The Yuwipi – Lowanpi Ceremonies
We believe in the night sing, the power of inyan, the stone, the miraculous healing power of the ancestors and the sacred songs.
We believe in the Wiwila, little people, animal spirits, and the various other Tunkasila (spirits). We believe in the emptiness of the Medicine Man as a hollow bone for the spirits’ work.
The Night Sing, or Lowanpi, is probably the most fascinating rite in the western hemisphere. Anthropologists believe that it has its origins in Siberia and that it spread from there to many places throughout the world. It is believed to have been practiced in Nepal and northern China thousands of years ago. There are ancient traces of it among the Laplanders’, The Mongols, The Icelandic peoples’ and in Amazonia.In the 1950′s it is said to have died out in Siberia but it has made a recent come back from North America. Versions of the Yuwipi/Lowanpi have long been practiced by tribes of the Northern and Eastern United states. The Shaking Tent rite among the Ojibwa were well documented in the 1800s, as well as the various plains tribes.
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- A Chippewa shaman standing beside the frame of his Shaking Tent – shaking tent ceremoy – the canadian encyclopedia
When the Medicine Man is tied and bound it is known as a Yuwipi rather than Lowanpi. It is this act of tying, untying, the frame drum, as well as the general events of the ceremony are what allowed Anthropologists to trace the yuwipi to Siberia and beyond. The Canli Pahta, or prayer ties are a purely Lakota element in this beautiful practice.
Recently, people say things like “these ceremonies came about when our people had to hide their spiritual practices”. These views are inconsistent with Anthropological and Archaeological facts as the Yuwipi is thought of as the Neanderthal’s primary religion.There is no question that the Yuwipi/Lowanpi was never one of the Seven Sacred Rites of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This suggests that the Prayer Ties and the use of the Sacred Pipe were, at some point, added to the Yuwipi. Similarly songs as well as other elements have come from the Yuwipi/Lowanpi and entered into the Sundance.
These ways may have come from Siberia, but the reverse may be the case just as well, especially in the case with mastodon hunters who followed the herds. It is believed that the yuwipi, the ceremony that truly defines Shamanism, moved with the migration of the mastodon. The Lakota primarily hunted Mastodon before the buffalo, as did various other tribes.The healing that occurs in these ceremonies may not be accompanied by any tactile sensations. This does not affect the power of the healing.
The most difficult manifestation seems to be for the spirits to make sound. Auditory experiences seem to occur less (the singing or speaking of spirits) than tactile ones. There are no real generalizations though, it is up to the Spirits alone, next it is up to the Medicine Man’s relationship with those beings and last but not least the faith of the participants.
It is strange to see the (new-age) shamanic drumming sessions that are so popular now. This practice is directly mimicking the ancient ways without any of the outward manifestations (or initiation that are usual to these ceremonies. It is Interesting to note that certain individuals are born with, or acquire the ability to create situations characteristic to Yuwipi.-
- Daniel Dunglas Home was a Scottish physical medium with the reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights
-
- Carmine Carlos Mirabelli was a Brazilian physical medium and Spiritualist.
Daniel Dunglas Home and Carlos Mirabelli are two individuals known to have brought about such situations.First thing one could experience in a Yuwipi or Lowanpi is levitation and movement the rattles and various other objects. Next would be flickering lights, rain, hail, wind and other similar sensations. The third type of manifestation one could expect is the touch of a spirit’s hand, the touch of an animal, Little person, or other such being’s touch.
The Yuwipi ritual may be held for very specific purposes.Among them are healings, finding lost or stolen objects, and finding solutions to problems. It is part of a trinity of rights, Yuwipi, Sweat lodge and Vision Quest.After performing a sweat lodge the right begins in a room in which all lights can be extinguished. The leader or Yuwipi man is bound within a quilt and laid face down in the center of the room, (Yuwipi means they tie him up).The room is plunged into total darkness as the lead singer begins to drum and sing with great enthusiasm.In the darkness the spirits play the rattles and untie the leader. The lights are turned on and the Yuwipi man narrates the events of the ceremony and the sacred Canupa is passed round.This all takes about four to six hours and is an evening event. Yuwipi is followed by a potluck.The Yuwipi is an important Ceremonial that we are excited to have in our community as well as visitors from all over.
