabu.

[Footnote 12: This word, like the expression "seven days," frequently has a figurative meaning. Thus the sun is said to be seven awâ[']hilû above the earth.]

HUNTING.

GÛNÂ[']HILÛ['][n]TA UGÛ['][n]WA'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[']sû[n]na.

Hĭkayû['][n]lĭ Gi[']gage-gâgû['], tsine[']tsĭ gesû['][n] aw'stitege[']stĭ. Tsăstû['] utatiyĭ, nâ[']gwa tsăs'tû gasû'hisă'tĭ atisge[']stĭ. Ha-nâ[']gwa nû[n]nâ tsusdi['] tutana[']wa-tegû['] digana[']watû['][n]ta atisge[']stĭ. Utalĭ['] udanû[']hĭ ugwala[']ga gû[n]watuy[']ahĭti[']tege[']stĭ, hĭlahiyû['][n]ta-gwû [w]ustû[']'stĭ nige[']sû[n]na. D'stiskwâ[']lĭ deudû[']nisă'te[']stĭ. Yû!

Translation.

CONCERNING HUNTING.

Give me the wind. Give me the breeze. Yû! O Great Terrestrial Hunter, I come to the edge of your spittle where you repose. Let your stomach cover itself; let it be covered with leaves. Let it cover itself at a single bend, and may you never be satisfied.

And you, O Ancient Red, may you hover above my breast while I sleep. Now let good (dreams?) develop; let my experiences be propitious. Ha! Now let my little trails be directed, as they lie down in various directions(?). Let the leaves be covered with the clotted blood, and may it never cease to be so. You two (the Water and the Fire) shall bury it in your stomachs. Yû!

Explanation.

This is a hunting formula, addressed to the two great gods of the hunter, Fire and Water. The evening before starting the hunter "goes to water," as already explained, and recites the appropriate formula. In the morning he sets out, while still fasting, and travels without eating or drinking until nightfall. At sunset he again goes to water, reciting this formula during the ceremony, after which he builds his camp fire, eats his supper and lies down for the night, first rubbing his breast with ashes from the fire. In the morning he starts out to look for game.

"Give me the wind," is a prayer that the wind may be in his favor, so that the game may not scent him. The word rendered here "Great Terrestrial Hunter," is in the original "Ela-Kana[']tĭ." In this e[']la is the earth and kana[']tĭ is a term applied to a successful hunter. The great Kanatĭ, who, according to the myth, formerly kept all the game shut up in his underground caverns, now dwells above the sky, and is frequently invoked by hunters. The raven also is often addressed as Kanatĭ in these hunting formulas. Ela-Kana[']tĭ, the Great Terrestrial Hunter—as distinguished from the other two—signifies the river, the name referring to the way in which the tiny streams and rivulets search out and bring down to the great river the leaves and debris of the mountain forests. In formulas for medicine, love, the ball play, etc., the river is always addressed as the Long Person (Yû['][n]wĭ Gûnahi[']ta). The "spittle" referred to is the foam at the edge of the water. "Let your stomach be covered with leaves" means, let the blood-stained leaves where the stricken game shall fall be so numerous as to cover the surface of the water. The hunter prays also that sufficient game may be found in a single bend of the river to accomplish this result without the necessity of searching through the whole forest, and to that end he further prays that the river may never be satisfied, but continually longing for more. The same idea is repeated in the second paragraph. The hunter is supposed to feed the river with blood washed from the game. In like manner he feeds the fire, addressed in the second paragraph as the "Ancient Red," with a piece of meat cut from the tongue of the deer. The prayer that the fire may hover above his breast while he sleeps and brings him favorable dreams, refers to his rubbing his breast with ashes from his camp fire before lying down to sleep, in order that the fire may bring him dream omens of success for the morrow. The Fire is addressed either as the Ancient White or the Ancient Red, the allusion in the first case being to the light or the ashes of the fire; in the other case, to the color of the burning coals. "You two shall bury it in your stomachs" refers to the blood-stained leaves and the piece of meat which are cast respectively into the river and the fire. The formula was obtained from A'yû[n]inĭ, who explained it in detail.

HIĂ['] TSI[']SKWA GANÂHILIDASTI YĬ.

Tsĭgĕ[']! Hĭkayû['][n]l-Une[']ga, tsûltâ[']histû['][n] gûlitâ[']hĭstani[']ga. Nâ[']gwa tsûda[']ntâ talehĭ[']sani[']ga. Sâ[']gwa igûnsi[']ya ts'skwâlĭ['] udû[']nisate[']stĭ, ts'su[']ltĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Wane['](ĭ) tigi[']gage(ĭ) tali[']kanĕli[']ga. [U]['][n]talĭ udanû[']hĭ tsăgista[']'tĭ.

Hĭkayû['][n]l-Une[']ga, anu[']ya uwâtatâ[']gĭ agi[']stĭ tătsiskâ[']ltane[']lûhĭ. [U]['][n]talĭ u[']danû['] te[']tûlskew[']si[']ga.

Hĭkayû['][n]l-Une[']ga, nû[n]na['](hĭ) kana[']tĭ skwatetâ[']stani[']ga. Unigwalû['][n]gĭ te[']gatû[n]tsi[']ga. Nû[n]â['](hĭ) kana[']tĭ tati[']kiyû['][n]gwita[']watise[']stĭ. Unigwalû['][n]gĭ tigû['][n]watû[']tsanû[']hĭ.

Hĭkayû['][n]l-Une[']ga, Kana[']tĭ, sk[']salatâ[']titege[']stĭ, sa'ka[']ni ginu[']t'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Sgĕ!

Translation.

THIS IS FOR HUNTING BIRDS.

Listen! O Ancient White, where you dwell in peace I have come to rest. Now let your spirit arise. Let it (the game brought down) be buried in your stomach, and may your appetite never be satisfied. The red hickories have tied themselves together. The clotted blood is your recompense.

O Ancient White, * * * Accept the clotted blood (?)

O Ancient White, put me in the successful hunting trail. Hang the mangled things upon me. Let me come along the successful trail with them doubled up (under my belt). It (the road) is clothed with the mangled things.

O Ancient White, O Kanati, support me continually, that I may never become blue. Listen!

Explanation.

This formula, from A'yû[n]inĭ's manuscript, is recited by the bird-hunter in the morning while standing over the fire at his hunting camp before starting out for the day's hunt. A'yû[n]inĭ stated that seven blowgun arrows are first prepared, including a small one only a "hand-length" (awâ[']hilû) long. On rising in the morning the hunter, standing over the fire, addresses it as the "Ancient White." rubbing his hands together while repeating the prayer. He then sets out for the hunting ground, where he expects to spend the day, and on reaching it he shoots away the short arrow at random, without attempting to trace its flight. There is of course some significance attached to this action and perhaps an accompanying prayer, but no further information upon this point was obtainable. Having shot away the magic arrow, the hunter utters a peculiar hissing sound, intended to call up the birds, and then goes to work with his remaining arrows. On all hunting expeditions it is the regular practice, religiously enforced, to abstain from food until sunset.

A favorite method with the bird-hunter during the summer season is to climb a gum tree, which is much frequented by the smaller birds on account of its berries, where, taking up a convenient position amid the branches with his noiseless blowgun and arrows, he deliberately shoots down one bird after another until his shafts are exhausted, when he climbs down, draws out the arrows from the bodies of the birds killed, and climbs up again to repeat the operation. As the light darts used make no sound, the birds seldom take the alarm, and are too busily engaged with the berries to notice their comrades dropping to the ground from time to time, and pay but slight attention even to the movements of the hunter.

The prayer is addressed to the Ancient White (the Fire), the spirit most frequently invoked by the hunter, who, as before stated, rubs his hands together over the fire while repeating the words. The expressions used are obscure when taken alone, but are full of meaning when explained in the light of the hunting customs. The "clotted blood" refers to the bloodstained leaves upon which the fallen game has lain. The expression occurs constantly in the hunting formulas. The hunter gathers up these bloody leaves and casts them upon the fire, in order to draw omens for the morrow from the manner in which they burn. A part of the tongue, or some other portion of the animal, is usually cast upon the coals also for the same purpose. This subject will be treated at length in a future account of the hunting ceremonies.

