Apache Healers/Witches

 Witches and healers (Medicine Doctors) either men or women were those who manifested early a talent for communicating with the spirit world. "Some say that the earth talks to them, some say that the wind has life, some say the mountain." Doctors /witches usually received a vision or spiritual guidance instructing them in sacred songs and prayers for healing, for abundance, for blessing, to locate lost people, to control the weather, to weaken an enemy or to curse a person. Some "Doctors" were taken to a sacred mountain or cave where they were initiated into ceremony and received instructions about what and how to do it! During the healing there is a constant interplay between the Power and the practitioner. Some say that Cochise's death in 1874 was the machination of a witch! Geronimo as a war leader's had the “medicine” to extend the darkness, to vanish into air, to raise a dust storm. Lozen, Victoria’s sister was a great psychic warrior who had the ability to see into the future by experiencing after prayer an itch in her palm allowing her to locate/predicting enemy movements. As she stated: "I see as one from a height sees in every direction." Unfortunately for Victorio, her brother, she was not there when he ran into the Mexicans in October, 1880 at Tres Castillos. (Cf, Debo, Geronimo, pp.142-45; Stockel, Women of the Apache Nation, pp.29-51.)

               Doctoring/healing ceremony often was a four day ritual beginning with a Sweat in which the healer dressed in full regalia including wearing of turquoise, abalone shells, red coral, eagle feathers, pollen, black flint blades, white shell, and obsidian. Other items including tobacco, snakeweed and grama grass were part of their medicine bag. The Medicine person was accompanied by two assistants, a drummer and a rattler. The drumming sound in cadence with the rattle had the effect of calming the mind, releasing fear and was a reminder of the centrality of the heart in all healing. The drum cadence simulated the heart beat and the drum itself was consider spiritually alive return one to the spiritual
center of one's existence. The Doctor would sing: "I want nothing to harm us." "I want him to live" "Your Power must go into the life of this poor man." As the ceremony unfolded the doctor sprinkled the sick with pollen (symbol of life), red ocher, iron ore (strength), and white clay (purification). He simultaneously sang to the Four Directions, Colors (Red, White, Black and Yellow) and stones. Tea was used to heal and its plant burnt and smoke fanned over the patient with a sacred eagle feather. Cf, Opler, An Apache Life-Way pp.186-315, Film, “The Missing”)