Smudge sticks

[ErikPrice1@msn.com]

 I'm not sure but aren't smudges suppose to please good spirits and get rid of evil spirits when you set up camp and clean the site? I don't know I could be wrong.

[Honovi Mahala]

A smudge stick is a bundle of dried herbs, most commonly white sage (Salvia apiana). Often other herbs or plants are added, and the leaves are usually bound with string in a small bundle and dried. Additional herbs and spices that are often used in contemporary practices include cilantro, cedar, lavender, and mugwort, none of which are native to the Americas. All have a strong, pleasant aroma when burnt.

The term "smudge stick" entered the English language through indigenous American Indian traditions that include shamanism. The binding of smudge sticks for many traditions was a sacred intentional process in and of itself. Using scent and scented smoke in rites of purification, whether through smudging (the process of using a smudge stick) or burning incense, is common in many traditional cultures around the world, as noted in ethnographic literature.

Ojibwa and Cree ceremonies often use smudges of sage, sweet grass, or juniper for cleansing and to give prayers to the Creator, or Gitche Manitou. Smudges with hot coals underneath can provide a lot of smoke for many hours or days to repel mosquitos and other insects.

In Native American ceremonies smudge sticks were traditionally used to purify people and places. Boughman tells of smudging done in hospitals to "cleanse and repel evil influence." [3]

Smudging is known to have medicinal and religious correlations to spiritual beings. It is a type of ritual that can be done before during and after prayer.