Author Topic: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges  (Read 19424 times)

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« on: September 26, 2006, 08:22:38 pm »
I'm doing some writing on this topic and need:

- Specific sources that mention the sweat lodge deaths and other injuries.   
- Specific sources that denounce Plastic Shamans.



 
« Last Edit: August 16, 2019, 10:45:36 pm by NAFPS Housekeeping »

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Offline Defend the Sacred

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Offline littlefeatherspiri

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Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2006, 06:43:26 am »
Here are a couple of more:

he Dallas Morning News - August 28, 1993

Death in sweat lodge probed Woman's body found by 5 others in apparent Indian ritual ?
 ? ROUND ROCK, Texas - Police say they are investigating the death this week of a woman after she went into a sweatbox in an apparent American Indian ceremony.Kelly Rice, 35, of Austin entered a turtle-shaped sweat lodge late Tuesday after fasting all day, said Williamson County sheriff's Capt. Richard Elliott. She reportedly planned to remain inside for three hours. Ms. Rice was found dead early Wednesday by five other people taking part in the ceremony east of Round Rock, Capt....



 ? UK News ? Electronic Telegraph ?
 Friday 22 November 1996
 ? Issue 548
 
 ?
 ? Man died in New Age purification ritual
By Sean O'Neill

 

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External Links
Origin of the sweat lodge - native American lore



Sweat lodge picture, Apache Springs Camp




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 'If you leave the sweat lodge, you can't return'
A MAN died after spending 90 minutes sitting in a makeshift sauna inside an Indian-style teepee on farmland in the Mendip Hills, an inquest was told yesterday.

Gordon Reynolds, 42, was the first person in Britain to die attending a "sweat lodge" - a Native American purification rite which is growing in popularity among followers of the New Age movement. Some of those also taking part in the ritual were said to feel privileged to have been present when Mr Reynolds's spirit had been "set free", but his widow said his death had been a waste.

Penny Reynolds, 39, mother of Mr Reynolds's two sons, said her husband had been interested in alternative cultures but was not "a New Age crank". She added: "The bottom line is that sweat lodges kill. They are playing with fire and Gordon got burned."

Mr Reynolds, from Twickenham, west London, who ran a hospital blood transfusion laboratory, began going to sweat lodges after meeting John Twobirds, an Indian medicine man. He collapsed during a £25-a-head sweat lodge weekend at Laurel Farm in Priddy, Somerset, last August. Other people who had been in the wigwam wrapped him in a blanket but he was dead before an ambulance reached the scene.

The inquest at Wells, Somerset, was told that Mr Reynolds, a member of Greenpeace and Amnesty International who used to play rugby and cricket, suffered heatstroke. Juliette Gamester, of Ashford, Middlesex, who organised the session, told the court that 11 men and women, wearing towels, entered the wigwam at around 7pm.

She said that stones, heated in a pit outside the tent, were brought in three times. Each time prayers were said and a peace pipe was smoked. The participants sat in a circle around the hot stones on which water was thrown to release steam. "Inside the tent, he appeared to be very relaxed and happy, extremely calm within himself. He took part in and told many prayers," said Miss Gamester. When the group re-emerged an hour-and-a-half later Mr Reynolds told Miss Gamester that he was not feeling well.

She said: "He told me that he felt faint. He lost consciousness. He went very white in the face. We put warm clothes around him and decided to put him in the communal tent. He never said anything comprehensible and then he was sick. We tried to carry out artificial resuscitation and we called an ambulance. The paramedics took over but it was without success."

Dr Lyn Hirchowitz, a pathologist, said Mr Reynolds had a history of heart disease but that had not contributed to his death. She said one of his eyes had become excessively dilated and his brain was enlarged. She added: "My findings are consistent with him dying of hyperthermia or heatstroke."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Nicholas Rheinberg, the east Somerset Coroner, said that anyone taking part in a sweat lodge should make sure they were physically healthy. "It is very important if people are going to subject themselves to rigours and gruelling regimes like this that they should be satisfied that they are in good medical condition," he said.

After the hearing, Penny Butterell, the owner of the farmland, said that members of the group had been upset by Mr Reynolds's death. "But they felt privileged to be around when he left," she added. "It's not often somebody gets that nice a way of going - to be totally prepared, out in the open with the stars. It was his time to go and he went. He was quiet and totally happy."

Mrs Reynolds, a former nurse who shared her husband's interest in American Indian culture, said her husband's death should be a warning to others. She said: "Although the people who organised this sweat lodge were my friends, I have to speak out. They say Gordon's spirit is set free, but how do I answer a six-year-old who says 'I want Daddy here on earth'?"


 

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Offline littlefeatherspiri

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Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2006, 06:44:56 am »
And some more:

Alert after sweat lodge ritual death
November 4, 2004 - 3:45PM
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A group of campers taking part in a purification ritual borrowed from Native Americans would not have realised one of them was in grave danger.
Australian Medical Association South Australian president William Heddle today said the effects of severe dehydration on young people often went unnoticed until it was too late to get help.
"For young, healthy people it can be disastrous because it's hard to tell when you get into trouble," Dr Heddle said.
"Younger people tend to be able to withstand stress for a longer time but then they reach a critical point where everything breaks down very, very quickly."
A 37-year-old Victorian man was yesterday pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital at Leigh Creek, in SA's far north, after suffering what was believed to be severe hydration.
Another man, Adrian Asfar, 30, was in a stable condition today after being airlifted to a hospital at Port Augusta, in the state's mid north.
Both men were among a group taking part in a sweat lodge ritual, a ceremony involving water and hot rocks to align the body, mind and spirit used by Native American tribes such as the Apache, Navaho and Sioux.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
The ceremony involves meditation inside a tepee-like structure where participants inside pour water over hot rocks, lifting the temperature to up to 60C, comparable to that of a traditional steam sauna.
Unlike saunas, however, those taking part in the ceremony can stay inside for several hours at a time.
Dr Heddle said the deceased man typically would have noticed a loss of feeling in his hands and feet as his blood circulation slowed to cope with the extreme conditions.
His skin would have sagged as it was robbed of vital moisture, his body tissue would have deteriorated and the blood flow to his gut and other organs would have slowed.
Less important organs would shut down to reduce the impact on the heart, brain and kidneys.
Loss of consciousness was expected, Dr Heddle said.
"You eventually reach a point where the body can't cope anymore and you don't have enough (blood) flow to go to the heart and brain (and) you get into trouble very quickly," he said.
Dr Heddle said despite the stress Mr Asfar's body had endured, he was likely to make a full - but slow - recovery.
"There's unlikely to be any permanent residual effects," he said.
"But it will take a while for him to recover."
Dr Heddle said the process to rehydrate Mr Asfar would be carefully monitored, as problems could arise if hydration occurred too rapidly.
AAP

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Offline littlefeatherspiri

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Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2006, 06:45:31 am »
And how it's being outlawed:

And some more:

Alert after sweat lodge ritual death
November 4, 2004 - 3:45PM
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A group of campers taking part in a purification ritual borrowed from Native Americans would not have realised one of them was in grave danger.
Australian Medical Association South Australian president William Heddle today said the effects of severe dehydration on young people often went unnoticed until it was too late to get help.
"For young, healthy people it can be disastrous because it's hard to tell when you get into trouble," Dr Heddle said.
"Younger people tend to be able to withstand stress for a longer time but then they reach a critical point where everything breaks down very, very quickly."
A 37-year-old Victorian man was yesterday pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital at Leigh Creek, in SA's far north, after suffering what was believed to be severe hydration.
Another man, Adrian Asfar, 30, was in a stable condition today after being airlifted to a hospital at Port Augusta, in the state's mid north.
Both men were among a group taking part in a sweat lodge ritual, a ceremony involving water and hot rocks to align the body, mind and spirit used by Native American tribes such as the Apache, Navaho and Sioux.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
The ceremony involves meditation inside a tepee-like structure where participants inside pour water over hot rocks, lifting the temperature to up to 60C, comparable to that of a traditional steam sauna.
Unlike saunas, however, those taking part in the ceremony can stay inside for several hours at a time.
Dr Heddle said the deceased man typically would have noticed a loss of feeling in his hands and feet as his blood circulation slowed to cope with the extreme conditions.
His skin would have sagged as it was robbed of vital moisture, his body tissue would have deteriorated and the blood flow to his gut and other organs would have slowed.
Less important organs would shut down to reduce the impact on the heart, brain and kidneys.
Loss of consciousness was expected, Dr Heddle said.
"You eventually reach a point where the body can't cope anymore and you don't have enough (blood) flow to go to the heart and brain (and) you get into trouble very quickly," he said.
Dr Heddle said despite the stress Mr Asfar's body had endured, he was likely to make a full - but slow - recovery.
"There's unlikely to be any permanent residual effects," he said.
"But it will take a while for him to recover."
Dr Heddle said the process to rehydrate Mr Asfar would be carefully monitored, as problems could arise if hydration occurred too rapidly.
AAP

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Offline educatedindian

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Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2008, 04:35:10 pm »
http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/images/Graphics/Coat_of_Arms.jpg>
 
AUSTRALIA

FINDING OF INQUEST

                                    An Inquest taken on behalf of our
 Sovereign Lady the Queen at Adelaide in the State of South Australia, on
 the 5th, 6th and 8th days of June 2007, by the Coroner’s Court of
 the said State, constituted of Anthony Ernest Schapel, Deputy State
 Coroner, into the death of Rowan Douglas Cooke.

