In one form or another, the sweat bath pervaded cultures from the Alaskan Eskimo south into the land of the Mayans. The sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna and an important ritual used by North American First Nations or Native American peoples. There are several styles of sweat lodges that include a domed or oblong hut similar to a wickiup, a teepee, or even a simple hole dug into the ground and covered with planks or tree trunks. Stones are heated in an exterior fire and then placed in a central pit in the ground. Often the stones are granite and they glow red in the dark lodge. The purpose, in most cases, went beyond getting the body clean. The sweat bath provided a cure for illness, revitalization for aching muscles, and a sense of racial identity.

History of Sweat Lodges

Use of the sweat lodge was chronicled by the earliest settlers in America. In 1665, David DeVries of New York observed Indians "entirely clean and more attractive than before" while sweat bathing. Roger Williams of Rhode Island wrote in 1643: "They use sweating for two ends: first to cleanse their skin; secondly to purge their bodies, which doubtless is a great means of preserving them, especially from the French disease (probably influenza) which by sweating and some potions, they perfectly and speedily cure."

George Catlin wrote a lengthy description of the Mandan's sweat lodge in 1845, ending with the comment: "Such is the sudatory or vapour bath of the Mandans, and, as I before observed, it is resorted to both as an everyday luxury by those who have the time and energy to indulge in it; and also used by the sick as a remedy for nearly all the diseases which are known amongst them. Fevers are very rare, and in fact almost unknown amongst these people: but in the few cases of fever which have been known, this treatment has been applied, and without the fatal consequences which we would naturally predict. This custom is similar amongst nearly all of these Missouri Indians and amongst the Pawnees, Omahas, and Punchas and other tribes."

In his book, Travels through the Interior Parts of North America (1766-68), Captain J. Carver, observing Native American customs, wrote: "Pains and weaknesses in the stomach and the breast are sometimes the result of their long fasting and consumptions of the excessive fatigue and violent exercises they expose themselves to from infancy, before they have strength to support them. But the disorder to which they are most subject is pleurisy; for the removal of which, they apply their grand remedy and preventative against the generality of their complaints, sweating."

Nevertheless, the white man saw the sweat lodge, with its sacred and religious implications, as a threat. Even after the Indians were subdued, Christian missionaries and government officials systematically denied use of the sweat lodge, interrupting a continuity that lasted thousands of years. Enforcement depended upon how great a threat they felt from a particular tribe.

The Sioux, who stubbornly fought white man's attempt to "civilize" them, were punished by Indian police for simply entering the sweat lodge. More docile tribes gave up sweat lodge rituals voluntarily. In other regions, such as Mexico, sweat bathing continued without interruption as long as certain elements offensive to the Spanish conquerors were abandoned. In areas where influence of white culture was less intense, a more tolerant attitude prevailed and sweat bathing continued. This explains why the Crows of Montana, who served as scouts for the Army, have continued the practice without interruption to this day.
The most popular form of sweat bathing among North American Indians was the hot rock method and its variations. These were used exclusively by tribes in the central plains, the southwest, the Great Basin and the eastern woodlands.

Whether permanent, temporary or portable, they were smaller than other Indian structures, and usually domed and sometimes oblong. Nomadic tribes drove pliant boughs, such as willow, into the ground and arched them into a hemisphere, secured with withes. Stationary tribes used more substantial materials--logs and heavy bark. Temporary sweat lodges were covered with blankets or skins, while the permanent types were sealed with mud or sod.

In either case, a depression was dug near the door or in the center to cradle the rocks, which were heated outside and brought in on forked sticks. Steam was produced by sprinkling the rocks from a straw broom or a hollowed buffalo horn. Although simple to build, every detail was symbolic.

WOMB OF MOTHER EARTH

The Sioux, for example, see the interior of the sweat lodge as representing the womb of Mother Earth, its darkness as human ignorance, the hot stones as the coming of life, and the hissing steam as the creative force of the universe being activated. The entrance faces east, source of life and power, dawn of wisdom, while the fire heating the rocks is the undying light of the world, eternity.

