An unusual ceremony kicks off tonight.

Called a sweat lodge or purification ceremony, it's probably best described as a ceremonial sauna. An important event in Native American culture, it honours the earth and the sky, plants and animals.

It also celebrates humans – perhaps even more so this year.

According to organiser Kuni Frith Black, the recent spate of shootings and other violence on the Island struck a chord with participants.

"This year we will focus on praying for our young people and what we have recently experienced," she said. "So we will be praying for wisdom for the Government and the Opposition, praying for the young people and their families.

"That will be our focus this year, because we feel that it is a priority given all of the tension that existed over the [Easter] holiday weekend [when one man was shot and killed, a second man shot and a third injured] – that was also supposed to be a sacred weekend."

For more than a decade, elders from various US tribes have travelled here to meet with Bermudian descendants of Native Americans. Traditional practices are examined. Past meetings have seen two fascinating rituals performed – the full moon and the healing ceremonies.

A sweat lodge is basically a place of worship, Mrs. Kuni Black said.

"It is a place where people are allowed to go to connect with Mother Earth and Father Sky, and all beings and the ancestors," she explained.

"The Native Americans are really big on communicating and embracing the ancestors and the legacy they left behind.

"They teach us to respect all beings [or, as] they would say, the four-legged, the two-legged, the winged, the plant kingdom and the insect kingdom."

Phenomenal spiritual experiences have been seen at previous sweat lodges held, she added.

"It is a purification process. It is a time when people want to let go of a lot of worldly things and negative issues in their lives."

Ishtanupha Paynter will serve as the ceremony's firekeeper, responsible for ensuring the stones inside the fire pit – which sits inside the lodge – are hot enough.

"He keeps the rocks hot and makes sure that specific rocks come in at specific times, in groups of numbers. And then the purification process begins."

Match Me If You Can leaves are placed on the lodge's earth floor.

"We find them very therapeutic in helping with the cleansing process because, you know, Match Me If You Can leaves are known to break fevers, assist with respiratory disorders and help to clear the lungs."

Other sacred herbs, such as Bermuda cedar and sage, are used to help purify and cleanse participants before they enter the lodge.

Once inside, there are Native American songs and prayers; drums and rattles are played.

"We get people from all walks of life," she said of participants. "It is refreshing to know that people can co-exist in an environment without the politics and the prejudice of organised religion.

"They co-exist in harmony for this occasion."

Respected elders Charles Lawrence of the Black Foot Nation and Clyde Hall of the Shoshone Bannock Nation are to return for this year's event,

"We've been very fortunate to share those traditions with people who have Native American heritage on the Island as well as people in the community who are generally interested in Native American culture," Mrs. Frith Black added.

For more information telephone 238-1227.

The event starts this evening and runs until April 27 at Spirit House in Devonshire.

A full moon ceremony will follow the sweat lodge on Monday night. The ceremony will be led by prayer pipe ceremonialist Sean Dill.