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Chakra Christianity And Greece Sacred Pipe |
Sacred Pipe Date: Thu, 18 May 95 16:04:53 CDT This information is from my experience, for more complete and accurate data I'd recommend reading "The Sacred Pipe" by John Epes Brown. Other books about Native American culture would also be appropriate. In this writing I am going to try to describe the general concepts and feelings of my own personal experience of being with people who treat pipes as sacred. In other words, I'm not trying to describe how pipes are used in any particular tradition. At the various pipe ceremonies that I've gone to, the pipe is smoked in a circle. The pipe *always* travels around the circle in a clockwise fashion. I believe this has to do with the showing respect for the direction the sun travels but I'm not completely clear on this mapping. Actually, all motion involved with the circle travels in a clockwise direction only and to even walk around the circle in a counterclockwise direction is considered inappropriate. Before a pipe ceremony, the people involved go around the circle in a clockwise direction and tell each other what's going on in their lives and what's up with them and offer prayers to people who are absent, etc. It is important to remember that in a pipe ceremony that all words are considered Truth and no impure words or falsehoods should be uttered. The pipe is considered to be sacred and is treated by it's bearer with the respect of a living thing. When held, the pipe is cradled much like one would hold a small child, as if the pipe-stem were the child's backbone. I've seen pipe-bearers hold their pipes at the bowl with a cupped right hand. It is important the the right hand is the primary hand providing support for the pipe. The pipe can only be moved in a clockwise direction, and when passed to another person, it shows proper respect to point the pipe-stem not the bowl towards the person. The person receiving the pipe takes the bowl in the right hand and the stem in the left hand and rotates the stem around in a clockwise direction until it faces their lips. Then the person prays in a number of ways. Simple verbal prayers and/or holding the pipe aloft above the head or to the 7th chakra showing respect to the pipe is appropriate. It is also appropriate to rotate the pipe clockwise to each of the four directions and to offer prayers to each of those directions. It is also appropriate to offer prayers up to the creator and down to earth/nature. It is important to realize that any words that are said by somebody holding a sacred pipe are considered to be Truth and no impure words or falsehoods should be said in a pipe-circle. In my studies of Native American culture, which are a bit rusty, the east represents wisdom, the west represents water and purity, the north and south represent the "red road" which all people travel on in their life. The north representing our origin and the south representing where we go when we die. I believe that there are sacred birds associated with each direction which embody the aspects of that direction. There are also colors which represent each direction. The Grandfather (creater) is represented as being up, and the Grandmother (earth) is represented by the downwards direction. For more information it would be good to read "Black Elk Speaks" or "John (Fire) Lame Deer - Seeker of Visions" or any number of other books about the plains Native Americans. When smoking the pipe, the left hand is used to light matches. Matches are considered more reverant than lighters. Whenever anything happens to a pipe that is disrespectful (accident or not), such as being dropped, moved in an improper direction, etc. then the pipe must be passed to its bearer who spends some time with the pipe and says special prayers and smokes it to help set things right. It might also be appropriate to put the pipe away and take it home. The pipe is treated as a living creature and if it is shown disrespect, it should be treated in the same way you would treat a friend who is shown disrespect. A sacred pipe should also have a carrying case to protect it, often cloth wrappings, and should be kept in a special place at home. In the wrappings should go any accessories that are used in smoking, like pokers, tobacco, etc. Some pipes are considered to be male-only or female-only or gender-neutral. In the circles that I have been in all the men sit together on one side of the circle and the women on the other side, and pipes that are to be smoked by a single sex are passed across the circle. For example, a male pipe is passed from the last man in a clockwise direction to the first man. It is not a problem if this means that the last man has to get up and walk the distance around the circle. Such walking obviously is done in a clockwise fashion around the circle. It is not uncommon for men and women to have seperate circles if there is a large group of people. The person who makes the pipe or blesses it is the one who decides what kind of pipe it is, and then it is passed from person to person with that restriction. It is also possible for the person who created or blessed the pipe to place other arbitrary restrictions on its use. Obviously, these are fairly strict rituals that I've gone into in this post, but I'd like to point out that I've seen a number of people adapt and use subsets of this model with great success. Many positive aspects that I've seen adapted are the praying and holding the pipe aloft, offering prayers, passing the pipe with the stem pointing towards the receiver, and passing/moving the pipe in a clockwise direction. Most importantly, having a sacred atmosphere around the ritual of smoking adds a spiritual element to the experience. Some of these rituals can help to do exactly that. Brian |
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© 1994-2008 Brian A. Cameron