Medicine Bags or Bundles

Medicine Bags or Bundles

"The mountains, I become a part of it…
The herbs, the fir tree, I become a part of it.
The morning mists, the clouds, the gathering waters, I become a part of it.
The wilderness, the dew drops, the pollen…I become a part of it."

– Navajo Chant

The concept of the medicine bag or bundle resonates deeply within numerous cultures, most notably among Native American tribes. More than a mere container, it represents a tangible link to the spiritual realm, holding items believed to imbue its owner with protection and sacred power. These bags, varying greatly in size and design, serve as personal and communal repositories of significant objects, each carefully selected for its inherent spiritual properties and its connection to the owner’s life journey.

A Vessel of the Sacred:

A Native American medicine bag or bundle serves as a portable sanctuary, a tangible embodiment of one’s spiritual beliefs and connections. Its size is dictated by the number and nature of the items it houses, ranging from small pouches worn discreetly around the neck to larger, more elaborate bags, often referred to as "bandoliers," carried with a long strap across the body. The bandolier style allows for the transport of a more substantial collection of sacred objects.

Historically, prominent figures within the community, such as medicine men and shamans, often possessed larger medicine bundles. These bundles were not merely personal items but represented their role as intermediaries between the physical and spiritual worlds. Within these larger bundles, one might find a diverse array of objects: seeds representing growth and abundance, potent herbs with healing properties, carefully chosen pine cones and grasses symbolic of the natural world, animal teeth and claws representing strength and connection to the animal spirit, horsehair signifying power and freedom, significant rocks imbued with earth energy, tobacco used for prayer and offerings, intricately crafted beads, sharp arrowheads symbolic of protection, bones holding ancestral wisdom, and a multitude of other items deemed spiritually valuable by the bundle’s owner. Warriors, too, carried medicine bags, albeit often smaller in scale, containing items significant to their personal power and protection, such as rattles for calling upon spirits, animal furs for courage and connection to the animal kingdom, and special stones believed to bring good fortune in battle.

Sacredness and Secrecy:

The medicine bag is regarded with profound reverence, seen as a tangible representation of a person’s spiritual life. Both the bag itself and its contents are considered sacred by the tribal community. The contents are meant to be kept secret by the owner. This secrecy underscores the deeply personal nature of the bag and its contents, reflecting the individual’s unique spiritual journey and relationship with the unseen world. The bundle should never touch the ground, which is why the bundles are to be securely wrapped. Prayers and rituals usually accompany the manufacture and opening of medicine bundles.

Furthermore, maintaining the integrity of the medicine bag involves adhering to specific protocols. The bag is often wrapped securely when not in use, and it should never be allowed to touch the ground, a sign of disrespect. The creation of a medicine bag, as well as its opening for ceremonies or personal reflection, is often accompanied by prayers and rituals, further emphasizing its sacred nature.

Communal and Generational Significance:

While individual medicine bags are deeply personal, entire tribes may also maintain communal bundles. These bundles are significantly larger and contain objects of profound significance to the entire community. Access to these communal bundles is often restricted to specific tribe members, entrusted with their care and handling. They are only opened on special occasions, such as ceremonies, celebrations, or times of great need, reflecting their collective power and importance.

The power imbued within medicine bags and bundles is believed to extend to various aspects of life, offering protection from harm, attracting good luck, ensuring successful hunts, and facilitating healing. These bags are not static objects but active participants in the owner’s life, constantly radiating their protective and beneficial energies. The legacy of the medicine bag often transcends individual lifetimes. They are sometimes buried with their owner, ensuring their continued spiritual journey, or passed down from one generation to the next, preserving ancestral wisdom and traditions.

Craftsmanship and Decoration:

The creation of a medicine bag is a meticulous and thoughtful process, reflecting the sacredness of its purpose. Traditionally, the pouch or bundle is crafted from leather, carefully stitched together with sinew or rawhide lace, ensuring its durability and longevity. The bag is designed to be worn, either suspended from the neck or attached to a belt, allowing the owner to keep it close at all times. While leather is the most common material, cloth may also be used.