Sweat lodges were often connected with gods and creation. In the lore of the Wintu tribe of California it is said that Olelbis, the creator, built a great and awesome sweat house, its middle support being a huge white oak, with various kinds of oaks being side supports and flowering plants serving as binding and sides. Then, as the house began to grow wider and higher, it became wonderful in size and splendor. Just as daylight was coming, the house was finished and ready. It stood in the morning dawn, a mountain of beautiful flowers and oak branches; all the colors of the world were on it, inside and out. The center tree had grown far above the top of the house, filled with acorns; a few of them had fallen on every side. This sweat house was placed there to last forever, the largest and most beautiful building in the world, above or below. Nothing like it will ever be built again.

The Maidu's story of Creation begins with a sweat in the dancehouse. "The Great Spirit made two dolls of clay and laid them on the floor. The Great Spirit then lay beside them and sweated so long that the dolls turned into living people."

PEYOTE AND SACRED MYTHS

The sweat bath often accompanied other rituals. The Utes of the Southwest, for example, preceded their peyote ceremony with a fast and a sweat to purify their body, while peyote released evil from their souls. Cherokee priests, custodians of sacred myths, were allowed to recite them only in the sanctum of the sweat lodge. Their knowledge was not for everyone to hear. They would meet at night in a sweat lodge and discuss the inner knowledge among themselves.

In one of the Omaha Indians' chants, the sweat lodge rock is called "Grandsire" or "Aged One." The stones symbolized the state of being, immovable and steadfast, "Dwelling place" of all. The Fox Indians believed the spirit Manitou dwelled in the stones of the sweat lodge. An old Fox Indian told this: Often one will cut one's self only through the skin. It is done to open up many passages for the Manitou to pass into the body. It comes from his abode in the stone, roused by the heat of the fire, and proceeds out of the stone when water is sprinkled on it. It comes out in the steam and enters the body wherever it finds entrance. It moves up and down, and all over and inside the body, driving out everything that inflicts pain. Before the Manitou returns to the stone, it imparts some of its nature to the body. That is why one feels so well after having been in the sweat lodge.

Preparation for the sweat bath and its indulgence followed traditional disciplines, often conducted by a medicine man. The Kiowa built their sweat lodge with a framework of twelve reeds, other tribes used more. The number of stones varied, but five or six were common. Some tribes cooled off in snow and sand (as the Navajos) while others plunged into lakes and streams. Buffalo tails and eagle wings were often used for whipping the body, much like the Finnish vihta or the Russian vennik.
Alaskan Eskimos, some Pacific Coast tribes and the Pueblo Indians in the Southwest built lodges heated directly by fire. They were usually large enough to accommodate dozens of men. (Women were rarely allowed inside these "men's clubs.") A small pilot fire was kept burning most of the day. After hours of talk, gossip and dancing the fire was fed to a noble size, the lodge became torrid and sweating began.
Although caustic smoke filled the air, these people made no effort to convert to the hot rock method, though they surely knew of this alternative. Without stoves or chimneys, a blazing central fire was the simplest way to convert a men's club into a sudatorium. When the smoke became unbearable, the men would simply lie flat on the floor and breathe fresher air.
Why were some tribes more inclined to use the direct fire method than others? Although they were geographically far flung, they had in common the leisure to enjoy communal companionship in a casual atmosphere. Eskimo men endured long dark winters in the glowing warmth of a sweat lodge while carving spears or knotting nets for the coming spring. Pacific Coast Indians, living in the land of plenty with an abundance of game, berries and nuts, had the leisure to be sociable. Pueblo men, with advanced farming techniques learned from the Aztecs, and with domesticated flocks of turkeys, herds of cattle, trained eagles, were assured of ample food and were left with leisure too. They spent much time in the kiva, their ceremonial house, which often became a sweat lodge when enough wood was fed on the central fire.

In 1899, Edward Nelson observed Eskimos of the Bering Straits and their very curious method of cleaning:
"In these buildings (kashim) sweat baths are taken by men and boys at intervals of a week or ten days during the winter. Every man has a small urine tub near his place, where this liquid is saved for use in bathing. A portion of the floor in the center of the room is made of planks so arranged that it can be taken up, exposing a pit beneath, in which a fire of drift logs is built. When the Smoke has passed off and the wood is reduced to a bed of coals, a cover is put over the smoke hole in the roof and the men sit naked about the room until they are in profuse perspiration; they then bathe in the urine, which combines with the oil on their bodies, and thus takes the place of soap, after which they go outside and pour water over their bodies until they become cool. While bathing they remain in the kashim with the temperature so high that their skin becomes shining red and appears to be almost at the point of blistering; then going outside they squat about in the snow perfectly nude, and seem to enjoy the contrasting temperature. On several occasions I saw them go from the sweat bath to holes in the ice on neighboring streams and squatting there, pour ice water over their backs and shoulders with a wooden dipper, apparently experiencing the greatest pleasure from the operation.

