“We have the opportunity to build a Rainbow bridge into the Golden Age. But to do this, we must do it together with all the colors of the Rainbow, with all the peoples, all the beings of the world. We who are alive on Earth today are the Rainbow Warriors who face the challenge of building this bridge,"
~Brooke Medicine Eagle, Daughter of the Rainbow, Crow and Lakota ~
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Kautantowit's Mecautea
Ceremony & Ritual
Manual
Though Native Americans‘ spirituality, ceremonies, and rituals were often referred to as “religion,” most did not consider it in the way Christians do. However, it was labeled as such by American writers, soldiers, and settlers, who called it such, perhaps because they didn’t know how to otherwise describe the rituals and ceremonies. The Native Americans, themselves, believed that their rituals and practices formed an integral and seamless part of their very being. Like other aboriginal peoples around the world, their beliefs were heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, – from hunting to agriculture. They also embraced ceremonies and rituals that provided power to conquer the difficulties of life, as wells as events and milestones, such as puberty, marriage, and death. Over the years, practices and ceremonies changed with tribes‘ needs.
From tribe to tribe, these rituals exhibited a great deal of diversity, largely due to the relative isolation of various cultures that were spread out across the the North American continent for thousands of years. However, most all “religions” were closely connected to the land and the supernatural, addressing an ever present invisible universal force.
Historic Indian traditions also used many plants and herbs as remedies or in spiritual celebrations, creating a connection with spirits and the after life. Some of these plants and herbs used in spiritual rituals included Sage, Bear Berry, Red Cedar, Sweet Grass, Tobacco, and many others.
Though Native Americans‘ spirituality, ceremonies, and rituals were often referred to as “religion,” most did not consider it in the way Christians do. However, it was labeled as such by American writers, soldiers, and settlers, who called it such, perhaps because they didn’t know how to otherwise describe the rituals and ceremonies. The Native Americans, themselves, believed that their rituals and practices formed an integral and seamless part of their very being. Like other aboriginal peoples around the world, their beliefs were heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, – from hunting to agriculture. They also embraced ceremonies and rituals that provided power to conquer the difficulties of life, as wells as events and milestones, such as puberty, marriage, and death. Over the years, practices and ceremonies changed with tribes‘ needs.
From tribe to tribe, these rituals exhibited a great deal of diversity, largely due to the relative isolation of various cultures that were spread out across the the North American continent for thousands of years. However, most all “religions” were closely connected to the land and the supernatural, addressing an ever present invisible universal force.
Hoop Dance
The Hoop Dance is a White Mountain Apache healing ceremony. During the ceremony, the sick person is seated on a blanket facing east. The dancers – one boy and one girl at each of the four cardinal directions – dance inward toward the patient. The boys place their hoops over the patient’s head and the girls place the crosses which they carry over the patient’s head. This is repeated four times. Next, there are ceremonies involving the four directions in which the hoops are placed over the patient.
First Moccasin Ceremony
The Apache have the First Moccasin ceremony to celebrate a child’s first steps. The ceremony is held at the new moon with the children wearing newly made outfits and their first moccasins. The purpose of the ceremony is to keep the children healthy and strong. The ceremony includes a feast and a gift give-away as well as songs, prayers, dances, and blessings with pollen.
Sharing Ceremony
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Sharing was a way of life for the people of the Plateau. They believed no one could survive on their own.
To teach children to share, the first time a child caught a fish or collected berries or nuts or roots, that food was always given away to other members of the family in a special ceremonial meal. Everyone invited to the feast shared in the food except the guest of honor, the child. The child did not go hungry but he or she could not eat any of the food served at the ceremonial feast.
Spirit Ceremony
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A very important ceremony was the spirit ceremony. The people of the Plateau believed everyone had a spirit guide. Your spirit guide was your special guide to health, safety, success, and happiness. But spirit guides did not simply show up one day. Kids had to find them, in a sense. They had to have a vision, where they actually saw their spirit guide. Guides usually appeared in the form of an animal, or the ghost of an animal.
Around age 9, kids began the process of finding their individual spirit guide. Kids seeking a vision would talk to the tribal medicine man, the Shaman. Some tribes had the Shaman give them something special to drink. Some tribes dunked the kids in icy cold water. Some believed a steam bath would help them have a vision. Some kids were sent into the mountains to spend a day or two without food or water in the hopes that a vision would come to them. The technique varied, but the goal was the same for most of the tribes on the Plateau – to find your spirit guide.
