Teachings
First
I am not a writer. I have been told by people that I should write. About what? Anything they say. Some people refer to me as a story teller. Nevertheless, writing is not my forte but for this TLG cause I gladly accept to lay some thoughts out; because there is purpose in it: I hope people can come to learn how valuable our elders really are (best I’m able). I also hope that my failure to edit this free flowing rough draft is not too much of a nuisance. I don’t have time right now, but in hindsight, I might rewrite what I like of it and clean out some of the loose dust and mud that my writing shoes track around as an amateur writer; and of course, I will keep building upon this effort when I find spare time.A little bit about traditionalists:
First I want to say that I am a simple common person as best as I can be; that is all. I have been given some traditional teachings but I cannot claim myself a traditionalist. There are very few traditionalists still with us today. There are less every day.
What I am is a person who is concerned that we are loosing our traditional Indian people and I have a heart to help them. I am a bridge, more or less, between the two separate worlds of modern and indigenous human life. I am a messenger of the words of my elders; I am no more yet no less. With that said, I will try to key the reader into some of the traditional teachings and ways that traditional people live and how they think about things from what I hear and from what I remember.
Some traditional habits I did pick up like rolling in the snow in bare skin; habits like this keep me feeling close to these ways; the few that I have been able to pick up, and that work for me and stick to me for whatever reason.
My elders have told me that these teachings are important to humanity. And that the more people understand them, the better things will get. Although the essence of tradition belief and spirit is the same the world over; they say, that if you are able to search out your own roots, it is best if we can preserve our own traditions. We need them all. All the Earth’s indigenous ways. Furthermore, they were created to work in the land of their birth. I wouldn’t tell people to move or anything, but it would be good, if you have the heart for it, to live in the land that your traditions come from and to learn those traditions. They all need to be kept alive. That is because Indigenous ways are the ways of ecosystems. Human life depends on the Earth’s ecosystems.
Not all traditionalist have the exact same thoughts nowadays, some are Christians, and there is a lot of tribal variation when it comes to detail. There are, however, definite common elements in traditional Indigenous societies world-wide. When we talk about the spiritual aspect, the teachings that involve forgiveness and quietness, kindness and generosity, love and respect, are very central, dominant cultural chords; especially in the more ancient indigenous societies. Furthermore, the basic ways of looking at things and experiencing the world share a strikingly similar quality in most all Earth-based cultures; which sharply distinguish them from more modern societies.
Still, even within one tribe, or even in different communities within the same tribe, there is an enormous amount of variance, individuality, and different ways of approaching or explaining things, even when referring to the same truths.
I will try to share a general sense of the spirit of traditional life. The only sure way to know exactly is to ask a traditionalist for yourself; and you will surely find another version and a different answer from whomever you ask. This isn’t really important in the end; when you begin to listen from your heart, you will see that true traditionalist keep the same basic message; value life, respect yourself and others, put children and elders first, and we only receive when we give, for example. So, I speak for no one but myself, but we will later include what some of our traditionalists will like to add here themselves; when they feel like sharing some of their own words. I too, will look forward to when that when it happens.
I would like to add here a word of caution. It is a caution that comes from a very strong traditionalist, who is very generous with his words, whenever he is asked to share someone something about his culture. He puts it this way: “Whenever I’m asked to talk about my culture, I have to be very careful. How can they understand it? I can’t even explain it! Not until they go into the sweat lodge and experience it for themselves will they know about it. They have to go up on the hill to know about that, it won’t do any good to talk about it. That’s why I have to take them into the sweat to explain some things. Only after they go up on the hill I could talk about that. They won’t need me. They’ll already know it for themselves; but I could talk about it then.”
These ceremonies changes peoples lives; countless persons have quit drinking and turned their lives around from them. Many were criminals and now they are prayer people, helping out whoever needs help. A lot of them say, “Where not sitting here because we’re good. We’re here because we’re bad, and we need the help ourselves.” Of course, some of the purest traditionalists never drank or stole or womanized. But the point here is that for these ceremonies to change peoples lives like they do, shows what kind of power God put in them. There is no use in trying to explain anything of substance concerning ceremonies; so I’ll leave that pretty much alone myself. There’s no point.
What can be done in some cases, is to show how certain aspects relate to Indigenous cosmology, which is how the world works. Everything is affected by everything else; and the Creator asked us to act responsibly toward Nature and the children who are here. Much of Indigenous thought is about how we behave in the eyes of the children. As some traditionalist put it, “We have to have good behavior (or we’re not a traditionalist).
I remember what one medicine woman told a police officer who put kids in jail when they were caught out from their house after ten ‘o clock in the evening. He, this officer was known to have a sacred pipe in the traditions they followed. One day he visited her house to talk with her and she set him straight with the truth of the situation, “You think you have a pipe, but you don’t; your heart isn’t that soft.”
