This Week's Spa Magazine
In the United States, the use of natural springs, especially geothermal ones, have gone through three stages of development: first, use by Indians as a sacred place, second development by the early European settlers to emulate the spas of Europe, and finally, as a place of relaxation and fitness. The Native American Indians considered hot springs as a sacred place of Wakan Tanka (“Great Mystery” or Great Sacredum” in the Lakota language) and thus, were great believers in the miraculous healing powers of the heat and mineral waters. Every major hot springs in the U.S. has some record of use by the Indians. They were also known as neutral ground, where warriors could travel to and rest unmolested by other tribes. Here they would recuperate from battle. In many cases, they jealously guarded the spring and kept its existence a secret from the arriving Europeans for as long as possible.
Read More ...
In this issue -
|
