The sacred pipe belongs to the American Indians! It is not just part of their spirituality, tradition and / or folklore. The sacred pipe is sacred in itself! The way in which it must be handled is also sacred. It is worthy of the maximum respect, especially when it is assembled then, when the stove is joined to the torch. This sacred moment is full of symbols because, the stove with its hole at the bottom that accepts the torch, represents the woman; the torch therefore represents man.

Assembling the sacred pipe symbolizes a union and a balance between the male and female aspects of the world. The stone with which the bowl is made represents the spirits of the inorganic things of our world, while the wooden stem represents the organic beings.

The sacred pipe can be left simply like that, bowl and stem toghether or, with other symbols through incisions on the stem or decorations with feathers, furs, animal or human hairs and other objects which, as a whole, give to the pipe a sort of greater energy. It has an invaluable spiritual value for American Indians. What it represents for American Indians is profound, it is poetry !!! The sacred pipe for them is the bridge between Heaven and Earth, its smoke is a prayer! The smoke represents the words and spreads everywhere becoming part of the whole and the fire the source of life, like the sun. The vision of why they use tobacco is sublime; because, just as the roots of tobacco pushes down into the depths of the earth, its smoke rises up and spreads in the immensity of the sky. Poetry…. It would be enough to meditate on these words to imagine the solemnity of the sacred pipe.

The sacred pipe is sacred teaching; it is ceremony; it is a direction between generations; a message from the dawn of time ...

The dismantled sacred pipe is placed in a leather bag or, wrapped in leather and given the name bundle, and never loses its sacred value. It can be personal, it can be owned by families and in this case used to pray on their own behalf. But, it must not be shared! Then there is the sacred pipe that only the Pipe Carrier can have, in this case they carry a pipe on behalf of the people. If needed, the Pipe Carrier will use the pipe to pray for people, to call the spirits for a gathering or ceremony, or perhaps for healing or teaching.
Who can be a "Pipe Carrier" ?
For some nations, the pipe carrier is born to this mission because there is no way to earn this task. For others the privilege is assigned by the elderly: no matter how this task is earned, these people must be impeccable !!! Respect for the sacred pipe among American Indians is such that, in the past, if during a battle a pipe carrier passed through the battle with the bundle the warriors would stop or, no harm was done to the bearer of the pipe and was left free to pass unharmed... .

Allow me to give you my humble opinion ... I would never dare to have a sacred pipe in my house nor disassembled and even less assembled it. It just doesn't belong to me. I Respect It!

Because I respect all those to whom the sacred pipe truly belongs. To consider it a souvenir, for me, is not just an offense or serious lack of respect for a Faith… It is a sacrilege.

Thank you