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NATIVE AMERICAN MEDICINE :
The gathered information
passed down from Grandmother to medicine man or woman over thousands
of years by the many North American tribes is now called collectively
"Native American Medicine." Some of the practices and remedies
are from specific tribes, but more often these are all gathered together
and the origin of a specific treatment has been lost among the ages.
As well it should be, perhaps, for the tribes of North America all
believed one thing in common, that we are all at one with every other
living thing in the sky and earth, and the elements are here for us
to draw on their strength and cure disease, if only we would stand
still long enough to listen. We are talking about medical practices
over 40,000 years old. Traditions, cures, dances and remedies handed
down through orally within a family and tribe.
It is an interesting fact that the Native American Medicine tradition
was going on around the same time as TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medicine)
on the other side of the world, and that both these traditions of
practicing medicine are similar to Ayurveda ( medicine from India),
in yet another part of the world.
All are based on the same beliefs-that your lifestyle and natural
setting be taken into consideration before a specific type of treatment
is recommended. Balance is the goal when achieving perfect health
and emotional spirit. The subtle differences in the practice of such
medicine are that cures and herbs are specific to the regions and
the types of indigenous plants that are used.
These plants are believed to have their own spirits and therefore
their individual intelligence, so that the plants are often consulted
as to how best to help the patient. The plants are asked for permission
to harvest them, and then gratitude is shown after the harvest, a
practice which also can be found in ancient Celtic cultures. In Wales,
pieces of copper or other metal were buried near the plant or under
the tree from which the bark, root, or leaves had been harvested,
in North American Medicine; tobacco is often used as an offering of
gratitude. After these medicinal plants are harvested, they are applied
in conjunction with chants, prayers, and dances to increase their
power and to ask the spirits to help with the healing process.
A purification procedure is used before and after the healing session;
smudging is to burn an herb and let the smoke wash over you and the
room in which the treatment will be/was preformed. Healers smudge
between each session to purify and cleanse them and to release ant
energy they might have gathered from the sick patient.
Sage and cedar drive away the negative energy, like the energy released
with the pain from a sick person, or the negative energy the healer
has picked up as a result of taking the pain from the patient and
into them. Far from the cooking spice, sage grows wild in many dry
parts of North America, especially in the Southwest, but it can be
found as far north as Eastern Washington State. Cedars has great healing
and soothing powers, but if you burn it, make sure all of the smoke
has dissipated before you enter the room, it is also poisonous. Sweet
grass invites positive and happy spirits to join the healing circle,
and they like something sweet to be placed in a corner of the room
to snack on during the session. They love singing accompanied by the
sound of drums and rattles.
The session will likely include some acupressure (uses the fingertips
rather than needles), massage, and/or therapeutic touch. The laying
on of the healer's hands is very calming and is used to soothe the
patient as well as define where the pain is radiating from. Pain radiates
heat, and the seasoned healer can feel this coming off the patient
in much the same way a mother puts her hand on a sick child's forehead
to feel for fever.
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