SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES.

On the contrary, the Cherokee alphabet is an invention or adaptation of one of the tribes, which although borrowed most of them. The formulas given here, as well as those of the entire collection, were written by shamans themselves - men who.

310 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEKOKEES

HOW THE FORMULAS WERE OBTAINED

THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT

He replied that he was willing to tell all about stories and customs, but that these songs were part of his secret. These reports worried Swimmer, who was extremely sensitive about his reputation, and he grew uneasy at the insinuations of his rivals.

312 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

THE GATIGWANASTI MANUSCRIPT

MOONEY.] THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. 313

THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT

314 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE OHEEOKEES

THE INALI MANUSCRIPT

315 position of honor among his people, including that of councilman, keeper of the burgess records, superintendent of the Sunday school, magician, officer in the Confederate service, and Methodist preacher, finally dying as he was born, in the ancient religion of his forefathers. These last are all written in Cherokee characters, in the usual gossipy style common among Friends, and several contain important historical material relating to the movements of the two armies in East Tennessee.

816 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEES

OTHER MANUSCRIPTS

All these formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, A'wanita and Takwtihi are now in the possession of the Bureau. I quickly grasped the idea and, in the course of about a month, always under the personal supervision of the writer, managed to complete the book completely according to the plan outlined.

318 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE (TIEROKEES

CHARACTER OF THE FORMULAS—THE CHEROKEE RELIGION

So far from being a jumble of falsehoods, there is a wonderful completeness about the whole system which is not surpassed even by the ceremonial religions of the East. He was careful not to violate the rights of his tribesman or to hurt his feelings, but there is nothing to show that he had any idea of either.

THE ORIGIN OF DISEASE AND MEDICINE

He had no Great Spirit, no happy hunting ground, no heaven, no hell, and consequently death had no terrors for him, and he awaited the inevitable end without fear of the future.

320 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

At length the birds, insects, and smaller animals assembled for a similar purpose, and the Grubworm presided over the deliberations. The Toad (wala'si) who spoke first said, "We must do something to stop the increase of the race, otherwise people will become so numerous that we will be crowded out from the earth.

THEORY OF DISEASE— ANIMALS, GHOSTS, WITCHES

The faith of the patient has much to do with his recovery, for the Indian has the same implicit trust in the shaman as the child has in the more intelligent doctor. Rituals and prayers are well calculated to produce this feeling, and the effect which they thus produce upon the mind of the patient is sure to respond positively to him.

324 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

SELECTED LIST OF PLANTS USED

326 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

At present it is not used, although it is recommended by Hermann as a good remedy for gout and rheumatism. It has been found that this kind of decoction is produced. .".

328 SACRED F0RMULA8 OF THE CHEROKEES

It would be equally unreasonable to suppose that the Indian could be entirely ignorant of the medicinal properties of plants, living as he did in the open air in close communion with nature; but neither in exactness nor extent can his knowledge compare for a moment with that of the practiced student who works on scientific principles. Decoction of burs must be a cure for forgetfulness, for there is nothing else that will stick like a bur; and a decoction of the stringy roots of the "devil's shoestring" must be an effectual wash to harden the ball player's muscles, for they are almost strong enough to stop the ploughshare in the furrow.

BIOOKK7.] ILLUSTRATION OF THE TABU. 331

332 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEKS

NEGLECT OF SANITARY REGULATIONS

Only the constitutional strength, inherited from their warrior ancestors, enabled them to sustain the shock of the changed conditions of the past half century. The uniform good health of the children in the training school shows that the matter is not, however, hopeless, and that under favorable conditions, with a proper supply of food and a regular mode of life, the Cherokee can hold his own with the white man.

THE SWEAT BATH— BLEEDING — RUBBING — BATHING

333 while the mothers have their babies laid under the bushes, with only a shawl between them and the cold earth. In fact, the best information that could be obtained without any official statistics indicated a slow but steady decline over the past five years.

33-4 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

The instrument used is chosen in accordance with the mythological theory, except in the case of the piece of glass, which. In one of the formulas it is specified that the doctor should first blow on the right hand of the patient, then on the left foot, then on the left hand, and.

