The Hopi Pipe Ceremony

Purpose: As mentioned previously, the word “Medicine” has a different meaning for Native Americans. It encompasses well-being and spiritual health as well as physical health. A pipe ceremony is a ritual that Hopi Native Americans employ to pray to the Great Spirit. Great Spirit is comprised of the mother (the earth) the father (the heavens and celestial bodies) as well as the grandmothers and grandfathers. Grandmothers and grandfathers may be likened to angels. In the Hopi tradition, they are beings that have been in the universe since time began and they are thought to carry specific medicines. That is, they each have different strengths or aptitudes which the Hopi may call upon in different circumstances.

Pipe ceremonies can be carried out at virtually any time that the practitioner desires. One way to think of them is as an active or interactive prayer session or meditation. Sometimes a Hopi shaman (medicine man) is present for the ceremony, but that is by no means a requirement. Practitioners of the Hopi faith can perform a pipe ceremony when they are grateful for an answered prayer, to ask for the health or care of a loved one, to celebrate the birth or death of a family member, to ask for clarity when making a decision, to request the healing of a friend, or to express gratitude for life’s many blessings. One of the key aspects of the pipe ceremony is to develop one’s own relationship with Spirit with the understanding that Spirit will provide the tools necessary via channels such as the shaman. [More..]

Source: http://altmed.creighton.edu/AmericanIndianMed/Hopi%20Pipe%20Ceremony.htm