We believe in the night sing, the power of inyan, the stone, the miraculous healing power of the ancestors and the sacred songs.
We believe in the Wiwila, little people, animal spirits, and the various other Tunkasila (spirits). We believe in the emptiness of the Medicine Man as a hollow bone for the spirits’ work.The Night Sing, or Lowanpi, is probably the most fascinating rite in the western hemisphere. Anthropologists believe that it has its origins in Siberia and that it spread from there to many places throughout the world. It is believed to have been practiced in Nepal and northern China thousands of years ago. There are ancient traces of it among the Laplanders’, The Mongols, The Icelandic peoples’ and in Amazonia.In the 1950′s it is said to have died out in Siberia but it has made a recent come back from North America. Versions of the Yuwipi/Lowanpi have long been practiced by tribes of the Northern and Eastern United states. The Shaking Tent rite among the Ojibwa were well documented in the 1800s, as well as the various plains tribes.
-
- A Chippewa shaman standing beside the frame of his Shaking Tent – shaking tent ceremoy – the canadian encyclopedia
When the Medicine Man is tied and bound it is known as a Yuwipi rather than Lowanpi. It is this act of tying, untying, the frame drum, as well as the general events of the ceremony are what allowed Anthropologists to trace the yuwipi to Siberia and beyond. The Canli Pahta, or prayer ties are a purely Lakota element in this beautiful practice.
Recently, people say things like “these ceremonies came about when our people had to hide their spiritual practices”. These views are inconsistent with Anthropological and Archaeological facts as the Yuwipi is thought of as the Neanderthal’s primary religion.There is no question that the Yuwipi/Lowanpi was never one of the Seven Sacred Rites of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This suggests that the Prayer Ties and the use of the Sacred Pipe were, at some point, added to the Yuwipi. Similarly songs as well as other elements have come from the Yuwipi/Lowanpi and entered into the Sundance.
These ways may have come from Siberia, but the reverse may be the case just as well, especially in the case with mastodon hunters who followed the herds. It is believed that the yuwipi, the ceremony that truly defines Shamanism, moved with the migration of the mastodon. The Lakota primarily hunted Mastodon before the buffalo, as did various other tribes.The healing that occurs in these ceremonies may not be accompanied by any tactile sensations. This does not affect the power of the healing.
The most difficult manifestation seems to be for the spirits to make sound. Auditory experiences seem to occur less (the singing or speaking of spirits) than tactile ones. There are no real generalizations though, it is up to the Spirits alone, next it is up to the Medicine Man’s relationship with those beings and last but not least the faith of the participants.
It is strange to see the (new-age) shamanic drumming sessions that are so popular now. This practice is directly mimicking the ancient ways without any of the outward manifestations (or initiation that are usual to these ceremonies. It is Interesting to note that certain individuals are born with, or acquire the ability to create situations characteristic to Yuwipi.-
- Daniel Dunglas Home was a Scottish physical medium with the reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights
-
- Carmine Carlos Mirabelli was a Brazilian physical medium and Spiritualist.
Daniel Dunglas Home and Carlos Mirabelli are two individuals known to have brought about such situations.First thing one could experience in a Yuwipi or Lowanpi is levitation and movement the rattles and various other objects. Next would be flickering lights, rain, hail, wind and other similar sensations. The third type of manifestation one could expect is the touch of a spirit’s hand, the touch of an animal, Little person, or other such being’s touch.
The Yuwipi ritual may be held for very specific purposes.Among them are healings, finding lost or stolen objects, and finding solutions to problems. It is part of a trinity of rights, Yuwipi, Sweat lodge and Vision Quest.After performing a sweat lodge the right begins in a room in which all lights can be extinguished. The leader or Yuwipi man is bound within a quilt and laid face down in the center of the room, (Yuwipi means they tie him up).The room is plunged into total darkness as the lead singer begins to drum and sing with great enthusiasm.In the darkness the spirits play the rattles and untie the leader. The lights are turned on and the Yuwipi man narrates the events of the ceremony and the sacred Canupa is passed round.This all takes about four to six hours and is an evening event. Yuwipi is followed by a potluck.The Yuwipi is an important Ceremonial that we are excited to have in our community as well as visitors from all over.
