Dictionary.com defines the word hex as (verb) to bewitch; practice witchcraft on or (noun) spell, charm; which is exactly what a hex is, a magical spell; whereas Google defines hex as (verb) cast a spell on, bewitch or (noun) a magic spell; a curse, and Wikipedia defines hex as “a magical spell, usually with malevolent purposes such as a curse.” Dictionary.com defines the word curse (noun) as the expression of a wish that misfortune, evil, doom, etc befall a person, group etc or (verb) to wish or invoke evil, calamity, injury, or destruction upon, which is a very accurate definition of what a curse is, whereas Google defines curse as (noun) a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone …show more content…
Some believe John George Hohman appropriated the name Pow-Wow from the Algonquian Indians that were native to Pennsylvania. Pow-Wow is the Algonquian word for a gathering of medicine men. Long Lost Friend is a book that contains healing spells, binding spells, protective spells, talismans, wards, and benedictions. It was a magical recipe book based on Christian tenets and prayers and a somewhat shamanistic belief system. Some examples are brooms across the doorway to keep out all negativity, salt on the windowsill, or a cross on the floor to keep witches out. At this time the Pennsylvania Dutch had no concept of a “good” witch or a “bad” witch, all witches were bad and they needed protection against the hexerie which means witchcraft that these witches performed. Pow-Wowers, the Pow-Wow practitioners, considered themselves to be devout Christians who had been imbued with supernatural powers that used touch and incantations to heal sick people and animals. The Pow-Wowers were so devout that they would only heal adults who had been baptized as Christians, unbaptized children were healed because an exception was made for them, but all animals were healed. The Pow-Wow practitioner believes he is a mediator between God and the person or animals he is trying to heal and that what he is doing is more closely related to religion than to medicine. The Pennsylvania Dutch Pow-Wowers believed that the rituals and prayers they performed would protect themselves and their livestock or would heal themselves, others, and their livestock. These practitioners would often paint or carve signs or symbols on their barns and houses to protect the structure and all that was within. These signs and symbols were called hex signs and the magical system called hex work. These hex signs were round and most often painted with primary colors. This sounds a bit
The Navajo creation story explains that medicine was brought to the people by an ancient owl. This owl sent down a magic bundle containing the powers of healing to the new world. For thousands of years Navajo people have used this knowledge to heal and live in harmony with each other. As a product of two worlds, Dr. Lori Alvord was one of the first people to combine modern medicine with Navajo beliefs by overcoming cultural differences.
Witchcraft had always fascinated many people and been a very controversial topic in North America during (seventeenth) 17th century. Many People believe that witchcraft implies the ability to injure or using supernatural power to harm others. People believed that a witch represents dark side of female present and were more likely to embrace witchcraft than men. There are still real witches among us in the Utah whom believe that witchcraft is the oldest religion dealing with the occult. However the popular conception of a witch has not changed at least since the seventeenth century; they still caused panic, fear and variety of other emotions in people…………………….
The peyote religion is ancient in its origin and spread from Mexico, North in the mid 1800's at a time when Native Americans were desperately in need of spiritual strength and enlightenment, Native Americans were confined to reservations which were overseen by military authority, while many of their ritualistic practices and traditions were deemed as illegal. Origin stories regarding the practice of peyote ritual vary, however all encompass a common theme, namely that the 'Supernatural' took pity on those persecuted and communicated spiritually to the Native Americans through the journey experienced while under the chemical effects of peyote (Steltenka...
There were other taboo's in the Indian culture other then not naming the dead, such as you were never to kill snakes. It was thought that if one were to snake, it would make the snakes mad and more snakes will come and kill a friend or relative. Snakes, spiders, and scorpions were all seen as bad creatures and they were supposed to avoid them. The only time when you are allowed or only safe time to kill one of these was if they bit you or caused you harm. The Indians also believed that if a fox comes near your home and makes noise, that would be the indication that one of your relatives was going to die. The Owl and coyote were messengers to tell you that the person that was supposed to die is already dead. The Indians believed in magic or healers and witches. The way a person comes to gain super natural powers were through dreams and after that the person becomes empowered with special abilities. They believed that certain springs were cursed and you were not supposed to drink from them. The causes of bad springs would be from a witch that would put a special stone in the water and if you drank from it, you would start hearing voices and seeing things. If the person lingered too long around the spring, you would eventually not be able to think any more and would lose your mind essentially. If a person had a bad dream, it could give you bad powers that would make people sick. The Indians were very scared of witches because of the bad things they could do to you. They would not have to touch you to curse you. The good healers when first having their power would go off and dance by himself and start healing people. Witches were not able to harm good people such as healers. If you were cursed by a witch, it would require a healer tha...
The Cross-Cultural Articulations of War Magic and Warrior Religion by D. S. Farrer, main purpose of this article is to provide a re-evaluated perspective of religion and magic, through the perspective of the practitioners and victims. Farrer uses examples that range from the following: “Chinese exorcists, Javanese spirit siblings, Sumatran black magic, Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, Chamorro spiritual re-enchantment, tantric Buddhist war magic, and Yanomami dark shamans” (1). Throughout the article, he uses these examples to address a few central themes. The central themes for war magic, range from “violence and healing, accomplished through ritual and performance, to unleash and/or control the power of gods, demons, ghosts and the dead” (Farrer 1).
