Post by Okwes on Apr 9, 2008 15:45:54 GMT -5
Four Legged Nations - Cherokee
In Cherokee mythology, as in that of Indian tribes generally, there is no
essential difference between men and animals. In the primal genesis period
they seem to be completely undifferentiated, and we find all creatures alike
living and working together in harmony and mutual helpfulness until man, by
his aggressiveness and disregard for the rights of the others, provokes
their hostility, when insects, birds, fishes, reptiles, and four footed
beasts join forces against him (see story, "Origin of Disease and
Medicine"). Henceforth their lives are apart, but the difference is always
one of degree only. The animals, like the people, are organized into tribes
and have like them their chiefs and townhouses, their councils and ball
plays, and the same hereafter in the Darkening land of Us'ûñhi'yï. Man is
still the paramount power, and hunts and slaughters the others as his own
necessities compel, but is obliged to satisfy the animal tribes in every
instance, very much as a murder is compounded for, according to the Indian
system, by "covering the bones of the dead" with presents for the bereaved
relatives.
This pardon to the hunter is made the easier through a peculiar doctrine of
reincarnation, according to which, as explained by the shamans, there is
assigned to every animal a definite life term which can not be curtailed by
violent means. If it is killed before the expiration of the allotted time
the death is only temporary and the body is immediately resurrected in its
proper shape from the blood drops, and the animal continues its existence
until the end of the predestined period, when the body is finally dissolved
and the liberated spirit goes to join its kindred shades in the Darkening
land. This idea appears in the story of the bear man and in the belief
concerning the Little Deer. Death is thus but a temporary accident and the
killing a mere minor crime. By some priests it is held that there are seven
successive reanimations before the final end.
Certain supernatural personages, Kana'tï and Tsul`kälû' (see the myths),
have dominion over the animals, and are therefore regarded as the
distinctive gods of the hunter. Kana'tï at one time kept the game animals,
as well as the pestiferous insects, shut up in a cave under ground, from
which they were released by his undutiful sons. The primeval animals- the
actors in the animal myths and the predecessors of the existing species-are
believed to have been much larger, stronger, and cleverer than their
successors of the present day. In these myths we find the Indian explanation
of certain peculiarities of form, color, or habit, and the various animals
are always consistently represented as acting in accordance with their
well-known characteristics.
First and most prominent in the animal myths is the Rabbit (Tsistu), who
figures always as a trickster and deceiver, generally malicious, but often
beaten at his own game by those whom he had intended to victimize. The
connection of the rabbit with the dawn god and the relation of the Indian
myths to the stories current among the southern negroes are discussed in
another place. Ball players while in training are forbidden to eat the flesh
of the rabbit, because this animal so easily becomes confused in running. On
the other hand, their spies seek opportunity to strew along the path which
must be taken by their rivals a soup made of rabbit hamstrings, with the
purpose of rendering them timorous in action.
In a ball game between the birds and the four footed animals (seestory) the
Bat, which took sides with the birds, is said to have won the victory for
his party by his superior dodging abilities. For this reason the wings or
sometimes the stuffed skin of the bat are tied to the implements used in the
game to insure success for the players. According to the same myth the
Flying Squirrel (Tewa) also aided in securing the victory, and hence both
these animals are still invoked by the ball player. The meat of the common
gray squirrel (sälâ'lï) is forbidden to rheumatic patients, on account of
the squirrel's habit of assuming a cramped position when eating. The stripes
upon the back of the ground squirrel (kiyu`ga) are the mark of scratches
made by the angry animals at a memorable council in which he took it upon
himself to say a good word for the archenemy, Man (see "Origin of Disease
and Medicine"). The peculiarities of the mink (sûñgï) are accounted for by
another story.
The buffalo, the largest game animal of America, was hunted in the southern
Allegheny region until almost the close of the last century, the particular
species being probably that known in the West as the wood or mountain
buffalo. The name in use among the principal gulf tribes was practically the
same, and can not be analyzed, viz, Cherokee, yûñsû'; Hichitee, ya'nasi;
Creek, yëna'sa; Choctaw, yanash. Although the flesh of the buffalo was
eaten, its skin dressed for blankets and bed coverings, its long hair woven
into belts, and its horns carved into spoons, it is yet strangely absent
from Cherokee folklore. So far as is known it is mentioned in but a single
one of the sacred formulas, in which a person under treatment for rheumatism
is forbidden to eat the meat, touch the skin, or use a spoon made from the
horn of the buffalo, upon the ground of an occult connection between the
habitual cramped attitude of a rheumatic and the natural "hump" of that
animal.
