Hello. My name is Eliseo Cheo Torres, and I'm an administrator and professor at the University of New Mexico, and this is part of a series of films to explain what traditional medicine of Mexico and the southwest is about. Today's program is very unique and exciting. It's about the temazcal or the Meshika Mexican sweat lodge of the Aztecs and the Mayans. This topic is making a revival, not only in Mexico, but also in the Southwest. Here in Albuquerque, this is one of the newest temazcals in the North Valley of Albuquerque. Temazcal was built by Tonita Gonzales whom you'll hear from in just a few minutes. We have today a person whom you've seen already on film, Nita Navarrete, who is a temazcalera, a person who specializes in temazcals, and she also will be explaining a ceremony first before we enter the temazcal, the sweat lodge, a ceremony to the four directions, a ceremony to the altar that you will see in just a few minutes, and what it all means. Everything is significant and everything will be explained, and I know you will enjoy today's program. Thank you. Good morning. I'm here with you to share our traditional medicine. It's an honor for me to be here explaining the importance of this for us. To start with the presentation of an altar, this circle represents for us the Mother Earth. But also what is really important here are the seeds. It explains how our heritage has transcended, but it also represents the bread of everyday, the water that we cannot be without in our life. But we also talk about our father fire that gives us the warmth so that we can warm our body, and the conch that represents for us the wind, the work that we've come to start since the beginning until the end. The sounds, that helps us to reflect, but also the sound of the heart. The importance that you find here are part of the representations of our culture. The copal, the incense that represents the smoke that goes to the heavens, but there go our thoughts as well, about how we ask from each direction when we're smudging. The representation of the flowers, our Mother Nature, but also the different offerings, like we can see here, that in every culture and every tradition what our friends use to smudge with when they do not have copal. But also this rock that comes which represents our own mirror, they're our own mirrors. When we come here, we come to see our own, ourselves, our reflection. That's why it's important that we also put our whistles that represent the animals and the birds, the water, and we could continue explaining of the practice of the ceremony. The importance it is, all of these elements have for us, so that we can organize and then ask permission to the four directions, the heavens and the earth, but also to our own hearts. We're going to, in this moment, start to explain why we ask permission from the four directions, and also the importance is what we do within the temazcal, the sweat lodge. The temazcal represents the womb of mother, but it also represents the earth, our own Mother Earth. It's a sacred corner where we've come to sing, to reflect, to harmonize our bodies, to liberate not just of those emotions, but also toxins in the way in which we develop this practice. We've considered that the temazcal is very important in our life. It constructs a mixture of feelings, so that we can come to transform our thoughts and our emotions. So we're going to start the practice and we're going to share in this moment as we ask permission. If everybody will please get an instrument. We're going to ask permission to the direction of the East. We're going to make a circle as there, and we'll turn to the direction where the sun comes out. Well raise our hands to salute the sun, and we ask permission from the direction of the East. The direction where the sun comes out that it helps us to get consciousness of our new day that starts today. We asked permission, and it give us our strength and our will to strengthen our spirits. We offer in this moment the smoke of Copal, the sound of the current, and all of our instruments. We'll turn to the left, and we'll go to the direction of the West. The direction of the darkness, the direction that has this reflect in the nights. But also the women who have given their life rest in this direction. We ask permission to you the direction where there is darkness that should give us the strength and the tranquility, so that we can thank this day our work. We'll turn to the left and we have turned, and we'll face the direction of the North and to you until the direction of the North, we ask permission and we give thanks because today we're going to share our sacred medicine, which is the heritage of our grandparents. Our grandparents that have left this traditions, and today we ask that you send us light, the strength, and the will, so that this medicine continue to strengthen our spirit. Turn to the left, and we'll face the direction of the South, and to you the direction of the South, the direction of the mountains, of the rivers, of the birds, of the flowers. We ask permission, and we give thanks because you've united the medicine. Give us this strength and the will, so that we can continue this path, respecting all of Mother Nature. We'll turn a complete turn to the center, and we'll take our hands to the heavens, and to you the hickories sky, sacred sky, we ask your permission that we can continue sharing the sacred medicine, so that every day you continue sharing this medicine for all of those who want to open their heart. Give us this strength, give us the will so that brothers we can continue this path. We'll turn a complete circle, and we'll go to the Earth. To you Mother Earth, we give you thanks and we honor life and death. Thank you for allowing us to come hear Mother Earth. You've opened the paths and the borders so that we continue to share this medicine with our brothers and sisters of tradition, and our brothers of life. Thank you Mother Earth for the bread of every day. We'll take our hands to our hearts, and we're going to do a song and we will pass you to smudge but at the same time, we'll talk to our own hearts and will say