My first Temazcal

Questo è un gran regalo del mio caro amico Nicola Pozzetto

“Il mio primo temazcal” da lui tradotto magistralmente.

E’ stupendo vedere come le mie parole in italiano siano fatte risuonare anche meglio in inglese, grazie a Nicola.

Clara is back and our Mexican adventure begins.

I don’t know what to expect from the shamanic spirituality; my curiosity to discover the meaning of the ceremonies, to live what I heard only through the words of my beloved Clara, is enormous.

The first opportunity we found is to participate in a Temazcal, a “sweat lodge”. In Central American Tradition, this is a very common and charming ceremony.

It is a full moon day; the energy you feel is much higher than it might be on other occasions.

I’m the only man at the ceremony. Unfortunately not many males have a high sense of spirituality as women have and male participation at these ceremonies is very limited. We sit around the campfire managed by el hombre de fuego, while Carmela, the shaman who runs the ceremony, explains us a few things about how it will take place.

Dried tobacco leaves are given to everyone of us,we will have to slowly crumble them in our hands, thinking about the intention that we want to work on during this temazcal, about energetic and psychological blocks we want to clear, desires we’d like be fulfilled, prayers that we want to do for us or for those we care about.

After having crumbled the tobacco, one at a time we put ourselves in front of the fire.

With the hand we draw in the air the four cardinal directions, then a circle to the right symbolizing our male side and one to the left for our feminine side; at the end we throw the tobacco in the bonfire so that our demands will become an integral part of the ceremony on which we can work on.

In the bonfire, under the burning wood, were placed the volcanic stones that will be then entered one by one in the hut and that are becoming hot. Those are lava stones directly coming from the center of the Earth therefore bearers of knowledge and energy of our Mother Earth, Pachamama.

Each one of us, one at a time, plays a song with a drum to incite the fire to burn and heat the stones until they are ready for the ceremony and charged with the vibrational energy of all of us.

Carmela decided that I have to position myself in the hut on the opposite side compared to her, to balance the energy within the temazcal, being me the only man present. And I will have the task of working on the male energy, of all men, focusing to release the negativity of patriarchal control and male control over women. A big responsibility for my first temazcal, no doubt about it.

I think I’m used to these strange tasks.

The hut is small, narrow, built with thin wooden poles and covered on the outside by woolen blankets, that will prevent to let out the heat and steam that will emanate when the water will be thrown on the incandescent rocks. One by one the women in front of me enter the hut crouching down, kissing the ground and asking permission to enter.

It is my turn. I step into the hut and put myself in the opposite side of the little door, with the knees huddled up to avoid putting the legs into the hole in which the stones will be placed. When all participants are sitting in a circle in the temazcal, the shaman asks to the hombre de fuego to let the first stone in. With a pitchfork, the assistant comes to the door, shouting, “Abuelita!” a spanish term of endearment meaning “grandma”.

 

It’s form of respect to name each of the stones, to reiterate the concept that it is the mother of our biological mother because it comes from the depths of the Earth.

 

We, from the inside, reply “Bienvenida Abuelita!” (Welcome Grandma) and we sing a welcome song.

Carmela, using rudimentary wooden pitchforks, gently puts the stone in the hole so it can fill the right amount of space. Seven rocks come in from the little door, all of them following the described ritual. When the door is closed with a blanket, begin the ritualistic chants directed by Carmela who keeps pouring water on the stones, making the cabin some sort of sauna.

I close my eyes and concentrate on the melody, the vibration transmitted by the music, feeling that the warmth and the participation of all the people present at the ceremony are one very strong stimulus to release these energy and psychological blocks on which I decided to work.

After three songs, Carmela decided it was time to open the door again to let other stones in. We shout all together “Puerta!” and the blanket is lifted from the outside. The hombre de fuego hands to the shaman the first of the next seven stones that we salute like we did earlier.

This time, each stone is rubbed with sage leaves, filling the air inside with their fragrance. When the blanket isolates us from the outside again and as a result of pouring water on the stones, the heat starts to get intense and it is really hard to breathe, forget about singing!

I feel my body dumping a lot of negativity, I hardly resist heat, I abundantly sweat and start to suffer to remain inside the hut. I think it is challenging to resist, being unable to lower to the the ground to avoid the hot steam that accumulates upwards.

The door opens and some of the heat goes out, but seven more stones must enter and I understand that the heat will be more intense. This time not everyone can sing the song of welcome to the “abuelitas”; we see that some of us already is exhausted. Closing the third door and pouring the water, make the atmosphere suffocating. I cannot sing, but I try to mentally follow the pace of the drums.

I wheeze and I feel I am dumping a lot of negative energy. I feel dizzy, I feel I am about to collapse. I have to resist, I know I can do it and that I must not have fear of being hurt.

My body is exhausted, the heat is suffocating me . When the third door opens I ask permission to go outside.

I crouch to crawl through the narrow and little door. I salute the outside fresh air with a remarkable relief. I slowly stand up, trying not to fall over the still burning bonfire. I don’t have my glasses and I have to get to the shower on the other side of the garden.

The falling water is so cool that I wake up quickly. Feeling the fresh water drops tapping on my body is an amazing relief. I stay a full five minutes under this refreshing rain, trying to recover from the heat stroke I think I suffered. I search water to drink and I gulp down a liter all in one breath.

 

I feel somewhat better, but I still feel dizzy.

I strive to compose myself and join the circle of people who participated the Temazcal in front of the bonfire. Carmela says the last words of farewell and some women, in turn, share their experience.

I cannot even listen.

I think that to really understand the deep meaning of this ceremony, I’ll have to make some more.