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164 p. 55 166 put them on the buck skin, folded that, and taking it, said 'I am going home, when all responded wâh. He then walked towards the east, accompanied by his right hand man — put the herbs in some dry place where they would never get wet, and went to his house. soon after, the man who sung the yo wa, arose, and said, "I am going." All again responded wâh. Then the seven counsellors and the speaker arose, one by one, spake in the same manner, and being answered wâh left the house. The the people after waiting a few minutes all retired silently to their houses, and the festival closed.
Note .1 Previous to the first sacrifice when the priest first spread the buck, doe and fawn skins, sprinkled them with blood + all in the house men women and children, took each a white bead and wetting it with spittle, put it on the skin, the men putting theirs on the buck skin, the women theirs on the doe skin and the children theirs on the fawn skin. These beads were taken by the priest, and in case any of the people were taken sick, he was to determine by these whether they would live or die. — Note 2. The hymn, yo wa, is not now understood by any of the Cherokees. It is probably expressed in what is termed the old language. Many now living remember the last of their people who spake that language. Many are said to have been most religiously attached to to their old ways. But respecting the old language I have never been able to obtain much information more than to know a few individual words.
There is one word in the above song worthey of notice viz. Ani tsu si, in the 5th line or verse. The old man who only had this hymn, knew nothing of the meaning of it, nor of the jews: and the young man who translated the word jews as found in the Bible, knew nothing of this word in the above hymn, yet in translating they rendered jews into Cherokee by the word Ani tsu si, exactly the same word found in the above hymn.
Note. 3. In reading to Maj. Lowrey certain traditions respecting the journey through the wilderness &c. he was ready to suspect that our good friends, had received from certain Quakers, (long ago in the nation) indirectly, and without knowing whence it came, some of the information they had communicated. yet his findings did not lessen, to any considerable degree, my confidence in the traditions. Because in the first place, Maj. Lowrey began, evidently, to be a little suspicious that any evidence of their being jews, would militate against their continuance in this country. And second, I cannot suspect the veracity of the men who gave me those traditions, as having been certainly handed down from their fathers.