Vision Quest Ceremony 2 - Onto the Hill and Into the Pit

Vision Quest by native artist Leah Marie Dorion

I repeat the same caveat as before… We are new to the Lakota culture and express our own observations only. Photos of actual ceremonies are not allowed.

The following morning we woke with anticipation. We spent several hours with Brad and Catrina that morning as they readied themselves, but we still didn’t know exactly when on this day, the ceremony would begin. We asked if they were nervous or experienced angst about their upcoming ordeal, but they replied they felt only anticipation and excitement. We, on the other hand, were a bit nervous.

As I mentioned previously, there are different ways to experience a vision quest. Catrina would go 'up on the hill' for her vision quest. She’d done this before and explained the procedure to us. Briefly, it included a preliminary sweat lodge and subsequently a ceremony whereby several other women and I would escort her to a hill designated by the holy man. An altar space would be prepared for her, using the materials she had prepared and taken with her. She would be left there without food or water to stand in a designated position till we returned for her some time the following day.

Brad had chosen to go 'into the pit' which he had not experienced before. The ‘pit’ was a 4’x8’x3-1/2’ earthen cave dug into a hillside and accessed by a low tunnel. His altar would be erected above the cave entrance and once he was inside the cave, the entrance would be closed. He, too, would be without food or water and would be confined in his space with no room to stand or even sit upright until the holy man returned to get him. The cave did have a breathing chimney and limited, diffused light which was somewhat reassuring for us.

It was late afternoon when Michael, one of Brad’s friends and mentor, stopped by to tell us that it was time. Catrina donned her ceremonial dress, Brad stripped to the waist and they gathered all their quest supplies. They walked hand in hand down the dirt road that led to the sweat lodge. The rest of the camp was waiting for them, including us.

The sweat lodge. Once the sacred fire was out and the ceremonies were concluded, Michael took a picture for us with Harold’s permission.

At Harold's nod, Catrina entered the sweat lodge, crawling on her knees to clear the low entrance and bowing her head to the earth as she entered while saying Mitakuye-Oyasin (pronounced mi-TAHK-wee-a-say or Mee-tah-koo-yay Oy-yah-seen), To all my Relations, a saying in the Lakota language meaning we are all related. It is a simple but profound Lakota prayer, a petition to the spirits on behalf of everyone and everything on Earth. I followed closely behind Catrina and though not so gracefully in my long skirt, crawled through the low entrance into the lodge, repeating her actions and prayer (in English). I took my seat beside her in the lodge. Brad then entered in the same manner, followed by David. Several other women and men joined us and then Harold and the ceremonial singers came in.

For David and I, this would be the first sweat lodge we’d ever experienced. David was taking it all in stride as is his usual way. I was nervous. crawling through the low entry with my long skirt on. Nervous about acting inappropriately. Nervous that I wouldn’t be able to tolerate the heat or the close quarters of the sweat lodge. In all, a total of 15 people entered the lodge. Cramped quarters... legs and arms at all angles. I am not able to sit crossed legged, so my legs quite uncomfortably were to the side. I was advised not to wear my wedding band. First, the spirits are distracted by shiny things (???) and second, the band would conduct heat and burn me. I opted to leave it on, but wrapped it in sage as instructed. It didn’t pose a problem.

The red hot rocks were passed through the entry pitchfork-full by pitchfork-full. With each load, the holy man offered a blessing with sage and directed them into a stone-rimmed fire circle. Sage leaves were then sprinkled on the rocks which sizzled and sparked as they landed. Finally, the rocks were all in place and the last person entered the lodge and closed the entry flap behind. It was hot and pitch black except for the glowing rocks.

Harold, our holy man, began by welcoming us and the explaining that Brad and Catrina were about to complete their fourth and final year of Vision Quest. After a few more words, he ladled cold scoops of water onto the rocks. They hissed and steamed and the intensity of the heat increased substantially. I broke into an immediate sweat. The heat was stifling and I was feeling claustrophobic. My nostrils burned. Others not only endured it, but in fact participated more than once per day. I was feeling like a wimp. A gentle hand reached out in the darkness and touched my head and back. Then the singing began… Lakota sacred ceremonial songs asking for the spirits to guide Catrina and Brad on their quest. We were unfamiliar with the songs, but most of the participants sang along led by the holy man and the Lakota singers.

I had timed the previous sweat lodge session... from the moment the heavy entry flap closed to when it opened again. It lasted only about 12-15 minutes… a very long 12-15 minutes. I knew I needed to tough it out and there was no question that I would and could… heck, what’s 12 minutes? Still, it was a challenge. When finally the singing stopped and the entry door flap was thrown open, I felt enormous relief. A rush of cool air hit my face.

Everyone except Brad and Catrina exited the lodge as they had arrived. Each participant stood outside the lodge in a receiving line fashion and as we shook hands with each, we whispered Wopila, thank you.

We stood to the side of the lodge now. Catrina emerged and we were advised to turn our backs to her. She was thought to have left her body and her spirit was now engaged to begin her vision quest. She used her blanket as a cowl and was escorted to the pick-up truck that would take her to the ‘hill’. Her quest materials were loaded with her. As she waited, Brad emerged and, also cowled, stepped into the truck. We once again averted our eyes. No one spoke, other than whispered directions as needed.

Along with several others, we rode in a separate vehicle following the truck, first to the hill. We passed through gated pastures and farmlands, over narrow, rutted roads and rough fields till at last we came to an isolated hill overlooking a little valley. There, supervised by the holy man, we watched as several people built Catrina’s altar, its perimeter lined with the prayer flags she’d worked so hard on. The rest of her quest essentials were placed inside the sacred space. One of the women led her, still cowled, from the truck to the center of altar. We averted our eyes once more, went back to the truck and left her. Just like that… fighting to keep from looking back at the solitary figure on the hill… we drove away.

We drove to Brad’s ‘pit’ next. As with Catrina, several people constructed the altar space above the entrance to the earthen cave. Cowled and with head bowed, he was led to the entrance to the cave and crawled in as we averted our eyes. The cave entry was closed. I felt a lump in my throat as once again, we left. We opted to walk back to camp… we needed a little time to digest all this.

We had prepared food in advance of the ceremony and others in the camp had gratefully cooked it for a shared communal meal when we returned. We remembered Brad’s words once again “Eat because I cannot eat. Drink because I cannot drink.” Several people engaged us in conversation, thanking us for our support. I couldn’t help but feel we had abandoned our children. We sat by the sacred fire for awhile… it would burn all the while the questers were gone. As we walked hand-in-hand back down the dirt road to our tent, I felt a sadness I couldn’t explain. The tent next to us was vacant tonight. We could hear thunder rolling in the distance. Soon drumming and singing began. We slept uneasily.

Vision Quest comes to an end next time. Join us.