INTRODUCTION

 "We can and do relate to the Universe as a whole; we are a microcosm of the macrocosm and this relationship intoxicates us" - Thomas Aquinas)

North America’s Indigenous people have an enduring heritage of connections with the natural world and universe. Native spiritual life believes that all forms of life in the Natural World are inter-connected. No distinction is made between the spiritual and the secular because it is a holistic, total way of life.

Prior to European contact, Indigenous cultures in North America had highly developed coherent belief systems that included cosmologies--creation myths, transmitted orally from one generation to the next, which explained the origins of The People and their relationship to the wider natural world.

The oral narratives of The People were generally assumed to be a formulation of their beliefs in the supernatural origins of the world. In other words, a system of belief that explained the world as it was. It is also evident that the creative imagination of the storytellers had been at work and the various charaters and heroes were also made to furnish amusement by their adventures and pranks. For example, the Raven narratives came as a result of the Northwest coast people's close proximity to this fun-loving and sociable black bird.

Some Native peoples worshiped an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator or "Master Spirit", a being that assumed a variety of forms and both genders. This concept came to be more widely accepted in post-European contact history when Native people were exposed to Christianity and its idea of a Supreme Male Being. The idea of a "Creator" was introduced, but tribal societies would not go so far as to 'gender' this entity, therefore Creator is neither male or female. Tribal societies also venerated or placated a host of lesser supernatural entities, including evil sorcerers and witches who visited disaster, suffering, and death upon the world.

Members of most tribes believed in the immortality of the human soul and an afterlife. Like many cultures, Indigenous societies sought to enlist the aid of the supernatural in controlling the natural and social worlds, and each tribe had its own set of observances devoted to the celebration of their beliefs. Individuals tried to woo or appease powerful spiritual entities with private prayers or sacrifices of valuable items (e.g., gifts of fur, tobacco, food). Entire communities sought divine assistance to ensure a successful hunt, a good harvest, or victory in war. They called upon the spirit Doctors, whom they believed to have acquired supernatural powers through visions. The Spirit Doctors** carried out special ceremonies, songs and dances.

** The modern term is 'Shaman' which is incorrect within North American Indigenous circles as there is no Native translation for it because it pertains primarily to those living in Central Asia. As North America's Indigenous peoples originated on Turtle Island the word does not apply.

Many tribes have unique concepts of the world and its place in the universe. One theme understood the universe as being composed of multiple layers. The Earth was the middle segment. The Lower World (below the Earth). The Supernatural World (the world of the Ancestors, above the Earth). Some tribes believed these layers were linked by the World Tree (Tree of Peace), which had its roots in the underground, and its trunk passed through the natural world, and ascended up into the sky world thereby 'tying' the three worlds together in an unbreakable bond. Other tribes believed that Spider Woman wove a special web that connected the worlds.

SPIRIT DOCTORS 

By Shannon Thunderbird and Kate Dickson
(copyrighted) 

Time has not always been kind to the Indigenous Spirit Doctor; terms such as 'witch doctor' or the 'Devil's servant' have frequently been used to describe the nature and responsibilities of this very special and important person. The correct term ‘Spirit Doctor’ in lieu of the term ‘Shaman’ is being used. 'Shaman' is a term that came from central Asia and as a result there is no word in any Native language for the word ‘Shaman’.  

There are Spirit Doctors who do not act in the best interests of the people. As in all situations in life, both the positive and negative occur. A negative Spirit Doctor (Sorcerer) is someone who, like many others, does not have, (a) full understanding of his role, (b) does have a full understanding but has become corrupted with his powers, or (c) is 'burned out' after a number of years carrying heavy responsibilities. Whatever the case, they have been known to reap incredible damage and it is these people who have earned, for all Spirit Doctors, the labels of witch doctor, devil's servant, sorcerer, etc. That said, this article chooses to deal with the Spirit Doctor as a positive role model and healer as they outnumber the negative ones by a huge margin. 

