A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the lodge, and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply a sweat.
Traditionally the structure is simple, constructed of saplings covered with blankets and sometimes animal skins. The induction of sweating is a spiritual ceremony – it is for prayer and healing, and it is only to be led by Indigenous Elders who know the language, songs, traditions, and safety protocols of their culture's inherited tradition. Otherwise, the ceremony can be dangerous if performed improperly.[1][2]
The ceremony is traditional to some Indigenous peoples of the Americas, predominantly those from the Plains cultures, but with the rise of pan-Indianism, numerous nations that did not originally have the sweat lodge ceremony have learned the ceremony from other Nations.[1] Sweat lodges have also been imitated by many non-natives in North America and internationally, resulting in responses from Indigenous Elders declaring that these imitations are dangerous and disrespectful misappropriations.[1][3][4][5]
The sweat bath was in common use among almost all the tribes north of Mexico excepting the central and eastern Eskimo, and was considered the great cure-all in sickness and invigorant in health. Among many tribes it appears to have been regarded as a ceremonial observance ... The person wishing to make trial of the virtues of the sweat bath entered the â´sĭ, a small earth-covered log house only high enough to allow of sitting down. After divesting himself of his clothing, some large boulders, previously heated in a fire, were placed near him, and over them was poured a decoction of the beaten roots of the wild parsnip. The door was closed so that no air could enter from the outside, and the patient sat in the sweltering steam until he was in a profuse perspiration and nearly choked by the pungent fumes of the decoction. In accordance with general Indian practice it may be that he plunged into the river before resuming his clothing; but in modern times this part of the operation is omitted and the patient is drenched with cold water instead.
— James Mooney, Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology[6]
- ^ a b c Goulais, Bob (2009-10-24). "Editorial: Dying to experience native ceremonies". North Bay Nugget. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09.
- ^ Looking Horse, Arvol (16 October 2009). "Concerning the deaths in Sedona". Indian Country Today Media Network. Archived from the original on 2013-05-24.
- ^ Mesteth, Wilmer, et al (June 10, 1993) "Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality." "At the Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of US and Canadian Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, about 500 representatives from 40 different tribes and bands of the Lakota unanimously passed a "Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality." The following declaration was unanimously passed."
- ^ Taliman, Valerie (1993) "Article On The 'Lakota Declaration of War'."
- ^ Yellowtail, Tom, et al; "Resolution of the 5th Annual Meeting of the Traditional Elders Circle" Northern Cheyenne Nation, Two Moons' Camp, Rosebud Creek, Montana; October 5, 1980. Inter-tribal council of Navajo, Hopi, Muskogee, Chippewa-Cree, Northern Cheyenne, Haudenosaunee and Lakota Elders: "Therefore, be warned that these individuals are moving about playing upon the spiritual needs and ignorance of our non-Indian brothers and sisters. The value of these instructions and ceremonies are questionable, maybe meaningless, and hurtful to the individual carrying false messages."
- ^ Mooney, James (1891). "The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees". Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 301–398. OCLC 747738317., s.v. The Sweat bath, bleeding, rubbing, bathing