A Brief History of Stones for We

A Brief History of Stones for Wellness

By; Jenny Ray

The first stone therapy known to be offered to non Indian people came from Hawaiian tribes and is known as Lomi Lomi. This body treatment is thousands of years old. It involves heated stones and ceremonial application. The Natives of Hawaii are considered Native Americans as they are an indigenous people from a US state.

Here on the main land of America several tribes including the Cherokee, Ogallala, Assinaboin, and Santee` have used stones for Shamanic healing in a variety of ceremonies. My education is from my ancestors and other tribal members. I learned the practice as Inyan Pejuta, Stone Medicine and have studied it for over 30 years. It involves both hot and cold stones as well as specific gem stones and crystals. This practice is thousands of years old.

In Central and South America some Mayan, Inca, Aztec and Peruvian tribes have ceremonies that involve using stones on the body. Some of these are specially carved (fetishes), some are heated and some are cold. A recent re-introduction of Munay Ki, an ancient Inca wellness method, using Pi stones and specific initiation rites has come forward to the non-Native community.

Reflexology was practiced in the Aztec pyramids and often involved using stones. The name reflexology is from the modern people who `discovered` it and later began writing and teaching about it, although they seldom included stones.

Petroglyphs and pictographs from both North and South American continents attest to these ancient practices. Artifacts discovered by geologists, paleontologists and archeologists show the use of stones in many forms of healing work.

Aboriginal tribes of Australia have stone treatments that are thousands of years old. They have recorded their history with rock art similar to that found in the Americas and often show stones as sacred wellness tools.

Ayurvedic methods of wellness from India involve heated stones and oils in ceremonial application very similar to Stone Medicine from the American Indians.

Japanese, Chinese and other Asian practitioners have a variety of stone treatment processes that date back to ancient history. Many of them involve walking on special stone lay outs.

You may ask why this is not common knowledge; sadly all history is written by the winners of wars and they are not interested in recording any cultural significance that would be considered positive about the indigenous people they have conquered. When a culture is conquered some of the first changes are to replace the calendar and language of the people and of course remove all religious and spiritual practices that might lend support to their independence. Therefore many indigenous rituals, spiritual beliefs, healing modalities and legends are lost to modern civilization. Much of the history of Geothermal Therapy and the gem and crystal practices of non-Thermal Geotherapy has been passed on by word of mouth through legends and stories. It was a form of health and wellness involving spiritual beliefs for many indigenous people and often was not recorded for public dissemination.

The main reason much of this information has been hidden in the US, is because until 1977 when then President, Jimmy Carter signed the Freedom of Religion Act, it was illegal for Native people to offer ceremonies. Many of them were outlawed even on reservation lands. Ceremonies such as Inipi (Sweat Lodge), Sun Dance, Native American Church Ceremonies (Peyote), Wakan Chanupa (Sacred Pipe), Henblanche (Vision Quest) and Inyan Pejuta (Stone Medicine) were all outlawed religious practices. Because of this, very few non-Indians experienced traditional Inyan Pejuta known as Stone Medicine.

It is time for wellness to reach the mass population of the dominant society. Our Ina Maka (Mother Earth) is threatened by modern civilizations poor ecological practices. To save our planet, people must find re-connection to her and what better way than through the stones, which Native people believe are the bones of Mother Earth.

Blessings on your Journey with Geothermal Therapy and non-Thermal Geotherapy practices
Ska Mato Pejuta Winan (White Bear Medicine Woman)
Jenny Ray

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