A Spirit Doctor subscribes to neither the aforementioned labels; indeed, h/she is more accurately described as a healer, visionary, mystic, poet. More to the point, h/she is an intermediary between the people and the Lowerworld/Upperworld.  As such, h/she is a healer first and a prophet second. A Spirit Doctor can be either male or female (referred to hereafter for single use as 'he' because Spirit Doctors are predominantly male); he has become a Spirit Doctor after much initiation and soul searching.

While a Spirit Doctor does carry a certain tabu, he does not stay secluded from the people. He is involved with everyday activities and expected to earn his way.  When not directly involved in a healing capacity, he becomes a teacher for other healers and certainly the children or planning for an upcoming event. In other words, he is approachable on a variety of levels.

In Indigenous cultures, every problem is treated seriously for a group's very survival depends on healthy attitudes and healthy bodies.  It is believed hat a person can become diseased or open to disease if that person's guardian spirit has left or been lost. It becomes the job of the Spirit Doctor to go in search of that spirit and bring it back, or, if it is lost, bring back another one.

How does he do this? You need to imagine a tree, its roots buried in the ground, its trunk tall and its branches and leaves in full foliage. To the Native, trees hold a great significance as roots are seen as the past, trunks are seen as the present and branches/leaves are seen as the future.  In keeping with this symbol, the roots are the Lowerworld, the trunk is the journey and the branches/leaves are the Upperworld. (It should be understood that a Spirit Doctor may also choose to journey through other methods such as mentally picking a cave entrance, a waterfall, etc; however, more often than not, the tree symbol is used because the notion of the tunnel -up and down- is the constant).

In order to find what he is searching for, the Spirit Doctor's understanding allows him to give of his soul and give up his soul. The giving 'of his soul' means he uses his energy in the service of the patient(s); the giving 'up of his soul' means he must provide a receptacle to bring back what is needed. He cannot lose or leave his own soul behind because (a) he understands what the journey entails and is so prepared, (b) he could die, and (c) the drum and the rattle keep him connected.

Upon entering the world of altered consciousness, the Spirit Doctor picks a mental point in his tree to enter and begins his journey. If, for example, he is in search of a lost guardian spirit, he goes to the Lowerworld to acquaint himself with the roots (or past) of the patient. He may, indeed, find the spirit there.  If not, he travels to the Upperworld, the future (branches/leaves) to see if the spirit has 'gone ahead'. If he finds the spirit, he comes back down the trunk and exits at the point of entry. Upon his return, he blows the spirit back into the patient through the chest/head areas. The Tsimshian Spirit Doctor, for example, uses a 'soul catcher'. It is usually carved from hollowed bone, and is intricately carved (see below). If the spirit has been lost and a new one found, he returns and blows the new spirit into the patient's body whereupon the patient must rise and begin to dance, making noises and movements of the new spirit so that it can feel at home and want to stay.  If a physical disease is the problem, the Spirit Doctor goes in search of the special cure that is needed.

What is important to understand is not only the connections the Spirit Doctor has with himself and his guardian spirits, but the connection he has with the patient(s). There is, put in modern words, a contractual agreement between the two and interestingly, when the Spirit Doctor begins his journey (along with the drum and rattle), he will lie down beside the patient, with a view to sharing the energy of Great Spirit. The patient must feel that h/she has an investment in the cure in order for it to be long lasting.

The Spirit Doctors’ spirits can move freely and are often gone during waking hours. They will meet the Spirit Doctor as he enters the tunnel inside the trunk. They may all go to the Lowerworld and work together or some may go to the Upperworld and beckon the Spirit Doctor upwards if they find what he is looking for. Since this is a mental journey, time is based on the Spirit Doctor (of course, if it is an immediate life-death situation, the Spirit Doctor will stay conscious of the time).

