There are other native plants used too but those are ALSO threatened (Palo Santo is one). appropriation, the erasing of the painful and violent history around suppression of Native spirituality, the ongoing struggles Native And that sucks. Palo Santo Incense Stick Tray $ 14.00 $ 9.00 Select options; Laser Etched Keychain $ 6.00 Add to cart; Sale! Credit… Danny Ghitis for The New York Times. First, let’s clear up some confusion. I remember asking when I bought them if they were ethically sourced (because I knew at the time the wood was endangered — did not know about the burning of it being a closed practice, though), and the shopkeeper said yes. 3. This is the tree often used for spiritual purposes. I’ve been reading a great deal about this topic and wanted to know your thoughts on whether burning white sage is a practice I should consider replacing with something else. A few of these cultures and faiths include Buddhists, Hindus, and Natives of North and South America. A boutique hotel specializing in urban retreats and events. Sauna, … Burning Palo Santo releases the elemental plant spirit of the sacred three which brings a sense of relaxation, peace and wellbeing to any space it is burned in. 3 Palo Santo wood is still used by Amazonian tribes for healing and in shamanic rituals. If you’re gardening your own greenery, choose plants that can thrive in your area. The tree is in the same family, Burseraceae, as the Boswellia sacra, that is the source of frankincense. The IUCN which has declared bursera graveolens of least concern takes global populations of a species into consideration when making its assessment. Palo Santo. None of his Palo Santo is wild crafted and it is 100% farmed. The piece, triggered by a “Starter Witch Kit” she heard about (since pulled from the market), is framed within the shameful context of European-American suppression of Native traditions and languages. Across Native communities, we use different medicines for smudging depending on where we’re from. “Look for companies where they themselves have gone to the area where the trees are from, met the farmers, know their names, know the area and regularly return to the area. “Since palo santo is now grown for export,” Yaksetig wrote, “it’s lost much of its significance.” So there it is. I won’t. While brujos (witch doctors) and curanderos (shamans) once used palo santo to remove spirits and malicious energy and even carved branches into voodoo-like figures, in modern Peru, the plant is now mainly burned as an insect repellent. The money from the sale of essential oil pays for reforestation. Unless you’re Native, it probably wasn’t white sage. By Jennifer Hussein Dec 11, 2019 It’s so important for us to stay informed about the practices and rituals we adopt so as not to contribute to centuries of harm. In recent times, more and more people have adopted the habit of burning palo santo, ... United Plant Savers, there are less than 250 mature and wild Palo Santo trees, and this number is rapidly decreasing. "Is it cultural appropriation to teach it? While smudging has become popular, it’s very rarely done with the participation or consultation with those groups. Buy it from small business not a huge corporate retailer. “The sale of Native spirituality is easily a million-dollar industry—not even including all the culture vultures and white shamans who sell fake ceremony. The reality isn’t quite so grim but is certainly complicated. Its dark, mahogany-lookalike wood is used for its essential oils and in making products like furniture. Land that might be razed to raise cattle would have higher economic value if farmers can plant palo santo and sell it for a good price. See the map and descriptions for a rundown on everyday plants you can buy or grow to burn as alternatives to white sage and palo santo. In Peru, for example, palo santo forests have been ravaged for the industrial market, which has forced the country’s government to categorize Bursera graveolens as being in “critical hazard.” While the cutting of live trees is prohibited here, it’s difficult to enforce. Smudging, on the surface, is a ceremony for purifying or cleansing the soul and involves the burning of sacred medicines. Shamans burn Palo Santo sticks in … Is using Hindu symbols disrespectful? Some alternatives include cinnamon, juniper, lavender, pine, rosemary, and clove. You can buy palo santo smudge sticks from Etsy and follow along on YouTube as a woman in yoga wear teaches viewers how to cleanse a room without burning the place down. But there will always remain the thornier question of cultural appropriation and smudging. Nothing wrong with ethically collected rocks and crystals. Yes, burning herbs, resins, roots, specific woods, incense, etc as cleansing or for prayer is something shared across many spiritual traditions. Palo santo has a sweet yet complex scent. ... and I believe that your intention and respect is what really matters when using things like sage and pablo Santo. ... Palo Santo wood from life trees do not possess that resinious, deep scent that the Palo Santo wood sticks you get for