The belief in spirit guides was very strong. Sooner or later, everyone saw their spirit guide. It gave the people of the Plateau great comfort and courage to know a magical being was on their side, looking out for them personally. In the culture of the people of the Plateau, everyone had a job – spirit guides were no exception. Their job was to care for and caution when needed their person to keep them safe from harm. Spirit guides were not with you every moment of every day. They were guides. You could ignore their advice and direction, just as you could ignore the direction of a hunt leader – but it might get you killed if you did.
Midwinter Ceremony
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The Midwinter Ceremony consist of the Tobacco Invocation, the Dream Sharing Ritual, the False Face Society, the Peach Stone Game, the Bear Dance, the White Dog Sacrifice, the Great Feather Dance, The Big Heads and the Stirring of the Ashes, and a closing ceremony. These events take place over the course of ten days with no specific order, but generally begin with The Big Heads and the Stirring of the Ashes and ends with a closing ceremony.
Generally, the first of the activities is the Big Heads and the Stirring of the Ashes. A group of anonymous messengers called the Big Heads visit the tribe's longhouse. They wear ceremonial outfits made of buffalo skins and braided cornhusk masks which symbolize the hunt and the harvest. They also carry a corn mashing mallet used in the Stirring of the Ashes. In the Stirring of the Ashes, the Big Heads go from house to house stirring the ashes in fire pits of each household while they ask that the New Year brings renewal and fertility to the land. This is gesture of gratitude to "The Creator" as ashes serve as a symbol of the earth and the cycle of life.
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The next ritual to usually take place after the Stirring of the Ashes is the Tobacco Invocation. It consists of sprinkling tobacco in the embers remaining from the Stirring of the Ashes or outright smoking as an offering. The smoke that rises from the burning tobacco symbolically rises to the heavens to sign of giving thanks and to give messages to the Creator and other spirits (Molin).
The Dream Sharing Ritual serves as a ritual of healing. It serves as a way to get rid of troubling thoughts and a way to make wishes come true as the Iroquois believe that dreams represent ways to resolve real life problems. Tribe members would describe their dreams in front of others so they may give their interpretation of the events that take place in the dreams. The person who has the best interpretation has to then aid the tribe member in seeing that the issue gets resolved. For dreams that represent physical or mental ailments, they dreamer is sent to the False Face Society which is a group of medicine men.
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The False Face Society is a group of Iroquois medicine men who wear masks made out of wood. These people can consist of either men or women, but only the men wear the traditional masks. They are said to have the ability to scare off the evil spirits that cause illness. Those who are deemed of needing healing during the Dream Sharing Ritual are sent to these medicine men during their gathering. Healing rituals consist generally of blowing or rubbing hot ashes from a fire on those in need of curing.
The Bear Dance is another healing ritual that coincides with the False Face Society gathering. It is conducted by both men and women by lumbering and waddling like bear counter clockwise around a person that was ill. This can be done either privately or publicly. The Iroquois believed that this dance can heal the problems of person that were placed upon them from the previous year.
The next event is the Peach Stone Game. This game symbolizes the Iroquois creation story where the Creator and his evil brother played a game in competition during the creation of the Earth, the renewal of the Earth like the Stirring of the Ashes, and the battle for survival of crops. The game consists of six peach pits which are coloured black (through burning for example) on one side. They are placed in a bowl and shaken while two teams take turns placing bets in the form of beans on how many black sides will face up. The teams are given an equal number of beans, and the first team to lose all of their beans loses the match. The results of this game are also used to predict the successfulness of the coming year's harvest.
One of the following events is the White Dog Sacrifice. Originally, this ritual consisted of killing a white dog, a symbol of purity, by strangulation as to leave no marks. The dog was then adorned in red paint, feathers, beads, wampum, and ribbons. It was placed on fire along with tobacco so that smoke may carry their, sacrifice, and prayers to the Creator. Today, however, the act of killing a white dog is replaced by a white basket due to the animal cruelty in the original proceedings of the ritual.
The final event before the closing ceremonies is the Great Feather Dance. The dance is held on eight night of the nine-day festival, and serves as way to welcome the new spiritual year as well as thanking the Creator. Dancers wear traditional tribal clothing and turtle shell rattles, and dance to two singers that sit facing each other. They give thanks to all the Creator has bestowed upon them during the previous year by dancing in rhythm and shaking the rattles.
