Cherokee Shaman Notebook

8/8/2019 Cherokee Shaman Notebook

1/48

) SMITHSON IAN CO NT RIBU TION S TO ANT HROPOLOGY,VOLUME 2, Number 6

Notebook of a CherokeeShaman

Jack Frederick Kilpatrick and Anna Gritts Kilpatrick

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESSCity of Washington : 1970


2/48

A Publication of th eSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

United States National Museum

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CARD 76-603605

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1970

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing OfficeWashington, D.C. 20402 - Price 65 cents


3/48

ContentsPage

ACKNOW LEDGMENTS vI N T R O D U C T I O N 83

The au tho r 83The manuscr ip t 84We stern Cherokee shama nism 84Abb reviat io ns used in the texts 85T E X T S 86

1. To doctor for " inse cts" 862. To doctor " th e rainbow blac k" 873. For ar thr i t is 884. To mak e tobacco when they are hurt ing somewhere 895. (To help oneself with) 906. (To at tr act a woman) 927. If they have gashed themselves or have been shot 938. And this is to "go to the wa ter" early in the morning 949. (To pu t a wom an to sleep) 9510 . (For a spider bite) 9611 . To turn one aside with 9612 . (To remove anger) 9713 . (To destr oy a rival in a love affair[?]) 9814 . (To prote ct against thinkers) 9915. (To make a woma n lonely) 10016 . (?) 10117 . One is to use four black roots 10218. (For divining with a susp ende d object) 10319 . Second one (for divining with needles) 10420 . (For divinin g with stones) 105

21 . (For "going to the wa ter" to ensure longevity) 10522 . (To help oneself with) 10723 . (Fo r blis ters [?]) 10824 . (Fo r bUs ters [?]) 10825 . (For at ten ding a gathering at which women are present) 11026 . To mak e tobac co when they are hurt in g somewhere 11027 . Medicine for the s ides I l l28 . Med icine for the back s of their necks 11229 . (For "re ma kin g" tobacco for use in gambling) 11230 . (For tonsillitis) 11331 . Mor e "T hey have been sho t" medicine 11432 . To doct or ar thri t is 11433 . (For " th e big black") 11534 . (For gastr ic dis tension) 11535. (For " th e big black") 11636 . For "t he big blac k" 11637. Chicken remedy 1173 8. To doctor them for " th e black " 11739 . Fo r feverishness and headache 11840 . (Fo r " the rainbow black" ) 11841 . (For a severe bum ) 11942 . Wh en his [her] intesti nes becom e alive 119

m


4/48

IVPage

43 . (For a snakebite) 12044 . (For muscular cramps) 12145 . (?) 12146. (For tonsiUitis [?]) 12247 . (?) 12248 . One is to use a new pestle on their "ve ins " 12249 . (For toothache) 12350. (For a snakebite) 124

LITERATURE CITED 125


5/48

AcknowledgmentsW e g r a t ef u l l y a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t c e r t a i n p h a s e s o f t h is s tu d y w e r e m a d e

p o s s i b le b y a g r a n t f r o m t h e P h i l l ip s F u n d o f t h e A m e r i c a n P h i l o s o p h i c a lSoc ie ty .

W e a r e a l so d e e p l y i n d e b t e d t o a n u m b e r o f o u r C h e r o k e e r e la t iv e s a n df r i ends fo r t he i r kno wled ge an d the i r good wi l l i n sha r ing tha t know ledg e ;e spec ia l ly S . D . , t he son- in - l aw of t he l a t e A de : l ag h(a )dh i :ya , an d th ec o n t e m p o r a r y s h a m a n , A . S .

J A C K F R E D E R I C K K I L P A T R I C KA N N A G R I T T S K I L P A T R I C K


6/48

NOTEBOOK OF A CHEROKEE SHAMANB y J a c k F r e d e r i c k K i l p a t r i c k a n d A n n a G r i t t s K i l p a t r i c k

IntroductionTHE AUTHOR

A de : l ag h( a )d h i : ya Ga :n(i ) sgaAvi^ was the exempl i f ica tion of a typ e ins t i tut i on al in Ch erok ee cul ture forwe l l ove r a h im dred y ea rs : t he medic ine ma n who w asalso a Christ ian preacher; who in t r ibal affa i rs led inthe manner t r ad i t i ona l ly most accep tab le t o h i s peop le thro ugh p recep t , pe r suas ion , and se lf le ss ac t iv i tywi th in th e f ramework of a sanc t ioned g roup . Almosthis ent i re existence w as expen ded in th e socia l mi l ieuin which he was bom. In the h i l l - coun t ry communi ty inwhich he resided during most of the years of his ma-t in i ty , he is r em emb ered wi th a f fec t ion . " H e was anh o n e s t m a n , " s a y h i s o ld a c q u a i n t a n c e s a n d C h e r o k e esknow no h ighe r p ra i se t han tha t r e s iden t i n t he va r iousconnota t ions o f t he word "hones t . "

H e w a s b o m n e a r J a y , D e l a w a r e C o u n t y , O k l a h o m aabo ut 1896 . W e have no in forma t ion a s t o t he iden t i t yof h i s p r inc ipa l mas t e r i n shamani sm. We do know tha the was a s tuden t o f h i s a r t when he went i n to mi l i t a ryse rv i ce dur ing Wor ld War I ; t he no tebook unde r cons ide ra t ion he re went wi th h im in to ba t t l e , and some ofthe most i n t e re s t ing en t r i e s i n i t pe r t a in to h i s expe r i ences a s a Pr iva t e in Com pan y I , 358 th In fan t ry . Something of the e lemental cast of the man's mind is revealedin suc h laconic jot t ing s, as: " . . . o :gahl i lv:gi t so?i :neigd. i D uh :sd i gha?lv: i l i vgiyo:hlv :gi ( . . . we foug htthe th i rd day . On Sep tember 11 th I was sho t ) . " Heneve r fu l ly recove red f rom the abdomina l wound tha the received in France. To the end of his days he walkedwi th a l imp, and h i s wou nd was a con t r ib u t ing fac to rto his ra ther ear ly demise on 3 July 1938.

> Ade:lv (var. ade:la), originally a term for "bead(s)" is the presently employedword for "money"; agh(a)dhl:ya signifies "he (she) watches over it": hence Ade:lagh-(a)dhi:ya="he (she) watches over the bead(s) [money]." In contemporary usagethe term equates with "treasurer." The disagreement as to precisely what bird inOklahoma should be called ga:n(i)sgawi is evidence that the avian called thusly isnot native to the country of the Western Cherokee. The true ga:n(l)sgawi Is undoubtedly an aquatic bird of the bittern type.

Ade: l agh(a )dh i :ya must a lways have been someth ingof an ideal ist . Early in l i fe he became ident i f ied wi ththe na t iv i s t i c Red bi rd S mi th m ovem ent^ and wasact ive in i t s Armo.hi Fi re near his home. I t i s sa id thatRedbi rd Smi th h imse l f pe r suaded Ade : l agh(a )dh i :yato t ake up re s idence in t he sou the rn p a r t o f t he C herokeecountry in order to be c loser to the nerve center of theorganizat ion which was (and st iU is) a few miles northeas t o f Gore , i n Sequoyah County .

For some reason , Ade : l agh(a )dh i :ya came to losefa i th i n t he Redbi rd Smi th movement and removed afew mi l e s nor th to t he In d ian com mu ni ty o f Gwagw o :hi ,in the vic ini ty of the post off ice of Barber , in CherokeeCounty , where he spen t t he rema inde r o f h i s l i f e . Herehe marr ied and reared a family of e ight or nine chi ldren,and here he aff i l ia ted himself wi th the Sycamore TreeCherokee Bapt i s t Church in which he rose to l eade r sh ip , becoming church sec re t a ry , deacon , and a hcensedmin i s t e r . We possess a number o f manusc r ip t s i nAde : l agh(a )dh i :ya ' s p rec i se Sequ oyan th a t pe r t a in tothe affa i rs of the church he served.

AdeJagh(a )dh i :ya was a medic ine man be fore hebecame a Chr i s t i an , and he con t inued to p rac t i ce h i sprofession af ter his conversion. We have examineda le t ter of his to another shaman which is a powerfulapo log ia fo r t he Chr i s t i an rehg ion . AdeJagh(a )dh i :yaappea rs t o hav e been know n for no pa r t i cu l a r spe cialties. H e wa s a full-fledged dida :hnv T\d :sg(i); ' agene ra l p rac t i t i one r , so to speak . Whi l e h i s r epu ta t ionwas not awesome, i t was sol id. His medicine was " f ive ,"as the Cherokees say. As such coUect ions go, hisl i b ra ry o f medicomagica l manusc r ip t s mus t have beenrather sizable , but i t was dispersed a t his demise .Al though we have managed to recove r a pa r t o f i t ,much of i t i s no doubt i r r e t r i evab ly los t , and tha twhich exists i s in a poor sta te of preservat ion.

2 See Thomas, lyGl.' "One who cures (m.a.) them, he (she)."8 3


7/48

8 4 S M I T H S O N I A N CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 2In Ade:lagh(a)dhi:ya's day, but a few decades ago,the area about Barber in the Cookson Hills was exceedingly remote from the mainstream of WhiteAmerica, and a notorious hideout for outlaws. Today itlies upon the left bank of TenkiUer Lake in resortcountry. Tourists, temporarily bored with fishing andboating, may occasionally visit little Barber Cemetery,

but there is nothing there to bring to their attention thefact that a conventional white military headstone nearthe gate mark s the resting place of a man who practiceda Stone Age profession within their own lifetimes.

THE MANUSCRIPTThe textual material is inscribed in a notebook4j^ X 7 inches in size. The book is bound in mottledgreen cardboard. Its end papers (the front end leaf ismissing) are pale green; its cloth hinges, now looseand tattered, are blue. The book contains 46 pages

that are crisscrossed with blue printed lines23 innumber latitudinally, 34 in number longitudinallythat form squares measurmg %& of an inch. Some of theleaves in the book have come loose.Much of the content of the notebook consists ofautobiographical and demographic jottings, amongwhich is a short account of Ade:lagh(a)dhi:ya's warexperiences (translated in Kilpatrick and Kilpatrick1965a, pp. 68-70). Entries were made variously withlead pencil, indelible pencil, purple crayon pencil,and green-blue, black, and red ink. But the core of thebook is comprised of pages 13-16, a group of medico-magical texts written with meticulous care in black inkin an exceedingly minute and beautiful (but difficultto decipher) calligraphy. Other texts, penciled in alarger handwriting with evidence of a certain amountof haste, on pages 7, 9, and 17-20, were probablywritten at a later date. A few of the texts were notseparated by conventional spacing devices, but weremassed together, which made for an occasional difficultyin determining the termination of a given text and thebeginning of the one that followed it.The notebook was obtained in December of 1961(toge ther %vith a nu mb er of other ma nu scrip ts inSequoyah syllabary) from the widow of its author.

