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In the shadows of the ancients I have walked this way before And who knows if I ever will again I must be careful Careful not to disturb the ancient bones and those of my ancestors The shadows lurk before me As the eagle flies overhead It is in my name Arnold Strong as an eagle that I sit by the eagle door The heat is now profuse So hot that I dig the earth And bury my head in it Hoping for a little bit of comfort and pray not to bolt through the opening I must remain strong Strong and steadfast More water is poured on the rocks The steam is intense I cry out for strength through my ancestors My ancestors named me Arnold They called for me to be strong Strong as an Eagle I start to sing, a song, a chant The others pick it up and we chant together I do not know what the words mean The others do not know what the words mean Hi eeya hi hi eeya hay hay The sweat master says its time to leave I leave stronger, for I am an Eagle |
Additional Notes:
This was the first of three sweat lodges that I did. Each one had a profound affect on my psyche.
Although I am not Native, the sweat master was, and he was trained in the ways of the ancients.
There were seven of us in that sweat lodge.
The eagle door was on the west. In the tradition that I took the sweat, each compass direction
was named after an animal.
My given name is Arnold. It is German for "strong as an eagle."
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