Rubbing, used commonly for pains and swellings of the abdomen, is a very simple operation performed with the tip of the finger or the palm of the hand, and can not be dignified with the name of massage. In one of the Gahuni formulas for treating snake bites (page 351) the operator is told to rub in a direction contrary to that in which the snake coils itself, because "this is just the same as uncoiling it." Blowing upon the part affected, as well as upon the head, hands, and other parts of the body, is also an important feature of the ceremonial performance. In one of the formulas it is specified that the doctor must blow first upon the right hand of the patient, then upon the left foot, then upon the left hand, and finally upon the right foot, thus making an imaginary cross.

Bathing in the running stream, or "going to water," as it is called, is one of their most frequent medico-religious ceremonies, and is performed on a great variety of occasions, such as at each new moon, before eating the new food at the green corn dance, before the medicine dance and other ceremonial dances before and after the ball play, in connection with the prayers for long life, to counteract the effects of bad dreams or the evil spells of an enemy, and as a part of the regular treatment in various diseases. The details of the ceremony are very elaborate and vary according to the purpose for which it is performed, but in all cases both shaman and client are fasting from the previous evening, the ceremony being generally performed just at daybreak. The bather usually dips completely under the water four or seven times, but in some cases it is sufficient to pour the water from the hand upon the head and breast. In the ball play the ball sticks are dipped into the water at the same time. While the bather is in the water the shaman is going through with his part of the performance on the bank and draws omens from the motion of the beads between his thumb and finger, or of the fishes in the water. Although the old customs are fast dying out this ceremony is never neglected at the ball play, and is also strictly observed by many families on occasion of eating the new corn, at each new moon, and on other special occasions, even when it is necessary to break the ice in the stream for the purpose, and to the neglect of this rite the older people attribute many of the evils which have come upon the tribe in later days. The latter part of autumn is deemed the most suitable season of the year for this ceremony, as the leaves which then cover the surface of the stream are supposed to impart their medicinal virtues to the water.

SHAMANS AND WHITE PHYSICIANS.

Of late years, especially since the establishment of schools among them, the Cherokees are gradually beginning to lose confidence in the abilities of their own doctors and are becoming more disposed to accept treatment from white physicians. The shamans are naturally jealous of this infringement upon their authority and endeavor to prevent the spread of the heresy by asserting the convenient doctrine that the white man's medicine is inevitably fatal to an Indian unless eradicated from the system by a continuous course of treatment for four years under the hands of a skillful shaman. The officers of the training school established by the Government a few years ago met with considerable difficulty on this account for some time, as the parents insisted on removing the children at the first appearance of illness in order that they might be treated by the shamans, until convinced by experience that the children received better attention at the school than could possibly be had in their own homes. In one instance, where a woman was attacked by a pulmonary complaint akin to consumption, her husband, a man of rather more than the usual amount of intelligence, was persuaded to call in the services of a competent white physician, who diagnosed the case and left a prescription. On a second visit, a few days later, he found that the family, dreading the consequences of this departure from old customs, had employed a shaman, who asserted that the trouble was caused by a sharpened stick which some enemy had caused to be imbedded in the woman's side. He accordingly began a series of conjurations for the removal of the stick, while the white physician and his medicine were disregarded, and in due time the woman died. Two children soon followed her to the grave, from the contagion or the inherited seeds of the same disease, but here also the sharpened sticks were held responsible, and, notwithstanding the three deaths under such treatment, the husband and father, who was at one time a preacher, still has faith in the assertions of the shaman. The appointment of a competent physician to look after the health of the Indians would go far to eradicate these false ideas and prevent much sickness and suffering; but, as the Government has made no such provision, the Indians, both on and off the reservation, excepting the children in the home school, are entirely without medical care.

MEDICINE DANCES.

The Cherokees have a dance known as the Medicine Dance, which is generally performed in connection with other dances when a number of people assemble for a night of enjoyment. It possesses no features of special interest and differs in no essential respect from a dozen other of the lesser dances. Besides this, however, there was another, known as the Medicine Boiling Dance, which, for importance and solemn ceremonial, was second only to the great Green Corn Dance. It has now been discontinued on the reservation for about twenty years. It took place in the fall, probably preceding the Green Corn Dance, and continued four days. The principal ceremony in connection with it was the drinking of a strong decoction of various herbs, which acted as a violent emetic and purgative. The usual fasting and going to water accompanied the dancing and medicine-drinking.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS.

It is exceedingly difficult to obtain from the doctors any accurate statement of the nature of a malady, owing to the fact that their description of the symptoms is always of the vaguest character, while in general the name given to the disease by the shaman expresses only his opinion as to the occult cause of the trouble. Thus they have definite names for rheumatism, toothache, boils, and a few other ailments of like positive character, but beyond this their description of symptoms generally resolves itself into a statement that the patient has bad dreams, looks black around the eyes, or feels tired, while the disease is assigned such names as "when they dream of snakes," "when they dream of fish," "when ghosts trouble them," "when something is making something else eat them," or "when the food is changed," i.e., when a witch causes it to sprout and grow in the body of the patient or transforms it into a lizard, frog, or sharpened stick.

THE PAY OF THE SHAMAN.

The consideration which the doctor receives for his services is called ugista[']'tĭ, a word of doubtful etymology, but probably derived from the verb tsĭ[']giû, "I take" or "I eat." In former times this was generally a deer-skin or a pair of moccasins, but is now a certain quantity of cloth, a garment, or a handkerchief. The shamans disclaim the idea that the ugistâ[']'tĭ is pay, in our sense of the word, but assert that it is one of the agencies in the removal and banishment of the disease spirit. Their explanation is somewhat obscure, but the cloth seems to be intended either as an offering to the disease spirit, as a ransom to procure the release of his intended victim, or as a covering to protect the hand of a shaman while engaged in pulling the disease from the body of the patient. The first theory, which includes also the idea of vicarious atonement, is common to many primitive peoples. Whichever may be the true explanation, the evil influence of the disease is believed to enter into the cloth, which must therefore be sold or given away by the doctor, as otherwise it will cause his death when the pile thus accumulating reaches the height of his head. No evil results seem to follow its transfer from the shaman to a third party. The doctor can not bestow anything thus received upon a member of his own family unless that individual gives him something in return. If the consideration thus received, however, be anything eatable, the doctor may partake along with the rest of the family. As a general rule the doctor makes no charge for his services, and the consideration is regarded as a free-will offering. This remark applies only to the medical practice, as the shaman always demands and receives a fixed remuneration for performing love charms, hunting ceremonials, and other conjurations of a miscellaneous character. Moreover, whenever the beads are used the patient must furnish a certain quantity of new cloth upon which to place them, and at the close of the ceremony the doctor rolls up the cloth, beads and all, and takes them away with him. The cloth thus received by the doctor for working with the beads must not be used by him, but must be sold. In one instance a doctor kept a handkerchief which he received for his services, but instead sold a better one of his own. Additional cloth is thus given each time the ceremony is repeated, each time a second four days' course of treatment is begun, and as often as the doctor sees fit to change his method of procedure. Thus, when he begins to treat a sick man for a disease caused by rabbits, he expects to receive a certain ugista[']'tĭ; but, should he decide after a time that the terrapin or the red bird is responsible for the trouble, he adopts a different course of treatment, for which another ugista[']'tĭ is necessary. Should the sickness not yield readily to his efforts, it is because the disease animal requires a greater ugista[']'tĭ, and the quantity of cloth must be doubled, so that on the whole the doctrine is a very convenient one for the shaman. In many of the formulas explicit directions are given as to the pay which the shaman is to receive for performing the ceremony. In one of the Gatigwanasti formulas, after specifying the amount of cloth to be paid, the writer of it makes the additional proviso that it must be "pretty good cloth, too," asserting as a clincher that "this is what the old folks said a long time ago."

The ugista[']'tĭ can not be paid by either one of a married couple to the other, and, as it is considered a necessary accompaniment of the application, it follows that a shaman can not treat his own wife in sickness, and vice versa. Neither can the husband or wife of the sick person send for the doctor, but the call must come from some one of the blood relatives of the patient. In one instance within the writer's knowledge a woman complained that her husband was very sick and needed a doctor's attention, but his relatives were taking no steps in the matter and it was not permissible for her to do so.

CEREMONIES FOR GATHERING PLANTS AND PREPARING MEDICINE.

There are a number of ceremonies and regulations observed in connection with the gathering of the herbs, roots, and barks, which can not be given in detail within the limits of this paper. In searching for his medicinal plants the shaman goes provided with a number of white and red beads, and approaches the plant from a certain direction, going round it from right to left one or four times, reciting certain prayers the while. He then pulls up the plant by the roots and drops one of the beads into the hole and covers it up with the loose earth. In one of the formulas for hunting ginseng the hunter addresses the mountain as the "Great Man" and assures it that he comes only to take a small piece of flesh (the ginseng) from its side, so that it seems probable that the bead is intended as a compensation to the earth for the plant thus torn from her bosom. In some cases the doctor must pass by the first three plants met until he comes to the fourth, which he takes and may then return for the others. The bark is always taken from the east side of the tree, and when the root or branch is used it must also be one which runs out toward the east, the reason given being that these have imbibed more medical potency from the rays of the sun.