"Let it be buried in your stomach" refers also to the offering made the fire. By the red hickories are meant the strings of hickory bark which the bird hunter twists about his waist for a belt. The dead birds are carried by inserting their heads under this belt. Red is, of course, symbolic of his success. "The mangled things" (unigwalû['][n]gĭ) are the wounded birds. Kana[']tĭ is here used to designate the fire, on account of its connection with the hunting ceremonies.

INAGĔ[']HĬ AYÂSTI[n]YĬ.

Usĭnuli[']yu Selagwû[']tsĭ Gigage[']ĭ getsû['][n]neliga tsûdandâgi[']hĭ aye'li[']yu, usĭnuli[']yu. Yû!

Translation.

TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS.

Instantly the Red Selagwû[']tsĭ strike you in the very center of your soul—instantly. Yû!

Explanation.

This short formula, obtained from Â'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.

(YÂ[']NA TĬ[']KANÂGI[']TA.)

He+! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. Tsistuyi['] nehandu[']yanû, Tsistuyi['] nehandu[']yanû—Yoho[']+! He+! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. Kuwâhi['] nehandu[']yanû['], Kuwâhi['] nehandu[']yanû—Yoho[']+! He+! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. Uyâ'ye['] nehandu[']yanû['], Uya[']ye['] nehahdu[']yanû[']—Yoho[']+! He+! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. Gâtekwâ['](hĭ) nehandu[']yanû['], Gâtekwâ['](hĭ) nehandu[']yanû[']—Yoho[']+! Ûlĕ-'nû['] asĕhĭ['] tadeya[']statakûhĭ['] gû['][n]nage astû[']tsĭkĭ['].

Translation.

BEAR SONG.

He! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. In Rabbit Place you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho[']! He! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. In Mulberry Place you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho[']! He! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. In Uyâ[']'yĕ you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho[']! He! Hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă['], hayuya[']haniwă[']. In the Great Swamp (?) you were conceived (repeat)—Yoho[']! And now surely we and the good black things, the best of all, shall see each other.

Explanation.

This song, obtained from A'yû['][n]inĭ in connection with the story of the Origin of the Bear, as already mentioned, is sung by the bear hunter, in order to attract the bears, while on his way from the camp to the place where he expects to hunt during the day. It is one of those taught the Cherokees by the Ani-Tsâ[']kahĭ before they lost their human shape and were transformed into bears. The melody is simple and plaintive.

The song consists of four verses followed by a short recitation. Each verse begins with a loud prolonged He+! and ends with Yoho[']+! uttered in the same manner. Hayuya[']haniwă['] has no meaning. Tsistu[']yĭ, Kuwâ[']hĭ, Uyâ[']'yĕ, and Gâte[']kwâhĭ are four mountains, in each of which the bears have a townhouse and hold a dance before going into their dens for the winter. The first three named are high peaks in the Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee line, in the neighborhood of Clingman's Dome and Mount Guyot. The fourth is southeast of Franklin, North Carolina, toward the South Carolina line, and may be identical with Fodderstack Mountain. In Kuwahi dwells the great bear chief and doctor, in whose magic bath the wounded bears are restored to health. They are said to originate or be conceived in the mountains named, because these are their headquarters. The "good black things" referred to in the recitation are the bears.

HIĂ['] ATSÛ'TI[']YĬ TSUN[']TANÛ.

Sgĕ! Nâ[']gwa hitsatû['][n]gani[']ga hitsiga[']tugĭ[']. Titsila[']wisû['][n]hĭ [u]wâgi[']'lĭ tege[']tsûts'gû[']'lawĭstĭ[']. Tsuli[']stana[']lû ûlĕ['] waktûĭ, agi[']stĭ une[']ka itsû['][n]yatanilû[']ĭstani[']ga. Gû[n]watu[']hwĭtû['] nû[n]nâ[']hĭ degûndâltsi[']dâhe[']stĭ. [u]Wâ[']hisâ[']nahĭ tigiwatsi[']la. Tutsegû[']'lawistĭ[']tege[']stĭ. Û[n]talĭ['] degû['][n]watanûhĭ, uhisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Tsuwatsi[']la dadâl'tsi[']ga. A'yû A'yû['][n]inĭ tigwadâ[']ita. Yû!

Translation.

THIS IS FOR CATCHING LARGE FISH.

Listen! Now you settlements have drawn near to hearken. Where you have gathered in the foam you are moving about as one. You Blue Cat and the others, I have come to offer you freely the white food. Let the paths from every direction recognize each other. Our spittle shall be in agreement. Let them (your and my spittle) be together as we go about. They (the fish) have become a prey and there shall be no loneliness. Your spittle has become agreeable. I am called Swimmer. Yû!

Explanation.

This formula, from A'yû[n]inĭ[']s' book, is for the purpose of catching large fish. According to his instructions, the fisherman must first chew a small piece of Yugwilû['] (Venus' Flytrap—Dionaea muscipula) and spit it upon the bait and also upon the hook. Then, standing facing the stream, he recites the formula and puts the bait upon the hook. He will be able to pull out a fish at once, or if the fish are not about at the moment they will come in a very short time.

The Yugwilû['] is put upon the bait from the idea that it will enable the hook to attract and hold the fish as the plant itself seizes and holds insects in its cup. The root is much prized by the Cherokees for this purpose, and those in the West, where the plant is not found, frequently send requests for it to their friends in Carolina.

The prayer is addressed directly to the fish, who are represented as living in settlements. The same expression as has already been mentioned is sometimes used by the doctors in speaking of the tsgâ[']ya or worms which are supposed to cause sickness by getting under the skin of the patient. The Blue Cat (Amiurus, genus) is addressed as the principal fish and the bait is spoken of as the "white food," an expression used also of the viands prepared at the feast of the green corn dance, to indicate their wholesome character. "Let the paths from every direction recognize each other," means let the fishes, which are supposed to have regular trails through the water, assemble together at the place where the speaker takes his station, as friends recognizing each other at a distance approach to greet each other, [u]Wâhisâ[']nahĭ tigiwatsi[']la, rendered "our spittle shall be in agreement," is a peculiar archaic expression that can not be literally translated. It implies that there shall be such close sympathy between the fisher and the fish that their spittle shall be as the spittle of one individual. As before stated, the spittle is believed to exert an important influence upon the whole physical and mental being. The expression "your spittle has become agreeable" is explained by A'yû[n]inĭ as an assertion or wish that the fish may prove palatable, while the words rendered "there shall be no loneliness" imply that there shall be an abundant catch.

LOVE.

(YÛ[n]WĔ[']HĬ UGÛ['][n]WA'LĬ I.)

Ku! Sgĕ! Alahi[']yĭ tsûl'dâ[']histĭ, Higĕ[']'ya tsûl'di[']yĭ, hatû['][n]gani[']ga. Elahi[']yĭ iyû['][n]ta ditsûl'da[']histĭ, Higĕ[']'ya Tsûne[']ga. Tsisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Tsâduhi[']yĭ. Nâ[']gwa-skĭn[']ĭ usĭnuli[']yu hû[n]skwane[']'lû[n]gû['] tsisga[']ya agine[']ga. Agisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Nâ[']gwa nû['][n]nâ, une[']ga hû[n]skwanû[n]neli[']ga. Uhisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Nâ[']gwa skwade[']tastani[']ga. Sa'ka[']ni u[']tatĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Nû[n]nâ une[']ga skiksa[']'û[n]taneli[']ga. Elaye[']'lĭ iyû['][n]ta skwalewistă[']'tani[']ga E[']latĭ gesû['][n] tsĭtage[']stĭ. Agisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Agwâ[']duhi[']yu. Kûltsâ[']te une[']ga skiga[']'tani[']ga. Uhisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na, gû[n]kwatsâti[']tege[']stĭ. Tsi-sa'ka[']ni agwă[']tatĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Usĭnuli[']yu hû[n]skwane[']'lû[n]gû['].

