Amulets |
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AmuletsIn many Indian tribes, babies are presented with an amulet when they are born. For the Northern Arapaho, boys receive lizards, the symbol of long-life and wisdom, while girls are given a turtle. According to the Arapaho creation story, a turtle dove to the bottom of the ocean and retrieved a mouth-full of clay from which the earth was created. Since that day, turtles have been considered the mother of the world and a symbol of fertility.  These amulets are used to hold the baby's umbilical cord and provide good luck. Some tribes tied the amulets onto the baby's cradleboard. There it is served as the child's first toy. In other Indian cultures, the child's mother wore the amulets. Old photographs show women with amulets dangling in a full circle around their waists, one for each of their children. Arapaho tradition maintains that when you see baby's crawling around in the dirt, they are looking for their umbilical cord, so if you save the cord in an amulet for them, they always know where to find it.
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