CONSIDERING THE SWEAT LODGE and ITS USE
Re-draft: September, 2009
adapted from the notes of Hopoyv Fekseko (D. Joseph Alderson) and
others by Chetty Chapko for use by the Ceremonial
Discussion Committee of Pine Arbor Tribal Town.
"All things employed in the sweat rite are holy to the Native American
and must be thoroughly comprehended ........... for the true power of
a thing or an act is found in the understanding."
Paraphrased from Bobby Woods, Sioux sweat leader
FORWARD: This article
contains for more than any one individual may need to know--it is
designed to offer information to a wide audience. Read & retain
only what fulfuills your personal interests.
Several community sweat lodge
participants asked for more information and explanation about sweats.
In response to such requests, this article is a compilation of notes
gathered during years of listening to Elders. Also included are
excerpts from a few good books and hard earned personal lessons gained
from our many experiences. It is easier to prepare and share detailed
information about sweats when one is not engaged in actually preparing
or conducting such a ritual at the same time. Like everyone, the
authors are evolving, too. For them, writing creates a record of their
own focus and growth; it also provides a mechanism for both
self-evaluation and sharing.
Marcellus Bearheart Williams, an
Oklahoma Creek Medicine Keeper, is the adopted uncle of
Alderson-Fekseko. Bearheart taught Fekseko the basics of Indian sweats
as he understood and practiced them. At the same time, Marcellus
Bearheart helped Fekseko discover much about himself in the process. To
his worthy student Fekseko, Bearheart presented a Sacred Pipe, an Eagle
Feather and a promise that Fekseko would help many people in
Tallahassee and Florida. Bearheart's words were true. The other authors
have also had equally valid though different sweat lodge experiences.
Some of these are based on southeastern practices carried on for
generations while others have their roots in the ways of the Peoples of
the Great Plains.
Since 1982, Fekseko has been closely
associated with Pine Arbor Tribal Town, a mixed-blood Muskogee
community, remnant of the great Apalachicola Nation. He is actively
involved at their traditional ceremonials. Thanks to many teachers and
especially Hokte-Pvhe and Sakim, Fekseko continues to learn the details
of tradition and gracefully integrates this knowledge, where
appropriate, into his sweats. Every sweat leader does things a little
differently; no two sweats are ever completely the same. Differences
accrue to the fact that many ceremonies and customs are geographically
specific to a particular area due to it's unique climate, environmental
conditions, plant life and material availability. The purposes of the
sweat bath, however, are fairly universal throughout the world. Whether
we participate in traditional sweats here or on the other side of the
planet, the benefits derived from a sweat lodge would be the
same--cleansing, spiritual enrichment and personal growth.
Saunas and sweat lodges are an
historical fact in many parts of the world: most of North and Central
America, Ireland, Finland and much of Europe, Russia, Africa, Japan,
the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Benefits of sweat baths have
long been known. For many, spiritual renewal and the purification of
body, mind, soul and spirit are the major purposes and benefits
resulting from regular sweat lodge use.
Physical Benefits
Sweating rids the body of wastes. In this
modern sedentary age of pollution, artificial environments, synthetic
clothing and lack of regular exercise, a sweat bath can open clogged
skin pores and stimulate the healthy flow of a body's own natural
sweat. Depending on how hot the sweat bath is and the climate in
which it occurs, a fifteen minute sauna or sweat can perform the heavy
metal excretion that normally takes healthy kidneys 24 hours to
accomplish. Body sweat flushes toxic metals such as copper, lead, zinc,
and mercury from the body. A sauna is often recommended as a supplement
to kidney machines. Sweat can also remove excessive salts; this is
generally believed to be beneficial for cases of mild hypertension.
Sweat can also eliminate urea, a metabolic by-product. Excessive urea
can cause headaches, nausea and in extreme cases, vomiting, coma--even
death. Sweat may also draw out lactic acid responsible for stiff
muscles and a contributor to general fatigue.
Sweat lodge heat dilates capillaries. This increases blood flow to the
skin. The heart beats faster and impurities in vital organs are flushed
out by the flow of fluids. Finnish and German doctors cite studies
indicating sweat baths help persons w ith high blood pressure and heart
problems. Many American doctors, however, continue to recommend against
sweat baths for such persons. Lungs benefit, too. Clogged respiratory
passages are opened by gentle heat. This gives relief from colds or
minor respiratory problems. Sweat baths are not recommended for persons
with pneumonia or major respiratory problems. The heat of a sweat bath
and the often rapid cooling afterward, conditions the body. A well
tuned body is more resistant to colds, disease and infection. In cold
weather, a warm glowing feeling often lingers for hours following a
sweat bath. In hot weather, the body seems cooler afterward.
