The past few years have certainly left many folks with the desire to rid their homes of negative energy. Smudging, or saging, has become a trendy wellness practice that folks use to cleanse their living spaces. But if you tend to poke around smudging social media circles, you’ve probably heard people ask, “is sage burning cultural appropriation?” If you’re not Indigenous and therefore hesitating to strike a match to cleanse the bad vibes out of your apartment, here’s what you need to know about burning sage.
What Is Smudging?
Smudging is an important ceremonial purifying ritual in many North American Indigenous cultures. The practice has a long and rich history that extends way before white witchy practices brought it onto Instagram feeds near you. Before smudging was popularized, it was illegal — at least, for Indigenous folks. “It was illegal for Natives to practice their religion until 1978 in the U.S., and many were jailed and killed just for keeping our ways alive, including my great-great grandfather,” Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer, tells Bustle. Smudging was part of those banned religious practices. Today, Native people are still fighting to be able to perform these ceremonies in hospitals. Smudging, therefore, is not to be taken lightly.
Because of all that history, when non-Native people burn white sage to “smudge” their homes or other spaces, it minimizes the cultural importance of this ritual. Instead, advocates say non-Native people can learn to cleanse their spaces in ways that are culturally and ecologically sensitive.
Is Burning White Sage Bad?
Thanks to the recent trendiness of smudging, white sage (which is used in these rituals) is in high demand. The demand has become so great that many Chumash people (of what is now Southern California) are concerned that the plant is being overharvested. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that white sage has important medical benefits — it is used to cure colds and aid postpartum healing — and it’s a crucial part of the surrounding ecosystem. But some brands continue to sell white sage, despite Native communities speaking out against it. “It’s exploitative and amounts to silencing Native voices and erasing our cultural heritage,” Hopkins says.
For Hopkins, the appropriation of white sage is made worse because the plant is often not being harvested correctly. “When using medicinal plants, it’s important that the plant is used sustainably. When we pick sage, we always leave the root and say a prayer of thanks for our harvest. This is as much a part of smudging (or saging) as burning the plant is,” Hopkins says. In other words, it’s important to leave the root, because that’s how the plant grows back. If someone is harvesting white sage and doesn’t know to leave the root, they’re preventing more plants from growing.
If you’re browsing your fave place to buy herbs and look at the options for smoke cleansing next to white sage, you might find Palo Santo (“holy wood” in Spanish). But you might want to hold off on buying the next available thing. Palo Santo sticks have been getting more popular as an alternative to sage, but buying this Central and South American tree used by Amazonian tribes can also be harmful, in similar ways to sage. Palo Santo has been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) list, because though the tree is not yet nearing extinction, its overharvesting can put it on that path.
Smoke Cleansing Versus Smudging
If you have used herbs to cleanse your space in the past and enjoy the ritual, you don’t have to give it up in order to so in a culturally conscious way. Smudging refers to a specific healing cultural spiritual practice, but smoke cleansing offers an alternative to smudging for folks who aren’t Native. This form of cleansing can look a bit like smudging, but it’s just the simple act of burning herbs, wood, incense, or other safe-to-burn materials that possess unique cleansing properties. The smoke is then waved over the area you want to cleanse. Some cultures may have spiritual practices connected to smoke cleansing, but the act of smoke cleansing is not inherently spiritual or specific to a certain culture, the way smudging is.
If burning incense, herbs, or wood is part of your self-love practice, there are safe-burning alternatives to sage for smoke cleansing, including lavender, pine, and cloves. It’s important, however, that in the process of cleansing, you’re respecting Indigenous cultures and the ecosystem. That may include educating yourself and others about white sage, appropriation, and smoke cleansing; harvesting your own sage or other herbs sustainably; contacting brands to ask them to stop selling white sage without giving due to Native cultures; or using other plants entirely. Being intentional about how you implement this practice in your life — and being mindful about its origins and significance — is helpful for everyone.
White sage is a closed and SACRED medicine that is not to be bought or sold. You never want to purchase a sacred medicine because the plant absorbs the energies of the person gathering; if the person is profiting off that sage you never know if their intentions are truly good. Do not buy white sage
I understand the concept of racial fetishism, but I fail to see why it’s problematic.
So a white guy likes asian women because they’re asian (and thus he associates them with stereotypes like submissiveness and softness etc) and he likes manga and schoolgirls and japanese culture etc. And he wants a gf who looks east asian… so what ?