WESTERN CHEROKEE SHAMANISMFrans M. Olbrechts, writing in reference to ethnographical fieldwork among the Cherokees of NorthCarolina stated (Mooney and Olbrechts, 1932, pp.77-78):. . . i t has been fo r tuna te indeed tha t such a keen obse rveras James Mooney repeatedly vis i ted the tr ibe, his f i rs t vis i t

dat ing as far back as 1887. At that t ime i t was s t i l l possible toobtain information on a great many quest ions on which no l ightcould now be shed by any of the present medicine mien. Moreover, a t that t ime the explanation and exegesis of the olderinformants was free of scepticism and sophist icat ion.Much of what Mr. Mooney collected could now no longer beobtained, and this in i tself part ly i l lustrates the process of changewhich the Cherokee, as every other of the American Indiant r ibes , i s undergo ing . Hav ing Mooney ' s s t a tements a s to wha tcondit ions were l ike in the eighties , and comparing them withthe s tate of things in 1926-27, i t is possible to see in whatrespects ideas have changed, in how far opinions have al tered . . .. . . the death of every old medicine man, of every s taunchtradit iona lis t , means a blow to the culture of yore th at is t rulyirremedia ble: A considerable port ion of the aborig inal rehgion,r i t u a l , a n d s ci en c e d ie s w i t h h i m . . . .Nearly four decades have passed since Olbrechtswrote the above; a period of time that has seen asteadily accelerating attrition of the old culture,especially in the main body of the tribe in Oklahomathat in the days of Mooney and Olbrechts, and before,was far more highly acculturated than its minority

segment in the mountains of North Carolina.While there are but few medicine men practicingamong the C herokees of Oklahom a toda y, the mostreputab le of them serve a sizable patronag e. A medicineman is seldom rep udiated on religious groun ds alone bythe Christians among his people; indeed, he is aslikely as not to be a Christian himself.* The averageCherokee sees little inconsistency in professingChristianity while also availing himself of the besttherapy that he can obtain. In his mind this necessitatesgoing to the United States Public Health Servicehospital for, let us say, a case of gallstones, in thetreatment of which his medicine man, by his ownadmission, is likely to be of small benefit. He is apt totake a case of carcinoma to a shaman, however, sincehe feels that the White man's treatment for this afflictionis inferior to that of the Indian. And, as one mightsuspect, there are Cherokee sophisticates who havelittle faith in any medicine. Other Cherokees tend toavoid institutionalized medicine, White or Indian, anddoctor themselves. The traditional priestly function ofthe shaman, largely as the result of the militantopposition of his Christian tribesmen or because of theChristian scruples of the sham an himself, has diminishedto a small, largely sentimental vestige of what it oncewas.The geographical segmentation of the Cherokee

people at the contact period was a reality, but the cultural compartmentation of the tribe along geographicallines, into Upper, Middle, and Lower entities, is theinvention of anthropologists. There are perhaps asmany as six or seven dialects spoken m Oklahoma, andthe material pubHshed in Sequoj'^an in The CherokeePhoenix (1826-1834) strongly suggests that they existed* See Kilpatrick, 1966.


8/48

NUMBER 6 K I L P A T R IC K & K I L P A T R I C K : C H E R O K E E S H A M A N 8 5pr io r t o t he Remova l . Even today , subsequen t t o a centu ry and a qua r t e r o f i n t e rmar r i age be tween re s iden t sof one communi ty and inhab i t an t s o f ano the r , t h i s o rthat cul ture t ra i t of a given group is l ikely to be regardedas exot ic by aU i ts neighbo rs. We a re of the opinion th ata comprehens ive s tudy o f t he corpus o f Weste rn Cherokee medicomagica l p rac t i ce would revea l i t s descen tth rough d ive rs s t reams of t r ad i t i on .One must t he re fore exe rc i se cau t ion in a ssuming tha tthe medicomagica l l o re s tud ied by Mooney and Ol brech t s eve r had any th ing approach ing an exac t count e rpa r t i n t he West , o r t ha t t he re ex i s t ed any to t a ls imi l a r i t y o f t echn iques employed by any two medic ineme n the re . The re ex i st s mu ch ev idence to i nd ica t e t ha tthe id iosync ra t i c f ac to r was eve r a l a rge one , and tha tthe cu l tu ra l c l ima te and the geography of Oklahomahav e se rved bu t t o conse rve and to i n t ens ify sham ani s t i cind iv idua l i sm. Cer t a in ly the Weste rn Cherokee t ex t stha t we have pe rused exh ib i t a g rea t va r i e ty o f approaches to funda men ta l s i t ua t ions .

F o g e l s o n (1961, p. 217) i s doubt less correct in hisde f in i t i on o f t he e thos o f shamani sm in Nor th Caro l ina :^Medicomagical beUefs and practices seem to have assumeda more r igid, doctr inaire nuali ty among the surviving EasternCherokee. The Removal separated the remaining Cherokee frommost of the creat ive and spir i tual leadership of the Nation.Among the 18,000 or so who emigrated West were most of thehighly esteemed medicine men, as well as other guardians andin te rp re te r s o f t r ad i t iona l beUef. The shock of removal and theseparat ion from the main body of their Nation, eventuated insome culture loss , but also resulted in a more compulsive adherence to those i tems of m edicomagical beUef w hich remained .In con t rad i s t i nc t ion to t hose o f t he Eas t , t he t ex t sof t he West a re spa r ing in t he i r ad junc t ive ind ica t ions

as t o wha t materia medica a re used , how they a re admin i s t e red , and wha t t he pa t i en t shou ld do (o r no t do)in o rde r t o exped i t e recove ry . In shor t , t hey f requen t lyl ack wha t i n Nor th Caro l ina i s usua l ly ca l l ed thedigo:sisi : sgi {the one that expounds them), and in Okla ho ma i s f requen t ly re fe r red to a s t he igvn i (e )dh i {tobe done, it). Cap t ions a re f requen t ly om i t t ed . Th e

Weste rn t ex t sof ten in a poor s t a t e o f p re se rva t ion tobeg in wi thteem wi th caba l i s t i c abbrev ia t ions , eccent r ic spel l ings, and dia lecta l var iants, in addi t ion tooccas iona l a rcha i sms tha t no t even a sha ma n can nowfu l ly unde rs t and .

Th e t ex t s und e r cons ide ra t ion he re a re , f rom theCherokee viewpoint , "dead"; of no effect .* Their powerpassed wi th the i r owner . Unfor tuna te ly , t he fu l lknowledge o f how he implemented them was a l so los t .However , we have ava i l ab l e t o us t he t e s t imony ofh i s son- in - l aw, who , upon occas ion , wi tnessed Ade :l agh(a )dh i :ya a t work , and the au thor i ty o f funda menta l Che rokee medicomagica l t ene t s , which eachshaman recognizes and re spec t s .

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXTScomp comple t e lycond condi t i ona l lyHist dist r ibut ivelyexc exclusiveflex flexible quahtygran g ranu la t ed qua l i t yh a b h a b i t u a l l yi m p i m p e r a t i v ei n a n i n a n i m a t ei n c . - inclusiveIg long qua l i t yIg. and Ip long and l imp qu al i tyl iq l iquid qu al i tym.a mul t ip l e ac t ionsp i p lu ra lser ser ia t imsol sol id qu al i tyw.p .k wi th ou t pe r sona l know ledge

The restoration of the powers of medicomagical writings whose original ownerhas died is accomplished b y a previously u nreported ritual whereby the materials,polluted by the death of the one who possessed them, are taken to running waterand ceremonially cleansed.

3 5 6 - 5 9 4 7 0 -


9/48

Texts. 1. TO DOCTOR FOR "INSEC TS"

t s ( i ) sgo :ya ^ a :hnv :wo?^" i n s e c t ( s ) " , t o doc to r one

gha?* ts( i )s go:y a hai* di :na ' ad6:hig w6 da: ne: hi ^" ig6:se : inow " ins ec t ( s ) " ha , t hen wood -p lace jus t r e s ide rs (d i s t . ) , t hey ce r t a in ly , be ing (w.p .k . )gha? t s ( i ) sgo :ya haPd i :na nv :y6 :h igw 6 da :ne :h i i ge : se :i gha ?now " ins ec t ( s ) " ha , t hen s tone -p lace , j us t r e s ide rs (d i s t . ) , t hey ce r t a in ly , be ing (w.p .k . ) nowts( i ) sgo :ya ha?d i :na ga :d6 :h igw 6 da :ne :h i i ge :se : i gha ?" ins ec t ( s ) " ha , t hen ea r th -p l ace , j us t r e s ide rs (d i s t . ) , t hey ce r t a in ly , be ing (w.p .k . ) nowts( i ) sgo :ya ha? d i :na am6:h igw 6 da :ne :h i i ge : se :i" ins ec t ( s ) " ha , t hen wa te r -p l ace jus t r e s ide rs (d i s t . ) , t hey ce r t a in ly , be ing (w.p .k . )

F K E E T R A N S L A T I O NT o D o c t o r f o r " I n s e c t s "

Now ! " In sec t s" ! H a , t hen ! I t w as ce r t a in ly in t he woodtha t t hey re s ided , he re and the re .

N o w ! " I n s e c t s " ! H a , t h e n ! I t w a s c e r t a i n ly i n t h e s t o n etha t t hey re s ided , he re and the re .N o w ! " I n s e c t s " ! H a , t h e n ! I t w a s c e rt a i n l y i n t h e e a r t h

tha t t hey re s ided , he re and the re .N o w ! " I n s e c t s " ! H a , t h e n ! I t w a s c e r ta i n l y i n t h e w a t e r

tha t t hey re s ided , he re and the re .' " 'Tsgaya [ts(i)sgl:ya]' is a generic term for all small insects, larvae, and worms,excepting intestinal worms. These 'tsgaya' are very numerous, having colonies mthe water, in the earth, on the foliage of trees, and in every decaying log, and as theyare constantly being crushed, burned, or otherwise destroyed by the hum an race,they are constantly actuated by a spirit of revenge. To accomplish their purpose,the ghosts of the slain 'tsgaya' 'form settlem ents' in th e bodies of the ir victims, usuallyjust under th e skin, and thus cause malignant ulcers, watery blisters, and swellings,all of which are generally ascribed to the 'tsgaya.' The 'tsgSya' doctrine of the Indianpractitioner is thus the equivalent of the microbe theory of the w hite physician."

[Mooney and Olbrechts, 1932, p. 291.]' Contraction of a:hnv:wo:dI:yi.* This attention-getting interjection has no exact equivalent In the English language. As we have previously pointed out (Kilpatrick and K ilpatric k, 1965a, p. 5,n. 1), It is also employed in initiating a new thought.In manuscripts, this ritualism is sometimes provided with a period between thefirst and the second of the Sequoyan symbols employed In representing it.9 A pparently the purpose of the mark is to prevent the confusion of ha'dli na (h a' +adl:na) with hadi:na (not).1" In contemporary Cherokee this form would be di:n:hi.86

COMMENTARYWhi le th i s i s a con jura t ion tha t cou ld be used in t he

t rea tment o f i n f l ammat ion o f a lmost any sor t , i t wouldhave spec ia l app l i cab i l i t y t o an in fec t ed wound , anabscessed too th , o r an ea rache .

In a t ac t fu l " a s id e , " t he rec i t e r of t he c on ju ra t ionr e m i n d s t h e g h o s t s o f t h e " i n s e c t s " t h a t , w h e n t h e ywere in a corporea l s t a t e , l i ved in t he i r p rope r e l ement s .P r e s u m a b l y t h e g h o s t s t a k e t h e h i n t a n d r e t u r n t o t h e i rp r o p e r e l e m e n t s .

A se t o f four en t i t i e s , p re sen ted in an a scend ing o rdescending scale of degree of some qual i ty such ashardness, s ize , or the l ike , i s a famil iar mot i f in Cherokeemedica l and magica l i d i :gawe : sd i . ' ^ The en t i t i e s ment ioned above(1) wood , (2 ) s tone , (3 ) ea r th , and (4 )wa te r wo uld ap pea r a t some t ime to ha ve expe r i enceda t ranspos i t i on , fo r s tone is ha rde r t han wo od . The r e isa pub l i shed con jura t io n fo r a cu t wo und (Ki lpa t r i ck ,1964 , pp . 217-218) where in the en t i t i e s a re ranged inthe mor e logical ord er: (1) sto ne, (2) wo od, (3) ea r th,and (4 ) wa te r .

