THE BEAUTY OF THE NATIVE SPIRIT

To explore the essence of Native American Spirituality is to understand their connection with the natural world and the cosmos.  They do not see themselves outside or apart from nature, man is no greater than the smallest plant or the biggest star, all of the creatures including the animals, birds and the fish are called ‘brother’.  In their poetic interpretation of a creative life the Native People’s named them appropriately with names which showed their respect and the honour they had for all life, the trees are known as the ‘standing people’, then there are the ‘winged one’s’. The mineral kingdom, from the smallest stones to the great rocks which form the canyons, mountains and mesa’s of their environment are known as the ‘stone people’ even the ‘cloud people’ look down upon them from the great skies.

Their connection with the earth was a natural relationship, the earth is seen as the mother and is known as ‘Mother Earth’ it is she who gives the abundance of physical life, food, shelter and water.  She gives the forests where the standing people grow allowing ‘her children’ (us humans!) to receive fuel and logs to make dwellings, she gives the oceans, the rivers and the streams for water, movement and food.  ‘Mother Earth’ has everything to give and she gives it freely, because of this the Native American People treat her with respect and honour all their ‘relations’. The spirit of life which comes from the ‘Great Spirit’ known as ‘Wakan Tanka’, is found in all things, and because of this belief everything and everyone is connected, this is expressed with the symbol of the ‘Sacred Hoop’, a sacred and important symbol in Native American life and spirituality.  Their connection with this symbol holds a deep understanding of the earthly cycles found in the seasons of the year, and with planetary cycles and movements of the cosmos.  Everything moves in a circular motion, the earth, the sun, the moon and even the planets are circular, Black Elk talks about the power of the world in a circle in his word he describes perfectly the essence of the meaning behind the symbology of the circle and ‘The Sacred Hoop’.

“Everything the Power of the World does is in a circle.  The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are the stars.  The wind in its greatest power whirls.  Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.  The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle.  The moon does the same, and both are round.  Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were.  The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood and so it is in everything where power moves.  Our tepee’s were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children”
Black Elk.

“We should understand well that all things are the works of the Great Spirit.  We should know that He is within all things; the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals and the winged peoples, even more important, we should understand that he is also above all these things and peoples.  When we do understand all this deeply in our heart, then we will fear, and love and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be and act and live as He intends”.
Black Elk.


This connection with their earth and the natural world are the foundations upon which all of their actions in life are built. We can learn more about this connection by exploring the symbolism of the arts, the ceremonies and rituals, the stories and myth and the way in which they approached and developed relationship with their everyday existence, which sought to find harmony and balance through respect and honour for all their relations!!

“Peace… comes within the souls of men when they realise their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells “Wakan Tanka” The Great Spirit, and that this centre is really everywhere, it is within each of us!"

Native American Ceremonies and Rituals

When embarking upon the journey to explore ceremonies and rituals of the Native American peoples we would do well to pay tribute to their endurance and strength, for we find that through all adversity, ceremonies are still held to-day that express their spiritual beliefs and connectedness with the great spirit  ‘Wakan Tanka’.  These ceremonies have been created, performed and passed down through generations and generations, and it would not have been uncommon for individual tribes to be affected by contact with other tribes, often they were embraced and encompassed within their own individual ceremonies and rituals.  ‘A Timeless World’ The Native American peoples outlook is one of ‘timelessness’, the world is viewed not in linear time lines and sequences, but with the awareness of the continuous cycle of life, the patterns of the rising and setting sun, the dances of the moon, the movement of the stars and planets, and the seasonal cycles of ‘mother earth’, are respected and renewed through the creative connectedness of song, dance, feasting, prayer and ritual of ceremony.  These ceremonies follow the natural cycles of the seasons from the summer to winter solstice and back!! (Similar beliefs can be found when exploring the ancestors, who through history are known more popularly as the ‘Celtic’ peoples,).  The native word for solstice is ‘itiwana’, meaning middle or centre, the Zuni tribe of the southwest area used this word for their villages, and they called them ‘the centre of the world’!

