Medicine wheel
1150161
222701399
2008-06-30T18:14:12Z
Josephprymak
483850
/* See also */
{{for|the Medicine Wheel in Big Horn County, Wyoming, USA|Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark}}
[[Image:bighorn medicine wheel.jpg|thumb|The [[Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark|Medicine Wheel in Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming]], USA]]
[[Image:MedicineWheel.jpg|thumb|The [[Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark|Medicine Wheel in Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming]], USA]]
'''Medicine wheels''', or sacred hoops, were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground. Most medicine wheels follow the basic pattern of having a center of stone(s), and surrounding that is an outer ring of stones with "spokes", or lines of rocks radiating from the center. Some ancient types of [[sacred architecture]] were built by laying stones on the surface of the ground in particular patterns common to aboriginal peoples. Originally, and still today, medicine wheels are [[stone structures]] constructed by certain [[Native Americans (Americas)|indigenous peoples]] of [[North America]] for various astronomical, [[ritual]], healing, and teaching purposes. Medicine wheels are still 'opened' or [[inaugurated]] in [[Native American (Americas)|Native American]] [[spirituality]] where they are more often referred to as "sacred hoops", which is the favoured English rendering by some. There are various native words to describe the ancient forms and types of rock alignments. One teaching involves the description of the four directions. More recently, syncretic, hybridized uses of medicine wheels, [[magic circle]]s, and [[mandala]] sacred technology are employed in [[New Age]], [[Wiccan]], [[Pagan]] and other spiritual [[discourse]] throughout the [[World]]. The rite of the sacred hoop and medicine wheel differed and differs amongst indigenous traditions, as it now does between non-indigenous peoples, and between traditional and modernist variations. The essential nature of the rite common to these divergent traditions deserves further anthropological exploration as does an [[exegesis]] of their [[valence]].
==Nomenclature==
The [[Royal Alberta Museum]] (2005) hold that the term 'medicine wheel' was first applied to the Big Horn medicine wheel in [[Wyoming]], the most southern archeological wheel still extant.<ref>Source: [http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/human/archaeo/faq/medwhls.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref> The term "medicine" was applied because of the healing that was associated with the medicine wheel, and denotes that the sacred site and rock formations were of central importance and attributed with religious, hallowed, and spiritual significance.<ref>Source: [http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/human/archaeo/faq/medwhls.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref>
The revisionist and culturally congruent English nomenclature 'sacred hoop'.<ref>Source: [http://healing.about.com/cs/native/a/medicinewheel.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref> Zotigh (2002) defines hoop in his article on [[Indigenous American]] [[hoop dancing]]:
<blockquote>
The hoop is symbolic of "the never-ending cycle of life." It has no beginning and no end. Tribal healers and holy men have regarded the hoop as sacred and have always used it in their ceremonies. Its significance enhanced the embodiment of healing ceremonies.<ref>Zotigh, Dennis (2007). ''History of the modern Hoop Dance''. [[Indian Country Today]]. Source: [http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415117] (accessed: January 3, 2008)</ref>
</blockquote>
==Exegesis==
{{Refimprove|section|date=June 2008}}
===Stone structures as sacred architecture===
Intentionally erecting massive stone structures as [[sacred architecture]] is a well-documented activity of ancient [[monolithic]] and [[megalithic]] peoples, from the [[Egyptian pyramids]] to [[Stonehenge]], and the indigenous peoples of Northern America share in this proclivity. What does set them apart from many of the other monolithic peoples is how non-intrusive and environmentally sensitive the [[footprint]] and [[fabrication]] of their structures were. Unlike the usual grand and towering stone monoliths, the indigenous peoples of North America and southern Canada laid down stones on the [[Earth]] in certain arrangements and patterns. A distinctive type of these arrangements and patterns is found in the shape of a wheel, circle, hoop or disk; known generally through the term "medicine wheel" - though this nomenclature is culturally insensitive to some and is disfavoured as an external cultural attribution. {{Facts|date=June 2008}}
The [[Royal Alberta Museum]] (2005) chart the possible point of origin and/or confluent or parallel tradition to the sacred hoop and mention [[tipi]], stones as '[[foundation stone]]s' or '[[phurba|tent-peg]]s', [[cobblestone]], [[Plains Indians]] and [[ceremonial dance]]:
<blockquote>
Scattered across the plains of Alberta are tens of thousands of stone structures. Most of these are simple circles of cobble stones which once held down the edges of the famous tipi of the Plains Indians; these are known as "tipi rings." Others, however, were of a more esoteric nature. Extremely large stone circles - some greater than 12 metres across - may be the remains of special ceremonial dance structures. A few cobble arrangements form the outlines of human figures, most of them obviously male. Perhaps the most intriguing cobble constructions, however, are the ones known as medicine wheels.<ref>Source: [http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/human/archaeo/faq/medwhls.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref>
</blockquote>
===Locality, siting and proxemics===
Medicine wheels are sited throughout northern [[United States]] and southern [[Canada]], specifically [[South Dakota]], [[Wyoming]], [[Montana]], [[Alberta]] and [[Saskatchewan]]. The majority of the circa 70 documented architectural hoops still extant are evident within [[Alberta, Canada]].