Th e bo ta n ica l employ ed a s an ad junc t iv e to t hea b o v e c o n j u r a t i o n w o u l d b e t o b a c c o . A d e : l a g h ( a ) d h i : y a

" "To be said, they ," the Cherokee's own term for medical or magical texts. Th esingular form is i:gawfi:sdl.


10/48

N U M B E R 6 KILPATRICK & K I L P A T R I C K : CHEROKEE SHAMANprobab ly used the sac red wi ld tobacco {Nicotiana rustica L. ) , wh ich t he C hero kees cal l t so : lagay^ : li {tobacco,ancient, it), b u t a c o n t e m p o r a r y m e d i c i n e m a n w o u l da lmost ce r t a in ly use the p lug o r twi s t commerc ia lva r i e ty . Seeming ly wi th in the pas t two or t h ree decadesthe re has a r i sen in Cherokee soc i e ty a fee l ing tha t as t i gma a t t ends the g rowing , o r even the possess ion , o ft so i l agayf :li, a weU-n igh ind i spensab le e l ement i n someof the more ne fa r ious o f t he magica l ce remoniesad i : d a g a l e : n ( v ) d h o ? d i : y i {to separate them w ith, one), fo rexample , o r one des igned to t ake human l i f e .

I f a w ou nd is to be t re ate d by the use of the forego ing con jura t ion , t he medic ine man mas t i ca t e s a sma l lamount o f t obacco , and then expec to ra t e s sa l iva im

preg na ted wi th i t upon th e l ace ra t ion . He then cove rswith a c loth the bowl of a pipe in which more of thetobacco has a l ready been se t ahgh t , app l i e s t he bowl tohis mouth, sof t ly reci tes (or merely thinks) the conju ra t ion , and b lows smoke ou t t h rough the p ipes t emupo n the wound . Ina sm uch a s four is t he minor sac rednumber and the medica l p rob lem wi th which he i sdeahng is a re la t ively insignif icant one, both reci t ingand blowing are done a tota l of four t imes.

The procedure for t rea t ing an abscessed tooth di fferss l i gh t ly f rom tha t fo r a wound; t he s t em of t he p ipeis placed di rect ly aga inst the too th th at i s infected.

In t r e a t ing ea rache , t he tobacco smoke i s b lown in tothe canal of the ailing; ear.

2. TO DOCTOR ' 'THE RAINBOW BLACK"um vgh od adh i gv :hndge? ' ^ ada :hnv :wo :d i : [y i ]ra inbow b lack to doc to r one , one

gha? t sane :h l anv :h i ^ u : s inu : l i yu h inv :g o : l i : yvm a gha? u : s inu : l i yu hu : sag i '*now prov ider , yo u quickly, ver y dive rt i t , you ( imp.) now quickly , very unco ver i t , you ( imp.)ha? ya:^^ u : s inu : l i yu u t s i : lma wa advrhn igaha ya qu ick ly , ve ry rehef, i t he has ju st come to say

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NT o D o c t o r " T h e R a i n b o w B l a c k "

No w! You Prov ide r ! Very qu ick ly d ive r t i t !No w! Very qu ick ly uncove r i t !H a ! Y a ! V e r y q u i c k l y !"Relief!" He has jus t come to say .

C O M M E N T A R YMooney (1890, p . 365) defines " the black" or , more

prope r ly , " th e b l ack ye l low," a s a sub typ e of t ha t g rea t2 As i t s tands here , "black" is a noun, the des ignation for a medical condit ion; i t isp ronounc e d , t he re fo re , w i th a r i s ing p i t c h upon the s e c ond s y l l a b l e . E mploy e d

a d je c t ive ly , t he w ord " b l a c k" I s p ronounc e d gv :hn a ge ' ' , w i th a r i s ing p i tc h upon thel a s t s y l l a b l e , a c i rc ums ta nc e w h ic h , be ing p re d ic t a b le , ma ke s the a pp l i c a t ion o f a nys pe c ia l ma rk ing unne c e s s a ry .

>2 "W hi l e t he ma nus c r ip t me d ic o - re l ig ious l i t e ra tu re i nd i s pu ta b ly p rove s the c on tentio n of Mooney and Olbre chts (1932, p . 20) that the aborlghia l Cherokee s bel ievedIn a Sup rem e Being, I t offers l i t t le In suppo rt of theh: equa tion of this Force with thes un . T he i r t r a ns l a t ion o f une :h l a nv :h l (pTOBider, ke; cf. provider, you, a bove ) , t he mos tc omm only e mploye d de s igna tion fo r t he Sup re me B e ing a s 'H e ha s a ppo r t ione d ,a l lot ted, div ided into equal par ts , ' whic h, say the y, is in reference to the t ime-d ivingro le o f t he s un , i s . . . f a u l ty . T he t e rm c ome s f rom the ve rb ' t o p ro v id e . ' " (K i lpa t r i c kand KUpatrick, 1965b, p . 72.)

" In mo s t of t he O k la hom a C he roke e d i a l e c t s , t h i s w ord ( in e ve ryda y s pe e c h , a tl e a s t ) w ou ld be hu :dh le g l . D la y ( l )g6 :h i IJay-pUice), t he d i a l e c t p re domina n t i n t hea re a in w h ic h A de : l a gh (a )dh : (ya w a s bom a nd re a re d , w ou ld l i ke ly , upon tho roughinves t igat ion, prove to have affini ty to some of the North Carolina dia lects wherchi ts ome thne s e qua te s w i th dh l i n mos t o f t he O k la homa d ia l e c t s . W hi l e one c a nno t boabsolu te ly certa i n as to whethe r the word as wri t te n here is an archaism or a fa i thfulreflect ion of the wri ter 's speech, the la t ter case is the more l ikely.

u This Interject ion has no part icular s ignificance.

t runk f rom which , i n Cherokee seme io logy , so manypa tho log ica l cond i t i ons b ranch : t he da lo :n i {yellow).H e in f o rm s u s t h a t " . . . t h e n a v e l a n d a b d o m e n ofthe pat ient swel l , the ends of his f ingers become black,da rk c i rc l e s appea r abou t h i s eyes , and the th roa tcontracts spasmodicafly and causes him to fa l l downsudden ly insens ib l e . " Mooney and Olbrech t s (1932 ,p. 224) add to the foregoing Hst of symptoms as fol lows:"The pa t i en t f ee l s f a in t and g iddy on r i s ing sudden lyf rom h i s sea t . The medic ine man fu r the r s t a t e s t ha t a sthe disease progresses the l ips and c i rc les round theeyes turn black, and in ext reme cases red blotchesappea r on the face , e spec ia l ly abou t t he mouth . "

The Oklahoma Cherokees recognize four sub types o f" t h e b l a c k " ( K i l p a t r i ck a n d K i l p a tr i c k , M S . a ) :Ty pe 1 . An in fan t i le va r i e ty , usua l ly des igna ted w i th

the add i t i on o f some such qua l i fy ing word a s d in iyo :h h {small ones, they). A m o n g i t s s a l i e n t s y m p t o m sare: sleeping wi th the eyes hal f-open, crying outwhi l e a s l eep , and a b lueness abou t t he m ou th .

Ty pe 2 . An und i f fe ren t i a ted , bu t o rd ina r i l y no t seve re ,adul t species.

T y p e 3 . U : n v g h o : l a d h i {rainbow), somet imes ca l l edgi :gag6: i {red). S e e i n g " r a i n b o w s " o r " b r i g h t l i g h t s "during a dizzy speU is considered to be diagnost ic .


11/48

8 8 S M I T H S O N I A N C O N T R I B U T I O N S T O A N T H R O P O L O G Y VOLUME 2Type 4. Gv:hnage? u:dhan(a) (black, big), sometimescalled tsun(a)da:invdi:ha {which knocks them down).This type, which produces syncope, is held to beof special gravity.All four types of "the black" are preferentiallytreated with the root of gv:hndge? ti:dhan(a) {Cassiamarilandica, L.), said to be so named because of itsuse in Ty pe 4, in the following man ner (ibid.):

A small cru shed ro ot of wild sen na is soake d in a cup or glassnearly filled with ama i?tse:i {water, new^cool, freshly drawnwater, preferably from a vigorously flowing stream). The resu l tan tinfusion is blown upon the pat ient in one of several acceptablefashions. The manner adopted depends upon the physical posi t ionof the pat ient and the idiosyncrat ic pract ice of the shaman. Avery com mon proce dure is thi s : The m edicine man reci tes aconjurat ion sotto voce, takes some of the infusion into his mouthand then blows the l iquid upon the top of the head of the seatedpatient ; he then goes counterclockwise to the front of the pat ient ,repeats the conjurat ion, takes more f luid from i ts container intohis mouth and blows i t upon the pat ient ' s face; the conjurat ionis then del ivered for the third t ime, more of the preparat ion ist aken in to the mouth o f the med ic ine man , and the pa t i en t ' shands are blown; the conjurat ion is said a fourth t ime, themedicine man takes a s ip of the infusion and blows i t upon thefeet of the pat ient . During this t reatment the pat ient s i ts facingeas t , the " fo r tuna te ' ' compass po in t .

The above thera py is administe red subject to certain optionsderiving from the basic precepts of Cherokee medical pract ice:

i t may be applied only once; i t may be applied four t imes in thecourse of one day; i t may be applied once per day for four consecutive days; i t may be applied four t imes per day for fourconsecu t ive days . In con junc t ion wi th the t r ea tm en t , t he d r inking of the infusion may be prescribed for the pat ient , in whichcase the m edicine is tak en on some schedule predi cated upon th ebases that have just been l is ted.In a severe and sudden seizure of gv:hndge^, especially ofgv:hndge? 'd:dhan(a), the medicine man may have insuff icientt ime to prepare an infusion of wild senna root , in which case heuses fresh water alone in the physical phase of his therapy, atleast for his ini t ia l , emergency treatment .Conjurations for the various types of "the black"are frequently encountered in the manuscript literatureof the Western Cherokees. A large proportion of themincorporate the motif to be seen in the example above;that of an appeal to the Provider to "uncover" thedarkness which has enveloped the patient undertreatment .The conjurations for "the black" or the "blackyellow" reported by Mo oney (1890, pp. 364-366) and byMooney and Olbrechts (1932, pp. 222-224), despite

their labeling, are not for this specific condition, bufor iUs related to itdalo:ni itself, and tsuni :waduno:h(i) {their veins). A true conjurat ion for "the black"is recorded in Kilpatrick and Kilpatrick (1965a, pp.92-93).

3. FOR ARTHRITISunv: le : sdv"broken, they

gha? gfgi:sdi ^ gv:?i^ i:ya gv:? se:lu gv:? dh u:y a gv:? 4 gha?now watermelon gv:? pum pkin gv:? corn gv:? bean(s) gv:? 4 nowitsi:hnawa gvdi:sge:sdi 4ju st relieved it, you (pi.) I will be saying 4

FREE TRANSLATIONFor Arthri t is

Now! Watermelon! Gv:? Pumpkin! Gv:?! Corn! Gv:?!Bean! Gv:?!Now! Watermelon! Gv:? Pumpkin! Gv:?! Corn! Gv:?!Bean! Gv:?!Now! Watermelon! Gv:? Pumpkin! Gv:?! Corn! Gv:?!Bean! Gv:?!" Long form: unv:le:sdT^;l.17 It is possible that the literal meaning of this word, "able to eat it, one," derivesfrom the circumstance that the watermelon, a cucurbit introduced by Europeans,bears a resemblance to the n ative gourd which is Inedible. The origtoal Cherokee designation may v ery well have been something approaching " the gourd tha t is edible."I' This Interjection is commonly employed as an onomatopoeia for the footsteps ofa spirit, or, as In the present Instance, the arrival of a spirtua l force.

