﻿308 
  SACRED 
  FORMULAS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CHEROKEES. 
  

  

  These 
  formulas 
  had 
  been 
  handed 
  down 
  orally 
  from 
  a 
  remote 
  an- 
  

   tiquity 
  until 
  tlic 
  early 
  pari 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  century, 
  when 
  the 
  inven- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  Cherokee 
  syllabary 
  enabled 
  the 
  priests 
  of 
  the 
  tribe 
  to 
  put 
  

   them 
  into 
  writing. 
  The 
  same 
  invention 
  made 
  it 
  possible 
  for 
  their 
  

   rivals, 
  the 
  missionaries, 
  to 
  give 
  to 
  the 
  Indians 
  the 
  Bible 
  in 
  their 
  own 
  

   language, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  opposing 
  forces 
  of 
  Christianity 
  and 
  shaman- 
  

   ism 
  alike 
  profited 
  by 
  the 
  genius 
  of 
  Sikwaya. 
  The 
  pressure 
  of 
  the 
  

   new 
  civilization 
  was 
  too 
  strong 
  to 
  be 
  withstood, 
  however, 
  and 
  

   though 
  the 
  prophets 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  religion 
  still 
  have 
  much 
  influence 
  

   with 
  the 
  people, 
  they 
  are 
  daily 
  losing 
  ground 
  and 
  will 
  soon 
  be 
  with- 
  

   out 
  honor 
  in 
  their 
  own 
  country. 
  

  

  Such 
  an 
  exposition 
  of 
  the 
  aboriginal 
  religion 
  could 
  be 
  obtained 
  

   from 
  no 
  other 
  tribe 
  in 
  North 
  America, 
  for 
  the 
  simple 
  reason 
  that 
  no 
  

   other 
  tribe 
  has 
  an 
  alphabet 
  of 
  its 
  own 
  in 
  which 
  to 
  record 
  its 
  sacred 
  

   lore. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  the 
  Crees 
  and 
  Micmacs 
  of 
  Canada 
  and 
  the 
  Tukuth 
  

   of 
  Alaska 
  have 
  so-called 
  alphabets 
  or 
  ideographic 
  systems 
  invented 
  

   for 
  their 
  use 
  by 
  the 
  missionaries, 
  while, 
  lie 
  fore 
  the 
  Spanish 
  conquest, 
  

   the 
  Mayas 
  of 
  Central 
  America 
  were 
  accustomed 
  to 
  note 
  down 
  their 
  

   hero 
  legends 
  and 
  priestly 
  ceremonials 
  in 
  hieroglyphs 
  graven 
  upon 
  

   the 
  walls 
  of 
  their 
  temples 
  or 
  painted 
  upon 
  tablets 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  leaves 
  

   of 
  the 
  maguey. 
  But 
  it 
  seems 
  never 
  to 
  have 
  occurred 
  to 
  the 
  northern 
  

   tribes 
  that 
  an 
  alphabet 
  coming 
  from 
  a 
  missionary 
  source 
  could 
  be 
  

   used 
  for 
  any 
  other 
  purpose 
  than 
  the 
  transcription 
  of 
  bibles 
  and 
  cate- 
  

   chisms, 
  while 
  the 
  sacred 
  books 
  of 
  the 
  Mayas, 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  exceptions, 
  

   have 
  long 
  since 
  met 
  destruction 
  at 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  fanaticism, 
  and 
  the 
  

   modern 
  copies 
  which 
  have 
  come 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  arc 
  written 
  

   out 
  from 
  imperfect 
  memory 
  by 
  Indians 
  who 
  had 
  been 
  educated 
  under 
  

   Spanish 
  influences 
  in 
  the 
  language, 
  alphabet 
  and 
  ideas 
  of 
  the 
  conquer- 
  

   ors, 
  and 
  who, 
  as 
  is 
  proved 
  by 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  

   books 
  themselves, 
  drew 
  from 
  European 
  sources 
  a 
  great 
  part 
  of 
  their 
  

   material. 
  Moreover, 
  the 
  Maya 
  tablets 
  were 
  so 
  far 
  hieratic 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  

   understood 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  priests 
  and 
  those 
  who 
  had 
  received 
  a 
  special 
  

   training 
  in 
  this 
  direction, 
  and 
  they 
  seem 
  therefore 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   entirely 
  unintelligible 
  to 
  the 
  common 
  people. 
  

  

  The 
  Cherokee 
  alphabet, 
  on 
  the 
  contrary, 
  is 
  the 
  invention 
  or 
  adapta- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  tribe, 
  who, 
  although 
  he 
  borrowed 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  

   Roman 
  letters, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  forty 
  or 
  more 
  characters 
  of 
  his 
  own 
  

   devising, 
  knew 
  nothing 
  of 
  their 
  proper 
  use 
  or 
  value, 
  but 
  reversed 
  

   them 
  or 
  altered 
  their 
  forms 
  to 
  suit 
  his 
  purpose, 
  and 
  gave 
  them 
  a 
  

   name 
  and 
  value 
  determined 
  by 
  himself. 
  This 
  alphabet 
  was 
  at 
  once 
  

   adopted 
  by 
  the 
  tribe 
  for 
  all 
  purposes 
  for 
  which 
  writing 
  can 
  be 
  used, 
  

   including 
  the 
  recording 
  of 
  their 
  shamanistic 
  prayers 
  and 
  ritualistic 
  

   ceremonies. 
  The 
  formulas 
  here 
  given, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  

   collection, 
  were 
  written 
  out 
  by 
  the 
  shamans 
  themselves 
  — 
  men 
  who 
  

   adhere 
  to 
  the 
  ancient 
  religion 
  and 
  speak 
  only 
  their 
  native 
  language 
  — 
  

   in 
  order 
  that 
  their 
  sacred 
  knowledge 
  might 
  be 
  preserved 
  in 
  a 
  syste- 
  

  

  