Life: going native

Last night I traveled with classmates to Arlee Montana for a Salish sweat lodge ceremony. There we met with Tachini (pictured, left), a young man from the Salish tribe. I had been expecting an elder, or at least a rough looking middle-aged man, and was happily surprised to see this young and vibrant man greet us with jokes and smiles.

Upon our arrival, we (Kristi, Becca, Seth, and I) were led by two fellow classmates (Paul and Tony) who had been here recently, down the path from the house to the sweat lodge. For me it was like stepping back into my childhood in the valley north of Helena. The land there is dry the smell of wood smoke and horse and cow dung permeates the air. The clear blue sky is met by beautiful mountains in all directions.

After only fifteen minutes my mind had relaxed, I was totally embraced by the simplicity of this place. We quickly went to work preparing the fire: chopping wood, setting out the rocks that would heat the lodge, fetching water from a nearby stream. We spent a lot of time in silence as the fire burned. I’ve heard that fire has a strange way of reconnecting us with our primal roots; it mesmerizes us, taking us out of whatever particular life we happen to be living and putting us in touch with the very basic elements of reality: creation, warmth, change, destruction… One could easily do an insight (Pali: vipassana) meditation on the flame’s anatta, anicca, and dukha (no-self, impermanence, and unsatisfactoriness).
When the fire had burned down we began bringing the rocks into the lodge. By then the sun had set and darkness began its descent over us.

I don’t feel like I should say much about the ritual itself, except perhaps some of what I went through up there. First of all, its all somewhat foreign, the particularities at least. But Tachini put me at ease and when I wasn’t sure about something I just asked. So I was able to let go of any discomfort I may have felt.

In the lodge itself we sat, close together, mostly in silence as Tachini sang in Salish and led prayers in both English and Salish. I felt a definite sadness as I felt like I was witnessing something of utmost beauty in the world; but that the world in turn is killing it. I felt a sadness over being part of that world, in as much as I am. But I also felt apart from it as I joined in the ceremony. So I let go of my sadness just as I had my discomfort and just sat. That was what I needed to do; just sit. The heat was amazing; I just wanted to immerse myself in it more and more.

In the end we each gave our thanks as one last wave of steam washed over us. In the heat and gratitude we all melted together: one voice, singing, praying, breathing. Leaving the lodge we were born out into the world again, whole again though separate. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen stars so bright and clear and so many of them. I would have loved to lay down right there and fall asleep below them, but it was getting pretty chilly and the ground was covered in cow dung.

Links:

One story of the origin of the sweat lodge (very different from Tachini’s story)
A “how-to” guide to sweat lodges (again different from my experience in many ways)