THE GROUNDHOG DANCE
Cherokee
SEVEN wolves once caught a groundhog. They said, “Now we’ll kill you and have something to eat.”
Groundhog said, “When we find good food, we should rejoice over it, as people do in the green-corn dances. You will kill me, and I cannot help myself. But if you want to dance, I’ll sing for you. Now this is a new dance. I will lean up against seven trees in turn. You will dance forward and then go back. At the last turn you may kill me.”
Now the Wolves were very hungry, but they wanted to learn the new dance. Groundhog leaned up against a tree and began to sing. He sang,
Ho wi ye a hi
and all the Wolves danced forward. When he shouted “Yu!” they turned and danced back in line.
“That’s fine,” said Groundhog, after the first dance was over. Then he went to the next tree and began the second song. He sang,
Hi ya yu we,
and the Wolves danced forward. When he shouted “Yu!” they danced back in a straight line.