Learn about this topic in these articles:

Assorted References

cure by shaman
- In Central Asian arts: Shamanic ritual
  Rituals for curing the sick, guiding the soul of the dead to the netherworld, invoking a deity, or visiting the heavens are performed by the shaman in a state of trance induced by frenetic dancing to the music of a drum or a string instrument. Elaborate, symbolic…
  Read More
harvesting of endangered species
- In endangered species: Human beings and endangered species
  …animal and plant products for traditional medicine and the pet trade is a growing concern in many parts of the world. These activities have implications for local ecosystems and habitats by exacerbating population declines through overharvesting. In addition, they have cross-border repercussions in terms of trade and illegal trafficking.
  Read More
study in ethnobotany
- In ethnobotany
  …derived from plants used in folk medicines have been found to be beneficial in the treatment of many illnesses, both physical and mental. The ethnobotany of prehistoric cultures is discovered through examination of ancient writings, pictures, pottery, and plant remains in jars or midden heaps (garbage dumps) excavated at archaeological…
  Read More

practice in

American Indian cultures
- In Native American literature: Northeast
  …the Central Algonquin developed the Midewiwin, or the Grand Medicine Society—shared by the Eastern Sioux—whose activities revolved around the quest for a vision that would bring them in direct contact with supernatural beings who instructed them in curing ceremonies. The members of the society were not shamans, had no individual…
  Read More
- In Native American dance: The Southwest
  …called the gahan, to obtain cures but chiefly to celebrate a girl’s coming of age. They also have rites for vision and divination, sometimes with the aid of a vision-inducing communal drinking ceremony. The male dance style is strong, angular, even acrobatic, while the women’s style is subdued.
  Read More
China
- In Beijing: Health
  Chinese traditional medicine includes utilizing Chinese herb drugs and acupuncture treatments. Students in the Western-style medical schools are taught the essentials of Chinese traditional medicine, and Chinese traditional medical students are expected to be familiar with the essentials of Western medicine. Diagnoses of difficult cases are…
  Read More
- In China: Social changes
  …the use of Chinese traditional medicine, which relied more heavily on locally available herbs and on such low-cost treatments as acupuncture. Western medicine was simply too expensive and specialized to be used effectively throughout China’s vast hinterlands.
  Read More
Middle Ages
- In history of medicine: Early medicine and folklore
  Folk medicine or domestic medicine, consisting largely in the use of vegetable products, or herbs, originated in this fashion and still persists.
  Read More

use of

Asiatic black bears
- In Asiatic black bear
  …highly valued for use in traditional Asian medicines, especially in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. In China, bile is “farmed” by extracting it from captive bears, but elsewhere in Asia wild bears are hunted for food as well as for their gallbladder, paws, and other body parts.
  Read More
brown bears
- In brown bear
  …bears are harvested to make traditional medicines that purportedly alleviate digestive problems and inflammation and purify the blood. Many harvesting operations also remove and sell the animals’ paws, which are considered a delicacy in parts of Asia. The Ainu people of Japan worship the brown bear as a god of…
  Read More
frankincense
- In frankincense
  …products and is valued in folk and Eastern medicine.
  Read More
rhubarb
- In rhubarb: Related species
  palmatum) have been used medicinally in China and Tibet since ancient times, primarily as a cathartic. Their purgative properties and yellow colour are derived from anthracene glycosides; they also contain high levels of calcium oxalate, which give a characteristic grittiness.
  Read More

Wovoka

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Wovoka

American Indian prophet

Also known as: Jack Wilson

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

Also called:: Jack Wilson

Born:: 1858?, Utah Territory

Died:: October 1932, Walker River Indian Reservation, Nevada

See all related content

Wovoka (born 1858?, Utah Territory—died October 1932, Walker River Indian Reservation, Nevada) was a Native American religious leader who spawned the second messianic Ghost Dance cult, which spread rapidly through reservation communities about 1890.

Wovoka’s father, Tavibo, was a Paiute shaman and local leader; he had assisted Wodziwob, a shaman whose millenarian visions inspired the Round Dance movement of the 1870s. Wovoka (whose name means “the Cutter”) worked during his early teens for a rancher, David Wilson, whose family name he adopted while among whites. The Wilsons employed a number of Paiutes (including Wovoka) on a seasonal basis. These employees resided together in a camp they built on the Wilson ranch, and they generally maintained traditional cultural practices throughout their employment.

By 1888 Wovoka himself had acquired a reputation as a spiritual leader; he began leading Round Dances about this time. In 1889 Wovoka told others that he had fallen into a trance state during which God informed him of momentous changes to come—that in two years the ancestors of his people would rise from the dead, buffalo would once again fill the plains, and the white colonizers would vanish. Wovoka also reported that God had provided instructions for ensuring these events: Indians were to accept American colonial hegemony, remain peaceful, and profess their faith in the resurrection of the dead (or ghosts) by taking part in a ritual dance, the so-called Ghost Dance. Wovoka’s following increased quickly, and belief in his prophecies spread to other tribes. Wovoka was worshipped far and wide as a new messiah, but in some areas his pacifist message became distorted through repeated retellings. Notable among his new followers were the Sioux, many of whom were militant and saw the movement as a promise of ultimate revenge against American usurpers.

The religious frenzy engendered by Ghost Dancing frightened American and immigrant settlers, particularly in the Dakotas, the traditional home of most of the Sioux tribes; concurrently, the U.S. military was concerned that Sitting Bull would try to exploit the movement to engineer an uprising. Relations between Native Americans and settlers grew increasingly hostile, culminating in the massacre of about 200 Sioux men, women, and children by U.S. troops at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on December 29, 1890. After this tragic incident many of Wovoka’s more militant followers despaired of Ghost Dance redemption, while others, particularly those from west of the Rocky Mountains, continued to practice Ghost Dance rituals as an integral part of indigenous culture. Though the popularity of the Ghost Dance religion waxed and waned over the 20th century and evolved toward a set of practices centred increasingly on individual rather than group worship, its tenets continued to be observed by some Native Americans in the early 21st century.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.