Grandmother's Musings: Beginning & Ending the Pipe Carriers' Dance

What I didn't cover in my last post was how the Pipe Carriers' Dance begins and ends.

Pipe carriers that intend to dance with their pipes begin by smudging and filling their pipes in silence, then capping the pipe with white sage to keep the tobacco from falling out during the dance. Once each pipe is filled, the pipe carrier brings it to the dance pole in the center of the dance ground and lays it down, bowl to the pole in the center.

Once the dance chief is ready for the ceremony to begin, all participants line up around the outside of the circle. Then, when Spirit speaks to each pipe carrier, he/she approaches the pole in the center, speaks his/her name and asks for the strength and courage to carry the pipe for another year for the people. When done, the pipe carrier picks up his/her pipe and moves back to the outside of the circle, holding the pipe until it's time to dance.

After all four rounds have been completed and the dance is over, each pipe carrier and his/her supporters move off to find a quiet place to sit and smoke that pipe in silence. The dance is usually held at sundown, so by the time it's complete and it's time to smoke the pipes, night has fallen and the ceremonies are conducted in the dark with the stars and Grandmother Moon overhead.

In my next post, I'll tell you a bit more about how the dance has evolved over time.

For those who are unable to attend this year's dance in Michigan but would like to join us energetically, I invite you to dance with us from wherever you are on Saturday evening (local time) on September 21, 2024. It would gladden my heart to have more people joining in that day or dancing on their own at other times of the year. Just think how wonderful it would be if more people were dancing to honor the Sacred Pipe in many different places on Beloved Earth Mother.

Learn more about this year's Pipe Carriers' Dance in Michigan HERE.

Register to attend the dance HERE.