Yesterday there was another Lakota ceremony. This one was called “Lowanpi”. The inside of the maloca, the traditional ceremonial place, was completely covered with blanket, letting no light in. Where normally the fire is, in the m iddle, was now an altar. The people were gathered around the altar, divided over the four directions.

At some point the candles go out and the praying starts. Indian praying is means singing and drumming. It is pretty impressive. The idea of the ceremony is that the spirits are invoked. But with this ceremony they come in a very physical form. That means that even I can see or hear them.

Right after the start I heard a bird fly through the darkness. What. The. Fuck? It sent chills down my spine. Then I could hear the rattling. The rattle even touched me. And then I stopped believing. I just could not believe that these were real spirits. I thought it was the Chief who was walking around in the dark.