My Pipe

I am writing this story about my Prayer Pipe. Prayer Pipes are very important to the native world. I would like to state first off that I am NOT a pipe carrier nor am I the maker of this pipe. This pipe was made by one of my dearest friends William. I asked him before typing this post so that I would not be overstepping any lines here.
This pipe is special to me because Will is a good friend and it was gifted to me.
This pipe is made up of three parts. the deer antler mouth piece. the leather cover river reed stem and lastly the deer antler bowl.
The first part is the deer antler mouth piece. it is made of the end of a tine which has been drilled through and attached to a small piece of river reed that can be removed from the stem. The ability to take the three pieces apart is what makes it a true prayer pipe.
The second part i want to talk about is the stem. The stem is made of river reed. River reed is cousin plant to bamboo that grows need flowing water like creeks and rivers here on the east coast of the U.S. and through out other regions of the world.
Cherokee warriors would make blow pipes out of them. (Maybe I will do a post about the blow pipe i have made in the traditional way.) The stem was then covered over in a beautiful leather wrap that was made specially for me to match my dance regalia and war paint.
The last part is the bowl. this part was made out of the portion of deer antler where the main beam and first tine come together. it is drilled in a manner that doesn't allow any smoke to escape the pipe. it is truly amazing work.