Smudging Ceremony

THE SMUDGING CEREMONY

By Adrienne Borden and Steve Coyote Shaman's Drum 1987

Our Native elders have taught us that before a person can be healed or heal 

another, one must be cleansed of any bad feelings, negative thoughts, bad 

spirits or negative energy – cleansed both physically and spiritually. This 

helps the healing come through in a clear way, without being distorted or 

sidetracked by negative "stuff" in either the healer or the patient. The elders 

say that all ceremonies, tribal or private, must be entered into with a good 

heart so that we can pray, song and walk on a sacred manner, and be helped by 

the spirits to enter the sacred realm.

Native people throughout the world use herbs to accomplish this. One common 

ceremony is to burn certain herbs, take the smoke in one's hands and rub or 

brush it over the body. Today this is commonly called "smudging", and in Western 

North America the three plants most frequently used in smudging are sage, cedar 

and sweetgrass.

SAGE

There are many varieties of sage, and most have been used in smudging. The 

botanical name for "true" sage is Salvia (e.g. Salvia officinalis, Garden Save, 

or Salvia apiana, White Sage). It is interesting to note that Salvia comes from 

the Latin root salvare, which means "to heal". There are also varieties of sage 

which are of a species separated from Salvia-Artemisia. Included here 

are sagebrush (e.g. Artemisia californica) and Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). We 

have seen both Salvia and Artemisia sub-species used in smudging.

Sage is burned in smudging ceremonies to drive out bad spirits, feelings or 

influences, and also to keep bad spirits from entering the area where a ceremony 

takes place. In Plains nations, the floor of the sweatlodge is frequently covered 

with sage, and participants rub the leaves on their bodies while in the sweat. 

Sage is also commonly spread on the ground in a lodge or on an altar 

where the pipe touches the earth. Some nations wrap their pipes in sage when 

they are placed in pipe-bundles, as sage purifies objects wrapped in it. Sage 

wreaths are also placed around the head and wrists of Sundancers.

CEDAR

There is some potential confusion here too about the terms used to name plants, 

mainly because in some areas, junipers are known as "cedar" – as in the case of 

Desert White Cedar (Juniperus monosperma). This doesn't mean that J. monosperma 

wasn't used as a cleansing herb, though; in the Eastern U.S., its relative, 

Eastern Red Cedar (Junperus Virginia) was used ceremonially. However, in the 

smudging ceremonies we have seen or conducted ourselves, Western Red Cedar 

(Thuja occidentalis) and California Incense Cedar (Libocedrus descurrens) were 

used – not varieties of juniper.

Cedar is burned while praying either aloud or silently. The prayers rise on the 

cedar smoke and are carried to the Creator. Cedar is also spread along with sage 

on the floor of the sweatlodges of some tribes. Cedar branches are brushed in 

the air to cleanse a home during the House Blessing Ceremony of many Northwest 

Indian nations. In the Pacific Northwest, the People burn cedar for purification 

in much the same way as sage – it drives out negative energy, but it also brings 

in good influences. The spirit of cedar is considered very ancient and wise by 

Pacific Northwest tribes and old, downed cedar trees are honoured with offerings 

and prayers.

SWEETGRASS

One of the most sacred plants for the Plains Indians, sweetgrass is a tall wild 

grass with a reddish base and perfume-like musty odour. It grows mainly on the 

eastern side of the Rockies in Montana and adjacent Alberts, Canada, and also in 

come small areas of Wyoming and South Dakota. Its botanical name is Hierochloe 

odorata; some common names are Seneca grass, holy grass and vanilla grass. We 

have been told that a variety of vanilla grass grows in North-Central California 

but how similar it is to the Plains variety we don't know.

On the Plains, sweetgrass is usually braided together in bunches as a person's 

hair is braided, although friends have said they have seen it used simply 

bunched and wrapped in cloth. Either way, it is usually burned by shaving little 

bits over hot coals or lighting the end and waving it around, letting the smoke 

spread through the air. This latter method is how we were taught to burn sweet-

grass in the sweatlodge – allowing the purifying smoke to get to all parts of 

the lodge.

We were taught that it was good to burn sweetgrass after the sage or cedar had 

driven out the bad influences. Sweetgrass brings in the good spirits and the 

good influences. As with cedar, burning sweetgrass while praying sends prayers 

up to the Creator in the smoke. High Hollow Horn says in The Sacred Pipe: "This 

smoke from the sweetgrass will rise up to You, and will spread throughout the 

universe; its fragrance will be known by the wingeds, the four-leggeds, and the 

two-leggeds, for we understand that we are all relatives; may all our brothers 

be tame and not fear us!" Sweetgrass is also put in pipe bundles and medicine 

bundles along with sage to purify and protect sacred objects.

Sweetgrass is very rare today, its territory severely cut by development, cattle-

grazing and wheat fields, and traditional Indians in the northern Plains are 

trying to protect the last-remaining fields. The best way for most folks to get 

sweetgrass is to buy it at Native American retail outlets, which gives support 

to Indians who can help the fields from being depleted.

SMUDGING

To do a smudging ceremony, burn the clippings of these herbs (dried), rub your 

hands in the smoke and then gather the smoke and bring it into your body – or 

rub it onto yourself, especially onto any area you feel needs spiritual healing. 

Keep praying all the wile that the unseen powers of the plant will cleanse your 

spirit. Sometimes one person will smudge another, or a group of people, using 

hands or more often a feather to lightly brush the smoke over the other people.

We were taught to look for dark spots in a person's spirit-body. As one 

California Indian woman told us, she "sees" a person's spirit-body glowing 

around them and where there are "dark or foggy parts", she brushes the smoke 

into these "holes in their spirit-body". This helps to heal the spirit and to 

"close up" these holes.

Recently we did a light house-cleansing for a friend. We use the term "light" 

for this is a relatively simple ceremony as opposed to some that are more 

lengthy and complicated. Our friend had had some serious emotional and 

relationship problems and he felt they had left a heavy dark atmosphere. First 

we prayed together to the Creator and to the spirits for help. We then burned 

sage, purified ourselves, and took the sage to all corners, closets and rooms 

Of the house, pushing the smoke with our hands to cleanse every bit of space – 

lingering over dark or cold spots that "felt" uncomfortable.

We sued sage first in order to drive out the bad influences. Then we purified 

ourselves with cedar and, with it, repeated the cleansing process throughout the 

house. Then sweetgrass was used in the same manner to bring in good influences. 

All the time, we prayed for help in this cleansing. Finally, we took a candle 

over the whole house and pushed its light into every corner. This "lighting-up" 

of a house was taught to us by the People of the Pacific Northwest Coast. We've 

been doing this type of house cleansing for ten years and it never fails to 

"clear the air", at least somewhat.

One more note about smudging. It is very popular among New Age groups to use 

abalone shells in smudging. There are many Native elders who are pleased to see 

so many folks smudging themselves, but some are concerned that abalone shells 

are being used when burning the sacred herbs. On the Pacific Northwest Coast, 

for example, some holy men have said that abalone shells represent Grandmother 

Ocean and they should be used in ceremonies with water, not burning. We know 

enough Native elders in the Northwest, the Plains and California who don't use 

abalone shells – but instead clay or stone bowls – that we don't personally feel 

comfortable using a shell.

In any case, smudging is a ceremony that must be done with care. We are entering 

into a relationship with the unseen powers of these plants and with the spirits 

of the ceremony; and, as with all good relationships, there has to be respect 

and honour if a relationship is to work.