Tag Archives: reflection

The Albino Donkey in Grand Canyon Sweat Lodge

“So our tribe is Umatilla. That’s the name. That’s the name of our tribe. It’s in northern eastern Oregon. Okay. And. And, you know, while I was out there, one of the things I do is a sweat lodge.

It’s like a ceremony where you go into, like, this mud igloo, and they get these, like, blackstone rocks, and they get really, really hot all day long.

And. And then you. You go in there. The rocks in there. And then you go in there and you sit in, like, a little crisscross applesauce, you know, position.

And they bring water in there. And then they. They close up the. The. The. The hut, and they’ve got herbs on top of there, too, like, you know, sage and other stuff.

So they get that water on that hot rock, and it just like.

It’s like a. You just hear, like, sizzling on rocks, and then that steam gets released within the hut.

Well, when you’re doing this, it. It literally feels like. It feels like your skin is melting. It’s so darn hot. You feel like. You feel like surely my. I’m gonna see, like, my skin melting off my arms because it’s so hot.

And you’re like, oh, let me blow. Let me cool myself down a little bit. So you. So you gotta blow. And it feels like you’re breathing fire on top of your skin.

Likeinstinct that’s a bad idea. Let’s not do that. So you. You have to contain your breathing in a nice, slow, slow breath so you’re not breathing too hard.

So you have to control that whole panic inset, which, you know, a lot of people can’t handle it because you kind of start to panic.

And. And then you get into this, like, you know, once you get that slow breathing, you can get this, like, really nice and meditative state.

And of course, there’s drumming going on outside where, you know, so that, that also, the, the, the drumming of the, of the drums puts you also in a, in a nice sort of trance.

And then, once you sit in for 20 minutes, there’s a river right next door.

Oh, the other thing is rivers. Like, if I’m next to a river, that flowing water is like my charger battery.

Like, I can pick up on almost anything that, like, I’m like, supercharged.

So running water is like. It’s like if I wanted my abilities to be like, on high, you know, premium, you know, optimum position of everything.

Running water. It’s just like, it’s amazing electrical or circuit for charging.

That ability, for some reason I find, at least for me.

And then you jump the water and you, you, you, you know, you pull yourself off.

Well, one of the things that they do prior to that is calledtype of cactuseremony, ya ou.

They, they prepare peyote tea. I don’t know if you. If you’re familiar with that.

Speaker 2 (shaking head), I’m not.

Speaker 1 You don’t know what that is? Okay, so peyote is a cactus type of plant or type of plant that you use part of it, and they take about like 48 hours to prepare this tea.

But it’s a, It’s a hallucinogenic type of tea, apparently.

But so you drink it, and literally, you have like half a teaspoon.

I mean, it’s very little that you drink. And then you, you know, we went on a. A hike throughout the Grand Canyon. And while we were out hiking, which is funny because I didn’t realize that no one else saw this but myself, I was watching and like, oh, my gosh, look at this white albino donkey that’s behind me, following me.

I’m like. And it had a palm leaf in. In its mouth. I’m like, wow, that’s really amazing. Like, this pure white albino donkey is following me.

He’s got this palm leaf. Like, that’s. Wow. I couldn’t even believe it, you know. Right. And. Well, yeah, I was the only one that saw that. So, you know, who knows where my mind was at? But it was, it was quite a. I don’t know, it was a very spiritual moment.

I felt very. It actually felt. I felt like it was showing me the way to go down this, this treacherous, you know, mountain in the, you know, Grand Canyons, you know, and, and the Havasupai or the Havasupai Indians, That’s who was leading this ceremony. Anyway. That was a really interesting and very spiritual. Very beautiful, enlightening experience as. As far as, like, at that point when you’re under that influence, You know, you feel so connected to Mother Earth and Your ancestors and stuff like that. You feel like they’re guiding you in, you know, teaching you the ways of What, like, you know, what life, what truly living is, you know, like, you know, being, you know, take. Like when. If you go hunting, you don’t. You don’t. You don’t kill the first animal that you see of that species. You wait till you see more than one, because if you only see one, that means that the population is not enough to support your hunting. Right, right. It’s just being mindful. Right? Mindful of, you know, the nature and, you know, what, what you, you know, how much you take is what you’re going to receive.And so, you know, don’t always use all of the animal, always using all the plant or, you know, you know, just being mindful of all that stuff.” 

Her thoughts : 

She sees this as a deeply spiritual and meaningful experience. She describes feeling connected to Mother Earth and to her ancestors, and believes they were guiding her and teaching her ways of living. In particular, she emphasizes ideas of being mindful in nature, such as how and when to use resources, including animals and plants, and living in balance rather than excess.

