Native American Pagan ritual with saunas?

My boyfriend is part Native American and just did a sort of ritual involving a sauna in a pasture made of stones and skins. He mentioned it was about cleansing, but he wasn't able to talk long on the phone. Can anyone elaborate on it?

Native American Pagan ritual with saunas?
Sounds like he did a 'sweat' for some tribes it's ceremony and not discussed with "outsiders" for others it's to cleans and detox the body. Say your going hunting, you sweat to get rid of any human smells, or maybe your trying to get over a cold so you sweat it out.





All tribes have different sweats for different reasons. My peoples lodge has an earth roof with a live fire inside, not hot stones. And we do not pray inside it.





If he doesn't discuss it with you, don't take it personal. Some things are tradition.
Reply:It's a sweat lodge, not a sauna. You could do some research on it or ask him next time you see him.
Reply:It is called a sweat lodge.





I participated in a Navajo sweat lodge. All visitors sit in a circle around heated stones. The leader chants a prayer and asks visitors what they would like to pray for. Then he pours the water on the red hot stones and releases a huge amount of steam into the lodge, which makes you sweat. He may also pass around a sage pipe.





There are some breaks, and the sweat lodge is often made of animal skins and does not let through much light. The change in temperature is dramatic and can often make the healthiest people feel sick (one guy in my group puked outside), so be careful and bring water for yourself.





Even when there was hail outside and the weather was freezing, the sweat lodge was extremely hot.
Reply:Just be glad he wasn't doing the old "Rub a dub dub, three men in a tub number." I'd sure be interested to see that pasture of stone and skins.
Reply:Inipi (Lakota)...sweat lodge in English... I don't really know anything about that, although...I'm not sure if this is one of them, but I know, culturally speaking, some things aren't to be discussed so publicly...so if you can't get people to elaborate, that might be why.
Reply:why do you call it pagan? we are not pagans...we believe in a CREATOR...my people didn't sweat traditionally...but it is not something to be talked about online...
Reply:The ceremony you speak of is shared by many if not most of the American Indian cultures, though there are subtle differences between them. It is called sweat lodge ceremony. It is a medicine given by Grandfather, the Creator, first to the Ogitchidaa, the warriors, to heal themselves from the traumas of battle. Men do not have a cleansing cycle as the women do, and they needed a way to cleans their spirits, as well as their bodies. Later, the woman got lodges for their moon time. The process uses stones, also reffered to as Grandfathers, heated in a sacred fire. Steam from the water poured on them creates intense heat, which weakens the flesh so the spirit can emerge. This is a sacred ceremony with many rites that can be interchanged depending on the need. A mishiquat, or ceremony keeper presides, and watches over the people in his charge as the ceremony proceeds to make sure all are safe. A firekeeper tends the fire and brings the Grandfathers in when the ceremony keeper requests them. As I stated the traditions vary among the various cultures, mine are of the Anishinabe people.