One of the prototypical medicine wheels remains within the [[Bighorn National Forest]] in [[Big Horn County, Wyoming]]. This 75 foot diameter wheel has 28 spokes, and is part of a vast set of old Native American sites that document 7,000 years of their history in that area.
'''Medicine wheels''' were commonly used by [[North America]]n [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|natives]] such as the [[Ojibwa]] and prehistoric ancestors of the [[Assiniboine]].
Some locations of medicine wheels are found in the prairie regions of [[North America]], such as [[Manitoba]], [[Wyoming]], [[Montana]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Alberta]]. Larger astronomical and ceremonial [[petroforms]] and [[Hopewell]] [[mound]] building can also be found in other places of North America.
===Structure, fabrication and patterning===
In defining the archetypal structure of the sacred hoop, the [[Royal Alberta Museum]] (2005) mentions [[Medicine Hat]], [[cairn]], [[concentric]], [[radius]], [[epicentre]] and [[stone circle]] holds that:
<blockquote>
John Brumley, an archaeologist from Medicine Hat, has provided a very exacting definition of what constitutes a medicine wheel. He notes that a medicine wheel consists of at least two of the following three traits: (1) a central stone cairn, (2) one or more concentric stone circles, and/or (3) two or more stone lines radiating outward from a central point.<ref>Source: [http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/human/archaeo/faq/medwhls.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref>
</blockquote>
Medicine wheels were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground. Most medicine wheels follow the basic pattern of having a center [[cairn]] of stones, and surrounding that would be an outer ring of stones, then there would be "spokes", or lines of rocks, coming out the cairn.
Medicine wheels were built by laying out stones in a circular pattern that often looked like a wagon wheel lying on its side. The wheels could be large, reaching diameters of 75 feet. Although [[archeologists]] are not definite on the purpose of each medicine wheel, it is thought that they probably had [[ceremonial]] or [[astronomical]] significance.
Almost all medicine wheels would have at least two of the three elements mentioned above (the center cairn, the outer ring, and the spokes), but beyond that there were many variations on this basic design, and every wheel found has been unique and has had its own style and eccentricities.
The most common deviation between different wheels are the spokes. There is no set number of spokes for a medicine wheel to have. The spokes within each wheel are rarely evenly spaced out, or even all the same length. Some medicine wheels will have one particular spoke that's significantly longer than the rest, suggesting something important about the direction it points.
Another variation is whether the spokes start from the center cairn and go out only to the outer ring, or whether they go past the outer ring, or whether they start at the outer ring and go out from there.
An odd variation sometimes found in medicine wheels is the presence of a passageway, or a doorway, in the circles. The outer ring of stones will be broken, and there will be a stone path leading up to the center of the wheel.
Also many medicine wheels have various other circles around the outside of the wheel, sometimes attached to spokes or the outer ring, and sometimes just seemingly floating free of the main structure.
