Songs of Power and Appeasement: The Magic/Religion Distinction in Cherokee Songs and Prayers

I began my study of religion as a hobby years before I formally entered the academic world. During my informal studies I never gave much thought to just what religion is. I gleaned the bookstore shelves in sections marked " Religion, " never considering why some books appeared on these shelves and others appeared on the " New Age and Occult " section. My study of religion was simple — my conceptions were dictated by the bookstore shelves. Upon entering college to study religion formally, I still had not given this question much thought until a class on Native American traditions challenged me to consider how " religion " is classified. Religion suddenly became much more complicated. In my research on the Cherokee tradition, I found myself having to explain why I was including such " secular " activities regarding love and medicinal practices in an essay on religion. Love and medicine in modern Western conception are almost entirely secular. If someone has an illness and wants to be healed, they usually do not go to their local religious leader. Nor does one go to a religious leader for help in attracting a member of the opposite sex. However, within traditional Cherokee culture, a religious leader was often approached for just these purposes. So it was necessary for me to find theories that justify placing " magic " within the interpretive paradigm of religious studies.