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Heston Allred
Barfoot
REL 207
December 1, 2011
The Ritual Use of e!ote in and amon" #ati$e American
%hurches
The ritual use of &e!ote amon" #ati$e American tribes has
been in &ractice for
hundreds of !ears' (n recent times, it has been associated )ith
the #ati$e American
%hurch, )hich currentl! uses it under the Reli"ious *reedom
Restoration Act, des&ite
federal re"ulations limitin" it use and amid contro$ers! and
o&&osition to its le"alit!'
+ith such a &rominent tradition and "i$en its recent
contro$ers! )hat are the details
in$ol$in" the ori"ins of its ritual use Ho) do the historical
details of this ritual com&are
)ith its current &ractice )ithin the #ati$e American %hurch
+hat is the si"nificance of
its ritual use and of the &e!ote itself historicall! amon"
ancient tribes nati$e to the
Americas and ho) does this com&are )ith its contem&orar!
use )ithin the #ati$e
American %hurch
e!ote as an inte"ral &art of the reli"ious ceremonies and
rituals of the #ati$e
American %hurch has its roots in the &re$ious lon"-standin"
tradition of earl! #orth and
%entral American nati$es' The details surroundin" its ori"in as
)ell as the initial date of
its im&lementation are unclear and some)hat debated amon"
scholars of the sub.ect' /a!
*ies, in his article, A Brief Histor! of the #ati$e American
%hurch, )rites, The e3act
route and time of diffusion of )hat is toda! the #ati$e American
%hurch of #orth
America is unclear' All a$ailable e$idence su""ests that the
%arri4o culture, )hich once
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occu&ied the area that e3tends from Laredo to the 5ulf of
6e3ico in )hat is no) Te3as,
)as instrumental in de$elo&in" e!ote meetin"s amon" #ati$e
Americans )ho resided
there' He further states these &e!ote rituals )ere first
obser$ed as earl! as 189 and
included dancin" around a fire' :&readin" of the ritual use
of &e!ote from the %arri4o to
different tribes in other re"ions of #orth America follo)ed its
initial de$elo&ment' This is
su&&orted b! Rachel ;un4e in her article, *ie?'
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"raduall! redefined the meanin" of man! ancient sacred
artifacts' To cite a sin"le
instance, in Bi" 6oon >also called %ross *ire? meetin"s )here
%hristian infusions are
most in e$idence, sacred tobacco is no lon"er used as a catal!st
for &ra!er@ the Bible has
re&laced it' Des&ite such differences, the %ross *ire
still shares a common ceremonial
core )ith the Half 6oon rituals' These t)o ceremonies )ere
fundamental in the
s&readin" of ritual &e!ote use as )ell as sha&in"
its current si"nificance )ithin the #ati$e
American %hurch' This is because both re"arded &e!ote as a
di$ine substance, )ith both
reli"ious and &h!sical restorati$e &ro&erties, as
)ell as a means of combatin" e$il' *ie
)rites, Both em&hasi4ed the di$ine role of &e!ote and
its &o)er to teach and heal@ both
o&&osed the use of li=uor and belie$ed that &e!ote
destro!ed the taste for it
As earlier noted, the chan"in" of &e!ote ritual )as &art
of a lar"er ado&tin"
amon" nati$es of %hristianit!' Thus, in man! cases, the meanin"
and &ur&ose of e!ote
)as directl! influenced b! %hristian doctrines and conce&ts
tau"ht b! earl! missionaries
in$ol$ed )ith the coloni4ation of the Americas' Ho)e$er, some
tribes outside of the
official #ati$e American %hurch continue to &ractice more
&ure and ancient forms of
ritual &e!ote use' Descri&tions of still-e3istin" e!ote
rituals that are essentiall! free of
%hristian admi3tures - those of the Te&ehuan, %ora, Huichol,
and Tarahumara tribes in
6e3ico, for e3am&le - hint of &re-%olumbian ori"ins of
contem&orar! %hurch
meetin"s >*ie?'
The im&lementation of %hristian elements into ancient
lon"-standin" and )ell
established #ati$e American reli"ious traditions &rior to
the formation of the #ati$e
American %hurch lie)ise set the sta"e for and influenced the
meanin" behind the use of
&e!ote reli"iousl! )ithin the church in contem&orar!
times as )ell as s&ecific ob.ects
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associated and commonl! included )ith its ritual use' Amid
e3tensi$e missionar!
acti$it! and cultural colla&se, the #ati$e American %hurch
e$ol$ed in the late 19th
centur! as a h!brid of ancient tribal traditions and %hristian
beliefs' +ith the hel& of an
anthro&olo"ist from the :mithsonian (nstitution, the ;io)a
tribe of
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tribal m!tholo"!, >;un4e? &la!ed a central role in #ati$e
American culture' (t )as
belie$ed conductin" ceremonies in these sacred &laces
conferred &o)er to the $isitors and
allo)ed the indi$idual as )ell as the tribe to be ali"ned )ith
the uni$erse and find
meanin" )ithin it' +ith the loss of sacred lands #ati$e
Americans )ere forced to ada&t
ne) methods and beliefs aimed at "ainin" the &o)er
ori"inall! associated )ith their
sacred &laces' e!ote rituals seem to ha$e filled the
reli"ious $acanc! left b! the stri&&in"
of sacred land ri"hts and thus be"an to "ain an ada&ted
meanin" amon" &racticin" #ati$e
American tribes of the time' The ritual use of &e!ote is a
ne) techni=ue to reestablish
these bonds referrin" to the bonds and reli"ious si"nificance of
sacred &lacesF, affirm
"rou& identit! in a chan"in" )orld, ease the conflictin"
demands of traditional reli"ion
and %hristianit!, and "i$e a ne) technolo"! to battlin"
alcoholism>;un4e?'
*urthermore, *ie states, the e!ote reli"ion, allo)ed members to
establish a ne)
identit! )hich combined abori"inal and %hristian elements'
%urrent &e!ote rituals &racticed b! the church ha$e both
additions and
subtractions )ith re"ards to sacred ob.ects and ritual meanin"
and "enerall! differ in a
number of res&ects to those used and belie$ed b! its
ori"inal &ractitioners' *or one, as
&re$iousl! mentioned, the ceremon! taes &lace )ithin a
te&ee' *urthermore, accordin"
to 6orris, the current &ractice consists of a, series of
ordered rituals, includin" blessin"s
)ith smoe from cedar sha$in"s, se$en &rescribed
G&i&e smoesG of tobacco rolled in
corn huss and the administration to )orshi&ers of se$en
s&oonfuls of a mush! &ul& from
the &e!ote cactus, follo)ed b! &e!ote tea' The use of
Hol! )ater is also included in the
ceremon!' Another facet has also been added behind the
&ur&ose of the ritual'
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%ontem&oraril! the! ha$e been used as a means of
commemoratin" members of the
church )ho ha$e &assed on'
+hen historical details re"ardin" ritual &e!ote are
com&ared to the contem&orar!
details &racticed )ithin the #ati$e American %hurch, it can
be seen man! chan"es ha$e
occurred )ith re"ards to its ori"inal meanin" and &ractice'
(t has, ho)e$er, retained its
reli"ious si"nificance throu"h the !ears as an im&ortant
reli"ious rite' (ndeed, althou"h it
has "ained ne) meanin"s and lost old ones )ithin the reli"ious
frame)or of
contem&orar! #ati$e American culture it maintains its use
and hi"h status )ithin their
reli"ious thou"ht and &ractice in man! instances'
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Biblio"ra&h!
;un4e, Rachel'
