Chapter 13

Du[']tal[)e] a`ne[']ts[^a] unats[^a][']n[^u][n]tse[']lah[)i], Y[^a][']na dedu[']natsg[^u][']`law[)i]stani[']ga, ige[']sk[)i] nige[']s[^u][n]na. Da`s[^u][n] du[']nil[^a]tsi[']sat[^u]. Kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] de[']tagaskal[^a]['][^u][n]tan[^u]['][n], ig[^u][n][']w[^u]lstan[^u]hi-gw[^u]di[']na tsuye[']listi ges[^u]['][n][)i]. Akta[']`t[)i] ad[^u][n]ni[']ga.

Sg[)e]! N[^a][']gwa t'sk[)i][']n[^a]ne[']l[)i] ta[']l[)a]d[)u]['] iy[^u]['][n]ta a[']gwatseli[']ga, W[)a]tatu[']ga Ts[^u]ne[']ga. Tsuye[']list[)i] ges[^u]['][n][)i] sk[)i][']n[^a]h[^u][n]s[)i]['] a[']gwatseli[']ga--kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] a[']gwatseli[']ga. N[)a][']`n[^a] utad[^a][']ta kan[^u]['][n]lag[)i] dedu[']skal[^a][']asi[']ga.

Ded[^u][']ndag[^u]['][n]yastani[']ga, g[^u][n]w[^a][']his[^a][']n[^u]h[)i]. Y[^u]!

_Translation._

THIS CONCERNS THE BALL PLAY--TO TAKE THEM TO WATER WITH IT.

Listen! Ha! Now where the white thread has been let down, quickly we are about to examine into (the fate of) the admirers of the ball play.

They are of--such a (iyu[']st[)i]) descent. They are called--so and so (iyu[']st[)i]). They are shaking the road which shall never be joyful. The miserable Terrapin has come and fastened himself upon them as they go about. They have lost all strength. They have become entirely blue.

But now my admirers of the ball play have their roads lying along in this direction. The Red Bat has come and made himself one of them. There in the first heaven are the pleasing stakes. There in the second heaven are the pleasing stakes. The Pewee has come and joined them. The immortal ball stick shall place itself upon the whoop, never to be defeated.

As for the lovers of the ball play on the other side, the common Turtle has come and fastened himself upon them as they go about. Under the earth they have lost all strength.

The pleasing stakes are in the third heaven. The Red Tl[)a]niw[)a] has come and made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The pleasing stakes are in the fourth heaven. The Blue Fly-catcher has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The pleasing stakes are in the fifth heaven. The Blue Martin has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated.

The other lovers of the ball play, the Blue Mole has come and fastened upon them, that they may never be joyous. They have lost all strength.

The pleasing stakes are there in the sixth heaven. The Chimney Swift has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated. The pleasing stakes are in the seventh heaven. The Blue Dragon-fly has made himself one of them, that they may never be defeated.

As for the other admirers of the ball play, the Bear has just come and fastened him upon them, that they may never be happy. They have lost all strength. He has let the stakes slip from his grasp and there shall be nothing left for their share.

The examination is ended.

Listen! Now let me know that the twelve are mine, O White Dragon-fly. Tell me that the share is to be mine--that the stakes are mine. As for the player there on the other side, he has been forced to let go his hold upon the stakes.

Now they are become exultant and happy. Y[^u]!

