THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

THE SACRED PIPE

THE SEVEN SECRET RITES
OF THE SIOUX INDIANS

reported by
BLACK ELK

Translated into Portuguese by:

Anderson M. A. Bertolli

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

INDEX

PROLOGUE, by Joseph Epes Brown .....................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION, by Frithjof Schuon

THE SACRED PIPE

PREFACE, by Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk)....................................................................... 24

1. THE ARRIVAL OF THE SACRED PIPE............................................................... 26

2. THE GUARDIAN OF THE SOUL................................................................................................. 32

3. Inipi: The RITE OF PURIFICATION

4. Hanblecheyapi: IMPLORE FOR A VISION............................................................. 65

5. Wiwanag wachipi: THE DANCE OF THE SUN

6. Hunkapi: THE PARENTAGE ........................................................................................... 123

7. What is it that you say is low?

Preparation of the girl for the duties of a woman.................................. 138

8. Throw the ball: THE THROW OF THE BALL ........................................................ 149

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PROLOGUE

After studying for years the large amount of material available about the
North American Indian nations, much of which is written by the Indians themselves,
I became convinced that many of your old priests possessed a
elevated wisdom. And this wisdom is obscured to us because of the singular character
of its traditions; because of its, we would say, poly-synthetic genius, which grants a great
importance to the various aspects of the world and Nature.

In this statement and use of the many forms of Nature, we always find the
idea of the Unity and the Divine Transcendence. The Indian, therefore, is not a 'pagan' nor
an "idolater", but rather one who knows that the Great Spirit is infinite and that, for
therefore, He includes in Himself all possibilities, so that all forms are
functions or reflections of Him, who in His essence is always one.
In order to prove that this wisdom was known and understood by a
in an integral way by at least the old priests of the Indians, I undertook a journey that went
last for several years and led me to meet many Indian nations of North America.
I dedicated most of these years to the plains Indians, for I believed since
for a long time these peoples were in a certain sense the aristocrats of the Indians, since their
elders possessed qualities and levels of spirituality that were rarely found
they find themselves in today's world. To learn from these peoples, one must actually live with
you should hunt and travel with them, and share all aspects of your life; and do the
whoever does will be immensely rewarded, because even today, in their lives of a
great material poverty, they still find themselves in the rhythm of their society and in the beauty of
forms of your ancient culture, those great qualities for lack of which, the world
the modern world is becoming impoverished despite its material opulence.

During my stay with the Indians of the Pine Ridge reservation, I had the extraordinary
blessing to speak with an elder priest of the ogalala sioux, Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa),
who asked me to stay with him to gather a report about his ancient religion; this
the elder knew he would soon die, and did not want these sacred teachings, many
of which he was the only depository would disappear with him. Thus, I lived with Alce
Black for eight months in the winter of 1947-48, and during this period I recorded
daily what you told me, and besides what I learned, I greatly benefited from the fact
of sharing the noble life of your family and your many friends.

The Black Elk is no longer alive, but this is his book, and I hope that,
thanks to him, will continue to live, and those who read it will better understand what
constituted the center and the life of this great people.

I found many elders of great holiness among the Indians, but in Black Elk.
there was a unique spiritual power, and I am sure this was recognized by everyone
who had the opportunity to meet him. Black Elk was born in the early 1920s.
sixty of the last century (1860), and therefore experienced the days when his people roamed
the plains hunting the bison and fought against the white men at Little Big Horn and in
Woundad Knee Creek. He was a cousin of the great chief-priest Tashunka Uitco (Horse)
Crazy), and met Tatanka Iotanke (Sitting Bull), Mahpyia Luta (Red Cloud) and
an (American Horse).

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Even without speaking English, had the opportunity to observe the world of man well.
white, for he traveled with Buffalo Bill to Italy, France, and England, where he danced in front of the
Queen Victoria. But even when out hunting, traveling, or fighting, Black Elk was not like
the other men.

In his youth, he was instructed in the sacred knowledge of his people by great
priests, among whom were (Hunter of the whirlwind), (Black Path) and the
wise Hehaka PA (Moose Head), from whom he learned the whole history of his ancient
religion.

With this knowledge, Black Elk prayed and fasted a lot, and thanks to him...
transformed into a wise man who received many visions and a special power intended
to be employed for the good of his nation. This mission pursued Black Elk throughout all
your life and caused you a lot of suffering, because, even having received the power to guide the
his people along the sacred path of their ancestors, did not see by what means he should do it
reality the vision.

