The Wyce

The elders spent the last several nights on the bluff in honor of the great moon, which they understood was only to be seen on rare occasions.* On the fourth day of the honoring, a gathering crew was sent off to the site of the wyce shrubs, and here they would carefully select certain branches: those not bearing the small capsule-type fruit.  The branches were considered to be of the Great Spirit, and each year one specially shaped branch was chosen to be used as a diving rod and kept at the great lodge in case the need for use of such arose.  The rest of the branches were stripped of their bark, which was ground up to be used in several healing powders.  These powders were applied to cuts and other wounds of both clan members and animals, when injured.

The wyce shrub was also known as “seed thrower” and next fall when the time was right and the fruits were ready, about eight moons from the time the flowers fall, the clans will gather near them to watch as the seeds snap forth from their capsules. Each time one shoots forth, a cheer will rise among the members of the clan. Some of the seeds will be gathered for planting, and others will be saved to be eaten as a favored treat, sometimes steeped in a brew of tree moss, which they drink to insure their health and prolong their lives.**

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*Nubbins have a keen sense of astronomical events. Though they may not understand the science, their celebrations and honoring often coincide with events like the perigee, syzygy or "supermoon” mentioned above.

**The description found here is certainly that of the shrub witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), long used by Native Americans for its medicinal qualities and common in medicine cabinets of our grandparents.  It is still used and sold today, largely as an astringent.