Should any person in the settlement dream of eagles or eagle feathers he must arrange for an Eagle dance, with the usual vigil and fasting, at the first opportunity; otherwise some one of his family will die.
Should the insect parasites which infest the feathers of the bird in life get upon a man they will breed a skin disease which is sure to develop, even though it may be latent for years.
It is for this reason that the body of the eagle is allowed to remain four days upon the ground before being brought into the settlement.
The raven ( kâ′lănû ) is occasionally seen in the mountains, but is not prominent in folk belief, excepting in connection with the grewsome tales of the Raven Mocker (q.
v.).
In former times its name was sometimes assumed as a war title.
The crow, so prominent in other tribal mythologies, does not seem to appear in that of the Cherokee.
Three varieties of owls are recognized, each under a different name, viz: tskĭlĭ′ , the dusky horned owl ( Bubo virginianus saturatus ); u′guku′ , the barred or hooting owl ( Syrnium nebulosum ), and waʻhuhu′ , the screech owl ( Megascops asio ).
The first of these names signifies a witch, the others being onomatopes.
Owls and other night-crying birds are believed to be embodied ghosts or disguised witches, and their cry is dreaded as a sound of evil omen.
If the eyes of a child be bathed with water in which one of the long wing or tail feathers of an owl has been soaked, the child will be able to keep awake all night.
The feather must be found by chance, and not procured intentionally for the purpose.
On the other hand, an application of water in which the feather of a blue jay, procured in the same way, has been soaked will make the child an early riser.
The buzzard ( sulĭ′ ) is said to have had a part in shaping the earth, as was narrated in the genesis myth.
It is reputed to be a doctor among birds, and is respected accordingly, although its feathers are never worn by ball players, for fear of becoming bald.
Its own baldness is accounted for by a vulgar story.
As it thrives upon carrion and decay, it is held to be immune from sickness, especially of a contagious character, and a small quantity of its flesh eaten, or of the soup used as a wash, is believed to be a sure preventive of smallpox, and was used for this purpose during the smallpox epidemic among the East Cherokee in 1866.
According to the Wahnenauhi manuscript, it is said also that a buzzard feather placed over the cabin door will keep out witches.
In treating gunshot wounds, the medicine is blown into the wound through a tube cut from a buzzard quill and some of the buzzard’s down is afterwards laid over the spot.
There is very little concerning hawks, excepting as regards the great mythic hawk, the Tlă′nuwă′ .
The tlă′nuwă′ usdi′ , or “little tlă′nuwă,” is described as a bird about as large as a turkey and of a grayish blue color, which used to follow the flocks of wild pigeons, flying overhead and darting down occasionally upon a victim, which it struck and killed with its sharp breast and ate upon the wing, without alighting.
It is probably the goshawk ( Astur atricapillus ).
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The passage is a quintessential example of animism, attributing spirits, agency, and personality to various birds (eagles, owls, buzzards) and describing them as embodied ghosts, witches, or divine agents with specific powers over human health and fate.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The belief that eating buzzard flesh or using its soup prevents smallpox because the bird thrives on decay implies a sympathetic connection between the properties of the animal and human health.
Ascetic disciplines that prepare the body and mind for spiritual receptivity or purification.
The text explicitly prescribes 'vigil and fasting' as necessary ritual preparations for the Eagle dance to avert death, aligning with ascetic disciplines for spiritual receptivity.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The passage details strict protocols regarding the handling of eagle bodies (waiting four days) and the accidental acquisition of feathers to avoid disease or ensure efficacy, reflecting a concern for ritual cleanliness and proper procedure.
Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. Loki and Odin's transformations in Norse, Math's pigs and Blodeuwedd's owl-shape and Pwyll's exchange with Arawn in the Mabinogion, the Greek Proteus, the Indian dasavatara, Vainamoinen's bird-flight in the Kalevala, Ovid's metamorphoses, the shamanic and witch's capacity for ritual form-change. Distinct from anthropomorphism (divine taking specific human form, single embodiment) in that anthropomorphism establishes a stable form whereas this concept establishes form's plurality and instability.
The passage describes owls as 'embodied ghosts or disguised witches,' implying a capacity for spirits to take animal form, and mentions the Raven Mocker in connection with tales that typically involve transformation.