296 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



Now, then! It has become clayey Yellow. It is the YeUow, it 

 seems. 



Now, then! Black Buzzard, quickly thou hast come to listen; 

 yonder in the Nio:ht Land thou art staying. Thou never failest 

 in anything. It is merely the Yellow that has put the important 

 thing under him. (But) that is the very thing thou usually eatest. 

 Where thou hast passed, only the traces of trampling wiU remain. 

 Toward the direction of the Night Land thou hast driven it, in the 

 Night Land thou hast scattered it. A mere likeness of it will remain 

 where thou hast passed, (and) not for one night (only, but forever). 

 Relief has been caused. Sharply! 



Now, then! The important thing is the brown Yellow. 



Now, then! Brown Eagle, thou art staying on high. Nothing 

 ever escapes thy (sight). It is the Yellow that has put the important 

 thing under him. Only the traces of trampling will remain; thou 

 hast come to bury it into thy stomachs, (and) not for one night 

 (only, but forever). Kelief has been caused. Sharply! 



EXPLANATION 



In this, as in most other formulas for this disease, the whole treat- 

 ment consists of the application of the warm hands of the medicine 

 man. The ceremony, however, is pecidiar. The medicine man 

 recites the part referring to the raven while rubbing his hands to- 

 gether over the fire, bringing them around in a circular sweep in 

 imitation of tlie raven's manner wlien hovering over its prey. Then 

 imitating the raven's cry, he utters a rapid k'a* k'a* k'a* k'a* and 

 brings his hands down upon the abdomen of the patient. He goes 

 through the same motions while repeating tlie paragraph addressing 

 the buzzard, but ends with a prolonged su:+ su:+ to imitate the 

 swishing noise made by the wing of the buzzard in its ordinary flight, 

 followed, as he brings his hands down, by a rapid gwo° gwo° gw5° 

 to imitate the sound on rising. In tlie same way, while addressing 

 the eagle, he imitates its movements and its cry. The ceremony 

 is repeated four times before noon ; there is no taboo. 



This formula consists of three paragraphs only, rather an imusual 

 number in Cherokee ritual; it is probable that in the course of repeated 

 copying it has lost a fourth paragraph. This has happened to more 

 than one formula. 



