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

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

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