The said Court finds that Rowan Douglas Cooke aged 37 years, late of 21
 Langton Street, Glenroy, Victoria died at Yankanina Station, Flinders
 Ranges via Leigh Creek, South Australia on the 3rd day of November 2004
 as a result of dehydration/heat related death.  The said Court finds
 that the circumstances of his death were as follows:

1.                  Background

1.1.            On Wednesday, 27 October 2004 a group of eleven adults
 comprising seven men and four women, whom I will refer to as the group
 of eleven, travelled to the Gammon Ranges in the far north of South
 Australia to participate in a ‘vision quest’, a ritualistic practice
 that often involves the use of a ‘sweat lodge’.  A vision quest is
 an exercise in which the individual participants seek a vision, an
 obscure experience that for different persons can mean different things.  A
 sweat lodge more or less performs the same function as a sauna, but
 unlike a sauna it is not necessarily a permanent structure, being
 fashioned out of sticks, cloth and other material and the temperatures within
 it may be less controlled than those in a sauna.  It is usually erected
 in association with some form of spiritual endeavour and, as was the
 case here, can be erected on the spot.  Whether by design or otherwise a
 sweat lodge often resembles a Native American tepee.  Heated rocks are
 placed in the sweat lodge and water is poured over them creating steam
 and, at times, intolerable temperatures within.  People remain inside
 the lodge in these conditions for whatever physical, spiritual or
 emotional advantage they think they might gain.  The belief systems
 underlying the use of sweat lodges range across a broad spectrum, from the
 mundane and harmless to the plain silly yet dangerous.  The evidence would
 suggest that at either end of the spectrum, suspension of one’s grasp
 of reality for the duration of a sweat lodge is de rigueur.

1.2.            The group of eleven were all mature adults.  One of
 them, Rowan Douglas Cooke, 37, was in good health but he met his death
 when, in the course of the expedition, he collapsed in a sweat lodge
 through dehydration and exposure to the heat.  He died as a result.

1.3.            This incident occurred on private property known as the
 Yankaninna Station.  The site chosen for the rituals was a creek bed
 about 10 kilometres from the Owiendana homestead.  The station was
 managed by Mr Paul Doran who resided at the homestead.  Permission for the
 group of eleven to enter and remain on the station property was neither
 sought from nor given by Mr Doran.  Mr Doran had no knowledge of the
 presence of this group of people on the property, even though they had
 been there from Thursday evening, 28 October 2004 until the morning of
 Wednesday, 3 November 2004, the day of the fatal incident.  The location
 at which the group of eleven made their camp and conducted their
 rituals was remote.  The site was approximately 75 kilometres from Leigh
 Creek by way of dirt roads.  The nearest hospital and ambulance depot were
 situated at that town.  Volunteer crews staffed the ambulance depot at
 Leigh Creek.  The nearest professional paramedics were stationed at
 Port Augusta about 250 kilometres by road from Leigh Creek.  One of the
 Port Augusta paramedics happened to be in the Leigh Creek area on that
 Wednesday.  He and a number of volunteer South Australian Ambulance
 Service (SAAS) officers were to attempt unsuccessfully to save the
 deceased’s life.  I return to the involvement of the SAAS in due course.

1.4.            Mr David Jarvis, 46, was one of the group of eleven.
  He had been to the location of the campsite on a prior occasion and its
 remoteness was a matter that was, on his own admission, well known to
 him.

1.5.            A number of statements have been tendered to the
 Inquest by Ms Amy Davis, counsel assisting the Court.  I thank Ms Davis for
 her considerable efforts in this Inquest.  In addition, Ms Davis adduced
 oral evidence from the police officer who investigated this death on
 behalf of the State Coroner, Senior Constable Peter Stirling of the Port
 Augusta Criminal Investigation Branch.  I accept his evidence in its
 entirety.  I thank Mr Stirling for the thoroughness of his
 investigation.  I also heard oral evidence from Professor Roger Byard who, together
 with Dr Karen Heath, performed the post‑mortem examination in respect
 of the deceased’s remains.  I accept Professor Byard’s evidence in
 its entirety.  Each of the group of eleven persons involved in this
 matter gave witness declarations to the police shortly after the incident
 in question.  The contents of those statements speak for themselves.
  There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding this death.  I did
 not feel it necessary for any of those persons to be called to give oral
 evidence apart from Mr Jarvis who did give evidence before me.  Ms
 Prudence Blackmore, who is a ceremonial leader in an organisation that
 conducts sweat lodges known as SOTEMS, the Spirit of the Earth Medicine
 Society, and who was not involved in the incident in question, also gave
 general evidence about these practices.

2.                  Reasons for Inquest and conclusions

2.1.            In this Inquest I examined a number of matters that
 required investigation. The broad conclusions are as follows. Firstly, the
 foolhardiness of conducting a ritual of this nature in the manner and
 circumstances revealed by the evidence is plain for all to see.  Mr
 Cooke died because of the intolerable conditions to which his body was
 subjected during the ritual.  Secondly, there was an inordinate length of
 time before any meaningful help was sought for the deceased when it
 should have been obvious that he was in a terrible state following his
 collapse and that he required urgent medical intervention.  Thirdly, it
 does not seem to have occurred to anybody involved in this expedition
 that the remoteness of the location was going to inhibit timely and
 appropriate medical attention for anyone who might be injured or who might
 become acutely ill.  Fourthly, notwithstanding the obvious intrinsic
 dangers of a sweat lodge, there was no preparation or thought given to what
 action might be required in such an emergency.  Fifthly, while it was
 not intended during the course of the Inquest nor in these findings to
 denigrate anyone’s spiritual beliefs, it has to be placed on public
 record that the extreme nature of some of those beliefs, as revealed by
 the evidence that I heard, played a significant role in the failure to
 secure timely and appropriate medical attention for the deceased.

2.2.            The undesirability of imposing unnecessary strictures
 on the rights of citizens in our nation to conduct their spiritual and
 recreational pursuits of choice hardly requires stating.  However, this
 Inquest was conducted in the hope that the public exposure of the folly
 that surrounded this sorry affair might mean that a death such as this
 will not be repeated.

3.                  A sweat lodge

3.1.            The use of a sweat lodge is generally based on Native
 American and other indigenous beliefs and traditions.  In this
 particular case its use was said to have been based upon Native American belief
 systems.  There were items located at this scene that one normally
 associates with Native American culture such as peace pipes and feathers.

3.2.            A sweat lodge is used for different kinds of
 ritualistic behaviour, but the common theme for its use involves cleansing,
 purification and the attainment of peace.  Its significance to the group of
 eleven is encapsulated in the following statement made by one of its
 members, Mr Jarvis, when explaining its use to the investigating police:

'It’s a structure used for purification, cleansing, prayer, honouring
 and it’s also used for particular ceremonies or rights of passage
 for people who choose to walk into different types of powers that they
 might to, whether it be a drum, a pipe, or even just a particular feather
 can be activated by doing a ritual of cleansing and giving back our
 sweat and tears to the earth, to heal the whole planet.' [1]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn1> 

3.3.            The sweat lodge’s framework consisted of 16 tree
 branches bound together in the shape of a tepee together with horizontal
 rows of poles that added structural support.  Covering material was
 thrown over the structure; the first layer appeared to be reflective
 building insulation and over that were several layers of blankets, quilts and
 tarpaulins.  The insulation was designed to keep the heat within the
 structure.  The lodge was about 1.2 metres in height and was roughly
 circular in shape at its base with a diameter of about 3 metres.  Entry to
 the structure was gained by a rectangular door that was about 70cm high
 and about 50cm wide.  The floor of the lodge was the bare earth on
 which it had been erected, in this case the coarse gravel of a creek bed.
  A pit of about 30cm in depth had been dug in the middle of the bare
 earth floor and a number of rocks had been placed in it.  There were 39
 rocks in place when it was examined by the police.  They were estimated
 to weigh about two kilograms each.  The rocks had been heated and had
 been brought into the structure during different phases of the ritual.
  The rocks are traditionally known as Grandfathers.  There was some
 decoration hanging from the roof of the structure.

3.4.            Around the structure and campsite generally were other
 ritualistic items including feathered staffs, drums, the remnants of
 stone ceremonial pipes, didgeridoos and a formation of rocks that had
 been placed in a circle resembling a miniature Stonehenge.  There was also
 an altar / fireplace which had been utilised to heat the rocks that
 had been placed into the sweat lodge during the ritual.

3.5.            I add here that there is no suggestion that illicit
 substances or alcohol formed any part of what had taken place.

3.6.            The sweat lodge was capable of accommodating a number
 of people at a time.  The ritual that had culminated in the deceased’s
 collapse had involved the presence of three people within the
 structure.

3.7.            It was evident from the way the sweat lodge had been
 constructed that it was capable of containing a great deal of heat.  It
 is said that temperatures of up to 60 degrees centigrade can be
 generated in makeshift sweat lodges.  The amount of heat generated depends on
 the heat of the rocks and the amount of water poured onto them.  Control
 of the temperature within the structure would therefore involve an
 element of uncertainty.  Prolonged exposure to such temperatures can be
 dangerous.  It can lead to dehydration, tissue degeneration, collapse,
 unconsciousness, lack of control of one’s bodily functions and death.

4.                  The circumstances leading up to the deceased’s
 participation in the sweat lodge ritual

4.1.            Evidently this was not the first time that the deceased
 had been involved in this kind of ritualistic behaviour.  He was no
 novice in respect of what was to take place.  Some might therefore say
 that he was in some measure the author of his own misfortune.  In my
 opinion the matter cannot be viewed so simplistically.  As will be seen,
 whether he appreciated the risks or not, his death should have been
 avoided.  Others in this party, by comparison to Mr Jarvis and the deceased,
 seem to have been relatively naïve.  For example, in describing the
 indecision about what should be done to assist the deceased following
 his collapse, one participant states with breathtaking naivety, ‘at
 this time I did not know whether this situation was a normal part of the
 process or not’[2]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn2>
 .  The crisis elicited other unusual responses that appear to have been
 underpinned by the unshakeable conviction that, rather than the
 deceased being profoundly unwell, he was experiencing some kind of
 supernatural phenomenon.  I return to this later.

