Listen! Now I have come to step over your soul. You are of the (wolf)
clan. Your name is (A‛yû´ⁿinĭ). Your spittle I have put at rest
under the earth. Your soul I have put at rest under the earth. I have
come to cover you over with the black rock. I have come to cover you
over with the black cloth. I have come to cover you with the black
slabs, never to reappear. Toward the black coffin of the upland in the
Darkening Land your paths shall stretch out. So shall it be for you.
The clay of the upland has come (to cover you. (?)) Instantly the
black clay has lodged there where it is at rest at the black houses in
the Darkening Land. With the black coffin and with the black slabs I
have come to cover you. Now your soul has faded away. It has become
blue. When darkness comes your spirit shall grow less and dwindle
away, never to reappear. Listen!
_Explanation._
This formula is from the manuscript book of A‛yû´ⁿinĭ, who explained
the whole ceremony. The language needs but little explanation. A blank
is left for the name and clan of the victim, and is filled in by the
shaman. As the purpose of the ceremony is to bring about the death
of the victim, everything spoken of is symbolically colored black,
according to the significance of the colors as already explained. The
declaration near the end, “It has become blue,” indicates that the
victim now begins to feel in himself the effects of the incantation,
and that as darkness comes on his spirit will shrink and gradually
become less until it dwindles away to nothingness.
When the shaman wishes to destroy the life of another, either for his
own purposes or for hire, he conceals himself near the trail along
which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears the
shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly until
he chances to spit upon the ground. On coming up to the spot the
shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust thus
moistened with the victim’s spittle. The possession of the man’s
spittle gives him power over the life of the man himself. Many
ailments are said by the doctors to be due to the fact that some enemy
has by this means “changed the spittle” of the patient and caused it
to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man’s body. In the love
charms also the lover always figuratively “takes the spittle” of the
girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. The same idea in
regard to spittle is found in European folk medicine.
The shaman then puts the clay thus moistened into a tube consisting
of a joint of the Kanesâ´la or wild parsnip, a poisonous plant of
considerable importance in life-conjuring ceremonies. He also puts
into the tube seven earthworms beaten into a paste, and several
splinters from a tree which has been struck by lightning. The idea in
regard to the worms is not quite clear, but it may be that they are
expected to devour the soul of the victim as earthworms are supposed
to feed upon dead bodies, or perhaps it is thought that from their
burrowing habits they may serve to hollow out a grave for the soul
under the earth, the quarter to which the shaman consigns it. In other
similar ceremonies the dirt-dauber wasp or the stinging ant is buried
in the same manner in order that it may kill the soul, as these are
said to kill other more powerful insects by their poisonous sting or
bite. The wood of a tree struck by lightning is also a potent spell
for both good and evil and is used in many formulas of various kinds.
Having prepared the tube, the shaman goes into the forest to a tree
which has been struck by lightning. At its base he digs a hole, in the
bottom of which he puts a large yellow stone slab. He then puts in
the tube, together with seven yellow pebbles, fills in the earth, and
finally builds a fire over the spot to destroy all traces of his work.
The yellow stones are probably chosen as the next best substitute for
black stones, which are not always easy to find. The formula mentions
“black rock,” black being the emblem of death, while yellow typifies
trouble. The shaman and his employer fast until after the ceremony.
If the ceremony has been properly carried out, the victim becomes
blue, that is, he feels the effects in himself at once, and, unless
he employs the countercharms of some more powerful shaman, his soul
begins to shrivel up and dwindle, and within seven days he is dead.
When it is found that the spell has no effect upon the intended victim
it is believed that he has discovered the plot and has taken measures
for his own protection, or that, having suspected a design against
him--as, for instance, after having won a girl’s affections from
a rival or overcoming him in the ball play--he has already secured
himself from all attempts by counterspells. It then becomes a serious
matter, as, should he succeed in turning the curse aside from himself,
it will return upon the heads of his enemies.
The shaman and his employer then retire to a lonely spot in the
mountains, in the vicinity of a small stream, and begin a new series
of conjurations with the beads. After constructing a temporary shelter
of bark laid over poles, the two go down to the water, the shaman
taking with him two pieces of cloth, a yard or two yards in length,
one white, the other black, together with seven red and seven
black beads. The cloth is the shaman’s pay for his services, and is
furnished by his employer, who sometimes also supplies the beads.
There are many formulas for conjuring with the beads, which are used
on almost all important occasions, and differences also in the details
of the ceremony, but the general practice is the same in all cases.