Now! Watermelon! Gv:? Pumpkin! Gv:?! Corn! Gv:?!Bean! Gv:?!Now ! "AU of you jus t relieved it!" I wiU be saying.Now! "All of you just relieved it!" 1 will be saying.Now! "All of you just relieved it!" I will be saying.Now! "All of you just relieved it!" I will be saying.COMMENTARY

In a general sense, the term unv:le:sdv is applied toany form of arthritic affliction; in a restricted sense itis perhaps most often appHed to cervical arthritis. Inthe commonest t reatment of the lat ter the pat ient isplaced prone upon his stomach, facing east. The medicine man takes a small bite from a plug of commercial


12/48

N U M B E R 6 K I L P A T R I C K & K I L P A T R I C K : C H E R O K E E S H A M A N 8 9t obacco and mas t i ca t e s i t . He then expec to ra t e s uponhi s han ds and w arm s them ove r a panfu l o r shovel fulof coals preferably thos e tha t are the residue of af i re made f rom l igh tn ing-s tmck woodas he rec i t e s ani :gawe : sd i su i t ab l e t o t he the rapeu t i c s i t ua t ion . Hethen presses his hands fumly against the locus of thepa in un t i l t he hea t f rom them has become d i ss ipa t ed .Th e r i tual i s enac ted four t imes successively.

Within the memory of individuals st i l l Hving, thep lug tobacco employed by medic ine men was p repa redas fol lows: holes were burned in a hardwood log andin to them cured tobacco l ea f was t amped; honey o rsi rup was poured over the tobacco and the holes werestop ped w i th wood en plugs. After a m on th or so ofseasoning, the tobacco was ready for use .

There is a c lue in Mooney and Olbrechts (1932, p .65) as to why the speci f ic four vegetable spi r i t s arereferred to in the abo ve conju rat ion : " . . . the on evisi ted wi th watery bhsters should absta in from al ljuicy frui t and vege tables, e tc ." Ar thr i t ic affi ic t ionsare a t tended by swel l ings, swel l ings are watery; in

orde r t o reduce them, one must d r ive the wa te r ou t o fthem. The vege tab le s a re named in a descend ing o rde rof juic iness inherent to each: in other words; the waterin a swel l ing, and therefore the swel l ing itself, isg radua l ly reduced .

Die te t ic taboos ( insofar as ma nu scri pts inform us)seemingly were a lways of far less importance in thethe rapeu t i c p rac t i ce o f t he Oklahoma Cherokees thanthey were in t he heahng ac t iv i t i e s o f t he Nor th CarohnaCherokees . Neve r the l e ss , t he vege tab le s named above ,unde r cond i t i ons conveyed ve rba l ly t o t he pa t i en t ,would be p roh ib i t ed by the medic ine man employ ingthe foregoing conjura t ion.

From the l i t e ra tu re pubHshed and unpubl i shed , f romfolk belief and from observ at ion, one gath ers th atar th r i t i s was and st i l l i s a majo r he al th pro blem to th eCherokee peop le . Unpubhshed p resc r ip t ions fo r t here l ief of i t a re numerous, and t reatments for i t a re inpr in t i n Mooney (1890 , pp . 345-351) and in Mooneyand O lbrech ts (1932, pp . 196, 291-2 94, 301-3 02).

4. TO MAKE TOBACCO WHEN THEY ARE HURTING SOMEWHEREgohi i :sdi u:s dv une hisd d:n e:hf t so: lv^^ g6:dhlv?disom eth ing des igna ted , i t hur t ing they tobacco to ma ke i t one

sge:? 2 yv: wi uwo :dig6: i d6:na ts( i )gd: l ( i )w (i )sdan i :gdl isten perso n bro wn , he yo u and I ha ve jus t come toge ther to un i te our effor ts (m.a . )i : i udawe :h iyu goh l j: sd i g in inu :h l ( i )d i n ige : sv :na gah l ( i )gwo:g iwiza rds you and I mu ch som ething to fa il , you and I being, not sevennani :s da?h lf dige:g inadaw 6:hi l (a)d i :sdl i i ige:sv:na sge:?each of the c lan dist r ic ts , they to c l imb over you and me (m.a .) , they being, no t l i s tende:yi l t i :nvgwij ^ uwo:dige? ^ d6:nats ( i )gd: l ( i )w (i )sdani :g dwh ir lwind [? j, jus t bro wn he yo u and I ha ve jus t come toge ther to mi i te our effor t (m.a . )i :nida we :hiyu goht i : sdi ginint i :hl ( i )di nige:s-^:na gahl( i )gw o:gi ^wizard s, yo u and I , mu ch som ethin g to fa il , you and I being, no t sevennan l : sd a h lv d ige :g inadaw6 :h i l (a )d i : sd i n ige : sv :naeach of the c lan dist r ic ts , the y to c l imb over yo u and me (m.a .) they being, not

i The re exists man uscr ipt evidence to Indicate tha t , for a t least a centu ry, the formstso:lv and tso:1a have been In free a l ternat io n.M Thi s a t tent ion-ge t t ing interject ion, which has no exact equivalent in the Engl ishlanguage. Is som ewh at more commo nly employed in th e idi :gaw^:sdi of No rth Carolina t ha n i n t hose o f Ok l a hom a .2' While the meaning of this term is conjectural , A d e: lag h ( a ) d h f :ya's son-in-law was

of the opinion that the word is a rare r i tual ism standing for a:gali}:g&. We cal l a t tent ion , never theless , to I ts similari ty to dehl :half l :nagwfi (you have just blocked them,lust). II we have here a copyist ' e rror , and th e la t ter Is the correct reading, then the

p er t in en t l ine in the free t rans la t ion should read: "Lis tenl Br ow n On e, You hav eIndeed j u s t b l oc ked t he m i E t c . "22 Th e idl :gaw^:sdl seen in manus cript ab ound In exam ples of the use of the longform of a word ki a given Instance, and of i t s short form hi a co rresponding c i rcums tan ce , or vice versa . Needless to say, these minor di fferences appear to be scrupulously observed In the reci t ing of a text . If the a l terna te reading suggested in note 21

be a c c e p t e d , t he n t he word he re wou l d no t be uwoi d l ge ' ' , bu t uwo: d Ige ' .28 " 'Seven Clan s ' and 'Seven Clan Dist r ic ts ' are commonly employed as f igures

of speech to signify the whole of the Cherokee people , and are somet imes used as asy mb o l of the ent i re world." [Ki lpatr ick and Kilpatr ick, 1965b, p . 19.]


13/48

90 SMITHSONL\N CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 2F R E E T R A N S L A T I O N

T o M a k e T o b a c c o W h e n T h e y A r e H u r t i n g S o m e w h e r eL i s t e n ! B r o w n P e r s o n ! You and I h a v e j u s t c o m e to

g e t h e r to u n i t e our efforts.Y ou and I are G r e a t W i z a r d s .Y ou and I are to fail in n o t h i n g .E a c h of the S e v e n C l a n D i s t r i c t s is not to c l imb ove r

Y o u and me!L i s t e n ! B r o w n W h i r l w i n d Itself! You and I h a v e j u s t

come toge the r to u n i t e our efforts.Y o u and I are G r e a t W i z a r d s .Y o u and I are to fail in not l i i ng .E a c h of the S e v e n C l a n D i s t r i c t s is not to c l imb ove r

Y o u a n d m e !C O M M E N T A R Y

T h e use of t obacco as an agency for the c o n v e y a n c ea n d d i s t r i b u t i o n of s u p e r n a t u r a l p o w e r w o u l d a p p e a rt o c o n s t i t u t e a mot i f of s o m e w h a t g r e a t e r m o m e n t int he medic ine and magic of the W e s t e r n C h e r o k e e t h a ni n t h a t of t h e i r N o r t h C a r o l i n a k i n s m e n . The t obaccoi s " m a d e " or " r e m a d e " in a ce remony which va r i e ss o m e w h a t in accordance wi th the specific use to w h i c hi t is to be put and the pre fe rence of the i n d i v i d u a l whop r e p a r e s it, but the r i t e t yp ica l ly wi ll i ncor pora t e t hesee l e m e n t s : e n a c t m e n t at dawn ^vi th the p a r t i c i p a n tfacing east at t he b r ink of a f lomng st ream; the t obacco ,held in the lef t hand, wi l l be k n e a d e d w i t h a c o u n t e r c lockwise rol l ing mot ion of the r ight hand whi le an

a p p r o p r i a t e i : g a w 6 : s d i is be ing de l ive red ; the t o b a c c oi s e x p e c t o r a t e d u p o n at the conc lus ion of each of fourr e c i t a t i o n s of the i : gaw6: sd i .

A s one may see, the p r e p a r a t i o n of t o b a c c o in thec e r e m o n y r e p o r t e d by K i l p a t r i c k and K i l p a t r i c k (1964c, p. 387) is no t effected in the a b o v e m a n n e r ; thep u r p o s e of its p r e p a r a t i o n is one of e x t r a o r d i n a r ym o m e n t .

O r d i n a r i l y , w h e n the c a p t i o n of a medica l t ex t r eadsto the effect that the e n s u i n g p r e s c r i p t i o n is for thep u r p o s e of t r e a t i n g p a i n s in var ious loc i in the b o d y ,especia l ly if the w o r d w h i c h m e a n s " h u r t i n g a b o u t "i s employed , on e a s s u m e s t h a t the t r e a t m e n t is for a" s i m u l a t o r " or " o r d e a l " d i s e a s e ; one of t hose comp l a i n t s t h a t M o o n e y and Olbrech t s (1932 , p. 33) defineas ". . . c a u s e d by the m a c h i n a t i o n s of a h u m a na g e n t . T h e y are the m o s t d r e a d e d of the m a n y c o m p l a i n t s the C h e r o k e e k n o w s . " (For the t r e a t m e n t of a" s imi l a r" d i sease , see ibid. , pp. 2 1 5 - 2 1 7 . ) The conj u r a t i o n a b o v e d o e s not a p p e a r to be for the p u r p o s eof infusing tobacco for use a g a i n s t a " s i m u l a t o r "m a l a d y , bu t m e r e l y for a n e u r i t i c t w i n g e of any localiz a t i o n w h a t e v e r . The phys ica l a spec t s of the t h e r a p yut i l i z ing tobacco p repa red wi th the foregoing, or as imula to r t ex t , would be essen t i a l l y the s a m e as t h a tde t a i l ed in No . 3 a b o v e .

" B r o w n P e r s o n " is the s p i r i t of the t o b a c c o t h a t isb e i n g " r e m a d e " ; " B r o w n W h i r l w i n d " (if s u c h is thecor rec t r ead ing) is the sp i r i t of the s m o k e of t h a ttobacco .