Nelson also observed a clever way of protecting the lungs from the caustic smoke:
"Owing to the intense heat generated in the fire pit, the bathers, who are always males, are obliged to use respirators to protect their lungs. These are made of fine shavings of willow or spruce bound into the form of an oblong pad formed to cover the mouth, the chin, and a portion of the cheeks. These pads are convex externally and concave within; crossing the concave side is a small wooden rod, either round or square, so that the wearer can grasp it in his teeth and thus hold the respirator in position."

The Indians in central and southern California built direct fire sweat lodges called temescals. (The Spaniards brought the word north with them from the Aztecs.) "In the center of the rancheria was the temescal," wrote George Redding in 1880 for the Californian, describing the life of the north Central Valley tribe, the Wintu. "It was constructed by digging a large circular basin-shaped hole in the ground, four or five feet deep. Large posts were sunk around the edge of this hole, about five feet apart, which extend upward to the top of the ground. In the center are planted four large tree trunks, with the original limbs on them, extending a few feet above the surface. From these four trees the roof supports are firmly fastened by withes to the branches at the center of the trees. The whole cover is then thatched with pine and willow brush, and covered with a layer of earth about a foot in thickness. The entrance is a long, low passage, and made by driving short, thin pine posts side by side, about three feet apart, covered in the same manner as the house proper."

Most California sweat lodges could be described as above; even the kivas of the Southwest had essentially the same design. However, the kivas differed only in that some were rectangular and lined inside with fine masonry. (I am told modern Pueblos are now using the hot rock method instead of a direct fire. Perhaps, this is a result of a cultural exchange that began centuries ago when the Apache and Navaho tribes migrated from the north and mingled with the Pueblo people.)
Although less spiritual attachment was placed on the direct fire sweat lodges vis-à-vis most hot rock sweats, they were still considered a powerful remedy for all ills.

In California during early 1800s, Alexander Forbes wrote:
"The Indians, in their natural state, are very healthy, notwithstanding their filthy habits. It is very far otherwise in their domesticated state. Both with the wild and domesticated tribes, the hot-air bath, or temescal, is the sovereign remedy for most of their diseases. This is administered in the following manner. A round hovel or oven of mud is built for the purpose. It has a small opening in the side to enter by, and a smaller one at the top for the escape of the smoke. Several persons enter this at the same time, quite naked, and make a fire close to the door, on the inside. They continue to add fresh wood to the fire as long as they can bear the heat. This soon throws them into a profuse perspiration over their whole frame. They wring their hair, (says Captain Beechey) and scrape their skin with a sharp piece of wood or iron hoop, in the same manner as coachhorses are sometimes treated when they come in heated, and they plunge into a river or pond of cold water, which they always take care shall be near the temescal."

Another description of California sweating comes from Stephen Powers in 1877:
" . . . their panacea was the sweat house. Mr. While relates that he once ventured an experiment in one of these sweating dungeons out of curiosity and in dispair (sic) over a neuralgia, for the healing of which he had suffered many things by many physicians and had spent all that he had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. The first time he was well-nigh suffocated by the dense and bitter smudge made by the green wood. For two hours he lay with his face pressed close to the ground, with a wet handkerchief over his nostrils (the Indians purposely build the fire close to the door, so they cannot excape (sic) until it burns down) and it was a wonder to himself that he lived through it. But he was much benefited that he made a second trial of it, and was quite cured."  

The Sweat Lodge of Today

Sweat Lodge is probably the most recognized of all Native American ceremonies, although this tradition has existed in various forms in many ethnic cultures. It is constructed with bent wooden poles covered with natural material, canvas or blankets. In the center is a pit into which is placed hot rocks previously heated in a fire outside of the lodge. The American Indian sweat lodge, Finnish sauna, Russian bania, Jewish shvitz, Mexican Temescal, African Sweat Hut and Turkish hamman are global forms of sweat therapy. One would be hard pressed to find a culture or era in which group sweating was not a common practice.

