Sweat Lodge Painted Hide  E-mail this product to a friend

This painted hide depicts a night scene outside a sweat lodge. The fire is burning, and the water bucket by the edge of the lodge is there to pour water over the hot rocks inside the sweat lodge. There is a peace pipe there on its holder. Also, a staff marks the entrance to the sweat lodge. Even the rug that sits on the roof is depicted in this painting. Once the rocks are hot and are moved into the sweat lodge and the water is poured over them to create the steam, then the rug is rolled down over the doorway to keep the heat inside. This is an almost daily cleansing ritual on the reservation in the southwestern United States.