The elk is known, probably by report, under the name of a`wï e'gwa, "great
deer", but there is no myth or folklore in connection with it.
The deer, a`wï', which is still common in the mountains, was the principal
dependence of the Cherokee hunter, and is consequently prominent in myth,
folklore, and ceremonial. One of the seven gentes of the tribe is named from
it (Ani'-Kawï', "Deer People"). According to a myth given elsewhere, the
deer won his horns in a successful race with the rabbit. Rheumatism is
usually ascribed to the work of revengeful deer ghosts, which the hunter has
neglected to placate, while on the other hand the aid of the deer is invoked
against frostbite, as its feet are believed to be immune from injury by
frost. The wolf, the fox, and the opossum are also invoked for this purpose,
and for the same reason. When the redroot (Ceanothus americanus) puts forth
its leaves the people say the young fawns are then in the mountains. On
killing a deer the hunter always cuts out the hamstring from the hind
quarter and throws it away, for fear that if he ate it he would thereafter
tire easily in traveling.
The powerful chief of the deer tribe is the A`wï' Usdi', or "Little Deer,"
who is invisible to all except the greatest masters of the hunting secrets,
and can be wounded only by the hunter who has supplemented years of occult
study with frequent fasts and lonely vigils. The Little Deer keeps constant
protecting watch over his subjects, and sees well to it that not one is ever
killed in wantonness. When a deer is shot by the hunter the Little Deer
knows it at once and is instantly at the spot. Bending low his head he asks
of the blood stains upon the ground if they have heard--i.e., if the hunter
has asked pardon for the life that he has taken. If the formulistic prayer
has been made, all is well, because the necessary sacrifice has been atoned
for; but if otherwise, the Little Deer tracks the hunter to his house by the
blood drops along the trail, and, unseen and unsuspected, puts into his body
the spirit of rheumatism that shall rack him with aches and pains from that
time henceforth. As seen at rare intervals--perhaps once in a long
lifetime-the Little Deer is pure white and about the size of a small dog,
has branching antlers, and is always in company with a large herd of deer.
Even though shot by the master hunter, he comes to life again, being
immortal, but the fortunate huntsman who can thus make prize of his antlers
has in them an unfailing talisman that brings him success in the chase
forever after. The smallest portion of one of those horns of the Little
Deer, when properly consecrated, attracts the deer to the hunter, and when
exposed from the wrapping dazes them so that they forget to run and thus
become an easy prey. Like the Ulûñsû'tî stone, it is a dangerous prize when
not treated with proper respect, and is--or was- -kept always in a secret
place away from the house to guard against sacrilegious handling.
Somewhat similar talismanic power attached to the down from the young antler
of the deer when properly consecrated. So firm was the belief that it had
influence over "anything about a deer" that eighty and a hundred years ago
even white traders used to bargain with the Indians for such charms in order
to increase their store of deerskins by drawing the trade to themselves. The
faith in the existence of the miraculous Little Deer is almost as strong and
universal to-day among the older Cherokee as is the belief in a future life.
The bears (yânû) are transformed Cherokee of the old clan of the
Ani'-Tsâ'gûhï (see story, "Origin of the Bear"). Their chief is the White
Bear, who lives at Kuwâ'hï, "Mulberry place," one of the high peaks of the
Great Smoky mountains, near to the enchanted lake of Atagâ'hï to which the
wounded bears go to be cured of their hurts. Under Kuwâ'hï and each of three
other peaks in the same mountain region the bears have townhouses, where
they congregate and hold dances every fall before retiring to their dens for
the winter. Being really human, they can talk if they only would, and once a
mother bear was heard singing to her cub in words which the hunter
understood. There is one variety known as kalâs'-gûnâhi'ta, "long hams,"
described as a large black bear with long legs and small feet, which is
always lean, and which the hunter does not care to shoot, possibly on
account of its leanness. It is believed that new-born cubs are hairless,
like mice.
