To Shoot Dwellers in the Wilderness

INAGË'HÏ AYÂSTIⁿYÏ.

Usïnuli'yu Selagwû'tsï Gigage'ï getsû'ⁿneliga tsûdandâgi'hï aye`li'yu, usïnuli'yu. Yû!

Translation.

TO SHOOT DWELLERS IN THE WILDERNESS.

Instantly the Red Selagwû'tsï strike you in the very center of your soul--instantly. Yû!

p. 373

Explanation.

This short formula, obtained from A`wani'ta, is recited by the hunter while taking aim. The bowstring is let go--or, rather, the trigger is pulled--at the final Yû! He was unable to explain the meaning of the word selagwû'tsï further than that it referred to the bullet. Later investigation, however, revealed the fact that this is the Cherokee name of a reed of the genus Erianthus, and the inference follows that the stalk of the plant was formerly used for arrow shafts. Red implies that the arrow is always successful in reaching the mark aimed at, and in this instance may refer also to its being bloody when withdrawn from the body of the animal. Inagë'hï, "dwellers in the wilderness," is the generic term for game, including birds, but A`wani'ta has another formula intended especially for deer.