A few words remain to be said in regard to the language of the
formulas. They are full of archaic and figurative expressions, many of
which are unintelligible to the common people, and some of which even
the shamans themselves are now unable to explain. These archaic forms,
like the old words used by our poets, lend a peculiar beauty which can
hardly be rendered in a translation. They frequently throw light on
the dialectic evolution of the language, as many words found now only
in the nearly extinct Lower Cherokee dialect occur in formulas which
in other respects are written in the Middle or Upper dialect. The
R sound, the chief distinguishing characteristic of the old Lower
dialect, of course does not occur, as there are no means of indicating
it in the Cherokee syllabary. Those who are accustomed to look to the
Bible for all beauty in sacred expression will be surprised to find
that these formulas abound in the loftiest nights of poetic imagery.
This is especially true of the prayers used to win the love of a woman
or to destroy the life of an enemy, in which we find such expressions
as--“Now your soul fades away--your spirit shall grow less and
dwindle away, never to reappear;” “Let her be completely veiled in
loneliness--O Black Spider, may you hold her soul in your web, so that
it may never get through the meshes;” and the final declaration of the
lover, “Your soul has come into the very center of my soul, never to
turn away.”
In the translation it has been found advisable to retain as technical
terms a few words which could not well be rendered literally, such
as ada´wĕhĭ and ugistā´‛tĭ. These words will be found explained
in the proper place. Transliterations of the Cherokee text of the
formulas are given, but it must be distinctly understood that the
translations are intended only as free renderings of the spirit of
the originals, exact translations with grammatic and glossarial notes
being deferred until a more extended study of the language has been
made, when it is hoped to present with more exactness of detail the
whole body of the formulas, of which the specimens here given are but
a small portion.
The facsimile formulas are copies from the manuscripts now in
possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, and the portraits are from
photographs taken by the author in the field.