Lakota Healing Ceremony

Well, I had an amazing experience last night (16th May). Wilfie was there too, my hubby,but I can only speak from my view point.

We live in the middle of rural France andhave a friend called Michel who lives about a 3 minute drive away from us..he is French but lived in the States for 40 years and was adopted by the Lakota Nation; he runs sweat lodges and vision quests etc.

Last night we were invited to attend a Lakota Healing Ceremony given by a visiting Lakota Medicine Man called Steven Blue Horse. He is a full blown Native American and a very nice, very down-to-earth man with a wonderful earthy sense of humour.

Anyway we had to wait until it was dark, which is after 10pm here in France, and then we went into a small converted barn which had been completely sealed off from any light source.
Steven had constructed a sacred area in the middle of the room and we, about 25 of us, were ringed around it with our backs to the walls.
There was a great deal of time taken with tying up the correct cloths in the right places and with the correct colours, which were red, yellow, white and black, and putting in the sacred objects like the turtle shell, eagle's wing, leather rattles, pipes, sweet grass, etc.
I just didn't know what to expect, thinking that we were just going to follow a load of drumming and chanting for a couple of hours.

Then Steven prepared himself and 3 men ringed around him???? They took a long flax tape about an inch wide and proceeded to tie his hands together behind his back. They then draped a quilt over his head and face and around his body...and he is a big man.....took another tape and tied it around his neck and then all around his body about 7 times, tightly, tying it off at the ankles so his feet were tied together too.???

By this time I was getting rather bemused!!! [:-]

He was then laid face down onto a long haired animal skin in the middle of the sacred area...I was wondering if he'd be able to breathe alright...it was difficult but he just about did.....and then all lights were extinguished.
I couldn't see my hand in front of my face..it was absolute pitch black.

Steven then thanked the spirits and us for attending and then he began to chant...a young man took up the drumming and the chanting after that.
Suddenly, from the area where Steven was lying prone a rattling sound was heard amongst the chanting and drumming. Then a whistle was blown. Then more rattling and suddenly there was lights dancing around within the sacred area. It was the rattles, there were 4 of them, being picked up and shaken and they were full of lights like stars.
They went up to the ceiling and then swooped down to the floor and back again, and then they left the area where Steven was lying and start to swoop and rattle in front of us and by us.
They then stopped.....more chanting etc. then they started again with more whistle blowing, flying around all over the place.

Then Steven said the doctoring part of the ceremony was going to begin and all of us who needed healing was to stand up.
I stood up; I have a sore left elbow which is getting better now. The whistles started again as the different drumming and chanting commenced, and then the rattles were off again. I watched as they gradually came along the line towards me..my heart was beating like a drum too...I felt something lightly touch the top of my right foot and some coldness, and suddenly the rattles were in front of me. A breeze which was cold, but not, blew over me and a large feather was lightly brushed over my face and down my left side. Wow!!!!!

About 5 minutes later ( I think, but time was hard to define there), the rattles approached me again.....Again the cold, but not cold, breeze blown over me and again the eagle's wing being brushed, harder and longer this time, over my head and all down my body to my waist. Then the rattle rattled in front of me and it knocked me on my right hand. It then flew off up to the ceiling where it danced around again swoo