This message brought to you by Cultural Appropriation Kitteh on Facebook.
And while we’re at it,
- here’s an article on saining.
- And a post about recanning.
- A post about Khernips and Miasma.
Obviously saining is the only one of these I have actual experience with, so feel free to add expanded resources for the other two or for something else entirely!
So the cleansing of a space with smoke is called smoke cleansing. It is done in many cultures and religions and is not a bad thing. The appropriation comes when you call it smudging. Smudging is a large ceremony withing a tribe that is more than just burning herbs.
Smoke cleansing is fine.
Calling it smudging is not.
The act of cleansing with smoke is not appropriation.
Calling it smudging is appropriation.Heads up for my Luciferian followers. If you’re going to use smoke to cleanse a space, I highly recommend Frankincense and Myrrh. It is very powerful, works wonderfully, is easy to find in sticks and wont make your house smell suspicious. :3
Saw a similar post and changed my terminology since my method was never a ceremony. I’m not going to waste my sage, but thanks for the education. Is the sage burning itself appropriative?
As far as I’m aware, just the terminology is. But this should extend beyond what you personally call your cleansing. Buying bundles labeled as “smudge sticks” is endorsing appropriation all the same. You might have better luck finding things to burn that don’t have that label attached if you don’t use sage.
It’s also worth noting that several people have mentioned that white sage is being over-harvested because of people using it for this. I haven’t found any ~official~ sources on that but it wouldn’t surprise me. So you may want to look at alternative things to use in the future.
The use of sage itself can be considered to be appropriative, since it’s a sacred plant to a number Native American tribes. Not all tribes use it, but those who do have particular ways of gathering it, and ceremonies associated with burning it, etc. That means that when sage is used outside of those contexts – but still because of the fact that it’s used in some Native ceremonies – then you’re in appropriation territory.
You know that an incredibly large number of cultures over the course of human civilization have used sage to “cleanse” an area or other purposes of a ritualistic/religious/magical nature, right?
And a lot of those cultures are open because you know, they’re dead?
You are aware of this fact, right?
The image is talking about a particular kind of sage which is only native to parts of the US and Mexico, and which is used in ceremonies by some Native tribes. This kind of sage – white sage, or sacred sage – and the ceremonies it is used in, have been taken out of context in a number of ways by some Neopagans and New Agers in particular, and this is what is generally referred to as “smudging.” As the USDA notes, “the Chumash and other California Indian people” are concerned about this (and they’re not the only ones), for example, both for the fact that the plant is being over-harvested and that it is considered disrespectful to use a sacred plant for commercial purposes. Amongst other things.
Many different cultures have burned different kinds of plants in ceremonies for cleansing or other purposes, but the fact remains that these aren’t “smudging” ceremonies or – once you get into the nitty gritty of it all – anything like the ceremonies that have inspired modern “smudging” outside of Native contexts.
So while other kinds of sage (like Greek sage, for example) might historically have been used in ritual or religious contexts in other parts of the world, that’s not the issue here (though referring to those practices as “smudging” is inaccurate, as has already been discussed by other posters). The issue here is that white sage is being used in inappropriate, even offensive ways. There are plenty of other options to look into and there’s no good reason to insist on using white sage when there are plenty of other options that aren’t as damaging or offensive, like the examples Echtrai gave in the original post – juniper, mugwort, or bay leaves.
Sage is sage.
If you want to smoke cleanse with sage, it’s fucking fine.
Just don’t call it smudging.
Catholicism is a closed religion. You must be initiated THREE times in order to be a REAL Catholic. Catholics cleanse areas with Frankincense, Myrrh, and a few other oils, as well as water, to sort of “cleanse” the area for the Holy Spirit.
WELL SHIT NOW NOBODY CAN EVER USE FRANKINCENSE, MYRRH, OR A FEW OTHER OILS IF YOU’RE NOT CATHOLIC NOPE NEVER AGAIN SUPER FORBIDDEN.
So here’s the funny thing. Sage in the US is only native to the west. Yet sage smudging has become so ubiquitous tribes living in the east now use it for their ceremonies. Is that appropriation? No. You folks need to get over yourselves and use some common sense.