The wolf (wa'`ya) is revered as the hunter and watchdog of Kana'tï, and the
largest gens in the tribe bears the name of Ani'-wa'`ya, "Wolf people." The
ordinary Cherokee will never kill one if he can possibly avoid it, but will
let the animal go by unharmed, believing that the kindred of a slain wolf
will surely revenge his death, and that the weapon with which the deed is
done will be rendered worthless for further shooting until cleaned and
exercised by a medicine man. Certain persons, however, having knowledge of
the proper atonement rites, may kill wolves with impunity, and are hired for
this purpose by others who have suffered from raids upon their fish traps or
their stock. Like the eagle killer (see "The Bird Tribes"), the professional
wolf killer, after killing one of these animals, addresses to it a prayer in
which he seeks to turn aside the vengeance of the tribe by laying the burden
of blame upon the people of some other settlement. He then unscrews the
barrel of his gun and inserts into it seven small sourwood rods heated over
the fire, and allows it to remain thus overnight in the running stream; in
the morning the rods are taken out and the barrel is thoroughly dried and
cleaned.
The dog (gi`lï'), although as much a part of Indian life among the Cherokee
as in other tribes, hardly appears in folklore. One myth makes him
responsible for the milky way; another represents him as driving the wolf
from the comfortable house fire and taking the place for himself. He figures
also in connection with the deluge. There is no tradition of the
introduction of the horse (sâ'gwälï, from asâ'gwälihû', from "a pack or
burden") or of the cow (wa'`ka, from the Spanish, vaca). The hog is called,
sïkwä, this being originally the name of the opossum, which somewhat
resembles it in expression, and which is now distinguished as sïkwä
utse'tstï, "grinning sïkwä". In the same way the sheep, another introduced
animal, is called a`wï' unäde'na, "woolly deer"; the goat, a`wï' ahänu'lähï,
"bearded deer," and the mule, "sâ'gwä'lï digû'lanähi'ta", "long-eared
horse." The cat, also obtained from the whites, is called wesä, an attempt
at the English "woman's body part." When it purrs by the fireside, the children say it
is counting in Cherokee, "ta'ladu', nûñ'gï, ta'ladu', nûñ'gï," "sixteen,
four, sixteen, four." The elephant, which a few of the Cherokee have seen in
shows, is called by them käma'mä u'tänû, "great butterfly," from the
supposed resemblance of its long trunk and flapping ears to the proboscis
and wings of that insect. The anatomical peculiarities of the opossum, of
both sexes, are the subject of much curious speculation among the Indians,
many of whom believe that its young are produced without any help from the
male. It occurs in one or two of the minor myths.
The fox (tsu'`lä) is mentioned in one of the formulas, but does no appear in
the tribal folklore. The black fox is known by a different name (inâ'lï).
The odor of the skunk (dïlä') is believed to keep off contagious diseases,
and the scent bag is therefore taken out and hung over the doorway, a small
hole being pierced in it in order that the contents may ooze out upon the
timbers. At times, as in the smallpox epidemic of 1866, the entire body of
the animal was thus hung up, and in some cases, as an additional safeguard,
the meat was cooked and eaten and the oil rubbed over the skin of the
person. The underlying idea is that the fetid smell repels the disease
spirit, and upon the same principle the buzzard, which is so evidently
superior to carrion smells, is held to be powerful against the same
diseases.
The beaver (dâ'yï), by reason of its well-known gnawing ability, against
which even the hardest wood is not proof, is invoked on behalf of young
children just getting their permanent teeth. According to the little formula
which is familiar to nearly every mother in the tribe, when the loosened
milk tooth is pulled out or drops out of itself, the child runs with it
around the house, repeating four times, "Dâ'yï, skïntä' (Beaver, put a new
tooth into my jaw)" after which he throws the tooth upon the roof of the
house.
In a characteristic song formula to prevent frostbite the traveler, before
starting out on a cold winter morning, rubs his feet in the ashes of the
fire and sings a song of four verses, by means of which, according to the
Indian idea, he acquires in turn the cold-defying powers of the wolf, deer,
fox, and opossum, four animals whose feet, it is held, are never
frostbitten. After each verse he imitates the cry and the action of the
animal. The words used are archaic in form and may be rendered "I become a
real wolf," etc. The song runs:
Tsûñ'wa'`ya-ya' (repeated four times), wa + a! (prolonged howl). (Imitates a
wolf pawing the ground with his feet.)
Tsûñ'-ka'wi-ye' (repeated four times), sauh! sauh! sauh! sauh! (Imitates
call and jumping of a deer.)
Tsûñ'-tsu'`la-ya' (repeated four times), gaih! gaih! gaih! gaih! (Imitates
barking and scratching of a fox.)
Tsûñ'-sï'kwa-ya' (repeated four times), kï +. (Imitates the cry of an
opossum when cornered, and throws his head back as that animal does when
feigning death.)
MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE , By James Mooney, From Nineteenth Annual Report of
the Bureau of American Ethnology. 1897-98,Part I. [1900]
In Cherokee mythology, as in that of Indian tribes generally, there is no
essential difference between men and animals. In the primal genesis period
they seem to be completely undifferentiated, and we find all creatures alike
living and working together in harmony and mutual helpfulness until man, by
his aggressiveness and disregard for the rights of the others, provokes
their hostility, when insects, birds, fishes, reptiles, and four footed
beasts join forces against him (see story, "Origin of Disease and
Medicine"). Henceforth their lives are apart, but the difference is always
one of degree only. The animals, like the people, are organized into tribes
and have like them their chiefs and townhouses, their councils and ball
plays, and the same hereafter in the Darkening land of Us'ûñhi'yï. Man is
still the paramount power, and hunts and slaughters the others as his own
necessities compel, but is obliged to satisfy the animal tribes in every
instance, very much as a murder is compounded for, according to the Indian
system, by "covering the bones of the dead" with presents for the bereaved
relatives.
This pardon to the hunter is made the easier through a peculiar doctrine of
reincarnation, according to which, as explained by the shamans, there is
assigned to every animal a definite life term which can not be curtailed by
violent means. If it is killed before the expiration of the allotted time
the death is only temporary and the body is immediately resurrected in its
proper shape from the blood drops, and the animal continues its existence
until the end of the predestined period, when the body is finally dissolved
and the liberated spirit goes to join its kindred shades in the Darkening
land. This idea appears in the story of the bear man and in the belief
concerning the Little Deer. Death is thus but a temporary accident and the
killing a mere minor crime. By some priests it is held that there are seven
successive reanimations before the final end.
Certain supernatural personages, Kana'tï and Tsul`kälû' (see the myths),
have dominion over the animals, and are therefore regarded as the
distinctive gods of the hunter. Kana'tï at one time kept the game animals,
as well as the pestiferous insects, shut up in a cave under ground, from
which they were released by his undutiful sons. The primeval animals- the
actors in the animal myths and the predecessors of the existing species-are
believed to have been much larger, stronger, and cleverer than their
successors of the present day. In these myths we find the Indian explanation
of certain peculiarities of form, color, or habit, and the various animals
are always consistently represented as acting in accordance with their
well-known characteristics.
First and most prominent in the animal myths is the Rabbit (Tsistu), who
figures always as a trickster and deceiver, generally malicious, but often
beaten at his own game by those whom he had intended to victimize. The
connection of the rabbit with the dawn god and the relation of the Indian
myths to the stories current among the southern negroes are discussed in
another place. Ball players while in training are forbidden to eat the flesh
of the rabbit, because this animal so easily becomes confused in running. On
the other hand, their spies seek opportunity to strew along the path which
must be taken by their rivals a soup made of rabbit hamstrings, with the
purpose of rendering them timorous in action.
In a ball game between the birds and the four footed animals (seestory) the
Bat, which took sides with the birds, is said to have won the victory for
his party by his superior dodging abilities. For this reason the wings or
sometimes the stuffed skin of the bat are tied to the implements used in the
game to insure success for the players. According to the same myth the
Flying Squirrel (Tewa) also aided in securing the victory, and hence both
these animals are still invoked by the ball player. The meat of the common
gray squirrel (sälâ'lï) is forbidden to rheumatic patients, on account of
the squirrel's habit of assuming a cramped position when eating. The stripes
upon the back of the ground squirrel (kiyu`ga) are the mark of scratches
made by the angry animals at a memorable council in which he took it upon
himself to say a good word for the archenemy, Man (see "Origin of Disease
and Medicine"). The peculiarities of the mink (sûñgï) are accounted for by
another story.
The buffalo, the largest game animal of America, was hunted in the southern
Allegheny region until almost the close of the last century, the particular
species being probably that known in the West as the wood or mountain
buffalo. The name in use among the principal gulf tribes was practically the
same, and can not be analyzed, viz, Cherokee, yûñsû'; Hichitee, ya'nasi;
Creek, yëna'sa; Choctaw, yanash. Although the flesh of the buffalo was
eaten, its skin dressed for blankets and bed coverings, its long hair woven
into belts, and its horns carved into spoons, it is yet strangely absent
from Cherokee folklore. So far as is known it is mentioned in but a single
one of the sacred formulas, in which a person under treatment for rheumatism
is forbidden to eat the meat, touch the skin, or use a spoon made from the
horn of the buffalo, upon the ground of an occult connection between the
habitual cramped attitude of a rheumatic and the natural "hump" of that
animal.