Once sitting inside the lodge the door opening is closed and the sweat takes place in darkness. Sweats are conducted in different ways. They may include the making of prayers or declarations, chanting, drumming, to create a ritual with spiritual or healing intent. Other lodges may be held in silence.

During the Sweat Bath toxins are removed from the body, negative ions are released into the air to counter fatigue and tenseness and the endocrine glands are stimulated by the rise in temperature. Traditionally there are four sessions to each sweat with each lasting between twenty and thirty minutes. In the heat and darkness of the lodge we can come closer to ourselves, our creator, and to understanding each other.
Sweating as a physical and mental cleansing ceremony is an ancient practice. Many people are familiar with the physical benefits of a sauna such as improved cardio functioning, purifying the body of toxins and keeping the skin healthy. There are also psychological benefits.
Niyan has been running Sweat Lodges since 1994. These 12 years of experience have shaped a different kind of Sweat Lodge; one that we feel serves the South African best. The African Sweat Hut is held in a similar way that the Native American people hold their lodge and revered also as the symbolic womb of the Earth Mother. Niyan has adapted teachings from Native American, Brazilian, Mexican, African and Tibetan and Indian Teachers and teachings to shape the Ceremony as it exists today.
Different intentions and motivations can be given to each lodge centered on the basic ritual pattern of honoring the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The greater underlying intention in all such ceremonies is to acknowledge, feel and experience our spirit bodies. When groups of people come together and focus their intent, it becomes a potentially powerful and creative situation. By doing these ceremonies we gently weave a web of connections between those present and all of our Relations (all of creation). Participating in such a ritual is an intimate adventure into our spirit reality.
In this Sweat Hut we come together to acknowledge the four elements. They are alive; they exist within us and within the Earth. We come together to experience oneness, with the elements and with the Earth. The Sweat Hut represents the womb of the Earth Mother. When we are inside, we are back in the womb where we can experience rebirth and death of those parts of our ego that no longer serves our growth. We sweat for four quarters, each of which represents one of the four elements:
Air is the focus for the first quarter and retaining the silence in the lodge, we breathe focusing on the living element of air, which we draw into the depths of our lungs, filling our lungs to capacity with each breath.
Fire is the focus for the second quarter. You will learn the process of awakening the chakras with the Rainbow light meditation. We chant the sounds E - A - I - U - O - M - Z, each sound awakening a different energy centre in our body. While we chant each specific sound we will focus on its colors. At the end of this round we chant the rainbow light meditation, sending Rainbows to all sentient beings (all of our relatives) from the circle.
Water is the focus for the third quarter. This is the flowing round, the female round. Here we sit and wait for our unique sound with this unique group to rise from within. We start with soft sounds that come into our throat and listening to the others in the group we begin to weave together the sound of this group. We are searching for our spirit song, one that comes from within. This is always unique.
Earth is the focus for the final round. In this round we will sing our Earth song, 'Mamalie Mamalie, Sibonga wena Mamalie", meaning Mama Africa, Mama Africa, thank you!
Our ceremony is now complete.
If the Firekeeper chooses he/she will hold a firekeepers round with the remaining stones. The firekeeper will usually invite you to join in.

Physical Benefits of the Sweat Hut/Sweat Lodge.

