About Inipi
Extract from the book “The Gift of Power” Archie Fire Lame Deer,
The Inipi or Iniunkajaktelo, which means “we are going to pray at the Sweat Lodge” is an ancestral ceremony of the Lakota Nation.
It is the medicine of the four directions and the four elements (fire, earth, air and water). A ceremony of spiritual, physical, mental and emotional healing and purification, whose main purpose is reunification. It is the first of the seven traditional ceremonies of the Lakota. The Inipi ceremony was given by a woman. Most of the spiritual teachings of the Lakota were given by women. We are all born from a woman, and everything created comes from Mother Earth.
The Inipi structure is built with willow sticks covered with blankets (formerly skins). The lodge is approximately 2.40 meters in diameter, it is quite large and comfortable with enough space to accommodate a good group of people. In the center of the lodge there is a hole where the stones previously heated in the outside fire will be placed. It takes at least three hours for the fire to heat the stones properly. The meeting of the water and the heat of the stones inside the sweatlodge will create steam, the breath of the Creator …
The sweatlodge is related to purification, astrology and the life gestation process. The entire sweatlodge symbolizes a womb. Each element has a special meaning. Fire represents the sun, which gives its energy to the Earth. The altar symbolizes the moon. The center of the lodge represents the Earth that gives us life and welcomes us. The ceremony itself represents the woman’s pregnancy, and that is why when it comes out, once purified, we say that we have been born again.
One of the main teachings of the Lakota (and many native peoples share same vision), is that we are all related (humans, animals, plants, minerals, the elements, Mother Earth, Father Sun ..) We are all part of one great family to be respected and honored and therefore we pray mainly for the the harmony restoration of all members: Aho Mitakuye Oyasín! For all my relations!
In the words of Archie Fire Lame Deer (Lakota Medicine Man): We have to return to the teachings of the origin to survive. This does not mean to be primitive or to go back to the age of the caves. Rather, we have to deeply understand what the wise elders of the tribes sang since ancient times:
“My life is that of the Black-tailed Deer, I will return to the top of the mountain, I will learn again to respect the Earth, the plants, the trees, the water, the air, so that our people, our nation, live”
Some myths and truths:
-There are similar ceremonies in many ancient cultures. In fact, the Sweat Lodge is considered to be the first ceremony in the entire world. There are records of its millennial age in Siberia, Alaska, Russia and other areas.
-There are people who mistakenly consider Inipi as a mere sauna, but is not the case. It is true that Inipi provides a physical cleansing through the elimination of toxins by dilating the pores of the skin and sweat, but the main purpose is to pray.
-The term pray is not considered as reciting the passage of a book from memory, but to open the heart, guide one’s own path towards the Creator, and pray sometimes aloud or silently, or sometimes through songs or sacred sounds, but always in a sincere and direct way. We pray for future generations, children, the elderly, animals, water, fire, air, Earth, for oneself, for others …
-Many Lakota elders teach that being an Indian today is a way of life. You must overcome the clichés. Being white doesn’t have to do with skin color either. A holy man, for example, can be white, black, or Indian. The important thing about the individual is if he does good, if he helps others.
(resume by Victoria)