The dancers offer their prayers with their intention, raising them to the great spirit for them and for humanity!!!!.
“Prayer is not just about following rituals and doing it right. It’s about how we feel inside, how our hearts connect and how we live. This is called “walking the path of medicine.” Bear Heart, Lakota Chief.
We will cut small squares of cloth (PLEASE use natural cloth) and with much love and respect we will use Tobacco, herbs and/or natural elements that are of value to you.
The prayers will be prepared by the dancers before the dance, with their personal intentions or for the community. To perform them please take a moment of silence and introspection so that with clarity they reach your mind and dance with them in your heart. Remember that the prayers are very powerful so be clear and with a positive mind when performing them.There will be 13 prayers for each color or direction, for a total of 52 prayers. Optionally you can do 13 additional prayers of the color green, which represent our mother earth.
It is very important to choose a quiet time to do the prayers, we can light copal, palo santo, mugwort and/or a candle to create a sacred space.
What you need:
- About ten feet of wool or string.
- Yellow, white, red, red, blue and green cloth
- Scissors
- Tobacco/Herbs
- Candle
How to make your prayers:
Each color of cloth represents a direction so that you are aware of which guardian you are praying to. Take some tobacco or herbs, hold them up to the sky, earth and in your heart and raise your prayer on them. Allow as much space and time as necessary for each prayer/blessing.
Then place the tobacco on the square of cloth and fold to form a small bundle (as shown in the pictures). Knot the string around it. Make sure the cloth is tight so that the tobacco does not fall out. The string should be enough for all the prayers (52/65), i.e. form a long prayer string and should not be cut during the prayer If you run out of string anyway, simply tie another string with a knot.
Then you can tie your finished prayers around a branch/stick. This way you can carry them better. In the ceremony, all our prayers are hung around the circle. They support, protect and elevate our circle.
Each color stands for a different direction and therefore a different quality.
Start with yellow (east), then white (north), then red (west), then blue (south). Optionally another 13 in green for the earth. Complete a color/direction/prayer blessing (all 13 prayers of a color) before moving on to the next color/direction prayer blessing. You can take a break whenever you need it.
Yellow/ the East – TLAHUIZTLAMPA : QUETZALCOATL lives here, symbolizing intelligence, knowledge and wisdom. It is the place of light, brightness and confidence to step forward with determination when darkness falls upon us. He radiates security and friendliness. The place of the rising sun, the new beginning, the new birth, the seed, the dawn, the light to come.
White / the North – MICTLAMPA: TEZCATLIPOCA “the smoking mirror” lives here Mictlancihuatl and Mictlantecuhtli, the lords of the dead. It is the site of the genetic memory of our ancestors. A place where our ancestors rest in silence. It is also the place where we can ask for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing. It conveys a sense of deep reflection and a spirit of constant renewal. Place of our ancestors, prayer, chanupa (sacred pipe) and white buffalo calf woman.
Red/ the west – CIHUATLAMPA: XIPETOTECUH lives here, the energy of life, death and resurrection. The direction of magnificence when the sun goes down it’s a blessing for the next day. She stands for renewal. It is also the place of the warrior and earth women and the Cihuateteo (“Divine Women”), where the spirits of women who died in childbirth live. This is where the energy that is needed at birth or in battle/war resides. Transmission of the qualities of sensitivity, intuition and the ability to command and manage. The place of the setting sun, of letting go, of death, of the warrior.
Blue/ the south – HUITZTLAMPA: blue or black color where HUITZILOPOCHTLI lives, the hummingbird on the left symbolizes will, joy, children and family. It is also said to be the place of thorns, the place of medicine. Place of wisdom that comes from discipline. Confers the quality of knowledge to recognize the transcendent and valuable. The place of relationships, of kinship, of family, of children, of the inner child, of playfulness.
Green/ Pachamama: TONANTZIN TLALLI Mother Earth – TONATZIN TLALLI Father Earth: Healing, Thanks, Blessings, Prayers for this great planet, for Mother/Father Earth, coming from your heart. Each dancer dances for her tribe and her people.
