Healing
In Native American religions, healing the sick is often part of religious practice. Healers may use religious knowledge to cure physical and mental illnesses. In addition, healers are frequently well known for their understanding of local plant remedies.
Some healers undergo years of training to acquire great depths of religious knowledge. Others are considered specialists not because of particular training but because they have an inherent ability to interact with the spirit world or have been selected by a spirit to become healers. In many Native traditions, healers are also religious leaders.In addition to the Navajo chantways we learned about earlier in this chapter, Navajo healing ceremonies also use an art form known as sand painting. The Holy People gave the paintings to the Navajo people. As the name suggests, sand paintings are created using vivid colors of sand and other dry materials such as pollen. The paintings are created on the floors of hogans and treat illnesses by bringing individuals into alignment with nature. A healer, or singer, selects the subjects of the painting in consultation with the family of the person being treated; these may include animals, plants, and mythic figures.
During the ceremony, the afflicted person is seated in the center of the painting, which tells one of the creation stories. As sand is applied to his body, he identifies with the Holy People depicted in the painting. During the treatment, the painted figures are thought to come to life to aid in the healing of the patient. After the ceremony is complete, the painting is destroyed and the sand is removed. In the past, Navajo people never kept permanent copies of the paintings because it was thought that it would diminish their healing power. Today, small paintings are sometimes produced for sale, but ideally these permanent paintings should not represent or depict the important figures and symbols used in healing practice.
Medicine bundles may also be an important part of healing in Navajo communities. The bundles contain a variety of religiously significant objects, and some items may be very old.
Navajo singers usually own their own bundles and use the powers of the items in the bundle in healing. Other Native communities use similar bundles in healing.-5
Women have often been highly regarded for their expertise in healing. A well-known twentieth-century spiritual healer was Mabel McKay (1907-1993), a Porno woman of Northern California. As a young woman, Mabel was called to be a liaison between her people and the spirit world. Spirit guides told her that she would develop a special gift of healing. Here, Mabel McKay’s close friend Greg Sarris describes how a spirit called her to be a healer.
The spirit talked to her constantly now.... Sometimes it felt as if her own tongue were moving, shaping the words she was hearing. This happened when she sang the songs that came loud and clear. “Am I going crazy?” she asked once.... “No,” the spirit said, “it’s me. And what is happening is that you have an extra tongue. Your throat has been fixed for singing and sucking out the diseases I’ve been teaching you about. It’s talking. It’s me in you.” “Well, how am I to suck?” Mabel asked. ‘You’ll know when you get to that point. You will have a basket to spit out the disease. All your baskets will come from me. Like I told you. Watch how things turn out.”—