When the roots, herbs, and barks which enter into the prescription have been thus gathered the doctor ties them up into a convenient package, which he takes to a running stream and casts into the water with appropriate prayers. Should the package float, as it generally does, he accepts the fact as an omen that his treatment will be successful. On the other hand, should it sink, he concludes that some part of the preceding ceremony has been improperly carried out and at once sets about procuring a new package, going over the whole performance from the beginning. Herb-gathering by moonlight, so important a feature in European folk medicine, seems to be no part of Cherokee ceremonial. There are fixed regulations in regard to the preparing of the decoction, the care of the medicine during the continuance of the treatment, and the disposal of what remains after the treatment is at an end. In the arrangement of details the shaman frequently employs the services of a lay assistant. In these degenerate days a number of upstart pretenders to the healing art have arisen in the tribe and endeavor to impose upon the ignorance of their fellows by posing as doctors, although knowing next to nothing of the prayers and ceremonies, without which there can be no virtue in the application. These impostors are sternly frowned down and regarded with the utmost contempt by the real professors, both men and women, who have been initiated into the sacred mysteries and proudly look upon themselves as conservators of the ancient ritual of the past.

THE CHEROKEE GODS AND THEIR ABIDING PLACES.

After what has been said in elucidation of the theories involved in the medical formulas, the most important and numerous of the series, but little remains to be added in regard to the others, beyond what is contained in the explanation accompanying each one. A few points, however, may be briefly noted.

The religion of the Cherokees, like that of most of our North American tribes, is zootheism or animal worship, with the survival of that earlier stage designated by Powell as hecastotheism, or the worship of all things tangible, and the beginnings of a higher system in which the elements and the great powers of nature are deified. Their pantheon includes gods in the heaven above, on the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth, but of these the animal gods constitute by far the most numerous class, although the elemental gods are more important. Among the animal gods insects and fishes occupy a subordinate place, while quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles are invoked almost constantly. The uktena (a mythic great horned serpent), the rattlesnake, and the terrapin, the various species of hawk, and the rabbit, the squirrel, and the dog are the principal animal gods. The importance of the god bears no relation to the size of the animal, and in fact the larger animals are but seldom invoked. The spider also occupies a prominent place in the love and life-destroying formulas, his duty being to entangle the soul of his victim in the meshes of his web or to pluck it from the body of the doomed man and drag it way to the black coffin in the Darkening Land.

Among what may be classed as elemental gods the principal are fire, water, and the sun, all of which are addressed under figurative names. The sun is called Une[']'lanû[']hĭ, "the apportioner," just as our word moon means originally "the measurer." Indians and Aryans alike, having noticed how these great luminaries divide and measure day and night, summer and winter, with never-varying regularity, have given to each a name which should indicate these characteristics, thus showing how the human mind constantly moves on along the same channels. Missionaries have naturally, but incorrectly, assumed this apportioner of all things to be the suppositional "Great Spirit" of the Cherokees, and hence the word is used in the Bible translation as synonymous with God. In ordinary conversation and in the lesser myths the sun is called Nû['][n]tâ. The sun is invoked chiefly by the ball-player, while the hunter prays to the fire; but every important ceremony—whether connected with medicine, love, hunting, or the ball play—contains a prayer to the "Long Person," the formulistic name for water, or, more strictly speaking, for the river. The wind, the storm, the cloud, and the frost are also invoked in different formulas.

But few inanimate gods are included in the category, the principal being the Stone, to which the shaman prays while endeavoring to find a lost article by means of a swinging pebble suspended by a string; the Flint, invoked when the shaman is about to scarify the patient with a flint arrow-head before rubbing on the medicine; and the Mountain, which is addressed in one or two of the formulas thus far translated. Plant gods do not appear prominently, the chief one seeming to be the ginseng, addressed in the formulas as the "Great Man" or "Little Man," although its proper Cherokee name signifies the "Mountain Climber."

A number of personal deities are also invoked, the principal being the Red Man. He is one of the greatest of the gods, being repeatedly called upon in formulas of all kinds, and is hardly subordinate to the Fire, the Water, or the Sun. His identity is as yet uncertain, but he seems to be intimately connected with the Thunder family. In a curious marginal note in one of the Gahuni formulas (page 350), it is stated that when the patient is a woman the doctor must pray to the Red Man, but when treating a man he must pray to the Red Woman, so that this personage seems to have dual sex characteristics. Another god invoked in the hunting songs is Tsu[']l'kalû['], or "Slanting Eyes" (see Cherokee Myths), a giant hunter who lives in one of the great mountains of the Blue Ridge and owns all the game. Others are the Little Men, probably the two Thunder boys; the Little People, the fairies who live in the rock cliffs; and even the De[']tsata, a diminutive sprite who holds the place of our Puck. One unwritten formula, which could not be obtained correctly by dictation, was addressed to the "Red-Headed Woman, whose hair hangs down to the ground."

The personage invoked is always selected in accordance with the theory of the formula and the duty to be performed. Thus, when a sickness is caused by a fish, the Fish-hawk, the Heron, or some other fish-eating bird is implored to come and seize the intruder and destroy it, so that the patient may find relief. When the trouble is caused by a worm or an insect, some insectivorous bird is called in for the same purpose. When a flock of redbirds is pecking at the vitals of the sick man the Sparrow-hawk is brought down to scatter them, and when the rabbit, the great mischief-maker, is the evil genius, he is driven out by the Rabbit-hawk. Sometimes after the intruder has been thus expelled "a small portion still remains," in the words of the formula, and accordingly the Whirlwind is called down from the treetops to carry the remnant to the uplands and there scatter it so that it shall never reappear. The hunter prays to the fire, from which he draws his omens; to the reed, from which he makes his arrows; to Tsu[']l'kalû, the great lord of the game, and finally addresses in songs the very animals which he intends to kill. The lover prays to the Spider to hold fast the affections of his beloved one in the meshes of his web, or to the Moon, which looks down upon him in the dance. The warrior prays to the Red War-club, and the man about to set out on a dangerous expedition prays to the Cloud to envelop him and conceal him from his enemies.

Each spirit of good or evil has its distinct and appropriate place of residence. The Rabbit is declared to live in the broomsage on the hillside, the Fish dwells in a bend of the river under the pendant hemlock branches, the Terrapin lives in the great pond in the West, and the Whirlwind abides in the leafy treetops. Each disease animal, when driven away from his prey by some more powerful animal, endeavors to find shelter in his accustomed haunt. It must be stated here that the animals of the formulas are not the ordinary, everyday animals, but their great progenitors, who live in the upper world (galû['][n]lati) above the arch of the firmament.

COLOR SYMBOLISM.

Color symbolism plays an important part in the shamanistic system of the Cherokees, no less than in that of other tribes. Each one of the cardinal points has its corresponding color and each color its symbolic meaning, so that each spirit invoked corresponds in color and local habitation with the characteristics imputed to him, and is connected with other spirits of the same name, but of other colors, living in other parts of the upper world and differing widely in their characteristics. Thus the Red Man, living in the east, is the spirit of power, triumph, and success, but the Black Man, in the West, is the spirit of death. The shaman therefore invokes the Red Man to the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal influences of the Black Man.

The symbolic color system of the Cherokees, which will be explained more fully in connection with the formulas, is as follows:

East red success; triumph. North blue defeat; trouble. West black death. South white peace; happiness. Above? brown unascertained, but propitious. ——— yellow about the same as blue.

There is a great diversity in the color systems of the various tribes, both as to the location and significance of the colors, but for obvious reasons black was generally taken as the symbol of death; while white and red signified, respectively, peace and war. It is somewhat remarkable that red was the emblem of power and triumph among the ancient Oriental nations no less than among the modern Cherokees.[9]

[Footnote 9: For more in regard to color symbolism, see Mallery's Pictographs of the North American Indians in Fourth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 53-37, Washington, 1886; Gatschet's Creek Migration Legend, vol. 3, pp. 31-41, St. Louis, 1888; Brinton's Kiche Myths in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 19, pp. 646-647, Philadelphia, 1882.]

IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES.

In many of the formulas, especially those relating to love and to life-destroying, the shaman mentions the name and clan of his client, of the intended victim, or of the girl whose affections it is desired to win. The Indian regards his name, not as a mere label, but as a distinct part of his personality, just as much as are his eyes or his teeth, and believes that injury will result as surely from the malicious handling of his name as from a wound inflicted on any part of his physical organism. This belief was found among the various tribes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and has occasioned a number of curious regulations in regard to the concealment and change of names. It may be on this account that both Powhatan and Pocahontas are known in history under assumed appellations, their true names having been concealed from the whites until the pseudonyms were too firmly established to be supplanted. Should his prayers have no apparent effect when treating a patient for some serious illness, the shaman sometimes concludes that the name is affected, and accordingly goes to water, with appropriate ceremonies, and christens the patient with a new name, by which he is henceforth to be known. He then begins afresh, repeating the formulas with the new name selected for the patient, in the confident hope that his efforts will be crowned with success.

LANGUAGE OF THE FORMULAS.

A few words remain to be said in regard to the language of the formulas. They are full of archaic and figurative expressions, many of which are unintelligible to the common people, and some of which even the shamans themselves are now unable to explain. These archaic forms, like the old words used by our poets, lend a peculiar beauty which can hardly be rendered in a translation. They frequently throw light on the dialectic evolution of the language, as many words found now only in the nearly extinct Lower Cherokee dialect occur in formulas which in other respects are written in the Middle or Upper dialect. The R sound, the chief distinguishing characteristic of the old Lower dialect, of course does not occur, as there are no means of indicating it in the Cherokee syllabary. Those who are accustomed to look to the Bible for all beauty in sacred expression will be surprised to find that these formulas abound in the loftiest nights of poetic imagery. This is especially true of the prayers used to win the love of a woman or to destroy the life of an enemy, in which we find such expressions as—"Now your soul fades away—your spirit shall grow less and dwindle away, never to reappear;" "Let her be completely veiled in loneliness—O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in your web, so that it may never get through the meshes;" and the final declaration of the lover, "Your soul has come into the very center of my soul, never to turn away."

