 |
| ICQ 178011518 |
The Navahos in the United States practice one of the most mysterious of the many forms of divination, a technique that depends upon a trance-like state of physical decontrol known as hand trembling.
The American anthropologist Dr. Clyde Kluckhohn studied and reported on his personal experiences with one hand trembler, a Navaho diviner called Gegorio.
Kluckhohn and his wife visited a Navaho reservation on a field trip. Once there, having heard about Gregorio's skill, the decided to combine the practical with the scholarly and asked him to attempt to locate a handbag Mrs. Kluckhohn had lost only a few days before.
After listening to the Kluckhohns, Gregorio rolled up his sleeves, carefully washed his hands and arms and climbed slowly to the top of a hill. When facing north, he sprinkled corn pollen on his right hand, which began to tremble. Next he rubbed the palms of both hands together, and in a short while the left began to tremble as well. Gregorio continued this ritual several times with his eyes closed. He then slowly moved both hands as if to form the outline of the missing bag. Finally he explained that the missing bag could be found at the local trading post. And there it was.
Diviners such as Gregorio regard their trembling hands as something that exists beyond their personal powers and control. Whatever the validity of their accomplishments, their skill seems very much alive and often impressive in it's achievements.
Richard Reichbart, writing in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research in 1976, reported that hand trembling "continues to flourish" to a remarkable degree on the 22,000 square mile Navaho reservation that straddles northeastern Arizona, nortwestern New Mexico, southeastern Colorado and a piece of southern Utah.
He noted as well that the region's "extreme isolation has permitted the continuance of traditional Navaho customs, perhaps more so than in the case of the customs of less isolated tribes."
Hand trembling, like many other methods of divination, is most often used for practical purposes, such as finding stray horses or sheep, missing people, stolen or misplaced items. Visitors among the Navaho have reported the recovery of valuable jewelry, saddle horsess and a stolen necklace.
The treatment of illness is also amonst the hand trembler's arts, and people consult hand tremblers when faced with fearful pregognitive dreams. Simply reporting a bad dream to a hand trembler is believed to forestall it's consequences, or the trembler may advise that a special ceremony be performed.
Hand trembling's link with dowsing is obvious, and in the past was remarkably direct: hand tremblers, once in their state of physical decontrol, were often used to divine the presence of underground water.
|
| ICQ 178011518 |
 |
 |
 |