372 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEES

sound, intended tocall

up

the birds,

and

then goes to

work

with his

remaining

arrows.

On

all

hunting

expeditionsit istheregularprac- tice, religiously enforced, toabstain

from

food until sunset.

A

^favorite

method

with the bird-hunter duringthe

summer

sea- son is toclimba

gum

^tree,

which

^is

much

frequented

by

thesmaller birds

ou

account of its berries, where, taking

up

a convenient posi- tion

amid

the branches with his noiseless

blowgun and

arrows,

he

deliberately shoots

down

one bird after anotheruntil 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 opera- tion.

As

the light darts used

make no

sound, the birds

seldom

take the alarm,

and

are too busily

engaged

with the berries tonotice their

comrades dropping

tothe

ground from

time to time,

and pay

but slightattention

even

to the

movements

of the hunter.

The

prayerisaddressedtothe

Ancient White

(the Fire),the spirit

most

frequently

invoked by

the hunter,

who,

as beforestated, rubs his

hands

togetheroverthe firewhile repeatingthewords.

The

ex- pressionsused areobscure

when

takenalone,but arefullof

meaning when

explained in the lightof the

hunting

customs.

The

" clotted blood"refers tothebloodstainedleaves

upon which

the fallen

game

haslain.

The

expressionoccursconstantlyinthe

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 usuallycast

upon

the coals also forthe

same

purpose.

This subject will be treated at length in a future account of the

hunting

ceremonies.

" Let^itbe buriedin

your stomach

" refers also tothe offering

made

thefire.

By

the red hickories are

meant

the strings ofhickory

bark which

the bird hunter twists about his waist forabelt.

The dead

birds are carried

by

insertingtheir heads

under

this belt.

Red

^is,

of course,symbolicof his success. "

The mangled

things"(unigwa-

lu'"gi) arethe

wounded

birds. Kana'tlis here used todesignate the

.fire,

on

account ^ofitsconnection with the

hunting

ceremonies.

INAGE'Hl AYASTI-YI.

UsTnuli'yu Selagwu'tsi Gigage'Tgetsu'ⁿneliga tsudandagi'hi aye'li'- yu, usinuli'yu. Yii!

Translation.

TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS.

Instantly the Red Selagwutsi strike you in the verycenter of your soul

—

^in-

stantly. Yu!

hookey.]

FORMULA FOR HUNTING. 373

Explanation.

This short formula, obtained

from

A'wani'ta, is recited

by

the hunter while taking aim.

The

bowstring is let

go —

^{or, rather, the}

trigger is pulled

—

^{at the final}

Yu! He was

unable to explain the

meaning

of the

word

selagwu'tsl further than that itreferred- to the bullet. Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that this is the

Cherokee name

of areed of the

genus

Erianthus,

and

the in- ference 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.

InagS'hi, "dwellers inthe wilderness," is the generic

term

for

game,

includingbirds, but A'wani'ta has another

formula

intended espe- cially for deer.

(YA'NATl'KANAGI'TA.)

He+!

Hayuya'haniwa'. hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa', hayu- ya'haniwa'.

Tsistuyi'nehandu'yanu, Tsistuyi'

nehandu'yanu — ^Yoho'+!

He-H

Hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa', hayu- ya'haniwa'.

Kuwahi'

nehandu'yanu',

Kuwahi' nehandu'yanu — Yoho'+

!

He+!

Hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa',

hayu-

ya'haniwa'.

Uya'ye' nehandu'yanu', Uya'ye' nehandu'yanu'

— ^Yoho'+

!

He+

^! Hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa',

hayu-

ya'haniwa'.

Gatekwa'(hi) nehandu'yanu', Gatekwa'(hi) nehandu'yanu'

—

Yoho'-f

!

Ule-'nii' as6hi' tadeya'statakuhi' gu'ⁿ

nage

astu'tsikf.

Translation.

BEAR SONG.

He! Hayuya'haniwa,hayuya'haniwa,', hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa.

InRabbit Placeyouwere conceived(repeat)

—

^Yoho'-j-!

He! Hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa^. hayuya'haniwa.'.

InMulberryPlaceyou wereconceived(repeat)

—

^Yoho'-f!

He! Hayuya'haniwa.', hayuya'haniwa.',hayuya'haniwa', hayuya'haniwa'.

InUya'yeyou wereconceived(repeat)

—

^Yoho'

+

^!

He! Hayuya'haniwa^.hayuya'haniwa^. hayuya'haniwa,', hayuya'haniwa,'.

In theGreat

Swamp

(?)you wereconceived(repeat)

—

^Yoho'+!

And

now^surelyweandthegoodblackthings,the bestofall,shall seeeachother.

,"<74

SACKED FOBMULAS OF THE, CHEROKEES.

Explanation.

This song, obtained

from

^{A'yiV'ini in} connection with thestory of theOrigin ofthe Bear, as already mentioned, is

sung by

the bear hunter, in orderto attract the bears, while

on

his

way from

the

camp

tothe place

where

he expects to

hunt during

the day. It is

mil' ^<>fthosetaught the

Cherokees by

the Ani-Tsa'kahl 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'haniwa'

has

no mean-

ing. Tsistu'yl,

Kuwa'hi.Uya"ye, and Gate'kwah!

arefourmountains, in eachof

which

the bears

have

a

townhouse and

^holdadancebefore going into their dens for the winter.

The

firstthree

named

are

high

peaks inthe

Smoky

Mountains,

on

theTennesseeline, in the neigh-

borhood

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 tooriginateor be conceived in the

mountains named,

because these are their head- quarters.

