Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

O^BRECHTs] THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT 279
Dawt'skula' or Flint is personified in Cherokee mythology as a
terrible and an aggressive individual, the dreaded enemy of all the
mythic animal world because it was with flint that man pointed his
deadly arrows. [Cf. Mooney, Myths, pp. 234, 274, 451.1 He is here
represented as advancing threateningly shaking his red walking sticks.
The final paragraph is recited only when the preceding ones fail to
produce any effect. It is sometimes recited at the house immedi-
ately after the others, but usually the medicine man goes down to the
stream for this purpose, using the beads during the recital, in the
manner described elsewhere, in order to learn from their motions
whether the child is alive or dead. The medicine man stated that
it was not always possible to ascertain this by the ordinary means. The
bead ceremony is sometimes repeated seven times, the rest only once.
After having recited this paragraph at the water he returns to the
house and repeats it without the beads, while standing by the side
of the mother-to-be. According to the medicine man's statement,
the result is always successful.
The final paragraph resembles the formulas used when "going to
water" described in other places. The cloth referred to is perhaps
the cloth upon which the beads are placed during the ceremony [or
may be the cloth which used to be spread out for the child to faU
upon. (See p. 124.)]
77
SGe'* I
a'a' li'lsta'y'ti' v'thyu'kt^ano'H a'Da^ng^'wo'tT
this it is eaten it has changed itself to cure anyone with
aGaWe-'la i;'''yukt'ano'*i G€Se-'(.i ^^) a'ctsti' G€*'t'A=
now the Old Woman has changed it it is, App it (Sol) to eat within
then
GQ'' i;t*5'°se*.i'
it has grown,
App
(a) SGe'* Gi'td' wo'^DtGe-' nQ-'no'-yi-'-Dza Galg-'ldi
now
then
I
Dog brown sun, Loc, direction above
tso'tlt'o't'sti u'sonv'li tSa''"WlltSf'l8 ^^ De''aDo''o°'t'a'nt-Ga' I
thou art staying quickly thy saliva thou hast come to let them down
a'Gtsti' Ge''t*AG9*' ut*o°so°' I
t'a*'seso"t-Ga' |
it (sol) to within it has grown,
*a^-no*GWo"'
ha, now thou hast come and
eat App pulled it out
tS0H}sta''y'tt-GW0"' Ge'Sf'(.i^^) |
DttSckW0"'li
De*'Ga'a'Dani,SO'=
it what thou eatest, L it is, App thy stomachs they have come to
o°'t'ant*Ga' I
tsa'^losg*' |
bury themselves
niG9'Vaye"'l8.no°'o°'sG€-'stt-Gwo"'
a likeness of it will be left, L thou passed, T L
in it
utst*'-nawa^ nu'^Dat^ang-'Da no°"t*9'ne*'lt*Ga' j
'iya'
beyond it, it has been said thou hast come to do it Sharply
stretched simultaneously for him
** Emendation by editor.
^ Emendation by J, M.j instead of Dv^yvatsi-'\B=his saliva.