A small pouch, usually made of deer skin, which contains a few items that have totemic, spiritual, or ceremonial value. These items can consist of small objects such as special rocks, animal parts, or carved amulets, in addition to a small quantity of sacred pollen, which is commonly used in a variety of prayers and rituals. Believed to provide protection and healing, a medicine bag is usually worn next to the skin, either on a string around the neck or under a waist belt.
The Navajo word for medicine bag is jish, which applies to both the small bag and its contents.
"Navajo medicine pouch," (1996_46_11). Farmington Museum, Farmington, New Mexico. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.
Frisbie, Charlotte Johnson
1978 Burial as a Disposition Mechanism for Navajo Jish or Medicine Bundles. American
Indian Quarterly 4 (4): 347–65.
Frisbie, Charlotte J.
1987 Navajo Medicine Bundles or Jish : Acquisition, Transmission, and Disposition in the
Past and Present. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
Frisbie, Charlotte Johnson
1982 Talking about and Classifying Navajo Jish or Medicine Bundles. Navajo Religion and
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1914 Sacred Bundles of the Sac and Fox Indians. Anthropological Publications.
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1956 Study of Navajo Symbolism. Cambridge: The
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Wissler, Clark
1912 Ceremonial Bundles of the Blackfoot Indians. Anthropological Papers. New York: The Trustees.