In the translation it has been found advisable to retain as technical terms a few words which could not well be rendered literally, such as ada[']wĕhĭ and ugistā[']'tĭ. These words will be found explained in the proper place. Transliterations of the Cherokee text of the formulas are given, but it must be distinctly understood that the translations are intended only as free renderings of the spirit of the originals, exact translations with grammatic and glossarial notes being deferred until a more extended study of the language has been made, when it is hoped to present with more exactness of detail the whole body of the formulas, of which the specimens here given are but a small portion.

The facsimile formulas are copies from the manuscripts now in possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, and the portraits are from photographs taken by the author in the field.

SPECIMEN FORMULAS.

NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY AND TRANSLATION.

In the Cherokee text both d and g have a medial sound, approximating the sounds of t and k respectively. The other letters are pronounced in regular accordance with the alphabet of the Bureau of Ethnology. The language abounds in nasal and aspirate sounds, the most difficult of the latter being the aspirate 'l, which to one familiar only with English sounds like tl.

A few words whose meaning could not be satisfactorily ascertained have been distinctively indicated in the Cherokee text by means of italics. In the translation the corresponding expression has been queried, or the space left entirely blank. On examining the text the student can not fail to be struck by the great number of verbs ending in iga. This is a peculiar form hardly ever used excepting in these formulas, where almost every paragraph contains one or more such verbs. It implies that the subject has just come and is now performing the action, and that he came for that purpose. In addition to this, many of these verbs may be either assertive or imperative (expressing entreaty), according to the accent. Thus hatû['][n]gani[']ga means "you have just come and are listening and it is for that purpose you came." By slightly accenting the final syllable it becomes "come at once to listen." It will thus be seen that the great majority of the formulas are declarative rather than petitional in form—laudatory rhapsodies instead of prayers, in the ordinary sense of the word.

MEDICINE.

DIDÛ[n]LĔ[']SKĭ ADANÛ[n][']WÂTĭ KANÂHĔ[']SKĭ.

Sgĕ! Ha-Nû[n]dâgû['][n]yĭ tsûl'dâ[']histĭ, Gi[']'lĭ Gigage[']ĭ, hanâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga usĭnuli[']yu. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], gahu[']stĭ tsan[']ultĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Ha-diskwûlti[']yû tĭ[']nanugagĭ['], ase[']gwû nige[']sû[n]na tsagista[']'tĭ adû[n]ni[']ga. Ulsg[']eta hû[n]hihyû['][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdig[']iyu-gwû ha-e[']lawastû['][n] iytû['][n]ta dûhilâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-Uhû[n]tsâ[']yĭ tsûl'dâ[']histĭ Gi[']'lĭ Sa'ka[']nĭ, hanâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga usĭnuli[']yu. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']ltĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Diskwûlti[']yû ti[']nanugai['], ase[']gwû nige[']sû[n]na tsagista[']'tĭ adû[n]ni[']ga. Ulsge[']ta hû[n]hihyû[n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gwû ha-e[']lawastû['][n] iyû[']ta dûhitâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! (Ha)-Usûhi['](-yĭ) tsûl'dâ[']histĭ, Gi'l[']ĭ Gû[n]nage[']ĭ, hanâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga usĭnuli[']yû. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], gahu[']sti tsanu[']ltĭ nige[']sû['][n]na. Diskwûlti[']yû tinanugagĭ['], ase[']gwû nige[']sû[n]na tsagista[']'tĭ adû[n]ni[']ga. Ulsg[']eta hû[n]hihyû[n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gwû ha-e[']lawastû['][n] iyû['][n]ta dûhitâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! Wa[']hală['] tsûl'dâ[']histĭ, Gi[']'lĭ Tsûne[']ga, hanâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga usĭnuli[']yu. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']ltĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Diskwûlti[']yû ti[']nanugagĭ['], ase[']gwû nige[']sû[n]na tsagista[']'tĭ adû[n]ni[']ga. Ha-ulsge[']ta hû[n]hihyû['][n]stani[']ga. Ha-usdigi[']yu-gwû e[']lawastû['][n] iyû['][n]ta dûhitâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! Wa[']hală tsûl'dâ[']histĭ Tû[']ksĭ Tsûne[']ga, hanâ[']gwa hatû['][n]gani[']ga usĭnuli[']yu. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']ltĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Ha-kâ[']lû gayûske[']ta tsatû[n][']neli[']ga. Utsĭna[']wa nu[']tatănû['][n]ta.

(Degâsisisgû['][n]ĭ.)—Tûksĭ uhya[']ska gûnsta'tĭ['] na[']skĭ igahi[']ta gunstâ[']ĭ hĭ[']skĭ iyuntale[']gĭ tsûntûngi[']ya. Û[n]skwû[']ta kĭlû['] atsâ[']tastĭ sâ[']gwa iyûtsâ[']tastĭ, nû[']'kĭ igû['][n]kta'tĭ, naski-gwû['] diû[n]lĕ[']nĭskâhĭ['] igû[n]yi[']yĭ tsale[']nihû. Nû[']'kine û[n]skwû[']ta kĭlû['] nû[']'kĭ iyatsâ[']tastĭ. Uhyaskâ[']hi-'nû ade[']la degû'la[']ĭ tă[']lĭ unine[']ga-gwû['] nû['][n]wâti-'nû['] higûnehâ[']ĭ uhyaskâ[']hĭ usdi[']a-gwû. Une[']lagi-'nû sâĭ['] agadâ[']ĭ agadi[']dĭ û['][n]ti-gwû['] yĭkĭ['] âsi[']yu-gwû na[']ski-'nû aganû[n]li[']eskâ[']ĭ da[']gûnstanehû['][n]ĭ ŭ'taâ[']ta. Hiă'-nû['] nû['][n]wâtĭ: Yâ[']na-Unatsĕsdâ[']gĭ tsana[']sehâ[']ĭ sâ[']i-'nû Kâ[']ga-Asgû['][n]tagĕ tsana[']sehâ[']ĭ, sâi-'nû['] Egû['][n]li-gwû, sâi-nû['] (U)wa[']sgilĭ tsĭgĭ['] Egû['][n]lĭ Usdi[']a tsĭgĭ['], nû[n]yâ[']hi-'nû tsuyĕ'dâ[']ĭ Yâ[']na-Utsĕsdâgĭ naskiyû['] tsĭgĭ['], usdi[']-gwû tsĭgĭ[']. Egû['][n]lĭ (u)wa[']sgilĭ tsĭgĭ[']; sâ[']ĭ Wâ[']tige Unas(te['])tsa tsĭgĭ['], sâ[']i-'nû Û['][n]age Tsunaste[']tsa, Niga[']ta unaste[']tsa gesâ[']ĭ.

Sunale[']-gwû ale[']ndĭ adanû['][n]wâtĭ; tă[']line e[']ladĭ tsitkala[']ĭ; tsâ[']ine u[']lsaladĭ[']'satû[']; nû[']'kine igû['] ts[']kalâ[']ĭ. Yeli[']gwû['] igesâ[']ĭ. Nû[']lstâiyanû[']na gesâ[']ĭ akanû[n]wi[']skĭ, nasgwû['] nulstaiyanû[']na.

Translation.

FORMULA FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER (RHEUMATISM).

Listen! Ha! In the Sun Land you repose, O Red Dog, O now you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']wĕhĭ[10], you never fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth.

Listen! Ha! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Dog. O now you have swiftly drawn near to hearken, O great ada[']wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth.

Listen! Ha! In the darkening land you repose, O Black Dog. O, now you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. O, appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth.

Listen! On Wa[']hală you repose. O White Dog. Oh, now you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. Oh, appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth.

Listen! On Wa[']hală, you repose, O White Terrapin. O, now you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great ada[']wĕhĭ, you never fail in anything. Ha! It is for you to loosen its hold on the bone. Belief is accomplished.

(Prescription.)—Lay a terrapin shell upon (the spot) and keep it there while the five kinds (of spirits) listen. On finishing, then blow once. Repeat four times, beginning each time from the start. On finishing the fourth time, then blow four times. Have two white beads lying in the shell, together with a little of the medicine. Don't interfere with it, but have a good deal boiling in another vessel—a bowl will do very well—and rub it on warm while treating by applying the hands. And this is the medicine: What is called Yâ[']na-Utsĕ[']sta ("bear's bed," the Aspidium acrostichoides or Christmas fern); and the other is called Kâ[']ga-Asgû['][n]tagĭ ("crow's shin," the Adianthum pedatum or Maidenhair fern); and the other is the common Egû['][n]lĭ (another fern); and the other is the Little Soft (-leaved) Egû['][n]lĭ (Osmunda Cinnamonea or cinnamon fern), which grows in the rocks and resembles Yâna-Utsĕ[']sta and is a small and soft (-leaved) Egû['][n]lĭ. Another has brown roots and another has black roots. The roots of all should be (used).

Begin doctoring early in the morning; let the second (application) be while the sun is still near the horizon; the third when it has risen to a considerable height (10 a.m.); the fourth when it is above at noon. This is sufficient. (The doctor) must not eat, and the patient also must be fasting.

