Research source

N he goes through and climbs up on the other side until he comes to the house of a great beneficent spirit, who…

Date of account: Material collected chiefly 1887-1890; published 1900
Source: Myths of the Cherokee Extract from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology
Reference: Myths of the Cherokee Extract from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology · selected passage 125
Rights: public_domain
Language: English with Cherokee names and material translated from oral testimony
Translation: Collected and edited by James Mooney
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

n he goes through and climbs up on the other side until he comes to the house of a great beneficent spirit, who is designated, according to the Indian system of respect, as grandfather

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

n he goes through and climbs up on the other side until he comes to the house of a great beneficent spirit, who is designated, according to the Indian system of respect, as grandfather. On learning his errand this helper gives him "medicine" by which he will be able to enter the spirit world, and instructs him how and in what direction to proceed to find his sister. "He said she would be at a dance, and when she rose to join in the movement he must seize and ensconce her in the hollow of a reed with which he was furnished, and cover the orifice with the end of his finger." He does as directed, secures his sister, and returns to the house of his instructor, who transforms both into material beings again, and, after giving them sacred rituals to take back to their tribe, dismisses them by a shorter route through a trapdoor in the sky.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

Lattice compares motifs and reported features without assuming that a traditional being is a biological species or that similar stories document one external cause.

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