Teachings of the Sweat Lodge.

I wrote this piece about the sweat lodge ceremony almost 20 years ago at the request of my elder and teacher. With us hosting a lodge soon it felt relevant to share it here for folks to gain some perspective and understanding.

The Sacred Sweat Lodge

Several months ago my teacher and friend, Clyde Hall, asked me to write

an essay regarding Sweat Lodge. I thought this request unusual as the

Ladle for Pouring Lodge has recently come to me through my teacher

Carolyn Sanders. As I write this essay, I do so in humility and with the hope

to convey the message of one who is continuing to learn to work with

lodge in a sacred and honored way.

Carolyn Sanders, of the Utah Community, has held a Lodge in her yard for

over twenty-years. Bear Boy, who passed away in August of 2004, taught

Carolyn how to pour and work with medicine. Not only has Bear Boy

taught Carolyn how to Pour Lodge and to work with medicine in a Sacred

Way, but we have had the privilege of having many Elders come to our

Lodge and encourage, teach and mentor us on these things, teachers

such as Clyde Hall, Lanie Thom and those who have never been

introduced to the Naraya: A Dance For all People community.

Approximately nine years ago I made an offering to Carolyn Sanders and

presented her with tobacco, a blanket and other gifts and asked her to

consider teaching me to pour lodge. When she accepted this offering her

initial requirement was for me to attend every lodge for one year. After

that year, if I still felt called to pour Lodge I was to approach her and

reconfirm my commitment. For one year I participated in every Lodge

that Carolyn poured.

For the next eight years, Carolyn had me chop wood, carry water, care

for the land and build fire. She taught me how to build a lodge, honor the

willows, the earth, the water and each person who entered the lodge.

Throughout the years, I often won- dered when I was going to learn to

“pour” To sit in the “place” of Lodge Pourer and perform the Sacred Rite.

Little did I realize at the time that I was learning how to serve the people

and that often serving the people, in an honored way, does not always

require you to be seen or observed, but that you learn to carry sacred

things in a good way and do as you’re taught and told by your Elders.

What I will offer is my perspective about Sweat Lodge. I offer this with the

awareness that each and every Lodge is different and unique in

accordance to those who are attending and in accordance to those

who are pouring and taking care of the Sacred Things. In my instance, I

learned to pour Lodge through Carolyn Sanders, who learned from Bear

Boy.

The foundation of what we do in the Lodge comes from a Ute tradition,

history and background. What Bear Boy taught us is a reflection of how he

was taught by his Elders, family and teachers. The way I move around the

Lodge, the way I honor the Lodge is reflective of that tradition. What I

have learned is that every Lodge Pourer approaches lodge from their

own tradition, history and background. You may find someone pouring

from the East or someone pouring from the West. They may move around

the Medicine Wheel in a way that is unique to their teachings.

Whenever I am in a Lodge that is unfamiliar to me, I am quick to be

observant and to be as teachable as possible in order to learn and

understand the honored things and the way of the person who is carrying

those things at that time. I never enter someone else’s Lodge and

presume that because I have Sweat for so many years, that I know what I

am doing in that particular lodge.

When one comes to Sweat Lodge, they should come prayerfully and in

consideration of their own needs and the needs ofothers. This requires the

assistance of a Fire Keeper who comes several hours before Lodge to

prepare the fire, set the fire, supervise the Fire, and to make sure that

things are initiated in a good way with the Lodge. The Lodge Pourer

spends time, before the Lodge, in meditation, preparing Prayer Ties and

generally preparing to do the work for the people. Because of the effort

and time that these individuals put into a Lodge, it is a good thing to

remember them in your prayers. It is also good to come with Sacred

Offerings. Offerings can be anything from the Heart. Traditional offerings

of Tobacco and Red Cloth are a standard, but offerings can exceed

these things.

In this day and age it takes considerable resources and offerings can be

of a nature to support these resources and honor those who have worked

in behalf of those who are participating in the lodge.

If you are requesting a lodge it is important to honor that request with an

offering that is reflective of the request. They are presented to the Lodge

Pourer and to the Fire Keeper so the work and effort they have put

towards the Lodge is honored. I also consider it an aspect of the intentions

of the person making the request; the offering reflects the prayers of the

person requesting and participating in the lodge and often sits on the

altar during the lodge.

Sweat Lodge is an act of Purification. It is a place of wor- ship, healing,

prayers, songs and it is a place where we are real with ourselves and with

others. We seek a level of honesty that will encourage us to a higher sense

of self. Within Lodge, I have seen people healed of disease; Drug Addicts

put down addictions; Alcoholics put down the bottle. I have seen

Agnostics have faith and I have seen strong men humbled to tears. Lodge

is a very hot place and I often think that our struggles are not about where

we sit in Lodge, but where we stand in our life.

