English
licorice root
Scientific Name
Glycyrrhiza lepidota; possibly other burr-bearing species by extension, such as Cenchrus spp or Xanthium spp.
Arapaho
Translation of the Arapaho
‘bush that goes after women’
Licorice Root and the Arapaho
Other: ceremonial use. This plant is important in Arapaho mythology, in particular in the story of “Nih’oo3oo and the Mices’ Sun Dance.” Kroeber reports that the plant was represented in a paint design on the body of dancers in the Tomahawk Lodge ceremony, as well as in other symbolic representations in that ceremony (188). It is used in the Sun Dance and Rabbit Lodge ceremonies today.
The Arapaho also use a root which has a cooling effect during sweat ceremonies. That root is unidentified, but the species here is used by the Cheyenne for that purpose.
