Motif
Blood of slain magician makes red medicine tree
blood_of_slain_magician_makes_red_medicine_tree
A motif of the Death, Rebirth, and Transformation family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
native american southeast
-
Myths of the Cherokee WAHNENAUHI VERSION / SECOND VERSION / SECOND VERSION / WAHNENAUHI VERSION; lines 20289-20375 confidence: high
A Cherokee myth says cedar's red color came from the blood of a wicked magician whose severed head was hung at the top of a tall cedar; the story is described as almost forgotten and probably close to a Yuchi myth.
The red color and medicine status of cedar are explained by a magician's severed head bleeding down the cedar trunk.
read in the book →