My thoughts: 

This was, by far, the story that felt the most cultural and spiritual to me compared to the other ghost stories she shared in that session. It also generated the most questions for me. I really enjoyed learning about the Umatilla tribe, and it made me curious to hear more about their habits and ceremonies. Before this, I didn’t know anything about the tribe, the sweat lodge ceremony, or the Havasupai who led it.

I found myself wondering about the structure and purpose of the ceremony – why they hold it, how often it takes place, and what it is based on. Is it connected to a specific time of year, a need within the tribe, or some kind of celebration? I was also curious about the physical experience itself: how many people are inside the hut, whether there are multiple huts, and if everyone participates in the hike together afterward. Even small details stood out to me, like the peyote tea – why it takes 48 hours to prepare and how it is actually made.

I was especially interested in the moment where she saw the white albino donkey. Within her belief system, that kind of animal can be understood as sacred or spiritual, which made the moment feel significant. The fact that it was carrying a palm leaf in its mouth made me think it could be interpreted as a kind of message, especially since that is not something I would expect to see in that environment. I even tried to look into what a white donkey might symbolize, and found that in different belief systems it can represent ideas like peace, wisdom, or guidance.

Overall, this story felt like a combination of a ghost encounter (the donkey) along with a spiritual experience shaped by cultural beliefs and ritual.

Gaff Circle

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

“The Gaff Circle was a tradition run crew did before each show. We would stand in a big circle on stage and pass around a roll of gaff tape and put a piece on each other’s arm for each show we had done. The right arm was for musicals and the left arm was for plays. It was a pretty big deal to be an 8 show senior plus it was cool to see all the different years on run crew.”

This ritual is similar to an initiation and continuation ritual. People earn stripes of gaff tape to show how many years they have been on run crew. While run crew is considered an annoying job for most, at this high school, it was coveted. It was a sign that they were all part of the same little group and that they earned their spot. It creates community and connection between them while also reminding them of previous people and experiences. 

String

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

The interviewee was a member of the local high school’s theater program and valued the ritual as a part of connectivity and valuing the community of the theater program. 

“When I first joined theater I accidentally found out about a surprise tradition called Lock-In so I asked questions about it. People told me there were things like scavenger hunts and that it ended with String. I asked what that was and the [G](the upperclassman) just gestured to her wrist where there was several different colors of string. It turned out to be this sweet little circle up where we all took turns throwing a ball of yarn to each other and wrapping it around our wrists then throwing it to the next person without cutting it. The thing was that we threw it to someone, not our best friend, who had inspired us or made us happy or taught us something during that season. Someone special who made their time better. Then that person would do the same thing. At the end we would all hold our wrists up in the air and the president of the ITS board would tell us that the string represented we were all connected across the departments. We would then go through a cut it so everyone could wear the string till opening. Normally people would keep the string bracelets and wear them for other seasons. I still have the string from all of 7 of my shows.” 

The tradition was something to look forward to every year. It was a way to feel included and appreciated for the hard work and long hours that were the theater program. It is also a time to reflect and enjoy the people who have inspired and helped you. Wearing the string on your arm all day for a week and seeing all the people you are connected to in the school in the halls is a way to feel unity and appreciation for others. 

An apartment is found haunted by reflection on the window

Nationality: Chinese
Occupation: student
Performance Date: Apr. 24, 2019
Primary Language: Chinese

Context
The informant grew up in Beijing. We were discussing ghost stories when she brought out this story.

Content
A man bought a new apartment. It was on the first floor. Outside the window is the garden, a small grassland in a residential district. He said that when the apartment was being furnished, he often saw an old man staring at him strangely from the window. When he walked outdoors to find the old man, the old man disappeared. When he moved into the house, a friend of his came to visit him. He told his friend that he often saw an old man. He asked his friend to go out and take a look, while he stood indoors to see whether the old man disappeared from the window. The friend went out, and then ran in hurriedly, brought him out and said, “You could not live in the apartment. The old man is a reflection on the window.”

Analysis
Because the old man is a reflection on the window, he is a ghost in the house. The main motif of the story is that mirrors or mirror-like object (window in this story) can show the reflection of ghosts, even though ghosts cannot be seen directly. Notice that the ghost is an old man. The old man must have some unfulfilled wishes that connect with the apartment – he probably lives in the apartment. To me, the story reflects the anxiety of the working force who fail to pay enough attention to their aging parents.