I believe this is the reason why Black Elk wanted to write a book that
would explain the Sioux religion, as I hoped that, thanks to this book, my people,
just like white men, they would gain a better understanding of beauty and truth
of your old religion.

Black Elk belonged to the Oglala group of the Teton Dakotas, one of the branches most
powerful of the great Sioux family. Sioux is actually the generic name applied to
numerous tribes that have a common origin and speak the same language; includes the
seguintes nações, classificadas segundo a língua: assiniboin, crow, dakota, hidatsa, iowa,
Kansa, Mandan, Missouri, Omaha, Osage, Oto, and Ponca.

Throughout their migrations and wars with neighboring tribes, the Dakotas (the
allies) split into seven branches, constituting what we call the Seven Fires of
Council (Otchenti Chakowin): osogalala minneconjou, ochenopa (Two Pots)
unopapa, burned, blackfeet-sioux, and ossans arc. According to the old story I knew
through Black Elk, and according to the documents of the first travelers and missionaries,
In the 16th century, the Dakotas were established at the sources of the Mississippi, and in the 17th they were
expelled from Minnesota to the west by their powerful enemies, the Chippewas. To
abandoning the forests and the rivers, the Dakotas replaced the canoe with the horse remarkably
ease, and in the 19th century they were known and feared as one of the nations most
powerful ones of the plains;

Indeed, these Dakota Sioux were perhaps the ones, among all the Indian tribes,
they offered greater resistance to the expansion of whites to the west.

This book contains multiple data that the Indians, until these recent times, had
held back from disclosing because they estimated, and rightly so, that these things are too
sacred to be communicated to anyone; in our days, the few old wise men who
they still live among them say that, as the end of a cycle approaches, when in all the
men have become incapable of understanding and, above all, of putting into practice
the truths that were revealed to them at the origin. — which have as a consequence the

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disorder and chaos in all areas — is then permitted, and is also desirable,
bring this knowledge to light; for truth defends itself.
nature against desecration, and it is possible that it reaches those who are
qualified to penetrate her deeply and are able, thanks to her, to consolidate the
bridge that must be built to emerge from this dark age.

This story of the sacred pipe of the Sioux was passed down orally by
previous "guardian of the Chanumpa", Hehaka Pa (Moose Head), to three men: from
three, Hehaka Shapa (Black Elk) was the only one still alive at the time when
we were with the sioux.

When Hehaka Pa entrusted this sacred story of the Sioux to Black Elk, he said
that should be 'passed down from generation to generation, for as long as it is known and the
Chanumpa will be in use, our people will live; but, from the moment it is
forget, our people will no longer have a center and will perish.

This is the reason why we wish that this book helps in some way,
weak though it may be, to preserve this center of a noble nation, many of whose members,
even today and despite a terrible need, they are determined to safeguard these rites
ancient ones that were revealed to them at the beginning by the Great Spirit.

In the notes, we have incidentally established agreements with other traditions.

in order to highlight the universality and the orthodoxy — or the intrinsic truth — of the
Sioux tradition, and in order to show that this actually coincides with that of the greater
part of the Native Americans of North America have the elements of a true
spirituality. It is time for the indigenous people of America to regain awareness of themselves,
of your spiritual heritage and your civilization, for it has been too long since the
the true nature of your ancient wisdom has been falsified in books, whether by
simple ignorance, or by the influence of all kinds of prejudices.

It is worth noting that the rites described in this book by Black Elk correspond to
their original prototypes, so they present in certain aspects a difference
considerably significant with respect to the more complicated forms — but not essential
that these rites have taken place afterwards.

To the readers who wish to get to know more closely the holy man who dictated to us
this book, we recommend the excellent work of John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks (New
York, William Morrow, 1932*.

Except for those that mention another source, all the notes concerning the
the tradition of the Sioux comes directly from Black Elk and, on occasions, also from his friend
Little Warrior, remarkable man who helped us in more than one way.

We wish to express our gratitude, first of all, to the son of Black Elk,
who served as our interpreter. Thanks to him, we enjoyed the exceptional opportunity to have
an interpreter who perfectly understood both English and Lakota and who was also,
familiar with the wisdom and rites of his people; indeed, the lack of these two
knowledge is mainly what originated so many writings full of serious errors about
the Indians.

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For the Indian words, we will use international spelling in this book.
conventional, where consonants are pronounced like in English and vowels like in
Italian, except for the strange sounds in these two languages, which are transcribed from a
approximate mode or indicative.

JOSEPHEPESBROWN

Southwest Harbor, Maine, August 1953.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

* There is a Spanish translation titled The Last Sioux, Barcelona, Noguer, 1974 [N. of T.]

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INTRODUCTION

The tradition of the Native Americans of North America or, more precisely, those of the...
plains and forests whose domain extends from the Rocky Mountains — and much
beyond — even to the Atlantic Ocean, they have a symbol and a 'means of grace' of
first importance: the Chanumpa, which represents a doctrinal synthesis in turn
concise and complex, and also a ritual instrument on which all spiritual life relies
The social; to describe the symbolism of the sacred Pipe and its rite, therefore, corresponds to
certo sentido, a expor toda a sabedoria dos índios.

The truth is that Indian tradition necessarily encompasses quite a few variations.
significant due to the secular dispersion of the tribes1, and which refer to, for example, to the
myth of the origin of Chanumpa or the symbolism of colors; for this reason, we do not intend to
to show here more than the fundamental aspects of Indian wisdom, which remain
always identical despite the variety of their expressions. Nevertheless, we will use
preferably the symbols used by the Sioux, the nation to which Hehaka belonged
Shapa (Black Elk)2, the venerable author of this book.

The Native Americans of North America are one of the races that have been most studied.
by ethnologists and, undoubtedly, we could not say that they know each other perfectly; the
ethnography, like any other ordinary science, does not encompass all knowledge
possible, and it could not be, therefore, the key to all knowledge. If we want
to penetrate the meaning of the wisdom of the Indians, we can do it only with the help of
other traditional or sacred doctrines or, more precisely — which is the same — to
light of the perennial philosophy remains one and unchanging in all the forms it can take
take through the ages.

The Indian of ancient times cannot be easily classified into one of the categories.
knowns of civilization or non-civilization, and seems to constitute, from this point of
view, a type apart in the set of human types; even when it is believed not to
to be able to recognize the character of 'civilized', if one is obliged to recognize in it a man
strangely whole: your dignity and your integrity, your nobility made of rectitude, of
courage and generosity, in addition to the powerful and sober originality of his art that gives him
it resembles the eagle and the sun, making it a kind of mythical being that fascinates and compels.
about the respect; who knows the ancient Germans or the Mongols before Buddhism in us
they would have given an analogous impression.

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This characteristic is also found in Hinduism and possibly even in all other traditions.

mythological form; in India, the same symbols can vary considerably according to the regions: the same
The term can designate here a fundamental reality and elsewhere a secondary aspect of the same reality.
Hehaka Shapa died in 1950 in the Pine Ridge reservation (South Dakota).

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And regarding 'civilization', the experiences of this twentieth century compel us to

to recognize that it is very little, at least as it distinguishes and separates from the
religious heritage; in fact, if the word 'civilized' is understood in the very sense
superficial that is currently prevalent, and that means that a man is subjected to
artificial, differentiated and "abstract" living conditions, the red skin loses nothing
for not responding to this definition; on the contrary, the simplicity of their way of life
ancestral is the environment that allows its genius to assert itself; we mean by this that the
object of this genius, as, like the others, happens with most nomads or
semi-nomadic and, in any case, with the warrior hunters, it is much less about creation
exterior, artistic if you will, that the very soul, and entire man, plastic matter of
primeval artist.

This absence of 'fine arts' as such — we are not talking here about
pictography - it is not, therefore, simply a 'less', since it is conditioned and
compensated by a spiritual and moral attitude that, precisely, does not allow man
to externalize to the point of becoming a servant of inert matter, as demanded
forcibly all "static" art.

A "servile" work, that is to say, that reduces man to an apparently submissive role.
peripheral, is incompatible with a civilization founded on Nature and Man in their
primordial functions; art is made for man and not man for art, it will be said
according to this perspective, and indeed, Indian art is above all a 'framing'
of this divine, central, and free creation that is the human being.

The object of the genius manifestation is always man as a symbol and mediator:
What is externalized never separates from the living microcosm to become a being.
new, inert, in a kind of "idol" that would ultimately absorb or crush the creator
human; in one word, the Indian conceives art as a living function of man as
to be central and sovereign, and it is the very spiritual essence of this art, and not any type of
incapacity, which excludes the projection of man onto matter and serves as a kind of
forgetting oneself in front of a materialized ideal.

Indian art is of a completely primordial simplicity, its language is

concentrated, direct, bold; like the Indian — I mean, not only noble, but also
powerfully original — , your art is sometimes "qualitative" and spontaneous; it has a
precise symbolism at the same time as a surprising freshness. "Frames",
we have said, the human person, and this is what explains the high quality that art achieves here
of the clothing: majestic headdresses — above all, the great ornament in eagle feathers,
shimmering striped garments and embroidered with solar symbols, moccasins with
brilliant designs that seem to want to take away all the weight and uniformity from the feet,
women's dresses of a charming simplicity; this Indian way, both in its aspects
concise as in their richest expressions, is it not, perhaps, one of the subtlest, but rather,
certainly, one of the most brilliant that exists.

