Asteraceae Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. ludoviciana

Foothill Sagewort

Cheyenne - Other, Ceremonial Items

Use documented by:
Grinnell, George Bird, 1972, The Cheyenne Indians - Their History and Ways of Life Vol.2, Lincoln. University of Nebraska Press, page 190

View all documented uses for Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. ludoviciana

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Scientific name: Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. ludoviciana
USDA symbol: ARLUL2 (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Foothill Sagewort
Family: Asteraceae
Family (APG): Asteraceae
Native American Tribe: Cheyenne
Use category: Other
Use sub-category: Ceremonial Items
Notes: Plant used for many ceremonial purposes. On ceremonial occasions it is spread about the borders of a lodge in a special way. Other uses are to wipe off ceremonial paint; or to purify, by wiping off, with a bundle of the sage, the body of one who has committed some fault--violated some tabu. It is used by Contraries to wipe off the ground in a lodge where a Contrary had been seated. The dried leaves are burned on the coal to make a smoke used in purifying implements or utensils used in ceremony; or to smoke, and so purify, the body of an individual. This is to drive away bad spirits, and particularly to drive away a bad or ominous dream had by a sick person, which dream may remain in the mind of the person and trouble him. It may be mixed with 'motsinists' (Lomatium dissectum var. multifidum)--a small pinch of each in about the same quantity--for the same purpose. The patient who is being smoked sits over the coal on which the sage is being sprinkled, with a blanket over the body and the coal in order to confine the smoke.

RECRD: 2076 id: 5433

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