Navajo Vintage Yei be Chei Pictorial Wool Rug Hand Woven Taboo Spirit Callers

Much like a Western doctor, the medicine man examined the patient and suggested a cure.  The remedy involved a combination of chanting, herbal medicines and a sandpainting ritual.  A member of the sick person's family would agree upon a fee, which was often paid in sheep, silver jewelry or other forms of barter.  Then the healer got to work.  He would scoop up various colored sands and sprinkle them on the ground until they formed a specific Yei (holy person), based on the god he was trying to summon. When the sandpainting was completed, it was sanctified by spreading corn pollen over it.
The actual ceremony could last for days.  Sometimes the patient would be instructed to sit in the center of a series of sandpaintings.  The medicine man would wet the palm of his hand, place it on the Yei image, then wipe it on the patient's forehead.  If the ceremony was performed correctly, the evil would leave the person's body and the sickness would dissipate.  If not, the patient's demise could b