4.2.            As earlier recorded, the party had left Victoria on
 Wednesday, 28 October 2004.  They had travelled in a number of vehicles,
 at least one of which was a 4WD.  The expedition was well equipped with
 food, water and shelter.  The party spent the Wednesday night at the
 Adelaide Hills premises of a friend of Mr Jarvis.  That evening a sweat
 lodge was conducted without incident.  The following day the party
 travelled up to the Flinders Ranges arriving some time in the late
 afternoon.  They set up camp on the property that I have described.

4.3.            In the ensuing days a number of rituals were conducted
 including the vision quest which involved the individuals isolating
 themselves from each other and striving for a vision that may or may not
 materialise.  A number of sweat lodges were also conducted without
 incident.  It is believed that the deceased himself was involved in two
 sweat lodges prior to the one that eventually claimed his life.

4.4.            The exercise also involved the members of the group
 fasting for several days, although people were encouraged to take as much
 fluid as possible and that included water, fruit juice, Gatorade and
 the like.  Some witness statements suggest that although the deceased was
 initiated in these matters, he may not have been as careful as others
 in relation to the taking of liquid prior to his participation in the
 fatal sweat lodge.  It is possible that by the time he came to
 participate in this sweat lodge, having been in two already, he was not ideally
 prepared in terms of hydration.  Mr Jarvis said that he did not observe
 whether the participants in the fatal sweat lodge had been taking
 fluids during the day.  He told me that he did not consider it necessary
 for him to do so in the light of their previous experience in sweat
 lodges.

5.                  The fatal sweat lodge ritual

5.1.            This particular ceremony had three participants.  Apart
 from the deceased, a woman by the name of Maureen Collier aged 48
 years and another male by the name of Adrian Asfar aged 30 years also
 participated.  The preparation for the ceremony is described in the witness
 statement of Ms Collier dated 4 November 2004[3]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn3>
 .  Preparation commenced on the Tuesday and according to Ms Collier
 they consumed food and drink - a great deal of fluid.  I think she was
 there speaking for herself because as seen earlier other evidence would
 suggest that the deceased had not consumed as much fluid as he might have
 given the nature of the exercise in which he was to participate.  The
 underlying spiritual purpose of a sweat lodge can vary and the evidence
 is less than crystal clear as to what the purpose of this particular
 sweat lodge was except that it involved the initiation of the three
 participants to become pipe bearers.  This ceremony involved the use, or at
 least the presence of, stone pipes called peace pipes and the ceremony
 was apparently designed to reveal whether or not the participants were
 worthy of the status.  The initiated may conduct certain ceremonies in
 Native American tradition.  The pipes are placed on an altar and are
 packed with tobacco.  Once activated by the ceremony, the pipes are
 taken up and the bearers then walk into their new role in life.  Each of
 the three participants was expected to perform his or her chosen ritual
 during the ceremony, such as the singing of a song, the telling of a
 story or chanting; so the ceremony was therefore of some duration.

5.2.            The three participants spent some hours in the sweat
 lodge before the hot stones were introduced.  David Jarvis in his
 statement dated 4 November 2004[4]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn4>
  claims to have been in the business of running sweat lodge purification
 ceremonies and had been doing so for about four years prior to
 November 2004.  He described himself to the police as a new age healer.  He
 claims to have had some insight into what was taking place and he
 describes his own role as one in which he, because of his greater knowledge of
 the subject, was ‘sitting on the bank and at times I smoked my
 sacred pipe, sending prayers out and welcoming them in, ah in spirits’[5]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn5>
 .  Others were involved in the preparation and heating of the stones
 and in the delivery of the stones to the sweat lodge.  One of those
 persons is called the fire keeper and the role of the fire keeper is
 described as follows:

'The fire keeper will then approach the lodge and flick the door open
 and steam that has been created in the lodge flows out releasing spirit,
 the prayers to spirit so it’s going up, so the steam has a
 particular role of sending the prayers out into the cosmos.' [6]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn6> 

Mr Jarvis said that no one individual was in charge of the ceremony,
 and resisted the suggestion that he was in charge, saying that he did not
 think he was present at the beginning of the ceremony in any event.
  However, it is clear in my view that he was certainly one person who was
 vested of an intimate knowledge of the nature of this exercise.

5.3.            In her statement Ms Collier describes events within the
 lodge after the heated stones were introduced[7]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn7>
 .  It is unclear what time it was when that occurred, but it was some
 time in the early hours of the Wednesday morning.  Ms Collier’s
 statement does not describe times over which various features of the ceremony
 occurred.  However, there are estimates by others as to time.  The 39
 stones had been placed in the lodge one at a time.  They were carried
 from the fireplace to the lodge by the fire keeper with the use of a
 garden fork and then handed to an occupant who accepted them with some
 other implement.  They were then individually blessed and placed one by
 one into the centre pit.  This must have taken some little time.  Ms
 Collier states that to begin with, 18 stones (Grandfathers) were placed
 into the centre pit and each one of them was duly blessed by the deceased
 as they were introduced[8]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn8>
 .  The door to the sweat lodge was then closed and the first
 â€˜round’ of the ceremony, which involved praying for the earth and the
 injustice in the world, then occurred.  During the course of this round, water
 from a bucket was poured on the rocks thereby creating heat and steam.
  Ms Collier states that she was aware that if too much water were to
 be poured onto the heated rocks excessive heat would be created.  In due
 course another lot of stones were brought into the sweat lodge.  Ms
 Collier maintains that Mr Jarvis told the deceased not to use too much
 water early in a round.  The next round involved the deceased praying
 audibly and telling a story.  Ms Collier describes the interior of the
 sweat lodge as becoming very hot.  Ms Collier states that she does not
 normally notice the heat in a sweat lodge ‘as I am in a different
 place’[9]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn9>
 , but on this occasion she was very conscious of the heat to the point
 where she urged the deceased to quicken the pace of his part of the
 ceremony.  The deceased poured more water on the rocks and then appeared
 to go quiet, although Ms Collier states that in her experience this is
 quite normal.  She states that the other participant, Mr Asfar, was
 still responsive at that stage.  According to Ms Collier she again urged
 the deceased to hurry up because of the heat.  At this time, however, he
 did not respond.  She attributed this to his preoccupation with his
 role in the ceremony.  Some chanting by Mr Asfar took place at the
 conclusion of which he was also unresponsive.  From the tone of Ms Collier’s
 statement it is at about that point she quite clearly started to
 experience a measure of discomfort and anxiety about the environment within
 the sweat lodge and so decided to leave the ceremony prematurely.  Ms
 Collier says that both of the men were unresponsive at that stage.  She
 called out for help and someone opened the door to the sweat lodge.
  She emerged.  By then, Ms Collier was physically compromised herself.

5.4.            The two men were dragged out of the sweat lodge.  They
 were manifestly unconscious and unresponsive.  Paradoxically, they were
 both wrapped in blankets when what they required was cooling.

5.5.            In his statement[10]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn10>
  Mr Asfar describes his own ordeal.  He also was not new to the ritual,
 having participated on three or four previous occasions.  He
 participated in a sweat lodge on the Wednesday night in the Adelaide Hills and in
 two others at the Flinders site.  The first of these lasted about 40
 minutes and the second about 20 minutes.  He also participated in the
 vision quest which took place in the 24 hour period between Saturday
 morning and the Sunday morning.

5.6.            Mr Asfar expected the pipe ceremony in the sweat lodge
 to take only about 30 minutes, but like many of the others does not
 seem to have much conception of time as far as the duration of the fatal
 sweat lodge is concerned.  In the 6 hours or so before entering the
 lodge, he had consumed about a litre of water and about 600ml of Gatorade.
  He did not know how much liquid the deceased had consumed.

5.7.            In his statement to the police Mr Asfar provides a
 description of what happened in the lodge.  He describes nothing out of the
 ordinary at first, except the presence of an unusual odour that he
 attributes to the water that was being used which he thinks may have been
 bore water.  He recalls feeling very hot and that he was lying on the
 ground to seek relief from the heat.  The deceased and Ms Collier were
 also lying down, but the deceased seemed to be fine.  However, it is
 plain that the heat overwhelmed them all.   Mr Asfar himself said that he
 felt so weak that he was unable to speak.  His next memory is being in
 the ambulance on the way to the Leigh Creek Hospital.

5.8.            Mr Asfar postulates that the quality of the water may
 have had something to do with their collapse.  This can be discounted.
  Heavy metal analysis of the bore water taken from the scene by the
 police did not show elevated levels of any toxic metals such as arsenic,
 lead or mercury[11]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn11>
 .  In addition, the finding of significant dehydration in two of the
 participants, with rapid recovery of Ms Collier upon her removal from the
 heated environment, would not be supportive of this possibility.  Mr
 Asfar’s recovery upon rehydration is also not a feature of heavy metal
 poisoning. 

