A man who died from extreme dehydration after an outback purification ritual was not given immediate medical help because fellow campers believed he was astral travelling, a coronial inquest has heard.

Melbourne man Rowan Douglas Cooke, 37, died on November 3, 2004, a day after being dragged unconscious from a heated tent, called a sweat lodge, as part of a native American ritual.

He was camping with 10 others from Victoria on an isolated property in the Gammon Ranges in South Australia's far north, undergoing an eight-day ritual of fasting, meditation and purification.

The South Australian Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday Mr Cooke was undertaking a ritual called a pipe ceremony, where participants sweat out toxins and spirits to enter an out-of-body state.

The sweat lodge was made of 16 bent poles that formed a dome about 1.2 metres tall, which was covered in blankets and silver insulation.

Volcanic rocks, called "grandfathers", were heated in a nearby fire and carried into the tent where water was poured on them to create steam.

Counsel assisting the coroner Amy Davis told the court Mr Cooke entered the sweat lodge after midnight, with two others, Adrian Asfar and Maureen Collier.

Ms Davis said after some time in the tent, Ms Collier yelled out that she wanted to leave and the campers later found Mr Cooke and Mr Asfar unconscious inside the lodge.

The campers dragged the two men out of the lodge and attempted to revive them by performing a series of spiritual rituals including chanting and drumming, she said.

They also massaged their hands and feet, buried their feet in the soil and smashed sacred ceramic pipes over them to set their spirits free.

"They believed they had been astral travelling or were in a deep meditation space," Ms Davis told the court.

Mr Asfar later regained conscious but Mr Cooke did not.

At daybreak, two of the campers left the isolated camp to seek help from a homestead, but an ambulance did not arrive to treat Mr Cooke until after 8am.

He was pronounced dead at Leigh Creek Hospital at 11.30am after resuscitation efforts failed.

The inquest was continuing.

www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=388681

Note: Even though this was a group effort - he could have removed himself from the tent when he felt ill. After all, the woman involved was smart enough to get out!

Submitted on 06/05/2007

Submitted by: brittg72@yahoo.com.au
Reference: 5.5.07 The West Australian

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
This is a MUCH more detailed account of this rather bizarre ritual than the last one I saw. Sweat Lodges are a relatively common "new age-y" thang, and such rituals usually go without incident (most are also done under some sort of supervision). This incident certainly is bizarre enough to merit sharing with the readers, but I'm still unsure of whether or not it rates a DA. I will pass it on to Darwin for final approval!

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
My oh my! So much in this one that simply screams Darwin Award! Unfortunately for Mr Cooke (and fortunately for the human race), his friends were correct. He was on an astral trip. But he only had a one way ticket. Thanks for sending it in, brittg72.

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