Ha-nâ[']gwûlĕ Elahi[']yĭ iyû['][n]tă dûhiyane[']'lû[n]gû['] a'gĕ[']'ya sa'ka[']ni. Nâ[']gwa nû[n]nâ[']hĭ sa'ka[']ni hû[n]tane[']'laneli[']ga. Uhisa[']'tĭ-gwû u[']danû dudusa[']gĭ tanela[']sĭ. Nû[n]nâ[']hĭ sa'ka[']ni tade[']tâstani[']ga. Nâgwûlĕ['] hû[n]hiyatsâ[']û[n]taniga. E[']latĭ gesû['][n] tû[']l'taniga. Dedu[']laskû['][n]-gwû igû['][n]wa'lawĭ[']stĭ uhi[']sa'ti[']yĭ widaye[']la'ni[']ga. Dedulaskû['][n]-gwû igû['][n]wa'lawĭ[']stĭ uhi[']sa'ti[']yĭ nitû['][n]neli[']ga.

Ha-sâgwahi[']yu itsilasta[']lagĭ + + uwă[']sahi[']yu, etsane[']'laneli[']ga. Agisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Agwâ[']duhĭ. A[']yû agwadantâ[']gĭ aye'li[']yu d'ka[']'lani[']lĭ duda[']ntâ, uktahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Yû['][n]wĭ tsu[']tsatû[n] widudante[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na, nitû['][n]neli[']ga. Sâ[']gwahĭ itsilasta[']lagĭ, etsane[']'laneli[']ga kûlkwâ[']gi-nasĭ['] igûlstû[']'lĭ gegane[']'lanû['][n].

Anisga[']ya anewadi[']sû[n] unihisa'ti[']yĭ. Tsu[']nada[']neilti[']yĭ. Dĭ[']la-gwû degû['][n]wănatsegû[']'lawi[']sdidegû[']. Ayâ[']ise[']ta-gwû u[']danû. Tsunada[']neilti[']yĭ. Utse[']tsti-gwû degû['][n]wănatsegû[']'lawis[']didegû[']. Tsunada[']neilti[']yĭ. Ka[']ga-gwû degû['][n]wănatsegû[']'awisdidegû[']. Tsunada[']neilti[']yĭ. Da[']l'ka-gwû degû['][n]wănatsegû[']'lawisdidegû['].

Kûlkwâ[']gĭ igûlsta[']lagĭ unihisa'ti[']yu. Ige[']ski-gwû nige[']sû[n]na. Ayâ[']ise[']ta-gwû u[']danû degû['][n]wănatsûn'ti-degû[']. K'si-gwû degû['][n]wănatsûn'ti-degû[']. A[']yagâgû['] tsisga[']ya agine[']ga û[n]gwane[']'lanû[']hĭ + + Nû[n]dâgû['][n]yĭ iti[']tsa ditsidâ[']ga. Agisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Agwâduhi[']yu. Tsi-sa'ka[']nĭ agwă[']tatĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Kûltsâ[']te une[']ga û[n]ni[']tagâgû['] gûkwatsâ[']nti-degû[']. Agisă[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. A[']yû agwadantâ[']gĭ aye'li[']yu gûlasi[']ga tsûda[']ntâ, uktahû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na. A[']yû tsĭ[']gĭ tsûda[']nta 0 0. Sgĕ!

Translation.

CONCERNING LIVING HUMANITY (LOVE).

Kû! Listen! In Alahi[']yĭ you repose, O Terrible Woman, O you have drawn near to hearken. There in Elahiyĭ you are at rest, O White Woman. No one is ever lonely when with you. You are most beautiful. Instantly and at once you have rendered me a white man. No one is ever lonely when with me. Now you have made the path white for me. It shall never be dreary. Now you have put me into it. It shall never become blue. You have brought down to me from above the white road. There in mid-earth (mid-surface) you have placed me. I shall stand erect upon the earth. No one is ever lonely when with me. I am very handsome. You have put me into the white house. I shall be in it as it moves about and no one with me shall ever be lonely. Verily, I shall never become blue. Instantly you have caused it to be so with me.

And now there in Elahiyĭ you have rendered the woman blue. Now you have made the path blue for her. Let her be completely veiled in loneliness. Put her into the blue road. And now bring her down. Place her standing upon the earth. Where her feet are now and wherever she may go, let loneliness leave its mark upon her. Let her be marked out for loneliness where she stands.

Ha! I belong to the (Wolf) ( + + ) clan, that one alone which was allotted into for you. No one is ever lonely with me. I am handsome. Let her put her soul the very center of my soul, never to turn away. Grant that in the midst of men she shall never think of them. I belong to the one clan alone which was allotted for you when the seven clans were established.

Where (other) men live it is lonely. They are very loathsome. The common polecat has made them so like himself that they are fit only for his company. They have became mere refuse. They are very loathsome. The common opossum has made them so like himself that they are fit only to be with him. They are very loathsome. Even the crow has made them so like himself that they are fit only for his company. They are very loathsome. The miserable rain-crow has made them so like himself that they are fit only to be with him.

The seven clans all alike make one feel very lonely in their company. They are not even good looking. They go about clothed with mere refuse. They even go about covered with dung. But I—I was ordained to be a white man. I stand with my face toward the Sun Land. No one is ever lonely with me. I am very handsome. I shall certainly never become blue. I am covered by the everlasting white house wherever I go. No one is ever lonely with me. Your soul has come into the very center of my soul, never to turn away. I—(Gatigwanasti,) (0 0)—I take your soul. Sgĕ!

Explanation.

This unique formula is from one of the loose manuscript sheets of Gatigwanasti, now dead, and belongs to the class known as Yû[n]wĕ[']hĭ or love charms (literally, concerning "living humanity"), including all those referring in any way to the marital or sexual relation. No explanation accompanies the formula, which must therefore be interpreted from analogy. It appears to be recited by the lover himself—not by a hired shaman—perhaps while painting and adorning himself for the dance. (See next two formulas.)

The formula contains several obscure expressions which require further investigation. Elahiyĭ or Alahiyĭ, for it is written both ways in the manuscript, does not occur in any other formula met with thus far, and could not be explained by any of the shamans to whom it was submitted. The nominative form may be Elahĭ, perhaps from ela, "the earth," and it may be connected with Wa[']hĭlĭ, the formulistic name for the south. The spirit invoked is the White Woman, white being the color denoting the south.

Uhisa[']'tĭ, rendered here "lonely," is a very expressive word to a Cherokee and is of constant recurrence in the love formulas. It refers to that intangible something characteristic of certain persons which inevitably chills and depresses the spirits of all who may be so unfortunate as to come within its influence. Agisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na, "I never render any one lonely," is an intensified equivalent for, "I am the best company in the world," and to tell a girl that a rival lover is uhisa[']'tĭ is to hold out to her the sum of all dreary prospects should she cast in her lot with him.

The speaker, who evidently has an exalted opinion of himself, invokes the aid of the White Woman, who is most beautiful and is never uhisa[']'tĭ. She at once responds by making him a white—that is, a happy—man, and placing him in the white road of happiness, which shall never become blue with grief or despondency. She then places him standing in the middle of the earth, that he may be seen and admired by the whole world, especially by the female portion. She finally puts him into the white house, where happiness abides forever. The verb implies that the house shelters him like a cloak and goes about with him wherever he may go.

There is something comical in the extreme self-complacency with which he asserts that he is very handsome and will never become blue and no one with him is ever lonely. As before stated, white signifies peace and happiness, while blue is the emblem of sorrow and disappointment.

Having thus rendered himself attractive to womankind, he turns his attention to the girl whom he particularly desires to win. He begins by filling her soul with a sense of desolation and loneliness. In the beautiful language of the formula, her path becomes blue and she is veiled in loneliness. He then asserts, and reiterates, that he is of the one only clan which was allotted for her when the seven clans were established.

