State

Myth Keeper Of The Cherokees II aid il no l boon for flic* efforts «if Swimmer, much Indian li<»rifuj'e would have b«ken lost. tty A. BRUCE HARTUNfi '7 know noi how the 1 m 1I1 may he. / tell the tale as 7 was told to me." James Mooney of (he U.S. Bureau of American Ethnology first visited (he Qualla reservation of (he Cherokees in 1877. Mooney's lime was chiefly spent in gathering plants which the Cherokees used for food and medicinal purposes and learning not only their Indian names but their uses and modes of preparation as well. Mooney soon became aware that the actual medicine and its application was secondary to the rituals and "words" used there¬ with. Thus it became evident to him that a shaman i Stic culture still existed which affected the history, religion, and every-day lives of these people. The forced deportation of the Cherokees to Oklahoma changed tribal traditions with those people far more than years of slow development would have. However, a goodly number of Cherokees remained and in the se¬ cluded forests of Nantahala and Oconaluftee the ancient ways per¬ sisted. Cherokees lend to be for¬ ward-looking. but as Mountain folk they also guard well the past. By the time Mooney got to Qualla in 1877. the missionaries had influenced the Cherokees and most of them had em¬ braced Christianity, but the Cherokee priest still repeated the mystic rituals of his ancestors. The outward appear¬ ance of the Cherokee had changed, yet the heart of the Indian was still his own — and in many ways is still today. In attempting to research the sacred myths and formulas of the Cherokees. Mooney formed an aquaintance with a shaman named A 'yuiY inTor "Swim¬ mer." This true aboriginal antiquarian ultimately contributed three-fourths of the material which Mooney collected. Had it not been for Swimmer's efforts, a substantial part of the heritage of these people would have faded into oblivion. Swimmer was born about 1835 and at the time of the deportation was only 32 a small child. His family stayed be¬ hind. hiding in the hills, where he grew up under the instruction of the old Cheaikee masters. His tribal educa¬ tion prepared him to be jointly a doc¬ tor. priest, and keeper of traditions to the extent that he was recognized by both the Cherokees and Whites alike. No tribal function was complete without his presence. Although he spoke in English, he read and wrote fluently in the syllabary of the Cherokees developed by Sequoya. During the Civil War. he served as second sergeant of the Cherokee Company A. Sixty-ninth North Caro¬ lina Confederate Infantry. Thomas Legion. As the leading shaman of his people, he always dressed the part. He wore moccasins and a turban and car¬ ried a rattle as a symbol of his position of authority. The Swimmer Manuscript Mooney spent several days with Swimmer and gained from him much information regarding myths and cus¬ toms. From him we have the myth "Origin of the Bears." and the Bear Songs which are sung in early morning to insure good hunting. Sw immer was hesitant to tell much, but Mooney's approach was that information should be preserved so that w hen the old men were gone the world would still be aware of the knowledge of the Cherokees. Despite pressure from other shamans. Swimmer cooperated and at length produced a book and an¬ nounced. "Look at that and now see if I don't know something." The Swimmer Manuscript The book proved to be an Indian pharmacopoeia of about 240 pages. Here were all those prayers, songs, and prescriptions which had been so closely guarded. Prescriptions given were for the cure of all sorts of diseases — chills, rheumatism, frostbite, wounds and witchery. Love charms to fix the affections of a woman were A*yii.» -01 ргоЬоЫу >K« foromoit of TKf Cherokee myth keeperi Born about 1835. he 9 «*« up under the imifuciion ot if* old Cherokee molten itudymg to be о doctor. poeit. and myth or troditioa keeper. He ipoke no Englnh ond ol-oyi -ore the turban and corned о gourd rottle as a symbol of hit petition given as well as those charms used to insure good hunting, fishing, or suc¬ cess in the ball play. Prayers were to make corn grow and insure long life. Prayers were specifically directed to the Long Man. the Yellow Rattle¬ snake. the Ancient White, and the various othei gods of the Cherokees. Swimmer admitted that other sha- mens had similar books and agreed to make for Mooney a copy of his book for posterity. This book was deposited w ith the Bureau of Ethnology w here it still reposes and is known as the Swimmer Manuscript. Although Swimmer passed-on in 1899. his legacy lives today. At the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in the town of Cherokee, one may listen on the "hear phones" to the legends of the myth keepers. "This is what the old men told me when I was a boy." begin such legends as the "Origin of Fire." "The Milky Way." and the "Origin of Strawberries." His earthly remains lie buried in the Cherokee way on the slope of a forest-clad mountain: yet the spirit of A 'yun' ini' endures as long as the Cherokee myths arc retold. — October. 1 98 1 THE STATE. January 1984