5.9.            When Mr Jarvis spoke to the police at the scene he said
 that he had interpreted the events in these terms: that he had noticed
 a particular energy coming out of the sweat lodge that he had not seen
 before.  It was an energy source quite strong in nature and for him
 the two people in the lodge were having an out of body experience.  He
 had noticed a change in the tone of voice of those in the sweat lodge and
 had believed that it had been part of their prayer process.  When Ms
 Collier had started yelling to be let out of the sweat lodge, Mr
 Jarvis’ initial reaction was to pick up a ceremonial staff with a feather
 attached to it and to cut the energy that was in play with the
 feather[12]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn12>
 .  He then opened the door and states that he noticed that the deceased
 â€˜appeared to be unconscious’[13]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn13>
 .  The deceased was then removed from the sweat lodge along with Mr
 Asfar.  In Mr Jarvis’ formal witness statement he reiterates what he had
 told the police earlier and says that although at that point in time
 there was some panic on the part of those present, he thought that the
 two men were still travelling and having an out of body experience.  Mr
 Jarvis’ evidence before me about the way he saw these events was
 consistent with what he had told the police in November 2004.  He added
 that at one point in time he had noticed that the lodge did not seem to
 have its usual energy, it was not in its ‘hum’ – it was out of
 alignment and it was not complete.  Mr Jarvis walked around the lodge and
 at that stage Ms Collier said that there was something wrong.  She
 started yelling ‘Get me out of here’[14]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn14>
 .  They threw open the lodge and Ms Collier emerged.  Jarvis says that
 she was not well.  While acknowledging that the deceased was removed
 from the lodge in an unconscious state, Jarvis said it was like he was in
 a ‘deep sleep’.  He said that he had seen this happen before to
 people and that it was not uncommon for them to go into this deep sleep.
  He had seen a particular energy force outside their bodies, but it
 was one that was still connected to their bodies.  In his experience,
 drumming brings them back into consciousness - ‘You call them back, you
 drum them in’.  He himself had experienced this out of body
 phenomenon - a deep shut down state that had culminated, on his own admission,
 in him being ill and vomiting after regaining consciousness, as if the
 same were to be viewed as nothing out of the ordinary.  Mr Jarvis
 admitted that he really had no idea how one would distinguish a clinically
 unconscious person from one who was in a deep trance.  The respective
 conditions of Mr Asfar and the deceased when removed from the lodge were
 therefore to be viewed against that sort of belief system, a belief
 system that did not augur well for their survival.

5.10.        The length of time in which the deceased and the other
 participants had been in the sweat lodge prior to their removal can only
 be gleaned from estimates provided by some of the participants.  Mr
 Jarvis was unhelpful in this regard.  In his evidence before me he appeared
 to regard time as an irrelevant consideration when in reality time
 spent in the lodge must have impacted significantly on the wellbeing of
 its occupants.  Mr Heath Myers, who provided a statement dated 4 November
 2004[15]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn15>
 , was one of the fire keepers for this ceremony.  Ultimately, Mr Myers
 was to be the initiator of attempts to obtain medical help after the
 deceased’s collapse.  Mr Myers suggests that the ceremony, and I take
 it he means from the time of the introduction of the heat into the sweat
 lodge until the removal of the participants, was about half an hour to
 45 minutes, but emphasised that he was not sure about that time[16]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn16>
 .  Mr Kenneth Gifford who provided a statement dated 4 November
 2004[17]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn17>
  was the other fire keeper.  His estimates are more considered than
 those of Mr Myers.  Mr Gifford states that the first round involving the
 placement of the first lot of stones lasted between 15 and 25 minutes.
  He states that the first round was not completed satisfactorily and that
 the participants took approximately an extra 10 minutes.  Another 10
 minutes was taken in placing the rest of the stones into the sweat lodge
 although at that point the doors of the lodge were open.  Mr Gifford
 estimates that they would have been in the sweat lodge for approximately
 20 to 25 minutes.  After he heard the deceased finish his
 story-telling he says that things went quiet for about 5 minutes.  There was then
 some chanting by Mr Asfar for about 3 minutes and then there was quiet
 for about another 5 minutes.  He then states that the next thing that
 took place was Ms Collier asking for the sweat lodge to be opened because
 of the heat.  Mr Gifford describes Mr Jarvis urging Ms Collier to
 â€˜rouse up your brothers’[18]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn18>
 , upon which Mr Gifford states that he heard Ms Collier trying to
 attract Mr Asfar and the deceased’s attention.  At that point the sweat
 lodge was opened and the three participants were removed.

5.11.        Mr Gifford describes the deceased as appearing ‘in a
 dream state’[19]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn19>
  following his removal.  He also makes a point of saying that no-one
 appeared to be too concerned for the welfare of the two men, but does not
 provide any basis for saying that.  However, other descriptions suggest
 that although there was some concern expressed for the condition of
 the two men, for the most part it manifested itself in bizarre
 ritualistic behaviour and it was not until Mr Myers adopted a more prosaic
 approach that medical assistance was sought.  Mr Myers and Mr Gifford were to
 go to the homestead to seek help.  I return later to the efforts to
 revive the deceased and to seek medical assistance for him.

5.12.        The above description of events, particularly that
 provided by Ms Collier, establishes that conditions inside the sweat lodge,
 regardless of the length of time the three of them had been in there, had
 become incompatible with the wellbeing of its occupants.  Ms Collier
 was the only one of the three to have the presence of mind to realise
 this as a fact.  Why the other two participants did not think so is far
 from clear.  However, it may well be from Ms Collier’s description of
 these events that the two men had become so fixated with the ceremony
 and with their roles in it that they had become oblivious to the dangers
 that their environment presented.  Indeed, according to Mr Jarvis, Mr
 Asfar has since confided that he attributed his personal ordeal to an
 out of body experience.  The evidence suggests that this experience is a
 goal of some devotees of the practice.

5.13.        We do not know with certainty what time of the morning it
 was when the deceased and Mr Asfar were removed from the sweat lodge.
  However, it was still dark at that time because many of the group
 describe daybreak as occurring some time after their removal.  In the
 witness box, Mr Jarvis said it was still dark when they were removed but
 thought that this had occurred not long before sunrise. However, when
 pressed he thought it could have been as much as an hour before it became
 light.  One point in time that appears to be reasonably ascertainable
 within limits is the time when Messrs Myers and Gifford arrived at the
 station homestead and sought help.  Mr Doran gives a time of about 8am as
 the time they came to his door.  SAAS were contacted some time prior to
 8:32am at which time two SAAS volunteers at Leigh Creek were notified
 by ambulance communications of the incident on their pagers[20]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn20>
 .  Mr Doran’s wife had contacted the SAAS.  Accordingly, it appears
 that Messrs Myers and Gifford probably arrived at the station homestead
 sometime between 8am and 8:30am.  They had undertaken the 10 kilometre
 journey from the campsite to the homestead in a 4WD vehicle.  We do not
 know with precision how long that journey took.  However, Senior
 Constable Stirling told me that the road was good enough for a 4WD vehicle
 to maintain a speed of 80 kilometres per hour.  If one assumes that
 Messrs Myers and Gifford did not dawdle, the trip would only have taken a
 few minutes.  If so, they left the sweat lodge area some time between
 7:30am and 8am.  These times are relevant in determining the length of
 time that had transpired between the deceased’s removal from the sweat
 lodge and Messrs Myers and Gifford going for help.

6.                  Events following the removal of Mr Asfar and the
 deceased from the sweat lodge 

6.1.            According to the Australian Government Geoscience
 Australia website, sunrise on 3 November 2004 at the location of the
 campsite, the co-ordinates of which were recorded by the police as 30 degrees
 23.066 minutes south and 138 degrees 58.617 minutes east, occurred at
 6:17am.  In my opinion it can therefore be deduced that the time between
 the deceased’s removal from the sweat lodge and Messrs Myers and
 Gifford leaving to get help was considerable.  Even if the journey to seek
 help took as long as half an hour, commencing say at 7:30am, it would
 mean that the deceased had been lying there unconscious from some time
 before sunrise at 6:17am until 7:30am before help was sought.  In
 addition, from a description of the activities that took place between those
 two events, as gleaned from the statements of those who had been
 present, it can be inferred that the period of time was considerable.
  Whatever that period of time was, the deceased never regained consciousness.
  The other male participant, Mr Asfar, was not as adversely affected
 by his experience in the sweat lodge as the deceased.  He regained some
 level of consciousness, although from any standpoint he was also
 dangerously ill.  The deceased, being unconscious and unrousable for the
 whole of that period, was quite clearly dangerously ill.  Even though he
 was seen to be breathing, one would have thought that to any sensible and
 rational person the deceased’s lack of consciousness could only be
 attributed to one thing, namely that the heat within the sweat lodge had
 so adversely affected him that his health and wellbeing had become
 severely compromised.  One only needed to have witnessed the state of
 anxiety in which Ms Collier exited the sweat lodge to realise that
 conditions within it had become intolerable.  The only sensible reaction to all
 of this would have been for those present to seek, as best they could
 in the circumstances that they had put themselves in, immediate medical
 assistance.

6.2.            Instead, the condition of the deceased was rationalised
 by reference to bizarre thought processes.  For instance, when Mr
 Jarvis described these events to the police he stated that when people go
 on a ‘shamanic’ journey they often do not immediately come back into
 their bodies.  So that when Mr Asfar and the deceased failed to
 â€˜ground in’ after they had been extracted from the sweat lodge, this was
 seen as the two men still having their shamanic journey or out of body
 experience[21]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn21>
 .  He does say that the two men were placed into the coma position and
 an endeavour was made to ensure that their airways were clear.  He told
 me that he thought the deceased’s vital signs were satisfactory.  He
 also says that an attempt was made to give the two men water but they
 did not drink; and quite clearly this must have been reflective of the
 fact that they were simply unconscious.  What the deceased needed at
 that point was rehydration by way of an IV saline drip that could only
 have been provided by professional help.  Mr Jarvis’ preferred method
 of treatment was to obtain his medicine drum, start banging it and to
 call the two men ‘back to earth’.  Mr Jarvis describes Mr Asfar as
 indeed ‘coming back’ because he started moving[22]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn22>
 .  He seems to attribute this partial revival to his drum banging.  Mr
 Asfar’s lack of recall of the events after his collapse means that he
 is unable to shed any light on whether the drum banging played any
 role in his survival.   