The elk is known, probably by report, under the name of a`wï e'gwa, "great
deer", but there is no myth or folklore in connection with it.
The deer, a`wï', which is still common in the mountains, was the principal
dependence of the Cherokee hunter, and is consequently prominent in myth,
folklore, and ceremonial. One of the seven gentes of the tribe is named from
it (Ani'-Kawï', "Deer People"). According to a myth given elsewhere, the
deer won his horns in a successful race with the rabbit. Rheumatism is
usually ascribed to the work of revengeful deer ghosts, which the hunter has
neglected to placate, while on the other hand the aid of the deer is invoked
against frostbite, as its feet are believed to be immune from injury by
frost. The wolf, the fox, and the opossum are also invoked for this purpose,
and for the same reason. When the redroot (Ceanothus americanus) puts forth
its leaves the people say the young fawns are then in the mountains. On
killing a deer the hunter always cuts out the hamstring from the hind
quarter and throws it away, for fear that if he ate it he would thereafter
tire easily in traveling.
The powerful chief of the deer tribe is the A`wï' Usdi', or "Little Deer,"
who is invisible to all except the greatest masters of the hunting secrets,
and can be wounded only by the hunter who has supplemented years of occult
study with frequent fasts and lonely vigils. The Little Deer keeps constant
protecting watch over his subjects, and sees well to it that not one is ever
killed in wantonness. When a deer is shot by the hunter the Little Deer
knows it at once and is instantly at the spot. Bending low his head he asks
of the blood stains upon the ground if they have heard--i.e., if the hunter
has asked pardon for the life that he has taken. If the formulistic prayer
has been made, all is well, because the necessary sacrifice has been atoned
for; but if otherwise, the Little Deer tracks the hunter to his house by the
blood drops along the trail, and, unseen and unsuspected, puts into his body
the spirit of rheumatism that shall rack him with aches and pains from that
time henceforth. As seen at rare intervals--perhaps once in a long
lifetime-the Little Deer is pure white and about the size of a small dog,
has branching antlers, and is always in company with a large herd of deer.
Even though shot by the master hunter, he comes to life again, being
immortal, but the fortunate huntsman who can thus make prize of his antlers
has in them an unfailing talisman that brings him success in the chase
forever after. The smallest portion of one of those horns of the Little
Deer, when properly consecrated, attracts the deer to the hunter, and when
exposed from the wrapping dazes them so that they forget to run and thus
become an easy prey. Like the Ulûñsû'tî stone, it is a dangerous prize when
not treated with proper respect, and is--or was- -kept always in a secret
place away from the house to guard against sacrilegious handling.
Somewhat similar talismanic power attached to the down from the young antler
of the deer when properly consecrated. So firm was the belief that it had
influence over "anything about a deer" that eighty and a hundred years ago
even white traders used to bargain with the Indians for such charms in order
to increase their store of deerskins by drawing the trade to themselves. The
faith in the existence of the miraculous Little Deer is almost as strong and
universal to-day among the older Cherokee as is the belief in a future life.
The bears (yânû) are transformed Cherokee of the old clan of the
Ani'-Tsâ'gûhï (see story, "Origin of the Bear"). Their chief is the White
Bear, who lives at Kuwâ'hï, "Mulberry place," one of the high peaks of the
Great Smoky mountains, near to the enchanted lake of Atagâ'hï to which the
wounded bears go to be cured of their hurts. Under Kuwâ'hï and each of three
other peaks in the same mountain region the bears have townhouses, where
they congregate and hold dances every fall before retiring to their dens for
the winter. Being really human, they can talk if they only would, and once a
mother bear was heard singing to her cub in words which the hunter
understood. There is one variety known as kalâs'-gûnâhi'ta, "long hams,"
described as a large black bear with long legs and small feet, which is
always lean, and which the hunter does not care to shoot, possibly on
account of its leanness. It is believed that new-born cubs are hairless,
like mice.
The wolf (wa'`ya) is revered as the hunter and watchdog of Kana'tï, and the
largest gens in the tribe bears the name of Ani'-wa'`ya, "Wolf people." The
ordinary Cherokee will never kill one if he can possibly avoid it, but will
let the animal go by unharmed, believing that the kindred of a slain wolf
will surely revenge his death, and that the weapon with which the deed is
done will be rendered worthless for further shooting until cleaned and
exercised by a medicine man. Certain persons, however, having knowledge of
the proper atonement rites, may kill wolves with impunity, and are hired for
this purpose by others who have suffered from raids upon their fish traps or
their stock. Like the eagle killer (see "The Bird Tribes"), the professional
wolf killer, after killing one of these animals, addresses to it a prayer in
which he seeks to turn aside the vengeance of the tribe by laying the burden
of blame upon the people of some other settlement. He then unscrews the
barrel of his gun and inserts into it seven small sourwood rods heated over
the fire, and allows it to remain thus overnight in the running stream; in
the morning the rods are taken out and the barrel is thoroughly dried and
cleaned.
