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Myths of the Cherokee · 220 of 220

Myth 126g

The noise of the cataract from which the water is taken is believed to be the voice of Yûñwĭ Gûnahi′ta, the “Long Man,” or river god, teaching lessons which the child may understand, while the stream itself is revered for its power to seize and hold anything cast upon its surface. A somewhat similar ceremony is sometimes used for adults, but in this case the matter is altogether more difficult, as there are tabus for four or seven days, and the mind must be kept fixed upon the purpose of the rite throughout the whole period, while if the subject so far forgets himself as to lose his temper in that time he will remain of a quarrelsome disposition forever after. A flowering vine, known as nuniyu′stĭ , “potato-like,” which grows in cultivated fields, and has a tuberous root somewhat resembling a potato, is used in hunting conjurations. The bruised root, from which a milky juice oozes, is rubbed upon the deer bleat, aʻwĭ′-ahyeli′skĭ , with which the hunter imitates the bleating of the fawn, under the idea that the doe, hearing it, will think that her offspring desires to suck, and will therefore come the sooner. The putty-root (Adam-and-Eve, Aplectrum hiemale ), which is of an oily, mucilaginous nature, is carried by the deer hunter, who, on shooting a deer, puts a small piece of the chewed root into the wound, expecting as a necessary result to find the animal unusually fat when skinned. Infants which seem to pine and grow thin are bathed with a decoction of the same root in order to fatten them. The root of the rare plant known as Venus’ flytrap ( Dionæa ), which has the remarkable property of catching and digesting insects which alight upon it, is chewed by the fisherman and spit upon the bait that no fish may escape him, and the plant is tied upon the fish trap for the same purpose. The root of a plant called unatlûñwe′hitû , “having spirals,” is used in conjurations designed to predispose strangers in favor of the subject. The priest “takes it to water”—i. e., says certain prayers over it while standing close to the running stream, then chews a small piece and rubs and blows it upon the body and arms of the patient, who is supposed to be about to start upon a journey, or to take part in a council, with the result that all who meet him or listen to his words are at once pleased with his manner and appearance, and disposed to give every assistance to his projects.
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Themes
◆Animismcosmology

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, describing the river as having a voice and personality (Yûñwĭ Gûnahi′ta), plants possessing specific spiritual powers for hunting and social influence, and the cosmos being populated by local, embodied divine agents.

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◆Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The river god is referred to as the 'Long Man' and is described as teaching lessons, attributing human form and pedagogical activity to a natural force.

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◆Cosmic Sympathycosmology

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 use of plants with specific properties (e.g., Venus' flytrap to catch fish, oily roots to fatten animals) relies on the principle of hidden affinities and sympathetic magic where like affects like.

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The text portrays the river god as an active, teaching presence whose voice is heard in the cataract, and plants as dynamic agents that can influence the behavior of animals and humans.

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◆Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

The requirement that the mind must be kept fixed upon the purpose of the rite throughout a period of days suggests a form of disciplined inward attention or meditation.

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◆Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

The text explicitly mentions strict tabus for four or seven days and the requirement to keep the mind fixed on the purpose of the rite, indicating a necessary state of ritual purity for the ceremony's success.

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◆Word Power Incantationpraxis

The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.

The passage details how specific prayers ('takes it to water') and the act of rubbing/blowing chewed roots function as magical operations that directly alter reality, such as fattening deer or predisposing strangers to favor.

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Related passages · 1 parallel
◆renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LI — Of Certain Observations, Producing Wonderful Virtues|Chapter LI, Section 1b
“In like manner, spittle carried in the hand, or to spit in the shoe of the right foot before it be put on, is good when any one passeth through a dangerous place. They say that wolves will not come to a field if one of them be taken and hi…”
Both passages describe the use of plants and rituals for practical purposes such as hunting, fishing, and influencing others. They share a conceptual framework of using natural elements and rituals to achieve specific outcomes, reflecting a common human tendency to seek control over the natural and social worlds through symbolic actions.