Native American Storyteller explains Medicine Wheel - colors, directions, meanings
December 30, 2007 11:37 AM EST
(Updated: March 05, 2008 02:47 AM EST)
#2 Native Indian Storyteller explains Medicine Wheel - colors, directions, meanings
Ojibwa Medicine Wheel
The Manoomin Project is about much more than restoring wild rice to northern Michigan.
The project teaches at-risk youth about Native American heritage, culture and social issues.
During 2007, American Indian elder Glen Bressette told the youth the meaning behind the Medicine Wheel and the four sacred colors and directions.
A well-known Ojibwa public speaker, Bressette told the teens in Marquette that he gets questions from Michigan students that are inquisitive and honest - while other questions are blatantly stereotypical like: Do Indians still live in Tee-Pees?
An elder with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Bressette explained the difference between cultural beliefs and stereotypes.
Time: 6:37
The Manoomin Project was founded by the Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI with help from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and other tribes. Volunteer American Indian guides have taken over 100 at-risk teens to plant more than one ton of wild rice during the the past four summers (2004-2007) at seven secret and remote sites across the central Upper Peninsula.
CedarTree Institute:
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
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Here are explanations from the internet on the different - though similar - definitions of the Medicine Wheel in Native American culture:
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The Medicine Wheel is representative of American Indian Spirituality.
The Medicine Wheel symbolizes the individual journey we each must take to find our own path.
Within the Medicine Wheel are The Four Cardinal Directions and the Four Sacred Colors.
The Circle represents the Circle of Life and the Center of the Circle, the Eternal Fire.
The Eagle, flying toward the East, is a symbol of strength, endurance and vision.
East signifies the renewal of life and the rebirth of Cherokee unity.
East is Red: success; triumph
North is Blue: defeat; trouble
West is Black: death
South is White: peace; happiness
There are three additional sacred directions:
Up Above is Yellow
Down Below is Brown
Here in the Center is Green
Winter: go-la
The color for North is Blue which represents sadness, defeat.
It is a season of survival and waiting.
The Cherokee word for North means "cold" u-yv-tlv.
Spring: gi-la-go-ge
The color for East is Red which represents victory, power.
Spring is the re-awakening after a long sleep,
victory over winter; the power of new life.
The Cherokee word for East is ka-lv-gv
Summer: go-ga
The color for South is White for peace, happiness & serenity.
Summer is a time of plenty.
The Cherokee word for South means "warm" u-ga-no-wa.
Autumn: u-la-go-hv-s-di
The color for West is Black which represents death.
Autumn is the final harvest; the end of Life's Cycle.
The Cherokee word for West is wu-de-li-gv.
RED was symbolic of success. It was the color of the war club used to strike an enemy in battle as well as the other club used by the warrior to shield himself.
Red beads were used to conjure the red spirit to insure long life, recovery from sickness, success in love and ball play or any other undertaking where the benefit of the magic spell was wrought.
BLACK was always typical of death. The soul of the enemy was continually beaten about by black war clubs and enveloped in a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy, the priest used black beads and invoked the black spirits-which always lived in the West,-bidding them to tear out the man's soul and carry it to the West, and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud, with a black serpent coiled above it.
The blue spirits lived in the North:
BLUE symbolized failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. To say "they shall never become blue" expressed the belief that they would never fail in anything they undertook.
In love charms, the lover figuratively covered himself with red and prayed that his rival would become entirely blue and walk in a blue path. "He is entirely blue, " approximates meaning of the common English phrase, "He feels blue."
The White spirits lived in the South:
WHITE denoted peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as the Green Corn Dance and ball play, the people symbolically partook of white food and, after the dance or game, returned along the white trail to their white houses.
In love charms, the man, to induce the woman to cast her lost with his, boasted, "I am a white man," implying that all was happiness where he was. White beads had the same meaning in bead conjuring, and white was the color of the stone pipe anciently used in ratifying peace treaties.
Two numbers are sacred to the Cherokee.
Four is one number, it represented the four primary directions.
At the center of their paths lays the sacred fire.
Seven is the other and most sacred number.
Seven is represented in the seven directions: north, south, east, west, above, below, and "here in the center" the place of the sacred fire.
Seven also represented the seven ancient ceremonies that formed the yearly Cherokee religious cycle.
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* Oshun, is represented by the color yellow.
This Orisha indicates medicines which effect the digestive organs, circulatory system, and the elimination system.
Its direction is East.
* Ogun, is represented by the color green.
This Orisha indicates medicines which tone the tendons, and sinews.
Its direction is south.
* Elegba, is represented by the color black.
Medicines indicated are herbs which effect the Brain and nervous system.
Its direction is West.
* Obatala, is represented by the color white.
This Orisha indicates herbs, and white purity that cure human deformities.
Its direction is North.
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related links:
Ojibwa Medicine Wheel:
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1835/wheel.html
Native American Spirituality - Medicine Wheel:
http://users.ap.net/~chenae/spirit.html
Medicine Wheel Gardens:
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411113
Sun Bear Medicine Wheel:
http://www.ewebtribe.com/StarSpiderDancing/wheel.html
All tribes (scroll down):
http://www.alltribes.com/Medicine-Wheels-c-339.html
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Comments: 8
Mint Lavander - thank you for telling me that you like the videos - especially since you are Native American - it makes me feel good. Love your user name.
Kay M. and Chuck M. - it's always lifts my day when I hear you enjoyed the topic of the videos.
I have learned a lot about Native American culture from the many tribal members who work with the teens.
This Ojibwa storyteller was especially informative as I had never heard of the Medicine wheel.
The Manoomin Project has taught these at-risk teens many reasons to respect the American Indian culture.
Thanks again y'all,
Greg aka yoopernewsman
Happy New Year from Lake Superior !!
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