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Some authors believe it is their duty to question what Indian tradition

possess the idea of God, and this is because they believe to discover in it a "pantheism" or
"pure and simple immanentism"; but this error is due only to the fact that the greater
part of the Indian terms that designate the Divinity applies to all possible aspects
of this, and not only its personal aspect; Wakan Tanka—the 'Great Spirit'—is God, not
only as Creator and Lord, but also as Impersonal Essence. This name
of 'Great Spirit', as a translation of the Sioux word Wakan Tanka and the terms
similar in other Indian languages, sometimes gives rise to objections; without a doubt, yes
Tanka - and the corresponding terms - can also be translated as 'Great'
"Mystery" or "Great Mysterious Power" (or also "Great Medicine"), and "Great
"Spirit" is undoubtedly not absolutely suitable, this last translation is, nevertheless,
sufficiently in everything; it is true that the word spirit has a certain indeterminacy, it presents the
the advantage of not implying any restriction, and this is exactly what suits the term
"synthetic poly" noble. The expression "Great Mystery" proposed by some, as
translation of Wakan Tanka— or similar terms in other Indian languages, such
as Wakonda or Manito, does not confer on the "Great Spirit" the idea that is attempted to be reflected,
for the word "mystery" expresses, in essence, nothing more than an extrinsic quality; by
most importantly, what matters is the question of knowing, not whether the term Indian expresses exactly the
what we understand by "spirit," unless the idea expressed by the term Indian can be
translate as "spirit" or not.

We said earlier that the 'Great Spirit' is God, not only as Creator.
the Lord, but also as an impersonal Essence; we add that, conversely, it is
God, not only as pure Principle, but also as Manifestation: Thus, therefore, He is
God as such and in Himself, and therefore God as Cosmic Manifestation, if
it is allowed to express oneself like this, and lastly, God as a reflection of Himself in this
Manifestation is to say how to be divine in the created.

What we have just said necessarily derives from the same use that
they make the Indians from most of the terms that designate the 'Great Spirit'; but, aside
Thus, the Sioux explicitly establish a distinction between the essential aspects of
Wakan Tanka: Tunkashila ('Grandfather') is Wakan Tanka while he speaks more than this.
every manifestation, and indeed beyond every quality or determination, whatever it may be
it is; Until («Father»), on the contrary, is «God in action»: the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Destroyer.

In a similar way, it distinguishes, concerning the "Earth", aUnchi ("Grandmother") and Ina.
Unchi is the substance of all things, while Ina is its creative act.
considered here as a "birth", an act that produces, together with the "inspiration" by
To all beings. Through animal species and the fundamental phenomena of
Nature, the Indian contemplates the angelic essences and the divine Qualities: in this order of
ideas, we will cite the following considerations from a letter by Joseph Epes Brown:

It is difficult for those who consider the religion of the red men since the
exterior, to understand the importance that animals have for them and, in a general way,
all the things that the Universe contains. For these men, every created object is important,
for the simple reason that they know the metaphysical correspondence between this world and the
Real world.

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No object is for them what it seems to be only according to appearances; they do not see in the
an apparent thing more than a feeble reflection of a main reality3 .

For this reason, everything is sacred and possesses a power, according to the degree of
spiritual reality that reflects; thus, many objects have a power for evil, both
as for the good, and every object is treated with respect, for the 'power' particular that
it can be transferred to man; the Indians know well that there is nothing, in
Universe, that has no analogical correspondence in the human soul.

The indigenous person humbles themselves before all of Creation, especially when they 'implore' (that is to say,

when he ritually invokes the Great Spirit in solitude), because all visible things
were created before he (anteriority that, from the perspective of a certain
the symbolism of the creatures also has a purely primary meaning) and that, for being theirs
ancestors deserve respect; but man, even having been created in last place,
it is, nevertheless, the first of beings, for only he can know the Great Spirit (Wakan
Tanka4 .

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We translated the French word 'principiel' as 'principal', even though it is not found in our dictionaries.

Indeed, 'main' is not equivalent to 'essential', 'principal', or 'original'. All these words do not convey
exact account of its concrete meaning, which would be "relative or belonging to the Principles or to the Principle"
understanding "Principle" in a metaphysical and not a natural sense [N. of T.]
It is generally said that the religion of the Indian is a cult of Nature and animals.