5. (TO HELP ONESELF WITH)gha? sge:? ha? t s u : s g v d v : n i : s d i ^* gigag6: i gal f : la?di aye:hH yun o w h s t e n ha shins, l i is, to w h i p , one red, he above midd le , ve ryt sa :h l ( i )dho :h i : sd i h ida :w e :h iyu i t su : l a i g f : gh (a )d h i d igegv : sda :yd goh t i : sd ito repose , you w i z a r d , you, mu ch bo t h wa ys ( se r. ) as h a r d as, t h e y s o m e t h i n gd i t s a d a w 6 : h i l a d i :s d l n i g e : s v : n a u : s i n u : l iy u h a ? d h v : g d : n i : g a h n a : g w o :to chmb ove r you ( m . a . ) , it be ing , not quick ly , ve ry you h a v e j u s t c o m e to h e a r no wn v : n o : h i d h i g h ( a ) s 6 : v d h a n i : g d ha? h n a : g w o t s o : l v u w o : d i g 6 : ip a t h w a y you h a v e j u s t b r o u g h t i t down (m.a . ) ha now t o b a c c o b r o w n , iti no :dh l fh i sa?n i :g^ ha? e:lo:hi ^5 ha? na e:hi ha? yv:wi t svde :ha lu :2y o u and I j u s t c o m e to r e m a k e it ha be low ha t he re re s ide r , he ha p e r s o n you block themdig^ :n(a ) sda?h la?n i " t sun (a )d a :n (v )dh o? d iga :h i lo :h i ? se :h i t so : lv t sug h(a ) s v : sd ic l an d i s t r i c t s , t hey sou l s , t he i r passe r by of t h e m , you t obacco which to s m o k e , i t

2 We can offer no logical explanation for th is term for a garter snake (Thamnophis).Perhaps It has a forgotten mythological significance.^ By extension, "world ." This is not a ritualism.-9 Possibly a ritualism for dehf:halu:g&.~ One of the several comm only seen ritualistic forms of the w ord.


14/48

NUMBER 6 KILPA TRICK & KIL PAT RIC K: CH ER OK EE SH AM AN Shna :gw o i :nisa lad^ :ni :gd ha? g6:dehalu:^^ unihn^:sdo ?dinow you and I hav e jus t come to ho ld i t up ha ove r t he re , you b lock them to speak wi th , t heyn ige : sv :n a ge t sanuyv: se?d i n ige : sv :na ga lv :l ?ad un^ :gv a?dho:h i :sd ibeing , no t to be passed un der by them , you being, no t abov e wh i te , i t to repose , i tgv wa dhf :hw idv ha t sv : s iy4 : sge : sd i agay f : l i t sugh(a ) sv : sd i usa? la?dv :?^ 'ever yw here yo u wi l l be walk ing to and fro ancien t , he which to smo ke, i t holding i t up-p lacegini :sa?ld?de:sdito ho ld i t up , you and I

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NN o w ! L i s t e n !H a ! R e d G a r t e r S n a k e !Above , i n t he ve ry midd le o f Your P lace o f Repose ,

You Grea t Wiza rd , bo th s ides o f You a re equa l lys t r o n g !Noth ing i s t o c l imb ove r You .Very qu ick ly You have jus t come to hea r .

N o w Y o u h a v e j u s t b r o u g h t d o w n t h e P a t h w a y .Ha! Now You and I have jus t come to remake theB r o w n T o b a c c o .H a ! T h o s e p e r s o n s w h o d w e l l H a ! o n e a r t h H a ! You b lock .

You are a bypasser of thei r souls there in the ClanD i s t r i c t s .You and I now have jus t come to ho ld up the Tobacco

S m o k e .Ha! You b lock them ove r t he re .Th ey a re wi thou t t he ab i li t y to speak .They a re unab le t o pass unde r you .You wi l l be walking to and fro everywhere in the

Whi t e P l ace o f Repose Above .In the Plac e where the Anc ien t O ne ^ ho lds up theSmoke , l e t us . You and I , ho ld i t up!C O M M E N T A R Y

In add i t i on to magica l p rocedures t o ensure p rotect ion in a specif ic c i rcum stanc e such as wh en goingto war , when t rave l ing , o r when a t t end ing a ga the r ingof peop le among whom the re migh t be pe rsona l foesthe Cherokees know and prac t i ce measures fo r t hegua rd ing o f an ind iv idua l aga ins t an unknown enemyor an unforeseen dange r . The t ex t s o f i ncan ta t ionsused for the general purpose of protect ion are of tenprov ided wi th some cap t ion such a s owd: sv ah l ( i ) sde :h l (v )do?d i {oneself, to help with, i.e., to help oneself

with). Th ey a re , gene ra l ly (poss ib ly inva r i ab ly ) , e i t he r"go ing to t he wa t e r" ^' o r t obacco-prepa r ing t ex t s .The re is ev idence to show tha t l ayme n know and

use the simple idi :gawe:sdi of this genre , especia l lythose employed in "go ing to t he wa te r , " bu t t he comp lex and more pu i ssan t t ex t s a re t he exc lus ive p rope r tyof the professionals. Indeed, the medicine men havespecia l need of them: in addi t ion to using them forthe benefi t of c l ients , they employ them to protectthemse lves . Shamans cons ide r t hemse lves to be theprincipal targets of magical workers of evi l .

At the outse t of a typical tobacco-preparing ceremony , t he p repa re r s t a t e s h i s name and c l an o r , i fthe tobacco is destined for the use of a cfient, thename and c lan of the c l ient . At the conclusion of sometobacco-preparing r i tuals , especia l ly those enacted forsocia l ly sanct ioned purposes, the tobacco is f i rst heldin bo th hands a t ex t ended a rms l eng th , a f t e r which i ti s s lowly brought up and then down across the faceof t he r i s ing sun . Wes te rn Cherokee medicom agica ltheory ho lds t ha t whi l e t obacco impregna ted by therays o f t he r i s ing sun i s " s t reng thened" beyond wha ti t would be o the rmse , t he p r imary and e ssen t i a l l ysel f-suff ic ient source of i t s authori ty i s the powerbestowed upon i t by the i :gaw6:sdi .

Tobacco v i t a l i zed th rough the employment o f t heabove t ex t , o r some cogna te t ex t , can be s to red aga ins ta necessi ty ar ising for i t s usesuch as the onset of avague sensat ion of uneasiness or an inexpl icable feel ingof physical malfunct ion, both possible indicat ions ofthe effects of sorcery of an unknown source . Moreover ,

28 Possibly a ritualism for g6:deh(:halii;ga.2 9 Long form, usa' la 'd' / i i .JO The Provider .

> ' "Bathing in the runntag s tream, o r 'going to the water', as it is called, is one oftheir most frequent medico-religious ceremonies, and is performed on a great varietyof occasions, such as at each new moon, before eating the new food a t the green corndance, before the medicine dance and other ceremonial dances before and after t h eball play, In connection with the prayers for a long life, to counteract the effects ofbad dreams or the evil speUs of an enemy, and as a par t of the regular t reatment Invarious diseases. The details of the ceremony are very elaborate and vary accordinglyto the purpose for which it is performed, b u t h i all cases both shaman and client arefasting from t h e previous evening, t h e ceremony being generally performed just a tdaybreak. The bather usually dips completely under the water four or seven t imes,b u t In some cases It Is sufflclont t o pour water from the hand upon the head, a n dbreast." (Mooney, 1890, p. 335.)


15/48

9 2 S M I T H S O N I A N C O N T R I B U T I O N S T O A N T H R O P O L O G Y V O L U M E 2general-purpose "protection" tobacco may be used toguard a house that its owner may be compelled toleave vacant for an appreciable length of time, orto shield an iU person from witchcr aft to w hich, asthe result of his physical weakness, he is peculiarlyvulnerable.

"Remade" tobacco kept in one's household must beprotected against influences that could "break" it,nullify its powerthe presence of a pregnant or menstrual woman, a corpse, or an individual who hastouched a corpse and not yet taken purificatorymeasures.

6. (TO ATTRACT A WOMAN)gha? wagi:nanugo:tsv:? ^ gho:ga gho:si:yu^^ tsiw6:nihd * gha hna:gwo tsulv:sado:gi '^now over there appeared I crow good, I, very talk now now radia tors theydaga du:yv :ni tsu:sdago:gi^ nv:no :hi tsinv:ni:gd agwa tsanv:gi ^ gigage:iI will go und er them tops, they pa thw ay I jus t laid it (flex.) down attir ed , I red itgatsadv:dv^ ^ gigage:i agind:wad6:ga di:gh(a) dhatied, it red, it I hav e it (flex.) lying spread ou t eyes, the ydegv:yasehisdd:neU:gd, tsiye:lv:?^' degd:hl(a)wade:ge:adi) ditsa:g h(a)d hiI have just come to draw them (sol.) out body my they (sol.) wiU be being in it to face (m.a.) youa:gw(a)so:hy idv* di:dh lv hi?a? iyij:sdi ditsa d6 :idv X gha? gi:hli usd i:i un e:g vbackside my toward this kind, it named (m.a), you X now dog small, it wh ite, hetsada:n (v)d ho? tsahyid6:seM:gd digw a:sdalo:ni * go:hlv :nf :dvsoul, your he has jus t come to fondle yours footprints, yellow, my mad e ittsadv:hneH :ga tsa?suhg6:sdi nig e:sf :na gha? gha? di? di?he has jus t come to sta te to you to desist you being, no t gha? gha? di? di?

FREE TRANSLATIONNow! I appeared over there!Crow, I talk very well!Now! Now I wiU go under the Sunrays.I just laid down the Pathway at the Treetops.

2 In th e ma nus c r ip t , t he fou r th s y l l a b l e of t h i s s ho r t fo rm a ppe a rs t o be a n e r rone ous ly w r i t t e n mi .

33 In c onve rs a t iona l C he roke e , "good" w h e the r i t be s e rv ing In the func t ion o f a na d je c t ive o r a n a dve rb ord ina r i ly ha s no p ronom ina l p re f ix .

>* N ow c ommonly t s iw 6 :n ia .35 "T h e re i s no e qu iva l e n t i n E ng l i s h for t he C he roke e t e rm th a t me a n s the g low

of the morn ing s ky , t he Morgenrote, jus t before the sun rises ; for buil t Into the word Isthe c onno ta t ion tha t t h i s a u ro ra l phe nom e non i s impre g na te d w i th mi ra c u lousc re a t ive pow e r . " (K i lpa t r i c k a nd K i lpa t r i c k , 1966b, p . 26 ).

2 In r i t ua l i s t i c s e ns e , " t r e e tops . "3' In everyday speech, agwatsan-\? :hi .28 A de : l a gh (a )dh f :ya ' s s on - in - l a w w a s unc e r t a in a s t o w he the r t h i s w a s s ome r i t ua l

ism uflknow n to htm , or mer ely a copyis t 's error. We offer the hyp othe s is th at i t Is ari tual is t ic form of gadv :dv, and therefore me ans an orn am ent or dress of a col larl iken a t u r e .

" Long form, tsiye:lT?:i.


16/48

N U M B E R 6 KILPATRICK & KILPATRICK: CHEROKEE SHAMAN 9 3C O M M E N T A R Y

Ero t i c i ncan ta t ions tha t a re fo r gene ra l u t i l i t y i na t t r a c t ing a wo ma n a re conven t iona l ly cap t ione dage :hy v (o r an ige :hyv) ug f :wahli {a woman [women],jor the purpose of). Al tho ug h the foregoing i :gawe :sdibears no t i t le , i t s c lassi f ica t ion cannot be in quest ion;fo r i t i s pa t en t ly a no t ve ry wide ly d ive rgen t va r i an t o fa t ex t pub l i shed in Ki lpa t r i ck and Ki lpa t r i ck (1965 ,p p . 2 5 - 2 7 ) . "

The symbol of the crow as a hated r ival has beenrepor t e d by Moo ney (1890, pp . 375-377 ) . In t hepresen t example the incan ta to r rhe to r i ca l ly i n forms h i sopponen t o f t he p re t e rna tu ra l fo rce o f h i s , t he incan-ta to r ' s , spee ch: possessed of the pow er to invest himseffwi th the magica l "Red" o f t he sun , he i s ab l e t o d i c t a t eh i s own fu tu re (P a thw ay) . Th e figure where in theincan ta to r ex t rac t s eyes and p l aces t hem in h i s ownbody is a stereotype signifying the magical acquisi t ionof admi r ing o r env ious a t t en t ion .