They are made by placing rocks down into a circle shape, and four lines or more of rocks are put down across the circle, or near the circle. Medicine wheels are used to mark the geographical directions and astronomical events of the sun, moon, some stars, and some planets in relation to the Earth's horizon at that location. These rock sites were also used for important ceremonies, teachings, and as sacred places to give thanks to the [[Creator deity|Creator]], or [[Gitchi Manitou]], known as the [[Great Spirit]] in the [[Ojibway]] [[native]] language. Other North American indigenous peoples also made these circle [[petroforms]]. Medicine wheels are very similar to circular turtle shaped petroforms with the legs, head, and tail pointing out the directions and aligned with astronomical events.
===Cultural value, attribution and meaning===
The historical, archeological medicine wheels and sacred hoops have been built and engaged ritually for millenia, and each one has enough unique characteristics and qualities that archaeologists have encountered significant challenges in determining with precision what each one was for; similarly, gauging their commonality of function and meaning has also been problematic.
One of the older wheels has been dated to over [[3rd millennium BC|4,500]] years old. Like Stone Henge, it had been built up by successive generations who would add new features to the circle. Due to the long existence of such a basic structure, archaeologists suspect that the function and meaning of the medicine wheel changed over time, and it is doubtful that we will ever know what the original purpose was.
Astronomer John Eddy put forth the theory that some of the wheels had astronomical significance, where the longest spoke on a wheel could be pointing to a certain star at a certain time of the year, suggesting that the wheels were a way to mark certain days of the year. Other scientists have shown that some of the wheels mark the [[solstice|longest day of the year]].
Some Indigenous American and Canadian peoples{{Who|date=June 2008}} engage the Medicine Wheel and associated rites to demonstrate the periodicity and cyclicality of [[Nature]], [[change]], life and [[lifecycle]]s, [[interdependence]], relationships and the ''[[Mysterium Magnum]]'' of the Earth and the [[Universe]], amongst other teachings.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
====A medicine wheel schematic====
In the [[Hopi]] Medicine Wheel of the [[Hopi prophecy]] of the four peoples of the Earth, the cardinal direction [[North]] represents the body, air, the color white and 'white skinned peoples', birth, and/or meeting a stranger and learning to trust as in infancy, explained in Erik Erikson's stages of [[Psychosocial development]]. The East is held to represent the mind, fire, the color yellow and 'yellow skinned peoples', the adolescent stage, and learning the groups to which people belong. The South holds the heart, the color red and '[[Red people|red skinned peoples]]', the Earth, and the young adult stage. Finally West holds the spirit, water, the color blue or black, and 'black-skinned peoples'. West can also represent the final life stage in the wheel, being an elder and passing on knowledge to the next generation so that the wheel may start again just like the circle it takes after.
==Medicine Wheel Park, Valley City, USA==
Professor Joe Stickler of [[Valley City State University]] with the assistance of his students commenced the construction of [[Medicine Wheel Park]] in 1992. The Park showcases two [[solar calendar]]s: "...a horizon calendar (the medicine wheel) and a meridian or noontime calendar."<ref>Valley City State University (2005). ''Medicine Wheel Park''. Source: [http://medicinewheel.vcsu.edu/] (accessed: January 3, 2008)</ref>
Valley City State University (2005) states that:
<blockquote>
The Medicine Wheel’s large circle measures 213 feet around. The 28 spokes radiating from its center represent the number of days in the lunar cycle. Six spokes extending well beyond the Wheel are aligned to the horizon positions of sunrises and sunsets on the first days of the four seasons.<ref>Valley City State University (2005). ''Medicine Wheel Park''. Source: [http://medicinewheel.vcsu.edu/] (accessed: January 3, 2008)</ref>
</blockquote>
==New Age views==
Desy (2007) ventures the view of a [[New Age]] reconstructed and hybridized tradition rooted in Indigenous traditions and describes the sacred hoop as a developmental, introspective tool linking with it the [[Classical Elements]], [[totem]]s and [[cardinal directions]]:
