A hummingbird as the First Nations symbol of health.
The Medicine Wheel, also known as “the sacred hoop,” is used by many Native American tribes as a symbol of healing and health.
The use of symbols is an alternate way to write down stories of cultural significance, teaching survival and use of the land. Symbols are used by Aboriginal people in their art to preserve their culture and tradition. They are also used to depict various stories and are still used today in contemporary Aboriginal Art.
Symbol of Aboriginal Spirituality
There is no official symbol of Native Spirituality. The symbol to the right is just one of the many symbols used to represent Native tradition. The circle is the circle of the earth, the circle of time, days, seasons, lunar cycles, the circle of the teepee, and ritual dances.
There is no symbol that represents all indigenous religions. They each may have objects special to their beliefs. For instance, the Sioux hold the hoop, or circle, as a sacred symbol of unity.
The coyote is one of the most well-known symbols in Native American culture, representing a creator god, a spirit, and a significant ancestor. To wear a coyote symbol is to encourage one's own intelligence and craftiness.
These symbols were often called pictographs.
The owl is bird of magic and darkness of prophecy and wisdom.
Symbols and traditions reflect the values and beliefs of a culture and its people. Evolving over time, symbols and traditions vary among First Nations, Métis and Inuit and are central to a group's identity and way of life.
The Southern Cross represents Australia as the British society of the southern hemisphere.” Dr Bush says that the Christian meaning also infused many of the early uses of the Southern Cross as a national symbol for Australia.
Sabe - Honesty
The Sabe - Kitchi-Sabe - is a mythical giant who is a symbol of honesty. The Sabe represents honesty because it is believed that the Sabe used to walk among humans to remind us to remain true to our nature.
Healing circles are often called hocokah in the Lakota language, which means a sacred circle and is also the word for altar. The hocokah consists of people who sit together in a talking circle, in prayer, in ceremony, and are committed to helping one another and to each other's healing.
Caduceus is a symbol with a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings while the Rod of Asclepius is the one with a single snake.[3] The similarity between both these symbols is the snake.
The most important number is four, the symbol of the horizontal picture of the world, which is most clearly represented among North American Indians: “In its essence, this symbolism stays for a cycle associated with fertility.
Cultural symbols may have internal significance, like a religious icon, or may serve as an outward representation of that culture, like a recognizable building or a style of dress. Identifying cultural symbols and investigating their origins can often provide insight into that culture's history and values.
The significance of the circle is evident for Aboriginal people in many ways. The circle is a sacred symbol of the interdependence of all forms of life; the circle is a key symbol in Native spirituality, family structure, gatherings of people, meetings, songs and dances (Pewewardy, 1995).
The Canoe: A symbol of resilience, resurgence, and nationhood for Indigenous peoples.
Eagle feathers and down are sacred. They have healing powers, and are symbols of peace and friendship.
Red. Red is the strongest symbol of strength that you can find. It is the “official” symbol of strength and courage because of the substance it represents. Blood courses through the body and is significant in life.
The four colour quadrants on the medicine wheel can represent the four directions: north, south, east and west. The teachings of the four directions start with the east, or yellow, quadrant and run clockwise around the circle. Red symbolizes the south, black the west and white the north.
One of the most common cultural symbols is language. For example, the letters of an alphabet symbolize the sounds of a specific spoken language. Symbolism leads to the “Layers of Meaning” concept. Culture is the meaning that is shared to provide guiding principles for individual meaning.
The Rod of Asclepius is the most common symbol of health and healing. It is a staff with a single snake wrapped around it, representing the healing of the body, mind, and soul. The caduceus is another symbol of health, and often represents doctors, medicine, and medical facilities.
The staff with the snake has long been a symbol of medicine and the medical profession. It originates from the story of Asclepius, who was revered by the ancient Greeks as a god of healing and whose cult involved the use of snakes.