The implementa t ion o f t he t ex t i s an open ques t ion .I t s l eng th ru l e s ou t i t s hav ing been des igned to bemere ly sa id , a s i s t he case wi th many e ro t i c i d i :gawe :sdi . I t bears no internal evidence of being for the pur

pose of pre pari ng toba cco. I t i s sure ly therefore anama:y i a t s^ : sdo?d i {water-place, to go and return with),a "go ing to t he wa te r" t ex t . I t s l eng th would t end toind ica t e t h a t i t i s a sha ma n ' s p rofessiona l i nc an ta t io n ,even had i t not been discovered among the effectsof a shaman . I t i s ax iomat i c t ha t t he Cherokees l eantoward the po in t o f v i ew tha t anyone may pu t t o useany knowledge , no ma t t e r how eso te r i c , t ha t he possesses . Neve r the l e ss , a l ayman would be qu i t e unhke lyto kno w a text as re la t ive ly complex and, f rom thes t andpoin t o f h i s workaday l anguage , a s compara t ively obscure as i s this one.

Th e "go ing to t he wa te r" r it ua l t h a t i nco rpora t e san i :gawe :sdi of the n at ur e of th e foregoing is Hkely tobe a fa i r ly simple one, a l though the exact deta i ls ofthe p rocedure woidd be sub jec t t o pe r sona l p re fe rencesof t he medic ine man . The cHent t r ad i t i ona l ly s t andsat dawn at the verge of running water , fac ing east .The medic ine man , s t and ing d i rec t ly beh ind h i s cHent ,s t a t e s t he l a t t e r ' s name and c l an and then in a l owvoice reci tes the text , af ter which the cHent stoopsand l aves h i s hands and face . Th i s p rocedure i s enac tedfour t imes . The en t i re ce remony i s pe r fo rmed upo nfour consecu t ive morn ings .

7. IF THEY HAVE GASHED THEMSELVES OR HAVE BEEN SHOTu:n (a)d a: l t l : hyv yigi a le? getsiyo: lv le- tsi-yo-l igashed them selves, they if i t i s and sho t they, by the m le- tsi -yo-le

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O N

I f t hey have gashed themse lves o r have been sho tLe-tsi-yo-le!C O M M E N T A R Y

Any Weste rn Cherokee i : gawe : sd i cap t ioned to t heeffect that the pat ient to whom i t i s appl icable has been"sho t " may be suspec ted o f no t be ing in t ended fo r t het rea tment o f a gunsho t wound; fo r i t s l abe l may bemetaphor i ca l . In medicomagica l pa r l ance , t he " shoo t ing" of an individual signif ies the int roducing into hisbo dy b y w i tchcr af t of some foreign o bject such as a bi t ofwood, a piece of st r ing, or an insect . The int rudedobject , th e ga:dhidv,** is custo ma ri ly remo ved e i ther b ythe apphcat ion of a poul t ice , or by the apphcat ion of apou l t i ce and a subs eque n t ch inng ica l p rocedure where -

A d e : l a gh ( a )dh f :ya ' s va r i a n t omi t s t he fo l low ing be a u t i fu l l ine s Inc o rpo ra t e dIn the publi shed vers ion (K ilpatri ck and KU patrick , l t i65b, p . 26):Y ou w lU be una b le t o g l a nc e a w a y .Y our thou gh t i s no t t o w a nde r .A t m y ba c k upo n the E te rn a l W hi t e R oa d w iU be the s ound o f you r foo t s te ps .I ha ve ju s t c ome to d ra w a w a y you r s ou l l

" See KUpatric k an d K ilpat rick, 1964c, pp. 1383, 1391, n . 6 .

by the locus of affliction is first ceremonially incisedand then sucked by means of a sect ion of deer ant ler(cf . Ki lpat r ick and Ki lpat r ick, 1965a, p . 98 n. 3) .B u t t h e r e e x i s t t r u e g u n s h o t w o i m d t r e a t m e n t s :inasmuch as the capt ion of the text above informs usth at the rem edy i t prefaces i s for cuts and b ul le twounds bo th , we may accep t i t s u t ih ty a t f ace va lue .

Conju ra t ions fo r kn i fe and ax gashes a re num erou samong bo th b ranches o f t he Cherokee peop le , and a rewide ly know n to th e l a i t y . A typ ica l l aym an ' s i : gawe :sd ip rev ious ly repor t ed (Ki lpa t r i ck , 1964 , pp . 217-218) ,i s cast in this format :

I just chopped stone; I juBt chopped wood; I just choppedearth; I just chopped water. I t will not become inflamed.

T h e reciter of this charm sj'mbohcally transfers his cut tosubstances no t subject to swelling, as is human flesh . . . .

T he shamanistic formulas for cuts ar e usually httle , if any,different from those emploj^ed by the laity. T h e shaman, however, blows the wound with chewed hickory bark in additionreciting a charm. T he layman is apt to make a bit of mud byexpectorating upon earth and then apply it to his injury. Earthfrom under a sheltera porch, a shed, or a logis consideredbest fo r this purpose.

3 5 6 - 5 9 4 7 0 -


17/48

9 4 SMITHSONL\N CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 2T h e d u a l p u r p o s e of A d e : l a g h ( a ) d h l : y a ' s c o n j u r a t i o n

would in i t se l f be just i f ica t ion for i t s lack of any resemblance to t he i : gawe : sd i j us t quo ted , bu t i t i n noway expla ins the pecuHar features of the former. In themanuscript , each of the four syl lables of the text i sfol lowed by a period ( le . t s i . yo. le . ) which is somet imesused in t he Sequoyah sy l l aba ry , j us t a s i t i s i n Engl i sh ,to i nd ica t e an abbrev ia t ion . However , i f we dea l he rewith a ser ies of incipi ts , the syl lables do not form thebeg inn ings o f words tha t cons t i t u t e any phase wi thwhich we , o r knowledgeab le i nd iv idua l s who have examine d the ma nus c r ip t , a re fami l ia r . Moreo ve r , s incecon jura t ions o f t h i s t ype a re gene ra l ly among the l ea s teso teric of aU idi :gawe :sdi, i t is difficult to perceive anyreason for a desi re to produce obfuscat ion.

We are of the opinion that the syl lables are those ofa med icine song, and th at the y derive from getsiyo : le ,t he shor t fo rm of " sho t t hey , by them (w.p .k . ) . " Thein i t ia l sy l lab l e has poss ib ly expe r ienced a mu ta t i on inthe interests of ease in singing, or e lse i s the resul t ofth e ehsion of a word on ce exist ing plus getsiyo : le .

poss ibly a legetsiyo : le or , in free t ra ns la t i on , "A ndthey a re sho t ! "

Al l con jura t ions fo r gunsho t wounds were , o f course ,o r ig ina l ly fo r i n ju r i e s f rom a r rows . And such seems tohave been the purpose o f t he one unde r cons ide ra t ionh e r e . B u t t h e W e s t e r n C h e r o k e e s h o l d t h a t a g i v e ntex t may be o f use in any medica l s i t ua t ion fo r whichi t s word ing qua li f ie s i t ; i nas mu ch a s cu t s a re fa r m oref r e q u e n t t h a n w o u n d s f r o m b u l l e t s , t h e c a p t i o n m e n t ions the l a t t e r i nc iden ta l ly .

T h e E a s t e r n C h e r o k e e s h o t - w o u n d t r e a t m e n t r e corded in Mooney and Olbrech t s (1932 , pp . 271-273)s ign i f ican t ly a l so incorp ora t e s a son g ; bu t t he phys i ca la s p e c t s o f t h e t h e r a p y a d m i n i s t e r e d b y S w i m m e rd i f fe red somewha t f rom those app l i ed by Ade : l agh(a ) -dh i :ya . Up on a wo und th e fo rmer b l ew the chewedinne r ba rk o f h i ckory {Carya tomentosa [Po i r . ] Nut t . )t h rough a buzza rd qml l o r t he ho l low s t a lk o f a spec i e sof Gerardia; t he l a t t e r p robab ly used ne i the r qu i l l nors t a lk , bu t b l ew d i rec t ly upon the wound , a f t e r whichh e a p p h e d b u z z a r d d o w n a s a s t y p t i c .

8. AND THIS IS TO "GO TO THE WATER" EARLY IN THE MORNINGhi?a?hno: su :na l e : igw6 t s ige :s6 : i am6 :h i a t sv : sd ith i s , and ea r ly morn in g , j us t which be ing (hab . ) wa te r -p l ace to go and re tu rn , one

dan i :da :w e:hi * gv :gh v:y 6:h dv ** tsigo :y6 :hisgad6 * nid igats e :hlv :nawiza rds , t hey whe n one has g iven up (cond . ) wh en they s top one (cond . ) des i red (m.a . ) , one , no tu:wd, : [gh(u)]dhi :16:dv aday6 :esdo?d i ^'' gha no:[h i : ]ya:d igw 6rep eate dly , i t to a l ter for oneself, with , i t , one to leav e i t , one, just

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NAnd th i s is t o "Go to the Wa te r" ea r ly i n t he mo rn ing

W hen one i s s topp ed by Wiza rd s " an d has g iven up ,a n d w h e n e v e r y t h i n g h a s g o n e t h o r o u g h l y w r o n g ,this i s to a l ter the si tuat ion and to r id onesel f of theevi l .

C O M M E N T A R YEven the most cursory inspec t ion o f t he t ex t above

would inev i t ab ly l ead to some degree o f unce r t a in tyas to precise ly what i t i s , but several possibi l i t ies ast o i t s n a t u r e c o m e t o m i n d :Hypothesis 1: I t is a n i :gawe :sdi.

' Ritual is t ic form of anl :da:w6:hl .> One wou ld expect th e final syl lable to be da .


18/48

NUMB E R 6 KILPATRICK & K I L P A T R I C K : CHEROKEE SHAMAN 9 5doubt l e ss ly unde r t he tu t e l age o f a mas t e r . The t ex ti s t he re fore a " l ec tu re no te , " so to speak .Argument: E v e n a C h e r o k e e c hi ld of A d e J a g h ( a ) d h i : -ya ' s gene ra t ion knew the va r ious purposes fo r "go ingto the wa te r . " The t ex t does no t con ta in in forma t ionof t he so r t t ha t would war ran t t he t roub le t aken torecord i t .In our op in ion the t ex t unde r cons ide ra t ion i s a lmostce r t a in ly an e l ement i n Cherokee medicomagic tha t ,t o our knowledge , has no t ye t been repor t ed : t he invocat ion to the spi r i t of running water which is prefa toryto any "going to the water" r i te . I t i s an ent i ty untoitself, and is sa id by the shaman upon every occasionth a t he approaches a s t ream for a fo rma l purpose . W e

have reason to beheve tha t any shaman may possess arepertoi re of these invocat ions, f rom which he mayselect an example sui table for use on a speci f ic occasion.We quote a short specimen of one of these water invocat ions which is in our possession (Ki lpat r ick and Ki l p a t r i c k , M S . b ) :gha? yv :wi h inv :h i :dv t sa :h l ( i )dho :h i : sdv ^now pe rson long you repos ing-p lace , you r

hna:gwo: t si l t i? tsi :g6now I have jus t come

F r e e T r a n s l a t i o n :No w! L ong Perso n! ^Now to Your Place o f Repose I have jus t come .

