Dakota Dream Read Online Free PDF Page B

much silence, you could practically hear it.
    It didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust, though. In the center of the dirt floor there was a big hole, not deep but about three feet across. In the hole there were a dozen or so big rocks, some of them bigger than a volleyball. They were all pretty smooth and rounded, which told me they were probably meant only for this ritual purpose. Besides having a nice shape, they were hot. When I sat down on the folded blanket next to the circle, I found out how hot. It was like sitting beside a fireplace. I didn’t know who had heated the rocks, but I figured it must have been Delbert, and maybe he had some help. A small amount of steam was rising from the hot rocks, and I wondered what caused it.
    By the time I got myself into a more or less comfortable position by folding my legs, the sweat was pouring out of me. It was running down my face and chest in little streams, which was uncomfortable; it was also gratifying when I remembered the purpose. According to Dakota belief, the water spirits rid the body of impurities so there’s no block in communication with Wakan Tanka. If your hanblecheya was going to be a success, you had to get rid of your impurities. I wondered if I could stand this flow of sweat for two hours, but I knew that kind of thought was dangerous; you had to do what you had to do. This was destiny here.
    The vapor coming from the rocks smelled a little bit like sage, and it was also sort of hypnotic. After a while I found myself going into a mild numb-out.
    Then the woman came in, carrying a pitcher.
    It was one of the two women I had seen earlier, draping up the buffalo hides. She leaned down next to me and started sprinkling water from the pitcher onto the rocks. There was plenty of hissing and steam came rising up; the smell of sage was real strong, so I guess there was some of it mixed in with the water.
    Real quick, I flinched and sat up straight. I was sitting there naked, and this woman was doing chores next to me. I could feel myself turning red as a beet, though I doubted she could notice that, not in that much darkness, in a cloud of rising steam. To tell the truth, though, she didn’t pay any attention to me at all. After she sprinkled the water for a few seconds, she was gone.
    Even for a few minutes after she left, I still had the aftermath of being embarrassed, which meant my skin had a burning sensation added to the sweat flow. What the hell, I thought to myself, she was just a woman doing her job; I was getting exactly the same treatment as any young Dakota man going through Inipi.
    The rest of the time seemed to go pretty fast. It was so hot and stifling, I had trouble breathing, but I got back into the numb zone and pretty much stayed in it. Every once in a while I wiped the sweat off my face so it wouldn’t bother my breathing. When the woman came a second time with her water pitcher, it didn’t make me uncomfortable. She came and went like it was a dream.
    The next thing I knew, Delbert Bear and Donny were at the flap, asking me if I was ready to come out.
    When I stepped out, the sun was so blinding, it took me several minutes to get my eyes adjusted. The breeze felt cool to me, even though it was a warm summer day. I was standing there in the altogether, shivering in the chill of gooseflesh, with all my sweat running down to the ground.
    Donny asked me how it went.
    â€œPretty good, I think. The time went fast.”
    â€œYou can use some of the sage to dry off.”
    â€œMy impurities must be gone,” I said. “It’s like all my fluids are emptied.”
    Donny put the canteen in my hand. “Have a drink,” he said.
    I took a few swallows from the canteen, which was a big-time relief. I had to keep my eyes mostly closed because the light was still so blinding. I started wiping the sweat with the clusters of sage, which was not real comfortable. The sage is real holy to the Dakota, and real important