County of marker: Navajo County
Marker erected by: Navajo Cultural Center, Navajo Nation
Location of marker: Between Burger King and Hampton Inn along side US 160, near turnoff to Kayenta
THE SWEAT LODGE
(Sweathouse)
The scares' resource in the desert is water. So how does one use little water yet still take a bath? Many desert cultures and cold climate area-cultures have answered this same question with a sauna. The Navajo Sweathouse is simply a sauna house.
The general idea is to build a fire outside and heat rocks. Take the heated rocks to the center of the Sweathouse in a heap and close the air vents (normally with layers of blankets). Nowadays, the Navajoes use sheets of plastic and a blanket.
Pour a cup of water over the heated rocks which creates steam. The condensation of water on the skin feels like sweat, hence the name - Sweat Lodge or Sweathouse. Sometimes, only the heat from the rocks was used with no water at all.
Generally, several bathers undressed outside and crawled inside. They would first decide on a number of "sweat house songs" to sing or they would tell each other tales and stories. If a Navajo bather went inside by himself or herself, then it was usually after a hard days work, generally to relax tired or aching muscles. The Sweat Lodge was seen as a place to cure aching muscles.