Sweating rids the body of wastes. In this modern sedentary age of pollution, artificial environments, synthetic clothing and lack of regular exercise, a sweat bath can open clogged skin pores and stimulate the healthy flow of a body's own natural sweat.
Depending on how hot the sweat bath is and the climate in which it occurs, a fifteen minute sauna or sweat can perform the heavy metal excretion that normally takes healthy kidneys 24 hours to accomplish. Body sweat flushes toxic metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and mercury from the body. A sauna is often recommended as a supplement to kidney machines. Sweat can also remove excessive salts; this is generally believed to be beneficial for cases of mild hypertension. Sweat can also eliminate urea, a metabolic by-product. Excessive urea can cause headaches, nausea and in extreme cases, vomiting and coma. Sweat may also draw out lactic acid responsible for stiff muscles and a contributor to general fatigue.
Sweat lodge heat dilates capillaries; this increases blood flow to the skin. The heart beats faster and impurities in vital organs are flushed out by the flow of fluids. Finnish and German doctors cite studies indicating sweat baths help persons with high blood pressure and heart problems; many American doctors, however, continue to recommend against sweat baths for such persons. Lungs benefit, too. Clogged respiratory passages are opened by heat; this gives relief from colds or minor respiratory problems. Sweat baths are not recommended for persons with pneumonia and major respiratory problems. The heat of a sweat bath and the often rapid cooling afterwards, conditions the body. A well-tuned body is more resistant to colds, disease and infection. In cold weather, a warm glowing feeling often lingers for hours following a sweat bath. In hot weather, the body seems cooler afterwards.
Recent Finnish tests validate the practice of splashing water on superheated rocks as a means to produce an abundance of negative ions. This seems especially true if the rocks are heated by a wood fire and not electricity. It is known now that where there are too few negative ions and too many positive ions, have been linked to heart attacks, aggravated asthma, migraines, insomnia, rheumatism, arthritis, hay fever and allergies.

Building a Sweat Lodge

Building a sweat lodge is not particularly difficult, but careful consideration should be given to various details.

Choosing a Location and Sitting the Lodge

A quiet and secluded area is the obvious setting for a sweat lodge. Privacy is essential, yet the area must also be accessible. Once you have found the site, you must then choose where you wish to place the lodge itself.
There is no hard, fast rule that the doorway of a sweat lodge must face a particular location. The lodge doorways at the base of Spirit Mountain in the Black Hills face west. Most Sioux and Ojibwa sweat lodges face east or west, but you must consider the terrain, location, and setting of the entire lodge area when selecting your lodge opening. In the interest of fire safety, you may have to select your fireplace area first. This will determine the direction of the opening for you, since lodges almost always face the fire.

Fire Safety

Fire safety is of extreme importance in selecting the lodge site and choosing the location of the fire pit. At times, fire pits may have to be dug deeper then what may seem necessary and their location will have to take advantage of windbreaks or shelter from the wind. Even if it is a calm day, assume that the wind could become a factor. Seldom is a sweat lodge built for only one evening’s activity; therefore, always consider that high winds can come up during the time the fire is heating the rocks for a later ceremony and resulting sparks and drier conditions could result in a fire.

Heating the Rocks

Early on, assign several participants to gather firewood and rocks. Put one or two persons in charge of preparing the fireplace, building the fire, and heating the rocks. If you start the fire early, the rocks are usually hot by the time the lodge is finished.
Be sure the fireplace is far enough from the lodge so that the ceremony participants can have some privacy. Many times there will be two successive sweat ceremonies, and people usually wait their turn sitting around the comforting fire. Their conversations could be distracting to the ceremony if the fireplace is too close to the lodge.
Rocks should be of limestone or granite, without significant cracks. Use rocks a little larger than a softball, or the size of a cantaloupe. Never use sandstone or other porous, water-absorbing-type stones. Wet sandstone can explode when heated in the fireplace. Lava rocks are probably the best rocks to use because they seem to retain their heat and also convey unusual images when they are heated to a red glow and are observed within the dark confines of the lodge.
Several hatchets, a shovel, and a pitchfork are useful tools for the fire and stone heating.