6.3.            Mr Jarvis says that the deceased, on the other hand,
 failed to come back and told me that he ultimately concluded that he
 could be of no further help.  Mr Jarvis stated that once it became obvious
 that the deceased was in a bad way, one of the other persons present,
 Daniel, suggested that the pipes that had been part of the initiation
 ceremony be offered as some kind of sacrifice, and that this could be
 effected by smashing the bowls of the pipes and throwing the stems into
 the fire.  Ms Collier agreed to this.  The other participants, Mr Asfar
 and the deceased, were in no state to express an attitude.
  Nevertheless, the strategy suggested by Daniel was embraced with enthusiasm and so
 all the pipes were broken.  Other measures adopted in an endeavour to
 revive the deceased included the playing of the didgeridoo, further drum
 banging, chanting and burying the deceased’s feet in the soil,
 practices that failed to deliver a resuscitative benefit.

6.4.            Mr Myers, who states that Mr Jarvis’ contribution to
 the crisis had consisted of making the observation that all of this was
 normal and that Mr Asfar and the deceased were astrally travelling,
 describes the events as follows:

'Everyone was tired, I went back to camp to get some juice, chocolate
 and muesli bars and brought them back.  We all took turns resting and
 looking after both of them.  I then fell asleep for a period of time, to
 be woken up by Margaret, I checked with her to see that the boys were
 alright and being looked after, I then fell back to sleep again and when
 I awoke it was daylight.  Adrian was looking a bit better, breathing
 more steady and Daniel and Karen were looking after him.  Adrian was
 vomiting occasionally.  Rowan’s breathing was heavy but steady, he had
 bitten his tongue but wasn’t looking good.  He didn’t smell good
 either, he was still, he looked very tired and weak and was breathing
 steadily and heavily.  The group were all applying their various modalities
 of healing to them including drumming, pressure points, hands-on
 healing, etc but I noticed that most of the group appeared to be panicking
 and fear was setting in.  I said to David I think it is time to consider
 a plan B and he agreed.  I then urgently clapped my hands and called
 to everyone drawing everyone together and said that we have to get these
 boys to medical attention.  I said that there was a house about ten
 minutes away and we could either get them airlifted or driven out.' [23]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn23>

Messrs Myers and Gifford then drove to the homestead and returned with
 Mr Doran.

6.5.            The journey to the homestead to seek help was long
 overdue.  I do not mean to be critical of Messrs Myers and Gifford about
 that.  They took the initiative, and it meant that Mr Asfar was provided
 with assistance at a time earlier than if his welfare had been left to
 others.  Mr Jarvis admitted to me that there would have been nothing
 standing in the way of the group seeking help immediately after the
 removal of the two men from the sweat lodge.  That is plainly right on any
 view.  Mr Jarvis said that he knew that they had passed a homestead on
 the way in to the camping site and he considered it to be only a
 relatively short distance away.  Senior Constable Stirling told me that the
 campsite was only a matter of a hundred or so metres away from the road
 that led to the homestead and that the road was in a satisfactory state
 of repair. The journey to the homestead could therefore easily have
 been undertaken in the dark.  If help had been sought as soon as it was
 realised that the deceased had lost consciousness, there does not appear
 to have been any reason why they could not have conveyed the two men to
 the homestead by sunrise.  Much time was needlessly wasted.  There was
 nothing pragmatic about the reason why help was not sought at the
 earliest available opportunity.  Mr Jarvis told me that as far as he was
 concerned the reason help was not sought was because he had believed both
 men would come in from their out of body experiences.  Once Mr Asfar
 had come in, he thought the deceased would follow.  It was only when he
 did not come in that he thought he needed help.     

7.                  Medical assistance for Mr Cooke is sought

7.1.            When Messrs Myers and Gifford attended at the
 homestead, the SAAS were called and, as seen earlier, two volunteer officers
 were alerted at 8:32am.  Messrs Myers and Gifford returned to the location
 of the deceased in company with Mr Doran.  Mr Doran describes the
 situation in these terms:

'I was then shown to where the patients were.  The other people present
 at the camp (about 6 or 7) were standing about 4 feet away and were
 either banging drums or hugging each other.  No one was attending to
 them.  Both were lying down on blankets and were also covered with
 blankets.  One was under about four blankets, two of those were double folded
 and this would have been equivalent to being under about 6 blankets.  He
 was extremely hot and I removed the blankets to help cool him down.
  He (sic) face was also flushed and the rest of his body was sickly white
 and he appeared to be in shock.  He had short rapid breaths and every
 so often seemed to get a deep breath in.  He appeared to be unconscious
 the whole time I was there.  I checked his pupils and they were pin
 prick in size.  I also saw that he had defecated and it was all over his
 back.  Some was dry on the blanket and his skin and he appeared to have
 been in it for a while, so it appeared he hadn’t been checked and
 under the blankets for a while.  I asked someone to quickly clean him up
 as I was concerned about my own health if I was going to help him.  He
 was then wrapped in a sheet and placed in the back of my car.  I told
 the others to put the other guy in their car and follow me and to stop
 off at my house and see her if they needed any help.  I would have only
 been at the camp site for about 3 to 5 minutes in total.' [24]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn24>

7.2.            Senior Constable Stirling told me that Mr Doran’s
 homestead was about 10 kilometres towards Leigh Creek and just off the
 road.  By not taking the deceased with them when Messrs Myers and Gifford
 went for help, it meant that an additional 20 kilometres was added to
 any journey that was going to be undertaken to Leigh Creek.  There was
 also a corresponding waste of time.  Mr Jarvis accepted this, but could
 not explain why the deceased was not taken with Messrs Myers and
 Gifford when they went for help.  After Mr Doran dealt with the situation at
 the campsite as best he could, he drove his vehicle towards Leigh
 Creek.  A number of the group of eleven travelled as well.  Mr Asfar was
 taken in one of the group’s 4WD vehicles.  At a point about 20
 kilometres out of Leigh Creek they met the crew of volunteer SAAS officers that
 had been despatched from Leigh Creek.

7.3.            The SAAS crew consisted of Sandra Evans and Christine
 Harris whose statements I received in evidence[25]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn25>
 .  Ms Evans and Ms Harris had 2½ and 3 years SAAS experience
 respectively.  They met the party conveying the deceased at about 9:08am.  The
 vehicle containing Mr Asfar was at that stage some distance behind.  Ms
 Evans’ and Ms Harris’ statements describe in some detail the
 measures implemented to resuscitate the deceased.  He was removed from the
 vehicle onto a stretcher.  The deceased was in a very bad way.  Lividity,
 or the gravitational pooling of blood in the tissues, was already
 present.  As well, his eyes were glazed and his pupils fixed.  What carotid
 pulse there was was very weak and only occasionally present if at all.
  Breathing was said to be negligible if non-existent.  Professor Byard
 told me in evidence that these were signs, especially the lividity,
 that were very much indicative of death already having taken place.

7.4.            Notwithstanding the hopelessness of the situation, Ms
 Evans and Ms Harris commenced CPR and the deceased was given oxygen.
  Authorisation to administer adrenaline was sought from, and given by, Dr
 Hugh Grantham, Medical Director of the South Australia Ambulance
 Service.

7.5.            Mr Shaun Rieck was a full-time SAAS paramedic stationed
 at Port Augusta.  He was present at the Leigh Creek mine conducting a
 training exercise.  At 9:10am he was notified of the fact that the
 Leigh Creek SAAS crew were attending an incident on the Arkaroola Road and
 was advised that the patient in question was very unwell.  He and two
 mine rescue crew members, Messrs Smith and Place, who as it happened
 were also volunteer SAAS officers, left the mine and travelled to the
 scene in the mine’s troop carrier ambulance.  They arrived at 9:44am.  By
 then the vehicle carrying Mr Asfar had also arrived at the scene.

7.6.            Mr Rieck attended to the deceased who was clearly the
 worse of the two men.  Mr Rieck observed that his pupils were fixed and
 dilated with no respirations or pulse with cyanosis and lividity.
  Notwithstanding these observations, he cannulated the deceased and
 administered a drip and more adrenaline but with nil response.  CPR was
 continued with further adrenaline being administered.  A carotid pulse was
 achieved at one point.  The deceased was loaded into the ambulance at
 10:13am and they set off for Leigh Creek.  CPR and adrenaline
 administration continued.  They arrived at the Leigh Creek Hospital at 10:38am.  At
 one point en-route the deceased’s cardiac output was such as to
 enable defibrillation, but any benefit was short lived. At the hospital Mr
 Cooke was observed to be cyanotic, with fixed and dilated pupils and had
 no vascular output[26]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn26>
 .

7.7.            Resuscitation efforts continued at the hospital but
 they were unsuccessful and Mr Cooke was pronounced dead at 11:32am.

8.                  The post-mortem examination of Mr Cooke and the
 cause of death

8.1.            Professor Byard’s post-mortem report, together with
 an article about this incident co-written by Professor Byard and Dr
 Heath that was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and
 Pathology, were tendered at the Inquest and became Exhibit C23a.
  Professor Byard gave evidence before me that augmented his written material.

8.2.            Professor Byard expressed the cause of death in his
 post-mortem report as dehydration/heat related death.  I find this to be
 the cause of the deceased’s death.  The basis of Professor Byard’s
 conclusion is expressed as follows:

'Death was attributed to dehydration given the circumstances of the
 fatal episode and the finding of a vitreous humor sodium of 156 mmol/L.
  Levels above 155 mmol/L are considered to represent dehydration.  In
 addition, it is possible that this was higher given that intravenous
 fluids were administered during attempted resuscitation.  It is also likely
 that high environmental temperature contributed to death, although the
 diagnosis of hyperthermia is difficult to make at autopsy as there are
 no pathognomonic features and the body had obviously cooled
 considerably since the time of exposure to the reported elevated temperatures.
  Although it has been proposed that a diagnosis of death due to
 hyperthermia should include a body temperature of 40.6° Celsius or higher, with
 a high environmental temperature at the death scene (greater than
 37.8° Celsius), body decomposition and a history of a person being alive
 with the high environmental temperature, it is not always possible to
 fulfil all of these criteria.  The term “heat related deathâ€?? is the
 terminology recommended by the National Association of Medical Examiners
 when exposure to high ambient temperatures has either caused death or
 significantly contributed to it, but the body temperature at the time of
 the collapse/death cannot be determined.

