Navajo Medicine Man

A chance meeting with a young Navajo Indian propels an English traveler out of his middle-class London life and into the world of the North American Indian Medicine Men, where people believe that witchcraft can bring ruin and even death. Only the Medicine Men have the knowledge to do battle with witches, lift curses and restore the sick to health. The larger-than-life Blue Horse is one of a dwindling band of Medicine Men traveling the vast Navajo reservation of New Mexico and Arizona, ministering to the victims of evil spirits. Charles Langley, former London newspaper editor, finds himself serving as Blue Horse's bag carrier and chauffeur, eventually becoming his apprentice. He sees Blue Horse perform incredible feats - predicting the future, uncovering the past, curing the sick and communicating with spirits. At first bemused by what he sees, Langley attributes Blue Horse's successes to luck or fraud. But logical explanations soon fall short. In Meeting the Medicine Men, Langley studies the accumulating evidence that Navajo Medicine Men really can cure the sick, change history and foretell the future and explores a culture that has endured since the Ice Age but is now cracking under the pressure of the modern world.

Frisbie examines how jish are assembled, used, and protected, and how they are circulated among Navajos and others such as esoteric art dealers, gallery owners, an museums ... -- from inside cover.

Reproduces the Navajo Bead Chant and Shooting Chant sandpaintings done by a revered medicine man in addition to explaining these healing rites and the legends connected with them

In this fascinating real-life adventure, a chance meeting with a young Navajo Indian propels an English traveler out of his middle-class London life and into the world of North American Indian Medicine Men. Here, people firmly believe that witchcraft can bring ruin, even death, and only Medicine Men have the knowledge to do battle with evil, lift curses and restore the sick to health. Blue Horse is one of a dwindling band of Medicine Men traveling the vast Navajo nation of New Mexico and Arizona. Charles Langley, a former London newspaper executive, becomes his "bag carrier" and chauffeur and eventually his trainee. He sees the Medicine Man perform feats: foretelling the future, uncovering the hidden past and communicating with spirits. Vowing not to leave his brains at the teepee door, Langley studies the accumulating evidence that Medicine Men really can cure the sick, change events of long ago and influence the future. Across the breathtaking Southwest landscape and along the fabled Route 66, he meets startling characters and gains rare access into ancient healing traditions.

In 1863 the Dine began receiving medical care from the federal government during their confinement at Bosque Redondo. Over the next ninety years, a familiar litany of problems surfaced in periodic reports on Navajo health care: inadequate funding, understaffing, and the unrelenting spread of such communicable diseases as tuberculosis. In 1955 Congress transferred medical care from the Indian Bureau to the Public Health Service. The Dine accepted some aspects of Western medicine, but during the nineteenth century most government physicians actively worked to destroy age-old healing practices. Only in the 1930s did doctors begin to work with--rather than oppose--traditional healers. Medicine men associated illness with the supernatural and the disruption of nature's harmony. Indian service doctors familiar with Navajo culture eventually accepted traditional medicine as a valuable complement to their health care. Superior scholarship . . . especially rich in new material.--David Brugge, author of The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute.

In this fascinating real-life adventure, a chance meeting with a young Navajo Indian propels an English traveler out of his middle-class London life and into the world of North American Indian Medicine Men. Here, people firmly believe that witchcraft can bring ruin, even death, and only Medicine Men have the knowledge to do battle with evil, lift curses and restore the sick to health. Blue Horse is one of a dwindling band of Medicine Men traveling the vast Navajo nation of New Mexico and Arizona. Charles Langley, a former London newspaper executive, becomes his 'bag carrier' and chauffeur and eventually his trainee. He sees the Medicine Man perform feats: foretelling the future, uncovering the hidden past and communicating with spirits. Vowing not to leave his brains at the teepee door, Langley studies the accumulating evidence that Medicine Men really can cure the sick, change events of long ago and influence the future. Across the breathtaking Southwest landscape and along the fabled Route 66, he meets startling characters and gains rare access into ancient healing traditions.