[Footnote 10: Ada[']wĕhĭ is a word used to designate one supposed to have supernatural powers, and is applied alike to human beings and to the spirits invoked in the formulas. Some of the mythic heroes famous for their magic deeds are spoken of as ada[']wĕhĭ (plural anida[']wĕhĭ or anida[']we), but in its application to mortals the term is used only of the very greatest shamans. None of those now belonging to the band are considered worthy of being thus called, although the term was sometimes applied to one, Usawĭ, who died some years ago. In speaking of himself as an ada[']wĕhĭ, as occurs in some of the formulas, the shaman arrogates to himself the same powers that belong to the gods. Our nearest equivalent is the word magician, but this falls far short of the idea conveyed by the Cherokee word. In the bible translation the word is used as the equivalent of angel or spirit.]

Explanation.

As this formula is taken from the manuscript of Gahuni, who died nearly thirty years ago, no definite statement of the theory of the disease, or its treatment, can be given, beyond what is contained in the formula itself, which, fortunately, is particularly explicit; most doctors contenting themselves with giving only the words of the prayer, without noting the ceremonies or even the medicine used. There are various theories as to the cause of each disease, the most common idea in regard to rheumatism being that it is caused by the spirits of the slain animals, generally the deer, thirsting for vengeance on the hunter, as has been already explained in the myth of the origin of disease and medicine.

The measuring-worm (Catharis) is also held to cause rheumatism, from the resemblance of its motions to those of a rheumatic patient, and the name of the worm wahhĭlĭ['] is frequently applied also to the disease.

There are formulas to propitiate the slain animals, but these are a part of the hunting code and can only be noticed here, although it may be mentioned in passing that the hunter, when about to return to the settlement, builds a fire in the path behind him, in order that the deer chief may not be able to follow him to his home.

The disease, figuratively called the intruder (ulsgeta), is regarded as a living being, and the verbs used in speaking of it show that it is considered to be long, like a snake or fish. It is brought by the deer chief and put into the body, generally the limbs, of the hunter, who at once begins to suffer intense pain. It can be driven out only by some more powerful animal spirit which is the natural enemy of the deer, usually the dog or the Wolf. These animal gods live up above beyond the seventh heaven and are the great prototypes of which the earthly animals are only diminutive copies. They are commonly located at the four cardinal points, each of which has a peculiar formulistic name and a special color which applies to everything in the same connection. Thus the east, north, west, and south are respectively the Sun Land, the Frigid Land, the Darkening Land, and Wă[']hală['], while their respective mythologic colors are Red, Blue, Black, and White. Wahală is said to be a mountain far to the south. The white or red spirits are generally invoked for peace, health, and other blessings, the red alone for the success of an undertaking, the blue spirits to defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring down troubles upon him, and the black to compass his death. The white and red spirits are regarded as the most powerful, and one of these two is generally called upon to accomplish the final result.

In this case the doctor first invokes the Red Dog in the Sun Land, calling him a great adawehi, to whom nothing is impossible and who never fails to accomplish his purpose. He is addressed as if out of sight in the distance and is implored to appear running swiftly to the help of the sick man. Then the supplication changes to an assertion and the doctor declares that the Red Dog has already arrived to take the disease and has borne away a small portion of it to the uttermost ends of the earth. In the second, third, and fourth paragraphs the Blue Dog of the Frigid Land, the Black Dog of the Darkening Land, and the White Dog of Wahală are successively invoked in the same terms and each bears away a portion of the disease and disposes of it in the same way. Finally, in the fifth paragraph, the White Terrapin of Wahălă is invoked. He bears off the remainder of the disease and the doctor declares that relief is accomplished. The connection of the terrapin in this formula is not evident, beyond the fact that he is regarded as having great influence in disease, and in this case the beads and a portion of the medicine are kept in a terrapin shell placed upon the diseased part while the prayer is being recited.

The formulas generally consist of four paragraphs, corresponding to four steps in the medical ceremony. In this case there are five, the last being addressed to the terrapin instead of to a dog. The prayers are recited in an undertone hardly audible at the distance of a few feet, with the exception of the frequent ha, which seems to be used as an interjection to attract attention and is always uttered in a louder tone. The beads—which are here white, symbolic of relief—are of common use in connection with these formulas, and are held between the thumb and finger, placed upon a cloth on the ground, or, as in this case, put into a terrapin shell along with a small portion of the medicine. According to directions, the shell has no other part in the ceremony.

The blowing is also a regular part of the treatment, the doctor either holding the medicine in his mouth and blowing it upon the patient, or, as it seems to be the case here, applying the medicine by rubbing, and blowing his breath upon the spot afterwards. In some formulas the simple blowing of the breath constitutes the whole application. In this instance the doctor probably rubs the medicine upon the affected part while reciting the first paragraph in a whisper, after which he blows once upon the spot. The other paragraphs are recited in the same manner, blowing once after each. In this way the whole formula is repeated four times, with four blows at the end of the final repetition. The directions imply that the doctor blows only at the end of the whole formula, but this is not in accord with the regular mode of procedure and seems to be a mistake.

The medicine consists of a warm decoction of the roots of four varieties of fern, rubbed on with the hand. The awkward description of the species shows how limited is the Indian's power of botanic classification. The application is repeated four times during the same morning, beginning just at daybreak and ending at noon. Four is the sacred number running through every detail of these formulas, there being commonly four spirits invoked in four paragraphs, four blowings with four final blows, four herbs in the decoction, four applications, and frequently four days' gaktu[n][']ta or tabu. In this case no tabu is specified beyond the fact that both doctor and patient must be fasting. The tabu generally extends to salt or lye, hot food and women, while in rheumatism some doctors forbid the patient to eat the foot or leg of any animal, the reason given being that the limbs are generally the seat of the disease. For a similar reason the patient is also forbidden to eat or even to touch a squirrel, a buffalo, a cat, or any animal which "humps" itself. In the same way a scrofulous patient must not eat turkey, as that bird seems to have a scrofulous eruption on its head, while ball players must abstain from eating frogs, because the bones of that animal are brittle and easily broken.

HIĂ'-NÛ['] NASGWÛ['] DIDÛ[n]LĔ[']SKĬ ADĂNÛ['][n]WÂTĬ.

Asga[']ya yûkanû['][n]wĭ Agĕ[']'ya Giagage[']ĭ atătĭ[']; agĕ[']'ya-nû yûkanû['][n]wĭ Asga[']ya Gigage[']ĭ atătĭ['].

Yû! Higĕ[']'ya Gigage[']ĭ tsûdante[']lûhĭ gese[']ĭ. Ulsge[']ta hi[']tsanu[']y'tani[']leĭ[']. Ha-Nû[n]dâgû['][n]yĭ nûnta[']tsûdălenû[']hĭ gese[']ĭ. Gasgilâ['] gigage[']ĭ tsusdi[']ga tetsadĭ[']ilĕ['] detsala[']siditĕ-gĕ[']ĭ. Hanâ[']gwa usĭnuli[']yu detsaldisi[']yûĭ.

Utsĭ(nă['])wa nu[']tatanû['][n]ta. Usû[']hita nutanû[']na. Utsĭnă[']wa-gwû nigû[n]tisge[']stĭ.

(Degâ[']sisisgû['][n]ĭ)—Hiă-gwû['] nigaû['] kanâhe[']ta. Nû[']'kiba nagû[']nkw'tisga['] dagû['][n]stiskû[']ĭ. Sâ[']gwa nû[n]skwû[']ta gûnstû['][n]ĭ agûnstagi[']s-kâĭ hû[n]tsatasgâ[']ĭ nû[']'kine-'nû û[n]skwû[']ta nû[']'kĭ nû[n]tsâtasgâ[']ĭ. Hiă-'nû['] nû['][n]wâtĭ: Egû['][n]lĭ, Yâ[']na-'nû Utsĕsdâ[']gĭ, (U)wa[']sgilĭ tsĭgĭ['] Egû['][n]lĭ, tă[']lĭ tsinu[']dalĕ[']ha, Kâ[']ga-'nû Asgû['][n]tagĕ tsiû[n]nâ[']sehâ[']ĭ, Da[']yĭ-'nû Uwâ[']yĭ tsiû[n]nâ[']sehâ[']ĭ. Su[']talĭ iyutale[']gĭ unaste[']tsa agâ[']tĭ, uga[']nawû'nû['] dagûnsta[']'tisgâ[']ĭ nû['][n]wâtĭ asû[n]ga'la[']ĭ. Usû[']hĭ adanû['][n]wâtĭ, nu[']'kĭ tsusû[']hita dulsi[']nisû['][n] adanû['][n]wâti. Ă'nawa[']gi-'nû dilasula[']gĭ gesû['][n]ĭ ûlĕ['] tsĭkani[']kaga[']ĭ gûw'sdi[']-gwû utsawa[']ta ă'nawa[']-gwû-nû['].

Hiă-nû['] gaktû['][n]ta gûlkwâ[']gĭ tsusû[']hita. Gû['][n]wădana[']datlahistĭ['] nige[']sû[n]na—Salâ[']lĭ, gi[']'li-'nû, wĕ[']sa-'nû, ă[']tatsû-nû['], a[']mă-'nû['], anigĕ[']'ya-nû. Uda'lĭ['] ya[']kanû[n]wi[']ya nû[']'kiha tsusû[']hita unădană[']lâtsi[']-tastĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Gasgilâ[']gi-'nû uwă[']su[n]-gwû['] u[']skĭladi[']stĭ uwă[']sû nû[']'kĭ tsusû[']hită[']. Disâ[']i-'nû dega[']sgilâ û['][n]tsa nû'nă['] uwa[']'tĭ yigesûĭ nû[']'kĭ tsusû[']hita.