Recent Finnish tests validate the
practice of splashing water on superheated rocks as a means to produce
an abundance of negative ions. This seems especially true if the rocks
are heated by a wood fire and not electricity. It is known now that
where there are too few negative ions and too many positive ions, there
appear to be clear linkage to heart attacks, aggravated asthma,
migraines, insomnia, rheumatism, arthritis, hay fever and allergies. By
the way, major causes of unhealthy ionic conditions are: weather
disturbances, central air conditioning, smog and driving too long in a
closed automobile.
Spiritual Aspects
Examining important elements used in the
Native American sweat lodge sheds light on its spiritual benefits.
First, is the "symbolic" lodge itself. The lodge is often built (or
renewed) during the morning of the chosen "Sweat Day." People fast
while working on the lodge to help their intent remain focused, pure.
Prayer is offered as willow or other saplings are cut, as holes are dug
for the placement of saplings and as the pit for the hot rocks is
excavated. Tobacco, a powerful herb now commonly misused, is often used
for offerings--a visible "amen" to prayer. Such lodges can be, and
often are, a portal for communication with a Higher Power, the Creator.
It is very necessary to exercise care and good intent in all things
connected with a sweat lodge, its construction and its rites.
Willow, it seems, is universally
preferred for sweat lodge construction by most Native American groups.
Words from Bobby Woods, Sioux sweat leader, illustrates some of the
many symbolic attributes associated with willow. "Willow branches used
to construct the lodge also teach bathers a lesson. In Fall, leaves of
the willow die and return to earth... in Spring, they come to life
again. So too, men die but live again in the real world of Creator
where there is nothing but the eternal spirits of deceased things. A
foretaste of this true life could be known here on Earth if they
purified their bodies and minds, thus coming closer to the Great Spirit
who is All-Purity....." Also, according to Bobby, the willows used in
the lodge were set up in such a way as to symbolically mark off the
four quadrants of the universe--everything of the world and sky is
represented within the framework. The relationship of all things is
visible here.
Muskogees use willow extensively for sweat lodges, brush arbors and
medicines. Willow bark contains salicin, an analgesic and ingredient in
several aspirin-like compounds. There are many ailments for which
willow and aspirin are effective. Cutting or pruning willow encourages
additional branches to sprout. A willow's life cycle reflects the
natural cycle of life's many stages, too.
Reflective Symbolism
The constructed lodge is usually a round
or oval shaped dome--symbolically not unlike the womb--and, they are to
be dark with in, too. Often, lodges are called Mother Earth's womb in
many native languages. The door is low to prevent heat from escaping
but lessons of humility are easily taught when one must bend low to
enter the lodge. Sweats begin in the silent darkness inside the lodge.
The arrival of glowing rocks is a constant reminder of One-Above's
penetrating goodness and radiance. Sakim, Creek spiritual leader,
constantly reminds us that Silence is the voice of Creator, One Above.
Sometimes, a flute is played; this represents bird song, Creator's
first specific gift to the newly created. In the Pine Arbor Creation
Story, birds received songs for their part in drying out land when it
was covered with water-- bird songs are both a form of spiritual
silence and an aural blessing.
People are often unclothed in the sweat lodge. Like the womb--each is a
dark but secure and nurturing place. A womb does not produce a healthy
fetus if contaminated with infection or impurities, neither can a sweat
lodge produce a healthy spiritual birth or renewal if penetrated with
unhealthiness or impure intent such as drugs or alcohol. Participants
in a sweat rite are not unlike the fetus in a womb; both can be
vulnerable to improper influences. Spiritual life deserves no less care
than the physical life--sometimes, it should have more. Good and proper
intent are very important. Those who sneer about the unclothed body are
ill-equipped to understand the sweat; they probably shower fully
clothed! However, in some restricted environments where individuals are
confined by society for a variety of reasons, light shirt and shorts
are often used--required even, to prevent social or moral mishaps.
In his book, Sweat, Mikkel Aaland writes: "...The warm, dark, moist
ambiance inside a sweat bath is easily likened to a womb, even the womb
of Mother Earth, Herself. A tired dirty bather climbs into the confines
of the sweat bath, crouches in a fetal position (especially in smaller,
more primitive baths), sweats out impurities and emerges refreshed and
cleansed--reborn.
