Sweat Lodge Essay

The sweat lodge is a common element among Indigenous traditions in general. It is a dark,

airtight hut made of saplings and covered with animal skins and is intended to represent the

universe. Stones are typically heated, and then water is poured over them to engender steam.

Ceremonies regularly incorporate universal supplications to God. In the video it shows how they

get ready for the ritual. Firstly, they build a large fire pit and while they were building the fire pit

by putting wood they also packed the rocks inside. Then they set the fire pitch on fire and let it

burn for forty to forty-five minutes. Furthermore, they get the little pitchfork and they put it in

the pitch. This fire is known as sacred fire and it is where they prepare

the medicines and the
grandfather's. They offer the tobacco and they have a tobacco line from the sacred fire to the
doorway with the net, this represents the umbilical cord and the fire represents the womb of
Mother Earth.

When they come in the lodge they will be brushed down with eagle fan i.e. a fan

like structure made of eagle feathers. They enter the sweat lodge with respect and move

clockwise into the lodge. This clockwise movement represents how sun sets. When one enters

the sweat they have to say “Monson nagua”. They usually offer sage on each Rock to thank them

because in their culture it is believed that rocks have spirits and they have given up their lives.

Finally, once everyone gets in, gets seated around and is ready, they close the door. Then they

start pouring water on the rocks until it gets extremely hot. The sweat’s the people shown in the

video have been in, all had four rounds. In Each round there are different songs recited by the

performer. The first round consists of honor song sung four times. The 2nd round is the prayer

round, they start by a song and then take turns praying and this is the longest and the most

significant round. 3rd round is the herbal medicine and the fourth round would be the closing.

The forth round is considered the least significant as one can talk while performing the ritual.

Importance of this ritual to Indigenous

people
As the textbook states “Rituals perform the same functions in Indigenous cultures that they do in
every culture. They identify and remind us of what is important in life – or precisely, what the
culture we live in understands to be important” .In all cases, the sweat is intended as a religious
ceremony – it is for prayer and rejuvenating, and the ceremony is only to be led by elders who
knows the associated language, musical compositions, traditions, and safety protocols.

Sweat

lodges are holy places where Aboriginal people can instaurate their deep connection to the

macrocosm and to the spirit realm. It helps them to embrace their ethnic identity, gain ethnic

pride, and honor spirituality, thus encouraging a sense of belonging. It’s a part of their culture

and they want to pass on to their generations as one of the speaker in the video stated “I really

love them and enjoy them, they are a big part of my culture so like I want to continue doing it

hoping to pass it on to generations tell stories about them so they never die”

Modern relevance of this ritual and how can the sweat lodge be understood as a positive

alternative to negative aspects of life such as alcohol or drug addiction

People in the video describe it as a spiritual rebirthing type experience and one person stated that

he benefited by going through a ‘rebirth’ from a life of addiction. He stated, “alcohol was a big

part of my life and the drug scene you know but when I got into this road you know this is magic

I changed” People in the video stated it to be very rewarding experience as it was beneficial

in
letting go of their negative past. After the ceremony they have deeper connection with other
people and with themselves. Person experiencing a problem can disclose feelings and obtain
feedback from elders. The group respects each other problem and offer suggestions rather than
ridiculing them. This makes them bond with other and make them have opportunity to choose to
change future behavior which can result in decrease in crime rates. The people involved
describes as “like all the bad and negative was just coming out of my body”. One person from
the video stated “I've learned a lot of things that I did not know from people who are having
troubles with certain addictions, struggles, poverty and illnesses. I didn't know that until they
were praying, my eyes got opened a little bit, a lot of guys have problems you know until talked
about them you hope to try to support them dearly. After sweating with people, they feel like your
brothers and sisters and you just have a deeper connection”. Moreover, sweat lodge is beneficial
for physical health too as one the narrator states “youth had involved in it because usually what
people say when they go through the sweat lodge is that it takes the poison out of their body and
just makes them feel better and help them like try to find a new start”