As mentioned above, the Spirit Doctor does not invalidate anyone's experiences; he will never tell another that only a fantasy exists. He completely understands that everything occurring is a reality and occurring in real time and that every symbol in his journey has a message. He will contemplate even the most unusual happenings and see how they fit in with what he already knows, for all matters are part of the truth by which he lives. As a side note, a Spirit Doctor may wear a mask when journeying so that a lost spirit, for example, will recognize the face of its owner and come back. Pacific northwest coast Spirit Doctors do not wear masks.

Spirit Doctors, like anyone else in service professions, carry heavy responsibilities to serve the people well and judiciously. From predicting the hunt to accurately naming a child to healing the physically infirm to repairing the mentally infirm, it falls to the Spirit Doctor to underwrite the survival of the people. It takes, as it does with anyone who has the responsibility of maintaining groups of people, tremendous physical stamina, strength of purpose and courage of conviction to carry on, walk in one’s own truth and stay true to one's destiny.

The Spirit Doctor embodies the warrior, healer, teacher and visionary archetypes. They represent the four directions on the medicine wheel and accurately describe the kind of person a Spirit Doctor must be as the backbone of healthy tribal life.

In summary, the primary purpose of the Spirit Doctor is to help others; by helping patients transcend their ordinary realities, the Shaman can help them rise above their view of themselves as sick or diseased.  When they can do this, the Spirit Doctor knows from the results of his work that he has become a true Spirit Doctor.

There are five main symbols attached to the Spirit Doctor:

 DRUM: Referred to by Native people as 'horse', 'canoe', such reference implies a vehicle of sorts.  In other words, on the heartbeat (Mother Earth) drum rhythm, the drum, while keeping the Spirit Doctor grounded in the present world, carries him to the unseen worlds where he must travel to find the necessary properties for healing purposes.  The drum calms his body and provides a focus of sound.

RATTLE/SHAKER: A higher, sharper pitch of sound, the rattle serves to  keep the Spirit Doctor connected to his Ancestors (grandmothers/grandfathers, Ancestor Spirit Doctors) and is used to call them to come and assist. Often the Ancestors are sleeping or traveling, and must be called back gently from their deep sleep, the shaker serves this purpose. While the intensity of the sound recedes the further down/up he goes, it is vibrant enough for the Spirit Doctor to hear it in the background. Its secondary use of the shaker also helps to keep him connected in the present world.

STAFF OR WALKING STICK: Used to direct and receive the higher spiritual energies.  It is often decorated with symbols of his personal power; feathers, fur, small bells, animal teeth, hair, coloured ribbons B anything deemed important to spiritual connection. While other items may come and go, the walking stick is a permanent tool, once it has been completed.

MEDICINE BUNDLE/BAG: When beginning his career, the Spirit Doctor must undergo visionquests that allow him to find his true power, his guardian spirits (which may number to several hundred depending on his age and experience).  The guardian spirits may vary; he might have a power animal(s), plants, inorganic objects such as stones or gemstones, all of which fulfill certain functions and aid him in his journey of discovery. He must also have the knowledge of medicines, history of his people, good oratory skills, dancing and singing ability.  He also has assistants who will drum and rattle for him as he journeys.

SOUL CATCHER (PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST): The Soul Catcher was used for healing work, not necessarily for use after the patient had gone to his/her day of quiet. In death, it was expected that the soul would leave and find its way to the light. There were other ceremonies to ensure this happened.

The Tsimshian, Inuit, Tlingit Spirit Doctors used soul catchers as an important part of their healing work, as physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health are all intertwined. They make up the four realms of human existence. A healthy spirit (soul) anchored the other three parts. If the soul became lost while separated from the body during a dream, or was driven out by sorcery (either self-inflicted or by someone else), the body was now empty. A spirit doctor was engaged to find the lost soul, capture it in a soul catcher and restore it to the patient. Soul retrieval is a very complex and special ceremony.

Once the soul was found, the Spirit Doctor then placed one end of the soul catcher near the solar plexus and blew the person’s spirit back into them. This prevented illness from invading the "empty" body. Loss of soul can also be considered a metaphor for some sort of mental or emotional breakdown.

