The Sweat Lodge

Carrying a hot rock using green hazel tongs to place in the sweat lodge.

If you are not familiar with the term Sweat Lodge, picture a natural sauna in an outdoor environment. Think of some kind of structure that you place hot rocks into, pour over water to create steam and climb into. The temperature rises as the rocks begin to heat the space and as you pour water over the hot rocks, steam increases the humidity which increases the 'real feel' temperature. The humidity also affects how you cool yourself via the sweat response, adding to the way you experience the heat. We make ours in the woods by bending green wood into a 'bender' (dome shaped frame) made of hazel or willow and tie it together by weaving the poles and using roots or hazel withes. Rocks are heated in a fire for a couple of hours until they are white hot. You must select the correct rocks here as they can explode when heated. Anything 'born in fire' is the gold standard.

Sweat Lodges have been used for thousands of years by many different cultures across the world. Perhaps today they are most associated with Native American cultures, some of which still carry on the tradition of the Sweat Lodge. In these cultures, they are often used for healing and medicinal purposes and a rich body of custom and heritage is involved. Long may people connect to the land and their people in this way.

I was introducd to the Sweat Lodge as an apprentice of Ben McNuttt, who in turn (I think?) learned it from Ray Mears when he was an apprentice himself. Almost 20 years ago he showed me how to make one in the woods using natural materials. We used to run impromptu sessions on bushcraft courses where, once cooked, people cooled off in the peaty waters of a Lake District tarn afterwards. What I didn't know at the time, however, was that we were re-creating an activity that has taken place in Britain for a very long time indeed.

Evidence for the use of indoor steam in the UK is patchy but it is clear that our indigenous people did this. This BBC article suggests that the practice of entering 'sweathouses', existed into the 1900's in Ireland. Archeologists suggest that people did this to cure themselves of illness, but it seems that little is known for sure of their use. A friend and fluent Gaelic speaker also informs me that Scot's Gaelic has the word 'taigh-fallais' which translates as 'sweat-house'. It seems likely that this practice would not be confined to Irish Gaelic culture alone and Scotland has lots of similar 'beehive' structures, particularly on the Western isles.

The 'sweathouses' of Ireland are described in the above article.

As with the one in Killadiskert, most Irish sweathouses were built into hillsides or banks to bolster their foundation, and set in remote locations near a water source. Chunks of uncut rock, each a different shape and size, were carefully piled and then bonded with clay and sod to create a domed structure with a single low entrance, similar in appearance to an igloo

We don't build and use 'sweathouses' to cure people of ailments or illness, nor do we include any elaborate ceremony or customs when we do it. If people choose to consider this a spiritual activity or acheive some personal healing from the practice, then we certainly support these beliefs and if this works for you then we are all for it! For us, a Sweat Lodge is a way to connect to nature and friends, introduce people to working with natural materials again and do something which feels truly old. Its a way to 'while the day away' in respectful and peaceful reflection, under a leafy canopy, with like-minded people. And when you walk away, relaxed and with a glow only a sauna and cold dip can acheive, the Sweat Lodge returns back to the earth from where it was born to leave as much trace as our ancestors.