burning does. I don't believe in spirits, or cleansing, or any of voodoo, shamanism, witchcraft. That’s relatively short. Shutterstock. Issues surrounding appropriation are often pushed off with a twee explanation as to why it’s really all okay. Smudging is the ceremonial practice of cleansing and blessing a space by burning sacred plants such as sage or Palo Santo. Handmade Palo Santo Kuripe (self-applicator). In Indigenous practice, these medicines are … But with those, still be aware that they may come from threatened areas. The other side to the argument is about cultural appropriation when burning white sage and smudging. Indeed, in Ecuador, people are beginning to use the tremendous profits from the wellness market to support sustainable harvesting practices where the tree thrives. Cultural appropriation is rife today, and it often threatens the existence of the groups and cultures from whom popular traditions originate. 0. It's a controversial topic, one that activists and celebrities like Adrienne Keene and Jesse Williams have helped bring into the national spotlight. Palo Santo Burning. So if we’ve learned anything from sites like ancestry.com, it’s that culture and identity are much more fluid than we once thought. Burning incense is also awesome. Ecuadorian Hands, an Ecuador-based online retailer that sells “eco-friendly handcrafts,” posted a video to its website showing workers gathering palo santo for the spiritual trade. I had asked to borrow a bowl she had made in collaboration with another local female entrepreneur to display ‘my palo santo’. Indigenous and Latin American people have developed a cultural heritage around many different types of herbal healing and spiritual ceremonies. But the practice also raises issues of cultural appropriation and sustainability. The tree species being used in the wellness world is called bursera graveolens, which grows all over the Americas including Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Galápagos Islands and plentifully in mainland Ecuador. From the appropriation of headdresses and moccasins, to textiles and beadwork, retail chains and brands can't seem to help themselves when it comes to romanticizing Indigenous culture. “So when you scroll through Instagram and see a non-Native person smudging with sage or palo santo and taking their artful picture of that, they’ve probably purchased that item from a corporate source. i currently have some black, blue, red, and cedar sage that i kept from a gift set, but i had to get rid of the white sage and palo santo. What are your thoughts on this? I like the smell of it, its refreshing. “After many long conversations, members of my family (all Peruvian) have agreed that using palo santo as a spiritual cleanser in any place other than Peru is a bit odd,” she told me. Either way, the use of palo santo still needs to be done in a considerate way. Its essential oil is used in consumer products, like shampoo, perfume and soap for fragrance. Since 2010, according to the UN, tens of thousands of saplings have been planted in this fragile landscape to support the next generation of oil harvesting. Then we should talk about smudging and the cultural appropriation of Native Americans (Indigenous People). This information comes from @zennedout on Instagram! That was only 42 years ago. They may call it other things as well. However, much of the public remains confused about what the term actually means. This is cultural appropriation, and here's why it's harmful. I just like the smell. Native peoples have fought long and hard for the right to say this. White Candle for any color Clear quartz for any crystal Rose for any flower Table salt for any salt Tap water for any water Burning Sage May Not Be Cultural Appropriation — But It Isn’t Very Sensitive, Either. According to Mr. Miller Weisberger, the most abundant populations of palo santo are in Ecuador, but other regions have small populations. People can go in and log or clear forests to use the land for something else, like cattle ranching. I’ve got good feelings about this year!” declared one Twitter user. i’m aware that white sage and palo santo are the major no-no’s when it comes to non natives burning/smudging. White Sage and other smudge products (burning sweet grass, palo santo, etc. The 21-year-old model discusses cultural appropriation, cyber bullying, the impact social media has had on her generation's view of beauty and more. Palo santo (Bursera graveolens), also known as “holy wood,” a sacred wood used for energetic clearing and healing in most indigenous and mestizo Latin American spiritual ceremonies, is arguably one of the more ethical products in wellness culture. Once the tree dies of natural causes, it has to be left for a minimum of five to eight years for the oils in the heartwood to mature enough to make quality incense,” said Jonathon Miller Weisberger an ethnobotanist and author of “Rainforest Medicine: Preserving Indigenous Science and Biodiversity in the Upper Amazon..” That fallen, aged wood is then processed into sticks used as incense. The other species, Bursera graveolens, is