How the Buffalo were released on Earth
Posted by msterilinn on Feb 25, 2008
My daughter is part Apache, so for her I shall relate a Legend of the Comanche and Apache People… Enjoy my little Star!
In the first days a powerful being named Humpback owned all the buffalo. He kept them in a corral in the mountains north of San Juan, where he lived with his young son.
Not one buffalo would Humpback release for the people on Earth, nor would he share any meat with those who lived near him.
Coyote decided that something should be done to release the buffalo from Humpback’s corral. He called the people to a council. “Humpback will not give us any buffalo,” Coyote said. “Let us all go over to his corral and make a plan to release them.”
They camped in the mountains near Humpback’s place, and after dark they made a careful inspection of his buffalo enclosure. The stone walls were too high to climb, and the only entrance was through the back door of Humpback’s house.
After four days Coyote summoned the people to another council, and asked them to offer suggestions for releasing the buffalo. “There is no way,” said one man. “To release the buffalo we must go into Humpback’s house, and he is too powerful a being for us to do that.”
“I have a plan,” Coyote said. “For four days we have secretly watched Humpback and his young son go about their daily activities. Have you not observed that the boy does not own a pet of any kind?”
The people did not understand what this had to do with releasing the buffalo, but they knew that Coyote was a great schemer and they waited for him to explain. “I shall change myself into a killdeer,” Coyote said. “In the morning when Humpback’s son goes down to the spring to get water, he will find a killdeer with a broken wing. He will want this bird for a pet and will take it back into the house. Once I am in the house I can fly into the corral, and the cries of a killdeer will frighten the buffalo into a stampede. They will come charging out through Humpback’s house and be released upon the Earth.”
The people thought this was a good plan, and the next Morning when Humpback’s son came down the path to the spring he found a killdeer with a crippled wing. As Coyote had foreseen, the boy picked up the bird and carried it into the house.
“Look here,” the boy cried. “This is a very good bird!”
“It is good for nothing!” Humpback shouted. “All the birds and animals and people are rascals and schemers.” Above his fierce nose Humpback wore a blue mask, and through its slits his eyes glittered. His basket headdress was shaped like a cloud and was painted black with a zig-zag streak of yellow to represent lightning. Buffalo horns protruded from the sides.
“It is a very good bird,” the boy repeated.
“Take it back where you found it!” roared Humpback, and his frightened son did as he was told.
As soon as the killdeer was released it returned to where the people were camped and changed back to Coyote. “I have failed,” he said, “but that makes no difference. I will try again in the morning. Perhaps a small animal will be better than a bird.”
The next morning when Humpback’s son went to the spring, he found a small dog there, lapping at the water. The boy picked up the dog at once and hurried back into the house. “Look here!” he cried. “What a nice pet I have.”
“How foolish you are, boy!” Humpback growled. “A dog is good for nothing. I’ll kill it with my club.”
The boy held tight to the dog, and started to run away crying.
“Oh, very well,” Humpback said. “But first let me test that animal to make certain it is a dog. All animals in the world are schemers.” He took a coal of fire from the hearth and brought it closer and closer to the dog’s eyes until it gave three rapid barks. “It is a real dog,” Humpback declared. “You may keep it in the buffalo corral, but not in the house.”
This of course was exactly what Coyote wanted. As soon as darkness fell and Humpback and his son went to sleep, Coyote opened the back door of the house. Then he ran among the buffalo, barking as loud as he could. The buffalo were badly frightened because they had never before heard a dog bark. When Coyote ran nipping at their heels, they stampeded toward Humpback’s house and entered the rear door. The pounding of their hooves awakened Humpback, and although he jumped out of bed and tried to stop them, the buffalo smashed down his front door and escaped.
After the last of the shaggy animals had galloped away, Humpback’s son could not find his small dog. “Where is my pet?” he cried. “Where is my little dog?”
“That was no dog,” Humpback said sadly. “That was Coyote the Trickster. He has turned loose all our buffalo.”
Thus it was that the buffalo that were released to scatter over all the Earth.
White Buffalo Calf Womans Sacred Gift
Posted by msterilinn on Nov 29, 2007
The Gift of the Sacred Pipe
Before the appearance of the Buffalo Calf Woman, the Indian honored the Great Spirit. But for the Sioux, the coming of Buffalo Calf Woman brought a most important instrument, the pipe, which is now used in all ceremonies.
The sacred pipe came into being many, many years ago. Two men of the Sioux tribe were hunting when they saw something approaching in the distance. As the figure grew close, they observed a maiden, attired in white buckskin, carrying a bundle wrapped in buffalo hide.As she walked slowly toward them she sang out and repeated; Behold me.