This term is too broad and too confusing at the same time. A thorough investigation and observation
careful teaches us, on the contrary, that the Indian does not worship the objects he invokes or mentions in his rites. The
earth, the four winds, the sun, the moon and the stars, the stones, the water, the various animals, all are representatives of
a life and a mysterious power... (Alice C. Fletcher, The Elk Mystery or Festival.) One thing is not only the
what it is for the senses, and also what it represents.
The objects, natural or artificial, are not for the primitive, as they can be for us, 'arbitrary' symbols of
such a distinct and superior reality; they are for him the effective manifestation of this reality: the eagle or the lion, for example,
it is not so much a symbol or an image of the Sun as it is the Sun under one of its appearances (due to being the form
essential more important than the species in which it manifests; likewise, all house in effigy and
every altar is located in the center of the earth; if this way of considering things seems "inconceivable", it is merely
because "we" are more interested in what things are than in what they mean, more interested in the
plants that come from universal ideas. When it is said that a human group descends from a totem, there is not in it, as the
believes the anthropologist, a pure and simple absurdity: it only expresses itself this way that the group descends from the Sun, the Progenitor and
Prajapati took on all beings in the particular form in which he revealed himself in a vision or in dreams.
founding ancestor of the clan. The same reasoning justifies the Eucharistic food: the Father-Progenitor is sacrificed and
divided by its descendants into the species of the flesh of the sacred animal: This is my body, take and eat." From
Thus, as Lévy-Bruhl said about symbols of this kind, they do not function to 'represent' in the eyes.
object, but rather allow participation in it, and that "if its essential function consists in 'representing', in the fullest sense
of this word, to invisible beings or objects, and to make their presence effective, results that they do not consist
necessarily in reproductions or images of these beings and these objects." The aim of primitive art is
entirely distinct from the aesthetic or decorative intentions of the modern 'artist' (for whom the ancient motifs
survive only as "art forms" devoid of meaning) and this goal explains its nature
"abstract". (Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Figures of Speech or Figures of Thought).

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These considerations allowed for a better understanding of how everything works.

"characteristic," that is to say, that manifests an "essence," iswakan, "sacred." To believe that
God is the sun, it is certainly a completely 'pagan' mistake - and foreign to Indian thought,
but it is equally absurd to believe that the sun is nothing more than an incandescent mass, it is
to say, that he is not "God" in any way.

We could also express ourselves in the following way: wakan is what is.
entirely in accordance with its own 'genius'; the Principle is Wakan Tanka, that is to say, what is
absolutely 'oneself'; and on the other hand, the wise one is the one who is perfectly
according to your "genius" or your "essence"; this is nothing other than the "Great Spirit" or the
"Great Mystery".

Éwakan, "sacred", what allows "to conform" directly with Reality

divine; man is awakened when his soul manifests the Divine with evidence
spontaneous and dazzling wonders of Nature: the elements, the sun, the lightning,
eagle, the bison, the bear, the mountains, the currents, the stars, and so on.

For this reason, cowardice — a kind of abandonment of 'personality' — is the sin for
excellence; and this also explains the apparent or real 'individualism' of the Indians, attitude
which, starting from 'personality', ultimately became an individualism
rooted.

As for the knowledge of the 'Great Spirit', which only man, among all the
land creatures, can reach, Hehaka Shapa defined it one day in these terms:
I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from Above, it illuminates my
heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart (Chante Ishta) sees everything.

The heart is the sanctuary at whose center there is a small space; it is there that dwells the
Great Spirit, and this is the Eye (Ishta).

This is the Eye of the Great Spirit through which He sees all things, and through which
we see you. When the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen, and if you
if you die in this ignorance, your soul will not be able to return immediately to Its
side, then it must purify itself through pilgrimages across the world.

To know the Center of the heart and what resides in the Great Spirit, you must be
pure and good, and to live according to the way the Great Spirit taught us. Man
that, in this way, is pure, contains the Universe in the pouch of its heart (Chante Ognaka).
_________________________________________________________________________
universals. When it is said that a human group descends from a totem, there is not in it, as the anthropologist believes, a
pure and simple absurdity: it only expresses itself as the group descends from the Sun, the Progenitor and Prajâpati and all the
beings in the particular form in which, in a vision or in dreams, revealed itself to the founding ancestor of
clan. The same reasoning justifies the Eucharistic food: the Father-Progenitor is sacrificed and divided by his
descendants in the species of the flesh of the sacred animal:
This is my body, take and eat." Thus, as Lévy-Bruhl said about symbols of this kind, "these do not
have the function of 'representing' its object in the eyes, but allowing participation in it', and that 'if its essential function
consists in 'representing', in the full sense of the word, beings or invisible objects, making their presence felt
presence, turns out they do not necessarily consist of reproductions or images of these beings and these objects.
the objective of primitive art is entirely distinct from the aesthetic or decorative intentions of the modern "artist" (for
who the ancient motifs survive only as "forms of art" devoid of meaning) and this objective
explain its abstract character.

