The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees by James Mooney (best ereader for epub .txt) 📖

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

Explanation.

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

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

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

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

GÛnWANI´GISTÛ´nĬ DITANÛnWÂTI´YĬ

Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´ngani´ga, Giya´giya´ Sa‘ka´nĭ, ew’satâ´gĭ tsûl‘da´histĭ. Usĭnu´lĭ hatlasi´ga. Tsis´kwa-gwû´ ulsge´ta uwu´tlani‘lĕĭ´. Usĭnuli´yu atsahilu´gĭsi´ga. Utsĭnă´wa nu´tatanû´nta. Yû!

Yû! Sgĕ! Usĭnu´lĭ hatû´ngani´ga, Diga´tiskĭ Wâtige´ĭ, galû´nlatĭ iyû´nta ditsûl‘dâ´histĭ. Ha-nâ´gwa usĭnu´lĭ hatlasi´ga. Tsi´skwa-gwû dĭtu´nila´w’itsû´hĭ higese´ĭ. Usĭnûlĭ kĕ‘tati´gû‘lahi´ga. Utsĭnă´wa adûnni´ga. Yû!

Translation. TO TREAT GÛnWANI´GISTÛ´nĬ—(SECOND).

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

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

Explanation.

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

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

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

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

HIA´ DU´NIYUKWATISGÛ´nÍ KANA´HÈHÛ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Degasi´sisgû´nĭ)—Hiă´ duniyukwa´tisgû´nĭ dĭkanû´nwâtĭ ătanû´nsida´hĭ yĭ´gĭ. Na´skĭ digû´nstanĕ´‘ti-gwû ûlĕ´ tsĭtsâtû´ yie´lisû. Nigûn´-gwû usû´na [for usûnda´na?] gû´ntatĭ nayâ´ga nû´nwatĭ unanû´nskă‘la´ĭ. Kane´ska dalâ´nige unaste´tla tsĭ´gĭ. Se´lu dĭgahû‘nû´hĭ tsuni´yahĭstĭ´ nû´‘kĭ tsusû´hita, kanâhe´na-‘nû naskĭ´ iga´ĭ udanû´stĭ hi´gĭ nayâ´ga.

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

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

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

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

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

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

O Ancient White, you have drawn near to hearken, for you have said, “When I shall hear my grandchildren, I shall hold up their heads.” Because you have said it, now therefore you have drawn near to