Maqii

Little did I know what I was about to do

       
















 As promised in my last post, this post is dedicated entirely to my first maqii experience which is Yu'pik for steaming.  As I said last time, while we were in Kipnuk we were invited to go steam.  The closest comparison I can give in our American culture is the sauna. 
The physical building the steam takes place in is just a little wooden hut.  It is divided into two rooms.  Like the houses, it isn't hooked up to any plumbing so all the water used has to be hauled in.  There is a wood burning stove in the center of the steam room which is topped with stones, and a water basin is attached to its front.  A tin can attached to a long pole is used to spoon water from the basin over the stones thus creating the steam.   
Steaming serves a couple of different purposes.  It is not only a social gathering, but a means for washing both your hair and body.  Different herbs can even be placed on the stones to help treat certain infections.  Because water is a most precious commodity and limited plumbing exists for most houses, steaming offers a water sparing way to bathe.
So we got to the steam on our second evening after a long day of seeing patients.  When we first walked in, the room we entered was like a small mud room.  There were shoes on the floor and clothes hanging on hooks up on the wall.  Two small, completely naked, little girls ran out of the steam room.  Anne looked at me, obviously excited, and I watched her for what to do next.  Then she started taking off her clothes.  I hesitated for a second then figured "what the hell?  When in Rome..."  

Cooling off

We ducked through this small door and entered into the steam room.  There were three other women, also naked, sitting on the wood floor which is raised a few feet off the ground, the stove sitting on the dirt floor ahead of us.  We brought in with us a water basin each filled with cool water so we could soak our wash cloths to cool ourselves off.  Alaskans like to steam very, very hot.  We found ourselves having to run outside to get a break from the heat.    

In my birthday suit on my birthday!!

After a refreshing run outside it was time to wash up. (No wonder Anne told me not to bother washing my hair that morning).  We filled our water basins with cool water, grabbed our shampoo and condition and body wash and ducked back into the steam room.  We added a few scoops of the hot water from the stove to our basins to warm up our cold water just enough to make it refreshing but not breath taking.  Following Anne's lead I began splashing water from my basin over my head to wet my hair.  Since my hair is so long and thick I had to dunk my hair into the basin to fully wet it.  Then shampoo, rinse, condition, rinse, body wash and final rinse.  We had to refill our basins once or twice, but all in all used considerably less water than a typical shower.  My first maqii was a great experience.  So relaxing!  Your skin just tingles after sitting in the hot steam for so long then going out into the crisp Alaskan air.  I've had a lot of people ask me if I would do it again, and the answer is "absolutely, yes!"  Really, what better way to bond with your patients and co-workers than getting naked and steaming?