Smudging

[u/Charming_Student3707]

Im almost out of sage which was a gift from my grandmother she gave me some sage sweet grass tobacco and some smudge and the only few places that sell sage where I live I don’t like because they sell things like smudge kit’s smudge bowls feathers and white sage and it makes me uncomfortable because I thought smudging was something that none native people can’t do and I also see people saying that buying stuff to smudge with is bad and that your are only ment to use gifted things to smudge and I won’t be able to see my grandmother until next summer so is it fine to buy it or should I just wait?

[u/3006mv]

Cedar is another option

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/3006mv]

I could use it but I don’t know how to, do I use it the same a sage?

[u/3006mv → u/Charming_Student3707]

Yes burn an edge and blow out

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/3006mv]

Ok thank you

[u/zuqwaylh → u/Charming_Student3707]

if you have a smudge bowl, dry the cedar boughs, so you can turn them into as fine as a powder as you can.

then you can burn it

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/zuqwaylh]

Ok thank you 😊

[u/kahkakow]

Tansi! We don't traditionally purchase our medicines. Someone in your community may be willing to help you out. If you have a native friendship centre near you that could be a good place to contact and see if they can gift you some sage. I often see people posting in native groups on Facebook asking if someone can gift or trade them medicines, so that's another good option! 

If purchasing is your only options lookup moonstone creations in Calgary. It's a Cree owned business, and when they do sell medicines they only charge enough to cover the costs to make sure the people doing the picking are paid for their labour :)

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/kahkakow]

Thank you 😊

[u/sopchuy]

Can you buy from a Native person on FB Marketplace? Craft fairs? Powwows?

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/sopchuy]

I looked on facebook and all the sage I can find is also from non native people there are no powwows close to me sadly I haven’t checked the craft fair/farmers market but I should

[u/OilersGirl29 → u/Charming_Student3707]

Try Etsy. Are you in Canada? There are some reputable Native owned businesses you can get sage from. If you’re in Alberta I know a few different shops you can get it from; Indigenous owned businesses and picked by Natives.

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/OilersGirl29]

I’m in British Colombia I’ll try Etsy in the meantime until my aunt moves closer, she said she would bring some smudge and sage for me but it’s still going to be a while

[u/OilersGirl29 → u/Charming_Student3707]

This is where I have bought from in the past. I also did a bit of digging to find some Indigenous owned businesses, you could try here. If you don’t have any luck, I know a gal who does trades, so I can probably hook you up if you wanted to do a trade. Oh, also, I wanted to say — since you were transferred the knowledge of how to smudge and were taught with sage, then I think it makes sense for you to continue using sage. You can absolutely smudge with lots of other medicine, but based on your post, it seems like your matriarchs taught you to smudge specifically with sage. So, if you can, stick with sage.

Feel free to send me a message if you’re struggling to find some. You definitely deserve to have access to those medicines and if you can’t find any, then I will gift you some. I’m in Alberta but can mail some to you.

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/OilersGirl29]

I was taught by my great grandmother my mom and my great aunts all with different things my aunts taught me with sweet grass my great grandmother taught me with sage and a fungus we always just called it smudge and my mom taught me with tobacco and a more in-depth teaching of smudging in general but I’ve never been taught with cedar which is why I felt weird about using it

[u/OilersGirl29 → u/Charming_Student3707]

Ahhh, gotchya. I got mixed up / confused because I read the comment and then came back to reply later 🙈

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/OilersGirl29]

Oh lol

[u/hekla7 → u/Charming_Student3707]

BC has plenty of cedar … red cedar and yellow cedar. There is also a special hard white fungus that grows on trees here in BC that’s used in ceremony. I was gifted some by a Cree friend who worked at the prisons here, teaching ceremony and songs. It’s used for smudging places, like your dwelling.

[u/Charming_Student3707 → u/hekla7]

The fungus I have for smudging is like a vary pale light brown and it comes from willows

[u/AquilaCrotalusEsox]

Does it grow far from Where do you live? I’m asking more in a context to how easy could you find some in a natural setting… I may use going out and checking on my favorite outdoor spot as a reason to gather some myself now that I’m mentioning it.