Building the Frame

If everyone pitches in, you can build a sweat lodge in three to four hours. All it takes is a knife, a hatchet, and a ball of string. The frame is usually made of willow, but any sapling will do.
The average size lodge will comfortably seat eight to twelve people. To estimate the size, first draw a circle two feet in diameter in the center of the lodge site. This will be the rock pit that you will dig later. Sit cross-legged on the ground facing the circle, and leave at least a foot or two between your knees and the center circle's outer edge. Place a stick with a string tied to it in the center of the circle. Run the string a few inches behind your sitting position. The string serves as a radius for the lodge, and you can then draw the circumference on the ground. A nine foot diameter lodge will seat twelve people comfortably. A ten foot diameter lodge will seat fifteen to sixteen people. Remember, however, that a large lodge will be difficult to heat unless it is well insulated. With the black tarp found in so many hardware stores and the blankets participants bring, however, a large lodge can be built that will hold the heat.
Cut twelve saplings with a base approximately the size of a quarter or fifty cent piece. After the saplings have been brought to the lodge area, remove the branches and sharpen the bottoms. If you have selected willow, use the soft branches and leaves for the floor of the lodge. Place the sharpened ends into the ground at an equal distance around the drawn circumference, leaving an opening for the doorway. You may use a heavier pointed stake to make the holes for the saplings, or use a hunting knife if the ground is very hard.
Be sure the saplings are embedded deep enough into the ground so they hold firm when they are bent and tied together to form the domed frame. The bend of the sapling should allow for a large man to sit comfortably. Don't build your lodge too tall or it will be difficult to heat. Bind the saplings with string, fishing line or willow bark peeled in long strings.
To strengthen and reinforce the lodge, tie sapling cross braces horizontally to the upright saplings. While work is progressing on tying the saplings together, send part of the group to gather grass, sage, cedar, or leaves to place on the floor for people to sit on. If wildflowers are available, a sprinkling within the lodge adds a pleasant aroma. When placing the seating material, leave room for the rocks to be rolled into the lodge, usually a foot wide path from the doorway to the rock pit.

Covering the Sweat Lodge

Tarps are excellent for covering the sweat lodge frame. They are waterproof, and if it rains, participants will find a dry haven inside the lodge. The best method is to cover the frame with a tarp and then cover the tarp with clean blankets. The blankets provide heat and sound insulation and also block out all the light. The more blankets draped over the frame, the better the insulation, and the fewer rocks you will need. If it is colder weather, drafts will not penetrate inward. Use a thick blanket, or several blankets for the doorway. For an adequate supply of blankets, ask each participant to bring one or two. To prevent blankets from sliding off the lodge, use twine or tie the corner of each blanket to the corner of a counter balancing blanket draped on the opposite side of the lodge.

Transporting the Rocks

The ceremony can begin when some of the rocks are glowing red. A long handled pitchfork is a convenient tool for adjusting rocks around a fire and transporting them to the lodge.
You will also want to have several five gallon buckets of water both for the ceremony and for dousing the fire when everyone is ready to leave the area. You will also need a dipper and a two to three gallon pail for splashing water onto the heated rocks. 
Sweat lodges are easily constructed structures made of saplings bent together and tied with twine to form a half sphere. A pit is dug in the center for heated rocks. The structure is covered with a tarp or blankets. In days past, hides of buffalo robes covered the frame. The earthen floor is strewn with sage, flat cedar, flowers, grass or reeds. Participants gather within the darkened interior to endure the steam generated by dippers of water poured over the hot stones. Inipi is the Sioux term for the sweat lodge.
While the sweat lodge itself is simple to describe, it is impossible to convey the ultimate culmination of spiritual, mystical and psychic expression of the Sweat Lodge Ceremony. You have to experience it to fully understand its fullness and depth.
The average-sized lodge is approximately eight feet by twelve feet. A group can get together on a remote or semi-remote area and build its own "little church" in a few hours.
In the past, participants visited the sweat lodge prior to engaging in the Vision Quest, Sun Dance, and Spirit Calling Ceremonies. Traditional Native Americans held these main ceremonies to meet the spiritual needs of the tribe, group or individual. The sweat lodge prepared them for a higher, deeper plane or dimension. Before the Sun Dance, sun dance pledgers cleansed themselves physically and spiritually within the steamy mist of the sweat lodge. Then the Sun Dance chief or assisting holy man would conduct the Inipi in the early morning hours, before or while the sun rested on the horizon. Vision Questers would cleanse and prepare themselves in the sweat lodge before ascending a lonely hilltop or before the long climb to the top of Spirit Mountain (Bear Butte) in the Black Hills.
Today, however, the cleansing experience is fast becoming a major ceremony for those of all races, creeds, and nationalities who seek natural, nature based, Mother Earth based expression. Even among Native Americans, for whom it was once only a preparation, the sweat lodge experience is becoming a major ceremony, especially among Native Americans living in cities, who have limited access to other tribal ceremonies.
Once the lodge is covered and the ceremony is under way, the participants find a deep connection back into a past. A tribal closeness to the Natural Way unfolds like a budding blossom. A natural bonding begins within the misty, generative womb of Mother Earth. A bonding to one's own concept of God, the Creator, and the created Mother, upon which we all thrive daily. The spiritual bond is likened to an attachment to Mother Earth as one sits within her warm womb. It can be a key function in the search for a spiritual link to God's creation-nature, the environment.
Eagle Man, an Oglala Sioux, equates the Inipi as the ceremony that "intermingles and conveys the lifeblood of the world." Water is the lifeblood of this ecosystem of fire, water, air, and earth,-the four elements. Although the Pipe Ceremony precedes a Sweat Lodge Ceremony, the peace pipe is not smoked until after the participants have endured the Sweat Lodge Ceremony. The Pipe Ceremony honors and brings forth universal truth, but first the lifeblood of water must come forth from the participants.
The four directions are called upon within the lodge. The misty fire heated steam covers you, bringing forth your own mist (sweat). Your universal lifeblood comes forth and intermingles with the misty waters of your brothers and sisters around you. The waters of the world (the bucket of water), which have been brought into the lodge, join and mix with the air of the four directions when the dipper of water is ladled onto the hot stones, making steam. The four winds will carry the life blood out of the lodge to the four quarters of our planet. A part of your lifeblood will seep back into Mother Earth.
The peace pipe is smoked after the four endurances of the Sweat lodge. The participants are refreshed; their lifeblood is traveling through the ecosystem; and their visible breath, symbolizing truth, will be carried throughout the universe. The sweat lodge, in conjunction with the peace pipe, makes for very powerful ceremonies.
The Sweat Lodge Ceremony recreates time and space, at least in the Indian sense. Powers wrote in Oglala Religion,
"The placing of tobacco representing the four winds, zenith, nadir, and Spotted Eagle in a sacred pipe renders the pipe powerful because it contains the entire universe. When it is lighted, life and breath are invested in the universe; and when it is smoked, the universe passes through one's own body and is sent back to Wakan Tanka."