It is hard to be traditionalist. This is obvious by watching how they compose themselves and how hard they work; they are strong even while they maintain gentleness; they are sensible but fearless, even while their heart remains soft and their words carry a kind spirit. To be a traditionalist takes something that is hard to describe or understand; they remain loving through situations that would harden and jade the greatest of ordinary men.
Listening to them talk I know at least one thing about it: It requires a lifetime of devotion before one can even begin to understand it; and once understood, it becomes the very central-most aspect of life and living. It is a spiritual state of being; it defines all actions and interactions; it is the soul communicating through the events of this world in a sacred way. Traditionalist are grounded and deeply rooted to the Earth; they know what they are doing and mean it and mean to heal or educate through action. Often they explain nothing.
They may give something never to be recognized, because that is their nature; they believe that the spirit changes the Earth. To help and not be seen is more powerful because it is more pure. It is more selfless; it is more godlike. And that is the meaning of spiritual; it is something that is godlike. The things that are connected to God through the living spirit of God are living, they will act on their own long after the deed that is done to carry them is completed and forgotten. This is a very strong faith. Not many live these ways for long before giving them up.
Traditionalists make much fun of what they are doing, they tell animated stories of the adventures that happen while they are following the spirit, and they play fun with themselves in their own minds; there is a childlike quality to it, typically. They could be thought to be living out the ‘fantastic dreams of little children’, if we didn’t know that they know reality in a way that rivals western sciences today. The ways that they keep, have worked for thousands of years. Playfulness and selflessness must confer a survival advantage or these ways would not have become the longest enduring human story of the Earth.
It is hard for people to believe the truth of these things enough to sacrifice notoriety, pride, or recompense in some form or another. Most people will get excited by these ways of traditionalists and get started. That is good. That is the point; that as many people practice spirituality as are willing; for the good of the coming generations.
To do goodness without notice does not make one a traditionalist but it makes one a more blessed person to be sure. Our traditionalist don’t just do these things, they are these things; in other words they are habits to them. They have practiced these ways of being so long that they do them without consideration; they are a part of themselves. That is not to say traditionalist are perfect people either. Many have problems equal to those of anyone else. The difference with a traditionalist is that their hearts are open to others. They do not deceive or conceal because truth and honesty are part of integrity. That is one defining characteristic of all traditionalists, spiritual integrity. They are solid, they are real, and they are honest. They will not bullshit you, nor will they wish to manipulate or milk you out of something.
That alone is very important. True traditionalist do not take advantage of someone else. I have heard them complain about that behavior, although they are careful not to use names if they are upset. Words have a spirit; they have an effect when they are used. Beliefs like ‘caution with words’ are so strong with traditionalists, that most outsiders view them as superstition. That is the difference; and the difference is truly great, between the two worlds.
Traditionalist rarely claim themselves to be traditionalists; still everyone who’s been around them knows who they are. They know because of their behavior; they know because because of a certain demeanor they carry about them. They wouldn’t lie about living traditional teachings and say, “No I am not. I’m not a traditionalist.” They would probably answer and say, “I believe in these ways”, or “I guess you could say that.” (some might laugh at themselves thinking the reality of it is somewhat crazy, some would say it while reflecting, thoughtfully, others might just blurt it out; it all depends on the medicines they carry). They are not boasters, they are not proud people. They are simply strong and secure in their beliefs because they live them, and they have lived them for so long.
Everyone knows who they are because they are different from everyone else. Behavior communicates far more than words; we can see it in lives. Whatever it is they have, we recognize it when we see it; and it comforts us. It comforts anyone who is living halfway decent as a human being, a creature of God. One can be ill in some way, maybe emotionally, and traditionalists are secure people for them to be near. Only those who are deceitful usually avoid them out of discomfort. Or don’t see them at all because they are chasing something different. The traditionalists care for everyone, and would help any person good or bad, if they could. Some people can not be helped, not by a traditionalists or anyone else. Even God has a hands off principal should we reject healing or our own betterment.
They don’t take themselves too seriously, they know their place in the world, they know who and what they are. So they always give credit to God or the spirit, they don’t take credit for doctoring, if they use Indian medicines to help someone. They give credit where credit is due, to the spirit of God. They honor and give credit to the one seeking help; they might also acknowledge the effect of loved ones in a healing; but they won’t claim credit themselves. Other say, “They are a healer. Or they are a medicine man, or they are a traditionalist, or they are a spiritual leader.” They don’t talk much of it themselves.
One medicine man, after healing a boy of a brain tumor, and getting word that the tumor was gone 3 weeks later, said, “It was his mother’s faith that healed him.”