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We couldn't do anything better before briefly commenting on the symbolism.

of Chanumpa, which quotes the explanation given by Hehaka Shapa in his first
book (Black Elk Speaks): "Filling the sacred Pipe with the bark of the willow
red; but before we smoke it, you must see how it is made and what it means.

These four ribbons that hang from the girdle are the four Regions of the Universe: the
black represents the West, where the Thunder creatures live to send us rain; the
white represents the North, from where the great White Wind that purifies comes; the red
represents the East, from where light springs and where the clarity of dawn resides in order to give
wisdom to men; the yellow one represents the South, from where summer comes and the power of
to grow.

But these four spirits are, after all, nothing more than One Spirit, and this feather of
the eagle symbolizes the One, which is like a father; but it also represents the thoughts of
men, who must rise to the heights like the eagles do. Is not Heaven a father, and the
Earth is a mother, and all living beings are her children, whether they have feet, wings, or roots?

E este couro da boquilha, que há de ser de pele de bisão, indica a Terra, da qual
we came from and from whose bosom we are nourished throughout life, like newborns, with all
the animals, birds, trees, and herbs. And because it means all this, and more than anyone
a man can understand, the Pipe is sacred.

When the Indian carries out the Chanumpa rite, he greets the sky, the earth, and the four directions.
cardinal points, whether 'offering' the Pipe, whose barrel represents, as desired, by
example, the Sioux ritual, already directing the smoke towards the indicated directions and sometimes
also the 'central fire'5—sacred fire— that burns before the officiant; the order of these
gestures may vary, but your static plan is always the same, as it constitutes the scheme
doctrinal, dogmatic if you will, that will be updated by the rite.

According to some ritual uses, we will begin our enumeration with the West: this
The 'West Wind' brings thunder and rain, that is to say, the Revelation and also Grace; the
"North Wind" purifies and gives strength; from the "East" comes the Light, and therefore, the
knowledge, which, according to the Indian perspective, relates to Peace; the "South" is the
source of Life and Growth; there is where the "good Red Road" begins, the road
of the truth of happiness.

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5 "The fire of your counsel or of your great sacred tent is, as sometimes indicated by your songs, the oldest of
everything; comes to be what the Greek philosophers of the Pythagorean school called Hestia, which burns at the center of the world.
Merging your breath with the fire of the sacred tobacco, partake in this central fire, and it is this very fire that
elevate with your smoke to the zenith of the Universe or descend to the nadir touching the earth, or unite with the four winds
that traverse the sides of our human habitat filled with the whispering life of the high heavens.
Alexander, The Art and Philosophy of the Indians of North America.

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Thus is how the Universe depends on four primordial determinations, namely: the
"Water", "Cold", "Light", and "heat"; the first, "Water", is nothing but the
positive aspect of darkness, which should normally oppose light as cold does
opposes heat; the positive aspect of obscurity is, in fact, its quality of "shadow"
that protects against the force of the drying sun and produces or favors humidity; it is
it is necessary for the sky to darken before the rain can happen, and for God to manifest the
Wrath —or thunder— before granting Grace, whose natural symbol is rain.

And what about the 'cold' - of the sanctifying and purifying Wind that gives strength - your
a positive aspect is purity, so it could be opposed to the "Purity" of the North to the "Heat".
in the South as it opposes the 'Rain' of the West to the 'Light' of the East; the relationship between 'Cold' and the
"Purity" is evident: inanimate things and, therefore, "cold", that is to say, minerals, do not
are subject to corruption like animated beings and therefore "hot." the "Light" of
East, we have already said, is the 'Knowledge'; the 'Heat' is the 'Life' and, consequently, the
"Love" and also "Goodness," "Beauty," "Happiness."

Before going further, we must address an objection that could arise from the
fact that the 'Four Winds', in the Sioux doctrine, seem to correspond to a
a rather secondary function of the Divinity, which is divided into four aspects subdivided
four times; now well, aside from the fact that it is not the mythological symbolism of the Sioux that us
we propose to study here first of all, if not the metaphysics of the Quaternity that
it presents in all the variants of Indian tradition, the Sioux doctrine recognizes the four
Principles, through a remarkable overthrow of the ordinary mythological hierarchy, a
preeminence over the other Divinities, and this clearly indicates that, in the rite of
Chanumpa, the best from the perspective linked to it, the cardinal points represent the
four essential divine Manifestations and, consequently, their Prototypes in
Sir.

