Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

292 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99
yi-'Dzo wt'DO-G€''ts5tlto-'t*anfGa' |
wo-'doI-q-' tsu'cko!-!' GalQ'ldf=
Loc, they have come to make thee the mountain, post oak, Loc above,
Direction stand there Loc, yonder
Dze "WQr)e*'tst'o^\st'a'm'Ga'
direction they have come to make thee
stay there
(&, c, and d exactly the same, with each a final 'ya*'.)
De'^GO'St'stSG-g/i | a'a' Dt'DQ'le'sGi Dt'oa'iiQ'Vo't'i
they have been gathered this he breaks them,
Hab
to cure people with
Sli'li GO°"t'otr DiGQ'N^Stant'Da.str |
i;D0*'t9GWUD8'
«i'
Dtk*a-
(per- to use with it they must be struck all day to cure
Simmon)
5n9"'wo"tT Gesg-'i | u'Gtsto.ti' a*'ye-'lsti a'Dt.sti'
them with it it has been, for him to take knife to be put
Hab it (sol) away down
with
This is the Medicine (When) it Breaks Them
FREE TRANSLATION
Now, then! Ha, now, it is under the floor, under the bedstead
that it has formed itself. It is only a measure worm that has put
the important thing under him, it seems.
Quickly the white switches have come to act in unison (lit., they
have come and recognized each other). The little wizards have come
and have forced thee ^ to get up with them. They have come to
take the (sA\'itches) into the£r hands. Thej^ have come to frighten
thee ^* with the white knife. They have come and forced thee to
arise forthwith; they have come to make thee stand up in the Sun
Land; in the post oak, on the mountain above, they have come to
put thee stajdng.
Where the (instructions) are gathered: This is the medicine when
it breaks them; a persimmon (stamper) must be used to massage
them with; they should be treated all day udth it; as fee, a knife
should be paid.
explanation
This fonnula for rheumatism consists of four paragraphs, differing
only in minor points and evidently intended to be the same. [For
the measure worm as cause of rheumatism, see p. 293.]
[Medicine men are now unable to explam the expression, according
to which the disease "has formed itself under the floor, under the
bedstead." Cherokee cabins are usually built on some stout comer
stones, a foot or more high, as a support. This caused the floor to
be somewhat elevated as a platform, and under it all sort of refuse and
rubbish is generally thrown. It is not impossible that the expression
under discussion is a vague hint at this hearth of infection as the abode
" Addressing the disease.