Because of these re-birth qualities, rites of passage were invariably
connected with sweat bathing. Cleanliness is next to godliness and
close to God is a good place to be when an individual passes from one
stage of life to another. The sweat bath prepared bathers for the
rituals that attended birth, adulthood, marriage and death rites of
passages--times when awe of the unknown was highest.
Finally, as with any religion or ritual, sweat baths would not have
been given such cultural importance without serving humankind in
practical ways. With its mystical powers marshaled, the sweat bath
became a healer..."
In Native Medicine, Medicine Grizzly-Bear
Lake writes about reasons people go unclothe in the sweat bath: "We
prefer to go into the sacred sweat lodge stripped of all our clothes,
symbols, badges of education, status and wealth, camouflages or other
coverings which feed the human ego. We go naked as a newborn into the
womb of our Mother Earth; humble, pure, innocent and prepared for
nurturing. We try to strip ourselves of [defining] human qualities,
desires and characteristics in order to become more spirit-like; we
shed our human image and physical attributes in order to discover our
soul and its spiritual nature. And, in most cases we come out reborn
and recreated."
In the center of each sweat lodge a small
shallow pit is dug. It is here the heated rocks are placed as they are
brought into the lodge. This hole is deeply symbolic, even holy. Within
Plains Indian tradition this hole represents the center of the
universe. Dirt from this center is used to form a small altar mound in
front of the lodge entrance. On this altar, participants can place
special things that may help them in the sweat. The altar is always on
an east-west axis between the fire at the east end and the lodge at the
west end of the line. To some, this is an avenue of power while others
call it an energy exchange. The fire is special in many respects. For
Creeks, Fire is a piece of the sun, perfect symbol of Creator; through
Fire, One Above, the Creator, finds expression.
Early Finnish sauna bathers believed fire was heaven sent. If the sweat
fire was fueled by choice firewood and tended with appropriate ritual,
disease and evil influences could be warded off. Treated
disrespectfully, fire could (and would eventually) engulf and destroy
the bather.
As we make the sweat fire, after gathering all the appropriate and
needed materials, we are also preparing propitiation between mind,
body, spirit and soul--a conciliatory reckoning to restore balance and
harmony between these four elements. To show this intent while building
the fire, fire makers offer constant prayers of thanksgiving for all
the purposes at hand, especially prayers for participants that they may
be cleansed in all these four parts and experience renewal. The
purifying heat to come forth from the fire is also acknowledged and
thanked for its help: heat, light and strength. The visible conclusion
to all Native American prayers is the gift of tobacco to Creator. A
fire maker often places tobacco into the structure of the fire as he or
she sets the wood in place. Tobacco is always carefully and tenderly
placed into the newly ignited fire after it has caught sufficiently.
Many fire tenders offer participants tobacco to place in the fire with
their own special prayers and thanksgivings. It is not unusual for
knowledgeable participants to bring tobacco with them for that purpose
and to share with their sweat leader or fire maker.
Meaningful Material
Wood is important on many levels as is
the choice of stones, rocks or bricks to receive the heat and
facilitate the sweating. Again, well founded participants share in the
gathering or bringing of wood so that it doesn't become an unnecessary
expense or time burden on the sweat leader or fire maker. Natural woods
are best--those gathered from Mother Earth's breast without felling
live trees or breaking off their branches. Wood in other forms is also
acceptable, often more abundant and sometimes necessary. We try not to
use lumber with nails in it, and never pressure treated wood. Damp, wet
or rotted wood is also to be avoided. Certain woods are favored for
particular occasions or uses. Cedar is always regarded as a spiritually
impregnated wood carrying special properties which can enhance properly
offered prayers. Cedar shavings are sometimes placed in the bottom of
the fire pit to fragrance the lodge. Evergreen needles are sometimes
used for this. Fat-lighter pine, abundant in the South, makes a good
fire starter but is a poor choice for the principal wood--too much
acrid ash, smell, smoke and tar. Seasoned wood burns rapidly and well.
Green wood is preferred by many sweat leaders who believe it imparts
more force and power to both participant and stone than commercial
lumber gathered without ceremony or acknowledgment. Wise experienced
leaders will combine different types of green and seasoned wood in a
ceremonial sweat fire. Each type of wood imparts a different energy and
heat to the occasion. By mixing different types of wood in the same
fire, a sweat leader can kindle a fire specific to the purpose of a
particular occasion and bring appropriate energies to bear which will
enhance all proper ceremonial actions.