He next pays his respects to his rivals and advances some very forcible arguments to show that she could never be happy with any of them. He says that they are all "lonesome" and utterly loathsome—the word implies that they are mutually loathsome—and that they are the veriest trash and refuse. He compares them to so many polecats, opossums, and crows, and finally likens them to the rain-crow (cuckoo; Coccygus), which is regarded with disfavor on account of its disagreeable note. He grows more bitter in his denunciations as he proceeds and finally disposes of the matter by saying that all the seven clans alike are uhisa[']'tĭ and are covered with filth. Then follows another glowing panegyric of himself, closing with the beautiful expression, "your soul has come into the very center of mine, never to turn away," which reminds one forcibly of the sentiment in the German love song, "Du liegst mir im Herzen." The final expression, "I take your soul," implies that the formula has now accomplished its purpose in fixing her thoughts upon himself.

When successful, a ceremony of this kind has the effect of rendering the victim so "blue" or lovesick that her life is in danger until another formula is repeated to make her soul "white" or happy again. Where the name of the individual or clan is mentioned in these formulas the blank is indicated in the manuscript by crosses + + or ciphers 0 0 or by the word iyu[']stĭ, "like."

HĬ[']Ă ĂMA[']YĬ Ă[']TAWASTI[']YĬ KANÂ[']HEHÛ.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa usĭnuli[']yu hatû['][n]gani[']ga Higĕ[']'yagu[']ga, tsûwatsi[']la gi[']gage tsiye[']la skĭna[']dû'lani[']ga. 0 0 digwadâ[']ita. Sa'ka[']nĭ tûgwadûne[']lûhĭ. Atsanû['][n]gĭ gi[']gage skwâsû[']hisa'tani[']ga. + + kûlstă[']lagĭ + sa'ka[']nĭ nu[']tatanû['][n]ta. Ditu[']nû[n]nâ[']gĭ dagwû[']laskû['][n]-gwû deganu[']y'tasi[']ga. Galâ[']nû[n]tse[']ta-gwû dagwadûne[']lidise[']stĭ. Sgĕ!

Translation.

THIS TELLS ABOUT GOING INTO THE WATER.

Listen! O, now instantly, you have drawn near to hearken, O Agĕ[']'yagu[']ga. You have come to put your red spittle upon my body. My name is (Gatigwanasti.) The blue had affected me. You have come and clothed me with a red dress. She is of the (Deer) clan. She has become blue. You have directed her paths straight to where I have my feet, and I shall feel exultant. Listen!

Explanation.

This formula, from Gatigwanasti's book, is also of the Yû[n]wĕ[']hĭ class, and is repeated by the lover when about to bathe in the stream preparatory to painting himself for the dance. The services of a shaman are not required, neither is any special ceremony observed. The technical word used in the heading, ă[']tawasti[']yĭ, signifies plunging or going entirely into a liquid. The expression used for the ordinary "going to water," where the water is simply dipped up with the hand, is ămâ[']yĭ dita'ti[']yĭ, "taking them to water."

The prayer is addressed to Agĕ[']'yaguga, a formulistic name for the moon, which is supposed to exert a great influence in love affairs, because the dances, which give such opportunities for love making, always take place at night. The shamans can not explain the meaning of the term, which plainly contains the word agĕ[']'ya, "woman," and may refer to the moon's supposed influence over women. In Cherokee mythology the moon is a man. The ordinary name is nû['][n]dâ, or more fully, nû['][n]dâ sû[n]nâyĕ[']hĭ, "the sun living in the night," while the sun itself is designated as nû['][n]dâ igĕ[']hĭ, "the sun living in the day."

By the red spittle of Agĕ[']'yagu[']ga and the red dress with which the lover is clothed are meant the red paint which he puts upon himself. This in former days was procured from a deep red clay known as ela-wâ[']tĭ, or "reddish brown clay." The word red as used in the formula is emblematic of success in attaining his object, besides being the actual color of the paint. Red, in connection with dress or ornamentation, has always been a favorite color with Indians throughout America, and there is some evidence that among the Cherokees it was regarded also as having a mysterious protective power. In all these formulas the lover renders the woman blue or disconsolate and uneasy in mind as a preliminary to fixing her thoughts upon himself. (See next formula.)

(YÛ['][n]WĔ[']HĬ UGÛ['][n]WA'LĬ II.)

Yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ. Galû['][n]latĭ, datsila[']ĭ—Yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ. Nû[n]dâgû['][n]yĭ gatla[']ahĭ—Yû['][n]wĕhĭ. Ge'yagu[']ga Gi[']gage, tsûwatsi[']la gi[']gage tsiye[']la skĭna[']dû'lani[']ga— Yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ. Hiă-'nû['] atawe[']ladi[']yĭ kanâ[']hĕhû galû[n]lti[']tla.

Translation.

SONG FOR PAINTING.

Yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ. I am come from above—Yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ. I am come down from the Sun Land—Yû['][n]wĕhĭ. O Red Agĕ'yagu[']ga, you have come and put your red spittle upon my body—Yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, yû['][n]wĕhĭ.

And this above is to recite while one is painting himself.

Explanation.

This formula, from Gatigwanasti, immediately follows the one last given, in the manuscript book, and evidently comes immediately after it also in practical use. The expressions used have been already explained. The one using the formula first bathes in the running stream, reciting at the same time the previous formula "Amâ[']yĭ Ă[']tawasti[']yĭ." He then repairs to some convenient spot with his paint, beads, and other paraphernalia and proceeds to adorn himself for the dance, which usually begins about an hour after dark, but is not fairly under way until nearly midnight. The refrain, yû['][n]wĕhĭ, is probably sung while mixing the paint, and the other portion is recited while applying the pigment, or vice versa. Although these formula are still in use, the painting is now obsolete, beyond an occasional daubing of the face, without any plan or pattern, on the occasion of a dance or ball play.

ADALANI[']STA'TI[']YĬ. Ĭ.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga nihĭ[']— —Tsa[']watsi[']lû tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû['] ayû[']. —Hiyelû['] tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû['] ayû[']. —Tsăwiyû['] tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû['] ayû[']. —Tsûnahu['] tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû['] ayû['].

Sgĕ! Nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Hĭkayû['][n]lige. Hiă['] asga[']ya uda[']ntâ tsa'ta[']hisi[']ga [Hĭkayû['][n]lige] hiye[']lastû[n]. Tsaskûlâ[']hĭsti-gwû['] nige[']sû[n]na. Dĭkana[']watû['][n]ta-gwû tsûtû[']neli[']ga. Hĭlû dudantĕ[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Duda[']ntâ dûskalû[n][']tseli[']ga. Astĭ['] digû['][n]nage tagu[']talû[n]tani[']ga.

Translation.

TO ATTRACT AND FIX THE AFFECTIONS.

Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken— —Your spittle, I take it, I eat it. } —Your body, I take it, I eat it, } —Your flesh, I take it, I eat it, } Each sung four times. —Your heart, I take it, I eat it. }

Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O, Ancient One. This man's (woman's) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You are never to let go your hold upon it. It is ordained that you shall do just as you are requested to do. Let her never think upon any other place. Her soul has faded within her. She is bound by the black threads.

Explanation.

This formula is said by the young husband, who has just married an especially engaging wife, who is liable to be attracted by other men. The same formula may also be used by the woman to fix her husband's affections. On the first night that they are together the husband watches until his wife is asleep, when, sitting up by her side, he recites the first words: Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga nihĭ['], and then sings the next four words: Tsawatsi[']lû tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû['] ayû['], "Your spittle, I take it, I eat it," repeating the words four times. While singing he moistens his fingers with spittle, which he rubs upon the breast of the woman. The next night he repeats the operation, this time singing the words, "I take your body." The third night, in the same way, he sings, "I take your flesh," and the fourth and last night, he sings "I take your heart," after which he repeats the prayer addressed to the Ancient One, by which is probably meant the Fire (the Ancient White). A'yû['][n]inĭ states that the final sentences should be masculine, i.e., His soul has faded, etc., and refer to any would-be seducer. There is no gender distinction in the third person in Cherokee. He claimed that this ceremony was so effective that no husband need have any fears for his wife after performing it.

ADAYE[']LIGA[']GTA'TĬ['].