The shaman selects a bend in the river where his client can look
toward the east while facing up stream. The man then takes up his
position on the bank or wades into the stream a short distance,
where--in the ceremonial language--the water is a “hand length”
(_awâ´hilû_) in depth and stands silently with his eyes fixed upon
the water and his back to the shaman on the bank. The shaman then lays
upon the ground the two pieces of cloth, folded into convenient size,
and places the red beads--typical of success and his client upon
the white cloth, while the black beads--emblematic of death and the
intended victim--are laid upon the black cloth. It is probable that
the first cloth should properly be red instead of white, but as it is
difficult to get red cloth, except in the shape of handkerchiefs, a
substitution has been made, the two colors having a close mythologic
relation. In former days a piece of buckskin and the small glossy,
seeds of the Viper’s Bugloss (_Echium vulgare_) were used instead
of the cloth and beads. The formulistic name for the bead is
_sû´nĭkta_, which the priests are unable to analyze, the ordinary
word for beads or coin being _adélâ_.
The shaman now takes a red bead, representing his client, between
the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and a black bead,
representing the victim, in like manner, in his left hand. Standing
a few feet behind his client he turns toward the east, fixes his eyes
upon the bead between the thumb and finger of his right hand, and
addresses it as the Sû´nĭkta Gigăge´ĭ, the Red Bead, invoking
blessings upon his client and clothing him with the red garments of
success. The formula is repeated in a low chant or intonation, the
voice rising at intervals, after the manner of a revival speaker. Then
turning to the black bead in his left hand he addresses it in similar
manner, calling down the most withering curses upon the head of the
victim. Finally looking up he addresses the stream, under the name of
Yû´ⁿwĭ Gûnahi´ta, the “Long Person,” imploring it to protect
his client and raise him to the seventh heaven, where he will be
secure from all his enemies. The other, then stooping down, dips up
water in his hand seven times and pours it upon his head, rubbing it
upon his shoulders and breast at the same time. In some cases he dips
completely under seven times, being stripped, of course, even when the
water is of almost icy coldness. The shaman, then stooping down, makes
a small hole in the ground with his finger, drops into it the fatal
black bead, and buries it out of sight with a stamp of his foot. This
ends the ceremony, which is called “taking to water.”
While addressing the beads the shaman attentively observes them as
they are held between the thumb and finger of his outstretched hands.
In a short time they begin to move, slowly and but a short distance at
first, then faster and farther, often coming down as far as the first
joint of the finger or even below, with an irregular serpentine motion
from side to side, returning in the same manner. Should the red bead
be more lively in its movements and come down lower on the finger
than the black bead, he confidently predicts for the client the speedy
accomplishment of his desire. On the other hand, should the black bead
surpass the red in activity, the spells of the shaman employed by the
intended victim are too strong, and the whole ceremony must be gone
over again with an additional and larger quantity of cloth. This must
be kept up until the movements of the red beads give token of success
or until they show by their sluggish motions or their failure to move
down along the finger that the opposing shaman can not be overcome. In
the latter case the discouraged plotter gives up all hope, considering
himself as cursed by every imprecation which he has unsuccessfully
invoked upon his enemy, goes home and--theoretically--lies down and
dies. As a matter of fact, however, the shaman is always ready with
other formulas by means of which he can ward off such fatal results,
in consideration, of a sufficient quantity of cloth.
Should the first trial, which takes place at daybreak, prove
unsuccessful, the shaman and his client fast until just before sunset.
They then eat and remain awake until midnight, when the ceremony is
repeated, and if still unsuccessful it may be repeated four times
before daybreak (or the following noon?), both men remaining awake and
fasting throughout the night. If still unsuccessful, they continue to
fast all day until just before sundown. Then they eat again and again
remain awake until midnight, when the previous night’s programme
is repeated. It has now become a trial of endurance between the
revengeful client and his shaman on the one side and the intended
victim and his shaman on the other, the latter being supposed to be
industriously working countercharms all the while, as each party must
subsist upon one meal per day and abstain entirely from sleep until
the result has been decided one way or the other. Failure to endure
this severe strain, even so much as closing the eyes in sleep for
a few moments or partaking of the least nourishment excepting just
before sunset, neutralizes all the previous work and places the
unfortunate offender at the mercy of his more watchful enemy. If
the shaman be still unsuccessful on the fourth day, he acknowledges
himself defeated and gives up the contest. Should his spells prove the
stronger, his victim will die within seven days, or, as the Cherokees
say, seven nights. These “seven nights,” however, are frequently
interpreted, figuratively, to mean _seven years_, a rendering which
often serves to relieve the shaman from a very embarrassing position.
With regard to the oracle of the whole proceeding, the beads do move;
but the explanation is simple, although the Indians account for it
by saying that the beads become alive by the recitation of the sacred
formula. The shaman is laboring under strong, though suppressed,
emotion. He stands with his hands stretched out in a constrained
position, every muscle tense, his breast heaving and voice trembling
from the effort, and the natural result is that before he is done
praying his fingers begin to twitch involuntarily and thus cause the
beads to move. As before stated, their motion is irregular; but the
peculiar delicacy of touch acquired by long practice probably imparts
more directness to their movements than would at first seem possible.