Soul Catchers were most often carved from the leg bone of a grizzly or brown bear. Because bear femurs were large, much bigger soul catchers could be created to plug the smoke hole of the healing house just in case the soul tried to make a premature getaway! There were also 'plugs' made from cedar bark to plug the holes at either end of the soul catcher to hold the soul until it was blown back into the patient.

MASKS

Masks symbolize what they are designed to depict: animals, heroes, characters in a drama, wind, rain, supernatural beings, spirits of good and evil, ancestors, gods, spirits of nature, and so forth. They have also been used for satire and buffoonery, for terrorizing others, as emblems of special groups, to cause laughter or fear, to cure disease, and to impersonate people or supernatural beings. On the Pacific Northwest coast, for example, Masks were an integral part of the dance dramas at Potlatch ceremonies. They were elaborately carved. Photo is a Moon Mask. Masks were also worn by Spirit Doctors as the spirit in the Mask empowered the healer with more power and energy.

For more on Pacific Northwest Coast -

COAST TSIMSHAN BELIEFS
THE WORLD OF THE SUPERNATURAL

THE PLAINS

The world of the supernatural for The Plains was through the following elements. 

• Guardian Spirit - a supernatural being who gave the individual special songs, prayers and symbols which would protect against evil and death.

• Vision Quest - where an individual ventured out alone to 'cry for a vision that would bring the guardian spirit.

• Spiritual Doctors - He (there were female Spiritual Doctors among Teton Dakota, but Spiritual Doctors were predominantly male) was the direct intermediary between the supernatural and physical worlds. He also functioned as a healer because most Plains believed that illness was a result of evil supernatural intervention. (See Above)

• Sacred Medicine Bundles - See Spiritual Doctor above)
  
  For more about Pipes 
  
  

• Community Ceremonials such as the Sun Dance. The Sun Dance represented a continuous circle of life that included both the seen and unseen worlds.  Death and rebirth sing the same song - it was Chief Joseph who was purported to have said, that 'there is no such thing as death, the Ancestors are simply living in another world.'  All the worlds are interconnected and depend upon each other. "Powerful animals exhibit both physical and spiritual powers, just as the medicine man and shaman do, and as do the grains of tobacco in the sacred pipe." (Smart p. 527)

HAUDENOSAUNNE

The supernatural world of the Haudenosaunne was based on the story of a woman who fell from the sky. She was saved by the water beings and eventually when land was formed on the back of a turtle, she brought life to the new world.  This version of Creation is very elaborate and filled with earth-diver themes, supernatural aggression and cruelty, sorcery, torture, and cannibalism.

DEMON GODS - Giant heads without bodies which fly about in storms. They find humans to be very tasty.

DEOHAKO -  Spirits of maize, beans and gourds who live together in a single hill. Searching for dew, the maize spirit Onatha was captured by the evil spirit Hahgwehdaetgah who took her off to the underworld. Sun rescued her, and ever since she has remained in the cornfields until the corn is ripe.

The Mohawk have a lengthy sacred narrative that is filled with rich themes and wondrous characters including a woman who births a Wind-daughter, who, in turn, has two sons, one "good," one a trickster. Mohawk stories have a strong basis in gratitude. Humans are constantly being told to be grateful for the bounty of the earth lest it be destroyed by inattention. Wise people, the Mohawks.

As was the case with most Native storytelling, winter was the time to gather around the fire and enjoy stories. Skilled Haudenosaunne storytellers entertained their listeners with popular stories about ghosts and supernatural creatures. Colourful characters such as Naked Bear, Monster Mosquito, and the Horned Serpent clashed with witches and talked with animals.

MI'KMAQ

The Mi’kmaq see their world as having many levels of existence. As is the case with most Native nations, they see each member of the living world for example, animals, celestial world, humans, mountains, fire, wind, thunder as "persons" that co-habit with one another. The concept of Power is also a prevalent theme, how it is attained, how it is lost, how it is re-gained, and most importantly the responsibilities and consequences for those who have power. Power is was both respected and feared by the Mi’kmaq.

