Sweat Lodge and Elders Camp!

Ohhhh maiii!  (maiii, not my, because that's how Chris says it and it means the extent of "Oh my" is greater... it's the subtle things guys!)

So I don't have any pictures for either of these things (that would have been a little obnoxious of me to take some in such settings) but they're most definitely up there for most interesting cultural discovery. (Everything seems to come in pairs for some reason.)

"Everything happens for a reason," Rene, or human of the universe (his spirit name translates to something like that) said.  Rene is the man who owns the sweat lodge and who calls himself and Jack ( a good friend of ours here) a 'messenger'. They are more than happy to share their culture and the wisdom of their elders.  Of course, we are thrilled to hear their stories and experience their culture.

So the sweat lodge was an incredible experience. Honestly, it wasn't quite as intense as I thought it would be.  Nonetheless, it was really neat! And, we're going to another sweat on Saturday night!

For those that don't already know (and didn't read my earlier post on it) a sweat lodge is the symbolism of rebirth and takes place in what Olivia referred to as a "hobbit's cave."  On the floor, they put boughs of pine (which is what makes it smell so good!) They put grandfathers (rocks that were heated by a fire) in the middle of it, then sprinkle smudging (a mixture of herbs, often sage, cedar among other things) on the rocks then they dump hot water over the rocks, so the little cave fills with vapour and it gets really hot really quickly.  It's sometimes even hard to breathe because you get so much water in your nose! 

It's really dark during the sweat, and they sing and drum during the ceremony so it really feels uplifting.  "Pray.  Pray for your parents, your grandparents, the elders"  Jack said once.  It wasn't as formal as I thought it would be, but it was so beautiful.  You don't really think about the heat when you feel the rhythm of the drum and you look up to send your worries.  Afterwards, I felt so clean! I thought I would feel so disgusting being drenched in all my sweat, but you're actually covered in a combination of sweat and vapour so it feels really nice. 'this is something I could get used to' I found myself thinking.  I wish there were a sweat in Guelph! I'd love to get Mom out with me to do this!

Today I went to the Elders camp! It was so much better than I expected!  I got to sit with a woman named Annie among others (I can't remember their names) and met a few boys- George, Abraham and I forget the others' names.  So many names... The boys seemed to be about my age and they worked at the camp.  We don't see a whole lot of people around our age here, so that's always nice.  "Potential Friends!" Brooke would probably say.

I finished my mittens and, I never thought I'd hear this, but the woman picked up my mitten and said something in Cree. I picked it up and said "Yeah, it's not the best- I've never really sewn!" and Annie translated what the woman was actually saying, which was just that my sewing was really neat. That was a huge compliment seeing as this what these women do, and they would know what's good!  I guess Janie's a good teacher!  

Also, a group of people came in that I'm guessing came from a vacation in Sudbury.  Chris said that when people are gone for a while, they shake hands with everyone when they return.  So I shook hands with a few people (even though I didn't understand why at the time)  and they kissed each other on both sides of the cheeks. (They left our greeting to a handshake which was kind of nice.) I assumed the little boy was Annie's grandson since she kissed him.  "No, she (pointing to the boy's mother) she's my niece but I do that to all children."  She made me miss my Grandma so much!

Everyone was so friendly at the Elder's camp. "Chaleureux," as I learned from my host-grandpa on my exchange in Quebec in 2008.  They welcomed us with open hands and big smiles. "It's nice to have you guys here," a woman said as we were leaving.

Can I please come back here?

That's where the heart of Chisaisbi really is. The elders.  Everything comes back to the elders. I just keep falling more and more in love with these people. 

Il faut que j'en profites autant que possible!

20 days.  Only 20 days...