The areas of parchmenting and abrasion may well have occurred during
 removal of the body from the hot environment with superficial burns being
 sustained from heated rocks.  There were no medically significant
 injuries present.  The minor injuries that were present corresponded to the
 description of the incident. 

There were no underlying organic diseases present which could have
 caused or contributed to death.  Blood carbon monoxide level was 1% and
 alcohol and common drugs were not detected on toxicological screening.'
 [27]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn27>

8.3.            Professor Byard told me in evidence that prolonged
 exposure to heat can also cause hyperthermia which in turn can result in
 the degeneration of bodily tissues, a condition commonly known as organ
 or muscle meltdown.  There were no tissue markers for hyperthermia in
 the deceased.  Professor Byard attributed this to a relatively short time
 frame from overheating to death and to the fact that dehydration was
 an important component to terminal metabolic compromise.  While the
 possibility of tissue degeneration from over-heating should be a matter of
 concern to those minded to participate in sweat lodges, just as it is
 to endurance athletes, it must be borne in mind that dehydration is the
 one factor that can compromise one’s bodily functions and
 consciousness quickly in a heated environment.  Professor Byard writes in his
 article:

'Individuals who engage in such practices need to be made aware of the
 potential dangers of overheating and the importance of maintaining good
 hydra­tion. People with underlying significant cardiovascular
 dis­ease, certain medications, and recent heavy alcohol consump­tion should
 be discouraged from participating in such activities.'  [28]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn28>

8.4.            In Professor Byard’s opinion the deceased’s
 wellbeing would not have been helped by having been wrapped in blankets.
  Careful cooling is the obvious and preferred approach.  Professor Byard
 made the observation that his being wrapped in blankets probably accounted
 for the unusually high level of bodily warmth that was still apparent
 at the Leigh Creek Hospital notwithstanding that he had probably been
 deceased for some time prior to his arrival.

8.5.            Professor Byard has also recorded in the above passage
 the existence of a number of injuries to the deceased’s person
 including burns that had also been noticed by ambulance personnel.  It has
 been suggested that these burns were possibly sustained when he was
 dragged out of the sweat lodge.  However, according to Mr Jarvis the
 deceased was not dragged over the hot stones, but was removed from one side of
 the lodge after the fabric had been lifted.  In addition, Senior
 Constable Stirling told me that the drag marks that were seen in the lodge
 were consistent with that and in any case did not appear to have crossed
 the stone pit.  I think it more likely that the burns were sustained
 at a time when the deceased was unconscious and supine in the lodge
 prior to his removal, again highlighting the dangers associated with an
 altered state of consciousness when participating in a sweat lodge.

8.6.            Professor Byard suggests that there had been a critical
 delay in obtaining essential therapy for the deceased.  Any situation
 involving a patient who is unconscious from any sort of insult will do
 better the quicker medical treatment is instituted.  If the deceased
 could not be rehydrated orally, then he required access to an IV drip
 that in reality could only be administered professionally.  He suggested
 that there were signs that Mr Cooke was already deceased by the time he
 was first seen by the volunteer ambulance crew from Leigh Creek.  While
 it is not possible to conclude with certainty that if the deceased had
 been provided with earlier access to professional assistance he would
 have survived, Professor Byard expressed the belief that had the
 deceased been provided with more timely access to professional intervention,
 his chances of survival would have been much greater than what they had
 been and that it was possible that he may have survived.  I accept
 that evidence.

8.7.            In my view the delay in seeking professional assistance
 of the kind that Professor Byard envisaged meant that the deceased was
 denied a proper chance at survival.  That delay was occasioned by a
 number of factors.  The location of the deceased’s collapse was remote
 and there was no plan in existence that could deal with any emergency
 such as the one that arose.  For instance, there was no evidence that
 there was any proper means of communication that would have enabled the
 group to make contact with emergency services.  As far as is known
 nobody possessed a mobile phone that was capable of communicating with the
 outside world, given that in the location in question there was no
 coverage available to conventional devices.  I was told that there was a CB
 radio located in one of the vehicles at the scene, but there is nothing
 to suggest that in that location it could have enabled communication
 with anyone of significance.  There is no evidence that any attempt was
 made to utilise the radio.  Secondly, there was no plan as to what
 would be required in order to evacuate someone from the location in the
 event of an emergency and no plan in existence as to where a person could
 be taken in such an emergency.  Thirdly, although there may have been
 some knowledge of first aid on the part of some of the group, there was
 no evidence that any of that knowledge was put to good use.  Mr Jarvis
 told me that he had no knowledge of the symptoms of overheating or
 dehydration nor had any knowledge about the treatment or resuscitative
 measures for the same.  He did not think that anyone else in the group had
 any such knowledge either.  You would think, however, that anyone with
 even a rudimentary grasp of first aid would have recognised the need
 for medical assistance in an unconscious and unrousable human being.  The
 fact that the deceased was wrapped in blankets very much suggests that
 nobody there had a clue as to what should happen to the overheated
 patient in the first instance.  However, much of the above tends to pale
 somewhat when it is remembered that the one thing that really stood in
 the way of the deceased obtaining timely medical help was the belief
 system entertained by the group that held that the deceased was simply
 experiencing some kind of detachment from his physical being from which
 detachment he would in due course return.  It is my view that this was
 the critical factor in the deceased’s demise.

Offline educatedindian

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4740
Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2008, 04:37:45 pm »
Part 2-Includes Recommendations and Warnings

---------

8.7.            In my view the delay in seeking professional assistance
 of the kind that Professor Byard envisaged meant that the deceased was
 denied a proper chance at survival.  That delay was occasioned by a
 number of factors.  The location of the deceased’s collapse was remote
 and there was no plan in existence that could deal with any emergency
 such as the one that arose.  For instance, there was no evidence that
 there was any proper means of communication that would have enabled the
 group to make contact with emergency services.  As far as is known
 nobody possessed a mobile phone that was capable of communicating with the
 outside world, given that in the location in question there was no
 coverage available to conventional devices.  I was told that there was a CB
 radio located in one of the vehicles at the scene, but there is nothing
 to suggest that in that location it could have enabled communication
 with anyone of significance.  There is no evidence that any attempt was
 made to utilise the radio.  Secondly, there was no plan as to what
 would be required in order to evacuate someone from the location in the
 event of an emergency and no plan in existence as to where a person could
 be taken in such an emergency.  Thirdly, although there may have been
 some knowledge of first aid on the part of some of the group, there was
 no evidence that any of that knowledge was put to good use.  Mr Jarvis
 told me that he had no knowledge of the symptoms of overheating or
 dehydration nor had any knowledge about the treatment or resuscitative
 measures for the same.  He did not think that anyone else in the group had
 any such knowledge either.  You would think, however, that anyone with
 even a rudimentary grasp of first aid would have recognised the need
 for medical assistance in an unconscious and unrousable human being.  The
 fact that the deceased was wrapped in blankets very much suggests that
 nobody there had a clue as to what should happen to the overheated
 patient in the first instance.  However, much of the above tends to pale
 somewhat when it is remembered that the one thing that really stood in
 the way of the deceased obtaining timely medical help was the belief
 system entertained by the group that held that the deceased was simply
 experiencing some kind of detachment from his physical being from which
 detachment he would in due course return.  It is my view that this was
 the critical factor in the deceased’s demise.

8.8.            Professor Byard made one additional and worrying
 observation.  He told me that evidence would suggest that one of the aims of
 some persons who use sweat lodges is the actual alteration of their
 mental state - to a point where they believe that they are astrally
 travelling or having visions, and that this is induced by hyperthermia.  This
 puts them in a precarious situation, especially where, as was the case
 here, alternate therapies are thought to have the ability to bring
 them back if something untoward occurs.  It is a matter of some concern
 that in his evidence Mr Jarvis confirmed what Professor Byard was talking
 about.  The following passage of evidence occurred in Mr Jarvis’
 examination:

'Q. How would they go about achieving an out-of-body experience in a
 sweat lodge.

A.     Well just by - intensive lodges are like that.

Q.    What do you mean by intensive lodges.

A.     Well some people make it as hot as possible.

Q.    In order to achieve an out-of-body experience.

A.     In order to achieve some connection with spirit and you know,
 that's - that is exactly that, out-of-body.

Q.    So how do you know in those circumstances then, whether what the
 person is really trying to achieve is a level of unconsciousness,
 rather than an out-of-body experience.

A.     You don't.

Q.    Do you accept now that people who have experienced out-of-body
 experiences in sweat lodges have essentially been suffering from a marked
 reduction in their conscious state.

A. I can accept that, yes.' [29]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn29>

            Mr Jarvis also referred to the existence of the endurance
 lodge the aim of which is to deliberately subject the body to heat for
 as long as possible in order to push oneself to the limits of one’s
 physical endurance.  The undesirability of such exercises, especially
 those taking place in the kind of circumstances that prevailed, here is
 manifest.




9.                  The evidence of Ms Blackmore

9.1.            The approach to the manner in which these activities
 were administered and to the obvious crisis that had developed here is to
 be contrasted to the approach to safety that is adopted by SOTEMS as
 described in evidence by Ms Prudence Blackmore.  SOTEMS is an Australia
 wide organisation that takes its inspiration from the spiritual
 practices of the Native Americans and which provides organised opportunities
 for the undertaking of vision quests and sweat lodges for devotees and
 others so inclined.

9.2.            It is no part of this Inquest’s function to give its
 seal of approval to this entity or its practices or otherwise to
 endorse its product, but it is worthwhile recording the safety measures that
 the organisation says it adopts, and has adopted all along, in relation
 to the welfare of participants in sweat lodges, measures of which
 there was little evidence as far as the activities of the group of eleven
 were concerned.  I adduced this evidence if for no other reason than to
 bring into sharp focus how utterly unnecessary this death was and how
 it may have been prevented by the kind of measures described by Ms
 Blackmore.