They say that, “the spirit does the work, we just prepare a place for the spirit to come in and work on the patient.” Or we just let them (the spirits) use us through theses songs and this altar. “We are ingredients. The Creator uses us all”. We are a part of a prayer that God is working through. Or we are a ‘hollow bone’, an eagle bone whistle that the Creator uses to tune us to the spirit, (and restore harmony). or “I just make a pathway. The medicine, the prayers, and the spirits, are the doctors.” Or the healing comes through your faith, or these ceremonies; “I am just an intermediary.”
However, its put, a traditionalist doesn’t take credit for healing or claim to have powers. Because people get healed around them through the work they do, the communities refer to them as Indian doctors, or medicine men or woman, or healers. Leaders bring the people together and make sense to everyone, and are trusted, and have a good way of talking and saying things. People choose to follow them. The communities say they are a spiritual leader, or they might have been ordained to that place through traditional lineages.
They don’t speak of it much. Others describe them that way. They are quiet about it, they pray about it; they meditate deeply to see clearly. And the people rely on them in certain ways; and come to ask them for help. If asked they might explain the situation, “This passed to me after so and so passed on.” or “the people come to ask me things when they are looking for help.” or they might tell the story about of how they were given the position of being a chief for instance. You might hear them say, “My family were of the eagle crest, so we’re chiefs. Such and such a crest are these people and those are that.” Or “when I came back from doing this they honored me and made me a chief.”
They thing I’m trying to explain is that it is a humble career. It is also a lonely career. Traditional healers are understood by only a few people, mostly healers themselves. Native leaders are simple, humble, down to Earth kind of people who are often kind and gentle and good listeners, and who devote a lot of time to serving their people and interacting at events, and they are more like ‘eyes for the people’ then commanders. They don’t command anyone at all in fact. As one of them put it, “If I ask the people to do what they don’t want to do, then I am no longer a chief.”
They are a part of the group, not above the group. That’s what the role or mold for leadership is, in indigenous societies. In some Indigenous cultures, leadership positions require rigorous rights of passage. They may have to serve current leaders in governing events of a spiritual nature; they might stay awake for several days while holding service posts. They might be tested ceremonially to demonstrate acceptance of the rigors of commitment; there, they can prove their seriousness and servitude to the community.
The leadership positions may rotate, with revolving terms of office (as they do in Huichol society), so that most anyone in the community who wishes to serve in a leadership role (or governing way) has a chance in their adult lifetime to do so; resultantly many understand the efforts involved and respect these positions through personal knowledge.
Traditional life is dedication and requires strict self-discipline; traditionalists are attentive and conscious to the inner nature of people and their behaviors, or where others might be coming from. When they act to help someone, it is typically in simple thoughtful ways. They don’t jump around trying to help people. They are measured and steady and masterful listeners, whether people recognize it or not. If they can’t hear, they will listen with their eyes. They observe a lot more than they admit or let on. If you know them personally, you find this out.
The most beautiful thing about true traditionalists, is the way they have chosen, or been raised to live: It is in how they treat others. They may be quiet or less often talkative, they may be reserved or less often, helpful in an outgoing way, but they are positively loving, nonjudgmental and impartial beings. They accept all races equally, each individual is treated according to his or her merit and desert. And you won’t be treated special by trying to impress them with your exceptional behavior; they will have seen through that before you even realized you were doing it. On the other hand, they won’t blame you or reject you for acting ridiculous either. They might make a careful, humorous remark when they observe an eccentricity. They are true masters at knowing what to say or do to maintain the heart of a group in a good way of balance. They can joke to break tensions, or start a community activity to thwart off an emerging problem. The nature of their humor has their joking be more of an acceptance remark of the person with odd behavior; kind of an endearing identification of funny traits that can be enjoyed by those who know that person.
These ways were critical to the survival of human communities over thousands of years. Their is an aspect of human social management in it. To redirect negative energy, to transform tension into entertainment, to harmonize discord, to continual attune the group to its center; that center is the spiritual purpose of its assembly. All indigenous group activity has a spiritual component. Even casual social dances or expressive dance art, use songs that call in the spirit of God and make sure the ancestors will be present.
There is no Sunday church that leaves 6 days to human mischief. There is no deception in God’s world; this is His world; His eyes are always on our backs. His eyes are looking into our minds in every new moment. He sees how are thoughts are, how they are moving, and where they are going, at all times. There is no time to just forget God, or the ancestors who willed things to be the way they are; nor to forget the coming generations, which is why we are living: it is for them, this world will soon be theirs. God is remembered forever and always; but then God is ‘why we celebrate’. He made it all in the first place. God commands that we find human happiness; so we wouldn’t we want God’s spirit with us anyways? God protects us from ourselves.