It is necessary, above all, to never forget that, for other Indians, symbolism
takes very different forms from those of the Sioux: thus, to not mention more than
in this example, in Arapaho, the four principles are symbolized by four 'Elders'
that, emanating from the "Sun", watch over the inhabitants of the terrestrial world, to whom it is attributed
symbolically the day (Southeast), the summer (Southwest), the night (Northwest) and the winter
(Northeast); finally, it is worth noting that the Quaternity is the rule.
considered as if it formed the basis of a 'Duodecimity', and each of its
elements are conceived according to three aspects, abstracting from the vertical axis Heaven -
Earth that adds to the Quaternary two new elements even of another order.

That said, we return to the consideration of the four Principles in themselves: if

could also, always starting from the 'West' to the 'North', designate the four 'Places'
{"Cosmic":"humidity","Cold":"dryness"}
"Heat"; the negative correlating aspect of humidity is obscurity, and the positive aspect
the correlative of dryness is light. The "Thunder Bird" (Wakinyan Tanka), which inhabits the
West is the one that protects the land and vegetation against drought and death, described as casting.
lightning through the eyes and producing thunder with the wings6the analogy with the Revelation of
Sinai, accompanied by 'thunder', 'lightning', and a 'thick cloud', is both
but it is more impressive that the biblical event took place on a cliff, and that the
Indian mythology precisely establishes a link between the 'Thunderbird' and
"Cliff", as we will see in the continuation.

14
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Regarding the symbolic assimilation of the Revelation to the West, it may seem unusual and
paradoxical, but one must never lose sight that the cardinal points have here
forcibly a positive meaning: the West will not be, therefore, the opposite of the East, namely,
the "Obscurity" and the "Ignorance", if not its positive complement, therefore the "Rain" and
the "Grace". One might be surprised, on the other hand, by the fact that the Indian tradition
establish a symbolic link between the 'West Wind', bearer of thunder and Rain,
and the "Cliff", personification "Angelica" or "semi-divine" of a cosmic aspect of
Wakan Tanka: this approach is, nonetheless, plausible, as the cliff gathers in itself
even the same complementary aspects as the storm: the terrible aspect because of its
destructive hardness is, for the Indians, a symbol of destruction, from there in the stone weapons, with
as they should naturally relate to the 'stones of the ray' and the aspect of Grace due to the fact
what gives birth to sources that, like the rain, water the country7 .

The Four "Winds" are like the "Producing Powers" (in the sense of the term
Sanskrit Shakti) of the "Regions of the World", and they conceive as going around the
horizon and determining terrestrial life through their combined influences.

The wind is like the 'breath' of the earthly world in which we live; it thus represents
the cosmic "breath". The "breath" is in a certain sense the vehicle of the "soul" or of
"spirit"; hence the etymological connection of these words in many languages; but it is also the
active vehicle and life, for it is what nourishes and purifies the blood, passive support and
inferior to the vital element. The "breath" is, therefore, at the same time, the "soul" of "life", and is
made thus the image of the divine Word whose "Breath" creator has made to man.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6According to Iroquois mythology, 'Hino, the Spirit of Thunder..., is the guardian of the Sky. Armed with a powerful bow
and with fire arrows (of lightning), destroys all harmful things. His wife is the Rainbow... Oshadagea,
"Great Eagle of the Dew," is also at the service of the Hymn. It dwells in the Sky of the West and carries in its hollow
back a lake of dew. When the malevolent spirits of fire destroy all kinds of greenery over the land,
Oshadageaempreende the flight and, from its outspread wings, the beneficial moisture falls drop by drop.
Fauconnet, Mythology of the Two Americas, in General Mythology of the Larousse Publishing House). The association of
lightning with the "Thunderbird" is all the more remarkable since in the most diverse traditions lightning is
akin to the Revelation, as rain is to Grace. The eagle belongs to the same universal symbolism as the
lightning, from where the association of this animal with Saint John, Inspired author of the Apocalypse and 'Son of Thunder'.
It is worth mentioning, in this respect, the fact that, in the red-skinned world, the Rocky Mountains