The aesthetic of a medicine bag can vary greatly. Some are deliberately plain and unadorned, emphasizing the inherent power of the contents. Others are richly decorated, reflecting the owner’s personal style, tribal affiliation, and spiritual beliefs. These embellishments may include intricate paintings, delicate beadwork, detailed quillwork using porcupine quills, and the incorporation of tribal designs, medicine wheels representing the interconnectedness of life, and totems symbolizing animal spirits. Additional adornments may include feathers representing connection to the sky, beads adding color and beauty, metal elements providing strength and protection, and fringe creating movement and energy.

The Vision Quest Connection:

In many cultures, particularly among Native American tribes, the acquisition of certain items for the medicine bag is often linked to the transformative experience of a vision quest. The vision quest is a rite of passage, a deeply personal journey that involves significant self-sacrifice, such as fasting and prayer, undertaken over several days in an isolated location. The purpose of the vision quest is to establish contact with natural spiritual forces, seeking guidance and insight to unlock one’s potential and gain a deeper understanding of oneself, the community, and the world.

During the vision quest, the individual hopes to encounter a guardian spirit, often appearing in a dream or vision. This encounter is subsequently interpreted with the assistance of a Shaman, providing guidance and meaning to the experience. The items chosen for the medicine bag may represent the individual’s guardian spirit, serving as a constant reminder of the guidance received during the vision quest.

A Global Phenomenon:

While often associated primarily with Native American cultures, the use of medicine bags is not confined to North America. Evidence suggests that similar practices have existed in numerous cultures throughout the world, highlighting a universal human desire to connect with the spiritual realm and seek protection and guidance. Archeological discoveries, such as the remains of a man found high in the Swiss Alps in 1991, dating back approximately 5,000 years, included a medicine pouch among his possessions, demonstrating the ancient roots of this practice. Some historians believe that the use of medicine bags dates back even further, possibly as far as 10,000 years, based on murals found in an ancient city excavated in Turkey.

Creating Your Own Medicine Bag:

The desire to create a personal medicine bag, tailored to one’s individual needs and aspirations, is a natural extension of this ancient tradition. Intended to provide guidance, good luck, good health, protection, abundance, and even love, a personal medicine bag can serve as a powerful tool for self-discovery and spiritual growth.

In the Native American tradition, each bag often contains an item representing each of the four "kingdoms": the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the mineral kingdom, and the human world. Examples from these kingdoms might include a flower representing beauty and growth (plant), a feather symbolizing connection to the spirit world (animal), a stone embodying strength and stability (mineral), and a key representing unlocking potential (human).

Specific examples of items from each kingdom include:

• Plant Kingdom: Sage, sweetgrass, cedar (for cleansing and purification), corn, bean, and squash seeds (representing abundance), flowers, leaves, tobacco, roots.

• Animal Kingdom: A lock of hair, mane, or tail, a bone or tooth, a feather, a claw or nail, a shell.

• Mineral Kingdom: A stone fetish, a healing stone, gems and crystals, a flint stone, an arrowhead, dirt, sand.

• Human World: A photo, a key, a charm, a personal item, a coin.

Other items might include small objects with personal meaning, such as a charm, an inherited item, a shell found during a memorable vacation, a baby’s picture, or a special note. These are things that evoke positive emotions and serve as reminders of cherished memories and experiences.

Consider researching your totem animal, also known as your power animal or spirit animal. Native beliefs hold that a totem animal accompanies you throughout your life, in both the physical and spiritual realms. Representing your spirit animal in your bag can connect you to its unique strengths and guidance.

Take a walk in nature, observing, listening, and picking up objects that resonate with you. Do you feel a strong connection to a particular item? Have you brought certain items home in the past without knowing why? A rock, a leaf, a memento from a special occasion – these may be items that belong in your bag.

Reflect on your specific needs, desires, and aspirations. What do you wish to manifest in your life? If you seek balance, include items representing balance, such as balancing symbols or amethyst stones, believed to promote balance, motivation, memory, and healing. If you desire increased mental and physical strength, add an arrowhead or agate stone. For more love, include a small piece of rose quartz.

Some people maintain multiple medicine bags, each carried for different purposes: one for managing stress, another for healing, and another for promoting happiness.

The medicine bag is a sacred object, often worn around the neck, close to the heart. It can also be worn on a belt, placed in a pocket, carried in a briefcase or purse, worn under clothing, placed on a saddle, kept in a car, or even placed under a pillow at night. Keeping it close connects you to your spiritual self and facilitates healing.