Lakota ceremonial protocol

Recently, I heard a man try to explain the role of women at ceremony. I also heard my Cuwe Casey Camp call it “mansplaining.” It’s not appropriate for a man to try and explain how women should behave in today’s ceremonial world. I’ve never really wanted to write about this topic, but right now I feel like I have to because there’s so much we’ve suffered and we’ve lost so many of our ways of life that as a woman. I want to share what I’ve learned and what I understand. I hope this helps young ladies think about themselves and how they behave in public and follow ceremonial protocols. Please forgive me if I offend anyone.

Before the men and women’s roles got mixed up, women didn’t partake in the Inipi. This was because as women we have our own purification system for our bodies — when we have our moon every month, our period, our time, our menstruation or whatever you call it – was our purification ceremony. So, women didn’t go in Inipi. This is what my esteemed aunties, who are all in the Spirit world now, taught me – Nadine Thunder Hawk, Dinah Crow Dog, Sandra Black Bear, Geraldine Arcoren, Christine Red Bear and Tillie Black Bear, were just a few who helped me understand ceremonial protocol.

Only after they went through menopause, the women would participate in the Inipi after the men came out; then the Unci would ask for one rock and steam themselves off. This process was good enough for them because they were past the moon time and didn’t really need that purification anymore. Men and women should not be in Inipi together at all, it’s sad that this protocol is not actually followed anymore.

Today, I was told women go in Inipi because of all the energy that we’re subject to every day – this is what my Tunwin told me. I encourage you to teach your daughters, your granddaughters and your nieces about these ways so they will understand why they can’t come around ceremony during their moon time. Many of them don’t understand and they come to the ceremonies anyway, not realizing how much harm they can cause by being around the čhaŋnúŋpa. Men and women still have roles and must follow protocol. As women, we’re the only ones that can help other women understand their role. We all still have roles, even though those roles are kind of mixed up today.

For example, the Sundance is a man’s Ceremony; I’m not sure when the women started dancing, but I remember seeing pictures in the white man’s books of Unci Sun dancing at Rosebud, some wore buckskin dresses. They were past their moon time and so they were allowed to dance.

Many Lakota women do not understand why they cannot attend ceremony while they were on their period or moon time, or menstruation, or however you want to refer to it. As women we have great power when we have our moon time. For instance, every woman is born with a certain number of eggs that have the potential to make a baby. When there’s no baby, then you have the purification cycle, where all the nutrients that would’ve nourished that baby for 9 months are released from your body. So, a part of you dies, because there was no baby the egg dies and the nutrients that were to nourish the egg have to be released so your menstrual blood contains the power of life and death as it leaves your body.

It is very dangerous around the čhaŋnúŋpa, around ceremony, around Medicine men, around singers, around Sundancers, even cooking —women shouldn’t cook while they’re on their time because your bread won’t turn out. Your food won’t taste very good. Some women have no self-respect and they show up at a ceremony or a Sundance while they are in the middle of their period and that energy they emit carries the energy of life and death to everything and everyone around them so that power will negate the power of the ceremony, the čhaŋnúŋpa and the Medicine man, so it’s imperative that we stay away from ceremony when we’re on our period, or our time, or our moon, or whatever you call it. Ignorance of ceremonial protocols is not an excuse for anyone.

This goes back to self-respect, if you can’t respect yourself how much good are your prayers? How are you going to respect anything else if you don’t respect yourself to follow protocol and leave ceremony? If you don’t leave a ceremony when you have your time, even when they tell you to leave then that’s not respect. You’re not respecting yourself. You’re disrespecting your body. You are disrespecting the ceremony; you are disrespecting the čhaŋnúŋpa, the Medicine man, the helpers and singers. You’re disrespecting everyone around you who is at that ceremony to pray so when you have your period you need to stay away from ceremony and from Sundance so you won’t corrupt or negate the sacred power that’s already there.