How to Burn Sweetgrass for Smudging

– by Tracey

Last month, we announced the arrival of our new sweetgrass harvest. It led to a lot of excitement, and a few inquiries about how to properly light this sweet smelling herb for smudging, so this month, Michael from our Sioux Trading Post shows us how!

Sweetgrass is burned for smudging. It is believed to please everybody, so when you burn sweetgrass, you may also want to burn some sage to get rid of more negative influences.

What you will need:

  1. Scissors
  2. Multi-Purpose Lighter (also known as a "clicker" or candle lighter): If you try to do this with a small lighter, you may burn your hand as this requires a strong flame.
  3. Non-Flammable Container

How to properly light your braid of sweetgrass:

  1. Cut off the end of the braid. You want to cut off the end that is a little more dried out and has less green in it.
  2. Please place the cut off end somewhere outside, don't just throw it away (its a special plant).
  3. Light the cut end of the braid by holding it in the flame and gently rotating the braid.
  4. Blow on the lit end.
  5. Gently shake the braid around your area.
  6. The braid will burn by producing smoke, there should be no flame.

…and that's how you get your wacanga going.

To put it out:

Stamp it against the side of your non-flammable container.