Junior Esther Mandy takes a moment to reflect and participate in Azylia offered by Stevens staff.
Stevens High School has started doing Azaliya sessions also known as smudging sessions. William Velez, the graduation coach at Stevens started the session earlier in the year. “As a graduation coach, I get the opportunity to work with Native American students and during that time I actually had a student that mentioned to me about Azaliya sessions at their previous school and thought it would be a neat idea to try and bring here.”
Smudging has been around for decades but is more common in Native American cultures. It’s a daily practice for Dakota and Ho-Chunk people, who use it as a part of prayer and healing practices.
When you smudge you cleanse your hands then draw the smoke over the rest of your body. Sage, sweetgrass or tobacco is burned in a shell and a feather is used to guide the smoke around a person. “Traditionally what we will burn is we will burn sage, we also have the ability to burn cedar to help with sickness and bring health, we also have lavender, which is a calming, and then we also have sweetgrass which helps with the aroma and brings a pleasant overall feeling.” Valez said.
The sessions are offered but not forced and take around 15 seconds to partake. A shell holds the sage while it burns for the smoke, and the smoke is what you waft over your head while you think about having a good day/week. During Azaliya, you waft the smoke over your head four times and then the person holding the shell moves it around your body while saying things to bring you good energy. “After doing a session I felt more relaxed throughout the day and was not as worried after doing it.” said senior Cecilia Engstrom.
At Stevens High School, the sessions are every Monday at 8:00 to 8:10 a.m., if the weather permits, to help people bring good energy for the rest of the week. The sessions take place at the big tree in front of the school, led by Valez.