Translation.

AND THIS ALSO IS FOR TREATING THE CRIPPLER.

Yû! O Red Woman, you have caused it. You have put the intruder under him. Ha! now you have come from the Sun Land. You have brought the small red seats, with your feet resting upon them. Ha! now they have swiftly moved away from you. Relief is accomplished. Let it not be for one night alone. Let the relief come at once.

(Prescription)—(corner note at top.) If treating a man one must say Red Woman, and if treating a woman one must say Red Man.

This is just all of the prayer. Repeat it four times while laying on the hands. After saying it over once, with the hands on (the body of the patient), take off the hands and blow once, and at the fourth repetition blow four times. And this is the medicine. Egû['][n]lĭ (a species of fern). Yâ[']-na-Utsĕ[']sta ("bear's bed," the Aspidium acrostichoides or Christmas fern), two varieties of the soft-(leaved) Egû['][n]lĭ (one, the small variety, is the Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamonea), and what is called Kâ[']ga Asgû['][n]tagĕ ("crow's shin," the Adiantum pedatum or Maidenhair fern) and what is called Da[']yĭ-Uwâ[']yĭ ("beaver's paw"—not identified). Boil the roots of the six varieties together and apply the hands warm with the medicine upon them. Doctor in the evening. Doctor four consecutive nights. (The pay) is cloth and moccasins; or, if one does not have them, just a little dressed deerskin and some cloth.

And this is the tabu for seven nights. One must not touch a squirrel, a dog, a cat, the mountain trout, or women. If one is treating a married man they (sic) must not touch his wife for four nights. And he must sit on a seat by himself for four nights, and must not sit on the other seats for four nights.

Explanation.

The treatment and medicine in this formula are nearly the same as in that just given, which is also for rheumatism, both being written by Gahuni. The prayer differs in several respects from any other obtained, but as the doctor has been dead for years it is impossible to give a full explanation of all the points. This is probably the only formula in the collection in which the spirit invoked is the "Red Woman," but, as explained in the corner note at the top, this is only the form used instead of "Red Man," when the patient is a man. The Red Man, who is considered perhaps the most powerful god in the Cherokee pantheon, is in some way connected with the thunder, and is invoked in a large number of formulas. The change in the formula, according to the sex of the patient, brings to mind a belief in Irish folk medicine, that in applying certain remedies the doctor and patient must be of opposite sexes. The Red Man lives in the east, in accordance with the regular mythologic color theory, as already explained. The seats also are red, and the form of the verb indicates that the Red Woman is either standing upon them (plural) or sitting with her feet resting upon the rounds. These seats or chairs are frequently mentioned in the formulas, and always correspond in color with the spirit invoked. It is not clear why the Red Woman is held responsible for the disease, which is generally attributed to the revengeful efforts of the game, as already explained. In agreement with the regular form, the disease is said to be put under (not into) the patient. The assertion that the chairs "have swiftly moved away" would seem from analogy to mean that the disease has been placed upon the seats and thus borne away. The verb implies that the seats move by their own volition. Immediately afterward it is declared that relief is accomplished. The expression "usû[']hita nutanû[']na" occurs frequently in these formulas, and may mean either "let it not be for one night alone," or "let it not stay a single night," according to the context.

The directions specify not only the medicine and the treatment, but also the doctor's fee. From the form of the verb the tabu, except as regards the seat to be used by the sick person, seems to apply to both doctor and patient. It is not evident why the mountain trout is prohibited, but the dog, squirrel, and cat are tabued, as already explained, from the fact that these animals frequently assume positions resembling the cramped attitude common to persons afflicted by rheumatism. The cat is considered especially uncanny, as coming from the whites. Seven, as well as four, is a sacred number with the tribe, being also the number of their gentes. It will be noted that time is counted by nights instead of by days.

HIÂ['] I[']NATÛ YUNISKÛ[']LTSA ADANÛ[']NWÂTĬ.

1. Dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa (song). Sgĕ! Ha-Walâ[']sĭ-gwû tsû[n]lû['][n]tani[']ga. 2. Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha dayuha (song). Sgĕ! Ha-Usugĭ-gwû tsû[n]-lû[n][']-tani[']ga.

(Degâ[']sisisgû['][n]ĭ).—Kanâgi[']ta nâyâ[']ga hiă['] dilentisg[']û[n]ĭ. Tă[']lĭ igû[']nkw'ta'tĭ, ûlĕ['] talinĕ['] tsutanû['][n]na nasgwû['] tâ[']lĭ igû[']nkw'ta'tĭ[']. Tsâ[']la aganû['][n]lieskâĭ['] tsâ[']la yikani[']gû[n]gû[']âĭ['] watsi[']la-gwû ganû[n]li[']yĕtĭ uniskûl'tsû['][n]ĭ. Nû[']'kĭ nagade[']stisgâĭ['] aganû[n]li[']esgû[n]ĭ. Akskû[']nĭ gadest[']a'tĭ, nûû'kĭ nagade['] sta hû[n]tsatasgâ[']ĭ. Hiă-'nû['] i[']natû akti[']sĭ udestâ[']ĭ yigû[']n'ka, naski-'nû['] tsagadû[']lăgisgâ[']ĭ iyu[']stĭ gatgû['][n]ĭ.

Translation.

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

1. Dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa, dûnu[']wa. Listen! Ha! It is only a common frog which has passed by and put it (the intruder) into you. 2. Dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha, dayuha. Listen! Ha! It is only an Usu[']'gĭ which has passed by and put it into you.

(Prescription.)—Now this at the beginning is a song. One should say it twice and also say the second line twice. Rub tobacco (juice) on the bite for some time, or if there be no tobacco just rub on saliva once. In rubbing it on, one must go around four times. Go around toward the left and blow four times in a circle. This is because in lying down the snake always coils to the right and this is just the same (lit. "means like") as uncoiling it.

Explanation.

This is also from the manuscript book of Gahuni, deceased, so that no explanation could be obtained from the writer. The formula consists of a song of two verses, each followed by a short recitation. The whole is repeated, according to the directions, so as to make four verses or songs; four, as already stated, being the sacred number running through most of these formulas. Four blowings and four circuits in the rubbing are also specified. The words used in the songs are sometimes composed of unmeaning syllables, but in this case dûnuwa and dayuha seem to have a meaning, although neither the interpreter nor the shaman consulted could explain them, which may be because the words have become altered in the song, as frequently happens. Dûnu[']wa appears to be an old verb, meaning "it has penetrated," probably referring to the tooth of the reptile. These medicine songs are always sung in a low plaintive tone, somewhat resembling a lullaby. Usu[']'gĭ also is without explanation, but is probably the name of some small reptile or batrachian.

As in this case the cause of the trouble is evident, the Indians have no theory to account for it. It may be remarked, however, that when one dreams of being bitten, the same treatment and ceremonies must be used as for the actual bite; otherwise, although perhaps years afterward, a similar inflammation will appear on the spot indicated in the dream, and will be followed by the same fatal consequences. The rattlesnake is regarded as a supernatural being or ada[']wehi, whose favor must be propitiated, and great pains are taken not to offend him. In consonance with this idea it is never said among the people that a person has been bitten by a snake, but that he has been "scratched by a brier." In the same way, when an eagle has been shot for a ceremonial dance, it is announced that "a snowbird has been killed," the purpose being to deceive the rattlesnake or eagle spirits which might be listening.

The assertion that it is "only a common frog" or "only an Usu[']'gĭ" brings out another characteristic idea of these formulas. Whenever the ailment is of a serious character, or, according to the Indian theory, whenever it is due to the influence of some powerful disease spirit the doctor always endeavors to throw contempt upon the intruder, and convince it of his own superior power by asserting the sickness to be the work of some inferior being, just as a white physician might encourage a patient far gone with consumption by telling him that the illness was only a slight cold. Sometimes there is a regular scale of depreciation, the doctor first ascribing the disease to a rabbit or groundhog or some other weak animal, then in succeeding paragraphs mentioning other still less important animals and finally declaring it to be the work of a mouse, a small fish, or some other insignificant creature. In this instance an ailment caused by the rattlesnake, the most dreaded of the animal spirits, is ascribed to a frog, one of the least importance.

In applying the remedy the song is probably sung while rubbing the tobacco juice around the wound. Then the short recitation is repeated and the doctor blows four times in a circle about the spot. The whole ceremony is repeated four times. The curious directions for uncoiling the snake have parallels in European folk medicine.

