Smudging
A cleansing ceremony in which sacred herbs are burned and the smoke is wafted over the body.
Also: smudge
Smudging is a ritual of many First Nations and Native American peoples in which herbs such as sage, cedar, sweetgrass or tobacco are burned and the smoke is brushed over the body, a place or an object using a feather or the hands. It is a cleansing and a form of prayer, used to open ceremonies, meetings and healing rites. Practices differ among nations, and some are private. Visitors invited to a smudge should follow the lead of the host, and sage is best bought from Indigenous sellers, as wild white sage has been overharvested. The ceremony reflects a relation with plants and the land.
Region: North America