Ceremonies and rituals often involved native peoples creating special ceremonial objects that were intended specifically for use as a ‘sacred tool’, these tools were often made from certain animal bone or skin, feathers were used, beads were sown into intricate symbols and patterns which had strong spiritual significance and representation.  This quote from John Lame Deer, Miniconjou Sioux, explains the native peoples relationship with these tools and their symbolism.

“We Indians live in a world of symbols where the spiritual and the common place are one.  To you symbols are just words spoken or written in a book.  To us they are part of nature, part of ourselves, the earth, the sun, the wind and the rain, stones, trees, animals even insects like ants and grasshoppers.  We try to understand them not with the head but with the heart and we need no more than a hint to give us the meaning”
Native American Ceremony and Ritual.

Everything is held sacred, this is evident when looking to the native arts, images of animals and insects, birds or fish are painted on sacred tools or skins, to honour its medicine, the natural forces alive in the winds and the rains are also symbolised and painted, the native people do not idolise these objects as icons, but honour the great spirit that moves through them. They are not used to appease the gods but to honour the spirit and the connection of humans and the spirit world as one, to retain harmony and balance with the unseen forces in nature and to respect all beings as equal.

The individual communities among the Native American peoples each had and have their own unique way of expressing their connection and harnessing the energies of the powers of the natural world.  Rituals were performed for protection before hunting and battles, they were used for assisting healing and cures, (as seen in the Navajo sand painting ceremonies) or for rites of passage, such as a young girl or boy’s transition into adulthood.  Ceremonies are performed to mark the changing seasons and honour the spirits of the crops from preparing the ground and seeding to harvesting.

There are ceremonies such as the Sun Dance and the Pipe Ceremony, which are well known and popular rituals in the history of the Native American, at times these rituals have been misunderstood by those who are unaware of the native philosophy of life, and history has shown us how cruel this ignorance can be.  But despite the suppression and repression of the native ‘religion’ by European contact and settlers, the connection with the Native American and his ancestry has remained strong.

Rituals continue to be honoured and in some cases are incorporating the ‘new world’ within them, that which has been passed down throughout the centuries still holds true the test of time and changing circumstances, but the world keeps turning and with it the stars and the planets, and mother earth renews her cycles just as she ever did, showing us the continuity and connectedness of life and our cyclical essence. This relationship with man and nature is slowly returning to reveal a deeper knowing that has been lost through economic growth and development in industry and technology.  However the natural lore of the cosmos and mans place within that has been held by all indigenous peoples of the earth who fight to retain their connection with the natural world, and never more so than with the Native American peoples who have kept the knowledge of this relationship alive and who live its wisdom’s with active participation of celebrations which encourage their individual and collective ceremonial heritage. ‘The purpose of our ceremonies is not entertainment, but attainment, the attainment of the balanced life.  Our dramas, songs and our dances are not performed for fun as they might be in the white man’s world, they are more than that, and they are the very essence of life!       Tewa Indian.

THE PIPE CEREMONY

The Native ancestors of the Hopewell people were said to have devoted an enormous amount of time and artistic energy to the carving of pipes from stone.  Smoking was not just done for pleasure, its was used as an offering to the spirits, the native peoples believed that the smoke carried messages between worlds, and tobacco was seen as a powerful and highly valued substance at ceremonies.  The past continues to influence the present as the sacredness of the pipe ceremony is a powerful element in the Native American culture today as it ever was.

The wafting of smoke was considered to unite the spirit and the earth worlds.  Pipes were a sign of peace and union with the spirit world, they were often carved in the shapes of animals or creatures.  For the Lakota the pipe was a gift from the creator, the story tells how a beautiful White Buffalo Calf Woman presented the pipe to the Lakota saying,  “ Behold this pipe remember always how sacred it is and treat it as such, for it will take you to the end.  Remember in me there are four ages, I am leaving but will look back on your people in every age and in the end I will return”. Native American Artists continue to carve the pipes, and they are still used in ceremonies.  The origin of the pipe is as sacred as the pipe and bowl themselves, the Sioux legend tells how White Buffalo Woman bought the pipe to the tribes, below is a version of this story as told by Black Elk…

“ There is a story about the way the pipe first came to us.  A very long time ago, they say two scouts were out looking for a bison, and when they came to the top of a high hill and looked north, they saw something coming a long way off and when it came closer they cried out “It’s a woman!” and it was. Then one of the scouts being foolish had bad thoughts and spoke them but the other said, “This is a sacred woman, throw all bad thoughts away”. 

