Folk Formulas of the Oklahoma Cherokees

Author(s): Jack Frederick Kilpatrick

Source: Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Dec., 1964), pp. 214-219
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3813904
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JA I7TZ 1) 1:1:; n TNTZ TZTT n A TT) Tftlt
w 1 Xvbrvlu rilLrlrvlu

Folk Formulas of the Oklahoma Chero-

kees

4'Sacred formulas"is thetermthatJamesMooneycoinedfor the Cherokee

prayers,conjurations,and incantationsthat he firstbroughtto the atten-
tion of the scientificworld.l The Cherokeesthemselvesreferto them as
idi:gawe:sdi(4;tobe saidXthey"). Whilethe rnoreportentousnpotentSand
complexof these are knownbut to the shamans,thereexistsa corpusof
them in currencyamongthe laity. These little petitionsto the spiritual
worldareemployedto protectandencourageandbestowsmalladvantages
in minorcontingencies.Evena childmay possessa repertoireof them.
In referenceto the North CarolinaCherokees,Mooneyand Olbrechts
state:
The averagememberof the tribemay know four or fiveformulas,but even then
he usuallyknows fragmentaryportionsof them, as the ritualmeaningof many
wordsis unknownto him. Thisscantysupplyof sacredand medicinalformulas
nearlyalwaysincludesthe song to curethe resultsof accidents(mostlycuts and
gashescausedby ox or knife) ... also some prayerfor protection,eitherto be
recitedor sung,is usuallycommonproperty;and two or threeof the easierkind
of medicinalconjurationsmay completethe list.9
It is ourimpression,obtainedfrommanuscriptsandpersonalcommunica-
tion that in Oklahomathe most frequentlyencounteredlaymen'sfor-
mulasare for burns,not cuts. Few formulasof any kind are sungSbut
there exists evidencethat certainformulasthat are now merelyrecited
wereformerlysung.

1 See James Mooney, "SacredFormulasof the Cherokees,' Seventh4nnual Report

of the Bureauof AmericanEthnology(Washington,1885-1886),passim.
2 James Mooney and F. M. Olbrechts,'sTheSwimmerManuscript,' Bulletinof Se
Bllreaaof vImericanEthnology,99 (Washington,1932), 146-147.

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 FOLK FORMULASOF THE OKLAHOMACHEROKEES 215
A Cherokeechildupon seeingthe new moon for the firsttime still may
say the following,afterwhichhe expectoratesuponhis handsand symbol-
ically washeshis face with the saliva:

o:siyo: edu:d(u)
hello my grandfather
Hello, Grandfather!3
Thiswouldappearto be remnantalof the longerformulagivenin Mooney
and Olbrechts,and the OklahomaCherokeebelief that if the initial
glimpseof the new moon be obstructed,the viewerwill sufferunspecified
ill luckduringtheensuingmonthmustsurelybea mutationof thefollowing
example.
It is furthermorebelievedthat if, at new moon, a personsees the luminaryfor
the firsttime throughthe treeshe will be ill the followingmonth. It may be that
originallythis illnesswas consideredto be causedby the moon, but sucha belief
does not existnow; it is now merelylooked upon as an omen.4

The child that is "it" in a game of hide-and-seekexpectoratesa small

quantityof saliva into the palm of one hand, slaps it sharplywith the
forefingerof the otherSand inquires:

ha:dhlv u:n(i)di:sgahl(a)
where they hide
Whereare they hiding?5
The directionin whichthe salivafliesis believedto indicatethe location
of the concealedplayers.
Thehometreatmentfor a sty uponthe eyelidis simplicityitself:a friend
of the suffererobserves:
tsagh(a)dhe:gwadhv:sga?le
your eyelid,protrudingfrom it
You have a sty upon your eyelid.
The patientreplies:
3 Kilpatrick Folk Formula Collection, unpublished manuscripts in the private
libraryof the author.
4 Mooney and Olbrechts,TheSwimmerManuscript,p. 32.
5 KilpatrickFolk Formula Collection.

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 216 JACK FREDERICKKILPATRICK

haPts(i)sgo:a?
you just lied
You just lied!6
We have neverbeen able to obtaina satisfactoryexegesisof the remedy
for a smallforeignobjectin the eye whereinthe suSerersays:
tsi:sdets(i) ugh(a)se:n(i)
rat his anus
The anus of a rat!7
The curefor a wartis morecomplex. The possessorof the wartextracts
a bit of blood from it, wrapsit up into a huge package,and placesthe
bundle in the middle of a road; then he says:

walo:si ge:? nv:no:hi wudagv:yaghakni

wart there pathway over thereI will put you
Wart,I am going to put you in the road over there!8
The principleof transferringevil to someoneelse is operativehere: the
finderof the packageacquiresthe wart.
For a persistentcase of hiccoughsone says:

ga:hl(i)ghwo:g(i) iyagalv:ladi hwehe:sdi

seven each heaven you will live there
You will live in the SeventhHeaven!9
Onethentakessevenswallowsfroma dipperof freshwater. Thisdeports
the maladyto the uttermostcelestialregion.
One of the manyremediesfor a severeheadacherequiressevengreen
elderberryleaves,cooled in water,and a charm. The waterin whichthe
leaveshavebeenimmersedis takeninto the mouthand blownfour times
uponthe top of the head of the patientwho sits in a chairfacing east.
Priorto eachblowingthis is said:

6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 lDid.