I think about Lodge as a place of purification, worship, and of honoring

the Spirits and Ancestors. Lodge helps me understand the Sacred Wheel

and the importance of balance in my life.

The demographics of Lodge are not very complicated. The Lodge is an

Igloo shaped hut. Willows are used for the framework. Gates are

established in each of the four directions and then the Lodge is sealed off

with blankets, sleeping bags and tradition- ally animal hides so that when

inside the Lodge it is completely dark inside. When we sit in the dark we

are all the same!

Outside of the Lodge there is a Heart Line. This is the line between the fire

that cooks the rocks (referred to as ancestors), to the door of the Lodge.

In our tradition it is prohibited to cross the Heart Line so as not to disturb

the flow of energy from the fire to the inside of the lodge.

When we walk around the lodge we move with the circle in a clockwise

manner. It is believed that the Hear Line is the conduit of the energy that

comes into the Lodge. In the way we have been taught it would be

inappropriate to cross the Heart Line unless you are the Fire Keeper

tending to the stones.

The Fire Keeper sets the Fire. This is done in a ceremonial way, making

offerings to the Four Directions to establish a place where the Stones will

rest and the fire will be built. The Fire Keeper approaches the fire with

great reverence, setting the tone with their intent and their focus for the

entire Lodge. Once the fire is set, the stones are cooked for several hours

so they are appropriately heated for the Lodge.

The Rocks are placed into the center of the Sweat Lodge once the

participants are seated. These Rocks are then honored with Tobacco and

Sweet Grass as prayers are said to welcome them into the Lodge. As

prayers are said we ask the Ancestors to help us in what we are doing.

Water is poured on the stones and the steam blesses the people.

In our Lodge, we conduct four rounds. The first round is the round of the

East. This is the round in which we honor the medicine of the Eagle and

the Spotted Deer as well as the other ancestors that sit in the East. It is the

place of New Beginnings, Birth and Infancy. It is the place where we seek

out purification and in which we pray for ourselves. We cleanse ourselves

and offer prayer, asking Creator and the Ancestors to help us to become

better people and to move our lives forward in a good and honorable

way.

Once the round to the East is complete, we move to the round of the

South, the place of “Bonatsi” or Beloved Mouse. It is, at times, the place of

Coyote. It is the place of childhood. This is where we pray for our loved

ones. We pray for our families, our friends, our colleagues, our fellow

dancers and our Elders. This is the place where we ask the Creator to help

those whom we love.

Once the round of the South is complete, we move to the round of the

West. This is the round of “TuWada” or the Bear. It is also the place of the

Wolf and the Thunder Beings. This is the place where our ancestors go

when they have crossed over so that their souls and spirits can be washed

by the family of Wolves that will tend to them. This is the place where we

pray for our Enemies (often we are our own worse enemy; therefore it

would be appropriate to pray for ourselves in this place).

The place of the West is also a place of Introspection where we go deep

within the cave of our Soul and look within to ask the Creator for healing

and change in our lives. This is the round in which we seek the upgrading

of our lives, upgrading the physical, the spiritual, the social and the

emotional.

The round of the North is the round of the Buffalo, the round of gratitude

and wisdom. It is the place where we go to bring a conclusion to these

things. The Buffalo is often the spirit associated with abundance and

spirituality, not only temporal abun- dance, but spiritual as well. This is the

place where we conclude the Lodge.

Before we exit the lodge the ancestors are thanked and dismissed with

gratitude as they go and take our prayers to a place where they can be

answered. The stones that have sat in the middle of the Lodge, that have

offered their lives to us, that have released their steam to nurture us and to

help us grow, are notified that we have completed the Lodge and we

depart as new creatures.

When we leave the Lodge, we have an option. Those things that we have

left behind can stay there, with the stones, or we can choose to pick them

up and take them with us. If I go to Lodge because I want to learn to let

go of my anger and accept growth and happiness, it is my choice. I can

either leave the anger with the Ancestors or I can pick it up again when I

leave lodge.

For me, Sweat Lodge is one of the most important rituals and acts of

ceremony that I participate in on a regular basis. In Lodge is where the

most important things in life become apparent. I believe in the power of

the Sweat Lodge because I have witnessed this power in the lives of those

who have participated and in my own life.

I cannot think of one participant who approached Lodge with a good

heart, who didn’t walk away with a powerful experience. I find Lodge an

opportunity to cleanse my Soul and start my walk with my fellow man in a

good and honored way.

As I stated earlier, everyone approaches Lodge in a different way. I hope

by sharing your next experience in lodge is enhanced.