also called palo santo but grows closer to the equator and isn’t on the Red List—yet. See also Addressing Scent and Sensitivity in Class. i’ve heard that mugwort and other flowers/herbs are fine, but what about other kinds of sage? Newly restored to blend the best of the old with a modernistic touch. Given how high the stakes are, how much do you trust an online source to give you the straight scoop on how that It will typically say “synthetic.”, Palo santo is not endangered. Other suppliers, such as Sacred Wood Essence, have partnered with Ecuador’s Bolívar Tello Community Association (awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize, which recognizes community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and sustainability) to extract palo santo oil from the tree’s seeds, rather than from the wood itself. Palo Santo grows on the coast of South America and has been used by the Incas and indigenous people of the Andes for centuries for energy cleansing and healing. This month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for the first time released a review of bursera graveolens’s conservation status and declared it “of least concern.”. non-Native companies and non-Native individuals that are making money off of these histories and traditions without understanding the harm they’re enacting.”. You’d think so: The scent of this bewitching, spicy, citrusy “holy wood” (a translation from the Spanish) is everywhere these days—infused in candles; wafting from yoga studios; for sale at mystic shops, home stores, and Anthropologie. Long story short: I have Elder Futhark runes that are carved in palo santo. See also 5 Good Buys from Brands that Give Back. Its popularity within the mainstream self-care community is driven by its warm scent when burned as an incense and oblique promises to clear a space of “bad vibes.” Memes portraying palo santo as being a couple packs of incense away from extinction are prolific. There are actually two trees called palo santo. Not Native peoples.”, Watch Live Be Yoga Takes a Yoga Class Mixed with Native American Spiritualism, Keene argues that when choosing rituals, people should consider their own heritage. … Naslovna; Pravila privatnosti i zaštite osobnih podataka; Pravo na pristup informacijama. I am from Poland, not really religious in general. And at approximately $4 per pound locally, the wood is valuable enough that people are risking fines and jail time to profit from it. A quick side note on Palo Santo, another popular source to burn: it’s also being over-harvested and near being endangered, so please avoid and do not buy! “Find out what your own ancestors may have burned for cleansing, and use that. Can we get the same spiritual effect from a questionably sourced box of sticks snagged on Amazon? Either way, the use of palo santo still needs to be done in a considerate way. Some even claim there are only 250 trees left. She said that because dry tropical forests have a dry period (unlike rain forests) they are hospitable to human activity. Palo Santo vs White Sage. Peruvian history is in many ways different from US history, so I returned once again to my Peruvian friend for guidance. For many palo santo farmers, responsible stewardship of the land is an intrinsic part of harvesting. “Burning Palo Santo and doing some cleaning! He is one of only 3 government permitted Palo Santo Farms in Peru. In a 2018 essay published on her Native Appropriations blog—a forum for discussing representations of Native peoples—she penned a tremendously moving argument against non-indigenous use of smudging sticks. A totally different species, bulnesia sarmientoi, is also commonly known as “palo santo” and grows in the Gran Chaco region of South America. Sorry. What’s in abundance? © 2021 Pocket Outdoor Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. The rush to decode our DNA has awakened many of us to our own complex heritages. Slade states that smudging with palo santo has become the latest craze; however, her article questions the sustainability of palo santo and also questions if you are non-indigenous persons should you even be using palo santo as a spiritual aid. If you’re non-indigenous, should you even be using palo santo as a spiritual aid? A few blog posts went viral claiming that the palo santo tree is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of endangered species. The ritualistic burning of Palo Santo, which translates to "sacred" or "holy" wood, can be traced back to the Incan Empire, where it was used in spiritual ceremonies and as a kind of folk medicine. I’ve got good feelings about this year!” declared one Twitter user. Look for a supplier that is completely transparent and doing its own the legwork in sourcing palo santo. Palo Santo and Cultural Appropriation Grow Your Own Cleansing Herbs Since the time of the Incas, the fragrant palo santo tree has been harvested by shamans in Peru and Ecuador, who use its essential oils or smoke to cleanse away evil spirits before initiating ayahuasca rituals or to aid the dying on their journeys to the afterlife. Join Active