In
class, I mentioned how I would be writing about my cedar, what I use it for, and
what it signifies to me. First of all, for those that don’t know what cedar is, it’s
a small, rough, grainy, dark green needle (from a cedar tree) that has a very potent
smell. To me, the cedar itself smells good, but once it is burned, it smells
even better. As mentioned earlier, the cedar itself comes from the cedar tree
which is pretty common on the Navajo Nation, or at least in Kayenta. Most
people don’t pick their own cedar because it would take a while to collect an abundance
of it, so instead people buy it from the flea market in hand size bags.
Cedar
can be used for various reasons in various settings, but the main purpose of it
is to bring goodness. Most people, such as myself, use cedar to pray and again,
the idea behind it is to bring goodness not only into your life, but also for
your family and friends. Cedar can be burned on pretty much anything, but for
me, I grew up watching my mom use a small skillet. I start by getting the
skillet, placing it over a hot surface such as a stove, grabbing a pinch (or
more) of cedar, and placing it on the skillet. The cedar will then make a
crackling sound as it is burned, going from dark green to black, and smoke will
arise during the process. As this is happening, I usually talk/pray towards the
smoke and the idea behind this is that the smoke will carry your words and everything
you prayed for up to/towards shídiyin (God). I was also told that smelling
cedar will clear your head of all bad thoughts and fill it with good thoughts.
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