The American Indian is by nature a Symbolist, Mystic, and Philosopher. Possessing a rich imagination, he inhabits his forests, rivers, skies with myriads of supernatural wonders and invisible beings, good and evil spirits. Here, on the North American continent, there are curious legends about entire tribes of Indians living in the depths of the lakes, about whose people no one has seen in the daytime and who only at night comes out of their mysterious caves, frightening the belated travelers.
SHAMANS OF NORTH AMERICA
The constant migration of tribes is associated with the characteristic myths of the Indians about the acquisition of their talismans and mysterious relics. The Delaware and Alkong are confident that they are still traveling from their legendary ancestral home in the northwestern United States to the southeast of the continent.
INDIAN KAYOWE
The Kiowe Indians are convinced that their tribes ascended into this world through the trunk of a large tree, and they, wandering south from the headwaters of the Wellstone River, acquired a wonderful fetish - the Tai-me doll.
The ancestors of the Osage tribe, according to mythical ideas, descended from the stars to earth to the shores of the Mississippi.
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In all of these stories, the influence of shamans is felt, recounting their imaginary "travels."
Among the Indian tribes, especially the agricultural ones - among the Iroquois, Pueblos, Algonquins, an important place in mythology is occupied by deities who personify useful plants - "three sisters": maize, beans and pumpkin.
The Indians know a great many of both good and rather evil spirits (manitou). Evil manitou are presented in the form of horned water snakes, but they can often change appearance.
The whole life of the Indians is closely connected with nature. Its miracles, explainable and comprehensible, have become an inexhaustible source for the most incredible ideas, gave rise to an abundance of magic so accessible to everyone, especially to primitive peoples.
The American Indians, like the ancient Greeks and Romans, have a concept of the underworld. They also have quite a few brave heroes who, having experienced a lot of dangerous adventures, penetrate the realm of the dead, and this is undoubtedly the prerogative of shamans.
The Indians, like the Eskimos, believe in resurrection, in the transmigration of souls. They call their children the names they assume they had in a previous life.
EXPLORATION OF SPIRITS
The main task of local shamans is to expel spirits from their fellow tribesmen. And often this happens in public. The Indians called this collective seance "pou pou".
The Pueblo Indians living north of the Rio Grande River, to fight ghosts and witches, conduct ritual rituals with the shaman, including those that create "psychic barriers" from demons. Shamans are also great masters of making amulets, which they supply to everyone.
But the shamans of North America did not always do only good. They are capable of causing evil, bewitching a person, or even causing his death with their spells.
As you know, the hero of Indian folklore Hiawatha wanted to unite the tribes in order to avoid insidious internecine wars in the future. But the shamans did not like his idea, and, according to one of the legends, they created a devil bird, which, rushing down from heaven, tore his only daughter in front of him.
THE NAVAHO INDIANS PROFESSORS OF MAGIC
Among the Indian tribes, whose rituals and customs have remained essentially the same as hundreds of years ago, the most interesting is the Navajo tribe, which lives on a reservation on the border of two states - New Mexico and Arkansas.
EXERCISING EVIL SPIRITS
The Navajo, as a separate tribe, was formed about 3 thousand years ago in the town of Rovnoe Plateau in Colorado. The Navajo consider everything to be a ghost, all ghosts as evil spirits, for, according to their beliefs, they attack the living. An Indian, seeing a ghost in front of him, falls into despair - this means that his days are numbered. But they were even more afraid of witches, since they not only spread disease, but also the ability turns into animals. In the past, the Navajo solved the problem with the witch simply - sent her to the next world. Now such lynching is not allowed by laws, so you have to resort to an ancient, like the world, method - the expulsion of evil spirits.
In case of illness of one of the members of the tribe, the shaman summons everyone for a treatment procedure, which consists of complex rituals of purification and begins to prepare medicines from medicinal herbs, makes special amulets, and then draws magic drawings on the sand.