smudging
n.— «During the ceremony, sage was burnt and wafted over the 65 or so people in attendance. The process is called smudging. And, Bobbi Piasecki said, its aim is to get rid of negative feelings or attitudes. The smudging ceremony should help get the new semester off to an upbeat start, she said.» —“Campus blessed by native traditions” by Scott Waltman American News (Aberdeen, South Dakota) Sept. 7, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
How do you pronounce pecan? Is it pee-KAHN or PEE-kan? And why are there different pronunciations of the name of this nut? The word pecan was borrowed into English more than once, and from numerous Native American languages that had variations on...