6 minute read
Sacred Medicines of the Anishinaabeg
By Jan Beaver (April, 2019)
We begin this medicine sharing with tobacco (semaa, as it is called in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabeg, the First Peoples of the Great Lakes region). Semaa is the plant medicine that always comes first, activating all of the other plant medicines. It is the sacred medicine of the eastern direction of the Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel, a teaching that represents all of life and all of Creation. The seven directions of the Medicine Wheel are north, east, south, west, above, below and within.
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All of our new life and understanding comes to us from the east. The smoke from semaa carries our prayers into the Spirit World. It is used in sacred pipes, as offerings to the plants we are harvesting, to the sacred fire or to elders when we are asking them to help us with something, such as performing a ceremony.
In the eastern direction, Mgizi, the eagle guards the doorway. The eagle is the bird that flies closest to Creator, Gzhemnidoo, acting as the messenger between the people and Creator. Eagle saved the people from destruction once by interceding for us with Creator. It was a time when the people had forgotten how-to live-in harmony with the Earth and so Creator was going to cleanse everything and start over but the eagle pleaded with Creator to wait and see if eagle could find some people who still remembered how to live in a good way. Eagle told Creator that he would fly out each morning at sunrise and if he could find one person who still remembered how to live in a good way, Creator agreed to spare the Earth.
On the 4th day, eagle saw a family offering their semaa with prayers of gratitude to the sacred fire. They remembered how to live in a good way and so Creator spared the Earth. That is why traditional native people know how important it is to have a sunrise ceremony at dawn to offer tobacco to the sacred fire, giving thanks for the new day and for all of Creation.
Moving into the south direction, the gatekeeper is the deer, Waawaashkeshi, for the Anishinaabeg. The sacred medicine of the south is cedar, Giizhik. This beautiful medicine is from the fragrant white cedar tree in the Great Lakes region. Cedar is burned to cleanse and purify your body of disease and to protect you. It can also be made as a tea to drink for cleansing and strengthening your immune system and respiratory system.
Cedar is the medicine used inside sweat lodges and around the fasting lodges. After tobacco is placed in a sacred fire, we put cedar into the fire. It crackles loudly, alerting Gzhemnidoo that prayers are coming.
The Anishinaabeg have a teaching that people go through the western doorway when they pass away and leave the Earth for the Spirit World. For the Anishinaabeg, the buffalo or bison, Shkode-bzhikiguards this doorway. The bison is sacred to the Anishinaabeg it provides so much to help us to survive. The bison teaches us to find the strength and wisdom that is within us.
The sacred medicine of the west is sage, Bashkodejiibik, a powerful pungent smelling medicine. The smoke from sage cleanses our spirits and helps us hear, see, smell, taste and feel things in a good way. Tea made from sage is also strong medicine for a sore throat.
Moving into the northern direction of the medicine wheel, we find sweetgrass, Wiingashk. Long ago, after the Great Flood, Anishinaabe oral history tells us that sweetgrass was the first plant to grow on Turtle Island (North America). Sweetgrass is the hair of Mother Earth. This powerful medicine has a lovely fragrance. We braid it using 21 strands of grass always thinking about what those strands represent. Seven strands are for the 7 generations who have gone before us. Seven are for the 7 generations coming after us and seven are for the 7 gifts of the 7 Grandfathers.
A little boy journeyed to those Grandfathers in the Sky World long ago when the people had once again forgotten how to live in a good way. The Grandfathers reminded him that our lives remain in balance when we remember to live according to the seven gifts: Truth, Love, Wisdom, Respect, Humility, Courage and Honesty. The little boy took the teachings of those seven gifts back to the people and they began to live life in a good way once again.
Sweetgrass, Wiingashk, is a native plant of North America as well as Eurasia. It is the sacred medicine located in the north of the medicine wheel. Braids of sweetgrass are used for smudging to cleanse and purify the spirit and the physical body. Anishinaabe teachings about sweetgrass say that is the medicine of kindness. Sweetgrass teaches us about the importance of braiding body, mind and spirit as well as past, present and future together so that we can be strong.
The animal of the north is the bear, Mkwa. The bear teaches us about the importance of fasting because the bear goes to sleep in the winter, travelling into the Spirit World. Bear doesn’t eat for a long time until the spring. When we are fasting, we sometimes smudge with sweetgrass to help us deal with hunger. The lessons we learn in the north are about strength and truth and how to speak with a voice of wisdom, sharing what we have learned throughout our life to help those younger people who need guidance.
I hope that this medicine sharing has deepened your understanding of the Anishinaabe medicines. Elders have often said that all of the plant medicines we need grow all around us if we have the eyes to see. I leave you now with the wise words of Anishinaabe elder Art Solomon, now in the Spirit World:
Jan Beaver is an educator, author, storyteller, curriculum writer, workshop presenter and traditional dancer from Alderville First Nation. She was a classroom teacher and an outdoor education teacher for many years in the Toronto District School Board. She also served as the Senior Education Advisor for Ogemawahj Tribal Council in Rama. Jan has written two graphic novels for Scholastic Canada entitled Rebel Leader and Crying for a Vision and one graphic novel for the Boldprint Series at Oxford University Press entitled Running Deer. She is also the author of 2 Canadian history books for older students entitled The 10 Most Significant Crossroads in Aboriginal History and The 10 Most Inspiring Aboriginal Leaders (Scholastic Canada). jb4933@rogers.com