The

^''

good

black things^" referred to inthe recitation are the bears.

BOA' ATSU'TI'YITSUN'TANU.

Sge!

Na'gwa

hitsatu'"gani'ga hitsiga'tugi'. Titsila'wisii'ⁿhl

uwagi"li tege'tsuts'gu'lawisti'. Tsuli'stana'lu file' waktfii, agi'stl

une'ka ^itsfi'nyatanilfi'istani'ga. Gfi"watu'hwitfi' nu"na'hi degfindal- tsi'dahe'stl. "Wa'hisa'nahi tigiwatsi'la. Tutsegfi"lawisti'tege'stl.

U

^ntali'degfi'"watanfihi, uhisa"tinige'sfiⁿna. Tsuwatsi'ladadal'tsi'ga.

A'yfi A'yu'ⁿinitigwada'ita. Yfi!

Translation.

THIS IS FOR CATCHING LARGE ^PISH.

Listen!

Now

yousettlementshavedrawn near to hearken. Where you have gatheredinthefoam youaremovingaboutas one. YouBlue Cat and the others, Ihavecometo offeryoufreelythewhitefood. Letthepathsfromeverydirection recognizeeachother. Ourspittle shallbeinagreement. Let them(yourami

my

spittle)be together aswegoabout. They (thelish) havebecomea preyand there shallbenoloneliness. Yourspittlehasbecomeagreeable. I

am

calledSwimmer.

Yu!

Explanation.

This formula,

from A'yu

ⁿini's'bonk,is forthe purpose^<>f catching large fish.

According

to hisinstructinns, the fisherman

must

first

chew

a small piece of Yugwilfi'(Venus' Flytrap

—

Dionpea muscipula) and spit it

upon

the bait

and

also

upon

the hook. Then, standing

muoney]

FORMULA FOR LOVE CHARMS. B75

facing the stream, herecitesthe formula

and

puts the bait

upon

the hook.

He

^will beableto pull out a tish at once, or if the fish are not about at the

moment

they ^will

come

in a very short time.

The YugwihY

^{is put}

^upon

^{the bait}

^from

the idea that^itwillenable the

hook

to attract

and

^{hold the fish} as the plant ^{itself seizes}

and

holdsinsects in its cup.

The

root is

much

^prized

by

theCherokees for this purpose,

and

those in the

West, where

the plant^isnotfound, frequently send requestsfor ^it to their friendsin Carolina.

The

prayer is addressed directly to the ^fish,

who

are represented as living insettlements.

The same

expression as has alreadybeen

mentioned

is sometimes used

by

the doctors in speaking of the tsgd'ya or

worms ^which

^{are supposedtocause sickness}

by

getting

under

the skin of the patient,

The

Blue Cat

(Amiurus,

genus) is

addressed as the principal ^fishand-the bait^isspoken of asthe"white

food.'" an expression usedalso of the viands prepared at the feast of thegreen corn dance, toindicate their

wholesome

^{character. "Let} the paths

from

every direction recognize eachother,"

means

letthe fishes,

which

^{aresuppesed to}

have

regulartrails

through

the water, assembletogetherat the place

where

the speaker takes his station, as friends recognizing each other ^at a distance

approach

to greet eachother, "Wahisa'nahi tigiwatsi'la,rendered

"our

spittle shallbe in agreement," ^is a peculiar archaic expression that can not be^liter- ally translated. ^It implies that there^shall be such ^close

sympathy between

thefisher

and

thefish that theirspittle shallbeasthespittle of oneindividual.

As

beforestated,thespittleisbelievedtoexert

an

important^influence

upon

the

whole

physical

and

mental^being.

The

expression

"your

spittle has

become

agreeable" is explained

by A'yu

^{nini as}

^an

assertion or wish that the fish

may

provepalatable, while the

words

rendered ••there shall be

no

loneliness"

imply

that thereshall be an

abundant

catch.

LOVE.

(YfrWE'Hi UGt}'"WA'LII.)

Ku!

Sge!

AlaMyi

tsul'da'histi,

HigS"ya

tsul'di'yi, hatu'ⁿgani'- ga.

ElaU'yi

^iyiV'ta ditsuhdahisti,

HigS"ya

^Tsune'ga. Tsisa"tl nige'su"na. Tsaduhi'yi. Na'gwa-skln'iusmuli'yu

hu

ⁿ

skwane"lu

^ngu'

fcsisga'ya agine'ga. Agisa"tl nige'siV'na.

Na'gwa

nu'ⁿ

na

une'ga

hu"skwanu

^nneli'ga. Uhisa"ti nige'siV'na.

Na'gwa

skwade'tastam^- ga. Sa'ka'ni n'tat! nige'siV'na.

Nu"na

une'ga skiksa"u° taneli'ga.

Elaye'd! iyu'Ua skwalewistaV'tani'ga E'lati gesu'^u tsitage'sti. Agi- sa"ti nige'siV'na.

Agwa

^{duhi'yu. Kultsa'te une'ga} skiga'tani'ga.

Uhisa'-ti nige'siV'na, giV'kwatsati'tege'stl. Tsi-sa'ka'ni agwa'tati nige'sVna. Usinuli'yu

hiVskwane'diVgu.

Ha-na'gwule

Elah'iifi iyu"ta diihiyane'-liVgu' a'ge"ya sa'ka'ni.

Na'gwa

nu"na'h! sa'ka'ni

hu

ⁿtane"laneli'ga. Uhisa'-fi-gwuu'danu dudusa'gi tanelasi. NiVufi'ln sa'ka'ni tade'tastani'ga.

NagwulB'