Sweat Lodges

The term "all my relatives" may be used during the ceremony; it points out that we are really one with all the other members of the various kingdoms: plant, animal, mineral, etc.

Tobacco ties are small pieces of cloth enclosing an offering of tobacco. Frequently there are 50 black and 50 red tobacco ties hung in the lodge, although colors and number can differ according to the particular purpose of the sweat being done.

There is variation as to the physical state of dress of the participants. Some lodges are held only for men; some only for women. People may be clothed, naked, or with absolutely minimal clothing. This again depends on the purpose of the lodge and the inclinations of the lodge leader. The sacred Pipe may also be smoked during the ceremony.

People can leave the lodge during the ceremony if it becomes necessary due to the intense heat, although this again depends upon the leader.

The importance of the hoop/circle to Native Americans is shown by the physical structure of the lodge, being a dome shape with a circular bottom.

There was even a Native American prophecy that there would come a time when whites would come to Native Americans, asking to be instructed in the Native American spiritual ways. It seems that time is now.

DOING A SWEAT LODGE CEREMONY IN YOUR OWN HOME

First, we need to be quite blunt and realistic here. If you have a home with a yard, and you go building a full scale sweat lodge out in it, your neighbors may start to think you are kind of strange. A sweat lodge probably violates half a dozen building codes (everyone seems to be able to tell you what to do with your land but you), and finding the materials is not really easy. How many buffalo or cattle hides do you have lying around your house? How about saplings? Any big rocks for heating?

And going nude into a sweat lodge, (and out), within the city limits probably violates another half dozen laws (here in Cincinnati it probably violates a couple hundred). So, let's be real.

Doing a full sweat lodge ceremony out in your back yard (if you live in one of the urban areas) is probably going to be incredibly difficult, if not downright impossible.

What is left to do? You need to be able to simulate the conditions of the sweat lodge but in a way that is legal and doesn't arouse a whole lot of curiosity on the part of your neighbors.

Where can you do that?

In your bathroom, or in your basement (as long as it is concrete, and does not have a rug on it). If you are an apartment dweller, you are left to your bathroom. The point is that holding a sweat lodge is not impossible, even in the midst of the most heavily populated urban areas.

First, your supplies:

1. For the walls of buffalo hide and saplings, there are the bathroom walls. No trouble there.

2. Next is the firepit with the glowing rocks. If you have a house with an entrance even with the ground, and if you have the kind of outdoor barbecue grill that has wheels, then you will be able to duplicate the fire pit quite closely. Otherwise you will have to use the hot water on the shower to generate the steam.

3. You should also have smudging supplies, sage, sweetgrass, tobacco ties, and whatever other materials you feel will be necessary.

DOING THE CEREMONY

A sweat lodge is a ceremony of purification. IT IS NOT AN ENDURANCE TEST! Do only as much as you feel comfortable with. Don't push your body and suffer some kind of collapse.

Get your materials together. If you are using a grill, then heat the rocks in the grill outside the bathroom. Enter the bathroom. As you enter, bow and say "For all my relatives", "We are one family", or something to that effect. Sit where you can. Then turn off the lights. Sit still for a while, contemplating what you are about to do.

Have the barbecue grill of stones brought into the bathroom. If you are not using a grill, then the leader can turn the hot water in the shower on. The leader can then began with his or her prayers to the Great Spirit. The typical sweat lodge is divided into four sections (called quarters). At each quarter the outside entrance is opened (in this case the bathroom door), and if you are feeling unwell or overheated, this is a good time to leave. Say "all my relations" and exit the room quietly.

Also, during these interruptions, a person could get a drink of water from the sink, or have someone outside can pass water to those inside the lodge.

The leader will put water on the stones to get the moisture going; sage and sweetgrass may also be added. You may also decide that you want to smoke the pipe during the sweat lodge; this should be doing at the beginning.

The four quarters can be divided into the following activities:

1. General opening prayers, calling of spirit keepers, guardians, etc.

2. Convey group and/or individual needs to the spirit keepers. Make your requests for help.

3. This is to allow the individuals to state their own prayers, requests, etc. Each person should make some kind of prayer, chant, etc.

4. The last quarter should be for giving thanks. Although we all have problems in our lives, we all have many things that we should be thankful for. This is a good time for each person to express those thanks. The thanks can be for material or physical items, and they can also be for spiritual help and guidance.

When you have finished the four quarters, it is time to leave the sweat lodge. The leader will indicate that the ceremony has been concluded. Leave the room quietly. The helper outside should have smudging materials ready and smudge each person as they exit the sweatlodge. Once outside, go into the kitchen and douse yourself with cold water (as much as is practical), or return to the bathroom and step under cold a cold shower. Again, if you have any problematic physical conditions, avoid this last step.

You may decide to have a feast after the ceremony, or this ceremony may be the introduction to another. Whatever the case is, enjoy the fellowship of the others who have shared the sweatlodge with you.

Addendum

There is a controversy at present in many prisons about whether or not Native American inmates should be allowed to build and use a sweat lodge or not. Some prisons allow it, some ban the activity. Technically this is an abridgment of the right of an individual to freely practice their religion; however, in prison many of those rights are suspended by the authorities. A strong case can be made, of course, if Christians, Jews and Muslims are allowed to practice their religions in prisons, that Native Americans should also be allowed to practice their religion.

Another controversy at present is who shall be allowed to participate in a sweat lodge and other Native American ceremonies: Native Americans only, or Native Americans and whites/blacks/orientals included? Some people feel quite strongly that all Medicine Path ceremonies and materials should be for Native Americans only, and that whites and others should never be taught the spiritual traditions of the Indians. These people feel that the white man has stolen the Indians land and, to a great degree, their culture, so they should not be allowed to also steal their spirituality. Another argument offered is that whites who practice Native American ceremonies and the like are demeaning the real value of the spirituality since they may be doing this for a fad rather than as a true, deeply-felt spiritual call.

Others feel that those traditions should be taught to anyone who wishes to learn them. Some say that there are no longer enough young people on the reservations who even wish to follow the old traditions, and that in order for the traditions to survive, whites and others will have to be taught them.

It is the belief of the authors that this basically is a matter of intent. If the person is really sincere about his or her interest in Native American spirituality, and if that person is willing to put forth the time and effort to learn about the spiritual system and to practice it as much as is possible in their lives, then we feel the person should be allowed to learn the Native American ways, even including the use of the sacred pipe, if all is done with honor and with respect.