Omolkhua: "Yá’át’ééh!"
MoonJoey: "Yá’át’ééh, Omolkhua! Let's get right into it and please share concerning the red ribbon."
Omolkhua: "The color "red" among the medicine people, the medicine society, represents the blood of Mother Earth. It has strong medicine that is used and wielded by some of the very powerful, known medicine people that have existed throughout history. It is a symbol and the symbolism is an emotional one. The best way to describe it to you is holding your child or grandchild when they are really tiny, like weeks upon arriving into the world. You hold something so precious. You're extremely delicate and cautious, making sure the movement is not so abrupt to startle the baby. You handle it not only with such care, but also with such love, that it's immeasurable. The feeling, the emotional connection you have with this new being that has arrived into this world that is part of your lives, can bring tears of joy because it is so amazing to see new life. The medicine ribbon is similar in its essence. I wear it. I take care of it. Yes, I know that it represents a strong medicinal foundation. I know what it can do."
[[MoonJoey Note: I found this closely relates to a quote from the book "Intimate Nature" by Linda Hogan that states: "I've found, too, that the ancient intellectual traditions are not merely about belief, as some would say. Belief is not a strong enough word. They are more than that: They are part of lived experience, the on-going experience of people rooted in centuries-old knowledge that is held deep and strong, knowledge about the natural laws of Earth, from the beginning of creation, and the magnificent terrestrial intelligence still at work, an intelligence now newly called ecology by the Western science that tells us what our oldest tribal stories maintain--the human animal is a relatively new creation here."]]
"And with such reverence or respect, I also know it is part of me. Like this new being you held for the first time. This being is part of you, part of your genetic trait. It is in your family blood. The same thing with the ribbon. I'm very careful when I take it off. I'm careful where I set it. I make sure that it is on me all the time. I know what it represents. The circle of life... when you create a loop, and the video shows how it's sealed, and your hand goes through this makeshift circle, you penetrate the unseen world. It's like when you have a ceremony in the Inipi. You enter the womb of Mother Earth. Yes, we know the physical structure is just stakes and the tarp, fire and the earth. But the representation of what it means, symbolizes... it is an honor to enter such a dwelling. In this case, it is such an honor to have this gift. We know how it can be used and its only use is for medicinal purposes, to remove the unseen when they're not welcome, to remove them from a place that they have invaded. They know what you have. They know the strength that it represents, because you are the wielder of such medicine. The strength of your faith gives it its power. There was a saying among many warriors, "you can kill my physical body, but you can never kill my spirit." In other words, that person is not gone. The physical being, yes, it is the cycle of life, the same with the ribbon. You create and respect the cycle of the lives, the living and the unliving, or the unseen. When you hand penetrates, you penetrate with the intention of grabbing this unseen and pulling in the circle and tying it. Mind you, it's the four directions, to the four grandfathers. So, not only do you use the medicine, you use the medicine wheel's medicinal property from each location, i.e. East, the birth of a child. It also represents the medicine that I use during ceremonies. It represents the arrival or the entrance of the deity or the Creator, the Grandfather. Describing this ceremony, as you face the four directions, you're not only facing physically the directions, you're facing everything that it represents. When your hand penetrates in that direction, from the physical realm where you and I currently exist at the moment, you go to honor and enter the spiritual realm, as you're facing each of the grandfather locations. You pull the ribbon, you close it. You close it with the strength of the grandfathers, the medicine that has been existing forever."
[[MoonJoey Note: This closely relates to a quote from Floyd Red Crow Westerman: Everything has a spirit. Everything… everything was brought here by the Creator – the one Creator. Some people call Him “God,” some people call Him “Buddha,” some people call Him “Allah,” some people call Him other names. We call Him “Tunkaschila”… “Grandfather.”]]
"And you hold it tight and you create another circle and you face another direction. This medicine that you're asking to borrow from the grandfathers, the knowledge that they have, and how it allows you to wield it... the unseen cannot override, supersede or ignore such power! Have you ever experienced the passing of a loved one in their presence when they took their last breath?"
MoonJoey: "Yes."
Omolkhua: "Were you in the area when the newborn came into this world screaming, saying "I have arrived!"
MoonJoey: "Yes."
Omolkhua: "This is where the combination of both worlds come into one. This is not just a physical action. What it represents... you represent the medicine wheel, life, death. You represent both past and present time. When you create this circle, you become the center of the universe and you wield the medicine circle through the help of the four grandfathers. The physical actions are simplistic in nature, but the representation of what you are actually physically doing is magnified in the spirit world beyond your ability. You're asking the help of those who have existed since the beginning of time."
MoonJoey: "So, it's not you actually doing it. You set your ego aside and let the power of what is represented take over."
Omolkhua: "You become the wielder. You honor yourself with the ability to move forward wielding this medicine. The medicine is not used in a malice manner. It is used to protect the living and to remove the unseen who do not belong in this realm or in that area. You have the power to catch them, physically! The unseen will create doubt. They will create a voice that makes you disregard or disbelieve anything you find credible. They plant a seed of unwillingness. Anything that you can think of in a negative fashion, i.e. oh, man, I look pretty silly doing this, or people are going to laugh at me. That matters not! What matters is what's in your heart, and how you move about using this medicine. They will do everything they can on their end. They have nothing to lose, except their part of their feeding. But they respect the faith you have in YOUR belief."
[[MoonJoey Note: even the bible refers to 'feeding' in this context: 1 Peter 5:8 - Keep sober and alert, because your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.]]
Omolkhua: "The origin of the ribbon was one thing that that Moffay never had a chance to share. My grandmother always had a ribbon handy. And in the south, women wore long-skirted dresses with deep pockets on the sides. Boy, when she was upset, because they were messing with her... her power, her medicine was strong! So, yes, there is a way of doing this. Are you ready?"
MoonJoey: "I'm all ears!"
Omolkhua: "I was very young, maybe 7 or 8 years old, visiting my grandmother. She would always be humming songs, smiling and going about her business. She said to me, "you don't look well." I told her "I feel fine." She goes, "we need to make you feel better." I'm looking at my grandmother and saying, "no, grandma, I'm Okay." I remember this vividly. I remember her face, her smile, the room. She said, "oh, no, no, no, you're not well at all!" I replied, "yeah, grandma, I'm good!" She said, "no, come over here." So, I followed her. She said, "sit by my bed, sit on the floor." I sat down, crossed my legs, my back towards the bed itself. She grabbed a glass jar with a lid on it, and started humming. She had a ribbon, opened the jar and I could smell it. It was sugar cane alcohol. She dipped the ribbon in there and squeezes it like one would a cloth napkin. After squeezed the liquid back into the jar, she took the ribbon, shaped it and wrapped it around her. I started to speak but grandma silenced me saying "ssshhhhh, we're going to make you feel better." Again I said, "grandma, I'm Okay!" Again, she replied, "you're not Okay." I'm looking at the jar. This jar had roots. I could see them. It had several leaves and of all things in there, it had leaf cutters. You know what those are, don't you?"
MoonJoey: "They're an insect, right?"
Omolkhua: "Leaf Cutters, those big, huge, giant ants... she had a whole mess of them, just sitting there in the bottom. I'm looking at it and she just smiles and said, "it's alright, you'll be alright, child, just look forward." She dipped her hands into the alcohol and started to whisper. As I'm sitting there, she puts her hands on my head and begins a prayer in the four directions. My head became the four directions. To the front she started praying, then to the right ear, then to the back of my head and then to the left ear and again forward. She kept repeating this several times. Once she was done, she started to squeeze my whole head. That was making me tired. She finished and started humming again, folding her handkerchief and wrapped it around my head. She told me, "lie down, you'll sleep well." I said, "grandma, I'm Okay!" She said, "you will be." The next thing you know I'm on the bed and I break out into a fever. I'm sweating like there's no tomorrow. She's there, by my side. She's humming. She puts her hand on my body and slowly taps it. She taps my head, abdomen, feet, one arm and then the other, and then puts her hand on my chest and begins to pray the Chitimacha prayer. Before I know it, I pass out. I woke up, I'm guessing about an hour, maybe two, not very long. She asked, "how do you feel?" I replied, "I feel great grandma." She said, "yeah, we needed to make you feel better." She said, "Okay, now you can have the ribbon." So, the ribbon had been given! Years had passed, but before she passed on, I had asked my aunts about this ritual. They told me the intention of the Medicine Woman to the vessel that will wield the medicine, has to be cleansed. Once it is cleansed and the ribbon is given, then you can make other ribbons and wield the medicine that has been passed down. She passed on her medicine onto me, as I had none at that time.
MoonJoey: "Oh. Wow! Fascinating! She was cleansing you before she gave you the ribbon!"
Omolkhua: "Yes."
MoonJoey: "That's incredible. She must have been some kind of woman!"
Omolkhua: "She was amazing. She would grab "them," and you could literally see her hand shake! You know like when you grab a cat and the cat is trying to get away from you? It was something like that! But, there was nothing there I could see. Her grip was solid and she would just close the ribbon and release the grip.
MoonJoey: "So, the ribbon itself, is it treated in any special way?"
Omolkhua: "Remember that I mentioned the Chitimacha people along with the other local nations, traded medicine with the black folk, those who practiced their own medicine and worked in the sugar cane fields. When someone would be working out in the sugar cane fields and was bitten by a black moccasin or black widow, they would be brought to a native medicine person and they would remove the poison and heal the person. In turn, they would share their medicine with the native people from the south. One of the things they gave Moffay was tar water. So, she would mix it."
MoonJoey: "Moffay was your grandmother's name?"
Omolkhua: "Moffay was my mother. My grandmother's name is a name not easily pronounced. This is another interesting part of the Chitimacha people. I have not heard this in the Pueblo or any other Indian Nation. With a medicine woman, the last one that has lived is the one whose name is pronounced freely. The previous one, the name is not pronounced freely or as often to allow them to rest. So, I just refer to her as my grandmother. I don't say her name openly."
MoonJoey: "That's really interesting. So, the one that is the last who wasn't your grandmother is?"
Omolkhua: "My mother. Her name is said freely. I can say it all the time without a second thought. Moffay would use the name freely. Once Moffay passed, then I cannot say the name unless I am in dire need. And that's when there is another ceremony where we pull the ancestors' medicine forward. This is when I go toe-to-toe with the "dark one." If the "dark one" is more powerful than I am, then I seek help and that's when their names are mentioned. That's when the ancestors are called forward to stand by my side into this fight. Like "whose name is not mentioned" (MoonJoey note: this is a reference to the "Ski%wal%er - that's right, I won't even spell it in full name, but you know by now what is meant - saying the name would give it strength), and remember we even mentioned it in the dreams they come... if it was full blown and it was known who it was and they were doing everything in their medicine, then yes, I would seek the help of the ancestors to stand by me and allow their medicine to flow. People not knowing any better would call it witchcraft."
MoonJoey: "I have a personal question to ask you related to this. Would it be okay to ask it of you?"
Omolkhua: "Yes. Of course."
... to be continued
- MoonJoey
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