As singers of the Great Mystery Alliance Song Troupe we are able to attend many Native American Ceremonials. It is nice to be based out of the Crestone Baca area. Colorado is a centralized location that allows us to travel to where we are needed. We sing at Lakota Ceremonies all over the country. There is a high demand for singers in all of the various Ceremonies. The Lakota Ways may be the most popular of the North American Indigenous religions but it is also very rare and one of the last of the earth’s ancient treasures. Although songs have recently been lost the Lakota traditions have survived so well because they have always shared with others. Great Mystery Alliance is committed to sharing these ancient songs as well as what the songs mean, grammar, and pronunciation.
The songs that we sing can be heard on several different occasions. The Sweat Lodge Ceremony is one. It is a hot steam sauna that takes place within a small hut covered in canvas tarps. The sweat lodge is a preliminary rite, it serves to prepare and purify the participants before a Ceremony, yet at the same time it is a Ceremony all by itself. It is said to be the oldest of all native spiritual practices. Most of the songs are interchangeable with other Lakota Ceremonies including the Sun Dance, Vision Quest, Yuwipi/Lowanpi, Ghost Dance, as well as songs directly for the Sweat Lodge. The sweat lodge is one in a trinity of Ancient Rites. The Vision Quest, Yuwipi, and Sweat Lodge make up a triad said to be 25,000 years old.
Most people have heard of the vision quest. It is a way of directly connecting to nature in order to receive a communication from the Great Mystery (God). The quester purifies in the sweat lodge and then is left in a lonely place to receive a vision. The Yuwipi Ceremony is something strange and mysterious. It defies scrutiny and description. Like the vision quest, the Yuwipi rite begins and ends with a sweat lodge. It is usually held for the same reasons or to find something or someone. Yuwipi means “they tie him up”. This is a Ceremony where the Medicine Man is bound and later untied by the Tunkashila (Grandfather Spirits). Its participants encircle the Yuwipi man along with the singers. The room is plunged into total darkness and songs stream forth continuously for hours. Yuwipi is the most widely practiced Lakota Ceremonial.
Perhaps the most wonderful singing experience ever is to sing at a Sundance. The Sundance is an annual four day event. Some of these songs are between 5,000 to 7,000 years old. Most of them are much younger though. The Sundance was founded by the White Buffalo Calf Woman who brought the use of the Sacred Chanupa or Peace Pipe to the people. In this rite dancers purify themselves and symbolically offer themselves by dancing around a sacrificial cottonwood tree. All the while the singers and supporters send the dancers strength and energy. Along with all of the other Lakota Ceremonies, the Sundance was banned and outlawed for quite some time.
As Great Mystery Alliance we get to witness some pretty incredible things and also experience the wonders of Spiritual healing energy. These songs are the backbone of al the Lakota Spiritual Ways. Some of them are very simple with only a few words. Singing is so therapeutic. It is such a joy to raise voices together in song. The Plains Indian style is nice in that it sounds best with many types of voices. The variety of combined voices really gives the songs their richness in depth. This type of singing breaks a lot of western musical rules. This allows the singer to go way beyond their normal range, at both ends of the scale.
We are honored to offer these songs to the public. We invite all who are interested to join us in our weekly song classes every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. We will commit to this day each week as long as we are in town to hold the space. We will notify everyone via email if any classes are cancelled for the week. This upcoming year we will be supporting various Ceremonies and singers are needed. Sweat Lodges and other Ceremonies are also ongoing at the home of Great Mystery Alliance in the Crestone Baca. We look forward to singing and praying together. Aho Mitakuye Oyasin!
