MEDICINE BUNDLES

   Among many Native American peoples, it is common to gather sacred and powerful stones, herbs, and other object-persons into bundles that then serve as the focus of respectful ceremonialism (including elaborate rituals when the bundles are unwrapped and everyday signals of polite etiquette). They can be stored in family homes or in tribal/national repositories. The bundles and their constituent members can be considered to be persons in their own right, as shown by the offering to them of tobacco and other expressions of respect.