Secrets Of The Navajo Sweat Lodge Could Benefit Utah Boys

Many cultures, including the Navajo, had rites and ceremonies for boys and girls when they came of age. Wally Brown of Navajo Traditional Teachings describes a sweat lodge ceremony he recently held for one of his grandsons. 

Sweat Lodge as a Place of Instruction, Bonding, and Cleansing 

In the video the boy's father is joined by uncles, cousins, and grandparents to stack wood together in what looks like a small teepee. It is then covered with mud to create a place where water is dropped on burning wood to create steam. 

The group sits in the steam, feeling the cleansing as their body’s sweat out impurities. At the same time, the elders speak to the boy of his responsibilities now and in the future. These include learning and providing for his future family. 

Benefits of the Sweat Lodge Recognized 

There has been work done on how this rite helps Navajo youth. In the Journal for Specialist in Group Work, they studied how the sweat lodge rites help those who participate. It made these youth feel they were a part of the group and lifted their self-esteem. 

The positive outcome of the sweat lodge led them to recommend therapists use these native rites when helping native youth. You can see how a young man would look forward to this rite with his older male family members.  

He would feel united with them and what they have taught him in the lodge. After this time spent building and using the lodge together, all felt a oneness according to the study. There was a unity and the feeling of being part of something bigger than themselves. 

Read More: The Truth About Turquoise and Utah’s Native Peoples

Maybe there is something we could learn from the Navajo people and their sweat lodge. Would youth in Utah benefit from a gathering of men in the family to discuss what the boy will face in the future? I think it could be really beneficial.