Sacred tobacco religion needs more respect.

[Technosoul]

Tobacco and smoking is a religious activity.

The oldest one in American history.

"Wild Horse". Native American Art & History. Native American legend of the Lakota Peace Pipe

Comments welcome.

[Osborn F Enready]

Every single generation of people, or society of people, that has discovered tobacco, has used it.

[Thanatos]

If you really consider it religious, have fun. True freedom includes the right to make decisions the majority finds mind-bogglingly silly. Smoking near others who might not want you to smoke there is not so nice; you may have your religious freedom but I think I have freedoms of my own.

[Milton Bradley]

Aw, Techno is feeling no love because the Democrats don't support his smoking position.


This is what you get for voting for people who would redistribute your income to others. ( Guess what, they redistributed your political clout as well. )

[5010]

Thanks Techno. That site is fascinating. I have a book about the plains tribes I picked up while at the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. It mentions tobacco as an offering. For example, before crossing a stream, one would sprinkle a bit of tobacco in reverence to the water spirits.

I wouldn't consider it a "sacred tobacco religion" but one ceremony within a Lakota tribe's religion. Just like communion of bread and wine is one ceremony within the Christian religion.

The significance of tobacco is lost to us living in a world where our supplies are easily restocked at any convenience store any day of the year. Smokers take it for granted. To sprinkle an offering is nothing significant in this setting. Imagine the significance if your stash had to last till you could find more in the wild especially when it was out of season. Similarly, the meaning of sharing it with others especially off season.

Also, I wonder if what the legends call "tobacco" are always the same plants that we call "tobacco". In other words, maybe they refer to nicotine-bearing plants, or maybe other psychoactive plants too. I think the leaf widely smoked today comes from a carribean strain (not sure though).

[Technosoul]

Quote by: Osborn F Enready Every single generation of people, or society of people, that has discovered tobacco, has used it.

Point being what?

[Technosoul]

Quote by: Thanatos If you really consider it religious, have fun. True freedom includes the right to make decisions the majority finds mind-bogglingly silly. Smoking near others who might not want you to smoke there is not so nice; you may have your religious freedom but I think I have freedoms of my own.

This is not a post about "freedoms" or "rights" that the white man wishes to control. This is a post about shaman religions that exsisted before the governents took over.

[Technosoul]

Quote by: Milton Bradley Aw, Techno is feeling no love because the Democrats don't support his smoking position. This is what you get for voting for people who would redistribute your income to others. ( Guess what, they redistributed your political clout as well. )

This is a post about a religious belief system and not about politics.

[Technosoul]

Quote by: 5010 Thanks Techno. That site is fascinating. I have a book about the plains tribes I picked up while at the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. It mentions tobacco as an offering. For example, before crossing a stream, one would sprinkle a bit of tobacco in reverence to the water spirits. I wouldn't consider it a "sacred tobacco religion" but one ceremony within a Lakota tribe's religion. Just like communion of bread and wine is one ceremony within the Christian religion. The significance of tobacco is lost to us living in a world where our supplies are easily restocked at any convenience store any day of the year. Smokers take it for granted. To sprinkle an offering is nothing significant in this setting. Imagine the significance if your stash had to last till you could find more in the wild especially when it was out of season. Similarly, the meaning of sharing it with others especially off season. Also, I wonder if what the legends call "tobacco" are always the same plants that we call "tobacco". In other words, maybe they refer to nicotine-bearing plants, or maybe other psychoactive plants too. I think the leaf widely smoked today comes from a carribean strain (not sure though).

Tobacco that grew in the wild local to the tribe was used. They did add sage to the mixture which was also used as a kind of burnt offering.

The bowls used for the offical medicene pipe are from this one place in the northern middle east. As the bowls are made out of red clay which they claim they discovered because a buffalo dug it up with it's hoofs. And thus revealed it to them.

However the purpose of the pipe smoking ritual was not really about praying to a God. But more about bonding with others and with nature.
What people now days call "conforming to peer pressure" as they share the smoking experience which helps people to relax and become more reflective.

The pipe construction is important, the red clay represents the earth, the wood part of the pipe represents the forest, and it is decorated with eagle feathers to represent the sky and the wind. Earth, wind, fire and earth.

In the ritual you first point the pipe towards all four directins, east, south, west, and north. Then you lift it up the sky and say "we have room in our pipe for the Great Spirit. And then you touch the earth with the pipe and say "we have room in our pipe for the spirit of Mother Earth".

