Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Blue
Sparrow-Hawk; in the spreading tree tops you are at rest. Quickly you
have come down. The intruder is only a bird which has overshadowed
him. Swiftly you have swooped down upon it. Relief is accomplished.
Yû!
Yû! Listen! Quickly you have drawn near to hearken, O Brown
Rabbit-Hawk; you are at rest there above. Ha! Swiftly now you have
come down. It is only the birds which have come together for
a council. Quickly you have come and scattered them. Relief is
accomplished. Yû!
_Explanation._
This formula, also for Gûⁿwani´gistû´ⁿĭ or Atawinĕ´hĭ, was
obtained from A‛wan´ita (Young Deer), who wrote down only the prayer
and explained the treatment orally. He coincides in the opinion that
this disease in children is caused by the birds, but says that it
originates from the shadow of a bird flying overhead having fallen
upon the pregnant mother. He says further that the disease is easily
recognized in children, but that it sometimes does not develop until
the child has attained maturity, when it is more difficult to discern
the cause of the trouble, although in the latter case dark circles
around the eyes are unfailing symptoms.
The prayer--like several others from the same source--seems
incomplete, and judging from analogy is evidently incorrect in some
respects, but yet exemplifies the disease theory in a striking manner.
The disease is declared to have been caused by the birds, it being
asserted in the first paragraph that a bird has cast its shadow
upon the sufferer, while in the second it is declared that they
have gathered in council (in his body). This latter is a favorite
expression in these formulas to indicate the great number of the
disease animals. Another expression of frequent occurrence is to
the effect that the disease animals have formed a settlement or
established a townhouse in the patient’s body. The disease animal,
being a bird or birds, must be dislodged by something which preys upon
birds, and accordingly the Blue Sparrow-Hawk from the tree tops and
the Brown Rabbit-Hawk (Diga´tiskĭ--“One who snatches up”), from
above are invoked to drive out the intruders. The former is then said
to have swooped down upon them as a hawk darts upon its prey, while
the latter is declared to have scattered the birds which were
holding a council. This being done, relief is accomplished. Yû! is
a meaningless interjection frequently used to introduce or close
paragraphs or songs.
The medicine used is a warm decoction of the bark of Kûnstû´tsĭ
(Sassafras--Sassafras officinale), Kanûⁿsi´ta (Flowering
Dogwood--Cornus florida), Udâ´lana (Service tree--Amelanchier
Canadensis), and Uni´kwa (Black Gum--Nyssa multiflora), with the
roots of two species (large and small) of Da´yakalĭ´skĭ (Wild
Rose--Rosa lucida). The bark in every case is taken from the east side
of the tree, and the roots selected are also generally, if not always,
those growing toward the east. In this case the roots and barks are
not bruised, but are simply steeped in warm water for four days. The
child is then stripped and bathed all over with the decoction morning
and night for four days, no formula being used during the bathing. It
is then made to hold up its hands in front of its face with the palms
turned out toward the doctor, who takes some of the medicine in his
mouth and repeats the prayer mentally, blowing the medicine upon the
head and hands of the patient at the final _Yû!_ of each paragraph.
It is probable that the prayer originally consisted of four
paragraphs, or else that these two paragraphs were repeated. The child
drinks a little of the medicine at the end of each treatment.
The use of salt is prohibited during the four days of the treatment,
the word (amă´) being understood to include lye, which enters
largely into Cherokee food preparations. No chicken or other feathered
animal is allowed to enter the house during the same period, for
obvious reasons, and strangers are excluded for reasons already
explained.