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 FOLK FORMULASOF THE OKLAHOMACHEROKEES
217
tsane:hlanv:hi tsane:hlanv:hi tsane:hlanv:hi
You Apportioner You Apportioner You Apportioner
tsane:hlanv:hi ha? u:sinu:liyu
You Apportioner ha quickly,very
hadhv:ga:ni:ga nv:wo:dhi adv:ni:ga
You havejust come to hear medicine He has just come to say
You Apportioner!You Apportioner!You Apportioner!You
Appor-
tioner! Ha! Very quickly You have just come to hear!
"Medicine!"
He has just come to say.l°
For the bite of a centipedeone saysthe ensuingfourtimes,then
expector-
atesuponandrubswithsalivathe site of the bite:
li li li li i:tsi:na:hwi:gwo itsv:hni:ga
li li li li your (pl.) heart, just you (pl.) havejust come to
massageit
Li!Li! Li! Li! Withyourheartsall of You havejust cometo
massageit!ll
Whilethe spiritsappealedto arenot identified,it has beensuggested
that
they are the Yv:wi Tsu:n(a)sdi("LittlePeople'').l2The "Li's!"
appear
to be onomatopoeicfor eitherthe crawlingof the centipedeor
the ap-
proachingfootstepsof the spiritsinvoked,probablythe latter.
Althoughthe LittlePeople are not only benignbut positivelyhelpful,
theyare somewhatgivento luringchildrenawayto play with them,
and
topreventthis a motherplacesa pairof scissors,a book, a
pocketknifeor
apipe at the foot of the bed upon whichher child is sleeping.
So far as
weknow,this is accompaniedby no charm.
The Cherokeesare a woodlandpeople,and as pointedout by
Mooney
andOlbrechts,l3charmsto deal with accidentsin woodcutting
are nu-
merous.This one, known by the father-in-lawof the presentwriter,
is
typicalof them,beingcast in a quaternaryformatof a scale of
qualities:
nv:ya tsilu:ya a:da tsilu:ya ga:da tsilu:ya
stone I just chopped wood I just chopped earth I just
chopped
a:ma tsilu:ya dhla? yv:gago:dhihi
water I just chopped not sweller,it
10Si:ghwani:d(a)Di:hl(i)dhade:gi Collection II,
unpublished manuscript in the
privatelibraryof the author.
Ibid.
12 See J. Mooney, "Myths of the
Cherokee,"NineteenthAnnualReportof the Bureau
ofAmericanEthnology(Washington,1897-1898),333-334.
13 Mooney and Olbrechts,The
SwimmerManuscript.

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218 JACK FREDERICKKILPATRICK

I just choppedstone; I just choppedwood; I just choppedearth; I just

choppedwater. It will not becomeinflamed.l4
The reciterof this charmsymbolicallytransfershis cut to substancesnot
subjectto swelling,as is hllmanflesh. Onewill observethat no spiritsare
invoked.
The shamanisticformulasfor cuts are usuallylittle, if any, different
fromthoseemployedby thelaity. Theshaman,however,blowsthe wound
with chewedhickorybarkin additionto recitinga charm. The laymanis
apt to makea bit of mud by expectoratingupon earthand then apply it
to his injury. Earthfrom undera shelter-a porch, a shed, or a log
is consideredbest for the purpose.
The ubiquitousburn conjuratioinsgenerallyfollow the pattern seen
above. A typicalone is:
gha? uhyadhv:hidv iga:tsi:da gatso:dhani:ga
now frost sufficient I havejust come to blow
v:n(i)ts(i) iga:tsi:da gatso:dhani:ga
snow sufficient I havejust come to blow
une:sdala iga:tsi:da gatso:dhani:ga
ice sufficient I havejust come to blow
uno:le iga:tsi:da gatso:dhani:ga
wind sufficient I havejust come to blow
Now! I havejust come to blow sufficientfrost upon it; I havejust come
to blow sufficientsnow upon it; I havejust come to blow sufficientice
upon it; I havejust come to blow sufficientwind upon it.l5
In treatinghimself,the victimhas a smallquantityof waterin his mouth.
He statesthe conjurationfourtimesandblowssomeof the wateruponthe
burnaftereach recitation.
To ensurethe successof a tripmadefor some speciScpurposeone says
at its outset:
higayv:li tsane:gv hna:gwo dv:gihole:si go :hu:sdi
You AncientOne you, white now I will go look for it
da:sgihne:lihno:
You will give me, and it

14 Gana:hw(i)so:sg(i)Document, unpublishedin the privatelibraryof the author.

15 Wahl-lyaMedicine Book II, urlpublishedin the private library of the author.

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 FOLK FORMULASOF THE OKLAHOMACHEROKEES
219
You AncientWhiteOne,now I am goingto seek somethingand
You will
give it to me.l6
Pendinga throughinvestigationof the aboriginalCherokeereligion,
the
equation of C'Ancient White One" with re in Mooney and Olbrechtsl7
ought to be acceptedwith caution.
A buzzardfeatherllung over a front door roughly equates
with the
white manSshorseshoe. The homeownermust never removeit as
long
as he lives in the houseupon whichthe featherhangs. Upon
leavingfor a
trip he says to it:
aPhni gvnv:dhodhe:sdi hno:gwo nihi niga:i go:hu:sdi
here to leave youto take care of it now you all something
tsugv:wahl(o)di sgihwa:dhve:hi ge:se:sdi
valuable finderfor me will be
I am goingto leaveyou on watchhere. Now you will be the
finderfor me
of all valuablethingsl8

SouthernMethodistUniversity
Dallas, Texas

16 KilpatrickFolk Formula Collection.

17 Mooney and Olbrechts,The SwimmerManuscript,p. 21.
18 Si :ghwani:d(a) Di :hl(i)dhade
:gi Collection II. The author acknowledges tElat
certainaspects of the researchnecessaryfor the preparationof this paper
were made
possibseby a grant fro1nthe National Science Foundation.

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