When she came still closer they saw that she wore a fine white buckskin dress, that her hair was very long and that she was young and very beautiful.  And she knew their thoughts and said in a voice that was like singing, “You do not know me but if you want to do as you think, you may come”. And the foolish one went but just as he stood before her, there was a white cloud that came and covered them.  And the beautiful young woman came out of the cloud and when it blew away the foolish man was a skeleton covered in worms.  Then the woman spoke to the one who was not foolish, “You shall go home and tell your people that I am coming and that a big tepee shall be built for me in the centre of the nation”. 

And the man who was very much afraid went quickly and told the people who did at once as they were told and there around the big tepee they waited for the sacred woman.  And after a while she came very beautiful and singing and as she went into the tepee this is what she sang.

“With invisible breath I am walking,
A voice I am sending as I walk.
In a sacred manner I am walking
With invisible tracks I am walking
In a sacred manner I walk.”.

And as she sang there came from her mouth a white cloud that was good to smell.  Then she gave something to the chief and it was a pipe with a bison calf carved on one side, to mean ‘the earth that bears and feeds us’ and with twelve eagle feathers hanging from the stem to mean the sky and the twelve moons and these were tied with a grass that never breaks.  “Behold,” she said, “with this you shall multiply and be a good nation. 

Nothing but good shall come from it only the hands of the good shall take care of it and the bad shall not even see it”.  Then she sang again and went out of the tepee; and as the people watched her going suddenly it was a white bison galloping away and snorting and soon it was gone!
And this they tell, and whether it happened so or not I do not know; but if you think about it you can see that it is true!”

In other tellings of the story we hear how the ‘sacred woman’ carries the pipe in a bundle, unwrapping it she holds the stem of a pipe in her right hand and the bowl in her left hand. (The pipe is still carried in this sacred manner by the Sioux).  The woman explains how the pipe represented the earth, the plants and all the animals, “When you pray with this pipe you pray for and with everything”, she showed them how to handle the pipe pointing to the sky and the earth and then to the four directions. 

The bowl and the stem are always separate just as the White Buffalo Woman bought the pipe to the Sioux, and it does not acquire its power until the pieces are ‘ceremoniously’ joined together.  Artists who create sacred pipes explain that.” we make a personal statement to our people and to the public that our sacred objects are not for sale.  To us a pipe whose stem is detachable from the bowl is a spiritual tool beyond an art object”.  Wherever a tribe’s original pipe came from they were often works of great art, carved and crafted delicately and elegantly decorated and painted with symbolic colours and totems.

Pipe ceremonies were offered as ‘peace’ between individuals and tribes, the ritual may involve a few people or a whole nation!  The ceremony may begin with a rite of purification, the people present sitting in a circle, and a braid of prairie sweet grass is lit and produces an aromatic smoke.  An assistant takes the braid of sweet grass and allows the smouldering twist to waft its smoke over each of those present and then over the two pieces of the pipe.

Stem and bowl are then fitted to-gether and the pipe is handed to the leader of the ritual.  Who fills the bowl with tobacco, as he does he is saying prayers and passing each pinch of tobacco through the smoking sweet grass.  Tobacco is also seen as a ‘ sacred’ to Native American people, and the ritual use of tobacco was wide spread they believed that the smoke that spiralled upwards carried human thoughts to the spirit realms.  Tobacco could be used as an offering for the harvest, or dried and crumbled to be left in holy places and as offerings.

After filling and lighting the pipe with holy songs, the smoke is offered to the spirits and to the directions; the north, south, east and west, to the sky and to the ‘mother earth’, then the pipe is carried clockwise around the circle pausing at each person, who then offers an individual brief ritual either by wafting the smoke over their heads or extending to the directions, they then smoke it and pass it on to the next person until the pipe returns back to the leader.  With this the leader then sings and with reverence dismantles the pipe and places it back in the safety of its coverings.