The Hopi Flute Ceremony takes place every August for 9 days on the mesas of northeastern Arizona. The Flute Ceremony doesn't attract as many visitors as some of the other Hopi celebrations, but it is still central to the Hopi beliefs. The purpose of the Flute Ceremony is to encourage rainfall and promote the growth of corn, which is the primary food of the Hopi nation.
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Thunder Ceremony
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Thunder Ceremony is held twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall.
Tobacco is needed from everyone who attends. Food items are: strawberry drink, fried bread, and corn soup. Candy, fruit and cookies for the Ratiweras is brought.
Preparation for inside the long house goes like this:
First a large bench is placed in the middle of the floor and boxes or baskets (2) are placed on this bench. This is where the people who bring items (cookies, candy and fruit) for the Thunder are placed. A stick is also placed on the bench.
Second: a fire is built outside at the west corner of the long house. Here a pot of soup, pitcher of drink and some bread is placed before the tobacco is burned.
Once the people have arrived, one man will stand and ask if there is anyone on the other side of the long house who can enlighten the people to the proceedings of the day.
The other side of the long house will either say yes there is, announce the name or say no and pass the proceedings back to the other side of the house. The man chosen to enlighten the people will stand and announce how the day will run. He will say one man is chosen to gather the tobacco. One man is chosen to burn the tobacco. One man is chosen to yell three times (tenhatsa:kaienhte). One man from each side will be chosen to sing the Wasa:se song. One man is asked to build the fire outside.
The chosen speaker will also tell how the people will come up to give thanks to the Thunder. First all the Chiefs, Clan Mothers, and Faith Keepers will come up and give thanks for all the work the Thunder have done (fall time) or will do (spring time). After they are finished, the rest of the people can give thanks.
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The speaker will inform the people that we will be going out the eastern door, around the house to the fire to give thanks to the Thunder. We will be re-entering through the western door at which time the Singers and Thunder will start to sing and dance. As the Chiefs, Clan Mothers, and Faith Keepers come up to give thanks, they will take the stick and hit the bench so the singing and dancing will stop. They will say their personal thanksgiving, hit the bench with the stick again, at which time the singing and dancing will resume. This will go one until everyone has given thanks.
Outside at the fire the speaker will do the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen and recount from the Creation how the two brothers created everything. Some of the creatures created by Shawiskera were so hideous that people would go instantly insane if they were to see them. Teharonhiawa:kon banished these creatures into a huge hole in the earth and asked our grandfather the Thunder Beings to help keep these hideous creatures from surfacing by using their thunder and lightning. We are all grateful for our grandfather the Thunder Beings for washing the earth of disease, for replenishing our waters, watering our gardens and quenching our thirst. We are especially grateful for protecting us from severe thunderstorms.
The Apache Sunrise ceremony or na’ii’ees is an arduous 4 day ceremony that an Apache girl goes through after her first menstruation (the “moon cycle”). The ceremony takes place in the summer following the girl’s first menstruation (always begins on a Friday). For four days and four nights, the girls will dance and run into the four directions (symbolizing the four stages of life, beginning in the east). The girls also receives and gives gifts, being introduced to their ability to heal.
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The ceremony often involves months of preparation and teachings beforehand. Making the girl’s symbolic attire and building the lodge requires time and effort. The girl also has to undergo a physical and demanding regime to strengthen her physical endurance. Her family is also involved, as they provide the food and gifts to those in attendance.
Once the ceremony begins, the girl is guided by the medicine man and her sponsor (a godmother who is spiritually strong and a model of wisdom) through many “events or stages”. This includes hours of dancing (increasing as the days go by) oftentimes in tandem with a partner she chooses. Running is also part of the ceremony with the girl running to the four directions. Overall, it is an intense physical ceremony for the girl. However, it is interspersed with massages from the girl’s sponsor to “mold her” into Changing woman or White Painted Woman. It is also a spiritually intense ceremony, involving numerous hours of singing, chanting and praying.
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the girl is covered (more than a sprinkle) with a mixture of clay and corn meal that she cannot wash off for the four days (a test in mental strength right there!). During the last day of the ceremony, she blesses her people with pollen as well as gets in touch with her healing powers by healing those who seek her touch and blessing.
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​A girl who goes through the ceremony of transition into womanhood is believed to be provided with special blessings. It is not for the faint of heart and is taken seriously by the young girl and her family. It involves a lot of preparation and a financial commitment on the part of the girl’s family (in modern days, families often combine so that the ceremony can be performed for more than one girl, reducing financial costs). The selection of a godmother also involves specific steps. Indeed, the godmother is not given any warning as to when she will be asked and is asked in the hours preceding the sunrise. An eagle feather and a turquoise stone are often brought and given in appreciation.
