Smudging (the burning of herbs) Was/Is Used in All Cultures Since the Dawn of Man
I am not discounting cultural appropriation of Native American smudging. Please read until the end. The practice of smudging dates back to prehistoric times, and is still very much in use today worldwide for cleansing everything from dwellings to human spirits. However recent research has shed light on the popularity of this activity, revealing that burning certain plant matter actually clears harmful bacteria. The ritual burning of herbs and herbal resins is common in many cultures in the world. From the rich frankincense of the Church and the Middle Eastern bazaar, to the heady incenses of Asia, to the raw energy of brush burning in many native cultures....the purification of space through this modality is a global phenomenon and one you can benefit from highly. Burning sage is one of the oldest and purest methods of cleansing a person, group of people or space. While Native American sage burning is the most commonly recognized form of it today, it has nevertheless been a shared practice in other cultures too. From the ancient Celtic druids who used sage as a sacred herb alongside Oak Moss for burning as well as medicinal purposes, to the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon whose Palo santo is also a common means of cleansing with smoke. Palo Santo (sacred wood) sage burning ceremonies are still practiced to this day. Bursera graveolens, known in Spanish as palo santo, is a wild tree native from the Yucatán Peninsula to Peru and Venezuela. Bursera graveolens is found in the seasonally dry tropical forests of Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and on the Galápagos Islands. Using herbal smoke and incense for the purpose of clearing the air of unwanted impurities, negative energies, or to conjure up spirits, has been practiced across the globe by almost every race, creed, and religion since the very beginning, and many still use herbal smoke today, not just for spiritual practice, but for health. Modern studies have shown that burning herbal smoke (it does not always, and should not always, be white sage) can drastically reduce the amount of pathogens and bacteria in the air, by up to 94%. While many modern practitioners of the art of “smudging” may have taken tips from Indigenous people, to assume its cultural appropriation is to wrongly ignore the practice’s diverse origin and practical uses. The term “smudging” was not popularized until the late 1900s when it also became married to the specific Native North American practice, which often involved the use of sage, sweetgrass, cedar, tobacco, a feather, and a sacred dish, often a shell. Some tribes worry that because of smoke cleansing’s recent spike in popularity, white sage is being over-harvested. But, good news; white sage is only one of the many, many herbs you can use and the practice does not have to be identical to the Native American ritual. If you’re worried about cultural appropriation, you can burn sage in many different ways.
