Listen! Now you settlements have drawn near to hearken. Where you have
gathered in the foam you are moving about as one. You Blue Cat and the
others, I have come to offer you freely the white food. Let the paths
from every direction recognize each other. Our spittle shall be in
agreement. Let them (your and my spittle) be together as we go about.
They (the fish) have become a prey and there shall be no loneliness.
Your spittle has become agreeable. I am called Swimmer. Yû!
_Explanation._
This formula, from A‛yûⁿinĭ´s’ book, is for the purpose of
catching large fish. According to his instructions, the fisherman
must first chew a small piece of Yugwilû´ (Venus’ Flytrap--Dionæa
muscipula) and spit it upon the bait and also upon the hook. Then,
standing facing the stream, he recites the formula and puts the bait
upon the hook. He will be able to pull out a fish at once, or if the
fish are not about at the moment they will come in a very short time.
The Yugwilû´ is put upon the bait from the idea that it will enable
the hook to attract and hold the fish as the plant itself seizes and
holds insects in its cup. The root is much prized by the Cherokees
for this purpose, and those in the West, where the plant is not found,
frequently send requests for it to their friends in Carolina.
The prayer is addressed directly to the fish, who are represented
as living in settlements. The same expression as has already been
mentioned is sometimes used by the doctors in speaking of the
_tsgâ´ya_ or worms which are supposed to cause sickness by getting
under the skin of the patient. The Blue Cat (_Amiurus, genus_) is
addressed as the principal fish and the bait is spoken of as the
“white food,” an expression used also of the viands prepared at the
feast of the green corn dance, to indicate their wholesome character.
“Let the paths from every direction recognize each other,” means let
the fishes, which are supposed to have regular trails through the
water, assemble together at the place where the speaker takes his
station, as friends recognizing each other at a distance approach
to greet each other, ᵘWâhisâ´nahĭ tigiwatsi´la, rendered “our
spittle shall be in agreement,” is a peculiar archaic expression that
can not be literally translated. It implies that there shall be such
close sympathy between the fisher and the fish that their spittle
shall be as the spittle of one individual. As before stated, the
spittle is believed to exert an important influence upon the whole
physical and mental being. The expression “your spittle has become
agreeable” is explained by A‛yûⁿinĭ as an assertion or wish that
the fish may prove palatable, while the words rendered “there shall be
no loneliness” imply that there shall be an abundant catch.