9.3.            Before describing these measures in any detail, it
 should be noted that Ms Blackmore is a clinical psychotherapist having
 qualifications as a registered psychiatric nurse.  Ms Blackmore candidly
 acknowledged that the whole realm of vision questing and its connected
 activities attracts more than its fair share of strange people.  Ms
 Blackmore also referred to the ‘quackery’ associated with these
 activities but nevertheless insists that there are reputable people running
 vision quests as well.  While there is an obvious air of mysticism
 surrounding the activities of SOTEMS, and while sweat lodges run by her
 organisation are certainly designed to encourage people to access alternative
 levels of understanding of the contents of their day to day lives, the
 more extreme belief systems that involve out of body experiences of
 the kind described by Mr Jarvis and the like are not embraced by Ms
 Blackmore or her associates.  Certainly, SOTEMS deprecates the concept of
 endurance lodges or the pursuit of unconsciousness by the subjection of
 the body to heat.  Ms Blackmore said that any level of unconsciousness
 arising from the use of a sweat lodge would be treated by her
 organisation as a medical emergency for which the necessary professional
 assistance would be sought.  I was reassured by Ms Blackmore’s acknowledgment
 that there is no evidence that drumming, chanting, smashing pipes or
 burying feet in soil provides any discernible therapeutic advantage to
 an unconscious human being.

9.4.            Ms Blackmore described a raft of safety measures that
 are practised by her organisation that in the main simply reflect common
 sense.  She correctly identified a duty of care that people who
 facilitate sweat lodges owe to their participants, including even the
 experienced, and was correct to observe that safety is the paramount
 consideration.  The emphasis appears to be on preparation, monitoring and access
 to professional assistance in the event of an adverse incident.

9.5.            Ms Blackmore referred to the vetting of aspirants in so
 far as an assessment is made of their physical and emotional
 suitability to participate in a sweat lodge.  For instance, those with a clear
 and present psychiatric issue or who possess a background of the same
 would be excluded, as would persons who describe certain physical
 illnesses and conditions.

9.6.            The facilitators who conduct sweat lodges on behalf of
 the society are trained in the conduct of the ritual and additionally
 are trained in first aid by Red Cross, with their qualifications being
 updated on a regular basis.  They are not permitted to run a sweat lodge
 until they have undergone the required training.  Essential attributes
 for a facilitator are leadership qualities, intelligence and
 awareness.  The facilitators are actually present within the sweat lodges at the
 time they are conducted and they monitor the physical and emotional
 well being of the participants, looking for any adverse signs such as
 alteration in conscious state, respiratory or other distress.  Novices are
 seated next to the door of the lodge and next to the facilitator.  In
 addition, a close eye is said to be kept on temperature within the
 lodge and on the time in which participants are in the lodge and on
 appropriate ventilation.  The people who run their expeditions monitor the
 participants’ daily intake of fluid.

9.7.            SOTEMS does conduct sweat lodges in remote locations.
  However, mobile phones that are capable of operating in locations where
 conventional phones are not are regarded as essential equipment.  They
 also possess a radio that is capable of communicating with a person
 situated in a substantial town such as Alice Springs.

9.8.            The measures described above seem to be in contra
 distinction to what transpired during the events with which this Inquest is
 concerned, events that in my opinion were characterised by fecklessness
 at an astonishing level.  If measures such as those described by Ms
 Blackmore had been in existence that morning there is no guarantee that
 the unfortunate outcome here would have been different, but there is
 good reason to suppose that it may have.  The one factor that could
 possibly have changed the outcome was a timely and sensible recognition of
 the fact that from the time Mr Cooke was removed from the sweat lodge he
 was desperately ill.  It is a truly remarkable feature of this case
 that not one person out of the eleven was able to draw that inescapable
 conclusion until it was too late.

9.9.            It is worthwhile observing that Mr Jarvis has not
 conducted a sweat lodge since the one involved in this Inquest.  When drawn
 as to the reason for this, the following exchange took place:

'Q. Did you form the view after this incident that there was something
 inherently dangerous about this practice that perhaps has made you
 rethink the wisdom of it.

A. I’d say yes.  I have to say that it made me think again, you
 know.' [30]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftn30>

10.              Recommendations

10.1.        Pursuant to section 25(2) of the Coroner’s Act 2003 I am
 empowered to make recommendations that in the opinion of the Court
 might prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, a recurrence of an event
 similar to the event that was the subject of the inquest.

10.2.        I would have had no hesitation in recommending that the
 practice of conducting sweat lodges be regulated in some way if a
 sensible method of so doing was readily apparent.  However, it is a matter
 that the authorities should perhaps consider.  Certainly in my view the
 practice should be discouraged, especially in remote areas and these
 findings should serve as a warning to those minded to conduct or otherwise
 become involved in sweat lodges.

10.3.        However I do make the following recommendation.

10.4.        That the Department of Health and any other relevant
 authority issue public advice as to the use of sweat lodges and in
 particular:

a)      as to the dangers associated with exposure to high temperatures
 for prolonged periods in a confined space, and;

b)      as to the dangers associated with the practice of sweat lodge
 rituals in remote areas that have limited access to communications and
 medical facilities;

c)      as to the need for all participants to understand that any
 medical emergency requires standard urgent medically supervised and
 monitored treatment;

d)      as to the need for adequate communication, knowledge of first
 aid and treatment for heat related illness and the recognition of
 symptoms of the same and the need for a proper plan for the evacuation of an
 unwell person in the event of an emergency;

e)      as to the need for care to be taken in the selection of
 co-participants in sweat lodges;

f)        as to the need for care to be taken in assessing the
 character and antecedents of persons who apparently hold positions of influence
 in the conduct of sweat lodges;

g)      as to the need for care to be taken in assessing the belief
 system of the persons with whom they participate in sweat lodges.

________________________________

Key Words:   Sweat Lodge; Dehydration; Public Warning

 

 

In witness whereof the said Coroner has hereunto set and subscribed his
 hand and

 

Seal the 8th day of June, 2007.

                         


Deputy State Coroner


 

Inquest Number  15/2007 (3315/2004)

[1]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref1>
  Exhibit C22c, page 1

[2]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref2>
  Exhibit C11, page 7

[3]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref3>
  Exhibit C8

[4]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref4>
  Exhibit C12

[5]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref5>
  Exhibit C22c, page 5

[6]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref6>
  Exhibit C22c, page 4

[7]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref7>
  Exhibit C8

[8]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref8>
  Exhibit C8, page 2

[9]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref9>
  Exhibit C8, page 3

[10]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref10>
  Exhibit C21

[11]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref11>
  Exhibits C17 and C17a

[12]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref12>
  Exhibit C22c, page 8

[13]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref13>
  Exhibit C12, page 4

[14]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref14>
  Exhibit C12, page 4

[15]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref15>
  Exhibit C14

[16]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref16>
  Exhibit C14, page 6

[17]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref17>
  Exhibit C15

[18]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref18>
  Exhibit C15, page 3

[19]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref19>
  Exhibit C15, page 3

[20]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref20>
  Exhibit C4, page 2

[21]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref21>
  Exhibit C22c, page 5

[22]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref22>
  Exhibit C12, pages 4-5

[23]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref23>
  Exhibit C14, page 7

[24]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref24>
  Exhibit C17, page 2

[25]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref25>
  Exhibits C4 and C5

[26]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref26>
  Exhibit C1

[27]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref27>
  Exhibit 23a, pages 1-2

[28]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref28>
  Exhibit 23a, page 238

[29]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref29>
  Transcript, page 111

[30]
 <http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2007/cooke.finding.htm#_ftnref30>
  Transcript, page 60

Offline nemesis

  • Posts: 526
Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2011, 04:27:46 pm »
This is an old link from 2009 to a death in a newage "Indian sauna" in Croatia,.  The "sauna" was apparently run by a local mayor, Luka Hodak, who considered himself to be a shaman.


Quote
SHAMAN FROM SABORSKOJANUARY 1 2009 21:22hInternet Invitation for Séance Where Man Burned


Shaman writes on Hodak’s website that a Dance of the Sun and Moon takes place once a year in Saborsko but other séances are more frequent.

It is almost certain that some sort of séance that went wrong took place in the sauna of Luka Hodak, who is the mayor of Saborsko. This occurred on the New Year’s Eve. Remember, the police found the body of Ratko Baric burnt in the sauna.
He is one of the five men that closed themselves into an Indian sauna on New Year’s Eve at 10pm, where they started a fire. According to the witnesses, they took the hot stones from the sauna to the wooden “tent”. All of that was preceded by, as the witnesses claim, by consuming hallucinogenic berries that are used to achieve a trance.

It is certain that New Year’s Eve was not the first time that Hodak took hallucinogenic substances, because it is known that Hodak is delighted by shamanism. The story gets stronger with the fact that Hodak has a two language website, where he calls himself Uke, that calls all to join him in celebrating the sun and the moon.

Dance of the Sun and the Moon

Hodak claims on his website that “Long Dance” and “Sweat Lodge” are in question, that was founded by chief Joseh Rael “Beautiful Painted Arrow” from the tribe “Southern Ute Picuris Pueblo” in Indian tradition. They are led by Uke (Hodak) in Saborsko, and they were held every two months at various locations.

Once a year, it says on Hodak’s website Shaman.hr, a special Dance of the Sun and Moon occurs, always at the same place, at the slopes of the forest “Corkova Uvala” inside the Croatian national park “Plitvice Lakes”. An Indian man helped Hodak build the sauna in which Baric died, which he recorded with a photograph on his website. The photographs include an ancient “tent” where men brought hot stones.

