Sweat Lodge Movements from North to South America
Photo by Miguel Rama Torres
3.5 minute read
Sweat lodge is an ancient purification ritual that is practiced across various indigenous cultures. In Central and South America it is called Temazcal, while in the north the Lakota people call it Inipi. Inipi means, "to live again" and is one of their seven sacred Lakota ceremonies. Temazcal comes from the Nahuatl language and means "house of heat."
Despite the difference in its name the essence of a sweat lodge is the same. There is a domelike structure that is made of adobe or cloth, depending on the culture. The preparation usually takes about five hours. There are volcanic stones that are heated in a large fire. Inside of the sweat lodge there is a hole in the center of the ground. Once the stones are heated the people enter the lodge. The hot stones are placed in the ground and then water is poured over them to create steam.
What makes an Inpi or sweat lodge a step beyond a day spa sauna is the element of prayer. The ritual is a way to shed anything that no longer serves you and allows you to connect with the energy of the environment and the universe.
One summer on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where the Lakota currently reside, I was invited to attend an Inipi. It was a windy day on the great plains as I walked down a hill to the sweat lodge grounds. There was a giant fire where the stones were being heated. A few minuted after arriving the medicine man, who would be leading the ceremony, called out to line up as we would soon begin.
In a line, we circled around the fire and one by one arrived at the entrance where a young man was holding a shell filled with South Dakota sage. I breathed in the incense and kneeled down and began to crawl from the left around to the right-hand side of the lodge. After everyone entered the medicine man closed the flap to cover the small hole where we entered.
As I sat in complete darkness I heard the beat of a drum ring. The lead singer cried out and everyone began to follow. The medicine man began to pray as he poured water over the hot stones and steam began to fill my lungs. I opened my eyes and began to see violet lights sparkling in the darkness. The leader told us our ancestors have entered and to begin to pray out loud.
Months after this Inipi I was in South America in the country of Ecuador filming for the documentary, The Roots Awaken. I was in a town called Peguche and was speaking with some of the indigenous youth who were supporting me in the film. I asked them if they had ever participated in a temazcal. They told me they hadn't but they knew of a guy who had a lodge. Sure enough I knew of him and called him up to arrange a sweat lodge ceremony.
The next day we walked down old stone steps to the base of a small stream where the adobe lodge was. I was asked to open the ceremony and to bring the energy of the north with my prayer. I had tobacco in my hand and began to speak out loud in front of the fire. I prayed that the indigenous youth would awaken to their greatest potential and that we would unite across cultures in this time for the sake of life on earth; that here and now the eagle of the north would fly once again with the condor of the south.
Just as we entered the Inpi in the north we crawled into the lodge in the south. Once the songs began and the water was poured over the stones, I took out an eagle feather that had been gifted to me after I attended the lodge in South Dakota the summer before. I held it tight in my hands and when silence took over the darkness I cried out in Lakota, the only song that I knew well. When I finished, I could not hold back and tears began to roll down my cheeks.
The young man pouring the water told everyone that this is the time to be real and its okay to release our emotions. As we sat in darkness it made it easier for everyone to share. After about one hour of songs and prayers, we crawled out of the lodge. As I stood up I looked to the sky and small raindrops began to hit my face.
I felt renewed spiritually, physically, and mentally. After seeing the young people around me smiling and chatting with one another I was filled with great joy. We were reborn together that day.
Just as I was leaving, I heard thunder strike across the sky. I remembered when I was alone in Lakota territory in a tent and heard the same sound. Just like the drumbeat or when someone breaks out in cry before a song, there is great power in a release.
The first sweat lodge I entered changed my life forever. I acquired a lifelong practice; one of the greatest ways I've found to purify one's entire being. The power of prayer and speaking out loud surely has an effect on both one's self and the universe. The microcosm is the macrocosm and the macrocosm is the microcosm. I now know in this time of unification the eagle of the north is soaring across the cosmos with condor of the south.
Written by Kumiko Hayashi - kumiko@therootsawaken.com