﻿3-4-1 
  SACRED 
  FORMULAS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CHEROKEES. 
  

  

  expression 
  will 
  be 
  surprised 
  to 
  find 
  that 
  these 
  formulas 
  abound 
  m 
  

   the 
  loftiest 
  flights 
  of 
  poetic 
  imagery. 
  This 
  is 
  especially 
  true 
  of 
  the 
  

   prayers 
  used 
  to 
  win 
  the 
  love 
  of 
  a 
  woman 
  or 
  to 
  destroy 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  an 
  

   enemy, 
  in 
  which 
  we 
  find 
  such 
  expressions 
  as 
  — 
  "Now 
  your 
  soul 
  fades 
  

   away 
  — 
  your 
  spirit 
  shall 
  grow 
  less 
  and 
  dwindle 
  away, 
  never 
  to 
  reap- 
  

   pear 
  ; 
  '" 
  ' 
  " 
  Let 
  her 
  be 
  completely 
  veiled 
  in 
  loneliness— 
  O 
  Black 
  Spider, 
  

   may 
  you 
  hold 
  her 
  soul 
  in 
  your 
  web, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  may 
  never 
  get 
  through 
  

   the 
  meshes;" 
  and 
  the 
  final 
  declaration 
  of 
  the 
  lover, 
  "Your 
  soul 
  has 
  

   come 
  into 
  the 
  very 
  center 
  of 
  my 
  soul, 
  never 
  to 
  turn 
  away." 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  translation 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  advisable 
  to 
  retain 
  as 
  technical 
  

   terms 
  a 
  few 
  words 
  which 
  could 
  not 
  well 
  be 
  rendered 
  literally, 
  such 
  as 
  

   ada'wehi 
  and 
  ugista'ti. 
  These 
  words 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  explained 
  in 
  the 
  

   proper 
  place. 
  Transliterations 
  of 
  the 
  Cherokee 
  text 
  of 
  the 
  formulas 
  

   are 
  given, 
  but 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  distinctly 
  understood 
  that 
  the 
  translations 
  

   are 
  intended 
  only 
  as 
  free 
  renderings 
  of 
  the 
  spirit 
  of 
  the 
  originals, 
  

   exact 
  translations 
  with 
  grammatic 
  and 
  glossarial 
  notes 
  being 
  defer- 
  

   red 
  until 
  a 
  more 
  extended 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  language 
  has 
  been 
  made, 
  

   when 
  it 
  is 
  hoped 
  to 
  present 
  with 
  more 
  exactness 
  of 
  detail 
  the 
  whole 
  

   body 
  of 
  the 
  formulas, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  specimens 
  here 
  given 
  are 
  but 
  a 
  

   small 
  portion. 
  

  

  The 
  facsimile 
  formulas 
  are 
  copies 
  from 
  the 
  manuscripts 
  now 
  in 
  

   possession 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Ethnology, 
  and 
  the 
  portraits 
  are 
  from 
  

   photographs 
  taken 
  by 
  the 
  author 
  in 
  the 
  field. 
  

  

  SPECIMEN 
  FORMULAS. 
  

   NOTE 
  ON 
  THE 
  ORTHOGRAPHY 
  AND 
  TRANSLATION. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Cherokee 
  text 
  both 
  d 
  and 
  g 
  have 
  a 
  medial 
  sound, 
  approximating 
  the 
  

   sounds 
  of 
  t 
  and 
  k 
  respectively. 
  The 
  other 
  letters 
  are 
  pronounced 
  in 
  regular 
  accord- 
  

   ance 
  with 
  the 
  alphabet 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Ethnology. 
  The 
  language 
  abounds 
  in 
  

   nasal 
  and 
  aspirate 
  sounds, 
  the 
  most 
  difficult 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  being 
  the 
  aspirate 
  'I, 
  

   which 
  to 
  one 
  familiar 
  only 
  with 
  English 
  sounds 
  like 
  tl. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  words 
  whose 
  meaning 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  satisfactorily 
  ascertained 
  have 
  been 
  

   distinctively 
  indicated 
  in 
  the 
  Cherokee 
  text 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  italics. 
  In 
  the 
  transla- 
  

   tion 
  the 
  corresponding 
  expression 
  has 
  been 
  queried, 
  or 
  the 
  space 
  left 
  entirely 
  blank. 
  

   On 
  examining 
  the 
  text 
  the 
  student 
  can 
  not 
  fail 
  to 
  be 
  struck 
  by 
  the 
  great 
  number 
  

   of 
  verbs 
  ending 
  in 
  iga. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  peculiar 
  form 
  hardly 
  ever 
  used 
  excepting 
  in 
  these 
  

   formulas, 
  where 
  almost 
  every 
  paragraph 
  contains 
  one 
  or 
  more 
  such 
  verbs. 
  It 
  im- 
  

   plies 
  that 
  the 
  subject 
  lias 
  just 
  come 
  and 
  is 
  now 
  performing 
  the 
  action, 
  and 
  that 
  

   in- 
  came 
  tor 
  that 
  purpose. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  this, 
  many 
  of 
  these 
  verbs 
  may 
  be 
  either 
  

   assertive 
  or 
  imperative 
  (expressing 
  entreaty), 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  accent. 
  Thus 
  

   hat 
  li'ganigo. 
  means 
  "you 
  have 
  just 
  come 
  and 
  are 
  listening 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  for 
  that 
  pur- 
  

   pose 
  you 
  came." 
  By 
  slightly 
  accenting 
  the 
  final 
  syllable 
  it 
  becomes 
  "come 
  at 
  once 
  

   to 
  listen." 
  It 
  will 
  thus 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  formulas 
  are 
  declara- 
  

   tive 
  rather 
  than 
  petitional 
  in 
  form 
  — 
  laudatory 
  rhapsodies 
  instead 
  of 
  prayers, 
  in 
  the 
  

   ordinary 
  sense 
  of 
  the 
  word. 
  

  

  