A shaman is appointed to be the head of the tribe. Spirituality is a very important, everyday thing. The tribe is constantly at war with demons. There are ritual hallucinogens that are used for contact with spirits and the spirit world. The spirits control events in life which the shaman attempt to harness. The shaman gains the powers of these spirits by going to the spirit world, and he uses these to put curses on enemy shamans and heal tribe members from the vices of demons. Diseases and illnesses are causes by the demons and as such can only be heal by spiritual power.
She had green skin, a big wart- covered nose, and a wide-brimmed black hat. She summoned a legion of monsters, stirred evil brews in her black cauldron, and generally made life difficult for the fun-loving citizens of Oz. She, and her fellow "hags" tend to be seen in a rather comic light, despite their appearance, and are usually seen around Halloween. They are one of the two ideas that most people hold of who witches are and what they do. The other is that of the "devil's whore" of Medieval Europe and Colonial Salem who were charged with killing babies, celebrating "black masses," and having sex orgies with Satan. The modern Wiccan; a practitioner of the religion known as Wicca, Witchcraft, or simply The Craft; resembles these "Witches" as much as a straw broom resembles the Dirt Devil Upright. The Craft is a religion based on the worship of a supreme divine creator, the practice of magic, and a reverence for the earth and all her inhabitants.
In particular the roots of Native American Medicine men (often a woman in some cultures) may be traced back to ancient times referred to as Shaman. A special type of healer used by the Indians is referred to as a medicine man (comes from the French word medecin, meaning doctor). Shaman are known in many cultures, but are identified by different names: healers, spiritual healers, medicine men, angakok, ganga, mulogo, witch doctors and warlords, just to name a few. However this does not mean that all Shamans will hold the same beliefs, they may be good or evil, but they do receive their paranormal powers in many forms, some receive them thru visions or trances. Shamanism is humanities oldest form of relationship to the Spirit but it is not a religion. Given the various traditions of Native American people, shamanism takes in a diverse range of methods for collecting knowledge. In other word Native American Shamans use the knowledge to sustain the physical, emotional, spiritual and psychic healing of their people.
Native American medicine may be as old as 40,000 years. This culture did not develop written language, so there was no documentation of Native American medicine until the Europeans arrived approximately 500 years later. Native American medicine believes that man is part of nature and health is a matter of balance. Ceremonial and ritual medicine is the largest surviving piece of Native American medicine. Native American medicine is based on a belief system of both healing and a cure. Balance is the key to health which is linked to lifestyle and social connections. For healing to take place, the individual must seek out the medicine man as he holds the healing power. The medicine man will then decide what technique he will use to heal the individual based on the situation. He may ch...
Eucalyptus Grove comes alive with the beat of the drums, sending chills of power trickling down your spine. All around you are people, over 30,000 weaving in and out of over 100 booths. Despite the tickle of your nose from the dust kicked up by the passionate dancers in the arena, you are greeted by the smell of foods representative of different tribes. The crowd is colorful in dress, face and purpose; the songs represent and evoke different emotions. You have just entered the Stanford American Indian Organization’s Annual Pow Wow.
Our life is an age of previously unimaginable medical breakthroughs. The technology we know today is one that emulated witchcraft to our great grand parents. Yet, with all that we can do, all of the healing we can accomplish by this modern medicine, we seen to be resorting back to the idea of natural holistic health care. Maybe, the Native American People had the right idea.
The Navajo indigenous people of America have a disease within their culture called ghost sickness. This disease is defined as a person who is possessed by the deceased. The symptoms include loss of appetite, weakness, nightmares, and feelings of terror. However, in other cultures ghost sickness could be looked at as PTSD or anxiety symptoms. There is only one way to treat this disease, through performing a ritual with the other tribe
"Hey, be careful and don't do anything stupid," my dad said to me right before I hopped into Chase Miller's dark blue Chevy S-10 with a camper shell on the back. I looked at Chase and Tyler Becker and said, "Let's go camping." As Chase pushed down the gas pedal, a big cloud of black smoke shot out of the back of the truck and the smell of burning motor oil filled the cab.
III. Smithson, Jayne. “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.” Class lectures. Anthropology 120. Diablo Valley College, San Ramon 2004.
I awoke to the sun piercing through the screen of my tent while stretching my arms out wide to nudge my friend Alicia to wake up. “Finally!” I said to Alicia, the countdown is over. As I unzip the screen door and we climb out of our tent, I’m embraced with the aroma of campfire burritos that Alicia’s mom Nancy was preparing for us on her humungous skillet. While we wait for our breakfast to be finished, me and Alicia, as we do every morning, head to the front convenient store for our morning french vanilla cappuccino. On our walk back to the campsite we always take a short stroll along the lake shore to admire the incandescent sun as it shines over the gleaming dark blue water. This has become a tradition that we do every