Lakota Funerals

I had my first experience of Lakota culture today, as I had to help Father John with a funeral out in Norris, SD. It was exactly what one would imagine a funeral in rural South Dakota would be like. The little church right off Little House on the Prairie. There was the rugged South Dakota hills in the distance, and we followed the casket up the dusty road to the cemetery on top of the hill. This, of course, was all after the wake we had last night. (Apparently, this was a "progressive" family that only wanted a one-night wake, not the traditional 3-night wake.)

The commital service was done traditionally with sage incense and Lakota prayers. To add to the fun, the tradition in Lakota circles is that the pall bearers actually fill in the grave after the casket has been lowered in. Yes, they shoveled in the dirt for the entire grave. It took about 45 minutes. We were wearing black, and it was 94 degrees. Never gotten sun burned at a funeral before.

Afterward there was a large buffalo dinner, and what Lakota custom calls a "giveaway." A "giveaway" apparently has its roots in the olden times when the deceased's belongings were given away to the elders and family members. Nowadays it is apparently more ceremonial with new blankets given by the family of the deceased to the elders. Apparently clergy (and clergy assistants) fall into that category, so I ended up with a nice woven mini-blanket.

The whole funeral was an all-day affair. Very beautiful but quite long. My cassock now smells like sage.

Comments

Kyle said…
I wish I had a cassock that smells like sage. Or maybe a little rosemary.

I wonder if you've thought about doing a little reflection on whether or how much "syncretism" is present in such "joint" rites...?
7/02/2006 10:50 AM
The Archer of the Forest said…
That's a good idea...I will blog about that in a while.
7/02/2006 2:54 PM
Caelius said…
A few years ago, my youth group cleaned and fenced a cemetery at Kyle in Pine Ridge. The youth group's chaplain did some sort of grave blessing, too, and he indeed was given blankets and pillows. I still have one of the pillows, since it's best if the giveaway is spread around.
7/04/2006 4:27 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on the 'Connecticut 6'

For some weeks, I have had several friends (mostly non-Episcopalians surprisingly) wanting me to voice an opinion on this Connecticut 6 (sounds like a fleabag motel) business. If you are unfamiliar with this fiasco, for lack of a better term, let me describe it as best as I understand it. There is so much spin going on (from both sides I might add) that I have been having trouble discerning fact from fiction. As I understand the situation, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Smith is the Bishop of Connecticut. Well, at least he has a pointy hat, I do not think he is particularly acting like one. Likewise, as I understand, there are Six rectors of churches (at least they have collars, but likewise are not acting like it) that have applied for DEPO oversight (i.e. another Bishop to oversee them.) The best way I know how to describe the hoohah is as follows: The Feloniously Rev. Smith is trying to defrock the Superciliously Reverend Rectors. Darth Smith claims they have abandoned communion and has shadil...
Read more

My board gaming journey, pt. I

Image
     Something a bit different today than my normal reflections. I thought I would delve a little bit more into a topic that is not necessarily theological in nature. I am a real person, and not some ethereal doctor in an ivory tower who gets to smoke a pipe and contemplate the infinite mysteries all day. So, today, I thought I would delve into one of my personal hobbies: board gaming.      Now, do not tune me out because you hear "board gaming" and immediately default in your brain to your brother overturning a table with Monopoly money flying everywhere because the game has gone on for hours and overturning the table was the only option left other than murder. Most people, including myself at one time, thought of board games as those boring or frustrating games that seem stuck in 1952. You know the usual suspects: Clue!, Monopoly, Scrabble, Chess, maybe even more saccharine games like Life or Candy Land, i.e. those games that everyone owned at some p...
Read more

The History of the Football helmet

Image
NCAA.com put out an interesting editorial about the evolution of the football helmet that can be found here . This is in part due in my estimation to the current buzz (one might go so far as to describe it as hysteria) about concussions in contact sports, particularly football. I have always found this an interesting evolution. Long gone are the days of strapping on your leather helmet: In the 50's and 60's, the helmet evolved into, basically becoming a metal then hard plastic version of the leather helmet with the addition of a rudimentary face mask (which was really just a bar at first): Gradually, the helmet's face mask itself began to evolve: Combines with new space age style lightweight plastics and foams, the helmet mask ultimately became a type of full, goalie style face mask (This little number costs just under $1000 to purchase new): Ironically, being a military history major, the football helmet evolution followed the pattern of design that helmets worn...
Read more