Sweating it out in the Temazcalli

My first encounter with a sweatlodge was actually in a Scandinavian-style, dry-heat sauna in Tucson, Arizona, back in 1972. I learned the hard way not to wear any kind of metal objects or jewelry into a sauna or sweatlodge. Other than a towel around my waist, I wore my large St. Christopher medal on a heavy gold chain around my neck. Big mistake! Laws of physics and thermodynamics kicked in immediately. I had no sooner entered the sauna and sat down on a wooden bench to begin my sweat when my neck and chest felt like I was being branded alive. St. Chris was in the process of burning my skin off. I couldn't rip San Cristobal off my neck fast enough. Note to self: metal absorbs heat fast!
The Temazcalli is the pre-Hispanic, Mesoamerican ceremonial, therapeutic, and ritual sweatlodge, common to the cooler regions of Mexico and Central America. Unlike the dry-heat sauna, the temazcalli utilizes great volumes of steam, generated by pouring water on fiery hot rocks. Before the Spanish Conquest, the temazcalli was an integral part of the Aztec landscape. Many of these little buildings were destroyed by the Spaniards, as were temples and sacrificial altars. Some of the ancient stone facilities were spared and are still common in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Estado de Mexico, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. Temazcalli is Nahuatl for 'bath house'. In Spanish it is commonly referred to as a temazcal.
Here in the border region, as is the case in the desert areas of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, we have no archeological or traditional evidence to support that the temazcalli was used very much, if at all, by our native ancestors before the arrival of our Spanish ancestors. I do, however, feel that the sweatlodge may have been used during the cooler months of the year, when it may have been employed to treat disease, in ceremonial rituals, and to provide a warm refuge during cold weather.
The northern tribes of the U.S. Native American people do have, on the other hand a continuous tradition of using the sweatlodge. As a matter of fact, some southern groups have adopted northern traditions by conducting sweatlodges in the ways of the Lakota and Dakota Sioux people. The only Lakota sweats that I am familiar with are what I term 'hard' sweats. That is to say, they are of the intense variety. The Mexica referred to this type of sweat as 'temazcal de guerrero', or 'warrior sweat'. I know of some indigenous people in several northern Mexico states that have begun to adopt Sioux traditions in so far as sweatlodges go.
There is great variability in what the customs, traditions, ceremony, and ritual associated with a sweatlodge can be. Some sweatlodges face east, some west, some north, and some south. Some of the lodges are temporary, being constructed of flexible branches and covered in blankets, tarps, and canvas, while in times past they were covered with animal hides. Some are permanent buildings constructed of stone, clay, volcanic rock, brick, cement, or cantera. Some lodges are round, some oval, some are square or rectangular in shape. Generally, the lodges are about 8-9 feet in diameter and about 3 feet high at the center, if they are round. Rectangular lodges are about 4 _ feet by 6 feet. The sizes can be larger or smaller as needed. The floor of the lodge can be of earth, brick or stone. Some have a central repository in the ground, called an 'ombligo', for the heated volcanic rocks, while some have an attached hearth, opposite the entrance. Volcanic rocks work the best because they can be heated to red-hot, and take the water without exploding. Some stones are very dangerous to use because once they are heated they can explode when water is poured over them. Some groups assign significance to the stones and to the number of them used to heat the lodge, usually 4 or 7 stones at a time, while others do not. Some customs require several rounds of sweating, while others do not require as many. Some ceremonies utilize medicinal plant teas in the ritual, while some only use water as the source of steam.
Some groups allow men and women to sweat together, while others offer separate sweats. Dress code is generally shorts and a t-shirt for men and a long dress for women, although some groups make clothing optional altogether. As a person prepares to enter the temazcal, he or she is blessed with copal and/or tobacco, and also makes an offering of the same, according to the tradition being followed. The temazcal represents our mother's womb. Entry is done on all fours, head first, through the small opening with a turn to the left, proceeding along the inside perimeter of the lodge, until all have entered and are sitting on the ground facing towards the center. Once again, depending on the custom followed, the red-hot stones are already in the 'ombligo', or are brought in after the last person is inside. Once everyone is in place, the door flap is closed and the 'temazcalero' begins the sweat. (For those of you who have experienced a sweat, please bear with me, as I do not give every detail of every type of sweat, as that would make this article way to long.) Every sweat can be different, and is conducted according to the way the person in charge feels it should be run.
For the person not comfortable in very tight quarters, the sweat is sometimes a bit much. As soon as the first pan of water hits the hot rocks, the lodge is filled with an intense steam. You may feel like you are going to suffocate, but the feeling soon passes as sweat pours profusely from your body. If the sweat is conducted during the day, the inside of the lodge is very dimly lit, if it is at night, it is pitch dark. The temperature inside can exceed 140 degrees and you can lose as much as a liter of sweat every 10 minutes. I have personally experienced dehydration after sweating for over 2 hours. This can be very dangerous, and I really do not recommend it unless you are rehydrating yourself during the course of the sweat. I also do not recommend taking little children and infants into these temperatures, as they can suffer trauma and serious physiological damage. It is just as dangerous as leaving children in a vehicle unattended on a sunny day, don't do it.
During the sweat, prayers may be offered for one another, or for friends and family members, as well as the giving of thanks to God for the many blessing one has received. Individuals are encouraged to share thoughts or songs or whatever they feel is of value. Sometimes medicinal tea is passed around during and after the sweat, as well as water. In some of the temazcallis that I have been in, a practice called to 'hojear', and 'ramear' is employed, whereby the steam is moved from the hotter upper parts of the lodge, down to the floor, and the patient or participant is lightly thrashed with medicinal plants. Some sweats pass around cool water to pour on your head during the ritual. That really feels wonderful. When the sweat is over, you exit the lodge head first, to the right as if coming out of the womb again. In some sweat traditions, as everyone exits the lodge, there is a final farewell among all the participants. Some traditions provide for individuals to take care of those that exit the lodge, by supplying the participants with blankets and tea as they exit. The participants then go and lie down covered in blankets, to continue sweating, until the body temperature becomes normal. The person can then go bathe after resting.
In indigenous communities in Mexico where the temazcal is still used, it is primarily a source of healing from disease and a place for a woman to give birth. In these lodges, a traditional healer or partera may attend the needs of the patient. Depending on the need, the temazcal will be equipped with proper herbs, and be at the proper temperature. These are the therapeutic temazcallis. Among some indigenous Mexican communities, the temazcalli is used on a regular basis, sometimes once per week. The tourism industry in Oaxaca has even evolved a very 'soft' temazcal for the uninitiated turista, complete with a massage. That would put that temazcal experience at the opposite end of the dial from the Lakota sweat.
If you are interested in the temazcalli, track down Joey Diaz De Leon, who is part of Kanto De La Tierra. He conducts Lakota-style easy and hard sweats out on Highway 359 during the cooler months. That will do it for this month. I can be reached at glorioso@netscorp.net.