The Kiva

Similar subterranean rooms are found among the ancient peoples of the American southwest, including the Ancient Pueblo Peoples, the Mogollon and the Hohokam. Those used by the Ancient Pueblos of the Pueblo I Era and following, designated by the Pecos Classification system developed by archaeologists, were usually round, and generally believed to have been used for religious and other communal purposes. When designating an ancient room as a kiva, archaeologists make assumptions about the room's original functions and how those functions may be similar to or differ from kivas used in modern practice. The katchina belief system appears to have emerged in the Southwest at approximately AD 1250, while kiva like structures occurred much earlier. This suggests that the room's older functions may have been changed or adapted to suit the new religious practice.

Kivas are entered through a hole in the roof. A stone bench for sitting lines the inside wall, sometimes interrupted by support columns for the roof. There is usually a hole or indentation in the floor, now called a sipapu. Pueblo belief systems state that the sipapu symbolizes the connection from birth with Mother Earth. It may also represent the spot from which the original inhabitants emerged from the lower world. Near the center of the kiva is a fire pit called a hearth. A ventilation shaft on one side supplies floor-level air for the fire. The ventilation shaft is general located on the eastern side of the kiva.

As cultural changes occurred, particularly during the Pueblo III period between 1150 and 1300, kivas continued to have a prominent place in the community. However, some kivas were built above ground. Kiva architecture became more elaborate, with tower kivas and great kivas incorporating specialized floor features. For example, kivas found in Mesa Verde were generally keyhole shaped. In most larger communities, it was normal to find one kiva for each five or six rooms used as residences. Kiva destruction, primarily by burning, has been seen as a strong archaeological indicator of conflict and warfare among people of the Southwest during this period.

After 1325 or 1350, except in the Hopi region, the ratio changed from 60 to 90 rooms for each kiva. This may indicate a religious or organizational change within the society, perhaps affecting the status and number of clans among the Pueblo people.

Footnotes & Links:
-Native American Sweat Lodges - http://www.cyberbohemia.com/Pages/historysweatlod.htm
-Wikipedia: Kiva - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiva
-Building a Sweat Lodge - http://www.think-aboutit.com/native/building_a_sweat_lodge.htm