A Cup of Green

An Inipi or Sweat Lodge Ceremony

By: Angie Aller

Its pitch black, my skin feels as if its on fire and the vibrations from the singing has my heart racing.  I long for the glimpse of light that will come once the door is opened, I wait impatiently for the prayer songs in native tongue to seize since I know this is the only time the door will open.   The door opens, Jerome, our Native leader for this ceremony lets everyone crawl out, its tradition to crawl in clockwise, women first and then the men, going out must be done in the same fashion.

The air outside feels amazing on my damp skin and my soaked clothes.  We sit on blankets and chairs and we share how we are feeling so far.   Everyone looks as if they just ran a marathon and were given massages at the finish line.  It’s a look of vulnerability and triumph all presented on sweaty flushed faces.

Jerome, instructs the young men to put more hot stones in the lodge as the rest of us cool off.  He watches them intently while he tells us tales of his people and the stories once passed down to him.

We then go in for a second, third, and fourth door (rounds).  Many opt to sit it out for some of the doors.  Though the stones begin to cool off, water is poured on them causing a wave of hot steam with-in the lodge.  With less people we can now lay down.  By the fourth door I feel less fearful and calmer, I start to figure out how to control my breathing and I am now in full emersion and able to absorb the experience.  I begin to meditate and hum along to the prayer songs, the heat is intense the songs are powerful and loud and in the middle of my complete surrender I realize I no longer await impatiently for the songs to end and for the door to open, I exchanged my fear and reservation for submission and for a brief moment I was able to live like a Native.

So what and why exactly do people crawl into a Sweat Lodge? 

Here are the reasons I was taught; people choose to participate to purify, heal, or pray.  For the Native Americans the Inipi is a place of spirit where the people go to cleanse the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body.

During a typical ceremony it is customary for the participants to arrive early and help with the setup.  The set up rituals can vary depending on who is hosting the ceremony.  However, most Inipi ceremonies will consist of preparing the lodge (a structure made from bent branches and sacred ties) by covering it with canvas and blankets to ensure it is dark and closed off.  The lodge represents the womb of the mother Earth (representing the female element).  Inside the structure in the center there is circular pit, which represents the Great Mystery Powers; the center of everything, where the heated stones will be placed.  Mean while out side the lodge the stones, known as the Grandfathers or Stone People (representing the male element) are placed in the sacred fire to be heated. Fire is considered to be the first medicine man and represents life.

While this is usually going on by one group another group of participants are making prayer flags.

Prayer flags are made of bright colored cloths cut into long strips, tobacco is placed inside them after a short prayer of intent is said over it, they are then folded and tied in a specific way to keep the tobacco from falling out.  Each color represents a location or direction e.g. the north or the south. These are later placed inside the lodge and at the very end thrown into the sacred fire as a gift to the Grandfathers.  “The smoke is the physical element of our prayers,” says Jerome, as we watched the smoke from our prayer flags rise to the heavens.

After all the preparations are completed the more experienced participants make sure the newbie’s have taken all their jewelry off and explain some basic customary traditions as well as answer many anxious questions.

An Alter is also prepared.  The Alter has many sacred elements; one of the most important is the Chanunpa (a sacred pipe).  Jerome tells us the Chanunpa was brought to his people by the White Buffalo Calf Woman and is the holiest of all worship symbols.

Everyone must cleansed before going into the lodge, a mixture of water and cedar is prepared and Jerome wafts the smoke an each of us as we stand in front of him, with the wing of an eagle.

“The elders will tell us when they are ready,” Jerome says, as we sit around the lodge and sacred fire waiting to go in.  He entertains us by telling us his personal story and many more of his people.  The fire pit makes a big crackle and the wood moves around a bit, we all wait eagerly in silence to see if this was the go ahead.  Smiling Jerome says, “Did you guys hear that? Its time.”

We all get up and line up in front of the lodge, women crawl in first and then the men.  Inside its cozy and very neat, there are blankets on the ground and the hollow pit in the center is empty for now.  A few young men and Jerome stay outside, to bring in the stones (the Grandfathers).  They bring them in one by one and Jerome grabs then with antlers.  They are placed in the center with the upmost care; they are sprinkled with sage and then tapped by the Chanunpa pipe.  Once all the stones are in the lodge the bucket holding the sacred water also taps the stones, and the sweating begins.

There are many ways to reach spiritual awakenings, however, only few require such surrender.  It is an awakening of the entire being creating a connection to the spiritual realm, the physical realm, the mental realm, and the emotional realm.