9. (TO PUT A WOMAN TO SLEEP)gha? h ige :hy v g v :li ?dhd ?di :gd, t su?gho: la de:sgw4dho: l ( i )sdd.now wo ma n you I have jus t come to pu t you to s l eep bones , t hey you jus t l en t t hem to metsu? gho : la t su?sd i : i de:sgwd,dho: l( i )sdd, t su?gh o: la t su?sd i : i de:sgw ddho J( i )sd dbones , t hey sma l l , t hey you jus t l en t t hem to me bones , t hey sma l l , t hey you jus t l en t t hem to mega ?d u? gall :dhlv :ni :gd tsitsi:sgili *s to p I hav e jus t com e to He long-ea red owl , I

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NNo w! You w om an! I have jus t come to pu t you to s leep!You jus t l en t me bones ,You jus t l en t me sma l l bones ,I have jus t come to he a top them: I am a Long-ea redO w l !

C O M M E N T A R YAmong the spec i e s o f e ro t i c i ncan ta t ions tha t havesomehow fai led to come to the a t tent ion of e thnologistsi s t he type gene ra l ly des igna ted d iga :dh l i ? dha d i : sd i :y i

{to put them to sleep, one). E v e n t h e v e r y k n o w l e d g eof one of the sleep-prod ucing speUs, no t to me nt io nthe use of i t , i s held by the average Cherokee to bereprehens ib l e . Because o f t h i s a t t i t ud e , and poss ib lyalso because the working of sleep-magic is and a lwayswas, wi th in the t ime range o f t he manusc r ip t l i t e ra tu re ,i n f re q u e n t , w r i t t e n e x a m p l e s of d i g a : d h l i ? d h a d i : s d l : y i

Long form, tsa:hl(i)dho:hIsdV^:I.M The personification of running water." The long-eared owl (Asia wUsonianua) Is held to be the commonest form Intowhich witches and sorcerers transform themselves, and the bhd is hated and feared.Since the colloquial term for a witch or a sorcerer Is the name of the bhd, ts(l)sglli,this Une, with a va lidity equal to the rendering tha t we have made, might have beentranslated; "I have Just come to lie atop them; I am a Sorcerer!" For a parallel Instance, see Kilpatrick and KUpatrick, MS.b, p. 5.

t ex t s a re se ldom encounte red . The read iness o f t heCherokees to a t t r i bu te t o t he i r Creek ne ighbors t hewidespread use of sopori f ic magical pract ice may notspring ent i re ly from t r ibal chauvinism; for we havehea rd Creeks themse lves dep lore i t s common andincreasing ut i l iza t ion.Insofar as purp ose is concerned , diga: dhl i ?dhadi : sdi : yimagic fa l ls into one or the other of two c lassi f ica t ions:1. To induce somnambul i sm in a des i red woman, sotha t she wi l l unob t rus ive ly l eave the home of he rhusband or he r pa ren t s i n o rde r t ha t he r l ove r may befree of the opposi t ion of both the members of herhousehold and the wi l l of the vic t im.2. To put to sleep the family of the desi red woman sotha t he r l ove r may f ree ly en te r he r house . The sma l lsize of the typical Cherokee dweUing, two or threerooms, normal ly offers smal l opportuni ty for c landest inee ro t i c adven tures .

Sopor i f i c i ncan ta t ions may be used to " remake"tobacco ( t so : l ag ayf l i i s p re fe r red) , or t hey m ay bemerely reci ted. The smoke of the tobacco is blownsur rep t i t i ous ly upon the v i c t im , o r e l se p ro j ec t ed fourt imes toward her residence. I f an incanta t ion is usedalone, i t i s sa id four t imes, and af ter each dehvery of i tt he incan ta to r b lows h i s b rea th toward the home of t hev ic t im .


19/48

9 6 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 210. (FOR A SPIDER BITE)

ghanan i :sg i^* sa?gho:n ige ghanan i : sg i un^ :g v gha? n iga :sp ide r b lue , i t sp ide r wh i t e , i t now a

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NBlue Sp ide r ! Whi t e Sp ide r !N o w ! B o t h of Y o u !

CO MMEN TA RYAmong the ra re s t o f a l l con jura t ions represen ted in

the manusc r ip t h t e ra tu re a re t hose fo r cen t ipede s t i ngsand sp ide r b i t e s . The on ly pub l i shed spec imen of t heformer , t o our knowledge , i s t he one in Ki lpa t r i ck(1964 , p . 217) , and appa ren t ly no example o f t hel a t t e r has eve r appea red in p r in t .

As Moo ney an d Olbrech t s (1932 , p . 19) hav e po in t edout , "As a rule the spi r i t who has caused a disease isneve r p reva i l ed upon to t ake the d i sease away; t heoff ice of another , r ival , spi r i t i s ca l led upon to do this ."Th e i :gawe : sd i for a sp ide r b i t e t ha t ap pea rs he recannot be o f fe red in con t rad ic t ion to t h i s s t a t ement :i t was no t a sp i r i t sp ide r t ha t c rea t ed the cond i t i ontha t made the rapeu t i c measures necessa ry , bu t a r ea la r a c h n i d .

As is the case of the conjurat ion for the cent ipedes t ing , t h i s i s a t ex t t ha t any l ayman migh t know. Wehave a l ready seen tha t a Cherokee medic ine man doesno t r e s t r i c t h i s j o t t i ngs to p rofess iona l i n fo rma t ion , bu tis l ikely to recor d an y mat er ia l th at he feels m ay b e ofuse to h im. W e have seen t ransc r ib ed in sha ma ns '

n o t e b o o k s s p o r a d i c p r e s c r i p t i o n s t h a t r e q u i r e a smateria medica i n g r e d i e n t s i n t r o d u c e d b y t h e W h i t e s kerosene , v inega r , t u rpen t ine , and the Hkewhichw e r e u n d o u b t e d l y l e a r n e d f r om W h i t e n e i g h b o r s .Th ey h ave , of course , no ad jun c t ive con jura t ions .Occas iona l ly shamans record , i n a cur ious mix ture o fS e q u o y a n a n d R o m a n l e tt e r s ( t h e l a t t e r b e i n g n e c e s sa r ych ie f ly because Cherokee has no l ab i a l s ) , con jura t ionsi n c o r r u p t C r e e k a n d N a t c h e z . C r e e k i s s p o k e n t o d a yas a f i r s t l anguage by a s i zab le number o f Ind ians whofor t he most pa r t a re of mixed C reek , Na tc hez , andCherokee ances t ry , bu t among whom a re fu l lb loodCherokees , who l i ve in t he Oklahoma count i e s o fS e q u o y a h a n d M u s k o g e e . N a t c h e z w a s s p o k e n , u p u n t i la feAv yea rs ago, by som e m em be rs of this gr ou p.

The cur ing p rocedure which incorpora t e s t he fo re going i :gaw e:sdi ma y be effected by th e vic t im of thesp ide r b i t e himself, and i t i s s imi lar to that for acen t ipede s t i ng : t he the rap i s t r ec i t e s t he con jura t ionfour t imes , and then expec to ra t e s upon and rubs wi thsa l iva th e locus o f t he b i t e . Tob acco i s no t used , and thet r e a t m e n t i s c u s t o m a r i l y a d m i n i s t e r e d o n l y o n c e.

The s ign i f i cance o f t he co lo rs a t t r i bu ted to t he sp ide rsp i r i t s appea rs t o be th i s : t he re i s p rogress ionin fac t ,qu ick t r ans i t i onfrom b lue , t he s jnnbol o f t roub leand dlness, to whi te , the symbol of re l ief and wel l -being.

I I . TO TURN ONE ASIDE WITHdida:gw ohlv:sd o?di ^t o t u rn one a s ide (m.a ) wi th , one

gha? sge: ? dh lv :da t s i g igag^ : i sa :gw6:h i n uyv : l ad ho?d vnow l i s t en pan the r red , i t one now, ma kin g a shadow , hedeh i lv : sada d i : sdan i :gd ha? u : s inu : l i ha? u : s in u :h ha?d hv:g a :n i :g^you hav e jus t come to ma ke a rad ian ce (m.a . ) ha qu ick ly ha? qu ick ly you ha ve jus t come to hea r i tg a : d h v : g i :s g e : s d i d e g ^ : d i g h i y u :s d e l u ? d h a n i: g a d u : n ( a ) d e : l o h 6 : h i : s d I n i g e : s v : n aI wi l l be hea ring i t we (exc.) ha ve ju st com e to e lbow them aside to f ind i t ou t (m.a . ) , the y bein g, notu h i :s o ? d iy u g v : h n a g e d u : n ( a ) d u : d h l v : d 6 : s d i d u : n o l u : h w d : d h v ? d i " n i g e : s v : n alone ly i t , ve ry b l ack , i t t o be cove red (m.a . ) , t hey to be t r a i l ed and found (m .a . ) , t hey be ing , no t

^ We know of no ri tual is t ic form of the word for spider; in medicine and magic ,as well as in everyd ay speech, the term is ghana neisgi . We therefore assum e th atA de : l a gh (a )dh t :ya ' s s pe l l i ng re f l e c t s s ome d ia l e c t a l p ronunc ia t ion un fa mi l i a r t o u s .

' The third syl lable appears to be dia lecta l for go." In the e ve ryd a y s pe e c h in mos t d i a l e c t s , t he pe nu l t w ou ld be dho.


20/48

N U M B E R 6 KILPATRICK & K I L P A T R I C K : CHEROKEE SHAMAN 9 7u:dh law 6:dah l l : h i * i y^ :dv deg^ :d an i l a t s l : sday6 :yvgd * ' ha? d ig^ :h l ( i) sda? l a?n lmu d-p lace ove r t he re we (exc .) j us t i n t e r red them ha c l an d i s t r i c t s , t hey

gayv:gh( i ) s6 :dh lvd o?d i n ige : sv ;na gv :? gv :? gv :? gv :?able to revi le m e abo ut , one being , no t gv:? gv:? gv:? gv:?

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NTo tu rn one a s ide wi th

N o w ! L i s t e n !R e d P a n t h e r , Y o u h a v e j u s t c o m e t o m a k e o n e r a d i a n t

s h a d o w .H a ! Q u i c k l y !Ha! Quickly you have just come to hear i t ."(I wiU be hearing it.)^We have jus t come to e lbow them as ide .(They are not to f ind i t out . )They a re t o be cove red wi th a Grea t Black Lonehness . ' ^They a re no t t o be t r a i l ed and found .(We jus t i n t e r red them ove r t he re i n t he mud . )Ha! The Clan Di s t r i c t s a re no t t o be ab le t o rev i l e me

a b o u t !Gv:V. Go:?! Gv:?! Gv:?!"

C O M M E N T A R YWhi le the Eas t e rn Cherokee theory on the causa t ionof d i sease a s expounded by Mooney and Olbrech t s

(1932 , pp . 17-39) w ould, in a general w ay, agree wi ththa t en t e r t a ined by the Weste rn Cherokees o fAd e : l agh (a )dh l :ya ' s t ime , t he re would be a l ackof cor re spondence be tween the two in t he ma t t e r o fthe re l a t ive we igh t a ss igned to component de t a i l s .In Oklahoma , t he concep t o f v io l a t ed t aboos a s acause o f d i sease , excep t i n rega rd to mens t ruan t andp r e g n a n t w o m e n , h a s b e c o m e g r e a t l y e r o d e d . H u n t ing taboos, and the vengeance of animal ghosts who

puni sh the i r nonobse rv ance , a re l a rge ly fo rgo t t en .But t he mic robe has by no means rep laced ma l i c ioushu m an agency a s t he exp lana t ion fo r a l a rge , pe rhap sthe major , port ion of human Uls.

