Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken--
--Your spittle, I take it, I eat it. }
--Your body, I take it, I eat it, }
--Your flesh, I take it, I eat it, } Each sung four times.
--Your heart, I take it, I eat it. }
Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O, Ancient One. This
man’s (woman’s) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You
are never to let go your hold upon it. It is ordained that you shall
do just as you are requested to do. Let her never think upon any
other place. Her soul has faded within her. She is bound by the black
threads.
_Explanation._
This formula is said by the young husband, who has just married an
especially engaging wife, who is liable to be attracted by other men.
The same formula may also be used by the woman to fix her husband’s
affections. On the first night that they are together the husband
watches until his wife is asleep, when, sitting up by her side, he
recites the first words: Sgĕ! Ha-nâ´gwa hatû´ⁿgani´ga nihĭ´,
and then sings the next four words: Tsawatsi´lû tsĭkĭ´ tsĭkû´
ayû´, “Your spittle, I take it, I eat it,” repeating the words four
times. While singing he moistens his fingers with spittle, which
he rubs upon the breast of the woman. The next night he repeats the
operation, this time singing the words, “I take your body.” The third
night, in the same way, he sings, “I take your flesh,” and the fourth
and last night, he sings “I take your heart,” after which he repeats
the prayer addressed to the Ancient One, by which is probably meant
the Fire (the Ancient White). A‛yû´ⁿinĭ states that the final
sentences should be masculine, i.e., His soul has faded, etc., and
refer to any would-be seducer. There is no gender distinction in
the third person in Cherokee. He claimed that this ceremony was so
effective that no husband need have any fears for his wife after
performing it.