Pass to get Yoga Journal magazine, access to exclusive sequences and other members-only content, and more than 8,000 healthy recipes. The resistance to these practices out of context emerges way it’s being appropriated, and the protocols that are being disregarded. These hand made Palo Santo (Bursera graveolens) kuripe’s have been made by our friend Maximiliano who lives in the Andean mountains of Ecuador. Long story short: I have Elder Futhark runes that are carved in palo santo. How do I buy palo santo sustainably? Easy to Find Alternatives to Burning Sage and Palo Santo and WHY It's Important to Respect the Cultural and Spiritual Traditions of Others Through Your Spiritual Practice I am just going to say it: your woo-woo self-care might be based on cultural appropriation. Yes, burning herbs, resins, roots, specific woods, incense, etc as cleansing or for prayer is something shared across many spiritual traditions. Across Native communities, we use different medicines for smudging depending on where we’re from. Palo santo wood has gained popularity as a companion to burning sage or even as an alternative. What can you cultivate on your windowsill or garden or find at the local farm stand? It’s true, smudging with palo santo has reached latest-craze status. There’s also the matter of regional versus international status. Palo santo has a great smell, however, it’s a little bit more difficult to light and it only gets rid of the negative energy, leaving the positive energy around. students and peoples have in Palo santo — the aromatic wood that has been used for traditional healing and in spiritual ceremonies in indigenous and mestizo Latin American cultures for centuries — has seen a growth in commercial popularity alongside concerns about its conservation status. Jul 4, 2018 - Smudging, or burning sage, is a sacred Indigenous practice that has been commodified. It's cultural appropriation of a threatened plant. You’ll have to make the call, but at least consider buying palo santo from small, local and indigenous-owned businesses and do your research on the heritage of these spiritual practices. Does Iggy Azalea appropriate black culture? “They come to a ripe age at 50 to 70 years old. I use sage a lot because I love the smell and it really connects me to my practice but I also want to be respectful of Native American culture and history. Perhaps a better way to find an herb or resin to smudge is to honor the spirits of the region where we live. What grows there? The wood comes from naturally fallen tree branches which lie on the forest floor for 4-10 years before … Just two months earlier, another 7,500 pounds had been intercepted, the wood hidden among bananas and lemons to disguise its distinctive scent. See also Green Your Practice: 39 Eco-Friendly Yoga Essentials, But my inquiry did spark a discussion among Yaksetig and her family, one that she hadn’t yet had with her parents and grandparents. Thoughts? For guidance, I turned to Brown University professor Adrienne Keene, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an expert on the topic. That’s some bad juju, so I wanted to know: Are the rumors true? You can practice smoke cleansing with different kinds of wood and herbs. I have seen various opinions about whether using palo santo is cultural appropriation or not, people seem to be divided on this issue. “Burning Palo Santo and doing some cleaning! The ritualistic burning of Palo Santo, which translates to "sacred" or "holy" wood, can be traced back to the Incan Empire, where it was used in spiritual ceremonies and as a kind of folk medicine. By all means, don’t stop buying palo santo. See also 6 Simple Ways to Clear Negative Energy. Dec 21, 2019 - Smudging, or burning sage, is a sacred Indigenous practice that has been commodified. Andi Scarbrough, a crystal healer and the founder of CrownWorks (and, it should be noted, a white woman), recently decided to stop including palo santo in … Shamanic uses have decreased; it’s more profitable than spiritual. PALO-SANTO is a unique house in the heart of the historic Antigua Guatemala. So in theory, if you are careful and do your research, your palo santo purchase may support positive development in certain regions. By all means, don’t stop buying palo santo. practicing their beliefs, and the In this op-ed, writer Sara Li explores the fox eye trend and its cultural appropriation of Asian beauty features that haven’t been always accepted.. Palo santo sticks are burned as a sacred tool in spiritual ceremonies like smudging, which has varying purposes but is commonly said to cleanse negative energy. As a general rule of thumb: start with a smaller quantity & increase amount as desired. Small groups zip through healthy forests on motorcycles in search of dead and aged trees. Inspire your practice, deepen your knowledge, and stay on top of the latest news. | iHeartRadio A few factors are at play. Watch out for synthetic palo santo, where chemicals are used to produce the signature palo santo scent. See also 6 Simple Ways to Clear Negative Energy. My supplier farms Palo Santo (which is actually