Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/334

 2 Journal of American Folk-Lore.

invoked with prayer and fasting on every important occasion of life, from the very birth of the infant, in health and sickness, in war and love, in hunting and fishing, to ward off evil spells and to win suc- cess in friendly rivalries. Purification in the running stream is a part of every tribal function, for which reason the town-house, in the old days, was always erected close to the river bank.

We shall speak here of ceremonial rites in connection with the running stream, saying nothing of the use of water in the sweat-bath or in ordinary medico-religious practice, beyond noting the fact that in certain cases the water used by the doctor must be dipt out from a waterfall. Two distinct formulistic terms are used for the rite, one of which signifies " plunging into the water," the other " dipping up the water," nearly corresponding to our own " immer- sion " and " sprinkling " in baptism. Whenever possible, the priest selects a bend in the river where he can face toward the east and look up-stream while performing the ceremony, which usually takes place at sunrise, both priest and petitioner being still fasting.

When the new-born child is four days old, the mother brings it to the priest, who carries it in his arms to the river, and there, standing close to the water's edge and facing the rising sun, bends seven times toward the water, as though to plunge the child into it. He is careful, however, not to let the infant's body touch the cold water, as the sudden shock might be too much for it, but holds his breath the while he mentally recites a prayer for the health, long life, and future prosperity of the child. The prayer finisht, he hands the infant back to the mother, who then lightly rubs its face and breast with water dipt up from the stream. If for any reason the cere- mony cannot be performed on the fourth day, it is postponed to the seventh, four and seven being the sacred numbers of the Cherokee.

At regular intervals, usually at each recurring new moon, it is customary among the more religiously disposed of the old conserva- tives, for the whole family to go down together at daybreak, and fasting, to the river and stand with bare feet just touching the water, while the priest, or, if properly instructed, the father of the house- hold, stands behind them and recites a prayer for each in turn, after which they plunge in and bathe their whole bodies in the river. One of my interpreters, whose father was an acknowledged medicine-man, told me, with shivering recollection, how, as a child, he had been compelled to endure this ordeal every month, even in the depth of winter, when it was sometimes necessary to break a hole in the ice for the purpose. Following is a literal translation of one of the regu- lar ritual prayers used on this occasion : —

" Listen ! O, now you have drawn near to hearken, O Long Man at rest. O helper of men, you let nothing slip from your grasp. You

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