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Inikagapi....The Sweatlodge Ritual
The Ritual is called inikagapi (from i, 'by means of, on account of'; ni, 'life, breath'; kagapi, 'they make, cause'). The ritual is held in a sweat lodge, oinikage (from o, 'in'; and inikage), also called initipi (from ini and tipi, 'dwelling"). The purpose of the ritual is to revivify persons spiritually and and/or physically. The ritual must be conducted under the supervision of a sacred person. Any number of persons may participate, the maximum number being determined by the dimensions of the sweat lodge (usually five or six). Both men and women may participate, but not together. The sweat lodge is constructed in the following manner: Sixteen willow saplings, approximately one inch in diameter at the butt end, are peeled and imbeded in the ground so as to describe a circle approximately six to eight feet in diameter. The saplings are then bent over and tied with rawhide thongs to form a domoidal structure, at the center approximately four feet from the ground to the apex of the roof. The saplings are arranged so that there are four on each side of the lodge, with an entrance on the east. The earth in the center of the lodge is scooped out, leaving a hole approximately two feet in diameter and two feet deep into which hot stones will be placed during the ritual. The earth which is removed is used to form a sacred path approximately eight paces from the entrance. The path runs east and west, and at the eastern end, the remaining earth is molded into a mound called unci, 'grandmother'. Two paces east of the mound, the ground is cleared for the fireplace, called peta oihankešni, 'fire without end'. The fireplace is made by placing four sticks running east and west, and upon them four sticks running north and south. Around these sticks more are laid in a tipi fashion. Four stones are placed at the four directions, and then the remaining rocks are piled up over the wood. One man, the fire tender, lights it and maintains it. As the ceremony begins, he hands in the rocks through the entrance by means of two wooden paddles (a pitchfork is usually used today). When the ritual is about to begin, the saplings are covered with buffalo robes and other skins (blankets and tarps nowadays). The robes are arranged by the fire tender so that when the door is finally closed no light will be admitted into the lodge. In order to begin the ritual, the sacred person takes the pipe and tobacco into the lodge, enters sunwise (clockwise), and sits at the west side facing the entrance. He places four pinches of tobacco around the hole and then fills the pipe. Sage is placed around the lodge where the participants will sit. The leader then burns wacanga, 'sweetgrass', and rubs the smoke over his body and the pipe, thus purifying everything in the lodge. After the pipe has been filled, he leaves the lodge in a sunwise direction and walks alongside the sacred path to the earth mound, where he leans the pipe in such a way that the mouthpiece faces east.  The leader and the participants then remove all their clothing. The leader enters the lodge first, moving sunwise until he reaches the place next to the door. If he has an assistant, he will enter last and take his place on the opposite side of the door. When all are seated, the leader calls for the heated stones. Four stones are placed in the bottom of the hole so that they describe the four directions. Two stones are then laid on them representing the Above and Below. Finally one stone is laid in representing the Spotted Eagle. After the seven stones have been prayed over, the fire tender puts in place the remaining stones, as many as thirty in all. The leader then calls for a bucket of water and ladle, which are handed in to him by the fire tender. The fire tender is then given the command "Yuĥpa yo!" (Close it!), and the lodge is sealed.
Once the door is sealed, the leader sprinkles the ladle of water on the hot stones four times, praying to the four directions. Prayers and songs which will coax spirits into the lodge are intoned. The men perspire and slap their bodies. When the spirits enter, the intentions of the participants are made known through the mediation of the sacred person. Each time water is sprinkled on the stones the men cry out "Ho! Tunkašila!" (Ho! Grandfather!); and each time a prayer is ended, the men cry out, "Hau!!" During the course of the ritual, the door is opened four times. Often the robes are rolled up at the west end also to permit air to pass through the lodge. Each time the door is opened the ladle of water is passed around to the participants, who drink it and pour it over their heads. After so doing they say, "Mitak oyas'in." The fourth time the lodge is opened, the participants leave the lodge in a sunwise direction.
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