_Explanation._

This formula, from the A`y[^u][n]in[)i] manuscript is one of those used by the shaman in taking the ball players to water before the game. The ceremony is performed in connection with red and black beads, as described in the formula just given for destroying life. The formulistic name given to the ball players signifies literally, "admirers of the ball play." The Tl[)a][']niw[)a] (s[)a][']niw[)a] in the Middle dialect) is the mythic great hawk, as large and powerful as the roc of Arabian tales. The shaman begins by declaring that it is his purpose to examine or inquire into the fate of the ball players, and then gives his attention by turns to his friends and their opponents, fixing his eyes upon the red bead while praying for his clients, and upon the black bead while speaking of their rivals. His friends he raises gradually to the seventh or highest _gal[^u]['][n]lat[)i]_. This word literally signifies height, and is the name given to the abode of the gods dwelling above the earth, and is also used to mean heaven in the Cherokee bible translation. The opposing players, on the other hand, are put down under the earth, and are made to resemble animals slow and clumsy of movement, while on behalf of his friends the shaman invokes the aid of swift-flying birds, which, according to the Indian belief, never by any chance fail to secure their prey. The birds invoked are the He[']nil[^u] or wood pewee (_Contopus virens_), the Tl[)a]niw[)a] or mythic hawk, the Gul[)i][']sgul[)i]['] or great crested flycatcher (_Myiarchus crinitus_), the Ts[^u]ts[^u] or martin (_Progne subis_), and the A[']nig[^a]sta[']ya or chimney swift (_Chaetura pelasgia_). In the idiom of the formulas it is said that these "have just come and are sticking to them" (the players), the same word (_dan[^u]tsg[^u][']lani'ga_) being used to express the devoted attention of a lover to his mistress. The Watatuga, a small species of dragon-fly, is also invoked, together with the bat, which, according to a Cherokee myth, once took sides with the birds in a great ball contest with the four-footed animals, and won the victory for the birds by reason of his superior skill in dodging. This myth explains also why birds, and no quadrupeds, are invoked by the shaman to the aid of his friends. In accordance with the regular color symbolism the flycatcher, martin, and dragon-fly, like the bat and the tl[)a][']niw[)a], should be red, the color of success, instead of blue, evidently so written by mistake. The white thread is frequently mentioned in the formulas, but in this instance the reference is not clear. The twelve refers to the number of runs made in the game.

Index.

A`wanita, or Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 Ayasta, Cherokee manuscript obtained from 313 A`y[^u][n][']in[)i], or Swimmer, Cherokee manuscripts obtained from 310-312 Bathing in medical practice of Cherokees 333-334, 335-336 Bleeding, practice of among the Cherokees 334-335 Brinton, D.G., cited on linguistic value of Indian records 318 Catawba Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 Cherokees, paper on Sacred Formulas of, by James Mooney 301-397 bathing, rubbing, and bleeding in medical practice of 333-336 manuscripts of, containing sacred, medical, and other formulas, character and age of 307-318 medical practice of, list of plants used in 324-327 medicine dance of 337 color symbolism of 342-343 gods of, and their abiding places 340-342 religion of 319 Cherokee Sacred Formulas, language of 343-344 specimens of 344-397 for rheumatism 345-351 for snake bite 351-353 for worms 353-356 for neuralgia 356-359 for fever and ague 359-363 for child birth 363-364 for biliousness 365-366 for ordeal diseases 367-369 for hunting and fishing 369-375 for love 375-384 to kill a witch 384-386 to find something 386-387 to prevent a storm 387-388 for going to war 388-391 for destroying an enemy 391-395 for ball play 395-397 Color symbolism of the Cherokees 342, 343 Disease, Cherokee theory of 322-324 Disease and medicine, Cherokee tradition of origin of 319-322 Gahuni manuscript of Cherokee formulas 313, 314 Gatigwanasti manuscript of Cherokee formulas 312, 313 Gods of the Cherokees and their abiding places 340-342 Haywood, John, cited on witchcraft beliefs among the Cherokees 322 Inali manuscript of Cherokee formulas 314-316 Long, W.W., collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by 317 Medical practice of Cherokees, plants used 322-331 Medicine dance of Cherokees 337 Mooney, James, paper on sacred formulas of the Cherokees, by 301-397 Names, importance attached to, in Cherokee sacred formulas 343 Plants used by Cherokees for medical purposes 322-331 ceremonies for gathering 339 Religion of the Cherokees, character of 319 Religion of the Cherokees, gods of 340-342 Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, paper by James Mooney on 301-397 Sanitary regulations among the Cherokee Indians, neglect of 332, 333 Shamans, decline of power of among Cherokees 336 mode of payment of among Cherokees 337-339 Sweat bath, use of, among Cherokees 333-334 Swimmer manuscript of Cherokee formulas 310, 312 Tabu among Cherokees, illustrations of 331-332 Takwatihi, or Catawba-Killer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316 Will West, collection of Cherokee formulas and songs prepared by 317 Young Deer, Cherokee formulas furnished by 316

Errors:

Missing or superfluous quotation marks have been silently corrected.

... while closely watching the motions ... [original has "the / the" at line break] formulas obtained from Tsiskwa, Awanita, and / Takwtihi [error for Takwati[']h[)i] ?] Sg[)e]! Ha-n[^a][']gwa h[^u][n]hat[^u]['][n]gani[']ga [all parentheses in this paragraph shown as printed] (hetsatsa['][^u][n]tani[']ga [mismatched parenthesis in original]