tribes generally Adair says: "They use the feathers of the eagle's
tail in certain friendly and religious dances, but the whole town
will contribute, to the value of 200 deerskins, for killing a large
eagle--the bald eagle they do not esteem--and the man also gets an
honorable title for the exploit, as if he had brought in the scalp
of an enemy." [543]
Timberlake says that the Cherokee held the tail of an eagle in the
greatest esteem, as these tails were sometimes given with the wampum
in their treaties, and none of their warlike ceremonies could be
performed without them (Memoirs, p. 81). The figurative expression,
"a snowbird has been killed," used to avoid offending the eagle
tribe, is paralleled in the expression, "he has been scratched
by a brier," used by the Cherokee to mean, "he has been bitten
by a snake." Professional eagle killers existed among many tribes,
together with a prescribed ceremonial for securing the eagle. The most
common method was probably that described in a note to number 98,
"Gana's Adventures among the Cherokee." A detailed account of the
Blackfoot method is given by Grinnell, in his Blackfoot Lodge Tales,
pp. 236-240. The eagle, being a bird of prey, as well as a sacred bird,
was never eaten.
The shifting of responsibility for the killing to a vicarious victim is
a common feature of Indian formulas for obtaining pardon, especially
for offenses against the animal tribe or the spirits of the dead. A
remarkable parallel to the Cherokee prayer, from the Quichua of Peru,
is given by Dr G. A. Dorsey. Having started, with a party of Indian
laborers and a Spanish gentleman who was well acquainted with the
native language, to examine some cave tombs near the ancient city
of Cuzco, they had arrived at the spot and he was about to give the
order to begin operations, when the Indians, removing their blankets
and hats, knelt down and recited in unison in their own language a
prayer to the spirits of the dead, of which the following translation
is an extract:
"Chiefs, sons of the sun, you and we are brothers, sons of the great
Pachacamac. You only know this, but we know that three persons exist,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is the only difference
between you and us.... Chiefs, sons of the sun, we have not come to
disturb your tranquil sleep in this, your abode. We come only because
we have been compelled by our superiors; toward them may you direct
your vengeance and your curses."
Then followed sacrifices of coca leaves, aguardiente, and chicha,
after which they called upon the snow-capped mountain to witness
their affection for their ancestors, and were then ready to begin work
(Dorsey, A Ceremony of the Quichuas of Peru, in Journal of American
Folk-Lore, October, 1894).
Night birds--Says Adair of the Southern tribes (History of the American
Indians, p. 130, 1775): "They reckon all birds of prey, and birds of
night, to be unclean and unlawful to be eaten." The mixed feeling of
fear and reverence for all night birds is universal among the Western
tribes. Owls particularly are believed to bring prophetic tidings to
the few great conjurers who can interpret their language.
The hawk--This, being a bird of prey, was never eaten. The following
incident is related by Adair, probably from the Chickasaw: "Not
long ago when the Indians were making their winter's hunt and the
old women were without flesh meat at home, I shot a small fat hawk
and desired one of them to take and dress it; but though I strongly
importuned her by way of trial, she as earnestly refused it for fear
of contracting pollution, which she called the 'accursed sickness,'
supposing disease would be the necessary effect of such an impurity"
(Hist. Am. Indians, p. 130).
Chickadee and titmouse--Adair speaks of having once observed a
party of Southern Indians "to be intimidated at the voice of a small
uncommon bird, when it pitched and chirped on a tree over their camp"
(op. cit., p. 26). At a conference with the Six Nations at Albany in
1775 the Oneida speaker said: "We, the Six Nations, have heard the
voice of a bird called Tskleleli (Tsikilili'?), a news carrier, that
came among us. It has told us that the path at the western connection,
by Fort Stanwix, would be shut up by either one party or the other." In
reply, the commissioners said: "We apprehend the bird Tskleleli has
been busy again; he seems to be a mischievous bird and ought not
to be nourished or entertained" (New York Colonial Documents, VIII,
pp. 612, 628, 1857). The bird name is in the Oneida dialect. Bruyas
gives teksereri as the Mohawk name for the tomtit.