Behold me,
For in a sacred manner
I am walking.One of the men had evil thoughts about this maiden and moved towards her. The other Sioux tried forcibly to restrain him, but the evil warrior pushed the good warrior away. A cloud descended and engulfed the evil one, and when it lifted, his body was a skeleton being devoured by worms. This symbolized that one who lives in ignorance and has evil in their hearts may be destroyed by their own actions.The good warrior knelt in fear, trembling as the buckskin-clad maiden approached. She spoke to him, telling him to fear not and to return to his people and prepare them for her coming. The warrior did so, and the maiden appeared, walking among them in a sunwise, (clockwise) direction.She held forth her bundle and said:This is a sacred gift
And must always be treated in a holy way.
In this bundle is a sacred pipe
Which no impure man or woman should ever see.With this sacred pipe
You will send your voices to Wakan Tanka.
The Great Spirit, Creator of all.
Your Father and Grandfather.With this sacred pipe
You will walk upon the Earth
Which is your Grandmother and Mother.
All your steps should be holy.The bowl of the pipe is red stone
Which represents the earth.
A buffalo calf is carved in the stone facing the center
And symbolizes the four-legged creatures
Who live as brothers among you.
The stem is wood and represents all growing things.
Twelve feathers hang from where the stem fits the bowl
And are from the Spotted Eagle.
These represent all the winged brothers
Who live among you.
All these things are joined to you
Who will smoke the pipe and send voices to Wakan Tanka.
When you use this pipe to pray,
You will pray for and with every thing.
The sacred pipe binds you to all your relatives;
Your Grandfather and Father,
Your Grandmother and Mother.
The red stone represents the Mother Earth
On which you will live.
The Earth is red
And the two-leggeds who live upon it are also red.
Wakan Tanka has given you a red road-
A good and straight road to travel,
And you must remember that all people
Who stand on this earth are sacred.
From this day,
The sacred pipe will stand on the red earth,
And you will send your voices to Wakan Tanka.
There are seven circles on the stone
Which represent the seven rites
In which you will use the pipe.
The Buffalo Calf Woman then instructed the people to send messengers to the different bands of the Sioux nation, to bring in the leaders, the medicine people, and the holy ones.
When the people gathered, she instructed them in the sacred ceremonies. She told them of the first rite, the Keeping of the Soul. She told them that the remaining six rites would be revealed to them through visions. As she prepared to leave she said:
Remember how sacred the pipe is
And treat it in a sacred manner,
For it will be with you always.
Remember also that in me are four ages.
I shall leave you now,
But shall look upon you in every age
And will return in the end.
The Sioux begged the woman to stay among them. They promised to build a fine lodge and let her select a warrior to provide for her, but she declined their offer.
No, the Creator above,
The Great Spirit,
Is happy with you
You the grandchildren.
You have listened well to my teachings.
Now I must return to the spirit world.
She walked some distance away from them and sat down. When she arose, she had become a white buffalo calf. She walked farther, bowed to the four quarters of the universe, then disappeared into the distance. Her sacred bundle was left with the people.
To this day, A Sioux family, the “Keepers of the Sacred Bundle,” still guards the bundle and its contents on one of the Sioux reservations.
Today, other ceremonies have supplanted some of the original seven ceremonies taught by the Buffalo Calf Woman. The Sun Dance, Sweat Lodge and Vision Quest are still major ceremonies that are widely practiced. The Pipe Ceremony itself is now used to open gatherings, meetings, and sweat lodges. The Pipe Ceremony is used in naming ceremonies, in which one is given an Earth or Indian name. It is also used in Indian marriage ceremonies.
When we pray in this way, with the sacred pipe, our prayers are carried through the smoke into the heavens to the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka. In this way, we ask for Health, Help and Happiness for the People and the Earth. Asking for guidance is the first step, as we set our intentions, then paying attention to our surroundings and acting upon the answers we are given is up to each of us.
The Seven Sacred Rites
Seven traditional rituals use the sacred pipe in accordance with the Buffalo Calf Woman s teachings.
- The Seven Sacred Rites
- The Keeping of the Soul
- Inipi: The Sweat Lodge Ceremony or Rite of Purification
- Hanblecheyapi: Vision Quest
- Wiwanyag Wachipi: The Sun Dance Ceremony
- Hunkapi: Making Relatives
- Ishnata Awicalowan: Preparing a Girl for Womanhood
- Tapa Wanka Yap: Throwing the Ball
*Special Note - To read the full version of the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman, in beautiful detail, as told by John Fire Lame Deer in 1967, please visit White Buffalo Calf Woman brings the first Pipe
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