Gary Null, health author and radio personality, delves into the anthropology of Native Americans to bring you the legends, the myths, and the history of their sacred healing practices: The Ghost Dance, Vision Quests, Rites of Passage, and Wankan-Tanka (White Buffalo Woman). Emphasizing the unity of all life, body and soul, man and nature, dozens of Native American healers share their beliefs, customs, and traditions. Null weaves the cultural aspect with practical information such as:
- Traditional plant remedies for common conditions--from acne to ulcers
- The Seneca Indian four-day cleansing diet
- Herbal recipes such as Ginger Root Tea for nausea and Roasted Onion Poultice for join pain--plus a detailed "field guide" for finding such herbs and plants
- The importance of storytelling, dance rituals, songs, and chants
- The significance of purification, vision quests, and ceremonies
- Sacred objects and symbols
- Native American astrology
An interest gin read and practical guide, Secrets of the Sacred White Buffalo shows you how to benefit from centuries of Native American wisdom to cleanse, heal, and live in harmony with the earth.
Editorial Reviews
"Null, author of popular health books, provides a well-written introduction to Native American cosmology, sacred practices, and traditional remedies. Based largely on interviews with Native Americans rather than firsthand knowledge, the text serves as an introduction to a world-view where nature is divine and humankind lives in intimate harmony with the natural world. In the first third of the book, Null describes the significance and symbolism of three rituals common to many tribes: the pipe ceremony, the sweat lodge, and vision quest. Other aspects of Native American culture and spirituality (dance, chants, storytelling, sacred objects and symbols, astrology, shamanism) are covered in short chapters; a few first-person excerpts from Null's informants expand the topics. The final two-thirds of the text is an A-to-Z encyclopedia of 51 common ailments with their corresponding Native American herbal remedies, followed by another A-to-Z section of nearly 150 American herbs, giving briefly for each its history of use, indications, and recent research findings. A few recipes and herb resources conclude this compact survey of the topic." Penny Spokes, Booklist
About the Author
Gary Null, PhD, is an internationally renowned expert in the field of health and nutrition, the author of more than seventy books on healthy living, and the director of more than one hundred critically acclaimed full-feature documentaries. He is the host of The Gary Null Show, the countrys longest-running nationally syndicated health radio talk show. He lives in New York, New York.
