Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99
We may at first be shocked by the "unreasonable," the "preposterous/
' etc., in these practices. If, however, on second thought, we endeavor
to make an honest effort to understand them, we will soon see how
remarkably logical they are, if only we bear the premises in mind. For
whatever there has been said about "the primitive mind," there is at
least this tribute to be paid to it, that it invariably gives proof of a
most rigorous congruency and a perfect harmony in its reasoning.
The first thing the medicine man endeavors to find out, when he
calls on a patient, is the seat of the pain. Since Cherokee medical art
does not aim so much at "curing a disease" or "allaying pain" as at
removing the cause of the ailment, of the agent causing the pain, the
medicine man forthwith sets out upon his quest after the cause of the
ailment. In this he is actively seconded by the patient, whose aid may
prove the more efficacious the more he is versed in the traditional lore.
If we are not dealing with one of the very few cases where a natural
cause is accepted (see p. 17) the medicine man inquires whether the
patient has by any chance infringed upon a taboo (see p. 38) or whether
the patient has had any dreams or omens (see p. 36). The patient
is, of course, but rarely sufficiently versed in this body of lore to be
able to answer in a satisfactory manner, and the medicine man usually
has to go over with the patient the very extensive collection of
dreams and omens that may affect the particular situation. The
patient, being only too anxious to find relief, would not thinlv of with-
holding any information of a nature to help the final discovery of
"the important thing."
The dreams investigated may go back several months, or even as
much as two or three years; there is no definite rule as to this, and it
rests with the personal opinion of every individual medicine man how
deeply into the past he chooses to probe to find the dream that would
plausibly explain the "case." Sunilarly, the very emphasis on dreams
as diagnostic means varies more or less with individual conceptions.
It appears, for example, from Mr. Mooney's notes that Ay. held
dreams of secondary importance, and that he gave primary attention
to such symptoms as headache, Hvidness in the face, blue-black rings
round the eyes, etc. This point of view does not seem to predominate
with the average Cherokee medicine man, as, indeed, it hardly could,
if we bear in mind this very important axiom of Cherokee medical
practice, that whatever the ailment in question may seem to be, we
must be sure to hit upon the real disease causer, so as to be able to
"work" against him, and to force him "to let go his hold" on the
patient. The identity of the disease causer is found out much more
readily and far more accurately by the patient's dreams and experiences
than by such symptoms as described above, which the Cherokee
medicine men, as well as Mr. Mooney and I, have noticed are identi-
cally the same for a score and more of radically different diseases.