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| Painter of Bear And Edna's, given permission |
Here and now you comprehend, from my previous article, how to build your sweat lodge. This article is the way to run your lodge and your expectation to put faith in "how to run your lodge". There are often contradictory beliefs on this, I individual perceive one method, and that is Bears way. Bear is the sacred pipe carrier along with a very commanding person that embraced his training with the Lakota Indians.
A Sweat Lodge is a sacred space and place. Like church exists to many, that is what a lodge is, "A church, thanking God for all you have accomplished, your bounty and pray for our Mother Earth", we pray in the lodge, it is serious, you broaden, absorb, along within your shielded enclosure, and close-at-hand with your grandfathers. Grandfathers from the beginning of eon are invited into sweat lodges, during a special prayer and song in the first round. There exists a scheduled four rounds in a sweat lodge and it usually lasts about two hours total time.
However, I am jumping ahead of myself here, hence let’s back up. I will not be able to artfully rationalize this all here in one segment, on account of this, This will be part two of the series for running your sweat lodge. As I mentioned in, "How to Build a Sweat Lodge", the dimension between the fire and the lodge is sacred. Never ever walk through the lodge, this place is where all the sacred item are assigned. There exists an alter, this is where the sacred pipe is placed on a holder, made from twigs, along with the buffalo skull stuffed with sage, lose sage, special rocks, and many other items that are sacred to the leader of the lodge. Never throw anything in the sacred fire, I once say a man throw his cigarette into the fire and Bear saw this and was very upset, it was a sign of disrespect. The sweat will start just minutes before sun goes down, everyone attending will change clothes and gather with others in the clan and follow each other to the right of the lodge and walk around and behind the fire pit in silence. The leader will be standing by the alter and the door of the lodge. He will smudge you from head to toe, additionally you will crawl through the door and enter into the lodge. By crawling, it shows that you are humble in the eyes of God. You will be giving a large portion of sage to take in the sweat with you, your towel and NO jewelry. I would wear my medicine bag made out of natural leather but nothing fancy, and no metals of any kind..Once everyone is accommodated inside the lodge, the leader will keep a pail of sacred water placed next to the door. placed on the alter is also a horn from some animal. The leader will always be inside at the doors opening on the left along and his mate, she will sit next to him during the sweat. The final and remaining person to enter the sweat abides the rock carrier and he will always be sitting on the right at the doors entrance. With a metal rack the rock carrier will, one by one, withdraw to the fire and draw away one rock at a time and place it in the center of the lodge. This process will continue until there are seven rocks placed in the pit inside the lodge. The rock carrier is someone who desires to one day be a leader of a sweat lodge, and must be groomed by the chief or leader of the clan for a long period of time. Hence, he will be the rock carrier and grow in humility and knowledge.
Also, The rock carrier controls and assigns the bucket of water next to the leader with the horn. He will then draw down the flap and crawl into the lodge and make sure the flap or door is fixed without any light showing from the outside. Now this is round one of four, likewise the leader will scope his horn in the water and blast the seven rocks with water that producers steam culminating in the lodge, always during this discipline everyone will remain completely quite. Then the drums and songs of eons ago sway to improvise the original Native Americans prayers of song. The beginning round is to address the grandfathers to join the sweat, then always at the end of the sweat we must always thank the grandfathers and release them back to the spirit
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/james-ayers-studios/6199469549/ |
The Pipe carrier is the person who controls and executes the sweat along while guiding everyone through the steps, there exists an order to a sweat. When you are invited to a sweat, everyone will bring numerous peculiar food for the feast once the sweat is over. furthermore, believe me when I say, "’you will be as thirsting and hungry as a Bear". During one sweat, a man brought over a bag of chips. During the sweat that night, Bear our leader, said to all, "When you are attending a sweat you should bring the bountiful of food you endow to God if he were to come to your home for dinner". Respect of the sweat along with the leader, being invited to a sweat lodge is a special honor, lodges embrace and constantly have been a confidential Native American culture.
The day of your sweat, from the moment you wake, every step you take should be a prayer. Along, with the gift of food, you should continually bring a gift of tobacco, not processed tobacco, a bag of American Spirits or untouched Tobacco. The "Peace Pipe" is very consequential, and is used in the the second round during the sweat, you do not inhale, and when in pray you honorable smoke in the four directions. All these steps creates powerful medicine, this will give you get health and well being..
Love you my spirit friends, your were the first "Ho! Mitakuye Oyasin"
Little Bear
The copyright to this article is owned by Darlene Sabella. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing. (you can, however, freely use the opening introduction and photo with a link to the article here on RedGage and My Smashing Magagzine to read the remainder of the article.)
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