A Brule Sioux Legend
In the beginning, all was water. Whee-me-me-ow-ah, the Great Chief Above, lived in the sky all alone. When he decided to create the world, he descended to the shallow places of the water and began to gather great handfuls of mud that eventually became land. He piled some of the mud so high that it froze solid, forming the mountains. When rain fell, it turned into ice and snow atop these high peaks, while some of the mud hardened into rocks. Since that time, the rocks have remained unchanged, only growing harder.
The Great Chief Above made trees to grow on the earth, along with roots and berries. From a ball of mud, he fashioned a man and instructed him to take fish from the waters and hunt deer and other game in the forests. Feeling lonely, the man was soon given a woman by the Great Chief Above, who taught her how to dress animal skins, find bark and roots, and weave baskets. She learned which berries to gather and how to pick and dry them, and he showed her how to cook the salmon and game she received from him.
One day, while the woman was asleep, she dreamed and wondered what more she could do to please the man. She prayed to the Great Chief Above for guidance. In response, he blew his breath on her, granting her something invisible that she could neither see nor hear, smell nor touch. This precious gift was preserved in a basket, through which the first woman passed on her knowledge of designs and skills to her daughters and granddaughters.
Despite the Great Chief Above’s many gifts, the new people argued and bickered. Their discord angered Mother Earth, who shook the mountains so violently that those perched over the narrow part of Big River fell into the water. The falling rocks created rapids and waterfalls, burying many people and animals beneath them. One day, the Great Chief Above will overturn those mountains and rocks, allowing the spirits of those buried to return to their bodies. For now, those spirits dwell atop the mountains, watching over their descendants and waiting for the great change to come. The voices of these spirits can be heard in the mountains at all times. Mourners who cry for their dead often hear responses from these spirits, signaling that their lost ones are always near.
We did not come to know this alone; it was passed down to us by our fathers and grandfathers, who learned it from their ancestors. No one knows when the Great Chief Above will overturn the mountains, but we understand this: the spirits will return only to the remains of those who, in life, adhered to the beliefs of their grandfathers. Only their bones will be preserved beneath the mountains.
Long ago, during a summer that no one can distinctly remember, the Oceti-Sakowin, the Seven Sacred Council Fires of the Lakota Oyate, gathered and camped together. The sun shone brightly every day, yet there was no game, and the people suffered from starvation. Daily, they sent out scouts to search for food, but the scouts returned empty-handed. Among the assembled bands was the Itazipcho, the Without-Bows, camping under their chief, Standing Hollow Horn.
One early morning, the chief dispatched two young men to hunt for game. They traveled on foot because the Sioux did not yet have horses. They searched everywhere but found nothing. Eventually, they noticed a high hill and decided to climb it for a better view of the land. Halfway up, they saw a figure approaching from afar, floating rather than walking. This sight made them realize the being was “wakan,” or holy. At first, they could only make out a small shape and squinted to see that it was human. As it drew closer, they recognized a beautiful young woman, the most stunning they had ever seen, with two red dots painted on her cheeks. She wore a magnificent white buckskin outfit, tanned to a brilliant shine and embroidered with sacred, vibrant designs crafted from porcupine quills.
This wakan stranger was Ptesan-Wi, White Buffalo Calf Woman. She carried a large bundle and a fan of sage leaves. Her dark blue-black hair flowed freely except for a strand on the left that was tied with buffalo fur. Her eyes sparkled with great power. The two young men stood in awe. One was overwhelmed by her beauty, while the other, overcome by desire, reached out to touch her. However, this woman was “lila wakan,” very sacred, and could not be disrespected. In an instant, lightning struck the brash young man, leaving only a small heap of charred bones behind. Some say he was enveloped in a cloud, where he was devoured by snakes, leaving just his skeleton, a lesson on the dangers of lust.
To the other scout, who acted with respect, the White Buffalo Calf Woman said, “I bring good things, something holy for your people. A message I carry from the buffalo nation. Go back to your camp and tell your people to prepare for my arrival. Your chief must erect a medicine lodge with twenty-four poles to make it holy for my coming.”
The young hunter returned to his camp and conveyed the sacred woman’s commands to the chief and the people. The chief instructed the *eyapaha*, the crier, who went throughout the camp announcing, “Someone sacred is coming. A holy woman approaches. Make all things ready for her.” The people set up a large medicine tipi and awaited her arrival.
After four days, they saw the White Buffalo Calf Woman approaching, her bundle in hand, her radiant white buckskin dress gleaming in the distance. Chief Standing Hollow Horn welcomed her into the medicine lodge. Inside, she circled the interior sun-wise. The chief addressed her respectfully, saying, “Sister, we are glad you have come to instruct us.” She explained her desires, instructing them to prepare an *owanka wakan*, a sacred altar, in the lodge’s center, made from red earth with a buffalo skull and a three-stick rack for the holy item she was bringing. They followed her directions, and she traced a design on the smoothed earth of the altar, guiding them through the process before circling the lodge once more sun-wise.
