[expand]The tent was not yurt or dwelling tent but specialized structure built specifically for vapor ceremony. The framework was simple—poles arranged in conical or dome shape, their tops tied together creating stable peak, their bases spread forming circular floor plan. The covering was layered felt—multiple thickness creating effective barrier against outside air, sealing interior space, trapping smoke inside. The small size was intentional—typically accommodating five to ten people maximum, forcing close proximity, ensuring rapid smoke accumulation.
The entrance was sealed after participants entered—flap tied shut from outside by assistants who would not participate, creating enclosed vessel where smoke concentration would build. This sealing was essential—draft would disperse smoke reducing effectiveness, open entrance would allow escape rather than forcing full experience. The participants committed to ceremony when entrance closed, their only exit through completion or emergency if someone panicked or became violently ill.
The interior arrangement positioned participants in circle around central brazier, each person sitting cross-legged or kneeling, close enough to touch neighbors, oriented inward toward fire and smoke source. The shamans typically sat at cardinal positions or in most honored spots, their expertise guiding ceremony and assisting if participants encountered difficulties. The warriors arranged by status or simply as they entered, brotherhood and hierarchy both finding expression in circular equality of shared smoke.
The brazier was bronze bowl or iron vessel containing heated stones—usually river rocks heated in external fire until glowing, transferred carefully into tent using tongs or wrapped in leather. The stones needed sufficient thermal mass to maintain heat through ceremony, typically requiring multiple large stones or continuous addition of freshly heated rocks from fire maintained outside. The heat was necessary component—cold stones failed to vaporize hemp seeds adequately, producing insufficient smoke and disappointing experience.
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