Divine Beings

Almost all American Indians engage in religious practices based on a personal spirit or totem in their daily lives. However, it seems that some communities have a greater connection with the spirit world. The word "shaman" is widely used by anthropologists to refer to these people. A shaman is a specialist in religion who has acquired supernatural powers after being possessed by spirits. It is important to mention that several native inhabitants oppose this expression because they consider it a common expression that comes from a foreign culture, the tunguses, who shepherd reindeer in eastern Siberia, and that does not include the variety of native experts. Per the most appropriate definition is “sacred beings”.

Sacred beings range from the person who has a powerful vision to guide him to the future to the skilled practitioner who is in constant communication with spirits and can manipulate the world around him.

Famous warrior leaders such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse belong to the first category, and their peoples often regarded them as sacred men. They used their few contacts with the spiritual world for the benefit of the people, especially for war. It is clear that they cannot be called shamans, a more appropriate word to refer to the second category of sacred beings: the person who tries to influence and even impose his will on the supernatural, like the yachi shaman who seeks to transform his body into that of an animal.

Strangers often refer to sacred beings as "magicians," a term that is sometimes used with irony. However, it could be relevant when the visionary capacity of a sacred person relates to the diagnosis and cure of a disease.

Aborigines see sacred beings as a unique point of contact between the natural world and the spiritual world. They generally act for the benefit of the people, but occasionally use their skills to harm people or groups they consider enemies.

Sacred beings have a responsibility to maintain the physical well-being of the population through the prevention, diagnosis and cure of diseases. Diseases have many causes. For example, a disease can be the result of the arts of sorcery or witchcraft. The Western Apaches firmly believed that an incorrect attitude toward the sacred was the cause of some of the most serious diseases. When someone broke the taboos around the things in which they believed the sacred power dwelt, they experienced sickness. For example, eating a deer's tongue, cooking his stomach or separating his tail from his fur were offenses against his power. The rays also caused disease if they walked on a snake's tail or climbed on a tree. The prohibition of urinating in water or defecating in a maize was of obvious practical significance.

When someone in the tribe got sick, they called to the sacred being to find out the reasons and proceed to heal. The Western Apaches performed healing ceremonies. The saint or other elder told stories about the origin of the ritual so that those present could concentrate and reaffirm their faith in the powers in progress. The beginning of the ceremony was impressive, with the lighting of the fireplaces and the sound of the drums. Then the sacred person entered the patient's house, sat by the fireplace and cried for almost two hours while the patient remained immobile. After that, there was a break in which the healer and guests ate and drank tulpai, a fermented corn drink. In the meantime, the sick man worked hard to stay awake. About three o'clock in the morning, the song is repeated to invoke the powers of the black-tailed deer and the beings known as Ga'an. At dawn, the sacred being stopped singing, spraying the pollen of the sword on the patient's head and shoulders, and caressing his forehead with "shining grass." The ceremony came to an end after the sacred person sang two more songs.

In the sub-Arctic, the Tanan atapasks accompanied the sacred being with various spiritual assistants to help heal it. Per he dreamed of natural objects with medicinal properties that he collected and carried in a bag after waking up. The sacred tanana had various ritual "weapons", such as chants, drums, carracas and spiritual masks. Healing consisted of a ritual representation that intimidated the demons that caused the disease. The ability to enter a state of trance and connect with the spirit world was essential to carry out this process. The sacred being, with the help of a specific guardian spirit, determined which spirit had caused the problem and intimidated it by the use of force. Healing often involved removing a solid object from the patient's body, such as a stone, a piece of rope or a projectile. The curator was financed by the patient's family.

Medicinal plants are used by many sacred beings. Although hand games are part of plant healing, it is important to point out that a sacred being is not simply a prestidigitator because it possesses a deep knowledge - acquired through learning - of pharmacologically active herbs and plants with curative effects.