14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



preter, or by myself. In every case the interpolation is accounted 

 for in a footnote. 



Words or sentences between brackets, in the explanatory notes 

 following every one of the formulas, are by the editor. All the rest 

 in these explanatory notes is the work of James Mooney. 



DISEASE— ITS NATURE AND ITS CAUSES 



Nature of Disease 



Many of the facts contained in this paper are bound to remain 

 unintelligible if no sound understanding is gained into the Cherokee 

 conceptions of disease. 



These are not by any means so simple or uniform as many theorists 

 are wont to ascribe to peoples at this stage of culture. 



Disease in general is commonly referred to by the word : uVu'ci, 

 which is no doubt related with the stem -yl-juG- "resentment" (cf. 

 Gpyu'ca — "I have resentment toward thee.") 



In the ritualistic language of the formulas, however, this expression 

 never occurs, ulsGe^'no^ always being used in its stead. The original 

 meaning of this word has now been lost, even by the medicine men, 

 who always claim it merely means "the disease present in the body," 

 and Mooney accordingly invariably translated it as "the intruder." 

 Although this way of translating it conveys its general meaning, 

 there is cause to discuss it somewhat further. It appears from various 

 expressions that can be compared with the one under discussion that 

 the meaning would be "that which is important." Although this 

 concept is usually rendered Galg'' "^kw'tfyu' in the ordinary language, 

 yet such expressions as the following are still in constant use: 



i;lsGe*'Do° dzt'li;*Gi', "I came on important business." 



(Ga)Do-^iyi;lsG€"'Do° 'Q-lu'ci', "What on earth didst thou come in 

 here for?" (implied: It must be very important, else thou wouldst not 

 have come). 



i-GQ-'wi;lsGe*'Do° "of but trivial worth; not important." 



These expressions clearly prove what the true meaning of the term 

 is. It would thus appear that it is one of the many "euphemistic 

 terms" which the Cherokee, as so many other tribes and peoples, use, 

 and the object of which is to allude to a dreaded concept by a (respect- 

 ful) circumlocution, so as not to offend it, or so as not to bring about 

 its appearance, its "materiaUzation," we might say, by calling it by 

 its common name. 



The ulsGe'no^ is the disease as it is present in the body of the suf- 

 ferer. Although it is invisible, intangible, and in all other respects 

 immaterial, it very often may manifest its presence by material means, 

 as swellings, protuberances, or even by worms and insects. 