Peyote Ceremony

What is Peyote?
Peyote is a small spineless cactus and is found in the present day Mexico and the state of Texas.  Its name originates from ‘peyotl’, a Nahuatl word meaning ‘caterpillar’ and it is believed that ‘peyote’ has been used for religious and medicinal purposes as long as ten thousand years ago!  It contains alkaloid substances that are hallucinogenic in nature, the exposed top of the plant the portion harvested is cut off and dried into buttons, which are used in ritual and ceremonial contexts.

Peyote is the sacrament of the Native American Church and is essential to the practise of the Peyote Religion.  It is used as a ‘sacred plant’ of divine origin and is believed to possess great healing and teaching powers. 
Those who take Peyote during rituals and as part of the Peyote Ceremony, often report having visions some say that the ‘peyote’ is heard singing or speaking!  Peyote is non-addictive and any effects wear off in twenty-four hours.

In 1620 during the time of the Spanish Inquisition peyote was condemned by the Catholic missionaries and banned, opposition has continued since that time despite evidence of its ancient religious origins and practices, and despite expert medical testimonies that refer to its non harmful effects.  Some tribal members who follow the traditional religion see it as a new religion that is ‘foreign’ to their people.  Some Christian sects oppose it because they believe it ‘misinterprets’ Christian beliefs to accommodate its usage!!

During the early reservation era when Native American Indian life was demoralised and drastic changes sought to defeat the ‘Indian’ way of life, the peyote cult sought to maintain a sense of well being and pride and it stressed the importance of their ‘Indian-ness’ or ancestral roots!  There are many conflicting views on the use of peyote from differing groups however in 1994 federal legislation was finally passed that allows for the sacramental use of peyote by Native American Indians.  It is surely the Native peoples themselves who truly hold understanding and awareness of this ceremony and its symbolism.  And therefore its significance for the Native American traditions and ceremonial celebrations is held within the authority of that knowledge.

The peyote is held all night and the meeting takes place either in a Hogan or a Tepee.  Among Navajo peyote users ceremonies may be given to ensure good health, celebrate a wedding or a birthday, bless a new house, or for curing an illness or addiction.  Ceremonial objects include; a staff, a rattle, whistle, drum and a feather fan.  A large special peyote button known as Chief Peyote (or father) is selected for the meeting.  The ceremony begins at sundown with the preparation of a crescent shaped (half moon) altar, this is set out by the Road Chief (or Roadman).  

The altar represents the universe to some, or the moon to others.  The ‘Peyote Road’ is symbolised by a line drawn through the length of the crescent!  The Chief Peyote button is placed in the centre of the altar. Ceremonial opening rites vary but tend to include, the blessing and purification (in cedar smoke) of the ceremonial objects, the drum, rattle etc…  also the passing of sage to all participants for smudging and for rubbing on the hands and body as medicine.  Tobacco is distributed for ritual smoking and peyote buttons are passed around for the participants to eat.  Singing by the Road Chief of four songs as an opening to the ceremony is followed by the circulation of the drum, staff, fan and rattle to participants, who also sing four songs and the singing continues until midnight. The fire is constantly tended by the Fire Chief (fireman) who keeps the altar and the fire in order throughout.  During the evening he adds a trail of ash to the crescent altar, transforming it into an eagle or thunderbird.  At midnight the Fire Chief brings water into the ceremony and after more singing and cleansing the water is drunk being offered first to mother earth and then to all participants.  Following the ‘Midnight Water Call’ there is a brief recess.

The ceremony resumes and more tobacco is smoked and the taking of peyote, singing and prayers are started by the members and then finished by the Road Chief.

If the ceremony is as a curing rite the Road Chief chews a peyote button and gives it to the patient to swallow he also purifies him with cedar smoke.  At sunrise the Peyote Woman (normally the wife of a participant) brings in more water, a Dawn Song is sang by the Road Chief the water is blessed and it is circulated amongst the participants to drink.  The closing of the ceremony is done with four more songs from the Road Chief, the ritual disposal of tobacco butts, final prayers and a ceremonial breakfast.  Each person may consume four buttons during the twenty-four hour ceremony, participants may see visions or hear the peyote talk to them, and assist them with their problems or improve their life!  The evening is spent in communion with god with peyote as the sacrament.