It’s not that he doesn’t care about these women or doesn’t see their humanity, it’s just that he likes their appearance. And he’s not appropriating the culture or doing anything disrespectful, he just has a preference when it comes to his romantic partners.
Before multiculturalism was a thing, people could say “I prefer blonde girls, I prefer girls with big thighs, I don’t like skinny, I like brown-hair, I like a submissive girl, I like an assertive girl” but now that different people live together and cultures mix together, it’s somehow innapropriate to say “I prefer Japanese girls, or Latinas, or "I don’t wanna date within this particular ethicity”. Why ?
White saviors are so obsessed with calling out things as cultural appropriation that my 100% Chinese friend is scared to enjoy other Asian culture bc of people like y’all. Nothing wrong with having interest in other cultures and trying new things and trends from them. Appreciating culuture isn’t appropriation.
So one of my ocs, Benji, is meant to be polynesian, (not sure yet but maybe samoan) And while I like the idea of him having tattoos, I understand that polynesian tattoo are a very culturally important thing, with arrangments of symbols meaning different things and holding significance to individual families.
That said- Would it be better for me to design a tattoo that includes traditional symbols, or forgo that entirely and design something stylistically similar but not actually use those symbols?
Or should I just not try to give him a tattoo at all (it certainly would be easier for my drawing time.)
hi folks, this is Ezra again - first off, THANK YOU so much to everyone who’s bought prints & other merch of this image over the past day or so. the response has been overwhelming & i’m really moved by the support! i will definitely be ordering more prints in the future & restocking the shop. some folks asked if the image was available in white on black - it is, here.
but what i really want to take a minute to address is the question that keeps coming up in replies, tags & reblogs, because i think it’s important & emblematic of a bigger issue. folks keep asking: “is it okay for goyim (non-Jewish people) to buy/wear/otherwise display this image?”
this is not a question with a simple answer!
anxieties about cultural appropriation are very understandable - it’s a nuanced issue & there’s a lot of contention about what constitutes respectful participation/appreciation vs. harmful appropriation (though some things are also very clear cut, i think - wearing someone’s identity as a costume is CLEARLY wrong). in my opinion, the best thing you can do is be continually open to hearing multiple perspectives on an issue from members of a single culture & also be willing to engage in critical thought/research on your own. asking permission, while well-intentioned, is almost never helpful.
let’s take my art as an example. you, a non-Jewish person, really like it (thanks!) & want to wear or display it because you like it. probably, you like it because you support anti-fascist causes. maybe you have Jewish loved ones it reminds you of! you think the monsters are neat & you like seeing a swastika ripped in half, right? okay! let’s do some more critical engagement.
1. would wearing or displaying this image (falsely) identify you as a Jew? there are no religious symbols involved, but the text is a secular Jewish protest song, and it’s in Yiddish, and the monsters are labeled with their Hebrew names, so it stands to reason that someone might assume you are (no, it doesn’t matter what you look like). is this okay with you? how will you respond? what if you experience misdirected antisemitism? again, there aren’t “correct” answers here.
2. are you ready to field questions about this image? because people are going to ask, & they will have varying reactions to it! are you up for explaining not only what it means historically, but what it means to YOU?
3. are you okay with some Jews feeling seen & supported by you wearing/displaying this, but other Jews finding it offensive? i can guarantee both things will happen & both responses are valid feelings, even in the same person! “we’re not a monolith” is an oft-repeated phrase, but “two Jews, three opinions” is even better here.
you’ll notice that me, the Jewish artist, giving you permission to buy/wear my Jewish art doesn’t actually help you with ANY of the above prompts. my opinion may matter to you, but it isn’t a shield from any of these situations. since you asked my opinion: i’m perfectly happy for goyim to buy & wear this as long as they feel good about their ability to convey its message & cultural context!
in any case, this level of self-examination & research - “what does this mean to me? how will i be perceived by members of this group & others? do i have all the information about the context of this image/object/practice? am i ready to encounter conflicting responses to my participation in this?” - is what’s necessary for real cultural competency. the more you do this work, the more you’ll develop a sense for when something is out of bounds for you, and when it’s something you really truly connect with & understand.
thanks for reading this wall of text - i hope it was useful! <3 E
I hate how a lot of cultural appropriation discourse has forgotten the reason why it started appearing. It wasn’t meant to punish white people for being ignorant and ban them from partaking in other cultures.