Yû! Galû['][n]latĭ tsûl'da[']histĭ, Giya[']giya['] Sa'ka[']ni, nâ[']gwa nû[n]talû[n] i[']yû['][n]ta. Tsâ[']la Sa'ka[']ni tsûgistâ[']'tĭ adû[n]ni[']ga. Nâ[']gwa nidâtsu[']l'tanû['][n]ta, nû['][n]tātagû['] hisa[']hasi[']ga. Tani[']dâgû[n]['] aye[']'lĭ dehidâ[']siga. Unada[']ndâ dehiyâ[']staneli[']ga. Nidugale[']ntanû['][n]ta nidûhû[n]neli[']ga.

Tsisga[']ya agine[']ga, nû[n]dâgû['][n]yĭ ditsidâ[']'stĭ. Gû[']nĭ âstû['] uhisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Agĕ[']'ya une[']ga hi[']ă iyu[']stĭ gûlstû[']'lĭ, iyu[']stĭ tsûdâ[']ita. Uda[']ndâ usĭnu[']lĭ dâdatinilû[']gû[n]elĭ[']. Nû[n]dâgû['][n]yitsû['] dâdatinilugûstanelĭ. Tsisga[']ya agine[']ga, ditsidâstû['][n]ĭ nû'nû['] kana[']tlani[']ga. Tsûnkta['] tegă'la[']watege[']stĭ. Tsiye[']lû[n] gesû['][n]ĭ uhisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na.

Translation.

FOR SEPARATION (OF LOVERS).

Yû! On high you repose, O Blue Hawk, there at the far distant lake. The blue tobacco has come to be your recompense. Now you have arisen at once and come down. You have alighted midway between them where they two are standing. You have spoiled their souls immediately. They have at once become separated.

I am a white man; I stand at the sunrise. The good sperm shall never allow any feeling of loneliness. This white woman is of the Paint (iyustĭ) clan; she is called (iyustĭ) Wâyĭ[']. We shall instantly turn her soul over. We shall turn it over as we go toward the Sun Land. I am a white man. Here where I stand it (her soul) has attached itself to (literally, "come against") mine. Let her eyes in their sockets be forever watching (for me). There is no loneliness where my body is.

Explanation.

This formula, from A'yû[n]inĭ's book, is used to separate two lovers or even a husband and wife, if the jealous rival so desires. In the latter case the preceding formula, from the same source, would be used to forestall this spell. No explanation of the ceremony is given, but the reference to tobacco may indicate that tobacco is smoked or thrown into the fire during the recitation. The particular hawk invoked (giya[']giya[']) is a large species found in the coast region but seldom met with in the mountains. Blue indicates that it brings trouble with it, while white in the second paragraph indicates that the man is happy and attractive in manner.

In the first part of the formula the speaker calls upon the Blue Hawk to separate the lovers and spoil their souls, i.e., change their feeling toward each other. In the second paragraph he endeavors to attract the attention of the woman by eulogizing himself. The expression, "we shall turn her soul over," seems here to refer to turning her affections, but as generally used, to turn one's soul is equivalent to killing him.

(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[']ita). A[']yû 0 0 tsûwi[']ya tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû[']. Yû!

Yû! Ha-nâ[']gwa ada[']ntĭ dătsâsi[']ga. [*][*] hĭlû(stû[']'lĭ) [*][*] ditsa(dâ[']ita). A[']yû 0 0 tsûwatsi[']la tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû['] a[']yû. Yû!

Yû! Ha-nâ[']gwa ada[']ntĭ dătsâsi[']ga. [*][*] hĭlû(stû[']'lĭ), [*][*] ditsadâ['](ita). A[']yû 0 0 tsûnahŭ['] tsĭkĭ['] tsĭkû[']. Yû!

Sgĕ! "Ha-nâ[']gwa ada[']ntĭ dutsase['], tsugale[']ntĭ nige[']sû[n]na," tsûdûneĭ, Hĭkayû['][n]lige galû['][n]latĭ. Kananĕ[']skĭ Û['][n]nage galû['][n]latĭ (h)etsatsâ[']û[n]tănile[']ĭ. Tsănilta[']gĭ tsûksâ[']û[n]tanile[']ĭ. [*][*] gûla(stû[']'lĭ), [*][*] ditsadâ['](ita). Dudantâ[']gĭ uhani[']latâ tĭkwenû['][n]tani[']ga. Kûlkwâ[']gĭ igûlsta[']lagĭ iyû['][n]ta yû['][n]wĭ adayû['][n]latawă['] dudûne[']lida[']lû[n] uhisa[']'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwatĭ uhisa[']'tĭ dutlû['][n]tani[']ga. Tsû[']nkta daskâ[']lû[n]tsi[']ga. Sâ[']gwahĭ di[']kta de[']gayelû[n]tsi[']ga. Ga[']tsa igûnû[']nugâ[']ĭstû uda[']ntâ? Usû[']hita nudanû['][n]na ûltû[n]ge[']ta gû[n]wadûneli[']dege[']stĭ. Igû[n]wûlsta[']'ti-gwû duwâlu[']wa'tû[n]tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Kananĕ[']skĭ Û[n]nage[']ĭ tsanildew'se[']stĭ ada[']ntâ uktû[n]lesi[']dastĭ nige[']sûna. Gadâyu[']stĭ tsûdâ[']ita ada[']ntĭ tside[']atsasi[']ga. A[']ya a[']kwatseli[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwûlĕ['] hû[n]hatû[n]ga[']ga, Hĭkayû['][n]lĭ Gi[']gage. Tsetsûli[']sĭ hiye[']lastû[n] a'ta[']hisi[']ga. Ada[']ntâ hasû'gû[']'lawĭ[']stani[']ga, tsa[']skalahĭstĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Hĭkayû['][n]lige denătsegû'la[']wĭstani[']ga. Agĕ[']'ya gĭ[']nsû[n]gû'lawĭs[']tani[']ga uda[']ntâ uwahisĭ[']sata. Dĭgĭnaskûlâ[']hĭstĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Yû!

Hi[']ănasgwû['] u'tlâ[']yi-gwû dĭgalû['][n]wistan[']tĭ snû[n]â[']yĭ hani[']'lihû[n] gûnasgi[']stĭ. Gane[']tsĭ aye[']'lĭ asi[']tadis[']tĭ watsi[']la, ganû[n]li[']yetĭ aguwaye[']nĭ andisgâ[']ĭ. Sâi[']yĭ tsika[']nâhe itsu[']laha[']gwû.

Translation.

TO FIX THE AFFECTIONS.

Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer (x x) clan. Your name is (x x) Ayâsta, I am of the Wolf (o-o) clan. Your body, I take it, I eat it. Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your flesh I take, I eat. Yû!

Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your spittle I take, I eat. I! Yû!

Yû! Ha! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Deer clan. Your name is Ayâsta. I am of the Wolf clan. Your heart I take, I eat. Yû!

Listen! "Ha! Now the souls have met, never to part," you have said, O Ancient One above. O Black Spider, you have been brought down from on high. You have let down your web. She is of the Deer clan; her name is Ayâsta. Her soul you have wrapped up in (your) web. There where the people of the seven clans are continually coming in sight and again disappearing (i.e. moving about, coming and going), there was never any feeling of loneliness.

Listen! Ha! But now you have covered her over with loneliness. Her eyes have faded. Her eyes have come to fasten themselves on one alone. Whither can her soul escape? Let her be sorrowing as she goes along, and not for one night alone. Let her become an aimless wanderer, whose trail may never be followed. O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in your web so that it shall never get through the meshes. What is the name of the soul? They two have come together. It is mine!

Listen! Ha! And now you have hearkened, O Ancient Red. Your grandchildren have come to the edge of your body. You hold them yet more firmly in your grasp, never to let go your hold. O Ancient One, we have become as one. The woman has put her (x x x) soul into our hands. We shall never let it go! Yû!

(Directions.)—And this also is for just the same purpose (the preceding formula in the manuscript book is also a love charm). It must be done by stealth at night when they are asleep. One must put the hand on the middle of the breast and rub on spittle with the hand, they say. The other formula is equally good.

Explanation.