Then, she opened her bundle, revealing the sacred item within: *chanunpa*, the sacred pipe. She presented it to the people, allowing them to see it. She held the stem with her right hand and the bowl with her left, a posture that has been maintained since then. The chief, once again, expressed his gratitude, saying, “Sister, we are glad. We have had no meat for some time. All we can offer you is water.” They dipped *wacanga*, sweet grass, into a water bag and offered it to her. To this day, the people still dip sweet grass or eagle wings in water and sprinkle it on someone for purification.
White Buffalo Calf Woman taught the people how to use the pipe. She filled it with *chan-shasha*, red willow bark tobacco, then walked around the lodge four times in the manner of Anpetu-Wi, the Great Sun. This dance represented the sacred hoop, the circle without end, and the journey of life. The woman placed a dry buffalo chip on the fire, igniting the pipe with it, symbolizing *peta-owihankeshni*, the fire without end, a flame to be passed down through generations.
She explained that the smoke rising from the bowl was Tunkashila’s breath, the living breath of the Great Grandfather Mystery. White Buffalo Calf Woman instructed the people on how to pray correctly, including the right words and gestures. She taught them the song for filling the pipe as well as the proper way to hold it toward the sky, then down toward Grandmother Earth, Unci, and finally to the four corners of the universe.
“With this holy pipe,” she proclaimed, “you will walk as a living prayer. Your feet resting on the earth while the pipe stem reaches to the sky means your body is a living bridge between the Sacred Beneath and the Sacred Above. Wakan Tanka smiles upon us because we are now one: earth, sky, all living beings, the two-legged, four-legged, winged, trees, and grasses. Together, they are all related, one family. The pipe unites them all.”
“Look at this bowl,” she continued. “Its stone represents the buffalo as well as the flesh and blood of the red man. The buffalo represents the universe and the four directions, standing on four legs to symbolize the four ages of creation. The buffalo was placed in the west by Wakan Tanka during creation to hold back the waters. Each year he loses one hair, and throughout the four ages, he loses a leg. The sacred hoop will end when all his hair and legs are gone, and the waters return to cover the Earth. The wooden stem of this *chanunpa* symbolizes all that grows on the earth. Twelve feathers, hanging where the stem joins the bowl, are from Wanblee Galeshka, the sacred spotted eagle, the Great Spirit’s messenger, the wisest of all flying beings. You are united with all things in the universe, which all call out to Tunkashila. Look closely at the bowl: it is engraved with seven circles of varying sizes, representing the seven sacred ceremonies you will practice with this pipe, as well as the Oceti Sakowin, the seven sacred campfires of our Lakota nation.”
White Buffalo Calf Woman also spoke to the women, declaring that the work of their hands and the fruits of their bodies sustained the people. “You come from Mother Earth,” she said. “What you do is as vital as the warriors’ deeds.” Thus, the sacred pipe also symbolizes the bond between men and women in a circle of love. It is the only holy object shaped by the hands of both genders: men carve the bowl and create the stem, while women adorn it with colorful porcupine quills. When a man takes a wife, they both hold the pipe together, and red trade cloth is wrapped around their hands, tying them together for life.
The White Buffalo Woman carried many precious items for her Lakota sisters in her sacred womb bag—corn, *wasna* (pemmican), and wild turnip. She taught them how to create the hearth fire, filling a buffalo paunch with cold water and dropping in a red-hot stone, explaining, “This is how you will cook corn and meat.”
She also addressed the children, knowing they possess an understanding beyond their years. She reminded them that everything their parents did was for them, and that their parents too had once been children, and one day they too would have little ones of their own. “You are the coming generation, which is why you are the most precious,” she said. “One day you will hold and smoke this pipe. One day you will pray with it.”
Before concluding her visit, she expressed, “The pipe is alive; it is a red being demonstrating a red life and a red road. This is the first ceremony for which you will use the pipe: to keep the soul of a loved one. Through it, you can converse with Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery Spirit. The day a person dies is sacred, just as the day their spirit is released to the Great Spirit. Four women will become sacred on such a day, and they will be the ones to cut the sacred tree—the *can-wakan*—for the sun dance.”
She proclaimed to the Lakota that they were the purest of tribes, and for that reason, Tunkashila had blessed them with the holy *chanunpa*. They had been chosen to care for it on this turtle continent. In her final words to Standing Hollow Horn, the chief, she cautioned, “Remember: this pipe is very sacred. Respect it, and it will lead you to the end of the road. I encompass the four ages of creation; I am the four ages. I will come to visit you in every generational cycle. I will return.”
Having spoken, the sacred woman departed, saying, “Toksha ake wancinyankin ktelo— I shall see you again.” The people witnessed her walking off in the same direction from which she had come, silhouetted against the vibrant red of the setting sun. She paused and rolled over four times. The first time, she became a black buffalo; the second, a brown buffalo; the third, a red buffalo; and finally, on the fourth roll, she transformed into a white female buffalo calf. A white buffalo is the most sacred living being one can encounter. The White Buffalo Calf Woman disappeared over the horizon, yet one day, she may return.
Immediately after her departure, herds of buffalo appeared, willingly allowing themselves to be hunted so that the people might survive. From that day forward, the buffalo provided the people with everything they needed: meat for nourishment, skins for clothing and tipis, and bones for tools.
– Told by Lame Deer at Winner, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South
Dakota, 1967
