animal spirits

animal_ally forest Cherokee single tradition · 1

Animal spirits are believed to impose diseases on humans in revenge for killing; each species is said to have invented a specific disease to plague mankind. They can retaliate against hunters who have treated them badly by sending bad dreams that cause loss of appetite, sickness, and death. To avoid this, hunters must follow traditional protocols that honor the animal and spiritual world, maintaining balance.

Sources

Source passages

“animal spirits who had been treated badly could retaliate by sending bad dreams to the hunter.”

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