Geronimo

Geronimo (Chiricahua Goyaałé 'One Who Yawns'; often spelled Goyathlay in English), (June 16, 1829–February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who long warred against the encroachment of settlers of European descent on tribal lands.

Geronimo as Medicine Man

Below is an account of a Chiricahua boy's memory of attending a healing ceremony by Geronimo:

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: "The first ceremony by Geronimo I saw was one for an older man. Some coyote or dog had made him sick. One boy got hold of the news that the ceremony was going to be held, and we learned of it through him. We asked Geronimo if we could attend. He said it would be all right but told us we could not scratch ourselves or make any noise.

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: "The ceremony began in the evening, as soon as it became dark. It took place in an arbor outside Geronimo's home. There was a fire. Geronimo and the patient were on the west side of the fire. Geronimo sat facing the east, and the patient lay stretched out before him. Some older people were there. They were mostly relatives of the sick man. But it would have been all right for anyone to come in and watch. We sat in a circular fashion in the back of the shelter. But the space to the east was left open, as always happens at a ceremony.

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: "Geronimo had an old black tray basket before him filled with the things he used for the ceremony. He had a downy eagle feather in it and an abalone shell and a bag of pollen. All these things were wrapped up in a bundle before the ceremony began.

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: "He rolled a cigarette and puffed to the directions first of all, beginning with the east, puffing just once to each direction. Then he threw the cigarette away. After smoking, he rubbed the patient with pollen. He dropped pollen on the patient, just on certain parts of the body. He prayed to the directions as he did this. These prayers referred to Coyote and were on the same order as the songs which followed.

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: "He started to sing. There were many songs, and the songs were about Coyote. They told how Coyote was a tricky fellow, hard to see and find, and how he gave these characteristics to Geronimo so that he could make himself invisible and even turn into a doorway. They told how the coyote helped Geronimo in his curing. Geronimo accompanied his singing with a drum which he beat with a curved stick. At the end of each song he gave a call like a coyote.

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: "When the evening star was halfway between the horizon and the zenith, Geronimo stopped singing. This is the Chiricahua midnight. The ceremony lasted four nights. The same prayers, songs, and procedure were gone through for the four nights. I know that Geronimo had ghost power too. That night he told some of the boys that he was going to give another ceremony for a patient on another night, this time for ghost sickness, and that they might attend if they would promise not to scratch themselves."

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: (Opler 1941: 40-41)

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