BULL. 30] 



OYARON 



179 



wise men, knowing both human and di- 

 vine things, the efficacy of plants, rocks, 

 ores, and all the occult virtues and se- 

 crets of nature; not only could they 

 sound the depths of the hearts of other 

 persons, but they could foresee what 

 would come to pass in the future, read 

 the fate of men in the signs, wonders, 

 and omens of the earth, claiming to main- 

 tain intimate intercourse with the gods, 

 a favor of which less -gifted persons 

 were quite unworthy. These reputed 

 favors of the gods added to an austerity 

 of life and a well-regulated cotle of man- 

 ners, at least in appearance, and a con- 

 duct above suspicion, or at least censure, 

 gained them the respect if not the fear of 

 all persons, who consulted them as ora- 

 cles, as sources of truth, and the favored 

 mediators between man and the gods. 

 They could foresee the success or failure 

 of war or a journey, could divine the se- 

 cret source or cause of illness, could sug- 

 gest what would make a hunting or a 

 fishing trip successful, could discover 

 things lost by theft, the source of evil 

 and of spells and enchantments, and they 

 could apply their art to exorcise them, 

 to drive them away and to apply the 

 proper remedies to thwart their purposes. 

 They were also adepts in making their 

 calling one of power and authority, and a 

 source of profit and remuneration. 



The person whose life was regarded as 

 being under the protection of some being 

 embodied in a material thing, in this 

 occult manner, had less reason for appre- 

 hension than he whose life was so pro- 

 tected by some particular animal, for 

 should the animal die, it was a foregone 

 conclusion that he himself incurred the 

 risk of a like fate. This belief was so 

 strong that many seenjingly proved its 

 truth by dying soon after the known 

 death of the tutelary animal. This con- 

 nection of things, which, although alien 

 to man, had nevertheless such an intimate 

 relation to his life, sprang from a motion, 

 an innate impulse, or from a natural de- 

 sire of the soul, which drew it toward 

 the object and established a moral union 

 between the two, upon the maintenance 

 of which depended the welfare of the 

 person and the peace of his soul. This 

 desire or longing for something seen in a 

 dream or vision was very different from 

 the momentary or voluntary craving 

 which sprang from a knowledge of the 

 object toward which the mind was di- 

 rected; for it was innate, intrinsic, to the 

 soul, and did not rest on any knowledge 

 of the need of the thing by the mind 

 itself, although it had so much interest in 

 knowing what the soul desired or needed ; 

 and, indeed, it would not be strange that 

 the mind should not know anything about 

 it, should the tutelary fail to express itself 

 through dreams or visions. 



The unfortunate consequences to which, 

 it was believed, one would be exposed, 

 should he or she fail to provide the soul 

 with what it desired or required as in- 

 dicated in a dream or vision, comj)elled 

 the people scrupulously to observe all 

 dreams with the utmost care and dili- 

 gence, and engaged not only the dreamer 

 l)ut all his triljesmen to obtain for him all 

 the satisfaction that he could desire in 

 the fulfilment of his dream. This was 

 done in such manner that, on these occa- 

 sions, not only did they not refuse any- 

 thing asked of them (a refusal being a 

 stigma of the utmost infamy), but they 

 went even farther than that which would 

 have given satisfaction, and sacrifii'ed 

 their most precious possessions. 



In addition to those tutelaries belong- 

 ing to every person, there were oyaron 

 common to the family, the gens, or the 

 clan, and probably to the tribe, which 

 were placed in the lodge. Sacrifices and 

 offerings were made to them of dogs, 

 other animals, and various articles of 

 food, raiment, and adornment. Warriors 

 carried their personal oijaron carefully 

 wrapped in some sacred skin, and they 

 did not cease from invoking it to give 

 them victory over their enemies. The 

 ofiaron was an efficient aid to the shaman 

 in all things: in making medicines, in 

 healing wounds, in performing the mira- 

 cles of his art, and in exorcising the spells 

 cast by other shamans and in thwarting 

 their enchantments. The sacrifice or 

 offering was a very important part of the 

 cult of the oyaroh, for should one have 

 failed to make in its honor a feast, an 

 offering, or a sacrifice, to feed it, keep it 

 alive, and give it renewed strength, at 

 stated periods, the o;/(fron would have be- 

 come angry, and, if too long neglected, 

 would have turned on its owner or owners 

 and caused him or them troubles, illness, 

 and probably death. It was a doctrine 

 of this philosophy of the oyaron that if it 

 suggested the prohibition of anything 

 during the treatment of a patient by a 

 shaman and this prohibition was neg- 

 lected or disregarded, the patient would 

 invariably have a relapse. Of such a 

 patient the Tuscarora say "one is be- 

 oyaron-ed" (if such a hybrid be permit- 

 ted for illustration) , and is in origin and 

 application liketheEnglish "bewitched." 

 These prohibitions are what are com- 

 monly called taboo. This transgression 

 of the dictum of some oyaron, or god, 

 becomes sin in the higher cults of man, 

 and this fact leads to the understanding 

 of the nature and genesis of the concept 

 of the taboo. 



There was a class of shamans of both 

 sexes w4io cast spells and enchantments 

 solely for the purpose of doing evil, for 

 the intent of executing private vengeance, 

 or for the gratification of malice, and 



