Lakota sweat cleansing ceremony

Inipi@Lakota: sweat purification, "to live again", sweat lodge

Sweatlodge construction:
12-16 young willow saplings cut & staked in a circle & bent over to make an inverted bowl, forming compass quadrants NEWS, 4 divisions of the animate universe (2-leg, 4-leg, winged, other), opening on east (all light-knowledge born there).

10 paces from entrance, built sacred firepit, 4 sticks EW, 4 sticks NS, tipi of sticks on it to kindle flame, rocks at NEWS and atop.

Sweat lodge center, holy hub hole dug, excav. dirt paved sacred path east to earth mound. Bison hides added on willow frame, single hide flap over entrance.

As each material was added a prayer to Wakan Tanka Great Mystery/Spirit given.
When participants arrived, Inipi began with pipe/c(h)an(n)u(n)pa smoking ceremony.

Entered alone, sat at W, dash of tobacco into hub axis hole NEWS, ember inset at ctr, add sweetgrass, smoke rubbed over body & pipe, making the dome wakan/sacred, all bad med. driven out. Prayer invoking winged creatures of the W who brought purifying waters. Offered tobacco to NEWS, to heavens, to mother earth. Returned outside following sacred path to mound, onset pipe, invited others inside, bared of ornaments, humble prayer entered.

Sage sprinkled around, freshly, medicine woman handed pipe inside, then brought in heated stones with forked stick, setting on holy altar and pipe touched each in turn w/ prayer, symbolized the 7: Wakan Tanka, Heaven, Earth, NEWS. (shabat/sept/pito/tujuh), then pipe smoked & passed around, ash dropped, refilled outside and repeated cycle of spiritual thanksgiving. Water sprinkled on rocks, doorflap closed to start sweat, then opened for enlightenment and breeze and water. 4 times pipe passed around with prayers. 3 days of inipi ceremony.