Medicine Men & Healing Practices
Across the vast and diverse landscape of North America, indigenous tribes developed intricate systems of medicine and healing, deeply intertwined with their spiritual beliefs and intimate knowledge of the natural world. These practices, often shrouded in mystery and misunderstood by outsiders, represented a holistic approach to well-being, addressing not only the physical ailments but also the spiritual and emotional imbalances believed to be the root cause of illness. This article delves into the fascinating world of Native American medicine, exploring the roles of medicine men and women, the diverse methods they employed, and the enduring legacy of their traditional knowledge.
The term "medicine," as understood within Native American cultures, extended far beyond the simple administration of remedies. It encompassed a broad spectrum of influences, ranging from the tangible—herbal preparations and physical therapies—to the intangible—magic, prayer, and the power of suggestion. The goal was not merely to alleviate symptoms but to restore harmony within the individual and between the individual and the world around them. As contact with European settlers increased, the traditional methods gradually began to give way to Western curative practices. Reciprocally, settlers adopted valuable medicinal plants, such as cinchona, jalapa, and hydrastis, from the Native Americans.
Medicine Men & Healing Practices: Across various tribes, similarities existed in their approaches to healing, though the specific agents and techniques varied based on geographical location, tribal customs, and the expertise of individual healers. Medicine Men & Healing Practices frequently involved a combination of spiritual and practical elements. Magic, prayers, songs, exhortations, suggestion, ceremonies, fetishes, and specific remedies were often the exclusive domain of medicine men and women. Other remedies or procedures were proprietary, often known only to a few elder women within the tribe. However, knowledge of many herbal remedies and simple manipulations was common within a community.
Magic played a significant role in combating perceived malign influences, such as sorcerers, spirits of the dead, or mythic animals. The healer would employ the supernatural power of their fetishes and other means to counteract these negative forces. Prayers were directed to benevolent deities and spirits, seeking their assistance in restoring health. Healing songs, consisting of prayers or exhortations, were sung, and lectures or noises were directed at the evil spirits believed to be the cause of the illness. Suggestion, both direct and indirect, was also used to influence the patient’s state of mind and promote healing. Curative ceremonies often combined many of these elements, some of which were elaborate, lengthy, and costly. The fetishes used by Medicine Men & Healing Practices could be peculiarly shaped stones, lightning-struck wood, feathers, claws, hair, figurines of mythic animals, or representations of the sun or lightning. These objects were believed to embody a mysterious power capable of preventing disease or counteracting its effects.
Mechanical means of curing involved a range of physical techniques, including rubbing, pressure with the hands or feet, or with a sash or cord; bone setting; cut sucking; cauterizing; scarifying; blood-letting; poulticing; sweat baths; sucking of snake poison or abscesses; counter-irritation; tooth pulling; and bandaging. Dieting and total abstinence from food were also employed as forms of treatment. Herbal medicines were widely used. The selection of these medicines was sometimes based on the Doctrine of Signatures, the idea that a plant’s appearance or properties mirrored the ailment it was intended to treat. For example, a plant with a worm-like stem might be used to expel parasitic worms, or a plant with many hair-like properties might be used to cure baldness. Among the Apache, the sacred tule pollen, known as ha-dn-tin, was given or applied because of its supposed supernatural beneficial effect. Other plants were used as remedies simply for traditional reasons, without any formulated opinion as to their modes of action.
All tribes were familiar with plants that provided emotional release or induced vomiting, sweating, or coughing. They also possessed knowledge of poisonous plants in their vicinity and their antidotes. The parts of plants used as medicines were most often roots, but occasionally twigs, leaves, or bark. Flowers and seeds were rarely used. The plant parts were used either fresh or dry, most commonly after mashing and then boiling the items to extract the oils or other organic compounds.
A considerable quantity of the herbal preparation, sometimes as much as a cupful, was administered, usually in the morning. Only exceptionally was the dose repeated. Generally, only a single plant was used, but among some Indians, as many as four plants were combined in a single medicine. Proprietary medicines were often sold at a high price. Some of these plants possessed real medicinal value, but many were useless for the purpose for which they were prescribed.
Animal and mineral substances were also occasionally used as remedies. Among Southwestern tribes, the bite of a snake was often treated by applying to the wound a portion of the ventral surface of the body of the same snake. The Papago used crickets as medicine; the Tarahumare, lizards; and the Apache, spiders’ eggs. Among the Navajo and others, red ocher combined with fat was used externally to prevent sunburn. The red, barren clay from beneath a campfire was used by White Mountain Apache women to induce sterility; the Hopi blew charcoal, ashes, or other products of fire on an inflamed surface to counteract the supposed fire which caused the ailment. Although antiseptics were unknown, some of the cleansing agents or healing powders employed likely served as such.
