The Sweat Lodge

A place of healing, the elder had told the children yesterday during the cultural teaching workshop. This is true, of course in my culture we simple call it a sauna (pronounced- sow na) in that thick Finnish accent of my relatives. But there are similarities. The Finlanders also make use of the sauna when they are ill. Often times we have cutting the duration of colds in the sauna, soothed our achy muscles and used t to help heal other ailments.

However the sauna does not have the spiritual qualities of the sweat lodge, and yet, there can be other similarities drawn from the sweat lodge and the confessional....oh bet you did not see that one coming. I recall the anxiety that came with waiting to head into that small dark room to unburden my soul by confessing that I called my brother a dooty head, or sad a swear word. Then to step outside the door feeling brand new, reborn as it were.

So too the sweat lodge, as the elder taught, is symbolic of the mother's womb. The drum is her heart beat, and when we emerge from the lodge, it is like being born again, our burdens lifted from our souls. The buring of sage, tobacco and sweet-grass, not unlike our own catholic rituals of burning  incense. The idea is the same, as the smoke rises our prayers are lifted with it.

I believe that as we look to one another we should notice the similarities that are there. These similarities occurred independent of each others culture and yet they are there. We are more alike than we realize.

Examine the pictures closely and you will see similarities. Traditionally for both you are suppose to go in "au naturel" the same way you were born into the world, but as time has passed we allow some covering for modesty sake.

accept the changes, embrace the the fact we are PEOPLE, more the same than we realize.