What is a Sweat Lodge?

Written by Gilly Alook - Spotted Wolf

“For me, the sweat lodge is my primary place of healing and it is what I call “my church”. Let me share a bit about how it works. The sweat lodge is a dome structure generally comparable to a 10-man dome tent, which is a representation of the womb of Mother Earth. Our main purpose when we come to sweat is to purify our thoughts, our bodies and our emotions. We all crawl in and out in a clockwise or sun wise direction with humility and respect. 

A fire is built outside the lodge where 29 rocks, or “grandfathers” as we call them, are heated for hours. Seven grandfathers are brought into the centre pit of the lodge for each of the four rounds. The 29th rock is left in the fire to keep us grounded. After each round we exit feeling more enlightened after shedding our burdens and sacrificing ourselves for the duration of each round, which lasts approximately 20 to 40 minutes. “

“The only doorway faces east, which represents new beginnings. We crawl in, women first. The lodge door is then closed after the grandfathers are in the centre, and the water pail is brought in. While in the complete darkness of the lodge, we humbly ask for prayers for ourselves, our male and female family members, the animal and plant nation and then we give thanks for all the gifts and blessings we have been given each day. “

“We start off each of the 4 rounds with a song, accompanied by drumming or rattles being played. Most healing lodges incorporate the 4 aspects of our being: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. We acknowledge the four directions, the four races, the four elements and the four stages of life, following the traditions of the sacred medicine wheel.”

“The lodge keeper introduces each round and gives participants the opportunity to share their prayers, so everyone may hold those prayers as well as their own. As the grandfathers are brought into the lodge, they are welcomed with a sprinkling of different sacred medicines such as sage, sweetgrass, and cedar to name a few. During this time the lodge keeper pours water on the heated grandfathers. The steam emanating from them represents our prayers that go up to our Creator. Experiencing the intensity of the heat shows our willingness to sacrifice on behalf of those we pray for, including ourselves.”

“Some people are blessed with visions or hearing their ancestors while in this sacred ceremony. During my first sweat, I saw a bright light inside the pitch-black dome, and realized afterwards there was no opening in the tarp to explain this mysterious sighting. Often while gazing into the centre where the red stones are glowing with heat, I have witnessed visions of animals and faces of our ancestors in the spirit of the grandfathers.”

“I can humbly say the years of weekly devotion to participating in sweats have been instrumental in my many levels of healing that have occurred continuously throughout my years on the Red Road, including my recent open-heart surgery.” I give thanks to Creator, my Ancestors, and all my sun dance brothers and sisters for these ongoing teachings.”