GÛ[n]WĂNI[']GISTÂ[']Ĭ ADANU['][n]WÂTĬ.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida[']wĕiyu, gahus[']tĭ aginul'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Gû[n]gwădag[']anad'diyû['] tsida[']wĕi[']yu. Ha-Wăhuhu[']-gwû hitagu[']sgastanĕ'hĕĭ. Ha-nâ[']gwa hŭ'kikahû[n]û['] ha-dusŭ[']'gahĭ digesû['][n]ĭ, iyû['][n]ta wû[n]'kidâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida[']wĕi[']yu, gahu[']stĭ aginu[']l'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Gû[n]gwădaga[']nad'diyû['] tsida[']wĕi[']yu. Ha-Uguku[']-gwû hitagu[']sgastanĕ[']heĭ['] udâhi[']yu tag[']u[']sgastanĕ[']hĕĭ[']. Ha-na[']gwadi[']na hû[n]kikahû[n]nû[']. Ha-nânâ[']hĭ digesŭ['][n]ĭ iyû['][n]ta wû[n]'kidâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida[']wĕi[']yu, gahu[']stĭ aginu[']l'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Gû[n]gwădaga[']nad'diyû['] tsida[']wĕi[']yu. Ha-Tsistu-gwû hitagu[']sgastanĕ[']he[']ĭudâhi[']yu tag[']usgastanĕ[']hĕĭ[']. Ha-nâ[']gwadi[']na hû['][n]kikahû['][n]nû. Ha-sunû[n]da[']sĭ iyû['][n]ta kane[']skawâ[']dihĭ digesû['][n]ĭ, wû[n]'kidâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

Sgĕ! Ha-tsida[']wĕi[']yu, gahu[']stĭ aginu[']l'tĭ nige[']sû[n]na. Gû[n]gwădaga[']nad'di[']yû tsida[']wĕi[']yu. Ha-De[']tsata[']-gwû (hi)tagu[']sgastanĕ[']hĕĭ udâhi[']yu tagu[']sgastanĕ[']hĕĭ. Ha-nâ[']gwadi[']na hû[n]kikahû['][n]a. Ha-udâ[']tale[']ta digesû['][n]ĭ, iyû['][n]ta wû[n]'kidâ[']hĭstani[']ga.

(Degâ[']sisisgû['][n]ĭ)—Hiă[']-skĭnĭ['] unsdi[']ya dĭkanû['][n]wâtĭ tsa'natsa[']yihâ[']ĭ tsaniska[']iha[']ĭ; gû[n]wani[']gista[']ĭ hi[']anûdĭ[']sgaĭ[']. Ămă['] dûtsati[']stĭsgâ[']ĭ nû[']'kĭ tsusû[']hita dĭkanû['][n]wâtĭ Ulsinide[']na dakanû['][n]wisgâ[']ĭ. Ŭ['][n]tsa iyû['][n]ta witunini[']dastĭ yigesâ[']ĭ.

Translation.

TO TREAT THEM WHEN SOMETHING IS CAUSING SOMETHING TO EAT THEM.

Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all others—I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is a mere screech owl that has frightened him. Ha! now I have put it away in the laurel thickets. There I compel it to remain.

Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all others—I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is a mere hooting owl that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! At once I have put it away in the spruce thickets. Ha! There I compel it to remain.

Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all others—I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is only a rabbit that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! Instantly I have put it away on the mountain ridge. Ha! There in the broom sage I compel it to remain.

Listen! Ha! I am a great ada[']wehi, I never fail in anything. I surpass all others—I am a great ada[']wehi. Ha! It is only a mountain sprite that has frightened him. Undoubtedly that has frightened him. Ha! Instantly I have put it away on the bluff. Ha! There I compel it to remain.

(Prescription)—Now this is to treat infants if they are affected by crying and nervous fright. (Then) it is said that something is causing something to eat them. To treat them one may blow water on them for four nights. Doctor them just before dark. Be sure not to carry them about outside the house.

Explanation.

The Cherokee name for this disease is Gu[n]wani[']gistâĭ['], which signifies that "something is causing something to eat," or gnaw the vitals of the patient. The disease attacks only infants of tender age and the symptoms are nervousness and troubled sleep, from which the child wakes suddenly crying as if frightened. The civilized doctor would regard these as symptoms of the presence of worms, but although the Cherokee name might seem to indicate the same belief, the real theory is very different.

Cherokee mothers sometimes hush crying children, by telling them that the screech owl is listening out in the woods or that the De[']tsata—a malicious little dwarf who lives in caves in the river bluffs—will come and get them. This quiets the child for the time and is so far successful, but the animals, or the De[']tsata, take offense at being spoken of in this way, and visit their displeasure upon the children born to the mother afterward. This they do by sending an animal into the body of the child to gnaw its vitals. The disease is very common and there are several specialists who devote their attention to it, using various formulas and prescriptions. It is also called ătawi[']nĕhĭ, signifying that it is caused by the "dwellers in the forest," i.e., the wild game and birds, and some doctors declare that it is caused by the revengeful comrades of the animals, especially birds, killed by the father of the child, the animals tracking the slayer to his home by the blood drops on the leaves. The next formula will throw more light upon this theory.

In this formula the doctor, who is certainly not overburdened with modesty, starts out by asserting that he is a great ada[']wehi, who never fails and who surpasses all others. He then declares that the disease is caused by a mere screech owl, which he at once banishes to the laurel thicket. In the succeeding paragraphs he reiterates his former boasting, but asserts in turn that the trouble is caused by a mere hooting owl, a rabbit, or even by the De[']tsata, whose greatest exploit is hiding the arrows of the boys, for which the youthful hunters do not hesitate to rate him soundly. These various mischief-makers the doctor banishes to their proper haunts, the hooting owl to the spruce thicket, the rabbit to the broom sage on the mountain side, and the De[']tsata to the bluffs along the river bank.

Some doctors use herb decoctions, which are blown upon the body of the child, but in this formula the only remedy prescribed is water, which must be blown upon the body of the little sufferer just before dark for four nights. The regular method is to blow once each at the end of the first, second, and third paragraphs and four times at the end of the fourth or last. In diseases of this kind, which are not supposed to be of a local character, the doctor blows first upon the back of the head, then upon the left shoulder, next upon the right shoulder, and finally upon the breast, the patient being generally sitting, or propped up in bed, facing the east. The child must not be taken out of doors during the four days, because should a bird chance to fly overhead so that its shadow would fall upon the infant, it would fan the disease back into the body of the little one.

GÛ[n]WANI[']GISTÛ['][n]Ĭ DITANÛ[n]WÂTI[']YĬ

Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu[']lĭ hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Giya[']giya['] Sa'ka[']nĭ, ew'satâ[']gĭ tsûl'da[']histĭ. Usĭnu[']lĭ hatlasi[']ga. Tsis[']kwa-gwû['] ulsge[']ta uwu[']tlani'lĕĭ[']. Usĭnuli[']yu atsahilu[']gĭsi[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nu[']tatanû['][n]ta. Yû!

Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu[']lĭ hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Diga[']tiskĭ Wâtige[']ĭ, galû['][n]latĭ iyû['][n]ta ditsûl'dâ[']histĭ. Ha-nâ[']gwa usĭnu[']lĭ hatlasi[']ga. Tsi[']skwa-gwû dĭtu[']nila[']w'itsû[']hĭ higese[']ĭ. Usĭnûlĭ kĕ'tati[']gû'lahi[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga. Yû!

Translation.

TO TREAT GÛ[n]WANI[']GISTÛ['][n]Ĭ—(SECOND).

Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue Sparrow-Hawk; in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you have come down. The intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed him. Swiftly you have swooped down upon it. Relief is accomplished. Yû!

Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown Rabbit-Hawk; you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have come down. It is only the birds which have come together for a council. Quickly you have come and scattered them. Relief is accomplished. Yû!

Explanation.

This formula, also for Gû[n]wani[']gistû['][n]ĭ or Atawinĕ[']hĭ, was obtained from A'wan[']ita (Young Deer), who wrote down only the prayer and explained the treatment orally. He coincides in the opinion that this disease in children is caused by the birds, but says that it originates from the shadow of a bird flying overhead having fallen upon the pregnant mother. He says further that the disease is easily recognized in children, but that it sometimes does not develop until the child has attained maturity, when it is more difficult to discern the cause of the trouble, although in the latter case dark circles around the eyes are unfailing symptoms.

The prayer—like several others from the same source—seems incomplete, and judging from analogy is evidently incorrect in some respects, but yet exemplifies the disease theory in a striking manner. The disease is declared to have been caused by the birds, it being asserted in the first paragraph that a bird has cast its shadow upon the sufferer, while in the second it is declared that they have gathered in council (in his body). This latter is a favorite expression in these formulas to indicate the great number of the disease animals. Another expression of frequent occurrence is to the effect that the disease animals have formed a settlement or established a townhouse in the patient's body. The disease animal, being a bird or birds, must be dislodged by something which preys upon birds, and accordingly the Blue Sparrow-Hawk from the tree tops and the Brown Rabbit-Hawk (Diga[']tiskĭ—"One who snatches up"), from above are invoked to drive out the intruders. The former is then said to have swooped down upon them as a hawk darts upon its prey, while the latter is declared to have scattered the birds which were holding a council. This being done, relief is accomplished. Yû! is a meaningless interjection frequently used to introduce or close paragraphs or songs.

The medicine used is a warm decoction of the bark of Kûnstû[']tsĭ (Sassafras—Sassafras officinale), Kanû[n]si[']ta (Flowering Dogwood—Cornus florida), Udâ[']lana (Service tree—Amelanchier Canadensis), and Uni[']kwa (Black Gum—Nyssa multiflora), with the roots of two species (large and small) of Da[']yakalĭ[']skĭ (Wild Rose—Rosa lucida). The bark in every case is taken from the east side of the tree, and the roots selected are also generally, if not always, those growing toward the east. In this case the roots and barks are not bruised, but are simply steeped in warm water for four days. The child is then stripped and bathed all over with the decoction morning and night for four days, no formula being used during the bathing. It is then made to hold up its hands in front of its face with the palms turned out toward the doctor, who takes some of the medicine in his mouth and repeats the prayer mentally, blowing the medicine upon the head and hands of the patient at the final Yû! of each paragraph. It is probable that the prayer originally consisted of four paragraphs, or else that these two paragraphs were repeated. The child drinks a little of the medicine at the end of each treatment.

