CULIN] RACKET: CHEROKEE 5838 
has now ascended to the first heaven. As he continues praying he declares 
that he has now reached the second heaven (and here he slightly raises his 
hands) ; soon he ascends to the third heaven, and the hands of the shaman are 
raised still higher; then, in the same way, he ascends to the fourth, the fifth, 
and the sixth heaven, and finally, as he raises his trembling hands aloft, he 
declares that the spirit of the man has now risen to the seventh heaven, where 
his feet are resting upon the Red Seats, from which they shall never be dis- 
placed. 
Turning now to his client, the shaman, in a low voice, asks him the name of 
his most dreaded rival on the opposite side. The reply is given-in a whisper, 
and the shaman, holding his hands outstretched as before, calls down the most 
withering curses upon the head of the doomed victim, mentioning him likewise 
by name and clan. He prays to the Black Fog to cover him so that he may be 
unable to see his way; to the Black Rattlesnake to envelop him in his slimy 
folds; and at last to the Black Spider to let down his black thread from above, 
wrap it about the soul of the victim, and drag it from his body along the black 
trail to the Darkening Land in the west, there to bury it in the black coffin 
under the black clay, never to reappear. At the final imprecation he stoops 
and, making a hole in the soft earth with his finger (symbolic of stabbing the 
doomed man to the heart), drops the black bead into it and covers it from sight 
with a vicious stamp of his foot; then with a simultaneous moyement each man 
‘dips his ball sticks into the water, and bringing them up, touches them to his 
lips: then, stooping again, he dips up the water in his hand and laves his head 
and breast. 
Below is given a translation of one of these formulas, from the collection of 
original Cherokee manuscripts obtained by the writer. The formulistic name 
for the player signifies ‘admirer or lover of the ball play.” The shaman 
directs his attention alternately to his clients and their opponents, looking by 
turns at the red or the black bead as he prays. He raises his friends to the 
seventh heaven and invokes in their behalf the aid of the bat and a number of 
birds, which, according to the Cherokee belief, are so keen of sight and so swift 
upon the wing as never to fail to seize their intended prey. The opposing 
players, on the other hand, are put under the earth and rendered like the 
terrapin, the turtle, the mole, and the bear—all slow and clumsy of movement. 
Blue is the color symbolic of defeat, red is typical of success, and white signi- 
fis joy and happiness. The exultant whoop or shout of the players is believed 
to bear them on to victory, as trees are carried along by the resistless force of 
a torrent: 
“THIS IS TO TAKE THEM TO WATER FOR THE BALL PLAY.” 
“Sge! Now, where the white thread has been let down, quickly we are about 
to inquire into the fate of the lovers of the ball play. 
“They are of such a descent. They are called so and so. (As they march) 
they are shaking the road which shall never be joyful. The miserable ter- 
rapin has fastened himself upon them as they go about. They are doomed 
to failure. They have become entirely blue. 
“But now my lovers of the ball play have their roads lying down in this 
direction. The Red Bat has come and become one with them. There, in the 
first heaven, are the pleasing stakes. There, in the second heaven, are the 
pleasing stakes. The Peewee has come and joined them. Their ball sticks 
shall be borne along by the immortal whoop, never to fail them in the contest. 
“But as for the lovers of the ball play on the other side, the common turtle 
has fastened himself to them as they go about. There, under the earth, they 
are doomed to failure. 