Ev en a casua l compara t ive inspec t ion of t he E as t e rnCherokee medicorehg ious manusc r ip t s i n t he Smi th son ian Ins t i t u t io n and the Am er i can Ph i losoph ica lSoc ie ty L ibra ry and the Weste rn Cherokee wr i t i ngsin our col lect ion, aU of which were wri t ten over theapprox ima te span o f t he l a s t hundred yea rs , r evea l sthe emphas i s p l aced by the Oklahomans upon theane :h : sg i {those who think purposefully), ant isocia lhuman be ings who , t h rough the power o f t he mind ,project evi l up on other hu m an beings. An anima l orbi rd spi r i t may be the actual missi le , but i t was loosedby, and the gui l t of i t s dest ruct ive effects belong to,the evil hu m an inte l lec t .

The capt ion of the above text might lead one tosuspec t t ha t i t be a euphemism, and tha t t he ac tua lpurp ose of the i :gawe:sdi i t heads mig ht be for thetaking of human l i fe (see No. 13); in Oklahoma, as wel la s i n N or t h Caro l ina , "b ad " t ex t s a re somet imescamouf l aged by mis l ead ing l abe l s (Mooney and Ol brec hts, 1932, pp . 154, 158) . B ut t he teno r of the te xtshows tha t t he incan ta t ion i s a p ro t ec t ion cha rm.Judg ing f rom i t s sep tempar t i t e fo rm and i t s word ing ,i t i s an exceedingly powerful one such as a shamanwould resort to in order to defend himself againstsorce re r s work ing aga ins t h im pe rsona l ly , no t aga ins ta c l ient of his . I t would appear to be a "going to thewa te r" i : gawe : sd i .

12. ( TO REMOVE ANGER)na : sg i a : sgaya g igage : i agwada :n(v)dhogI :h i i : yvtha t ma n , he red , he sou l -p l ace my fa r

gv :yah l ( i ) svnd : sdan i :gd , ada?I have jus t come to pac ify you wood

gv:h nage degv :yadh li l 6 : sdan i :gd, ha? aye: lv:? ^ ga:g e:dab lack , i t I hav e jus t come to m ake an image of you ha body , h i s heavy , i t

' Ritual is t ic form of dhalawo:dh(i :hI.* Ade:lagh( a)dhf. -ya 's son-in-law Is our au tho ri ty for the trans la t ion of this term

wh ich Is unfam il iar to us . Th e thir d from the las t syl lable , however, he reads as ni."> I . e . , " m y p e t i t i o n . "" I . e . , "yo u r a ns w e r to my pe t i t i on . "

2 Uhliso^dl is " . . . a s ta te of ecs ta t ic yearn ing, an othe rwo rldly melan cholia ,pe c u l i a r ly C he roke e a n . I t i s ge ne ra l ly a t t r i bu te d to t he s o rc ery of a n e ne m y . " (K i l patric k an d K Upat rick, 1964d, p . 191, n . 30.) (See No. 15.)

a Se e No. 3, n. 18.^ Long form, iyi?:!." In most dia lects , the fourth syl lable Is si." Long form, aye:l-#:l.


21/48

98 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 2gv :ghali : isdan i :g4 gv:? gv:? gv:? gv:?I have jus t come to fill you up gv:? gv:? gv:? gv:?

[Your name i s -F R E E T R A N S L A T I O N

; you r peop le are .]T h e Red Man is deep wi th in my h e a r t .I have jus t come to pacify you.I have jus t come to m a k e an i m a g e of you out of B l a c k

W o o d .( H a ! His b o d y is heavy! )I have jus t come to fill you up !Gv:? Gv:? Gv:? Gv:?''

C O M M E N T A R YI n c a n t a t i o n s of the class to w h i c h the above be longs

a re cus tomar i ly headed wi th some word ing to the effecto f a n ( a ) d ^ : n ( a ) g w a : d h i h i y v : w i y i : g i {holders of anger,they [persons] if it is); or, in o t h e r w o r d s , "to use a g a i n s tt h o s e who h o l d g r u d g e s . " The p u r p o s e in e m p l o y i n go n e of t hese t ex t s would not be to i n ju re t hose whoharbor iU-wil l against one, but s i m p l y to r e m o v ean imosi ty f rom the i r minds . In t h i s r e spec t , ange r -removing id i :gawe : sd i are c o g n a t e w i t h a n o t h e r g e n r eof i ncan ta t ions , t hose usua l ly l abe l ed d igv :ghe :hw( i )

sdo'i 'dhI:yi {to make one forget {m.a.) with, one). Thefo rmer , however , are far m o r e p o t e n t t h a n the l a t t e r .

A s imple " fo rge t t i ng" t ex ' t is ord ina r i ly mere ly sa id ,o r t h o u g h t ; a n g e r - r e m o v i n g m a g i c u s u a l l y e n t a i l s the" r e m a k i n g " of t o b a c c o . H o w e v e r , the t o b a c c o is pre p a r e d and u t i h z e d in the c o n v e n t i o n a l m a n n e r .

I n the a b o v e t e x t the i n c a n t a t o r d e r i v e s his a u t h o r i t yf r o m T h u n d e r Himself, "T he Red M a n " (cf. M o o n e ya n d O l b r e c h t s , 1932, pp. 2 3 - 2 4 ) , the B e i n g who iss u b o r d i n a t e o n l y to the P r o v i d e r , and w h o is the specia lfr iend and p r o t e c t o r of the C h e r o k e e p e o p l e (cf. Ki l p a t r i c k an d Ki lpa t r i ck , 1964d , pp. 5 0 - 5 6 ) . The colorb l a c k is s y m b o l i c not o n l y of m i s f o r t u n e and d e a t h , bu talso of forget fulness. The sou l of the a n g e r - b e a r e r ist r a n s f o r m e d i n t o a l i gneous and therefore rigid, andb l a c k , and t h e r e f o r e n o n r e m e m b e r i n g i m a g e of itsf o r m e r self. The b o d y of t h a t i n d i v i d u a l , h a v i n g b e e nm a d e p r e t e r n a t u r a l l y h e a v y ( h a v i n g b e e n " f i l l e d u p "wi th we igh t ) wiU be l e t h a r g i c and n o n a g g r e s s i v e .

A n g e r - r e m o v i n g t e x t s are f a i r l y n u m e r o u s in the unp u b l i s h e d l i t e r a t u r e of the W e s t e r n C h e r o k e e s , but wea re not c o g n i z a n t of any p u b l i s h e d e x a m p l e s of t h e m .

13. (TO DESTROY A RIVAL IN A LOVE AFFAIR[?])g h o : g a s a ? g h o : n i g h o : g a a g h w ( a ) d h f : ?d i n i g e : s f : n a n v t s a l i : d h a ? d v : h n v : h i e : la d ic row b lue , i t c row to ask m e , he be ing , not h a v e b e e n put to sleep, you g r o u n d

g i : n v : [ d h ( v ) ] d l gha t s a w a : l a d ^ : g d ^ ' h n a : g w o g h o : g a a:se nig v :hnad^ :gato say, you and I now b l u e b i r d no w c r o w p e r h a p s are in a c o n d i t i o n , we (inc.)gha nen e:sgi gi :gage:? a?hi i igwo nv :no :hi i dag6 :ninolv :dhan i :gdsp ide r red, it h e r e , j u s t p a t h w a y you and I h a v e j u s t c o m e to b l o w u p o n t h e ma ? h n ig w o n v : n o : h i d e : t s d s o ? h n ? d h e :s d i h i d a : w e : h i g h o : g ah e r e , j u s t p a t h w a y you wdU be s i t t i ng wi th your bac k v i s ib l e (d i s t ) . wiza rd you c rowga :do^ ' ' t sa?se?gogi :sd i n ig e : s f :na ga :h l ( i )gwo:g i i ga :h l ( i ) sda? ld :g ie a r t h p l a c e to o v e r c o m e it, you be ing , not seven c l an d i s t r i c t sded i i : deh : sd '^ c l ide :ga u :yo ? du da : n(v )d isun-se t t i ng s (d i s t . ) , t hey f rom ove r t he re , come , we ( inc . ) evQ m ind , his [her]duh na : saw 6: l i i l ad i : sd r^ d i :g i : sd i gv :hn dge gf :wagh(v)dhi^2 di igi ig^lto c l imb ove r him [her], it to eat t h e m , one black , i t fo reve r to eat t h e m , one

' A Ihie such as this would be Im provised; however, it might follow the text ra therthan precede it. See No . 3, n. 18." In everyday speech, tsagwo:lade.'0 Long form, ga:d6:hi.' Ritualistic form.'2 The third syllable Is erroneously written de .


22/48

NUMBER 6 KILPATRICK & KI LPATRICK: CHEROKEE SHAM AN 99ga :d a gvw a :dadeh l ( i )d6 :ehe : sd i duyu hi i : hi : sd l gho :ga t s i i :h l ( i ) s i ?gfe a r t h he wiU be b e i n g t o r m e n t e d by t h e m to die (m.a . ) , he c row which da rken ed , itwidi :gh(a) dh ah f :haf rom he re to t h e r e , are going toward it, we (inc.)

F R E E T R A N S L A T I O NB l u e C r o w !T h e C r o w is no t to ask me.( " Y o u h a v e b e e n put to sleep in the g r o u n d , " You "

a n d I are to say.)N o w ! B l u e b i r d !N o w p e r h a p s the C r o w has aU of us in t h i s cond i t i on .R e d S p i d e r !Y o u and I have jus t come to blow right here on the

P a t h w a y .R i g h t h e r e u p o n the P a t h w a y You will be si t t ing, wdth

Your Back v i s ib l e .Y o u are a W i z a r d .C r o w , You are no t to o v e r c o m e E a r t h !Seven Clan Di s t r i c t s , all of us come from over ther e

a t t he Sun-se t t i ngs .( T h e E v i l M i n d is to cl imb over him [her]!)O n e is to eat Black fo reve r !O n e is to eat E a r t h !(H e [she] wUl be t o r m e n t e d by t h e m u n t i l he [she]

dies!)C r o w , you are not to o v e r c o m e E a r t h !

C O M M E N T A R YW r i t i n g of i ncan ta t ions des igned to t ake human l i f e ,M o o n e y an d Olbrech t s (1932 , p. 154) s t a t e : "Of allt h e 'bad' formulas, this is the wors t k ind , an d ra re ly amedic ine man wiU. own t h a t he k n o w s one, or event h a t he has one in his possess ion . " The s a m e ma y besaid of O k l a h o m a s h a m a n s , who label thei r le thalincan ta t ions wi th such euphemis t i c t i t l e s as "to c h a n g e

o n e , " "t o l ower one ' s sou l , " and the l ike .Mooney (1890 , pp. 391-395) desc r ibes in deta i l howhi s i n formant , the medic ine man Swimmer , imple

m e n t e d a d e s t r o y e r i n c a n t a t i o n . The p r o c e d u r e w o u l dbe inapphcab le he re . A shaman h imse l f would notemploy th i s i ncan ta t ion , bu t r a t h e r use it to " r e m