The Origin of Medicine
At one time, animals and people lived together peaceably and talked with each other. But when mankind began to multiply rapidly, the animals were crowded into forests and deserts.
Man began to destroy animals wholesale for their skins and furs, not just for needed food. Animals became angry at such treatment by their former friends, resolving they must punish mankind.
The bear tribe met in council, presided over by Old White Bear, their Chief. After several bears had spoken against mankind for their bloodthirsty ways, war was unanimously agreed upon. But what kinds of weapons should the bears use?
Chief Old White Bear suggested that man's weapon, the bow and arrow, should be turned against him. All of the council agreed. While the bears worked and made bows and arrows, they wondered what to do about bowstrings. One of the bears sacrificed himself to provide the strings, while the others searched for good arrow- wood.
When the first bow was completed and tried, the bear's claws could not release the strings to shoot the arrow. One bear offered to cut his claws, but Chief Old White Bear would not allow him to do that, because without claws he could not climb trees for food and safety. He might starve.
The deer tribe called together its council led by Chief Little Deer. They decided that any Indian hunters, who killed deer without asking pardon in a suitable manner, should be afflicted with painful rheumatism in their joints.
After this decision, Chief Little Deer sent a messenger to their nearest neighbors, the Cherokee Indians.
"From now on, your hunters must first offer a prayer to the deer before killing him," said the messenger. "You must ask his pardon, stating you are forced only by the hunger needs of your tribe to kill the deer. Otherwise, a terrible disease will come to the hunter."
When a deer is slain by an Indian hunter, Chief Little Deer will run to the spot and ask the slain deer's spirit; "Did you hear the hunter's prayer for pardon?"
If the reply is yes, then all is well and Chief Little Deer returns to his cave. But if the answer is no, then the Chief tracks the hunter to his lodge and strikes him with the terrible disease of rheumatism, making him a helpless cripple unable to hunt again.
All the fishes and reptiles then held a council and decided they would haunt those Cherokee Indians, who tormented them, by telling them hideous dreams of serpents twining around them and eating them alive. These snake and fish dreams occurred often among the Cherokees. To get relief, the Cherokees pleaded with their Shaman to banish their frightening dreams if they no longer tormented the snakes and fish.
Now when the friendly plants heard what the animals had decided against mankind, they planned a countermove of their own. Each tree, shrub, herb, grass, and moss agreed to furnish a cure for one of the diseases named by the animals and insects.
Thereafter, when the Cherokee Indians visited their Shaman about their ailments and if the medicine man was in doubt, he communed with the spirits of the plants. They always suggested a proper remedy for mankind's diseases.
This was the beginning of plant medicine from nature among the Cherokee Indian nation a long, long time ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AnotherVersion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In ancient times, people lived in harmony with Nature. They spoke the
same language as the animals and plants. They hunted for food only to
satisfy their hunger and needs, always offering a prayer of thanks for
what they had taken from Nature.As time went on, humans lost this innocence and harmony. They took more than they needed. They forgot their prayers of gratitude. They killed animals, and each other, for sport or pleasure.
The Bear Tribe, chief among the animals, called a meeting of all the animals. They decided that something had to be done. The Bears suggested that they shoot back
when the humans shot at them, but the bow and arrow required too great a sacrifice, for one bear would have to give up his life so that his sinew could be used for the bowstring. The bear's claws were too long for shooting a bow anyway, and would become entangled on the string.
The Deer Tribe offered another method of dealing with the problem. One
of their members said, "We will bring disease into the world. Each of us
will be responsible for a different illness. When humans live out of
balance with Nature, when they forget to give thanks for their food,
they will get sick." And in fact the Deer did invoke rheumatism and
arthritis; each animal then decided to invoke a different
disease
The Plant Tribe was more sympathetic and felt that this was too harsh a
punishment, so they volunteered their help. They said that for every
disease a human gets, one of them would be present to cure it. That way,
if people used their intelligence, they would be able to cure their
ailments and regain their balance. All of Nature agreed to this
strategy. One plant in particular spoke out. This was Tobacco, the chief
of the plants. He said, "I will be the sacred herb. I will not cure any
specific disease, but I will help people return to the sacred way of
life, provided I am smoked or offered with prayers and ceremony. But if
I am misused, if I am merely smoked for pleasure, I will cause cancer,
the worst disease of all."
The close friends of the Plant Tribe, the Rock Tribe and the Mineral
Tribe, agreed to help. Each mineral would have a spiritual power, a
subtle vibration that could be used to regain perfect health. The Ruby,
worn as an amulet, would heal the heart; the Emerald would heal the
liver and eyes, and so on. The chief of the mineral tribe, Quartz
Crystal, was clear, like the light of Creation itself. Quartz put his
arms around his brother Tobacco and said, "I will be the sacred mineral.
I will heal the mind. I will help human beings see the origin of
disease. I will help to bring wisdom and clarity in dreams. And I will
record their spiritual history, including our meeting today, so that in
the future, if humans gaze into me, they may see their origin and the
way of harmony." And so it is today.
