Today, I want to discuss the notion of Give away among Native Americans, and more specifically the Give away ceremony. This ancient practice contains a deep and sacred relationship. Before exploring this tradition in detail, I would like to share with you the challenges I face in the act of giving.
A personal reflection on giving
I realize how difficult it is for me to "give away" things that belong to me. Why does it seem so arduous? I notice that I can give my time, provide care, offer attention and listening, do things for others... but when it comes to giving an object I cherish, resistance appears. This makes me uncomfortable, and I strive to understand why it is so difficult. To which part of my psychology, unconscious, history, or traumas does this refer?
By sharing my difficulties, I try to examine them, understand them, and free myself from them. The practice of Give away teaches me to detach from material possessions, to recognize that we are only temporary guardians of the Earth and the gifts that life offers us. This realization clearly shows me the importance of integrating this practice more frequently into my daily life.
A personal story of Give away
Let me tell you a story. As part of Grandmother Medicine Song's teachings, I had to create what the Hopis call a "spirit stick" – a spirit stick intended to symbolically represent me to the Spirits. Each line and motif had to reflect my characteristics and my medicine. It was the first time I made an object, and with overflowing passion, I put all my love, reflection, and patience into it. Each element of this spirit stick was imbued with energy, devotion, and a spiritual communion with the natural materials.
During the month of making it, I received the painful news of my brother's illness – a brain tumor and cancer. When the time came to present my stick to Grandmother, her words resonated deeply: we had the choice to keep it for ourselves or to offer it to someone who was ill so that our medicine would support them in their healing.
My relationship with my brother has not always been easy; he does not necessarily understand my spiritual choices and my life path. At the announcement of this possibility, doubts assailed me. Offering my stick to my brother did not excite me. I feared he wouldn't grasp all the intention and love woven into this object. A thousand reasons urged me to keep it. Perhaps it would have been easier to create it for him from the start.
However, I went to his city to accompany him during his first chemotherapy session. I had brought my stick, uncertain of my decision. But at that precise moment, guided by an inner impulse, I offered it to him. It was a moment of reconciliation, where tears flowed freely, imbued with silent love. My brother kept my stick throughout his year of treatment, and today, he is in remission.
In giving and sharing our gifts and creations with others, we release a part of ourselves. By acting with the heart, we open ourselves to receive again with the heart. This experience illuminated for me the essence of the Give away ceremony.
The Give away ceremony: an ancestral ritual
The Give away ceremony is an ancestral practice of the Native Americans of North America. In the traditional Native American vision, life is an unconditional gift and everything that exists is a gift. Our spirit is a part of the Great Spirit, and our body, along with all other bodies around us, comes from Mother Earth. We are made of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire, and the first thing we receive in life is the love of our parents.
From birth, we receive and depend on the material and immaterial gifts offered by the Creative Force, our environment, and others. These unconditional gifts nourish us and become living parts of us. When we receive them in our consciousness, our body, we connect to them and integrate them. From a young age, through example and stories, we learn to recognize our true needs, practice altruism, respect, self-sacrifice, and detachment.
The Give away ceremony teaches us to detach from material possessions and human relationships, to avoid unhealthy and possessive attachments. We learn to be aware that we are not owners, but only guardians of the Earth and the temporary gifts we receive in life. We learn to be responsible for ourselves, others, Mother Earth, and her beings. We learn to be humble and grateful for life, our gifts, and our belongings, as they can disappear at any moment. We learn to accept and submit to death and change.
Offering as a sacred act
In the Hopi tradition, the foundations of the relationship with oneself and others include respect, listening, care, and honor. The act of offering is crucial to express our respect towards Creation when we wish to use its gifts. It is a way to acknowledge and celebrate the abundance we already possess in our lives while ensuring to preserve this abundance for ourselves and others. It also involves respecting the Source from which all aspects of life come, as well as other beings who provide us with what we need.
For the Hopis, respecting sacred space means avoiding invasion, taking without permission, destroying, or abusing Creation and others' belongings. By acting in this way, we honor the Source of all existence, as well as other beings and ourselves. We establish connections with respect, care, and kindness, thus reflecting spiritual values. It is a way of living with confidence, opening one's heart and mind, and sharing our life journey with others through the concept of "Walking in beauty."
The Give away ceremony is an opportunity for detachment, sharing, and healing. It teaches us to release what weighs us down, find a new balance, and open our hearts to new blessings. By voluntarily sacrificing attachment, possessiveness, selfishness, or greed, we make our lives more sacred.
By integrating this practice into our lives, we honor the ancestral teachings of the Native Americans and draw closer to the essence of life itself: a continuous exchange of gifts and gratitude.
Join the community
If you are inspired by the teachings of the Give away ceremony and wish to explore further the spiritual path of the Hopis, I invite you to visit our teachings page, book a drum healing session, or become a member of our community where we share these values and spiritual practices in respect and kindness.
Together, let us honor ancient wisdom and journey towards a life enriched by sharing and gratitude.
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