THE ‘KACHINA’ CEREMONIES

What are the ‘Kachina’ Ceremonies? The ‘Kachina Ceremony’ plays a major role in the ceremonial life of the Pueblo Indians, especially the Hopi, Zuni and the Navajo of the Southwest area.  The ‘Kachina’s’ are believed to be supernatural beings that once visited the Hopi Indian peoples in person, in Hopi tradition they are known as the ‘Cloud People’ or ‘Katisam’ and were sent by the gods to teach the ‘Kachina Ceremonies’ to the people.  These ancestral spirits act as intermediaries between humans and gods and are represented in rituals by the ‘Katchina Dancers’. The ‘Kachina Ceremony’. The spiritual ancestors visit the pueblos for seven months each year, the ‘Kachina Ritual and Ceremonies’ mark their presence.  These take place during the first half of the Hopi religious calendar, from the Winter Solstice in December through to the Summer Solstice in June and finish with their departure in mid July.  During this time several ceremonial dances are performed, the dancers are men and priests of the community who wear masks and ceremonial costumes.  Each individual dancer represents an individual ‘Kachina’.

The ‘Kachina Dancers’.

Each Kachina performer or dancer is believed to receive the spirit of the ‘Kachina’ or ‘Katsina’ he depicts when he wears the mask.  Each of the Kachina’s may be symbolic or representational of almost anything, including gods, plants, animals, human qualities and elementals.  The masked dancers are said to connect with the spiritual essence they represent and act to call assistance and help to the people ensuring good health, crops, communal happiness, rain and prosperity.

‘Kachina Symbols’. The symbols, colours, markings and costumes of each Kachina have relevance.  These symbols include the sun, moon, corn, clouds and lightening etc.  Some Kachina’s carry sacred objects such as rattles, feathers others are adorned with a variety of accessories including beads and shells.  During the dances ‘Kachina Dolls’ are given to the women and children and baskets filled with symbolic foods such as corn, melon and first fruits are also distributed during the different ceremonies.

‘Kachina Dolls and Kiva’s’



The Kachina Dolls or ‘Katsina’s’, are spirit dolls used for religious and educational purposes.  They have been carved by the Hopi nation for many centuries, traditionally they were carved by the ‘Katsinam’ (Kachina dancers) in the Kiva’s.  The Kiva’s were underground ceremonial chambers that could be accessed by a ladder through an entrance in the roof. 

The Kiva’s represented the centre of the Pueblo and were a focal point of ritual, here the sacred objects were laid out and prepared for the ceremonies and rituals of the Pueblo people.  The Kachina Dolls may be hand carved from either cottonwood root or pine!  each doll is a representation of a ‘Kachina Spirit’.  Since the 1800’s many of the dolls have been carved as art objects to sell and there has been great demand for these sacred art works that have become a highly collectable art form.  The artist carves each doll so as to bring the Kachina to life creating a balanced figure caught in action.  Colours and accessories used on each doll are unique to the individual carving depending on the symbolism and representation.

We are all connected!!

When reading and researching about the Kachina ceremonies and rituals it seems that we are invited to embark on a journey that takes us into an ever evolving labyrinth of ancient knowledge and ancestral wisdoms. Sometimes this labyrinth takes us one way only to stumble upon another opening which has not yet been entered, and so the labyrinth transforms into a maze with pathways that lead in all directions each having something to give and yet each merging to take us back to the path of the labyrinth, direct to our source.  This journey to seek the essence and understanding of the Kachina Ceremonies could easily become a frustration to those who seek only to ‘know’ its meaning. 

There are within these ancient and holy ceremonies of the Pueblo Indian Peoples, a connection that the ‘non native born’ may find within their own ancestry.  To look into the once rich culture of natural lore and respect of the cyclical nature of the earth and our place within it is where we may once again find this connection.  Lost and repressed as European history unfolded and buried the natural heritage and with it the truths of our existence.  And so when we read, write and seek to understand the ceremonial connection and ritual of the Kachina, we may try to allow the hidden essence of our natural heritage to freely emerge and fill in the gaps!!  And in allowing this for ourselves as non-native peoples we may once again feel these deeply held wisdoms which the Native American Peoples have fought to protect and held sacred in the ceremonies and rituals of their people.

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