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Show 16 Lifeways living thing awakens from their sleep after they see the morning star. After the morning star comes, the dawn grows into daylight. The half-light preceding sunrise, with darkness still covering the earth, is the time that all the night spirits and other night creatures should be heading back home to sleep for the day. Then early-in-the-morning comes, and after that sunrise. The Ute People designated time according to position of the sun: right-after-sunrise, mid-morning, before-noon, noon, little-afternoon, afternoon, towards-evening, sunset, evening which meant the end of the day, and the dusk which became darkness. This was time for all creatures of darkness to wake up from their day's sleep and roam again, performing their good or evil deeds. At night the Utes relied on the movement of the stars to tell time: before-midnight, midnight, after-midnight, and then towards-morning again. The People often said never be afraid of darkness because darkness will aid you; the darkness will cover you. In the darkness, the People could escape if they were surrounded or captured by their enemies. Certain stars told the Ute People of the coming of fall and that winter was soon to come. The movement of certain stars also told them when winter was over and that spring would soon come. The Jack Rabbit, as they referred to the star dipper, was their clock as to the time of the night. Its position also foretold the seasons. This was part of the Utes' life. If they had not known this, they would have been lost. The knowledge of the movement of the sun, the moon, and the stars gave them an insight as to where they belonged in the vast creation of Senawahv. Medicine â€" Powers of Healing The power of healing and of curing the mind and body is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Ute life. Non-Utes often interpret incorrectly what the Poowagudt tries to accomplish with the magical abilities bestowed upon them from the spiritual or natural powers. And there are certain aspects of the Ute beliefs that cannot be revealed because of the secret powers they hold. It took a long time for the Ute People to find out what were the curative plants and what were their purposes. They discovered by |