Being part Native American myself, I treasure the myths and legends of all Native American tribes. One that I find particularly interesting and heart warming comes from the Lakota tribe. It is the myth of the White Buffalo Woman. The Sioux also embraces a similar myth.
The Lakota believe that the White Buffalo Woman came in answer to their fervent prayers. It was a time of famine and the tribe was suffering greatly. Many were on the verge of starvation and all were praying for salvation and hope.
White Buffalo Woman showed herself to them some 2,000 years ago; not only as a symbol of hope but also to teach the Lakota people how to live. She first made herself known to two warriors who were hunting for food in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
As the warriors were hunting, they watched as an unusual storm rolled in. They were caught off guard by the beauty and brightness of the enormous white clouds, which did not resemble anything they had ever seen in a storm before.
As they watched, one huge cloud came close to the earth and formed into what appeared to be the image of a white buffalo calf. As they stared in awe, a beautiful Indian maiden dressed in white buckskin upon which was embroidered many sacred symbols, stepped out of the cloud. They were struck by her beauty and the light that beamed radiantly from her face.
One of the warriors was pure of heart, brave, and kind hearted, but the other held evil thoughts, was cowardly, and selfish. As the White Buffalo Woman asked the warriors to step forward, the one warrior pushed the other aside and attempted to embrace the holy woman. As he did so, a black cloud formed directly over him and a lightning bolt sprang from the cloud hitting and killing him instantly.
The girl looked at the second warrior, who merely knelt at her feet and began chanting a prayer. She was touched by his actions and bade the warrior to arise. She told him to go back to his people to warn them that in four days she would return to give them a very special gift – – a sacred bundle.
The warrior did exactly as he was told. Some of his people believed his words, while others laughed at him. But, once four days had past a giant white cloud rolled in and the young maiden, once again, stepped out of the sky.
In her arms she carried a sacred bundle, which she shared with the Lakota people. It included the chunurpa, or sacred pipe and instructions for seven sacred ceremonies, which included the following ceremonies:
purification,
naming,
healing,
adoption,
marriage,
vision quest and
sun dance.
The pipe was made of red stone to represent the flesh and blood of the red man; those who had already passed on and those who would continue to die at the hands of the white man.
A buffalo and seven circles of varying sizes were carved into the pipe’s bowl. The buffalo represented the four ages of man because it stood on all fours. The circles represented the seven ceremonies that White Buffalo Woman would teach them.
The stem of the pipe was made of wood to represent everything that grows on earth. From it hung twelve hanging eagle feathers to represent the Great Spirit’s sacred messages to his people.
White Buffalo Woman explained that all of these things – – the earth, wood, the buffalo, and the birds – – were precious gifts from Mother Earth. She told the Lakota that as long as they remained one with the earth, took care of and protected it, like the pipe, that their people would increase in number and prosper.
She further explained that the pipe should be instrumental in all Lakota ritual to symbolize the exchange between humanity and the spirit world. When smoked, it must be offered to all four directions – – east, west, north, and south – – to encompass all that is and all that will be.
White Buffalo Woman stayed with the people to teach them the ceremonial songs and the important traditions that they were to follow. Once finished, she returned the way she came, stepping back into the clouds. But as she once again transformed back into a white buffalo and left, she told her people that one day she would return for the bundle.
She further prophesized that just before her return, a white buffalo calf would be born and that he was meant to purify the world. She said that he would bring balance and harmony back to the world and ensure a time of great spirituality.
Although the Lakota, like all Native American tribes, have suffered greatly at the hands of the white man, they have never lost their faith and belief that someday the earth and mankind would once again become one. And when they do, many believe that the one prophesied by White Buffalo Woman will arrive to bless the land and all that live in it.