The use of salt is prohibited during the four days of the treatment, the word (amă[']) being understood to include lye, which enters largely into Cherokee food preparations. No chicken or other feathered animal is allowed to enter the house during the same period, for obvious reasons, and strangers are excluded for reasons already explained.

HIA['] DU[']NIYUKWATISGÛ['][n]I KANA[']HÉHÛ.

Sgĕ! Nû[n]dâgû['][n]yĭ tsûl'dâ[']histĭ, Kanani[']skĭ Gigage. Usĭnu[']lĭ nû['][n]nâ gi[']gage hĭnû[n]ni[']ga. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], astĭ['] digi[']gage usĭnû[']lĭ dehĭkssa[']û[n]tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']'ga gesû['][n], tsgâ[']ya-gwû higese[']ĭ. Ehĭstĭ['] hituwa[']saniy'teĭ[']. Usĭnu[']lĭ astĭ['] digi[']gage dehada[']û[n]tani[']ga, adi[']na tsûlstai-yû[']'ti-gwû higese[']ĭ. Nâ[']gwa gânagi[']ta da[']tsatane[']lĭ. Utsĭnă[']wa nu[']tatanû['][n]ta nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû['][n]lĭ Tsûne[']ga hatû['][n]gani[']ga. "A[']ya-gâgû['] gatû['][n]gisge[']stĭ tsûngili[']sĭ deagwûlstawĭ[']stitege[']stĭ," tsadûnû[']hĭ. Na[']ski-gâgû['] itsa[']wesû[']hĭ nâ[']gwa usĭnu[']lĭ hatu['][n]gani[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nutatanû[']ta nû[n]tû[']neli[']ga. Yû!

Sgĕ! Uhyû[n]tlâ[']yĭ tsûl'dâ[']histi Kanani[']skĭ Sa'ka[']nĭ. Usĭnu[']lĭ nû['][n]nâ sa'ka[']nĭ hĭnû[n]ni[']ga. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], astĭ['] (di)sa'ka[']nĭ usĭnu[']lĭ dehĭksa[']û[n]tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']'ga gesû['][n], tsgâ[']ya-gwû higese[']ĭ. Ehĭstĭ['] hituwa[']saniy'te(ĭ[']). Usĭnu[']lĭ astĭ['] disa'ka[']nige dehada[']û[n]taniga, adi[']na tsûlstai-yû[']'ti-gwû higese[']ĭ. Nâ[']gwa tsgâ[']ya gûnagi[']ta tsûtûneli[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nu[']tatanû['][n]ta nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû['][n]lĭ Tsûne[']ga hatû[n]gani[']ga. "A[']ya-gâgû['] gatû['][n]gisge[']stĭ tsûngili[']sĭ deagwûlstawĭ[']stitege[']stĭ," tsadûnû[']hĭ. Nas[']kigâgû['] itsawesû[']hĭ nâ[']gwa usĭnu[']lĭ hatû['][n]gani[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nutatanû['][n]ta nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

Sgĕ! Usûhi[']yĭ tsûl'dâ[']histĭ Kanani[']skĭ Û['][n]nage. Usĭnu[']lĭ nû['][n]nâ û['][n]nage hĭnû[n]ni[']ga. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], astĭ['] digû['][n]nage usĭnu[']lĭ dehĭksa[']û[n]tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']'ga gesû['][n], tsgâ[']ya-gwû higese[']ĭ. Ehĭstĭ['] hituwa[']saniy'teĭ[']. Usĭnu[']lĭ astĭ['] digû['][n]nage dehada[']û[n]tani[']ga, adi[']na tsûlstai-yû[']'ti-gwû higese[']ĭ. Nâ[']gwa tsgâ[']ya gûnagi[']ta tsûtûneli[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nutatanû['][n]ta nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû['][n]lĭ Tsûne[']ga hatû[n]gani[']ga. "A[']ya-gâgû['] gatû['][n]gisge[']stĭ tsûngili[']sĭ deagwûlstawĭ[']stitege[']stĭ," tsadûnû[']hĭ. Na[']skigâgû['] itsawesû[']hĭ nâ[']gwa usĭnu[']lĭ hatû['][n]gani[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nutatanû['][n]ta nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

Sgĕ! Galû['][n]latĭ tsûl'dâ[']histĭ, Kanani[']skĭ Tsûne[']ga. Usĭnu[']lĭ nû['][n]nâ une[']ga hĭnû[n]ni[']ga. Hida[']wĕhi-gâgû['], astĭ['] tsune[']ga usĭnu[']lĭ dehĭksa[']û[n] tani[']ga. Ulsge[']ta kane[']ge kayu[']'ga gesû['][n], tsgâ[']ya-gwû higese[']ĭ. Ehĭstĭ['] hituwa[']săniy'teĭ[']. Usĭnu[']lĭ astĭ['] tsune[']ga dehada[']û[n]tani[']ga, adi[']na tsûlstai-yû[']'ti-gwû higese[']ĭ. Nâ[']gwa tsgâ[']ya gûnagi[']ta tsûtûneli[']ga. Utsĭnă[']wa nu[']tatanû['][n]ta, nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

Hĭgayû['][n]lĭ Tsûne[']ga hatû['][n]gani[']ga. "A[']ya-gâgû['] gatû['][n]gisge[']stĭ tsûngili[']sĭ deagwûlstawĭ[']stitege[']stĭ," tsadûnû[']hĭ. Naski-gâgû['] itsawesû[']hĭ nâ[']gwa usĭnu[']lĭ hatû[n]gani[']ga. U[']tsĭna[']wa nutatanû['][n]ta nû[n]tûneli[']ga. Yû!

(Degasi[']sisgû['][n]ĭ)—Hiă['] duniyukwa[']tisgû['][n]ĭ dĭkanû['][n]wâtĭ ătanû['][n]sida[']hĭ yĭ[']gĭ. Na[']skĭ digû[']nstanĕ[']'ti-gwû ûlĕ['] tsĭtsâtû['] yie[']lisû. Nigû[n][']-gwû usû[']na [for usûnda[']na?] gû['][n]tatĭ nayâ[']ga nû['][n]watĭ unanû['][n]skă'la[']ĭ. Kane[']ska dalâ[']nige unaste[']tla tsĭ[']gĭ. Se[']lu dĭgahû'nû[']hĭ tsuni[']yahĭstĭ['] nû[']'kĭ tsusû[']hita, kanâhe[']na-'nû naskĭ['] iga[']ĭ udanû[']stĭ hi[']gĭ nayâ[']ga.

Translation.

THIS TELLS ABOUT MOVING PAINS IN THE TEETH (NEURALGIA?).

Listen! In the Sunland you repose, O Red Spider. Quickly you have brought and laid down the red path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you have brought down the red threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the red threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, "When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

Listen! In the Frigid Land you repose, O Blue Spider. Quickly you have brought and laid down the blue path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you have brought down the blue threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the blue threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, "When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

Listen! In the Darkening Land you repose, O Black Spider. Quickly you have brought and laid down the black path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you have brought down the black threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the black threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, "When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

Listen! You repose on high, O White Spider. Quickly you have brought and laid down the white path. O great ada[']wehi, quickly you have brought down the white threads from above. The intruder in the tooth has spoken and it is only a worm. The tormentor has wrapped itself around the root of the tooth. Quickly you have dropped down the white threads, for it is just what you eat. Now it is for you to pick it up. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, "When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads." Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to listen. The relief has been caused to come. Yû!

(Prescription)—This is to treat them if there are pains moving about in the teeth. It is only (necessary) to lay on the hands, or to blow, if one should prefer. One may use any kind of a tube, but usually they have the medicine in the mouth. It is the Yellow-rooted Grass (kane['] ska dalâ[']nige unaste[']tla; not identified.) One must abstain four nights from cooked corn (hominy), and kanâhe[']na (fermented corn gruel) is especially forbidden during the same period.

Explanation.

This formula is taken from the manuscript book of Gatigwanasti, now dead, and must therefore be explained from general analogy. The ailment is described as "pains moving about in the teeth"—that is, affecting several teeth simultaneously—and appears to be neuralgia. The disease spirit is called "the intruder" and "the tormentor" and is declared to be a mere worm (tsgâ[']ya), which has wrapped itself around the base of the tooth. This is the regular toothache theory. The doctor then calls upon the Red Spider of the Sunland to let down the red threads from above, along the red path, and to take up the intruder, which is just what the spider eats. The same prayer is addressed in turn to the Blue Spider in the north, the Black Spider in the west and the White Spider above (galû[n][']lati). It may be stated here that all these spirits are supposed to dwell above, but when no point of the compass is assigned, galû[n][']lati is understood to mean directly overhead, but far above everything of earth. The dweller in this overhead galû[n][']lati may be red, white, or brown in color. In this formula it is white, the ordinary color assigned spirits dwelling in the south. In another toothache formula the Squirrel is implored to take the worm and put it between the forking limbs of a tree on the north side of the mountain.

Following each supplication to the spider is another addressed to the Ancient White, the formulistic name for fire. The name refers to its antiquity and light-giving properties and perhaps also to the fact that when dead it is covered with a coat of white ashes. In those formulas in which the hunter draws omens from the live coals it is frequently addressed as the Ancient Red.

