64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



as a preventive measure against the machinations of witches (see 

 p. 13), and, with a view to faciUtating delivery, at the time of parturi- 

 tion (see p. 123). 



The dextral circuit (sunwise) seems to be the most common and 

 original one; the sinistral circuit is, however, not unknown, and may 

 have its origin in the symbolical reversion of that which is customary. 

 (Compare Germ. "Riickzauber.") 



To close this survey, which to the best of my knowledge is complete, 

 it may be well to state that all of these methods are only practiced 

 by the medicine men; all a layman may venture to do is to give a 

 patient his medicine to drink, or to give him an additional inunction 

 of his decoction, but all this only under the explicit direction of the 

 worthy practitioner. (See p. 5Q.) 



Prescriptions as to Diet, Taboos, Etc. 



As will be seen in the chapter dealing with the formulas (p. 144), 

 almost every one of these is, or should be, accompanied by an often 

 quite extensive explanation, listing the symptoms of the ailment 

 against which the formula should be used, its cause, the simples to be 

 gathered, with their mode of preparation, and finally the restrictions 

 to be observed. These restrictions, or taboos, are the object of the 

 following lines. 



Roughly speaking they may be divided into two classes: Those 

 referring to the diet of the patient; those referring to the care of the 

 patieut and to his behavior. 



As to the former, ample illustrations will be found of them, in almost 

 every formula or prescription, and I merely want to draw attention 

 to them here, at the same time contributing a few notes toward 

 making this custom more intelligible. 



For here again, as mth almost every phase in the Cherokee treat- 

 ment of disease, we are dealing with entities of a purely mythological 

 nature. Every observant reader v/hen looldng over the formulas will 

 be struck with the so often repeated prohibition of hot food and salt. 

 The reason for this, as for many of these restrictions, can not be given, 

 not even by the most erudite of the Cherokee medicine men. 

 Mr. Mooney repeatedly in liis notes expresses the opinion that salt 

 and hot food are tabooed because they have been introduced by the 

 whites, and. are therefore thought to interfere witli the action of the 

 Indian medicine. I do not quite share this opinion. Even if the 

 use of mineral salt had not spread among the Cherokee to the same 

 extent as it did after the advent of the whites, yet they did know lye, 

 and lye is prohibited by the medicine men in every case where salt is 

 forbidden. 



I noticed, furthermore, that now that the food introduced by the 

 white people, such as canned goods, coffee, sugar, etc, is easily 



