The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees

MOONEY.] THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT. 313

...fall into the hands of Swimmer. He was determined that Swimmer should never see his father’s papers, so the negotiations ended for the time.

When I returned to the reservation in July 1888, I made another effort to acquire the Gatigwanasti manuscripts and any others of the same kind that could be found. By this time, the Cherokee people had spent several months discussing the matter. They gradually began to realize that the goal was not to steal their knowledge and hide it away, but to preserve it for the world while also compensating them for it. Additionally, I took every opportunity to emphasize that I was familiar with the secret knowledge of other tribes and might be able to share as much information with them as they shared with me.

It was now much easier to approach them. When I visited Wilnoti again with the interpreter—who explained the situation thoroughly—he finally agreed to lend the papers for a time. He insisted on the same condition: that no one except the chief and the interpreter should see them, and specifically not Swimmer. However, he still refused to sell them. Nevertheless, this allowed me to use the papers, and after several weeks of repeated effort, I was finally able to purchase them outright. I received full permission to show them to anyone chosen to help with copying or explanation. Wilnoti was not motivated by money mercenary: motivated primarily by the desire for monetary gain. After the initial negotiations, the main challenge was overcoming his reluctance to part with his father’s original handwriting. Since obtaining the originals was essential, he was permitted to copy some of the more important formulas formulas: ritual prayers, spells, or medicinal prescriptions for himself, as he found it impossible to copy the entire collection.

These papers of Gatigwanasti are the most valuable part of the collection, making up a full half of the total. About fifty pages consist of love charms. The formulas are beautifully written in bold Cherokee characters Cherokee characters: the syllabary invented by Sequoyah in 1821. The instructions and headings are generally clear, supporting the common opinion that Gatigwanasti was a man of exceptional intelligence and skill. These traits were inherited by his son, Wilnoti, who is one of the most progressive and reliable men of the community, despite being young and not speaking English.

THE GAHUNI MANUSCRIPT.

The next book I obtained was from a woman named Ayâsta ("The Spoiler"). It had been written by her husband, Gahuni, who died about thirty years earlier. This arrangement was not difficult to make because Ayâsta had been employed on several occasions and understood the purpose of the work. Furthermore, her son had already been hired to copy and categorize the manuscripts I had already acquired. The book was claimed as common property by