This formula to fix the affections of a young wife is taken from the manuscript sheets of the late Gatigwanasti. It very much resembles the other formula for the same purpose, obtained from. A'yû['][n]inĭ, and the brief directions show that the ceremony is alike in both. The first four paragraphs are probably sung, as in the other formula, on four successive nights, and, as explained in the directions and as stated verbally by A'yû['][n]inĭ, this must be done stealthily at night while the woman is asleep, the husband rubbing his spittle on her breast with his hand while chanting the song in a low tone, hardly above a whisper. The prayer to the Ancient One, or Ancient Red (Fire), in both formulas, and the expression, "I come to the edge of your body," indicate that the hands are first warmed over the fire, in accordance with the general practice when laying on the hands. The prayer to the Black Spider is a beautiful specimen of poetic imagery, and hardly requires an explanation. The final paragraph indicates the successful accomplishment of his purpose. "Your grandchildren" (tsetsûli[']sĭ) is an expression frequently used in addressing the more important deities.

MISCELLANEOUS FORMULAS.

SÛ[n]NÂ[']YĬ EDÂ[']HĬ E[']SGA ASTÛ[n]TI[']YĬ.

Sgĕ! Uhyû[n]tsâ[']yĭ galû[n]lti[']tla tsûltâ[']histĭ, Hĭsgaya Gigage[']ĭ, usĭnu[']lĭ di[']tsakûnĭ['] denatlû[n]hi[']sani[']ga Uy-igawa[']stĭ duda[']ntĭ. Nû[n]nâ[']hĭ tatuna[']watĭ. Usĭnu[']lĭ duda[']ntâ dani[']yû[n]stanilĭ['].

Sgĕ! Uhyû[n]tlâ[']yĭ galû[n]lti[']tla tsûltâ[']histĭ, Hĭsga[']ya Tĕ[']halu, hinaw'sŭ[']'ki. Ha-usĭnu[']lĭ nâ[']gwa di[']tsakûnĭ['] denatlû[n]hisani[']ga uy-igawa[']stĭ duda[']ntĭ. Nû[n]nâ[']hĭ tătuna[']wătĭ. Usĭnu[']lĭ duda[']ntâ dani[']galĭstanĭ['].

Translation.

TO SHORTEN A NIGHT-GOER ON THIS SIDE.

Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Red Man, quickly we two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying along the path. Quickly we two will take his soul as we go along.

Listen! In the Frigid Land above you repose, O Purple Man, * * * *. Ha! Quickly now we two have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying along the path. Quickly we two will cut his soul in two.

Explanation.

This formula, from A'yû['][n]inĭs' book, is for the purpose of driving away a witch from the house of a sick person, and opens up a most interesting chapter of Cherokee beliefs. The witch is supposed to go about chiefly under cover of darkness, and hence is called sû[n]nâ[']yĭ edâ[']hĭ, "the night goer." This is the term in common use; but there are a number of formulistic expressions to designate a witch, one of which, u[']ya igawa[']stĭ, occurs in the body of the formula and may be rendered "the imprecator," i.e., the sayer of evil things or curses. As the counteracting of a deadly spell always results in the death of its author, the formula is stated to be not merely to drive away the wizard, but to kill him, or, according to the formulistic expression, "to shorten him (his life) on this side."

When it becomes known that a man is dangerously sick the witches from far and near gather invisibly about his house after nightfall to worry him and even force their way in to his bedside unless prevented by the presence of a more powerful shaman within the house. They annoy the sick man and thus hasten his death by stamping upon the roof and beating upon the sides of the house; and if they can manage to get inside they raise up the dying sufferer from the bed and let him fall again or even drag him out upon the floor. The object of the witch in doing this is to prolong his term of years by adding to his own life as much as he can take from that of the sick man. Thus it is that a witch who is successful in these practices lives to be very old. Without going into extended details, it may be sufficient to state that the one most dreaded, alike by the friends of the sick man and by the lesser witches, is the Kâ[']lana-ayeli[']skĭ or Raven Mocker, so called because he flies through the air at night in a shape of fire, uttering sounds like the harsh croak of a raven.

The formula here given is short and simple as compared with some others. There is evidently a mistake in regard to the Red Man, who is here placed in the north, instead of in the east, as it should be. The reference to the arrows will be explained further on. Purple, mentioned in the second paragraph, has nearly the same symbolic meaning as blue, viz: Trouble, vexation and defeat; hence the Purple Man is called upon to frustrate the designs of the witch.

To drive away the witch the shaman first prepares four sharpened sticks, which he drives down into the ground outside the house at each of the four corners, leaving the pointed ends projecting upward and outward. Then, about noontime he gets ready the Tsâlagayû['][n]lĭ or "Old Tobacco" (Nicotiana rustica), with which he fills his pipe, repeating this formula during the operation, after which he wraps the pipe thus filled in a black cloth. This sacred tobacco is smoked only for this purpose. He then goes out into the forest, and returns just before dark, about which time the witch may be expected to put in an appearance. Lighting his pipe, he goes slowly around the house, puffing the smoke in the direction of every trail by which the witch might be able to approach, and probably repeating the same or another formula the while. He then goes into the house and awaits results. When the witch approaches under cover of the darkness, whether in his own proper shape or in the form of some animal, the sharpened stick on that side of the house shoots up into the air and comes down like an arrow upon his head, inflicting such a wound as proves fatal within seven days. This explains the words of the formula, "We have prepared your arrows for the soul of the Imprecator. He has them lying along the path". A'yû['][n]inĭ said nothing about the use of the sharpened sticks in this connection, mentioning only the tobacco, but the ceremony, as here described, is the one ordinarily used. When wounded the witch utters a groan which is heard by those listening inside the house, even at the distance of half a mile. No one knows certainly who the witch is until a day or two afterward, when some old man or woman, perhaps in a remote settlement, is suddenly seized with a mysterious illness and before seven days elapse is dead.

GAHU[']STĬ A[']GIYAHU[']SA.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga Nû['][n]ya Wâtige[']ĭ, gahu[']stĭ tsûtska[']dĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Ha-nâ[']gwa dû['][n]gihya[']lĭ. Agiyahu[']sa sĭ[']kwa, haga['] tsû[n]-nû['] iyû['][n]ta dătsi[']waktû[']hĭ. Tla-'ke['] a[']ya a[']kwatseli[']ga. 0 0 digwadâi[']ta.

Translation.

I HAVE LOST SOMETHING.

Listen! Ha! Now you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rock; you never lie about anything. Ha! Now I am about to seek for it. I have lost a hog and now tell me about where I shall find it. For is it not mine? My name is ——.

Explanation.

This formula, for finding anything lost, is so simple as to need but little explanation. Brown in this instance has probably no mythologic significance, but refers to the color of the stone used in the ceremony. This is a small rounded water-worn pebble, in substance resembling quartz and of a reddish-brown color. It is suspended by a string held between the thumb and finger of the shaman, who is guided in his search by the swinging of the pebble, which, according to their theory, will swing farther in the direction of the lost article than in the contrary direction! The shaman, who is always fasting, repeats the formula, while closely watching the motions of the swinging pebble. He usually begins early in the morning, making the first trial at the house of the owner of the lost article. After noting the general direction toward which it seems to lean he goes a considerable distance in that direction, perhaps half a mile or more, and makes a second trial. This time the pebble may swing off at an angle in another direction. He follows up in the direction indicated for perhaps another half mile, when on a third trial the stone may veer around toward the starting point, and a fourth attempt may complete the circuit. Having thus arrived at the conclusion that the missing article is somewhere within a certain circumscribed area, he advances to the center of this space and marks out upon the ground a small circle inclosing a cross with arms pointing toward the four cardinal points. Holding the stone over the center of the cross he again repeats the formula and notes the direction in which the pebble swings. This is the final trial and he now goes slowly and carefully over the whole surface in that direction, between the center of the circle and the limit of the circumscribed area until in theory, at least, the article is found. Should he fail, he is never at a loss for excuses, but the specialists in this line are generally very shrewd guessers well versed in the doctrine of probabilities.