The directions are not explicit and must be interpreted from analogy. "Laying on the hands" refers to pressing the thumb against the jaw over the aching tooth, the hand having been previously warmed over the fire, this being a common method of treating toothache. The other method suggested is to blow upon the spot (tooth or outside of jaw?) a decoction of an herb described rather vaguely as "yellow-rooted grass" either through a tube or from the mouth of the operator. Igawĭ['], a toothache specialist, treats this ailment either by pressure with the warm thumb, or by blowing tobacco smoke from a pipe placed directly against the tooth. Hominy and fermented corn gruel (kanâhe[']na) are prohibited for the regular term of four nights, or, as we are accustomed to say, four days, and special emphasis is laid upon the gruel tabu.

The prayer to the Spider is probably repeated while the doctor is warming his hands over the fire, and the following paragraph to the Ancient White (the Fire) while holding the warm thumb upon the aching spot. This reverses the usual order, which is to address the fire while warming the hands. In this connection it must be noted that the fire used by the doctor is never the ordinary fire on the hearth, but comes from four burning chips taken from the hearth fire and generally placed in an earthen vessel by the side of the patient. In some cases the decoction is heated by putting into it seven live coals taken from the fire on the hearth.

UNAWA STÎ EGWA (ADANÛ[n]WÂTÏ).

(2) (3) (4) Sgĕ! Galû['][n]latĭ['] hinehi['] hinehi[']yû hinida[']we, (5) (6) utsinâ[']wa adû[n]niga 12 12 22 34 33 566—Hayĭ[']!

(1) (2) (3) (4) Sgĕ! U[n]wadâ[']hi hinehi['], hinehi[']yû hinida[']we, (5) (6) utsinâ[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga 12 12 22 34 33 566—Hayĭ[']!

(1) (2) (3) (4) Sgĕ! Nâtsihi['] hinehi['] hinehi[']yû hinida[']we (5) (6) utsinâ[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga 12 12 22 34 33 566—Hayĭ[']!

(1) (2) (3) (4) Sgĕ! Amâyi['] hinehi['], hinehi[']yû hinida[']we (5) (6) utsinâ[']wa adû[n]ni[']ga 12 12 22 33 33 566—Hayĭ[']!

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hatû['][n]ngani[']ga, Agalu[']ga Tsûsdi[']ga, hida[']wĕhĭ, â[']tali tsusdiga[']hĭ duda[']w'satû['][n] ditsûldâ[']histĭ. (Hida[']wĕhĭ, gahu[']stĭ tsanu[']lû[n]hû[n]sgĭ['] nige[']sû[n]na.) Ha-nâ[']gwa da[']tûlehû[n]gû[']. Usdi[']gi(yu) utiya[']stanû[n]['](hĭ) (higese[']i). (Hû[n])hiyala[']gistani[']ga igâ[']tĭ usdigâ[']hĭ usa[']hĭlagĭ['] Igâtu[']ltĭ nû[n]nâ[']hĭ wĭte[']tsatănû[n][']û[n]sĭ[']. A[']ne[']tsâge[']ta getsatûnĕhĭ nû[n]gûlstani[']ga igû[n][']wûlstanita[']sti-gwû. Ati[']gale[']yata tsûtû[']neli[']ga. Utsĭnâ[']wa [11] nigû[n]tisge[']stĭ.

Sgĕ! Ha-nâ[']gwa hû[n]hatû['][n]gani[']ga, Agalu[']ga Hegwahigwû[']. Â[']talĭ tsegwâ[']hĭ duda[']w'satû[n] iyû[n]ta ditsûldâ[']histĭ. Agalu[']ga He[']gwa, hausĭnu[']lĭ da[']tûlehû[n]gû. Usdi[']giyu utiya[']stanû['][n]hĭ. Hiyala[']gistani[']ga ulsge[']ta igâ[']t-egwâ[']hĭ) usa[']hĭlagĭ[']. (Igat-(egwâ[']hĭ iyû[n][']ta nû[n]nâ[']hĭ wĭtetsatanû['][n]û[n]sĭ[']. A[']ne[']tsâge[']ta getsatûne[']litise[']sti igû[n][']wûlstanita[']sti-gwû. Utsĭnâ[']wa-gwû nutatanû[n]ta. Nigagĭ['] Yû!

(Degâsi[']sisgû['][n]ĭ)—Unawa[']stĭ e[']gwa u[']nitlû[n]gâ[']ĭ. Ta[']ya gû['][n]tatĭ, ditsa[']tista[']'ti. Tsâ[']l-agayû['][n]lĭ yă[']hă ulû['][n]kwati-gwû nasgwû['].

Translation.

TO TREAT THE GREAT CHILL.

Listen! On high you dwell, On high you dwell—you dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has come—has come. Hayĭ!

Listen! On Û[n]wadâ[']hĭ you dwell, On Û[n]wadâhĭ you dwell—you dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has come—has come. Hayĭ!

Listen! In the pines you dwell, In the pines you dwell—you dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has come—has come. Hayĭ!

Listen! In the water you dwell, In the water you dwell, you dwell, you dwell. Forever you dwell, you anida[']we, forever you dwell, forever you dwell. Relief has come—has come. Hayiĭ!

Listen! O now you have drawn near to hearken, O Little Whirlwind, O ada[']wehi, in the leafy shelter of the lower mountain, there you repose. O ada[']wehi, you can never fail in anything. Ha! Now rise up. A very small portion [of the disease] remains. You have come to sweep it away into the small swamp on the upland. You have laid down your paths near the swamp. It is ordained that you shall scatter it as in play, so that it shall utterly disappear. By you it must be scattered. So shall there be relief.

Listen! O now again you have drawn near to hearken, O Whirlwind, surpassingly great. In the leafy shelter of the great mountain there you repose. O Great Whirlwind, arise quickly. A very small part [of the disease] remains. You have come to sweep the intruder into the great swamp on the upland. You have laid down your paths toward the great swamp. You shall scatter it as in play so that it shall utterly disappear. And now relief has come. All is done. Yû!

[Footnote 11: So written and pronounced by A'yû[n][']ini instead of utsĭnă[']wa.]

(Prescription.)—(This is to use) when they are sick with the great chill. Take a decoction of wild cherry to blow upon them. If you have Tsâ[']l-agayû['][n]lĭ ("old tobacco"—Nicotiana rustica) it also is very effective.

Explanation.

Unawa[']stĭ, "that which chills one," is a generic name for intermittent fever, otherwise known as fever and ague. It is much dreaded by the Indian doctors, who recognize several varieties of the disease, and have various theories to account for them. The above formula was obtained from A'yû['][n]ni (Swimmer), who described the symptoms of this variety, the "Great Chill," as blackness in the face, with alternate high fever and shaking chills. The disease generally appeared in spring or summer, and might return year after year. In the first stages the chill usually came on early in the morning, but came on later in the day as the disease progressed. There might be more than one chill during the day. There was no rule as to appetite, but the fever always produced an excessive thirst. In one instance the patient fainted from the heat and would even lie down in a stream to cool himself. The doctor believed the disease was caused by malicious tsgâ[']ya, a general name for all small insects and worms, excepting intestinal worms. These tsgâ[']ya—that is, the disease tsgâ[']ya, not the real insects and worms—are held responsible for a large number of diseases, and in fact the tsgâ[']ya doctrine is to the Cherokee practitioner what the microbe theory is to some modern scientists. The tsgâ[']ya live in the earth, in the water, in the air, in the foliage of trees, in decaying wood, or wherever else insects lodge, and as they are constantly being crushed, burned or otherwise destroyed through the unthinking carelessness of the human race, they are continually actuated by a spirit of revenge. To accomplish their vengeance, according to the doctors, they "establish towns" under the skin of their victims, thus producing an irritation which results in fevers, boils, scrofula and other diseases.

The formula begins with a song of four verses, in which the doctor invokes in succession the spirits of the air, of the mountain, of the forest, and of the water. Galû[n]latĭ, the word used in the first verse, signifies, as has been already explained, "on high" or "above everything," and has been used by translators to mean heaven. Û[n]wadâ[']hĭ in the second verse is the name of a bald mountain east of Webster, North Carolina, and is used figuratively to denote any mountains of bold outline. The Cherokees have a tradition to account for the name, which is derived from Û[n]wadâ[']lĭ, "provision house." Nâ[']tsihĭ['] in the third verse signifies "pinery," from nâ[']'tsĭ, "pine," but is figuratively used to denote a forest of any kind.

In the recitation which follows the song, but is used only in serious cases, the doctor prays to the whirlwind, which is considered to dwell among the trees on the mountain side, where the trembling of the leaves always gives the first intimation of its presence. He declares that a small portion of the disease still remains, the spirits invoked in the song having already taken the rest, and calls upon the whirlwind to lay down a path for it and sweep it away into the swamp on the upland, referring to grassy marshes common in the small coves of the higher mountains, which, being remote from the settlements, are convenient places to which to banish the disease. Not satisfied with this, he goes on to direct the whirlwind to scatter the disease as it scatters the leaves of the forest, so that it shall utterly disappear. In the Cherokee formula the verb a'ne[']tsâge[']ta means literally "to play," and is generally understood to refer to the ball play, a[']ne[']tsâ, so that to a Cherokee the expression conveys the idea of catching up the disease and driving it onward as a player seizes the ball and sends it spinning through the air from between his ball sticks. Niga[']gĭ is a solemn expression about equivalent to the Latin consummatum est.