SHAMANS AND WHITE PHYSICIANS

MEDICINE DANCES

DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS

THE PAY OF THE SHAMAN

CEREMONIES FOR GATHERING PLANTS AND PREPARING MED-

340 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE OHEROKEES

THE CHEROKEE GODS AND THEIR ABIDING PLACES

He is one of the greatest gods, repeatedly invoked in all kinds of formulas, and is scarcely less inferior to fire, water, or the sun. The lover prays to the spider to hold his beloved's affection in the themes of his web, or to the moon, which looks like it.

COLOR SYMBOLISM

The hunter prays to the fire, from which he draws his people; to there, from where he makes his arrows: to TsuTkalu, the great lord of the game, and. Here it must be said that the animals of the formulas are not the ordinary, everyday animals, but their great ancestors, who live in the upper world (gal(V"lati) above the arch of the firmament.

IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES

3-4-1 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

SPECIMEN FORMULAS

- Uhuntsa'yi tsul'da'histi Gi"H Sa'ka'nl, hana'gwa ha-tungani'ga usmuli'yu. -usdigi'yu-gwuha-e'la- wastu iyu'nta duhita 'histani'ga Sge! Wa'hala'tsul'da'histi, Gi"liTsune'ga, hana'gwahatu'ngani'-.

346 SACRED FORMULAS OF TTIE OIIEROKEES

There are several theories about the cause of each disease, the most common idea regarding rheumatism being that it is caused by the spirits of the killed animals, usually the deer, who want to take revenge on the hunter, as already explained in the myth of the origin of the disease and the deer. medicine. There are formulas to appease the animals killed, but these are part of the hunting code and can only be noted here.

348 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

Sa'gwa nu"skwuta gunstu'ni agunstagi's-kai huntsatasga'i nu"kine-'nu unskwu'tanu/'kl nuntsatasga'i. A'nawa'gi-'nu dilasula'gl gesu'° i ule' tsikani'kaga'i guw'sdi'-gwu utsawa'taa'nawa'-gwu-nu'.

350 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEKOKEES

Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha dayuha (song)

Tsa'la aganu'nlieskai' tsa'la yikani'gungu'al'watsila-gwu ganunli'yetl unis- kiil'tsu'"!.

352 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE OHEROKEES

-Dɛ'tsata'-gwu (hi)tagu'sgastanr- hri. fo egzampl, 'sgastane'hgi' i go tehl yu di stori, i go tehl yu. Ɛn wantɛm wantɛm a put am.

354 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

Usinu'li hatu'ngani'ga, Giya'giya' Sa^ka'ni, ew'sata'gl tsul'da'histi. Als u dit wilt doen, kunt u een tsulstai-yu'ti-gwu hoge se'i gebruiken.

358 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

Each request to the spider is followed by another addressed to the ancient white, a formulaic name for fire. 34;Laying on the hands' refers to pressing the thumb on the jaw above the aching tooth, with the hand previously.

360 SACKED FQRMULAS OF THE OHEROKEES

In the early stages, chills usually appeared early in the morning, but appeared later in the day as the disease progressed. In a recitation which follows the song, but is used only in serious cases, the doctor prays to the storm, which is believed to reside among the trees on the mountainside, where it trembles.

362 5ACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEEOKEES

Therefore, it lies in the fact that an old woman is the terror of all the little boys in the neighborhood, constantly teasing and scaring them by declaring that she will live until they grow up, and then forcing one of them to marry her, old and curtailed as sheis. Since gender is an uncertain quantity, the possible boy is always treated first in the formulas, and if no result seems to follow, the doctor concludes that the child's girl is addressing similar tones.

864 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKFES

In this form of dalania, according to them, the patient's navel and abdomen swell, the ends of his fingers turn black, dark circles appear around the eyes, and the throat contracts convulsively, causing him to fall suddenly insensible. A'yunini's method of treatment is to rub the patient's chest and abdomen with hands previously rubbed together in a warm infusion of wild cherry bark (ta'ya).

