The Night Has a Naked Soul: Witchcraft and Sorcery Among the Western Cherokee

Rating:
Summary: Read John and Anna Kilpatrick Instead
Review: Alan Proctor is the son of the two very wonderful scholars: John and Anna Kilpatrick. In this book, he took their unpublished notes and add his own commentary. They obviously left this information unpublished because of the volatile nature of the subject. In his comments about Cherokee people and even his own relatives, Alan is both patronizing and insulting. He writes from an Anglo anthropological perspective that is out of touch with the Cherokee community. There are so many other books on Cherokee culture that are far superior to this book.

Rating:
Summary: Read John and Anna Kilpatrick Instead
Review: Alan Proctor is the son of the two very wonderful scholars: John and Anna Kilpatrick. In this book, he took their unpublished notes and add his own commentary. They obviously left this information unpublished because of the volatile nature of the subject. In his comments about Cherokee people and even his own relatives, Alan is both patronizing and insulting. He writes from an Anglo anthropological perspective that is out of touch with the Cherokee community. There are so many other books on Cherokee culture that are far superior to this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Night Has A Naked Soul
Review: Cherokee mysticism was seldom whispered about in the outside world until James Mooney began his scholarly research in 1891. And there had been no comprehensive study of Cherokee supernaturalism since until Alan Kirkpatrick undertook this study. This is an excellent source book which examines in depth the Cherokee sacred formulas, the idi:gawé:sdi, which have been largely hidden and almost forgotten by this generation. Kirkpatrick discusses shamanic text which serves to cloak the spells in a "secret language whose meanings can only be deciphered by those who have the key and thus are initiated into the code." Some of the spells discussed include those for divining, for poultice making, to counteract evil thinkers, to forget the dead and to trap night walkers. I must add that these spells are considered "ritually dead" and can only be revived by observing certain well-guarded ceremonial purification rites. This is not a story book with a well constructed plot and a breath-taking ending. Rather it is an "instruction manual" geared to those on the Medicine Path who need help understanding the Way.

Rating:
Summary: A very interesting look into Cherokee beliefs
Review: Even though this book was a requred text I was really surprised to see that Native Americans have beliefs in witchcraft. The book is really worth the purchasing and was really worth my time. Kilpartick made a hard subject simple and easy to understand.