origin of were wolf
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IO UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STUDIES [262<br />
plishments seem to have arisen from the imitation <strong>of</strong> the motions<br />
and cries <strong>of</strong> animals, 32 at first to lure them, when acting as a<br />
decoy. With growth <strong>of</strong> culture came growth <strong>of</strong> supernaturalism,<br />
and an additional reason for acquiring dance and song was to<br />
secure charms against bodily 33 ills, and finally enlivenment. 34 In<br />
both dance and song, when used for a serious purpose, the performers<br />
imagined themselves to be the animals they <strong>were</strong> imi-<br />
^Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. 352: Tradition says the Iroquois derived the<br />
music and action <strong>of</strong> the Buffalo dance while on an expedition against the<br />
Cherokee, from the bellowing and the movements <strong>of</strong> a herd <strong>of</strong> buffalo<br />
which they heard for the first time 'singing their favorite songs,'<br />
i. e.<br />
bellowing and snorting." Also note 33.<br />
^Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. 266, gives a song to prevent frostbite. The<br />
<strong>wolf</strong>s, deer's, fox's, opossum's feet it is held never become frostbitten.<br />
After each verse <strong>of</strong> the song, the singer imitates the cry and the action <strong>of</strong><br />
the animal. The words used are archaic in form and may be rendered<br />
"I become a real <strong>wolf</strong>, etc." The song runs:<br />
1. Tsun' wa'