Among some tribes, the term for medicine signified "mystery," while others distinguished between practices to produce miracles and actual medicines. Occasionally, the term "medicine" was extended to highly prized fetishes believed to be imbued with mysterious protective power over an individual or tribe. Such objects formed the principal contents of medicine bags. In many locations, a tribal medicine was prepared on special occasions. The Iroquois used such a remedy for healing wounds, and the Hopi prepare one on the occasion of their Snake dance. Among the tribes who prepare tiswin (alcohol brewed from corn) or tesvino (maize beer), particularly the Apache, parts of a number of bitter, aromatic, and even poisonous plants were added to the liquid to make it "stronger"; these were termed medicines.
The causes and nature of disease were often attributed to supernatural agencies. Illnesses not easily connected to a visible influence were generally regarded as the result of an introduction into the body by malevolent or offended supernatural beings or through sorcery practiced by an enemy. These beliefs, along with more rational understandings of minor ailments and injuries, led to the development of separate forms of treatment and varieties of healers.
Within every Native American tribe, individuals were recognized as possessing supernatural powers enabling them to identify, antagonize, or cure disease. Others were more knowledgeable about actual remedies than the average person. These two classes comprised the "physicians." Among the Dakota Sioux, one was called wakan witshasha, meaning "mystery man," and the other pejihuta witshasha, meaning "grass-root man." Among the Navaho, one is khathali, meaning singer or chanter, and the other was izéëlini, meaning "maker of medicines." Among the Apache, one is taiyin, meaning "wonderful," and the other was izé, meaning "medicine."
The "mystery man," or worker of wonders and miracles, was believed to have obtained from the deities, usually through dreams, but sometimes before birth, powers of recognizing and removing the mysterious causes of disease. They were "given" appropriate songs or prayers and became possessed of one or more powerful fetishes. After announcing or exhibiting these attributes and convincing their tribesmen that they possessed the proper requirements, they were accepted as healers. In some tribes, they were called to treat all diseases; in others, their functions were specialized, and their treatment was regarded as successful in only a certain line of affections. They were feared as well as respected.
In numerous instances, the medicine-man combined the functions of a shaman or priest with those of a healer, exercising great influence among his people. All priests were believed to possess some healing powers. Among most of the populous tribes, medicine men of this class were associated in guilds or societies and, on special occasions, performed great healing or "life (vitality) giving" ceremonies, which abounded in songs, prayers, ritual, and drama, extending over a period of a few hours to nine days.
The ordinary procedure of the medicine-man involved inquiring into the symptoms, dreams, and transgressions of the patient, whom they examined, and then pronounced their opinion as to the nature (generally mythical) of the ailment. They then prayed, exhorted, or sang, sometimes to the accompaniment of a rattle; made passes with their hand, sometimes moistened with saliva, over the part affected; and finally placed their mouth over the most painful spot and sucked hard to extract the immediate principle of the illness. This result was often apparently accomplished through sleight-of-hand, producing the offending cause in the shape of a thorn, pebble, hair, or other object, which was then thrown away or destroyed. Finally, they administered a mysterious powder or other tangible "medicine" and perhaps left a protective fetish. Variations of this method were numerous, and the medicine-man always exercised as much mental influence as possible over their patient. For these services, the healer was usually well compensated.
If the case would not yield to simpler treatment, a healing ceremony might be resorted to. If all means failed, particularly in the case of internal diseases or of adolescents or younger adults, the medicine-man often suggested a witch or wizard as the cause, placing the designated individual’s life in jeopardy. If the medicine-man lost several patients in succession, they themselves might be suspected of having been deprived of their supernatural power or of having become a sorcerer, the penalty for which was usually death. These shaman healers, as a rule, were shrewd and experienced men; some were sincere, noble characters, worthy of respect; others were charlatans to a greater or less degree. Medicine-women of this class were found among the Apache and some other tribes. The most accomplished of the medicine-men also practiced a primitive surgery aided by external manipulation.
The other class of medicine men and women closely corresponded to herbalists and old-fashioned rural midwives among white people. Women predominated in this type of healer. They formed no societies, were not as highly respected or feared as those of the other class, were not as well compensated, and had less responsibility. In general, they used much more common sense in their practice, were acquainted with the beneficial effects of sweating, poulticing, moxa, scarification, various manipulations, and numerous vegetal remedies, such as purgatives, emetics, etc. Some of these medicine-women were frequently summoned in cases of childbirth and sometimes were of material assistance.
Besides these two chief classes of healers, large medicine societies existed among some tribes, composed principally of patients cured of serious ailments, particularly among the Pueblos. At Zuni, several such societies existed. The ordinary members were not actual healers but were believed to be more competent to assist in the particular line of diseases that were the specialty of their society and therefore might be called by the actual medicine-men for assistance.
The Medicine Men & Healing Practices of Native Americans represents a complex and nuanced system deeply rooted in cultural and spiritual beliefs. While modern medicine has largely supplanted these traditional methods, their enduring legacy reminds us of the importance of holistic healing and the profound connection between humans and the natural world.