It was a discussion meant to draw attention that people of colour were constantly being overlooked or punished for the exact same things that white people were celebrated for. It was meant to elevate people of colour to an understanding and respect that white people had been afforded for years, often unearned.
So seeing people go “white people don’t partake in anything that isn’t white” misses a lot of nuance in the discussion, because a lot of different cultures ARE willing to share and allow people into their culture on their own terms and in a respectful matter.
There’s a massive difference between a white person going “I just invented the BEST version of this” where everything had been watered down and stripped away versus one going “I try out this thing to appreciate cultures and viewpoints that aren’t my own”.
As a first generation Asian Australian whose own cultural identity is a massive clusterfuck I do think we need to remember that cultural exchange and sharing is incredibly important for an ever changing and global culture.
My white American friend who lived out in China was out walking one day when a she was stopped by a group of aunties flogging traditional style winter coats. Well she loves Chinese stuff and she ended up buying 3 coats. When I asked when and where she’s gonna wear them she said “Oh just at home, I don’t feel comfortable wearing them out because I don’t want people to think I’m culturally appropriating.”
O.O
This is a woman who loves Chinese culture so much she went to China and learned to speak fluent Chinese. And yet, the online discourse has somehow managed to make her feel like partaking in that culture is somehow wrong ot shameful.
I’m not white but I can attest to the same feelings. I love collecting traditional Japanese kimonos, but for a long time I was afraid to wear them out because I was scared some nutcase would stop me and accuse me of cultural appropriation. Actually when I finally worked up the courage to wear them out I got compliments from a lot of people, including Japanese people.
Cultural appropriation might’ve started as a well-intentioned idea trying to protect certain groups, but now it’s become a monster that we need to lay to rest. Frightening people from cultural exchange will not lead to good outcomes such as better mutual understanding. We should be encouraging cultural exchange, not the opposite.
I haven’t posted on this blog in quite a long time (in fact, I thought about deleting it), but I’ve decided to keep it up as a reference. I want to address something that I’ve gotten quite a few asks about in the past, which is what is cultural appropriation and what isn’t.
The gist of cultural appropriation is that it’s ok to appreciate a culture and learn all about them (I highly encourage people to actively participate in learning about different cultures actually) BUT!!! it is not ok to take culturally significant items, clothes, phrases/words, or beliefs and use them as an accessory or a trend. Please note that I specifically mentioned CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE! This means that modern day wear such as j-fashion (aka Harajuku fashion), circle lenses, ulzzang makeup, etc. is not cultural appropriation!
Cultural appreciation is different from cultural appropriation as well. Cultural appreciation is exactly what it says on the can: someone respectfully appreciating a culture. An example would be if a person were to visit an Asian country to learn about their culture. That person might stay with a host family to practice their mastery of the language, eat local traditional dishes, practice the country’s traditions, try on historical and/or traditional garments from the country, etc. They are treating the country and culture with respect. The difference can be visualized as a person who has studied Japanese culture wearing a kimono to a formal event vs. a person wearing one of those “geisha” costumes prancing around on Halloween like “I ate a California roll once, I’m basically already a sexy geisha doll at heart! XD”
Btw if you are white or black (or from any non-asian countries) and you want to wear Vietnamese traditional clothing but afraid people say you culture appropriating, as a Vietnamese I want to say:
Vietnamese don’t care. In fact, most Vietnamese loves seeing non-Asians wear our traditional clothes. I remember seeing a lot of possitive comments and irl reactions from Vietnamese when they saw our traditional clothing in photos of Western folks.
The only two rules that you need to remember are:
- Do not sexualize the clothing. Vietnamese hate that. Sex is taboo still in our society. For example, someone famous once wore Ao dai without the pants. People were outraged. Don’t do that.
- Do not ever mistake our clothing for the Chinese’s. Vietnamese hate it when people assume our clothing (and other cultural things) originated from China or belongs to China. As of recently, some Chinese advertised Ao dai as a new style of Cheongsam, which is wrong and rude. There is also a long history between the two countries. So eh, you will have to do your own research for this one.
So yeah, that’s all I got to say. I just want you guys to know that vietmamese don’t have the whole cultural appropriation thing. It’s a purely Western thing. We don’t care as long as you go by those two rules you will be fine.
