Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99
riQ-^Do'' SQno''yi e'li "The luminary that is (that Hves) in the
nighttime," viz, the moon.
In the rituahstic language, however, the sun is always referred to
either as une*'tlano*'i or Ge^'yaGy'oa.
The first of these expressions means: "He has apportioned, allotted,
divided into equal parts," doubtlessly referring to the time-dividing
role of the sun. The same stem is used to express the allotting of
the tribal territory to the individuals that are entitled to a part,
"an allotment," of it.
Since this une^'tlano^i has always been looked upon as their most
powerful spirit by the Cherokee, the missionaries have read into
his name the meaning of "Great Spirit," "Creator," and hence the
verb-stem -y-ne'tl- is now gradually acquiring the meaning of "to
create," a concept absolutely foreign to its primary meaning.
It is now well-nigh impossible to gain a clear conception of the part
which this spirit must have once played in Cherokee religion. Only
a very few of the older people can shed any hght on his true nature.
Some who have been missionized to some extent identify this spirit
with the God of the Christians; others, even if they do not go quite so
far, have absolutely forgotten that une*'tlano'!i is identical with the
sun, and have even no idea of the sex of this spirit.
Although this spirit was not considered responsible for the origin
of things (see Mooney, Myths, pp. 239, 248), yet he must once have
had the reputation of a most eminent spirit, if not of the preeminent
deity. When such very important tribal or ritualistic events take
place as the ball game, or the search for medicine, he is always invoked
in a very humble and propitiating way. He and the Fire (they are
still by a few of the oldest informants felt to be one and the same
person) are the only spirits to wliich prayers, in the true meaning of
the term, are ever offered; of them things are asked, while other
spirits are merely commanded to do things.
If it were not for the fortunate fact that another ritualistic name
of this important spirit has been preserved it might not now be
possible to definitely identify the sex of this spirit; the name
Ge''yaGu''G8, however, makes it clear that a feminine person is
meant (ace^'ya "woman ") ; -gd'go can not be identified with certainty;
probably it is a dialectical variant of the suffix -GO'Ga "very impor-
tant"; "primus inter pares"; "par excellence" (cf. *tDa-'"we*t'GO'Ga'
"thou most powerful %vizard"; ayo°'GO'Ga' "but I myself indeed").
Another proof is found in the etiological myth explaining the
black spots on the "face" of the moon as a result of the love affair of
the moon with the sun, his sister. (See Mooney, Myths, pp. 256-
257.)
Only rarely do we find evidence that the sun sends disease, although
a couple of cases have come to my attention where she is alleged to