A Medicine Man was equipped with a number of objects that helped him to communicate with spirits in other worlds. They used dances, gestures & sounds as the symbolic powers of Medicine Man to enter the spirit world. The means & powers by which the Medicine Man practiced his role included:
Trance State - Knowledge of the Trance State & the use of trance-inducing methods & techniques to go on vision quests & incite tribe members
Symbolic Regalia & Sacred Objects - The use of symbolic regalia & sacred objects such as the calumet, or pipe, in Medicine Shamanistic ceremonies & rituals
Ceremonial Clothes - Wearing ceremonial clothes, such as amazing costumes worn by the Medicine Men Skinwalkers
Masks - The Medicine Man of some tribes also used masks that were believed to hold spiritual powers & would identify them with the spirits in other worlds & activate their powers.
Symbolic magic - incantations, prayer sticks, feathers, war dances, rain dances & hunting dances with the use of rattles & drums to incarnate the spirits of nature & amplify their power
Fasting & cleansing rituals
Rite of Passage Rituals - where he advised on the significance of the Power Animal revealed on a or on a Spiritual Journey or in Vision Quests & provided sacred contents to be placed in Medicine Bags
War Paint - Medicine Men often chose certain markings & symbols for warriors during the application of the War Paint. This afforded the wearer with "Magic" for power & protection by drawing on natural powers & combining these with the power of the warrior
The term Medicine Man generally refers to is a priestly healer & spiritual leader of Native American tribes who believed that physical nature might be brought under the control of man, in the person of a Medicine Man. Native American tribes adhered to a wide range of beliefs, ceremonies & rituals regarding communication with the spiritual world in which their religious leader enters supernatural realms particularly when the tribe is facing adversity or need to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community including sickness.
The term Medicine Man is not used by Native Americans. The word "medicine," associated with the Native Indians, means mystery. Each tribe has a word or term of their own construction that is synonymous with mystery or mystery man. Their principle deity, the Great Spirit, is also referred to as the Great Mystery.
The Medicine Man is believed to have a spiritual connection with animals, supernatural creatures & all elements of nature. Spirits were believed to inhabit the rivers, lakes, mountains, trees, plants, sky, stars, sun, animals, insects, fish, flowers & birds. The belief & practice of Native American Indians incorporates a number of beliefs such as Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, Fetishism & Ritualism. These beliefs, taken as a whole, have strong religious connotations. This belief system, & the role of the Medicine Man, is particularly associated with primitive cultures of hunter gatherers who believed that every natural object is controlled by its own independent spirit, or soul.
The Medicine Man used both good & bad spirits. The good spirits helped men & the bad spirits were liable to wreck havoc & harm on people & their tribes. It is the bad spirits that cause trouble, suffering, sickness, death & disease. When a man became ill, it was believed that a bad spirit had entered his body & taken his soul away. Native Americans wished to gain power over these spirits. If a Medicine Man had control over the spirits, he became extremely powerful.
The Medicine Man would know protective chants & words & have a special knowledge of objects which he carried in a Medicine Bag & would disarm bad spirits & protect their owners. This type of knowledge is what the Native Americans mean by “medicine” or “mystery.” The Native Americans who spent their lives in trying to gain such knowledge are referred to as Shaman, medicine people, mystery men, or a Medicine Man.
The Medicine Man used appropriate words, chants, objects, dances & rituals to protect men from evil spirits - his role is that of opponent to the bad spirits & of guardian to the ordinary man. The role of the Medicine Man differs from tribe to tribe as there are some regional & tribal variations to their beliefs in Shamanism. There are, however, several common roles that are shared by every Medicine Man. A Medicine Man was a healer, communicator, educator, prophet, & mystic.
The Medicine Man provided help & advice to members of the tribe, for which he was paid. He was an educator & historian, the keeper of myths, legends, traditions & tribal wisdom.
The Medicine Man was a healer. He possessed supernatural Spiritual Healing powers & the ability to treat sickness caused by evil spirits - hence the Westernized name "Medicine Man."
The Medicine Man was a prophet. He had the ability to perform various forms of prophecy. He was a mystic & possessed the ability to leave the body & communicate with the spirit world. In many tribes, including the Cheyenne & the Sioux, the Medicine Man also had the role of the head warrior or war chief which made him the most influential man of the tribe.
