Smoking ceremony

Plants and fire

To create the smoke, dried paperbark is lit in a pit, directly on the earth, or inside a container, and fresh green leaves are laid over the fire. Different Indigenous nations select specific plants from their regions. The emu bush, also called berrigan, is widely valued across New South Wales for its sacred and antimicrobial qualities, releasing protective oils when heated. In Western Australia, people often use Australian sandalwood leaves, which emit a soothing, antiseptic smoke without toxic compounds. The warmth and smouldering process activate natural chemical properties, enabling the smoke to clean skin, disinfect instruments, and clear respiratory passages.

Life milestones and women's business

Throughout life, Aboriginal groups mark pivotal moments with smoke. Following childbirth, women lead the ceremony as part of baby business, gently holding mother and infant over the smoke to protect health and ward off harmful spirits. Darug traditions attach sacred significance to smoking specific body parts: the feet honour the land, the chest links heart and family, hands signify taking only what is needed, and the mouth reflects native language. For boys reaching adulthood in Central Australia, smoking is woven into initiation rites, purifying initiates and sterilising cutting tools.

Passing of spirit and mourning

When a community member dies, a smoking ceremony takes precedence over other gatherings to purify spaces and guide the deceased person's spirit back to country. Family members carry smouldering coals through the departed person's home, room, or vehicle. In some groups, participants sweep leafy branches through the area to gently sever ties between living and spiritual realms. People may also apply ochre marks to living spaces, notifying neighbours of the loss while assisting the departed soul in moving peacefully beyond the material world.

Welcome to Country and public life

Fire and smoke have long served as communication across Australian nations, alerting neighbours when someone crossed territorial boundaries. In modern civic life, elders perform open smoking ceremonies during Welcome to Country occasions to greet the wider public. These rituals acknowledge traditional ownership and foster reconciliation. Smoking rites have taken place at major civic events, including parliamentary inductions, cultural festivals, and historical occasions such as the papal beatification of Mary MacKillop and a royal forest dedication for visiting British royalty.

How Smoking ceremony is kept

An elder or community member prepares a fire using paperbark in an earthen pit, a bucket, or directly on the ground, then covers the flames with green leaves to generate dense herbal smoke. Participants gather around the fire, gently directing the smoke over their skin, faces, or belongings with their hands. For newborns or initiates, women or elders carefully bathe the individual in smoke. In mourning rites, coals and smouldering branches are carried through living quarters. During public welcomes, guests walk through or stand near the rising smoke to be cleansed and welcomed.

When and where

Smoking ceremonies take place whenever significant personal or civic moments arise. Families hold them directly after a birth, during male coming-of-age rites, and immediately after a death. Elders also arrange them at public gatherings, festivals, and official welcomes to open events.

This custom belongs to Aboriginal nations across Australia, including the Darug, Gundungurra, and Butchulla peoples. Rituals are carried out outdoors on ancestral lands, within family houses and bedrooms during mourning, or in public spaces and civic venues during formal ceremonies.

What Smoking ceremony means

Smoke acts as a bridge between the physical and spiritual realms. It cleanses bad spirits, protects against illness, and anchors people to their ancestors and land. In Welcomes to Country, it conveys hospitality and safe passage, while in mourning, it frees the spirit to return home to country.

Questions people ask about Smoking ceremony

See also

Waitangi DayNew Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Sinulog FestivalAn annual Philippine dance festival and Catholic devotion honouring the Santo NiñoLao New YearA mid-April water festival and Buddhist celebration marking the Lao new yearJāņiAn annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreaths

Good reading and sources

• Smoking ceremony on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.