The dog (gi`lï'), although as much a part of Indian life among the Cherokee
as in other tribes, hardly appears in folklore. One myth makes him
responsible for the milky way; another represents him as driving the wolf
from the comfortable house fire and taking the place for himself. He figures
also in connection with the deluge. There is no tradition of the
introduction of the horse (sâ'gwälï, from asâ'gwälihû', from "a pack or
burden") or of the cow (wa'`ka, from the Spanish, vaca). The hog is called,
sïkwä, this being originally the name of the opossum, which somewhat
resembles it in expression, and which is now distinguished as sïkwä
utse'tstï, "grinning sïkwä". In the same way the sheep, another introduced
animal, is called a`wï' unäde'na, "woolly deer"; the goat, a`wï' ahänu'lähï,
"bearded deer," and the mule, "sâ'gwä'lï digû'lanähi'ta", "long-eared
horse." The cat, also obtained from the whites, is called wesä, an attempt
at the English "woman's body part." When it purrs by the fireside, the children say it
is counting in Cherokee, "ta'ladu', nûñ'gï, ta'ladu', nûñ'gï," "sixteen,
four, sixteen, four." The elephant, which a few of the Cherokee have seen in
shows, is called by them käma'mä u'tänû, "great butterfly," from the
supposed resemblance of its long trunk and flapping ears to the proboscis
and wings of that insect. The anatomical peculiarities of the opossum, of
both sexes, are the subject of much curious speculation among the Indians,
many of whom believe that its young are produced without any help from the
male. It occurs in one or two of the minor myths.
The fox (tsu'`lä) is mentioned in one of the formulas, but does no appear in
the tribal folklore. The black fox is known by a different name (inâ'lï).
The odor of the skunk (dïlä') is believed to keep off contagious diseases,
and the scent bag is therefore taken out and hung over the doorway, a small
hole being pierced in it in order that the contents may ooze out upon the
timbers. At times, as in the smallpox epidemic of 1866, the entire body of
the animal was thus hung up, and in some cases, as an additional safeguard,
the meat was cooked and eaten and the oil rubbed over the skin of the
person. The underlying idea is that the fetid smell repels the disease
spirit, and upon the same principle the buzzard, which is so evidently
superior to carrion smells, is held to be powerful against the same
diseases.
The beaver (dâ'yï), by reason of its well-known gnawing ability, against
which even the hardest wood is not proof, is invoked on behalf of young
children just getting their permanent teeth. According to the little formula
which is familiar to nearly every mother in the tribe, when the loosened
milk tooth is pulled out or drops out of itself, the child runs with it
around the house, repeating four times, "Dâ'yï, skïntä' (Beaver, put a new
tooth into my jaw)" after which he throws the tooth upon the roof of the
house.
In a characteristic song formula to prevent frostbite the traveler, before
starting out on a cold winter morning, rubs his feet in the ashes of the
fire and sings a song of four verses, by means of which, according to the
Indian idea, he acquires in turn the cold-defying powers of the wolf, deer,
fox, and opossum, four animals whose feet, it is held, are never
frostbitten. After each verse he imitates the cry and the action of the
animal. The words used are archaic in form and may be rendered "I become a
real wolf," etc. The song runs:
Tsûñ'wa'`ya-ya' (repeated four times), wa + a! (prolonged howl). (Imitates a
wolf pawing the ground with his feet.)
Tsûñ'-ka'wi-ye' (repeated four times), sauh! sauh! sauh! sauh! (Imitates
call and jumping of a deer.)
Tsûñ'-tsu'`la-ya' (repeated four times), gaih! gaih! gaih! gaih! (Imitates
barking and scratching of a fox.)
Tsûñ'-sï'kwa-ya' (repeated four times), kï +. (Imitates the cry of an
opossum when cornered, and throws his head back as that animal does when
feigning death.)
MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE , By James Mooney, From Nineteenth Annual Report of
the Bureau of American Ethnology. 1897-98,Part I. [1900]