Soyal Solstice Ceremony
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Seasons are marked by the turning of the sun on the solstices. The winter solstice has been marked as a time of great importance since the ancient times. The winter solstice signifies the birth of the new year and the beginning of Winter. Many ancient ceremonies acknowledged the winter solstice including Yule, Christmas and Saturnalia which all occurred in mid December. The ancients were hunters and farmers and the seasons and weather played a vital role in their lives. Winter was often harsh and many people did not survive the winter season. Ceremonies and rituals such as the Soyal Solstice Ceremony were observed as a time to make offerings, prayers and powerful supplications to the spirits for protection.
The Soyal Solstice Ceremony is also called the Great Feast of the Winter Solstice and is celebrated by the Southwest Pueblo, Zuni and Hopi tribes of Native Americans. The Soyal solstice ceremony is held on December 21 which is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the Winter Solstice. The purpose of the Soyal ceremony and ritual is to bring the sun back from its long winter slumber. The Soyal Solstice Ceremony is a major Hopi ceremony which is celebrated over a period of 16 days which starts with prayers and supplications and ends with a feast and Kachina Dance. The Native American name for this important ceremony is 'Soyalangwul' from which the term 'Soyal is derived.
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The Pueblo Indians depended on accurate predictions of major astronomical events such as a solstice or equinox to allow them to prepare for important ceremonies, dances and rituals. The task of making accurate astronomical events, such as the summer and winter solstice, was assigned to the Sun Priest called the 'Cacique' by the Pueblo or the Pekwin by the Zuni.
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The Southwestern Pueblo, Zuni and Hopi tribes celebrated the Great Feast of the Winter Solstice, the Soyal Solstice Ceremony, to turn the sun back toward its summer path and renew the life stages for the coming year. The Hopi and Zuni believe that the sun god has traveled the furthest distance from the tribe at the winter solstice, so warriors and other powerful members of the tribe were tasked to entice the sun back. They therefore performed Kachina dances as part of the Soyal Solstice Ceremony.
A Kachina was powerful being or spirit who, if given due veneration and proper respect, could use their powers for the good and well being of the people, bringing rainfall, healing, fertility, or protection. There are more than 400 different types of kachina in the Pueblo culture, each holding different powers and influence. Kokopelli is the most famous of all the Kachina spirits. Kachina spirits are represented by dolls and emulated at ceremonies, called Kachinas, in which the participants wear masks and highly colorful costumes. The Great Feast of the Winter Solstice, the Soyal Solstice Ceremony, is a typical Kachina dance and ceremony that acknowledges the success of the Soyal Solstice Ceremony and shares its blessings with all of the community. The first kachina to appear is Soyal depicted as a shabbily dressed figure who totters along in the movements of an old man.
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Kachina ceremonies are prepared with great care. The Kiva is a special sacred building, often built underground, in which the Peublos prepare for the kachinas including the Soyal Solstice Ceremony. The Kiva is symbolic of the fourth world, the home of the Kachina spirits. Prayer Sticks were prepared in the Kiva and used for various rituals, including the Soyal Solstice Ceremony, for calling forth spirits in the evocation of a prayer.
Green Corn Festivals
Also called the Green Corn Ceremonies, this both a celebration and religious ceremony, primarily practiced by the peoples of the Eastern Woodlands and the Southeastern tribes including the Creek, Cherokee, Seminole, Yuchi, Iroquois, and others. The ceremony typically coincides in the late summer and is tied to the ripening of the corn crops. Marked with dancing, feasting, fasting and religious observations, the ceremony usually lasts for three days. Activities varied from tribe to tribe, but the common thread is that the corn was not to be eaten until the Great Spirit has been given his proper thanks. During the event, tribal members give thanks for the corn, rain, sun, and a good harvest. Some tribes even believe that they were made from corn by the Great Spirits. The Green Corn Festival is also a religious renewal, with various religious ceremonies. During this time, some tribes hold council meetings where many of the previous year’s minor problems or crimes are forgiven. Others also signify the event as the time of year when youth come of age and babies are given their names. Several tribes incorporate ball games and tournaments in the event. Cleansing and purifying activities often occur, including cleaning out homes, burning waste, and drinking emetics to purify the body. At the end of each day of the festival, feasts are held to celebrate the good harvest. Green Corn festivals are still practiced today by many different native peoples of the Southeastern Woodland Culture.