There are many formulas for this purpose, some of them being long and elaborate. When there is reason to believe that the missing article has been stolen, the specialist first determines the clan or settlement to which the thief belongs and afterward the name of the individual. Straws, bread balls, and stones of various kinds are used in the different formulas, the ceremony differing according to the medium employed. The stones are generally pointed crystals or antique arrowheads, and are suspended as already described, the point being supposed to turn finally in the direction of the missing object. Several of these stones have been obtained on the reservation and are now deposited in the National Museum. It need excite no surprise to find the hog mentioned in the formula, as this animal has been domesticated among the Cherokees for more than a century, although most of them are strongly prejudiced against it.

HIA['] UNALE (ATESTI[']YĬ).

Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi[']—Yû!

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hĭnahû[n][']ski tayĭ[']. Ha-tâ[']sti-gwû gû[n]ska[']ihû. Tsûtali[']i-gwati[']na halu[']'nĭ. Kû[']nigwati[']na dula[']ska galû['][n]lati-gwû witu[']ktĭ. Wigû[n]yasĕ[']hĭsĭ. Â[']talĭ tsugû['][n]yĭ wite[']tsatanû['][n]û[n]sĭ['] nû[n]nâhĭ tsane[']lagĭ de[']gatsana[']wadise[']stĭ. Kûnstû['] dutsasû['][n]ĭ atû['][n]wasûtĕ[']hahĭ['] tsûtûneli[']sestĭ. Sgĕ!

Translation.

THIS IS TO FRIGHTEN A STORM.

Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], Yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi['], yuhahi[']—Yû!

Listen! O now you are coming in rut. Ha! I am exceedingly afraid of you. But yet you are only tracking your wife. Her footprints can be seen there directed upward toward the heavens. I have pointed them out for you. Let your paths stretch out along the tree tops (?) on the lofty mountains (and) you shall have them (the paths) lying down without being disturbed, Let (your path) as you go along be where the waving branches meet. Listen!

Explanation.

This formula, from A'yû['][n]inĭ's book, is for driving away, or "frightening" a storm, which threatens to injure the growing corn. The first part is a meaningless song, which is sung in a low tone in the peculiar style of most of the sacred songs. The storm, which is not directly named, is then addressed and declared to be coming on in a fearful manner on the track of his wife, like an animal in the rutting season. The shaman points out her tracks directed toward the upper regions and begs the storm spirit to follow her along the waving tree tops of the lofty mountains, where he shall be undisturbed.

The shaman stands facing the approaching storm with one hand stretched out toward it. After repeating the song and prayer he gently blows in the direction toward which he wishes it to go, waving his hand in the same direction as though pushing away the storm. A part of the storm is usually sent into the upper regions of the atmosphere. If standing at the edge of the field, he holds a blade of corn in one hand while repeating the ceremony.

DANAWÛ['] TSUNEDÂLÛ[']HĬ NUNATÛ[']NELI[']TALÛ['][n]HĬ 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[']sû[n]na. Duda[']ntâ e'lawi[']nĭ iyû['][n]ta ă[']tasû digû[n]nage[']ĭ degû[n]lskwĭ[']tahise[']stĭ, anetsâge[']ta unanugâ[']istĭ nige[']sû[n]na, nitinû['][n]neli[']ga. Ă[']tasû dusa[']ladanû['][n]stĭ nige[']sû[n]na, nitinû['][n]neli[']ga. E'lawi[']nĭ iyû['][n]ta ă[']tasû û[n]nage['] ugû[n][']hatû û[n]nage['] sâ[']gwa da'liyĕ[']kû'lani[']ga unadutlâ[']gĭ. Unanugâ[']tsida[']stĭ nige[']sû[n]na, nû[n]eli[']ga.

Usĭnuli[']yu tsunada[']ntâ kul'kwâ[']gine tigalû['][n]ltiyû['][n]ĭ iyû['][n]ta ada[']ntâ tega[']yĕ'ti[']tege[']stĭ. Tsunada[']ntâ tsuligalĭ[']stĭ nige[']sû[n]na dudûni[']tege[']stĭ. Usĭnu[']lĭ deniû['][n]eli[']ga galû['][n]latĭ iyû['][n]ta widu[']l'tâhĭsti[']tege[']stĭ. Ă[']tasû gigage[']ĭ dĕhatagû['][n]yastani[']ga. Tsunada[']ntâ tsudastû[']nilida[']stĭ nige[']sû[n]na nû[n]eli[']ga. Tsunada[']ntâ galû['][n]latĭ iyû['][n]ta witĕ[']'titege[']stĭ. Tsunada[']ntâ anigwalu[']gĭ une[']ga gû[n]wa[']nadagû['][n]yastitege[']stĭ. Sa'ka[']nĭ udûnu[']hĭ nige[']sû[n]na usĭnuli[']yu. Yû!

Translation.

WHAT THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TO WAR DID TO HELP THEMSELVES.

Hayĭ! Yû! Listen! Now instantly we have lifted up the red war club. Quickly his soul shall be without motion. There under the earth, where the black war clubs shall be moving about like ball sticks in the game, there his soul shall be, never to reappear. We cause it to be so. He shall never go and lift up the war club. We cause it to be so. There under the earth the black war club (and) the black fog have come together as one for their covering. It shall never move about (i.e., the black fog shall never be lifted from them). We cause it to be so.

Instantly shall their souls be moving about there in the seventh heaven. Their souls shall never break in two. So shall it be. Quickly we have moved them (their souls) on high for them, where they shall be going about in peace. You (?) have shielded yourselves (?) with the red war club. Their souls shall never be knocked about. Cause it to be so. There on high their souls shall be going about. Let them shield themselves with the white war whoop. Instantly (grant that) they shall never become blue. Yû!

Explanation.

This formula, obtained from A'wani[']ta, may be repeated by the doctor for as many as eight men at once when about to go to war. It is recited for four consecutive nights, immediately before setting out. There is no tabu enjoined and no beads are used, but the warriors "go to water" in the regular way, that is, they stand at the edge of the stream, facing the east and looking down upon the water, while the shaman, standing behind them, repeats the formula. On the fourth night the shaman gives to each man a small charmed root which has the power to confer invulnerability. On the eve of battle the warrior after bathing in the running stream chews a portion of this and spits the juice upon his body in order that the bullets of the enemy may pass him by or slide off from his skin like drops of water. Almost every man of the three hundred East Cherokees who served in the rebellion had this or a similar ceremony performed before setting out—many of them also consulting the oracular ulû[n]sû[']tĭ stone at the same time—and it is but fair to state that not more than two or three of the entire number were wounded in actual battle.

In the formula the shaman identifies himself with the warriors, asserting that "we" have lifted up the red war club, red being the color symbolic of success and having no reference to blood, as might be supposed from the connection. In the first paragraph he invokes curses upon the enemy, the future tense verb It shall be, etc., having throughout the force of let it be. He puts the souls of the doomed enemy in the lower regions, where the black war clubs are constantly waving about, and envelops them in a black fog, which shall never be lifted and out of which they shall never reappear. From the expression in the second paragraph, "their souls shall never be knocked about," the reference to the black war clubs moving about like ball sticks in the game would seem to imply that they are continually buffeting the doomed souls under the earth. The spirit land of the Cherokees is in the west, but in these formulas of malediction or blessing the soul of the doomed man is generally consigned to the underground region, while that of the victor is raised by antithesis to the seventh heaven.

Having disposed of the enemy, the shaman in the second paragraph turns his attention to his friends and at once raises their souls to the seventh heaven, where they shall go about in peace, shielded by (literally, "covered with") the red war club of success, and never to be knocked about by the blows of the enemy. "Breaking the soul in two" is equivalent to snapping the thread of life, the soul being regarded as an intangible something having length, like a rod or a string. This formula, like others written down by the same shaman, contains several evident inconsistencies both as to grammar and mythology, due to the fact that A'wanita is extremely careless with regard to details and that this particular formula has probably not been used for the last quarter of a century. The warriors are also made to shield themselves with the white war whoop, which should undoubtedly be the red war whoop, consistent with the red war club, white being the color emblematic of peace, which is evidently an incongruity. The war whoop is believed to have a positive magic power for the protection of the warrior, as well as for terrifying the foe.

