Question by Charles W: Native American spirituality?
Ok, not to sound weird or anything but I recently came accross a Comanche shaman that kept insisting on having 7 lovers. I’ve known a few medicine men and such from civilized tribes, however we never ususlly discussed their practices. I found this one in particular somewhat dangerous/offensive due to his lack of concern for other people and selfish motives. He also decided to utilize something he referred to as his “soul stealer”.
Of course this individual also claimed to be God and also thought Timothy Mcveigh should be declared as a hero for bombing the Federal building in OKC, even though this person was supposedly in the building at the time it was bombed; also thinks the muslams are peaceful even though they promote hatred and terrorism in their youth, as well as denying there is any such person/being known as Lucifer that was cast out of Heaven. However, he did believe in dealing with “lesser spirits” or beings as well as preying to idols and perverting any and all religions
The question I guess, would be (elaborating on things a little) the end goal would have been to have all 7 lovers at the same time, as well as them continuing to bring offers of other play things as well as “battle” however he never was too clear on exactly what it was he was going to be fighting..
Anyway, question being I thought tribal spiritual leaders were suppose to be helping their tribe and participating in their ceremonies. This one seemed overly anti-social so main question would be is this person just mentally ill or was there anything to all of it?
Best answer:
Answer by voice_of_reason
there is something to be said of a culture that did not need electricity and didn’t need oil
I think the guy meant 7 lovers over time
not at same time
can you blame the guy for cheering on anyone who gets back at the same gov’t who lied and slaughtered them?
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Where’s your question?
Ok… my experience with NA spirituality is very limited, but shamen, elders, leaders did not exploit the members like you are describing…
What was your question??
Not everyone believes in the Lucifer thing, hon. And maybe the shaman was a wack, but they are not all wacks.
Yeah, um…stay away from him.
Anyone can easily claim to be a “shaman” (which isn’t even a term originating with Native people here), many wrongly so and for bad reasons. And this guys sounds like a nutjob.
he sounds a very intresting man – crazy but entertaining.
**shrug** Christian shamans get on the TV and bilk little old ladies out of their social security money asking for “love donations” for a prayer and a blessed pebble from the “holy land”. religion is rife with conmen.
Well since there is NO SUCH THING AS A NATIVE AMERICAN SHAMAN, I wouldn’t have anything to do with him.
I suggest ignoring and avoiding information about American Indian spirituality presented by anyone:
1. Offering anything religious for sale. Money is never accepted by authentic holy people in exchange for Indian religious ceremonies like sweat lodges or sun dances, nor for religious items like medicine bags or smudged items. (They might sell arts and crafts, of course. Use your common sense–a devout Catholic might sell you a hand-carved crucifix to hang on your wall, for example, but he wouldn’t sell communion wafers over the Internet or charge you admission to bring you to his church! Selling dreamcatchers or fetish carvings online is one thing, but don’t believe information provided by anyone who is trying to charge people for smudging or blessing anything, making medicine, or letting them take part in a sweat lodge or dance. They are not authentic sources of information.)
2. Inviting you into their religion on their webpage. Authentic Indians may seek to educate strangers online, but actually adopting an outsider as part of their culture is only done face-to-face and after knowing the person for some time.
3. Claiming to be American Indian shamans , talking about tarot cards and Wiccan/pagan things, or talking about crystals and New Age things. I’ve got nothing against shamanism, paganism, or the New Age, but a cow is not a horse: none of these things are traditionally Native American. Shamanism is a Russian mystic tradition, Wicca is a religion based in pre-Christian European traditions, Tarot readings are an Indo-European divination method, and the New Age is a syncretic belief system invented, as its name suggests, in the modern era. None of them have anything to do with authentic Indian traditions, and anyone who thinks they do is likely to be wrong about anything else he claims about Native American religions as well. Wiccans and New Agers don’t have any more knowledge about actual American Indian beliefs than you do.
4. Identifying only as ‘Native American’ or ‘American Indian’ (an authentic person would list their actual tribal affiliation). Be a little wary, too, of people trying to speak with authority who identify as “mixed-blood” or “of Indian descent” or having a “Cherokee ancestor.” There are certainly some mixed-blood people who were raised in their tribe’s culture, but many more were not. A person who has rediscovered his Indian heritage as an adult is a seeker, not a teacher. He is not qualified to speak authoritatively about Native American religion or culture, for he wasn’t raised that way and doesn’t have any more knowledge about it than anyone else learning about it second-hand–including you.