THE SMALLER REPTILES—FISHES AND INSECTS
There are several varieties of frogs and toads, each with a different name, but
there is very little folklore in connection with them. The common green frog is
called walâ′sĭ, and among the Cherokee, as among uneducated whites, the
handling of it is thought to cause warts, which for this reason are called the
same name, walâ′sĭ. A solar eclipse is believed to be caused the attempt of a
great frog to swallow the sun, and in former times it was customary on such
occasions to fire guns and make other loud noises to frighten away the frog. The
smaller varieties are sometimes eaten, and on rare occasions the bullfrog also,
but the meat is tabued to ball players while in training, for fear that the
brittleness of the frog’s bones would be imparted to those of the player.
The land tortoise (tûksĭ′) is prominent in the animal myths, and is reputed to
have been a great warrior in the old times. On account of the stoutness of its legs
ball players rub their limbs with them before going into the contest. The
common water turtle (săligu′gĭ), which occupies so important a place in the
mythology of the northern tribes, is not mentioned in Cherokee myth or folklore,
and the same is true of the soft-shelled turtle (uʻlănă′wă), perhaps for the reason
that both are rare in the cold mountain streams of the Cherokee country.
There are perhaps half a dozen varieties of lizard, each with a different name.
The gray road lizard, or diyâ′hălĭ (alligator lizard, Sceloporus undulatus), is the
most common. On account of its habit of alternately puffing out and drawing in
its throat as though sucking, when basking in the sun, it is invoked in the
formulas for drawing out the poison from snake bites. If one catches the first
diyâ′hălĭ seen in the spring, and, holding it between his fingers, scratches his legs
downward with its claws, he will see no dangerous snakes all summer. Also, if
one be caught alive at any time and rubbed over the head and throat of an infant,
scratching the skin very slightly at the same time with the claws, the child will
never be fretful, but will sleep quietly without complaining, even when sick or
exposed to the rain. This is a somewhat risky experiment, however, as the child
is liable thereafter to go to sleep wherever it may be laid down for a moment, so
that the mother is in constant danger of losing it. According to some authorities
this sleep lizard is not the diyâ′hălĭ, but a larger variety akin to the nextdescribed.
The gigă-tsuha′ʻlĭ (“bloody mouth,” Pleistodon?) is described as a very large
lizard, nearly as large as a water dog, with the throat and corners of the mouth
red, as though from drinking blood. It is believed to be not a true lizard but a
transformed ugûñste′lĭ fish (described below) on account of the similarity of
coloring and the fact that the fish disappears about the time the gigă-tsuha′ʻlĭ
begins to come out. It is ferocious and a hard biter, and pursues other lizards. In
dry weather it cries or makes a noise like a cicada, raising itself up as it cries. It
has a habit of approaching near to where some person is sitting or standing, then
halting and looking fixedly at him, and constantly puffing out its throat until its
head assumes a bright red color. It is thought then to be sucking the blood of its
victim, and is dreaded and shunned accordingly. The small scorpion lizard
(tsâne′nĭ) is sometimes called also gigă-danegi′skĭ, “blood taker.” It is a striped
lizard which frequents sandy beaches and resemble the diyâ′hălĭ, but is of a
brown color. It is believed also to be sucking blood in some mysterious way
whenever it nods its head, and if its heart be eaten a dog that animal will be
able to extract all the nutrient properties from food simply looking at these
who are eating.
The small spring lizard (duwĕ′ʻgă), which lives in springs, is supposed to cause
rain whenever it crawls out of the spring. It is frequently invoked in the
formulas. Another spring (?) lizard, red, with black spots, is called dăgan′ʻtû′ or
aniganti′skĭ “the rain maker,” because its cry is said to bring rain. The water dog
(tsuwă′, mud puppy, Menopoma or Protonopsis) is a very large lizard, or rather
salamander, frequenting muddy water. It is rarely eaten, from an unexplained
belief that if one who has eaten its meat goes into the field immediately
afterward the crop will be ruined. There are names for one or two other varieties
of lizard as well as for the alligator (tsula′skĭ), but no folklore in connection with
them.
Although the Cherokee country abounds in swift-flowing streams well stocked
with fish, of which the Indians make free use, there is but little fish lore. A
number of “dream” diseases, really due to indigestion, are ascribed to revengeful
fish ghosts, and the doctor usually tries to effect the cure invoking some
larger fish or fish-eating bird to drive out the ghost.
Toco creek, in Monroe county, Tennessee, derives its name from a mythicmonster fish, the Dăkwă′, considered the father of all the fish tribe, which is said
to have lived formerly in Little Tennessee river at that point (see story, “The
Hunter and the Dăkwă′”). A fish called ugûñste′lĭ, “having horns,” which
appears only in spring, is believed to be transformed later into the giga-tsuha′lĭ
lizard, already mentioned. The fish is described as having horns or projections
upon its nose and beautiful red spots upon its head, and as being attended or
accompanied many smaller red fish, all of which, including the ugûñste′lĭ, are
accustomed to pile up small stones in the water. As the season advances it
disappears and is believed then to have turned into a giga-tsuha′lĭ lizard, the
change beginning at the head and finishing with the tail. It is probably the
Campostoma or stone roller, which is conspicuous for its bright coloring in early
spring, but loses its tints after spawning. The meat of the sluggish hog-sucker is
tabued to the ball player, who must necessarily be active in movement. The
fresh-water mussel is called dăgû′nă, and the same name is applied to certain
pimples upon the face, on account of a fancied resemblance. The ball player rubs
himself with an eel skin to make himself slippery and hard to hold, and,
according to the Wahnenauhi manuscript, women formerly tied up their hair
with the dried skin of an eel to make it grow long. A large red crawfish called
tsiska′gĭlĭ, much resembling a lobster, is used to scratch young children in order
to give them a strong grip, each hand of the child being lightly scratched once
with the pincer of the living animal. A mother whose grown son had been thus
treated when an infant claimed that he could hold anything with his thumb and
finger. It is said, however, to render the child quarrelsome and disposed to bite.