Local residents avoided Hodak

The citizens of Saborsko never endorsed Hodak following the Shaman movement, and they avoided him because of such things.
From unofficial sources we find out that Hodak has been known to offer hallucinogenic berries to guests in his Indian sauna, and that he ate them himself often, but for now it is not known if the four men that spent New Year’s Eve with Hodak consumed the berries beforehand.

If they did, something must have gone in the wrong direction. As the witnesses told the media, the men that participated in the séances screamed inarticulately, bangs items and broke things.
Ivica Hodak’s sister in law, who is 39 years old, one of the people who participated in the séance, said for the media that around 6am, her brother in law came to her and her husband and started shouting “Jura, Jura”.
The woman, as she says, did not have any idea who he was calling, and according to everything known, neither did Ivica. That shouting was preceded by rearranging the furniture in the room, breaking table legs and intermittent quiet and loud voices from his room around 12:30am, when Luka Hodak returned.

Men hospitalised in psychiatric ward

It is hard to expect that the police will find out exactly what happened in the Indian sauna. At the moment when Ankica Baric found her husband dead, Luka Hodak was standing over his body with a gun in his hands.
The other men in the case will also not be able to shed some light on the case, because they were hospitalised at the psychiatric ward of the Ogulin hospital, where doctors tried to “sober” them for hours.


http://dalje.com/en-croatia/internet-invitation-for-sance-where-man-burned/220032

a later link here

http://dalje.com/en-croatia/four-men-recovering-from-shaman-ritual/220242


« Last Edit: April 14, 2011, 04:31:00 pm by nemesis »

Offline carloscarlos13

  • Posts: 2
Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2011, 05:43:49 pm »
Long original post, but very interesting--thanks eI. Wow. If anyone wants a sort of snapshot of the stupidity and self-delusional nature of typical nuage 'shamanism', the descriptions of what people did to try to revive the two unconscious guys is revealing. Drumming, energy manipulation, playing the didgeridoo, smashing their pipes as an 'offering'. Oigh.

In part six of the original post from the inquest, the assumption made by the wannabes was that these unconscious men were having an 'out of body experience' and needed to be 'called back', not that they were dehydrated or ill. This sounds like a typically stupid nuage cultural corruption, mixing sweat practice with ideas about 'shamanic journeying'.

I know there are other ceremonies where people would leave their bodies and 'journey', and perhaps need to be 'called back', but I never heard of it in relation to a traditional sweat. In my humble experience people on occasion might feel dizzy or even, rarely, might faint for a moment after a sweat, but no one just stays passed out. Is anyone aware of a real traditional sweatlodge practice where people would 'leave their bodies' like this? 

Chuck

Even high school football coaches these days know about dehydration!



Offline nemesis

  • Posts: 526
Re: Cases of Deaths From Nuage Sweatlodges
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2011, 08:24:09 am »
Just wanted to share an interesting fact re one of the survivors of the "sweatlodge", a Mr Adrian Asfar, who is mentioned many times in the court ruling, is a newage entrepreneur who owns the website www.lightworkers.org.  In relation to the site he operates as some kind of newage guru called "Adeon".

whois data:

LIGHTWORKERS.ORG WHOIS
Updated: 37 days ago
Registrant Contact Information:
    Name: Adrian Asfar
    Organization: Adrian Asfar
    Address 1: PO Box R1833
    City: Royal Exchange
    State: NSW
    Zip: 1225
    Country: AU
    Phone: +61.61299488888
    Fax: +61.61299481111
    Email: @lightworkers.org

Administrative Contact Information:
    Name: Adrian Asfar
    Organization: Adrian Asfar
    Address 1: PO Box R1833
    City: Royal Exchange
    State: NSW
    Zip: 1225
    Country: AU
    Phone: +61.61299488888
    Fax: +61.61299481111
    Email: @lightworkers.org

Technical Contact Information:
    Name: Adrian Asfar
    Organization: Adrian Asfar
    Address 1: PO Box R1833
    City: Royal Exchange
    State: NSW
    Zip: 1225
    Country: AU
    Phone: +61.61299488888
    Fax: +61.61299481111
    Email: @lightworkers.org


You can see him in his "Adeon" persona here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i0xYx3q7UI

and read about "Adeon" here (use a proxy)
http://adeon.com.au/about-adeon/


He is starting his own "tribe" the "Rainbow Warriors" apparently based on a Cree legend.   
Quote

Awaken the Rainbow Warrior

Awaken the Rainbow Warrior is a series of workshops I have created to assist Lightworkers in their journey toward full self realisation. To come to know yourself, who you are, your souls past, your present role in the divine plan and your souls future. Awakening the Rainbow Warrior means stepping into your full potential, integrating all aspects of the self, ego, shadow, light and dark, activating your true divine multidimensional nature and becoming an active agent of change in our world.


The Legend

There was an old lady, from the “Cree” tribe, named “Eyes of Fire”, who prophesied that one day, because of the white mans’ or Yo-ne-gis’ greed, there would come a time, when the fish would die in the streams, the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and the trees would no longer be, mankind as we would know it would all but cease to exist.

There would come a time when the “keepers of the legend, stories, culture rituals, and myths, and all the Ancient Tribal Customs” would be needed to restore us to health. They would be mankind’s key to survival, they were the “Warriors of the Rainbow”. There would come a day of awakening when all the peoples of all the tribes would form a New World of Justice, Peace, Freedom and recognition of the Great Spirit.

The “Warriors of the Rainbow” would spread these messages and teach all peoples of the Earth or “Elohi”. They would teach them how to live the “Way of the Great Spirit”. They would tell them of how the world today has turned away from the Great Spirit and that is why our Earth is “Sick”.

The “Warriors of the Rainbow” would show the peoples that this “Ancient Being” (the Great Spirit), is full of love and understanding, and teach them how to make the “Earth or Elohi” beautiful again. These Warriors would give the people principles or rules to follow to make their path right with the world. These principles would be those of the Ancient Tribes. The Warriors of the Rainbow would teach the people of the ancient practices of Unity, Love and Understanding. They would teach of Harmony among people in all four comers of the Earth.

Like the Ancient Tribes, they would teach the peoples how to pray to the Great Spirit with love that flows like the beautiful mountain stream, and flows along the path to the ocean of life. Once again, they would be able to feel joy in solitude and in councils. They would be free of petty jealousies and love all mankind as their brothers, regardless of color, race or religion. They would feel happiness enter their hearts, and become as one with the entire human race. Their hearts would be pure and radiate warmth, understanding and respect for all mankind, Nature, and the Great Spirit. They would once again fill their minds, hearts, souls, and deeds with the purest of thoughts. They would seek the beauty of the Master of Life – the Great Spirit! They would find strength and beauty in prayer and the solitudes of life.

Their children would once again be able to run free and enjoy the treasures of Nature and Mother Earth. Free from the fears of toxins and destruction, wrought by the Yo-ne-gi and his practices of greed. The rivers would again run clear, the forests be abundant and beautiful, the animals and birds would be replenished. The powers of the plants and animals would again be respected and conservation of all that is beautiful would become a way of life.

The poor, sick and needy would be cared for by their brothers and sisters of the Earth. These practices would again become a part of their daily lives.

The leaders of the people would be chosen in the old way – not by their political party, or who could speak the loudest, boast the most, or by name calling or mud slinging, but by those whose actions spoke the loudest. Those who demonstrated their love, wisdom, and courage and those who showed that they could and did work for the good of all, would be chosen as the leaders or Chiefs. They would be chosen by their “quality” and not the amount of money they had obtained. Like the thoughtful and devoted “Ancient Chiefs”, they would understand the people with love, and see that their young were educated with the love and wisdom of their surroundings. They would show them that miracles can be accomplished to heal this world of its ills, and restore it to health and beauty.

The tasks of these “Warriors of the Rainbow” are many and great. There will be terrifying mountains of ignorance to conquer and they shall find prejudice and hatred. They must be dedicated, unwavering in their strength, and strong of heart. They will find willing hearts and minds that will follow them on this road of returning “Mother Earth” to beauty and plenty – once more.

The day will come, it is not far away. The day that we shall see how we owe our very existence to the people of all tribes that have maintained their culture and heritage. Those that have kept the rituals, stories, legends, and myths alive. It will be with this knowledge, the knowledge that they have preserved, that we shall once again return to “harmony” with Nature, Mother Earth, and mankind. It will be with this knowledge that we shall find our “Key to our Survival”.

This is the story of the “Warriors of the Rainbow” and this is my reason for sharing this information now.  It is time to return to the divine plan, to step into the river of life and flow with great spirit.  This is the most natural thing for all of us to do, it is your true nature. Walk with me, share the truth of who you are, and shine bright.  Welcome to the tribe. Welcome Rainbow Warrior.


source:
http://adeon.com.au/awaken-the-rainbow-warrior/

The main lightworkers.org website appears to be a site where any newager who wants to can sign up as a "teacher" and post their "teachings".   I am concerned, but unsurprised, to see that one of the more recent teachers registered in May 2011 (possibly by a follower) is the notorious fraud and sexual predator Christopher Hansard.

/lightworkers.org/teacher/132346/christopher-hansard

I know someone who knows some of Hansard's victims and the problem is that they are all too terrified of his "powers" to report him to the cops.

Anyway, I digress, at the time of writing this there are 250 newage "teachers" registered on the Lightworkers.org website and it is a very busy site that sometimes turns up in google searches when I research links to frauds and predators.

So, to be clear, the lightworkers.org site has its own agenda and teachings, plus it is a space where any newager can register and promote their own thing.

I'm a bit pushed for time but just wanted to share what I have so far, there is more.

I think that Mr Asfar is an interesting person.   I am concerned about him starting his own "tribe".   I will post more when I have a moment