366 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEKOKEES

U liatu'ngaui'ga,Ka'lanuSa'ka'ni; galu'ku lahliwa'- histi,hida'wShi. Ndzi tiyisile leswaku ndzi ta endla yini, kambe ndzi tiyisile leswaku ndzi nga swi kota Ka'lanu Tsftne'ga, hida'wShi.

368 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

In this case, it would mean that whatever object the enemy has put in the sick person's body. Although not explicitly stated, it is likely that the doctor would hold in his mouth a decoction of the named flowers, rather than the flowers themselves.

HUNTING

34; The treatment consists in suctioning the most affected part, the doctor having the flowers of Tsa'1-agayu'Ti (Nicotiana rustica), Kanasa'la (wild parsley) and Tsaliyusti Usdiga (Lobelia inflata.) in his mouth during the operation. The first and last of these names mean "tobacco" and "tobacco-like". while others seem to contain the same word, tsa'la, and the original idea may have been to counteract magic by the use of various kinds of "tobacco," the herb commonly used for driving.

370 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

Hikayu'I1l-Une'ga, Kana'ti, sk'salatatitege'sti, sa'ka'ni ginu't'ti nige'sunna. This formula from the A'yu'im manuscript is recited by a bird hunter in the morning as he stands over the fire in his hunting camp before setting out on the day's hunt.

372 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEES

Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that this is the Cherokee name of areed of the genus Erianthus, and the inference follows that the stem of the plant was formerly used. The same expression as already mentioned is sometimes used by the physicians when speaking of the tsgd'ya or worms which are supposed to cause disease by getting under the skin of the patient, is The Blue Cat (Amiurus, genus) .

376 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEES

Elahiyi or Alainyl, for it is written both ways in the manuscript, does not appear in any other formula so far met with, and could not be explained by either shamansto. The speaker, who evidently has a high opinion of himself, enlists the help of the White Woman, who is most beautiful and is never uhisa''ti.

378 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

The expression used for the common 'going to water', which involves simply immersing the water by hand, is ama'yi dita'ti'yl, 'bringing them to the water'. The red saliva of Agg''yagu'ga and the red dress with which the lover is dressed refer to the red paint that he applies to himself.

380 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEKOKEES

As he sings, he makes his fingers hemo with spit, which he rubs over the woman's chest. Galu'nlati tsiil'da'kisti, Giya'giya' Sa'ka'ni, na'gwa nuntalun i'yu'nta.

382 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

Where the people of the seven clans are constantly coming and going (that is, moving about, coming and going), there was never a sense of loneliness. It is very similar to the other formula for the same purpose obtained from A'yunim. And the brief directions show that the ceremony is the same in both cases.

384 BACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

MISCELLANEOUS FORMULAS

Violet, mentioned in the second paragraph, has almost the same symbolic meaning as blue, ie: Trouble, worry and loss; hence the Purple Man is summoned to frustrate the witch's plans. When wounded, the witch utters a moan that can be heard by those listening within the house, even at a distance of half a mile.

386 SACRED FORMULAS OF TUP: CHEROKEES

He places the souls of the doomed enemy in the lowest regions, where the black clubs are constantly swinging, and envelops them in black mist, which will never be removed and from which it will never reappear. Having destroyed the enemy, the shaman of the second paragraph turns his attention to his friends and raises their spirits.

390 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEES

The clay of the highlands came (to cover you.(?)) Instantly the black clay remained there where the black houses in the Darkening Land were re-established. Since the purpose of the ceremony is to bring about the death of the victim , everything that is talked about is symbolically colored black, according to the meaning of the colors as already.

392 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

The shaman and his employer then retreat to a secluded spot in the mountains, near a small stream, and begin a new series of bead charms. The shaman now takes between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand a red ball representing his client and a black ball representing the victim in a similar manner in his left hand.

394 SACKED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES

If the shaman is still unsuccessful on the fourth day, he admits defeat and gives up the game. Tsa'inedigalu'nlatiyu'n Sa'niwa Gi'gagei sa'gwa danutsgu"lani'ga, ase'ga'gi nige'sunna.

396 SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CIIEROKEES