sweetgrass

Plant used as ceremonial incense for purification Additional commentary: Sweet grass is used as purifying ceremonial incense, most importantly in the Sacred Arrow ceremony. When Sweet Medicine brought the arrows out of the sacred mountain, he first purified the outside world with sweet grass to make it ready for the Arrows. For this reason sweet grass is burned in the Arrow renewal ceremony. It is also used in this ceremony as a brush to paint the straight pipe. Hart quotes Jim Spear, concerning sweet grass in the Cheyenne creation story: The first things made were the stars, sun and moon. This creator, whom we call Maheo in our language, held out his left hand, and his power being such he got five strings of sinew. He laid them down. And next he put down sweet grass, this being laid down the same way he had sinew. Then he produced buffalo tallow. Then he produced red paint. He put that on there. Then he started to put these things together. He rolled that into a ball. The he blew on it four times. The fourth time he let it go. And it grew and grew. This is the earth. This is the first one. So we have this earth. There was water on it, grass, trees, and everything that grows. Maheo has the power to do that.345 In other ceremonies, sweet grass is used also for its purifying effect, and in painting. In the old days, in going to battle a warrior would bless or purify his shield in the smoke of sweet grass, or if he had been visited by a menstruating woman, would put himself through a purifying ceremony before battling. Contrary warriors would purify their lances likewise, and rattles used in healing ceremonies were frequently passed through its smoke as well. Sweet grass incense could also be used to prevent evil from entering one’s home. Hart’s consultant, Jim Spear, indicated that sweet grass probably occurred less frequently then, in the mid-1970’s, than it had in previous times because the Cheyenne were losing their old ways.346 Grinnell identifies sweet grass as Torresia odorata L., and indicates essentially the same uses.347

Smoke from burning grass used for purification of rattles, sacred shields, and Sun Dance dancers.

Used to paint pipes in the Sun Dance and the Sacred Arrow ceremonies.

Burned for protection from lightning and thunder

Dried plant burned in ceremonies

Artifacts/Material use: Dried leaves used as a perfume by wrapping the article in the leaves

Dried foliage employed as an incense, perfume, and for purification

Dried leaves sprinkled over the fire during the peyote ceremony.