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The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees / Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398

James Mooney

  • Essays
  • Book language: English
  • 130 pages

The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees is an ethnographic report by James Mooney, published in the Bureau of Ethnology's annual report. It documents Cherokee healing formulas, myths, plant knowledge, and ritual practices collected in the late nineteenth century. It offers a valuable window into Cherokee religion, medicine, and oral tradition.

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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.

Opening of the book

THE
SACRED FORMULAS OF THE
CHEROKEES.
BY
JAMES MOONEY.
CONTENTS
Introduction 307
How the formulas were obtained. 310
The A‘yûninĭ (Swimmer) manuscript 310
The Gatigwanastĭ (Belt) manuscript 312
The Gahunĭ manuscript 313
The Inâlĭ (Black Fox) manuscript 314
Other manuscripts 316
The Kanâhe´ta Ani-Tsa´lagĭ Etĭ or Ancient
Cherokee Formulas 317
Character
of
the
formulas—the
Cherokee
religion 318
Myth of the origin of disease and medicine 319

Theory of disease—animals, ghosts, witches 322
Selected list of plants used 324
Medical
practice—theory
of
resemblances—
fasting—tabu—seclusion—women 328
Illustration of the gaktûnta or tabu 331
Neglect of sanitary regulations 332
The sweat bath—bleeding—rubbing—bathing 338
Opposition of shamans to white physicians
336
Medicine dances 337
Description of symptoms 337
The ugista´‘tĭ or pay of the shaman 337
Ceremonies for gathering plants and preparing
medicine 339
The Cherokee gods and their abiding places 340
Color symbolism 342
Importance attached to names 343
Language of the formulas 343
Specimen formulas 344
Medicine 345
To treat the crippler (rheumatism)—from
Gahuni 345
Second formula for the crippler—from Gahuni
349
Song and prescription for snake bites—from
Gahuni 351
When something is causing something to eat
them—Gahuni 353

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Contents

  1. SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES.
  2. SACRED FORMULAS OF THE CHEROKEES.

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