Native American Legends
The origin of curing ceremonies
An Apache Legend
This his how ceremonies started among us for the curing of sick
people.
Long, long ago, the Earth was made.
Then the One Who Made the Earth also planned for each person to
have a piece of land that he could live on and call his own.
Our people were living in one such place, but they didn't like
that particular spot. So the One Who Made the Earth told them to
move to a new location, and when they did, they slept well, and
liked it, and lived in a good way.
Then two men among them became sick and grew weaker and weaker
day by day. The people didn't do anything for them because no one
knew then about illnesses and how to cure them.
The One Who Made the Earth said, "Why don't you do something
for those two men? Why don't you say some words over them?"
But the people had no knowledge of curing ceremonies. Four men
among the people happened to be standing, one to the east, one to
the south, one to the west, and one to the north. The One Who Made
the Earth spoke to one of these men, telling him, "Everything
on Earth has power to cause its own kind of sickness, make its own
trouble. There is a way to cure all these things."
Now this man understood that knowledge was available. Then those
four stood there. On the first night, other one standing on the
east side began to chant a set prayer all by himself. On the second
night the one on the south started to drum and sing lightning songs.
On the third night, the one on the west chanted a set prayer. On
the fourth night, the one on the north began to drum and sing lightning
songs.
They did not conceive this pattern in their own minds; it was bestowed
upon them by the One Who Made the Earth. It was as if the knowledge
was transmitted to them from outside.
Then the One Who Made the Earth said to these four, "Why don't
you go to the two sick men and say some words over them and make
them well?"
So those four went to where the two sick men were and worked over
them, and they were cured.
From that time on, we had curing ceremonies and knowledge of the
different kinds of sickness that may be caused by various things.
That's the way all curing ceremonies started.
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