Medicine woman conversation to educate on different cultures
Ever wondered the difference between a medicine woman and a village witch?
On Monday, students can find the answer to that, along with their similarities.
The Central Michigan University Religion Group will be hosting, “Medicine and Magic: Conversations Between an Anishnaabe Medicine Woman and a Cornish Village Witch,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Anspach Hall Room 151.
The talk will be presented by Dr. Theresa Smith of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She recorded a series of conversations between Marilyn Johnson, the healer in an Anishnaabe tribe from Ontario, and Cassandra Latham, a traditional healer and wise woman from St. Buryan Village in Cornwall, England.
“The dialogue arranged between them compares their very different traditions, but very similar roles in their traditional communities,” said professor of philosophy and religion David Smith. “It gives a good comparative perspective on religious practices around the world.”
The presentation will show that women have very similar leading roles in very different communities.
“There’s no chance these communities affected one another, but they have the same patterns. Putting them together makes them see what they have in common,” said professor of philosophy and religion Guy Newland. “We’re interested in getting people thinking and talking about religion as a cultural phenomenon.”
Smith is a scholar of religion and focuses on Native American religion.
“No one in the faculty has this kind of expertise,” Newland said. “She is a very good teacher, very warm and skilled in interacting with students.”
CMU is more involved with Native Americans than most university because of its location, Smith said. The talk will be very useful in teaching students more about their culture, she said.
“This event is important as an example of religious scholarship with reference to the groups like the Native Americans that live next door to us,” Smith said.
