INIPI - The Rite of Purification

The sweat lodge is central to Inipi. Prayers that are offered there draw on all the powers of the universe--Earth, Water, Fire and Air. In the old days Inipi was done before any major undertaking to purify the body and gain strength and power.

The sweat lodge is constructed of young willow trees placed in a circle which represents many things: the earth, the womb, the universe. The door opening faces East--the direction of light and wisdom. In the center is a round fireplace, the center of the universe, where Wakan Tanka rests. Ten paces from the door, to the East, is the sacred fireplace where rocks are heated. In front of that is a mound of earth.

Prayers are said at each stage of the construction of a sweat lodge. When it is completed, a burning coal is brought in and sweetgrass is burned by the leader of the Inipi to purify the lodge. He or she then smokes some sacred tobacco in the Pipe and carries it outside, placing it on the mound of earth.

The other participants enter the lodge, sitting in a circle on sacred sage, and the Pipe is brought in and smoked. The heated rocks are placed on the center fireplace and the Pipe returned to the earth mound. Then, the door is closed. During the ritual, the door is thrown open four times to represent the four ages described by the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Maiden. The fourth time the participants leave the lodge, emerging from dark to light which represents the liberation from the physical universe. All that is impure is left behind in the sweat lodge.

 

The sweat lodge is central to Inipi. Prayers that are offered there draw on all the powers of the universe--Earth, Water, Fire and Air. In the old days Inipi was done before any major undertaking to purify the body and gain strength and power.

The sweat lodge is constructed of young willow trees placed in a circle which represents many things: the earth, the womb, the universe. The door opening faces East--the direction of light and wisdom. In the center is a round fireplace, the center of the universe, where Wakan Tanka rests. Ten paces from the door, to the East, is the sacred fireplace where rocks are heated. In front of that is a mound of earth.

Prayers are said at each stage of the construction of a sweat lodge. When it is completed, a burning coal is brought in and sweetgrass is burned by the leader of the Inipi to purify the lodge. He or she then smokes some sacred tobacco in the Pipe and carries it outside, placing it on the mound of earth.

The other participants enter the lodge, sitting in a circle on sacred sage, and the Pipe is brought in and smoked. The heated rocks are placed on the center fireplace and the Pipe returned to the earth mound. Then, the door is closed. During the ritual, the door is thrown open four times to represent the four ages described by the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Maiden. The fourth time the participants leave the lodge, emerging from dark to light which represents the liberation from the physical universe. All that is impure is left behind in the sweat lodge.