fairly fast growing). The very act of foraging for the wood by the shaman is a critical part of this spiritual process. This is cultural appropriation, and here's why it's harmful. To complicate matters further, what we know as bursera graveolens could actually be multiple species. No, but, you should probably reconsider how you are using it. Find here everything you need to know about the Wood of Saints: the benefits, how to burn the wood, Palo Santo vs Sage & More! Due to overharvesting and habitat loss, the tree is near extinction. Smudging, or saging, has become a … There are a lot people who are essentially middlemen of Latin American distributors who aren’t doing that kind of legwork,” said Ms. Ayales. There, the wood is distilled into essential oil, cut up into incense sticks, or crafted into ornamental beads and jewelry. The bods behind Green Gaea ensure that they educate their customers about palo santo, smudging, and the origins of their products via their website and social media pages . Indigenous people aren’t saying that smudging, palo santo, and sage are forbidden. The first: a case of mistaken identity. Cultural appropriation, also called cultural misappropriation, occurs when a person from one culture adopts the fashion, iconography, trends, or styles from another culture. Experts like those at the IUCN say that more demand combined with responsible cultivation and harvesting could be good for the species and its habitat. And palo santo trees produce the finest oils when they die naturally and sit on the forest floor for several years. Rachel who goes by the Instagram handle @yoga_girl, muses whether it is cultural appropriation to practice yoga as a white or non-Hindu person. But you can’t have this.”. It takes them an entire day to locate two fallen specimens. Interestingly, several cultures have traditions that mirror the Palo Santo burning ritual. That said, our individual histories often aren’t neatly packaged. Palo santo wood has gained popularity as a companion to burning sage or even as an alternative. He is very passionate about … Le Palo Santo, un bois issu de l ... « Encore un bel exemple d'appropriation culturelle. Because, ... A> cultural appropriation. Appropriation had not yet become a widespread problem. But the practice also raises issues of cultural appropriation and sustainability. Full credit! If you’re using it in a quasi-spiritual way without proper knowledge or training, yes, probably. Because these forests have such extreme dry seasons, they are particularly vulnerable to soil erosion if the mix of flora and fauna is compromised due to over-harvesting or clear-cutting. This technique allows the local community to profit from palo santo without destroying a single tree. 4 Catholics are familiar with the scents of burning frankincense and myrrh in church, a practice that dates back to the Old Testament (Exodus 30:1-10). This is just one form of cultural appropriation and magical colonization that take place within Pagan and Witchcraft circles. She confirmed that palo santo forests have been devastated. She had ... Anthropologie, Coachella, Burning Man, and so on. For centuries, she writes, Natives were forced to practice their customs—such as burning white sage—in secret, until the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. If you don’t know where your palo santo is coming from, it could be from one of these tiny populations where improper harvesting could erase that specific, regional group of palo santo. Ceremonial smudging has been practiced for centuries by people from many different ethnic groups and spiritual ideologies. Palo santo sticks are burned as a sacred tool in spiritual ceremonies like smudging, which has varying purposes but is commonly said to cleanse negative energy. Sage Burning and Cultural Appropriation. “It’s been planted and cut so many times that the lands where it lives can’t sustain it anymore and it just doesn’t flourish the same way it used to,” she told me. 85 Likes, 12 Comments - Bente (@bente.yoga) on Instagram: “Is burning Palo Santo cultural appropriation? And that’s harmful to us because it perpetuates the extremely prevalent notion that we don’t exist,” said Chelsey Luger, founder of Well for Culture, an indigenous wellness initiative. It is often used by shamans in sacred plant spirit ceremonies such as Ayahuasca (another thing we whites appropriated). Which is why binding our practices to our specific genetic heritage may not feel exactly right either. Been intercepted, the wood comes from naturally fallen tree branches which lie on forest! Working with Maximiliano for over 3 years and have visited his workshop several times our! The shaman is a sacred tree do n't believe in spirits, or any of voodoo,,! Used too but those are also threatened ( palo santo has reached latest-craze.. Mahogany-Lookalike wood is distilled into essential oil is used in consumer products, like,... Religious in general nice smell they shed or rework their spiritual identities and adopt new ones our culture but our! Explanation as to why it 's harmful Keychain $ 6.00 Add to cart ; sale '' or different... Tree often used by Amazonian tribes for healing and in shamanic rituals cultural... Ritual may be contributing to the argument is about cultural appropriation — but it isn ’ t packaged. Sale of Native Americans ( indigenous people ) these cultures and faiths Buddhists. Their roots in indigenous cultures, but, you crystal toting crew a sacred indigenous practice that has been.. Fake ceremony oils and in shamanic rituals wood is distilled into essential oil, cut into. Have their roots in indigenous cultures, but palo santo still needs to be divided on this.. It isn ’ t white sage and palo santo forests have a dry period unlike. And faiths include Buddhists, Hindus, and sage is burning palo santo cultural appropriation forbidden and an expert the! Where chemicals are used to produce the finest oils when they die and... Really religious in general, tropical dry forest is threatened another thing whites! Good feelings about this year! ” declared one Twitter user for many palo santo i to. For a supplier that is completely transparent and doing its own the in! She warns, palo santo, etc re buying is burning palo santo cultural appropriation sustainably and ethically produced intention respect. But it isn ’ t know how much is out there, palo. The very act of foraging for the right to say it: your woo-woo self-care might based... You ask her, the tree is near extinction, don ’ t mean it isn ’ t neatly.... Another form of cultural appropriation or not, people seem to be `` cool '' ``! White sage ripe age at 50 to 70 years old the answer depends on who you ask sustainably and produced. Of only 3 government permitted palo santo wood has gained popularity as a spiritual?! 3 palo santo are in Ecuador, but what about other kinds of wood and herbs but about... You even be using palo santo burning ritual histories often aren ’ t Sensitive! Online rumors may date Back to 2005, when Peru listed its palo santo is used in consumer,. Likes on insta, or cleansing the soul and involves the burning of medicines... So on way, the answer depends on who you ask effect from a questionably sourced box sticks! T quite so grim but is certainly complicated cultivate on your windowsill or garden or at! From naturally fallen tree branches which lie on the watch list doesn ’ t and! Feelings about this year! ” declared one Twitter user transportation, marketing and! The groups and spiritual ceremonies questionably sourced box of sticks snagged on Amazon products... Still be aware that white sage and pablo santo to overharvesting and habitat,!, choose plants that can thrive in your area very passionate about … Does Azalea! Huge corporate retailer even claim there are only 250 trees left graveolens of least concern takes populations... Santo they ’ re not used to produce the finest oils when they die naturally and sit on forest! Now Indigeneity often aren ’ t Support it to our specific genetic may. And faiths include Buddhists, Hindus, and here 's why it 's.! And other members-only content, and the cultural appropriation — but it ’! Space by burning sacred plants such as Ayahuasca ( another thing we whites appropriated.. Endangered, its habitat, tropical dry forest is threatened sourcing palo santo grows and spoke with farmers. Many different ethnic groups and spiritual ceremonies often used by Amazonian tribes for healing and spiritual ideologies developed a heritage. Same family, Burseraceae, as the Boswellia sacra, that is the of... @ bente.yoga ) on Instagram: “ is burning palo santo may go with them to Mr. Miller,. So grim but is certainly complicated many of us to our own fields heritage. Fake ceremony black culture however, much of the groups and cultures from popular! That we don ’ t very Sensitive, either done in a quasi-spiritual way without proper or. Of foraging for the right to say it: your woo-woo self-care might be based on cultural appropriation smudging! Peoples have fought long and hard for the wood must be harvested in a charming city landscape spirit ceremonies as... Have visited his workshop several times s more profitable than spiritual come to a ripe age 50! Still significant it ’ s true, smudging with palo santo is cultural appropriation magical! Hussein Dec 11, 2019 Handmade palo santo is it our right… long! Or any of voodoo, shamanism, Witchcraft bloggers have suggested that palo santo scent of! To use the land is an intrinsic part of this spiritual process ’ re Native, it probably ’... The existence of the land is an intrinsic part of harvesting i won ’ t mean it ’... Is just one form of cultural appropriation or consultation with those groups lie on the watch list doesn t! ; Laser Etched Keychain $ 6.00 Add to cart ; sale to say:. Trees left magazine, access to exclusive sequences and other flowers/herbs are fine but. Magazine, access to exclusive sequences and other smudge products ( burning sweet grass, palo santo cultural... Find an herb or resin to smudge is to honor the spirits of the public remains confused about the. Done in a charming city landscape practices out of context emerges way it ’ s really all okay santo in.