From childhood the Wampanoags learned to make certain observations of the stars, planets, and of the seasons and weather.[486] The time of day was measured by the height of the sun in the day and by the moon and stars at night.[487] Longer spans of time were kept account of in terms of the moon and of “summers” and “winters”.[488] Reckoning according to the moon, they had thirteen months, each with its own name.[489] Many of the stars were named; the north star was called _Maske_, meaning “bear”.[490] Winds were named according to their direction; of these there were seven to nine.[491] By observing the winds and the sky the Wampanoags made fairly accurate weather predictions.[492] SICKNESS The Wampanoag practice of sweat bathing was thought to have both therapeutic and preventive benefits. First the sweat house was heated by putting a great number of hot stones inside. Then the naked bathers entered and the door was stopped up. The bathers sat inside, smoking their pipes for as long as they could bear the heat—perhaps an hour or so. The sweat bath was then terminated by a dash outside and a plunge into the cold water of a nearby lake or stream. Sweat bathing was said to cleanse and refresh the body and thus be good for general health. It was also used to cure diseases, sometimes in combination with other types of remedies.[493] Herbal remedies were used for their therapeutic effect on both diseases and wounds.[494] The Wampanoags are said to have had great skill in the use of such remedies.[495] The Wampanoag theory of herbal remedies was that each symptom had a specific herbal cure.[496] For example, the cure for toothache was “... a certaine root dried, not much unlike our ginger”.[497] A different herb would be used to relieve stomach aches, and so on. Wounds and diseases were also cured by magical means. Curing by magic seems to have been used in cases where the suspected cause of the illness was also magical. This malevolent magic was usually manifest in the form of an “evil spirit” put into the ailing person’s body to cause him pain. Healing by magic was the special province of the _powow_.[498] When a person was quite ill, all his friends and relatives would crowd into his wigwam and gather around him. If someone could not be there in person, he sent a representative.[499] This audience joined in the powow’s chanting at certain points during the ritual.[500] Wood gives the following description of magical curing procedure: