Listen! O, now instantly, you have drawn near to hearken, O
Agĕ´‛yagu´ga. You have come to put your red spittle upon my body.
My name is (Gatigwanasti.) The blue had affected me. You have come and
clothed me with a red dress. She is of the (Deer) clan. She has become
blue. You have directed her paths straight to where I have my feet,
and I shall feel exultant. Listen!
_Explanation._
This formula, from Gatigwanasti’s book, is also of the Yûⁿwĕ´hĭ
class, and is repeated by the lover when about to bathe in the stream
preparatory to painting himself for the dance. The services of a
shaman are not required, neither is any special ceremony observed.
The technical word used in the heading, ă´tawasti´yĭ, signifies
plunging or going entirely into a liquid. The expression used for the
ordinary “going to water,” where the water is simply dipped up with
the hand, is ămâ´yĭ dita‛ti´yĭ, “taking them to water.”
The prayer is addressed to Agĕ´‛yaguga, a formulistic name for the
moon, which is supposed to exert a great influence in love affairs,
because the dances, which give such opportunities for love making,
always take place at night. The shamans can not explain the meaning
of the term, which plainly contains the word agĕ´‛ya, “woman,” and
may refer to the moon’s supposed influence over women. In Cherokee
mythology the moon is a man. The ordinary name is nû´ⁿdâ, or more
fully, nû´ⁿdâ sûⁿnâyĕ´hĭ, “the sun living in the night,”
while the sun itself is designated as nû´ⁿdâ igĕ´hĭ, “the sun
living in the day.”
By the red spittle of Agĕ´‛yagu´ga and the red dress with which the
lover is clothed are meant the red paint which he puts upon himself.
This in former days was procured from a deep red clay known as
ela-wâ´tĭ, or “reddish brown clay.” The word red as used in the
formula is emblematic of success in attaining his object, besides
being the actual color of the paint. Red, in connection with dress
or ornamentation, has always been a favorite color with Indians
throughout America, and there is some evidence that among the
Cherokees it was regarded also as having a mysterious protective
power. In all these formulas the lover renders the woman blue or
disconsolate and uneasy in mind as a preliminary to fixing her
thoughts upon himself. (_See next formula._)
(YÛ´ⁿWĔ´HĬ UGÛ´ⁿWA‛LĬ II.)
Yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ.
Galû´ⁿlatĭ, datsila´ĭ--Yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ,
yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ.
Nûⁿdâgû´ⁿyĭ gatla´ahĭ--Yû´ⁿwĕhĭ.
Ge‛yagu´ga Gi´gage, tsûwatsi´la gi´gage tsiye´la
skĭna´dû‛lani´ga--
Yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ, yû´ⁿwĕhĭ.
Hiă-‛nû´ atawe´ladi´yĭ kanâ´hĕhû galûⁿlti´tla.
_Translation._