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Clyde Hall (Shoshone-Metis - Idaho/Wyoming), Ceremonial Dance Chief for the Dance For All People, explains what the medicine bundles are and how they are used. Says Clyde: "My people believe that the energy in these medicine bundles is the same energy that moves the trees, creates the sunshine, that makes us walk and talk, that makes things grow. We call it "bouha", the power that "moves moves". It's in everything." Clyde goes on to explain that the energy and prayers of the people are contained within the bundle, and is cared for by the Bundlekeepers.
--Supported by the Naraya Cultrual preservation Council--
The Sharing of Traditions...
Although the Plains and Mountain people of the western U.S. and Canada (along with other Native American tribes across the country) are distinctly different groups of people, there are sets of similar traditions and ceremonies to represent the emergence and acceptance of young people into their tribes.
Traditional Rites of Passage...
Young people in many of these traditional tribes would undergo a series of rituals, journeys, ceremonies, and visions to help define who they are as individuals and also as part of the larger community.
During the time of this Vision Quest, the highly dehydrated and staving individual would begin to have visions of ancestors, ghosts, and sacred and magical animal spirits who would share with them wisdom, bestow on them their protection, and guide them to items for their Medicine Bundles.
If you would like to learn more about Vision Quest traditions, you can watch the video at the bottom of this website...
Medicine Bundles...
In regions like Yellowstone and Grand Teton, ancient people collected resources, followed trade and seasonal migration roots and shared stories, information and traditions between tribal groups.
Most of these traditions date back to ancestral and even pre-historic times and some are still practiced in the traditional ways by native people modern fast-paced world we live in today. A few of these traditions have worked their way into modern, non-native society as well.
Their journey would begin with a period of fasting and days of meditation with tribal elders in a traditional Sweat Lodge ceremony. Water would be poured over hot rocks within a sealed lodge to create intense heat - impurities of the soul would be sweat out before their journey. This purification portion of the ritual could last for hours or even days. Upon emergence from the lodge, the cleansed body and spirit would begin their Vision Quest.
A Vision Quest is a personal journey in search of guidance from a higher power, connecting with the spirits of ancestors, or to a deeper understanding of the sacred in the natural world. After days of fasting with no food or water and hours of purification in a traditional sweat lodge, a young person in the tribe would set out alone into the wilderness for days to sacred sites.
Filling the Medicine Bundle...
Items in the Bundle fall into the following categories:
Mineral Animal Plant
Elemental Human Spiritual
Additional items are added to the Medicine Bundle to increase its spiritual and protective energy through the lifetime of the owner.
Throughout the rest of their adult lives, members of the tribe collect objects to add to their Medicine Bundles. These Medicine Bundles were carried throughout a lifetime and added to with each transformative experience. Bundles were passed from generation to generation and only opened at specific times with ceremonies and rituals to protect the contents within.
Optional additional viewing: If you are interested, here is more about the traditions of the Vision Quest in Native American and First Nation cultures and tribal groups
People from all around the world go through rites of passage. Some are once-in-a-lifetime events, others happen regularly. These are the moments that form the chapters of our lives, when everything forward is different. In many Native American cultures, the most important rite of passage is a spiritual journey known as a Vision Quest. By listening to traditional Native American stories of Vision Quests, we can better understand history, living cultures, and our own journey in life.
The traditional meaning of “medicine” is a collection of objects that keep you well, protect you from harm, give you strength and courage, and have special meaning to help make you a better person. It can be connected to the function of modern medications - a prescribed substance that you take that heals, protects, balances, and makes you better.
The traditional Medicine Bundle would contain a collection of items of significance to the individual - but there are fundamental items in each Bundle that charges them with the protective spiritual energy.