CELESTIAL THEME: It tells of two sisters who point out stars they want to marry. To their surprise, they wake up the next morning with new husbands and find themselves in the World Above the Sky. Seeing how upset they are, their husbands let them return to their world, but give them strict instructions to follow.

HOW DO HUMANS RELATE TO THE UNIVERSE

• It is always a positive and uplifting experience 

• "We can and do relate to the universe as a whole since we are a microcosm of that macrocosm and this relationships intoxicates us." (Thomas Aquinas)

• We are all born with a little mysticism in our souls. We do and can 'star gaze' and dreams the dreams that contents our lives.

• Our connections to the Universe ground our souls in something greater than ourselves and reminds us that we are not the most powerful living beings, in fact it is the opposite, humans are and always will be, the weakest.

• It is a life-long journey that balances itself in four ways: the positive aspects of the journey; the negative aspects of the journey, the creative way through acknowledge creativity; the transformative way through living in a 'good way' - that is with justice, balance, harmony, dignity, wisdom, courage, healing, compassion, love and celebration.

• Everyone can sing, dance, pray, meditate.  Everyone can empower themselves and release themselves into the unknown - we can empower each other and our communities.

• We are the descendants of that which created the Universe in the first place, therefore, we carry divine blood in ancient brains.

• We know that we are connected to all living beings by an unbreakable, unshakeable belief that we are the children of The Great Mystery.

Do Not Be Afraid To

Gaze at the Stars and Greet Your Brothers and Sisters!

WHEN THE UNIVERSE WAS AN INFANT

A satellite that can peer so far back in time  has snapped the first "baby pictures" of the universe only a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang. The above is called the "cosmic microwave background" and Astronomers are giving a current date of 13.7 billions years to the age of the Universe.

According to the scientists, the world is in a serious mid-life crisis. The satellite currently orbiting the sun 1.6 million kilometres farther out than the Earth measures temperature changes down to the millionths of a degree. The energy left over from the Big Bang has taken more than 13 billion years to reach Earth, traveling at the speed of light. It is similar to energy generated by a microwave oven.

Dark Energy is on the rise. Not this is not a new superhero movie. Dark Energy is a force that is steadily increasing to the point that it is dominating the universe causing it to blow apart at a rapidly accelerating rate (and here we thought we just had problems with our world!)

 A GIRL WITH STARS IN HER EYES AND A SERIOUSLY UNIVERSAL BRAIN!

Physicist, Dr. Fotini Markopoulou (Waterloo, Ontario, Institute for Theoretical Physics) is thinking in a bold new way about the universe. Even Einstein was stumped in coming up with a theory that combined the two dominant yet contradictory descriptions of how the universe works - relativity vs. quantum mechanics.

Relativity: describes space and time at the grand scale where gravity is the dominant force.

Quantum Mechanics describes the smallest scale, far down inside atoms where different forces prevail.

So how do you combine the small picture with the big picture and still have a plausible explanation?  Just ask the young and brilliant Dr. Markopoulou.  She says that by combining the two theories into a single view of "quantum gravity" or "Theory of Everything."  In other words, the universe is not a smooth space-time continuum as Einstein posited, but, rather a "lumpy tabletop" of a network of individual atoms that are themselves composed of small packages of space-time ("Quanta" is another word for small packages).

Not only is this a whole new idea, it is provable!  Dr. Markopoulou's theory will be tested by a NASA telescope scheduled to go into orbit in three years.  The telescope will search for gamma ray bursts that erupt from stars.  If the universe is "lumpy", then smaller photons of light from the burst will take longer to reach Earth than bigger photons.  Dr. M. postures that, "the smaller photons will wind up traveling farther because they dip down into the gaps between the lumps."  Who knew?

Photon: Electromagnetic energy that has both particle and wave properties: it has no charge or mass but possesses momentum and energy, rather like the Pacific Northwest Coast Transformer Figure, Raven.

FOR MORE ON TRIBAL BELIEFS  ART OF STORYTELLING

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