Ever Present Duality
Other important points remembered and
practiced by Creeks, Fekseko and the people of Pine Arbor are: to thank
the wood as it is gathered or collected and to smudge it before
beginning to build the fire. Bringing raw water and flame together is
to mix opposite spiritual elements in an improper fashion. Therefore,
avoid using damp or wet wood when laying the fire. Because of this
principle, it is neither correct nor proper to blow on the fire with
moist breath. Pine Arbor sweat leaders include appropriate fans in
their sweat lodge gear such as a bird wing, stretched leather on a
wooden frame or a woven fan such as that used at the Busk Fire. An old
hat will do in a pinch (--especially if it isn't yours!) Finally,
nothing except for more wood, tobacco or a special morsel or other
offering is to be placed in the sweat fire or any ceremonial fire for
that matter. Nothing with saliva on it may go into the fire--period. To
throw any trash on the fire is a great desecration! Fekseko and all
sweat leaders are constantly learning about woods and their different
qualities from their own experience and practice. Wood is always
teaching the careful observer. Wood and Stone, Fire and Water, Light
and Dark, Earth and Sky, Lodge and the Outdoors along with the Sweat
Leader and Participant make up the necessary duality of the Muskogee
Sweat Lodge Ceremonial according to Pine Arbor Tribal Town's
traditions.
The stones used in the sweat represent Earth as both Grandmother and
Mother--an eternal matrilineal kinship. Stones are symbols of endurance
in the same manner in which Earth endures. Creeks regard sweat stones
as bones of Mother Earth. They are alive. Stones absorb the power of
fire. When water is splashed on them in the lodge, the steam or vapor
produced is also considered powerful and holy--the visible symbol of
Creator's Breath. Finns call this vapor "loyly," spirit of life. Such
rocks or stones are sometimes called "rock people," signifying that we
are related to them as we are with all creation. Stone is to Earth as
bone is to flesh say the old time Creeks.
As in creating the lodge or gathering wood, prayers and offerings are
given when obtaining stones for the sweat. Usually stones are gathered
from dry fields, uplands, hillsides or mountainsides. Those taken from
streams or near wet places will explode when heated! Creeks often used
baked clay balls in ancient times and fire bricks in modern times when
good sweat rocks weren't available. A prominent feature of historic
Creek towns was the "hot house" or "Chukofa" where an actual fire
burned in the center to produce a "dry sweat" felt to be very
beneficial to the whole community during winter cold spells. It was
also an economizing way to ration scarce wood and provide evening
warmth for all the town's citizens.
Water used in sweats represents one of the two essential life giving
elements--water and air. We always give thanks for water from whatever
source it comes--be it spring, sinkhole, spigot or bottled. Sometimes,
a Creek sweat leader who is properly trained, uses a hollow blowing
tube through which he "bubbles" or oxidizes the water, thus becoming a
vessel for One Above's breath. Bubbling water or any liquid mixture for
sacred or ceremonial purposes is a prominent feature of most
southeastern Indian medicinal practices, too. To show respect in more
than a symbolic manner in the lodge, water is first given Mother Earth
to drink before we partake ourselves. Water is one of the basic
elements for survival. Many elders believe nothing can hurt the power
and spirit of moving water--not poisons, toxins, germs or diseases.
Moving water purifies, heals and protects; it is often used by One
Above to heal the earth. Given free flow, water purifies itself; it is
a basic environmental principle long understood by all natural peoples.
Many Creeks will often put willow leaves in sweat water to promote
healing. Water brings out the power in all medicines because it is a
matrix of One Above.
During the building of the fire and throughout the ceremony, we often
invoke the four directions; in fact, most actions occur in sets of
fours. There are four rounds or stages of the sweat. There are four
sacred medicine colors: Pine Arbor and Florida Seminoles and Miccosukee
acknowledge red, yellow, black and white. The four stages of
life--infancy, youth, maturity and old age or eldership are also shared
by these three tribes and many others throughout north America.
Meanings associated with each direction differs somewhat from tribe to
tribe in specifics but usually agree in the broader categories--Power
is universal but its expression is geographically specific say the
people of Pine Arbor. Animals are often associated with each direction
as are many other benevolent beings.
Some Directional Attributes
Attributes, usually four in number, are
associated with each cardinal direction. These attributes are said to
influence or even to govern certain emotions, features, ideas or
intellect, passions and even personality traits in receptive
individuals . The effectiveness or force of each direction on an
individual varies greatly and depends on the interaction of the
influencing factors from the other three directions. Each attribute has
an equal but opposing partner in another direction.