<blockquote>
The medicine wheel represents the sacred circle of life, its basic four directions, and the elements. Animal totems serve as guardian of each of the directions. <ref>Desy, Phylameana lila (2007). ''Medicine Wheel''. Source: [http://healing.about.com/cs/native/a/medicinewheel.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref></blockquote>
Desy (2007) outlines some of the substances and [[Fetishism|fetishes]] engauged in the construction and opening of a sacred hoop as a personal rite of 'sacred [[play (activity)|play]]' such as [[crystals]], [[arrowhead]]s, [[seashells]], [[feather]]s, [[animal fur]] and [[bone]]s:
<blockquote>
A personal medicine wheel can be made using fetishes such as crystals, arrowheads, seashells, feathers, animal fur/bones, and so on. <ref>Desy, Phylameana lila (2007). ''Medicine Wheel''. Source: [http://healing.about.com/cs/native/a/medicinewheel.htm] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref>
</blockquote>
Lightening Woman (1999) builds a [[syncretic]], [[inclusive]] [[doxology]] founded upon the Hopi sacred hoop of the family of Earth:
<blockquote>
This is a Universal Medicine Wheel Teaching and is meant to show that there is ONLY ONE CREATOR GOD and ONE FAMILY OF GOD! We were placed on the Earth in Four Original Tribes and All Peaople ''[sic]'' were originally Native to the Earth. We were originally given the same teachings, with different perspectives. We all need to share our knowledge with one and other, so that we All might Grow Greater in Spirit. The Creator does not hold one Nation above another and sent messengers to All Nations. Everyone was given Medicine Wheels, Mandalas, Sacred Circle Teachings, to learn about their relationship to All Life.<ref>Source: [http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/1029/medicinewheel5.html] (accessed: January 2, 2008)</ref>
</blockquote>
==See also==
*[[Archaeoastronomy]]
*[[Concept map]]
*[[Image schema]]
*[[Inukshuk]]
*[[Original Keetoowah Society]]
*[[Petroforms]]
*[[Rock art]]
*[[Sandpainting]]
*[[Temenos]]
==Notes==
<references/>
==Further reading==
*"Medicine Wheels: A Mystery in Stone", written by J. Rod Vickers that appeared in Alberta Past 8(3):6-7, Winter 1992-93.
===Books===
*John A. Eddy. "Medicine Wheels and Plains Indian Astonomy," in Native American Astronomy. ed. Anthony F. Aveni (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1977) p.147-169.
*John A. Eddy. "Medicine Wheels and Plains Indians," in Astronomy of the Ancients, ed. Kenneth Brecher and Michael Feirtag Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1979) p.1-24.
*E.C. Krupp, Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations, (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1983) p.141-148.
*Jamie Jobb, The Night Sky Book (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1977) p.70-71.
*Ray F. Williamson, Living the Sky. The Cosmos of the American Indian, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1984) p.191-217.
===Articles===
*Anthony F. Aveni, "Native American Astronomy," Physics Today Issue 37 (June 1984) p.24-32.
*Von Del Chamberlain, "Prehistoric American Astronomy." Astronomy Issue 4 (July 1976) p.10-19.
*John A. Eddy, "Astronomical Alignment of the Big Horm Medicine Wheel," Science Issue 184 (June 1974) p.1035-1043.
*John Eddy, "Probing the Mystery of the Medicine Wheels," National Geographic 151:1, 140-46 (January 1977).
*O. Richard Norton, "Early Indian Sun-Watching Sites are Real," American West Issue 24 (August 1987) p.63-70
==External links==
*[http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/medwheel.htm Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark]
*[http://www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca/human/archaeo/faq/medwhls.htm What is a Medicine Wheel?]
*[http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/VTrips/MedWheel.HTM Photographs of the Big Horn Medicine Wheel]
*[http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/KMWIntro.html Kiwanis Medicine Wheel]
*[http://www.shannonthunderbird.com/symbols_and_meanings.htm Teachings of the Medicine Wheel]
* [http://www.turtlemountain.org/exhibits/mythandhistory/#toc The Turtle and the Serpent]
*[http://medicinewheel.vcsu.edu Medicine Wheel Park at Valley City State University]
*[http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO Standord University Solar Center Medicine Wheel Page]
{{Registered Historic Places}}
[[Category:Megalithic monuments]]
[[Category:Native American religious places]]
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