Moon Lodge
Heading to Six Nations Rez in Canada, I was stuffed in the
middle between two Mexica brothers in the backseat of my friend’s SUV. There
were seven of us, and it was going to be a long, cramped drive, but I didn’t
care. We were heading to Sundance, and Chief Arvol Looking Horse was running
it. It was going to be my first time, and I was really excited to be doing the
first of the four-year commitment there instead of baking in the hot sun in the
Arizona desert.
It was late in the evening by the time we arrived, and it was a cold night to be sleeping in a tent with no fire to keep warm, but somehow we all managed.
Morning came early as other dancers milled around the campgrounds, preparing themselves for the days ahead. It was four days of dancing from sun-up to sundown in the sweltering heat with no water, wearing moccasins and a red calico print dress. I was ready.
The drum groups were warming up, practicing their timing skills and vocals. I was looking at the arena, taking in the cool fragrant air, when all of a sudden, BAM, cramps knocked me over, and I knew without a doubt that my moon was arriving ahead of schedule. Dang. I was livid. There would be no dancing for me; in fact, I was going to be banned from Sundance. This was a traditional ceremony, and women on their moon were not allowed anywhere on the grounds.
Watching my friends leave after dropping me off at the home of one of Arvol’s relatives, I couldn’t help but be sad and a little envious to see them go. Yep, Creator had spoken and laid it down, “This is not the time for you, Ulogila Agasga.” I was miserable and mad that my cycle had shown up two weeks early. Even at the house I couldn’t help with any of the Sundance preparations, not even cooking was allowed.
As it turned out, seven of us woman were having our moon cycles. Even though hanging out and getting to know each other was a lot of fun, our thoughts were still at Sundance.
The morning of the second day, Louise, a clan mother of the Mohawk nation, decided that it would be good for us to participate in a moon lodge ceremony. This caught my attention because I had never been to this kind of ceremony before, and in fact, hadn’t even heard of one.
The ceremony took place late in the evening on the third night of the Sundance. It was held in a large backyard flower garden. The pathway through the flower beds was lined with tea lights, and the scent of wild honeysuckle mixed with roses and lilacs was wonderful. Somewhere nearby, horses neighed in the night. There were 12 women who came to support us seven sisters. They had prepared all of the food and got everything ready us.
They had erected a medium-sized tent in the backyard, draped with transparent materials of all different colors. There were large fluffy pillows scattered throughout the tent for us to use to sit on and the smell of desert sage and sweetgrass drifted through the air. The seven of us wore dresses and were given the best pillows to sit on.
Sacred prayers to Creator were said before song and
dance. When Louise spoke, she talked about the joys of womanhood and the
importance of sisterhood. As a clan mother, she was given a lot of respect. She
spoke of dreamtime with the ancestors, where knowledge about healing and
guidance were passed down. She shared how import it was for us to respect and take
care of our bodies at all times, especially during our moon time because we had
the honor of bringing sacred life into the world. She also spoke of the
synchronicity of our menstrual cycles with grandmother moon and mother earth. We
all shared stories of our mothers, sisters, childbirth, and also reached far
back into our memories to remember when the first blood came down. I can still remember
my mother’s happy face when I first got mine at age eleven. Though I have to
say, I wasn’t nearly as joyful as she was. Moon time is a special time between
mother and daughter, and I am grateful that my mother was still alive to share and
guide me through this rite of passage into full-fledged womanhood.
Our sisters happily served and cleaned up after us, too. We had all shared so much; it was a blessing. I was not the only woman in there who hadn’t been in a moon lodge ceremony, and it was an incredible healing time for all.
After the ceremony ended, I felt really, really grateful to Louise for giving us the opportunity to share together as women. It felt good to be a woman, and it was okay that I hadn’t been able to Sundance. For me, the Moon Lodge ceremony was far more important for me to do, and during the night I made peace with my own moon.
Oh, and by the way, my female ancestors arrived early in the evening with their own brand of telltale signs of goose bumps, skin prickles, and gentle caresses across my head. Yep, you know it, as usual they were smiling.
It was late in the evening by the time we arrived, and it was a cold night to be sleeping in a tent with no fire to keep warm, but somehow we all managed.
Morning came early as other dancers milled around the campgrounds, preparing themselves for the days ahead. It was four days of dancing from sun-up to sundown in the sweltering heat with no water, wearing moccasins and a red calico print dress. I was ready.
The drum groups were warming up, practicing their timing skills and vocals. I was looking at the arena, taking in the cool fragrant air, when all of a sudden, BAM, cramps knocked me over, and I knew without a doubt that my moon was arriving ahead of schedule. Dang. I was livid. There would be no dancing for me; in fact, I was going to be banned from Sundance. This was a traditional ceremony, and women on their moon were not allowed anywhere on the grounds.
Watching my friends leave after dropping me off at the home of one of Arvol’s relatives, I couldn’t help but be sad and a little envious to see them go. Yep, Creator had spoken and laid it down, “This is not the time for you, Ulogila Agasga.” I was miserable and mad that my cycle had shown up two weeks early. Even at the house I couldn’t help with any of the Sundance preparations, not even cooking was allowed.
As it turned out, seven of us woman were having our moon cycles. Even though hanging out and getting to know each other was a lot of fun, our thoughts were still at Sundance.
The morning of the second day, Louise, a clan mother of the Mohawk nation, decided that it would be good for us to participate in a moon lodge ceremony. This caught my attention because I had never been to this kind of ceremony before, and in fact, hadn’t even heard of one.
The ceremony took place late in the evening on the third night of the Sundance. It was held in a large backyard flower garden. The pathway through the flower beds was lined with tea lights, and the scent of wild honeysuckle mixed with roses and lilacs was wonderful. Somewhere nearby, horses neighed in the night. There were 12 women who came to support us seven sisters. They had prepared all of the food and got everything ready us.
They had erected a medium-sized tent in the backyard, draped with transparent materials of all different colors. There were large fluffy pillows scattered throughout the tent for us to use to sit on and the smell of desert sage and sweetgrass drifted through the air. The seven of us wore dresses and were given the best pillows to sit on.
Our sisters happily served and cleaned up after us, too. We had all shared so much; it was a blessing. I was not the only woman in there who hadn’t been in a moon lodge ceremony, and it was an incredible healing time for all.
After the ceremony ended, I felt really, really grateful to Louise for giving us the opportunity to share together as women. It felt good to be a woman, and it was okay that I hadn’t been able to Sundance. For me, the Moon Lodge ceremony was far more important for me to do, and during the night I made peace with my own moon.
Oh, and by the way, my female ancestors arrived early in the evening with their own brand of telltale signs of goose bumps, skin prickles, and gentle caresses across my head. Yep, you know it, as usual they were smiling.
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