Do you know what a Temazcal (tay mask al) is? I myself never heard of such a thing until my friend Rosa, invited me to join her for one. She described it as a mystical experience, that would leave me feeling purified, tranquil and restored.
As she continued to describe the Temazcal, I pictured an outdoor sauna, with slabs of smooth rocks underneath us, and a soft, foaming water fountain flowing behind us.
As I woke up the day of the Temazcal, I grabbed a towel put on some gym shorts and headed out the door. The only thing Rosa told me to bring was a towel and some cookies or a snack to share. After the meditation we were to share a meal with the other people inside the Temazcal with us.
My vision was so off! Turns out this Temazcal was a clay tee-pee with a frame made of sticks.
So to answer the original question, what in Sam Hill is a Temazcal?
A Temazcal is a sauna-like structure that originated in MesoAmerica. For those of you who slept through geography class like me, I've included a map.
MesoAmerica includes: Mexico to Belize, Costa Rica, Guatamala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicoraguaga. The indigenous people here started the tradition. Originally it was used to purify and cleanse the body after battle or after a ceremonial ball game. In the U.S. there are some Native American groups that use Temazcals as well.
Here we're prepping for the Temazcal. It's a lengthy process that can take up to an hour.
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| Rosa chopping the wood. |
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| The wood is chopped and laid out like this. |
The purpose of our trip to the Temazcal was to cleanse our bodies, minds and spirits. Inside the Temazcal you share what you'd like to get rid of, and you leave it in the Temazcal, and the fire literally burns it out of you.
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| The rocks are laid strategicly on the wood, then set on fire. |
This is how the ceremony works.
First you must ask for permission for yourself, your entire family and all of your ancestors to enter the Temazcal. Then you must kiss the ground in front of the Temazcal before entering the sacred space. Once inside you chant and ask for the person outside to close the door. Puerta! Once you say puerta the door is closed and it is pitch black. You can't see anything.
The rocks are hot because they are set on fire in layers. The biggest rocks are at the bottom and are the hottest because they are the closest to the fire. There are four rounds with each round getting hotter than the last (except for the fourth round which is after the hottest round.)
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| This cross is used to pray in the four cardinal directions before starting/enterting the Temazcal. |
During the first round you say prayers for your family and your ancestors. Everyone takes a turn and after you are finished with your turn you have to chant El es Dios( He is God). If the heat gets too hot you are instructed to put your face to the Earth because the air is coolest down below. Also after each person prays you sing a song with the group. Most of the group songs were traditional spanish songs so I didn't know the words. When it was my turn to sing, I sang Man in the Mirror rip M.J. and James Brown's I feel Good. I don't know why those were just the songs that came to mind. The great thing is that the other people in the Temazcal knew the words and sang along with me! Ah, the power of music.
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| The rocks being set on fire. |
In between the rounds we passed around a pitcher of iced fruit water. The water tasted so good and absolutely amazing.
Oh, I forgot to mention, once you're in the Temazcal you can't leave!
The third round is the most brutal. We were all (4 of us in total) on the floor trying to stay calm. During that round you have to say what you want to leave behind. I left behind self-doubt and distrust. I also left behind worrying about the unknown. During this round the heat was so hot that I screamed out in pain, and that's when the owner of the Temazcal put his body right in between mine and the rocks.
That was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced in my whole entire life. This complete stranger who doesn't even know me put his entire body right near the fire to protect me.
By the fourth round I was so ready to jet. I didn't want to be there but the fourth round was much easier than the third.
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| Had to change my clothes to enter the Temazcal. |
Afterwards when it was all over, I felt incredible. I was overflowing with gratitude. I also felt fearless and more self-assured.
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| Raw Yucca flowers. |
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| Sauteed Yucca flower petals. |
After the Temazcal we ate an actual flower called the Yucca flower. One of the people in the Temazcal said it was a gift from the gods, the flowers bloom only once a year. It had an interesting, somewhat bitter taste.
The Temazcal was definately the craziest thing I've ever done in my life!!! But it was a worth while experience.
Rosa told me we were lucky it was just the four of us in there because if there were more people there wouldn't have been space to lay down!!! Also, if there were more people we would have had LONGER rounds while we waited for everyone to finish their prayers. The Temazcal we went to can hold up to 16 people!
Rosa says she's going back again to the Temazcal, she invited me to join her but I think one Temazcal is enough for this chick.