The mythologic significance of the different colors is well shown in this formula. Red, symbolic of success, is the color of the war club with which the warrior is to strike the enemy and also of the other one with which he is to shield or "cover" himself. There is no doubt that the war whoop also should be represented as red. In conjuring with the beads for long life, for recovery from sickness, or for success in love, the ball play, or any other undertaking, the red beads represent the party for whose benefit the magic spell is wrought, and he is figuratively clothed in red and made to stand upon a red cloth or placed upon a red seat. The red spirits invoked always live in the east and everything pertaining to them is of the same color.

Black is always typical of death, and in this formula the soul of the enemy is continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped in a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy the shaman uses black beads and invokes the black spirits—which always live in the west—bidding them tear out the man's soul, carry it to the west, and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud, with a black serpent coiled above it.

Blue is emblematic of failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. "They shall never become blue" means that they shall never fail in anything they undertake. In love charms the lover figuratively covers himself with red and prays that his rival shall become entirely blue and walk in a blue path. The formulistic expression, "He is entirely blue," closely approximates in meaning the common English phrase, "He feels blue." The blue spirits live in the north.

White—which occurs in this formula only by an evident error—denotes peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as at the green corn dance and ball play, the people figuratively partake of white food and after the dance or the game return along the white trail to their white houses. In love charms the man, in order to induce the woman to cast her lot with his, boasts "I am a white man," implying that all is happiness where he is. White beads have the same meaning in the bead conjuring and white was the color of the stone pipe anciently used in ratifying peace treaties. The white spirits live in the south (Wa[']hală).

Two other colors, brown and yellow, are also mentioned in the formulas. Wâtige[']ĭ, "brown," is the term used to include brown, bay, dun, and similar colors, especially as applied to animals. It seldom occurs in the formulas and its mythologic significance is as yet undetermined. Yellow is of more frequent occurrence and is typical of trouble and all manner of vexation, the yellow spirits being generally invoked when the shaman wishes to bring down calamities upon the head of his victim, without actually destroying him. So far as present knowledge goes, neither brown nor yellow can be assigned to any particular point of the compass.

Usĭnuli[']yu, rendered "instantly," is the intensive form of usĭnu[']lĭ "quickly," both of which words recur constantly in the formulas, in some entering into almost every sentence. This frequently gives the translation an awkward appearance. Thus the final sentence above, which means literally "they shall never become blue instantly," signifies "Grant that they shall never become blue", i.e., shall never fail in their purpose, and grant our petition instantly.

DIDA[']LATLI[']'TĬ.

Sgĕ! Nâ[']gwa tsûdantâ[']gĭ tegû['][n]yatawâ[']ilateli[']ga. Iyustĭ (0 0) tsilastû[']'lĭ Iyu[']stĭ (0 0) ditsadâ[']ita. Tsûwatsi[']la elawi[']nĭ tsidâ[']hĭstani[']ga. Tsûdantâgĭ elawi[']nĭ tsidâ[']hĭstani[']ga. Nû['][n]ya gû['][n]nage gû[n]yu[']tlû[n]tani[']ga. Ă'nûwa[']gĭ gû['][n]nage['] gû[n]yu[']tlû[n]tani[']ga. Sû[n]talu[']ga gû['][n]nage degû['][n]yanu[']galû['][n]tani[']ga, tsû[']nanugâ[']istĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Usûhi[']yĭ nû[n]nâ[']hĭ wite[']tsatanû['][n]û[n]sĭ gûne[']sâ gû['][n]nage asahalagĭ[']. Tsûtû[']neli[']ga. Elawâ[']tĭ asa[']halagĭ[']a[']dû[n]ni[']ga. Usĭnuli[']yu Usûhi[']yĭ gûltsâ[']tĕ digû['][n]nagesta[']yĭ, elawâ[']ti gû['][n]nage tidâ[']hĭstĭ wa'yanu[']galû[n]tsi[']ga. Gûne[']sa gû['][n]age sû[n]talu[']ga gû['][n]nage gayu[']tlû[n]tani[']ga. Tsûdantâ[']gĭ ûska[']lû[n]tsi[']ga. Sa'ka[']nĭ adû[n]ni[']ga. Usû[']hita atanis[']se[']tĭ, ayâ[']lâtsi[']sestĭ tsûdantâ[']gĭ, tsû[']nanugâ[']istĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Sgĕ!

Translation.

TO DESTROY LIFE.

Listen! Now I have come to step over your soul. You are of the (wolf) clan. Your name is (A'yû['][n]inĭ). Your spittle I have put at rest under the earth. Your soul I have put at rest under the earth. I have come to cover you over with the black rock. I have come to cover you over with the black cloth. I have come to cover you with the black slabs, never to reappear. Toward the black coffin of the upland in the Darkening Land your paths shall stretch out. So shall it be for you. The clay of the upland has come (to cover you. (?)) Instantly the black clay has lodged there where it is at rest at the black houses in the Darkening Land. With the black coffin and with the black slabs I have come to cover you. Now your soul has faded away. It has become blue. When darkness comes your spirit shall grow less and dwindle away, never to reappear. Listen!

Explanation.

This formula is from the manuscript book of A'yû['][n]inĭ, who explained the whole ceremony. The language needs but little explanation. A blank is left for the name and clan of the victim, and is filled in by the shaman. As the purpose of the ceremony is to bring about the death of the victim, everything spoken of is symbolically colored black, according to the significance of the colors as already explained. The declaration near the end, "It has become blue," indicates that the victim now begins to feel in himself the effects of the incantation, and that as darkness comes on his spirit will shrink and gradually become less until it dwindles away to nothingness.

When the shaman wishes to destroy the life of another, either for his own purposes or for hire, he conceals himself near the trail along which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears the shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly until he chances to spit upon the ground. On coming up to the spot the shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust thus moistened with the victim's spittle. The possession of the man's spittle gives him power over the life of the man himself. Many ailments are said by the doctors to be due to the fact that some enemy has by this means "changed the spittle" of the patient and caused it to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man's body. In the love charms also the lover always figuratively "takes the spittle" of the girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. The same idea in regard to spittle is found in European folk medicine.

The shaman then puts the clay thus moistened into a tube consisting of a joint of the Kanesâ[']la or wild parsnip, a poisonous plant of considerable importance in life-conjuring ceremonies. He also puts into the tube seven earthworms beaten into a paste, and several splinters from a tree which has been struck by lightning. The idea in regard to the worms is not quite clear, but it may be that they are expected to devour the soul of the victim as earthworms are supposed to feed upon dead bodies, or perhaps it is thought that from their burrowing habits they may serve to hollow out a grave for the soul under the earth, the quarter to which the shaman consigns it. In other similar ceremonies the dirt-dauber wasp or the stinging ant is buried in the same manner in order that it may kill the soul, as these are said to kill other more powerful insects by their poisonous sting or bite. The wood of a tree struck by lightning is also a potent spell for both good and evil and is used in many formulas of various kinds.

Having prepared the tube, the shaman goes into the forest to a tree which has been struck by lightning. At its base he digs a hole, in the bottom of which he puts a large yellow stone slab. He then puts in the tube, together with seven yellow pebbles, fills in the earth, and finally builds a fire over the spot to destroy all traces of his work. The yellow stones are probably chosen as the next best substitute for black stones, which are not always easy to find. The formula mentions "black rock," black being the emblem of death, while yellow typifies trouble. The shaman and his employer fast until after the ceremony.

If the ceremony has been properly carried out, the victim becomes blue, that is, he feels the effects in himself at once, and, unless he employs the countercharms of some more powerful shaman, his soul begins to shrivel up and dwindle, and within seven days he is dead. When it is found that the spell has no effect upon the intended victim it is believed that he has discovered the plot and has taken measures for his own protection, or that, having suspected a design against him—as, for instance, after having won a girl's affections from a rival or overcoming him in the ball play—he has already secured himself from all attempts by counterspells. It then becomes a serious matter, as, should he succeed in turning the curse aside from himself, it will return upon the heads of his enemies.