Of insects there is more to be said. The generic name for all sorts of small
insects and worms is tsgâya, and according to the doctors, who had anticipated
the microbe theory several centuries, these tsgâya are to blame for nearly
every human ailment not directly traceable to the asgina of the larger animals or
to witchcraft. The reason is plain. There are such myriads of them everywhere
on the earth and in the air that mankind is constantly destroying them
wholesale, without mercy and almost without knowledge, and this is their
method of taking revenge.
Beetles are classed together under a name which signifies “insects with shells.”
The little water-beetle or mellow-bug (Dineutes discolor) is called dâyuni′sĭ,
“beaver’s grandmother,” and according to the genesis tradition it brought up the
first earth from under the water. A certain green-headed beetle with horns(Phanæus carnifex) is spoken of as the dog of the Thunder boys, and the
metallic-green luster upon its forehead is said to have been caused striking at
the celebrated mythic gambler, Ûñtsaiyĭ′, “Brass” (see the story). The June-bug
(Allorhina nitida), another green beetle, is tagû, but is frequently called the
curious name of tu′ya-dĭ′skalawʻsti′skĭ, “one who keeps fire under the beans.” Its
larva is the grubworm which presided at the meeting held the insects to
compass the destruction of the human race (see the story, “Origin of Disease and
Medicine”). The large horned beetle (Dynastes tityus?) is called tsistû′na,
“crawfish,” aʻwĭ′, “deer,” or gălăgi′na, “buck,” on account of its branching
horns. The snapping beetle (Alaus oculatus?) is called tûlsku′wa, “one that snaps
with his head.”
When the lâlû or jar-fly (Cicada auletes) begins to sing in midsummer they say:
“The jar-fly has brought the beans,” his song being taken as the signal that beans
are ripe and that green corn is not far behind. When the katydid (tsĭkĭkĭ′) is heard
a little later they say, “Katydid has brought the roasting-ear bread.” The cricket
(tăla′tŭ′) is often called “the barber” (ditastaye′skĭ), on account of its habit of
gnawing hair from furs, and when the Cherokee meet a man with his hair clipped
unevenly they sometimes ask playfully, “Did the cricket cut your hair?” (see
story, “Why the Possum’s Tail is Bare”). Certain persons are said to drink tea
made of crickets in order to become good singers.
The mole cricket (Gryllotalpa), so called because it tunnels in the earth and has
hand-like claws fitted for digging, is known to the Cherokee as gûlʻkwâgĭ, a
word which literally means “seven,” but is probably an onomatope. It is reputed
among them to be alert, hard to catch, and an excellent singer, who “never
makes mistakes.” Like the crawfish and the cricket, it plays an important part in
preparing people for the duties of life. Infants slow in learning to speak have
their tongues scratched with the claw of a gûlʻkwâgĭ, the living insect being held
in the hand during the operation, in order that they may soon learn to speak
distinctly and be eloquent, wise, and shrewd of speech as they grow older, and of
such quick intelligence as to remember without effort anything once heard. The
same desirable result may be accomplished with a grown person, but with much
more difficulty, as in that case it is necessary to scratch the inside of the throat
for four successive mornings, the insect being pushed down with the fingers and
again withdrawn, while the regular tabus must be strictly observed for the same
period, or the operation will be without effect. In some cases the insect is putinto a small bowl of water overnight, and if still alive in the morning it is taken
out and the water given to the patient to drink, after which the gûlʻkwâgĭ is set at
liberty.
Bees are kept many of the Cherokee, in addition to the wild bees which are
hunted in the woods. Although they are said to have come originally from the
whites, the Cherokee have no tradition of a time when they did not know them;
there seems, however, to be no folklore connected with them. The cow-ant
(Myrmica?), a large, red, stinging ant, is called properly dasûñ′tălĭ atatsûñ′skĭ,
“stinging ant,” but, on account of its hard body-case, is frequently called
nûñ′yunu′wĭ, “stone-dress,” after a celebrated mythic monster. Strange as it may
seem, there appears to be no folklore connected with either the firefly or the
glowworm, while the spider, so prominent in other tribal mythologies, appears in
but a single Cherokee myth, where it brings back the fire from across the water.
In the formulas it is frequently invoked to entangle in its threads the soul of a
victim whom the conjurer desires to bring under his evil spells. From a fancied
resemblance in appearance the name for spider, kă′năne′skĭ, is applied also to a
watch or clock. A small yellowish moth which flies about the fire at night is
called tûñ′tăwû, a name implying that it goes into and out of the fire, and when at
last it flits too near and falls into the blaze the Cherokee say, “Tûñ′tăwû is going
to bed.” On account of its affinity for the fire it is invoked the doctor in all
“fire diseases,” including sore eyes and frostbite.
Source:
Myths of the Cherokee, James Mooney