Medicine

The world of the Indian was sacred and spiritual, but it was not an easy or stable spiritual environment. The shaman was a repository of sacred stories. Often the shaman wore a storytelling headdress, a kind of hair net made from tough strands of milkweed plant. Through the net, soft down from baby eagles-breasts was drawn. The pale eagle feathers fluffed out from the mesh to make a fuzzy cap. During ceremonials, he wore a feather band tied around the waist (wiwut), made of flicker or woodpecker feathers. A band of kimats (woodpecker) feathers, the taminyet, was worn as a sash. A shawl made of feathers (puhish) was put on the shoulders of the medicine man or Kika when he danced. The shaman used the muuric, the sacred bundle made of a cactus fiber mat that contained the vumte, a string of eagle and other bird feathers, and the wiwut, as well as rattles, head plumes, ceremonial wands, and a string of shell money. The ceremonial bundle was considered to contain an emanation of the creative spirit. The Huremitc was the healing shaman whose power to heal came through dreams or visions. With this power he cured by administering herbs, sucking, and restoring the lost soul of the person with psychic activity. His instruments were a scratching stick and wand.