The North largely governs or influences physical aspects of an
individual person's life--courage, strength, patience, endurance. To
endure with a purpose leads to patience. Strength is nothing more than
patience exercised for a specific purpose. Courage is built on
strength--a strength which is nothing more than courage exercised with
a purpose to accomplish a specific goal.
In short, the cold winds of winter teach the whole person about her or
his physical aspects and abilities. The North brings about physical
balance and harmony for the individual in the same manner the South
brings about those same aspects for the community and nation as a whole
entity.
East governs the mind--learning. It is
the direction from which light awakens each morning: life, light,
wisdom and knowledge. One must have life to endure. Patience is
endurance coupled with knowledge. Wisdom, following this model, is
knowledge exercised for a good purpose, usually one of service and
sharing or problem solving. Each eastern attribute is a sibling to a
northern attribute.
The South, from which warming breezes come, brings rains and warmth to
grow and nourish our crops. It governs our interconnected sense of
community, family, growing and working together as one body--community
as a body. Called environment and ecology today, it is characterized by
harmony and balance, like the three sisters in a garden--corn, beans
and squash. Each puts into soil what the other needs. Harmony, balance,
relationship and interdependence are all associated with the South.
Both South and West govern, influence and teach the idea of a community
body and mind--like a family, in the same manner North and East teach
development of an individual's body and mind. Earth is a living world
with many nations such as bird, deer, grass and the star nations;
desert, forest, mountain, plains and other regions are like clan
camps--each with it own particular citizens. Each with its own
four-fold path : infancy, youth, maturity and old age.
The West is associated with humility, reverence, holiness, and the
origins of love. When the sun wakes up, it doesn't come roaring like a
beast. It gently nudges its brothers and sisters from the sky--the moon
and stars--telling them they may rest now. This is devotion--humility
originates love. The sun ends its journey with quiet humility. It
doesn't brag that it is bigger or has more light than its brothers and
sisters. We learn the origins of love through this example of true
humility. It is the direction where life ends. The sun is powerful. It
does not have to rest, but each evening it leaves quietly to make room
for brothers and sisters that they may have their season of light, too.
This is the visible example of love--the Sun, perfect symbol for
perfect Creator. It is One Above made visible in symbolic form.
In the sweat ceremony, a talking stick is
often passed so that everyone has an opportunity to speak and to
listen. If no talking stick is available, Creeks often pass a twig of
willow or cedar or they tie such a twig to a rattle or other object to
serve as the governor of counsel. Willow and cedar are sacred plants;
the speaker speaks more clearly when holding a twig or green bough from
these plants which remind them that their words should be as living
words.
Songs are often shared in the lodge. Some have passed to us from our
elders and teachers for opening certain rounds; most reflect the
spiritual leanings of the participants. Most are songs of worship
praising Creator. They often show appreciation for creation. Songs help
clear away obstructions to clarity and growth. They lift our spirits
and call upon helper beings, ancestors and Creator.
Through combination of silence, singing, praying, and sharing from the
heart, sweat lodges become the other heart of a community. The sweat
lodge experience is very holistic with innumerable benefits to be
experienced on many levels of understanding. It is a microcosm of the
cosmos.
Everything we do is an outward symbolic presentation of an inner
action. It is important that sweat rituals serve you; do not simply
serve the ritual. A certain amount of discipline and form enables
participants to be more focused as both individuals and as a community.
One woman once said: "The sweat lodge is like your child--you must care
for it properly. One wouldn't want negative influences to contaminate
your child." Why would you want a negative sweat lodge? The community
is the parent of the sweat lodge. Know and understand the importance of
the four purposes of the sweat lodge and all the beautiful symbolism
which connects the materials of the sweat lodge and its practices to
community life.
Words cannot describe all things that occur during a sweat. Each
individual receives something different than other participants; yet
all share in a general way, too. Participants in a particular lodge may
come and go. They may benefit for a while and then need to seek a
different spiritual path. This is not the way for everyone and that is
fine. All that is asked of the participant is respect--respect what we
are doing and know that our intent is good. It is important that we
recognize that all are connected to the true Great Creator of the
Universe, One Above. Mvto!
One would do well to also read and seek an understanding of some additional articles by the authors, "The Muskogee Universe," "The Cosmos," and " Power, The Source of Life." These are available as text files by request.