My Experience in an Indian Sweat Lodge

Since I have long held an interest in both Native American cultures and in altered states of consciousness, I decided two years ago to participate in a Sioux sweat lodge ceremony on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. The experience was deeply intense and quite frightening at times, yet it turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I walked out of it a changed person, more aware of myself and others, and feeling more alive than ever before. I am now a firm believer in the power of psychic energy in a community.

The sweat lodge was of simple construction: an open framework of willow saplings bent and tied together to form a circular hut perhaps five feet in diameter and three or four feet high. Over this framework they had draped animal hides, so that the interior was completely dark and insulated. A show pit was dug in the earth in the center of the lodge. Participants in the ritual, eight men including myself, sat unclothed on the ground. Attendants on the outside filled the pit with red-hot rocks that had been heated in a strong bonfire. The lodge was then sealed up from the outside, leaving us in darkness and increasing heat. Sprigs of sage were placed among the willow poles, and cedar incense was burned on the hot rocks as the ritual began.

When a powerful medicine man conducts a solemn ritual therein, the sweat lodge can provide a life-changing experience. The medicine man in charge of the sweat offered prayers for the efficacy of the ritual and for the well-being of the participants. He passed around the sacred pipe filled with an aromatic mixture of tobacco and red-willow bark. Each person prayed with the pipe and smoked it. The leader then began his chants. When he was finished, he started to throw water on the glowing rocks. At this point, things started to get really hot and it was a little frightening. Yet my fears melted away with the heat as I listened to the medicine man’s chanting and felt the sense of group presence; soon I relaxed.

After a short time, I could not believe how hot it was. The sensation of live steam was so strong that I thought my skin was on fire, and I quickly learned that I had to keep wiping the sweat off of my skin to avoid getting burned. I found out that burning only occurs if a person loses contact with the psychic energy of the group and sees himself as an isolated individual trying to defend himself against the heat. Since I could trust the medicine man and was willing to abandon myself to the powers in the sweat lodge, I did not suffer any physical damage even though the sensations were intense and the temperature inside was near 100º C for brief periods of time.

The sweat ritual is cyclical. Water was thrown onto the rocks several times. As the water hit the rocks, an explosive hiss seemed to shake the lodge. Seconds later a wave of intense heat enveloped my body. As soon as this wave passed, the leader added more water, causing another explosion of sound in the darkness and another wave of intense sensation, stronger than the last. The process continued until no one could stand any more, at which point the shouting of a special phrase (meaning “All my relations!”) signaled the outside attendants to throw off the coverings of the lodge, leaving it open to the winds. As soon as we recovered, the lodge was sealed again, and another cycle of praying, smoking, chanting and scalding began. The full ceremony included several cycles of increasing intensity.

In the sweat lodge I met and conquered many fears. All the terrors of darkness, noise, fire and helplessness rose up to challenge the group participants in the ritual and were defeated by the collective faith of the group. When the steam exploded there was no time for thinking; all mental effort was focused on the wave of heat about to break. It took our full concentration to manage to receive the wave of heat and ride over its crest. The reward of perseverance was a terrific “high.”

There is no question that such an experience would be horribly painful to someone unprepared for it. What was interesting to me about the sweat lodge is that the setting encourages the participants to interpret the strong stimulation as good and healthy and that with this set and setting the sensation is one of pain that does not hurt. And what is more, this experience of pain that doesn’t hurt leads to a powerful high in the complete absence of tissue injury.

On coming out of the sweat lodge, I felt euphoric, lifted out of myself, purged of anxiety and depression, healthy and full of energy. The “high” that I felt gradually gave way to great relaxation and a desire to rest. A sense of my well-being persisted for a long time, perhaps three or four days afterwards. Despite some of my initial fears, my experience in the sweat lodge was well worth the intense effort!