EMP 7531    M. Gutierrez   3 credits
Indigenous Medicine: Multi-dimensional Ways of Healing

Description

Indigenous science has been recorded for thousands of years, by ancient astronomers, healers, shamans and wisdom keepers, through oral tradition mostly, but also through scribing on stone, wood or woven materials. Today, Western trained physicists, doctors and anthropologists are sharing notes with traditional indigenous wisdom keepers and finding that modern science has finally caught up to the wisdom held by native societies.

Traditional native societies around the world perceive reality from an animist, dynamic viewpoint, where human beings are in constant relationship with other non-human intelligences, such as the ancestors, elements, supernatural beings, cosmic forces, animals, plants and minerals. It was through tending to these sacred relationships that native healers were able to heal.

This is a survey course exploring indigenous medicine techniques and practices from diverse global traditional cultures.

Objectives

• Students will have a broader knowledge of indigenous medicine practices from around the world
• Students will understand the contemporary uses of indigenous medicine ways and have a deeper comprehension of the role of the traditional doctor/healer.
• Students will also gain insight into the traditional healing ways of the native people within their own ancestry.

Topics

• Native North American mysticism and science
• The Mayan calendar and mathematics
• Shamanic traditions of Mongolia
• The dream incubation tradition of ancient Greece and Italy
• The use of community ritual by the Dagara people of Burkina Faso, Africa
• The final project topic is focused on the student’s own ancestral indigenous culture and healing sciences

Texts

• F. David Peat Blackfoot Physics
• Sarangerel Riding Windhorses: A Journey into the Heart of Mongolian Shamanism
• Ralph Metzner Sacred Vine of Spirits
• Peter Kingsley In the Dark Places of Wisdom
• Sobonfu Some Welcoming Spirit Home: Ancient African Teachings to Celebrate Children and Community

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