As the pipe is lit the human breath inhaling gives life to the fire, and the same pipe is passed around to everyone sitting in a circle, the passing of the pipe bonds the whole group together and with the spirit of the sky and earth, and with the four directions where all things exsist.

Once that friendship is established and unity with all of nature is confirmed, they begin their talks about what ever matter is of importance to them at that time.

The whole speech concerning each aspect of the ritural is much longer and better then what I have discribed in my explaination.

Also, individual uses for smoking tobacco can be enacted for religious reasons as a reminder of the pow wow and the bond shared by all. The addictive nature of the plant helps to insure a lasting bond to the Circle where the elders gathered to set forth the teachings of the tribe.

With a warning that the missuse of what the White Buffalo Cafe Woman offers might result in one becoming a "pile of bones". Something the pioneers forgot to mention when they exported tobacco to France and England. Now most tobacco products carry a warning notice but no instruction on it's proper useage.

[5010]

Being that tobacco was shared in a ceremony of peace, it makes sense to offer some to a river before crossing it. It would then be a gesture of peace in hopes that the water spirit would allow safe passage.

[Technosoul]

Quote by: 5010 Being that tobacco was shared in a ceremony of peace, it makes sense to offer some to a river before crossing it. It would then be a gesture of peace in hopes that the water spirit would allow safe passage.

Yes, that would make sense.

One of the things they teach their people is to ask permission from nature before taking action. And a gift would be part of that request.
And a river is a natural boarder seperating two sides of land mass.

One could compare that with the religious story of Moses when he crossed the water to escape form Eqypt, via seeking help from their God, in the hopes of safe passage, and then the red sea parted. That is basic to most primitive belief systems.

The primitives had two things to wish for. Peace with the powers in nature, and peace with other tribes. And also, to gain the courage to overcome threats or hard times.

In many religions the rivers paid an important symbolic role relative to the 'rite of passage' from this life into the next afterlife and the "happy hunting grounds" where the elders have gathered after death. We here it in the gospels of African Americans and read about in the 'book of the dead' used in Eqypt in anicent times.

However if the spirit of the river claims your life, and your spirit, then that is how it was intended to be, and we should shed no tears for those whom the river spirit has claimed. For sooner or later the spirit world will claim everyone, and our time here is by permisson only, and by the grace of the Great Spirit and all the spirits of nature.

They use wine in the Christian faith to remember Christ who said "I am the grapes of the vine, so remember me when you drink the wine from the vine". Wine is part of the river which was claimed by the grape vine to make grapes out of which wine is made. It is snow, it is the spring, the well, the lake, the pond, the rain, the cloud, and home of he Thunder Beings who have spoken "this is my son". The Holy Spirit of the bapistim in water. In the river which was once the Great Flood and even our current climate changes are part of the global Rain Dance for the purification of the earth from man made poultion. All of these things are known by those who listen to the voice of the babbling brooks, and who have comprehended the sign of the rainbow.

We are 99 percent water. We are the rivers, the rain, and the dew drops that the sun will rapture, that we will rise up like fog into the clouds.

The rivers collect as the oceans and seas, where our fishermen cast their nets in faith that the sea will bless them with food for the tribes.
For all rivers come together in the big pow wow called the ocean, salt of the earth.

Should we not offer a gift of thanks? It makes sense to do so.

[5010]

Yes, the essence of the tobacco ceremony resembles the origins of the Christian communion ceremony. It was done in the home among guests. One bread was broken and shared with everyone gathered around the table. One cup of wine was passed around to all. Somehow this ceremony was lost in the household traditions and only performed at church. I wonder why.

Consider a newer culture. Older people in the USA have told me about how cigarettes were often available at social events (mainly parties) as refreshments. One would have dishes of nuts, cheese, etc, and cigarettes for the guests. This was before 1964's deadly announcement, of course. The common point is that tobacco facilitated social brotherhood. An interesting difference here is that instead of passing a pipe, they smoked from separate cigarettes. Seems like a measure of the individualism in this culture, perhaps more egocentric.

I wonder if the ancients who shared the pipe also smoked from their own afterwards during the meeting.

You didn't mention which tribe or tribes performed the ceremony. Does history tells us it was a universal practice across the americas or were some tribes doing it and others not?