Our Mandala

Tradition
 

The center of our mandala is the star, we the Notowega Band of Shawanogichee Indians are Tso Yaha, the descendants of the Sun. The center or chakra of our Tsoya (sun) is Manito Wakon, the Great Serpent who carries the world on his head, the one who bought the lightning to mother earth, and the one who stirs the waters of gan-ga- gi-ri a.k.a. gan-da-gi-di (the earth), the center of the universe with his tail, where the heart beat of mother earth is continually pounding in the pursuit of bringing forth life. Circling our mother earth is a wreath of sun fire, which purifies while simultaneously destroying all negative energy. The black circle signifies Yah-testee-nuggee, our great warriors who continue to be born and recreated by the unbroken karmic cycle of life and forgetfulness (death). Circumnavigating the black is crimson red, representing our War Chiefs and Warriors, the protectors of the green gate, the entrance into the womb of the earth mother. They exist and we exist because of the actions and deeds of the sagamores, sages, holy men, priests, herbal doctors, mendicants, elders, and all of the ancestors of the peace time, who are represented by the white ash ( the ashes of our ceremonial grounds), which represent the embers of star dust, the cosmic essence of our origin, found at the heart, the center of this universe.