Spiritual cleansing bath: the ritual baths of the world.

Ritual bath, cleansing bath: what we mean

An herbal bath is water in which flowers, leaves or bark have steeped, poured over the body or into the tub. The traditions give it a moment and an intention: the eve of a feast, the turn of the year, a prayer, a weight to set down. In English it goes by spiritual bath, cleansing bath, ritual bath; in Brazil, simply banho.

In Brazil: the banhos de ervas

In umbanda, the banho de ervas belongs to the life of the terreiro and flows far beyond it into everyday life. The best known is the banho de descarrego, the unloading bath, poured from the neck down: many terreiros keep the head, the ori, for separate care. Then come the baths of intention: the banho para abrir caminhos, which tradition takes before a journey, a new job, a year that begins; the banho de prosperidade; the banho para atrair amor, nearly always made with roses. Tradition says these baths open the way; each house has its recipe and its way of saying it.

In candomblé, the leaf carries axé, the life force. A Yoruba proverb repeated in the houses of candomblé says it all: Kò sí ewé, kò sí òrìṣà, “without leaves there is no orixá”. The leaves belong to Ossaim, the orixá of sacred leaves, and their bath has a name: abô, an infusion of consecrated leaves. Pierre Verger devoted a whole book to this science of leaves, Ewé (1995).

The benzedeira, the woman who blesses, prays with a sprig of rue, guiné or rosemary in her hand, and often prescribes a bath as well as a tea. In Juruena, Mato Grosso, the benzedeiras interviewed by Maciel and Guarim Neto (2006) “bless, prepare and prescribe teas, garrafadas, special baths and ointments”.

The banho de cheiro of Belém

In the Amazon, in Belém do Pará, the erveiras of the Ver-o-Peso market grate scented leaves, roots and bark: patchouli, priprioca, cumaru, rosemary, lavender, jasmine, basil, vanilla. This is the banho de cheiro, the scent bath, taken for the June festivals of St John, for the Círio de Nazaré and on New Year's Eve, often after a first unloading bath. The recipe passes by word of mouth, often from mother to daughter.

St John's Eve and its flower water, from Italy to Galicia: St John's Eve herbs.

The herbal baths of the world, one by one

Those whose history is written down, with the source of each story:

The flowers of our house, in the bath

• Roses: symbol of the royalty of the heart. In the bath, a few flowers in the water, for a divine experience. In Brazil, the rose is the flower of love baths.
• Noble Chamomile: a strong infusion or a handful of flowers, straight into your bathwater; a powerful lustration ritual to wash away accumulated anger or frustration.
• Lavender: one of the plants of sacred rest, traditionally also used in baths and sachets. In Brazil she is also called alfazema, and the banho de alfazema is known as a bath of calm and peace.
• Blue Lotus: add the flower to your bath for a sensual experience. Her sisters, the white lotus and the pink lotus, for a divine experience.
• Mugwort: in Japan, yomogi scents the yomogi-yu, the mugwort bath; in Russia, she is one of the herbs of St John's Eve.
• Agua de Florida: the floral water of Murray & Lanman, born in New York in 1808. Andean curanderos blow it in the soplo; a few drops are enough in a basin of water.
• Tulsi: India's holy basil, of the same genus as the manjericão poured into so many Brazilian banhos.

How to make a spiritual cleansing bath

Two to three tablespoons of dried herbs, or a handful of flowers, for a litre of water. Pour the just-boiled water over them, cover, steep ten minutes, strain. The infusion goes into a tub of warm water, or into a basin that you pour over your body after the shower. For Agua de Florida, a few drops in the water are enough.

Tradition is fond of moments: many banhos are taken in the evening, some on a particular moon or on the eve of a feast. Once the bath is done, the herbs go back to the earth, at the foot of a tree or in the garden.

The full moon bath and the other rites of the moon, tradition by tradition: full moon and new moon rituals.

Precautions

Warm water, never scalding. A first try on a small patch of skin, especially for sensitive skin and in case of allergy to the Asteraceae (chamomile, mugwort). During pregnancy, mugwort and rue are avoided. Rue, arruda, makes the skin sensitive to the sun: after a rue bath, exposed skin can burn. Cinnamon, clove, chilli and essential oils irritate the skin; an essential oil never goes neat into the bath. The comigo-ninguém-pode (dumb cane) of Brazilian protection pots is toxic and never goes into the water. Agua de Florida contains alcohol: only a few drops, away from the eyes and from any flame. For a baby or a young child, ask a paediatrician first.

Sources

• Banho de ervas: Wikipedia (pt). Banho de cheiro: Wikipedia (pt). Ossaim and abô: Wikipedia (pt).
• P. F. Verger, Ewé: o uso das plantas na sociedade iorubá, Companhia das Letras, 1995.
• M. R. A. Maciel and G. Guarim Neto, “Um olhar sobre as benzedeiras de Juruena (Mato Grosso, Brasil) e as plantas usadas para benzer e curar”, Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 2006 (Redalyc).
• Shōbu-yu: Wikipedia (ja). Ivan Kupala and Agrafena's bathhouse: Wikipedia (ru). Hay flowers and Kneipp: Wikipedia (de).
• Flowering baths at the Peruvian New Year: El Peruano, with the warning of Peru's National Institute of Health. Psalm 51:7 (King James Version).
• Agua de Florida: Wikipedia.