Don’t put a traditionalist on a pedestal; they are equal to you. We are all the same; respect yourself, respect others, respect your people, respect your parents and your spouse, respect the children, your relatives, the Earth. This is what they are really trying to tell the world. If you idolize them they will be concerned that you don’t understand something or other; they might worry that you have a confusion!
The most identifiable mannerism of traditionalists is how they live, think, feel, act, and relate with others; there is quiet purposefulness in all of it. You sense it in the resolute attitude that stabilizes, focuses, and centers them; there is meaningful spirit behind the words they chose to use, and the things they select to say. This is because they communicate, and are communicating with, a higher good. They are living a very strict discipline, a serious commitment, a life of ‘truthfulness within the self’. It is the ‘spirit way’ of things. As one traditionalist puts it, “It is very serious. you don’t just play around with it. If you’re not serious about it, just leave it alone.”
They strive to create self-respect in all people; they encourage confidence, but advocate caution (the world is very tricky), they uplift the downtrodden, acknowledge good things in others, and firmly believe in commitment. They are accepting of anyone who is sincere and decided in purpose, regardless of outward appearance; being decided in purpose is something they can relate to themselves; it is something they understand very well.
Traditional ways have absolutely nothing to do with outward appearances; they are about living through the heart. “The longest road is the road between the heart and the head”. “We must learn to see through the eyes of the heart”.
Most traditionalist speak little about their own identities, except when it is to explain something useful, or to comfort someone by recognizing them by their tribe, or something held in common to establish connection; they talk a lot about things that will help people feel good about themselves, accepted and appreciated.
They word here is inclusiveness, inclusion, communal identity, group identification. Traditional ways are first about relationships; and relationships are about ‘belonging’. Traditional life, everywhere around the world, is the same on this major theme of life; it identifies ‘indigenous ways’; it is close to the heart of all Indigenous ways.
The word ‘traditional’ can be pretty much be exchanged for the word ‘communal’; without loosing much meaning. That is how basic communal behavior is to traditional society. That is the strongest element of ancient traditional values, the one that makes it all come together, to circle around one single point which is at the heart of everything traditional; Tradition is about ‘belonging’; it is ‘to belong.'
We belong to the Earth, we belong to the Spirit, we belong to each other, we belong together; we belong to our families, our clans, our tribes, and to one another. As one of traditionalist states his identity when asked, “I am a ‘human being tribe.'
Traditional ways are inclusive, not exclusive; they are concerned with belonging. Exclusion is used as a trick; to get the better of others, separating and singling ourselves out for favoritism, dividing for justification of wrong action, greed, righteous abuse and manipulation; it is against spiritual ways and opposes reality. Everything depends on the Earth and all things are interconnected; everything affects everything else; the honor of one is the honor of all, and the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
Exclusion has become an accepted norm and tool of the modern world; it has no place in the ancient ‘living indigenous communal societies’. There are many stories, teachings, practices and historical examples about the inclusive spirit, of community and tribe, from indigenous people all around the world. It is something worth getting deeper into later, because there cannot be anything truly ‘Indigenous’, without the fundamental concept of unity. The indigenous world is relationship-based.
The Earth’s most powerful, ancient tribes are predisposed and designed to integrate anyone who feels called to become part of the tribal community; they are set ways of absorbing outsiders to make them insiders. The surviving ancient world is flexible and robust. It can absorb modern alien technologies without disrupting the sacred Cosmo-vision that gives the tribe order. This Cosmo-vision transforms the mundane and the profane to imbue new objects with spiritual qualities. Once transformed the new technologies fit into the belief system of the tribe.
Indigenous societies are flexible, creative, and ingeniously adaptable; they change through time, while preserving their integrity, identity, and world vision, as well as the spiritual order of relationships within them. They change like living beings; in the way that they incorporate, grow, and are meaningfully modified by external influences.
They are dying out due to aggressive external social forces, not because they can’t adapt. As one medicine man remarked, “Our ways are dying out. Our elders are disappearing and no one is taking it up anymore (replacing them) when they go. Our culture is always growing. It is alive. It is sacred. Its just that things are happening too fast for it to have time to respond; so its getting eroded away.”
Most traditionalists never decided to follow the traditional ways—they were trained into them. They were captured by a secret society as a child and trained, or they were adopted by grandparents and raised traditionally. Some were chosen by the spirits if they were to become Indian or Indigenous doctors. Some had a special gift or disposition that called them to the attention of the community. In any case they usually had no choice.
Whether they chose it, or not, once they entered into this way (through a medicine society or secret society), their life was decided for them; it had been given away to a ‘life of purpose’: the purpose of reaching forth to create and develop an understanding of the holy order of this world of the humans, and spirits, and nature.