Mountains) - therefore, the 'cliffs' - are located to the West, from which they give rise to numerous rivers that
fertilizes the plains. "When a vision comes from the Thunder Beings of the West, it comes with terror and like
a hurricane; but when the hurricane of vision passes, the world is greener and happier; because every time it comes to
this world the revealed truth (the truth of vision), it is like the rain. The world is happier after the Terror of
hurricane." (Black Elk Speaks, the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Ogalala Sioux, told to John G. Neihardt.)
Anascesis responds to the same cosmic connection between 'terror' and 'Grace': 'To practice medicine'
medicine") is to practice, during a period especially dedicated, the student, the act of thanksgiving, the prayer, the
abnegation and even voluntary torture... The goal is to completely subjugate the passions of the flesh and improve the
"the same" spiritual. bodily abstinence and mental concentration on elevated thoughts purify the body
And the soul... Then the individual spirit becomes more in accordance with the Spirit of the Great Medicine that is upon us.
(then the individual mind gets closer towards conformity with the Mind of the Great Medicine above us)
Read —a Cheyenne Indian— in his book: A Warrior who fought Custer.

15
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Ceremonies, Black Elk

The cardinal points are symbolically associated, as we have already said, with four.
Deities, designated in various ways and embodying many other aspects.
complementary to the universal spirit; this unites them within itself, as colors unite
in the light; and he "is" Wakan Tankano meaning that one identifies with God due to His uniqueness
of Essence, as light essentially identifies itself with the Sun.

According to Sioux cosmology, these four Divinities or 'semi-Divine beings' are

they subdivide each one into four hierarchical entities, which are named
various, such as "Sun", "Moon", "Bison", "Soul", and which indicate just as many others
branches or reflections of the Spirit in the cosmos; these branches are nothing other than
the secondary angels whose countless modalities penetrate to the ends of the created.

The Sioux establish an analogical relationship between the 'Four Winds' and the Four
cyclical periods, symbolized by the four eagle feathers that adorn the 'circle
sacred" used in the "Dance of the Sun" and on other occasions; the first period is that of
"Stone"; the second, the "Arch"; the third, the "Fire"; the fourth, the "Pipe".
representing each of these symbols the spiritual medium of the respective period.

Even so, there are four stages through which every created thing must pass: the
the first is the South, which is yellow and is the source of all life, and this is the first age in a cycle
historical, the second is the West, which is black; the third is the North, which is white; and the fourth, the
East, which is red: humanity on Earth is currently speaking in the fourth age, which
it will end with a great disaster.

This division, which assigns the 'Golden Age' to the South and the 'Iron Age' to the East,
while the other traditional doctrines attribute the first to the North and the second to
West may come as a surprise at first glance, but two things must be taken into account here:
First of all, regarding the 'Golden Age' of Krita Yuga, although it is accurate
to attribute it to the North due to the polar situation of the earthly Paradise, it is no less certain that,
In fact, the current pole is covered in ice and, from a 'qualitative' point of view, it is the
It corresponds effectively to Paradise and thus to the 'Golden Age', of
so the symbolism in question can be grounded in the heat and fertility of the South
just like in the hyperbolic situation of the primordial Garden; secondly, in what
concerning the 'Iron Age' - the Kali Yuga - although it is evidently fair to attribute it,
according to the geographical perspective of the 'Old World', to the West, since it is there where the sun sets
puts and where modern materialism has been born which extends its ignorance to
entire humanity, it is no less certain that, for the redskins, this materialism
Nature's destroyer comes from the East; it is there that what is, for the Easterners, is the
"dark West" and it is from there that these "spirits" (washichun) with pale faces came.
that exterminated the red race; but this in no way prevents the Savior
universal, the Messiah awaited by all nations for the end of the 'Iron Age', come
similarly from the East, so that the solar symbolism of this direction remains intact in
Sioux theory of the four cyclical periods.

In the same line of thought, the cosmology of the Cheyennes insists on the Arctic position.
from the headquarters of primordial Tradition: it places the earthly Paradise in the far North, on an island
arising from the primordial waters, where a perpetual spring reigned and in which men and
the animals spoke the same language; this account describes the continuation of the tribulations,
particularly after the deluge, after which the red race — or rather its ancestors
16
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

primordial - they established themselves definitively in the South, which in turn was converted into a region.
fertile.

We do not want to forget to mention here that the Chanumpa includes, along with
to its quaternary symbolism, another, ternary this, which refers to the three worlds, to which
correspond to respectively the sky, the cardinal points, and the earth. These three worlds, by
besides, they are also mentioned among the Crow Indians (Crow, Absaroka), in
form of three rings painted on the central pole of the Sun Dance, a pole that signifies the
tree of Life or axis of the World, according to Hyperborean symbolism; they are then
interpreted as forming a ternary (in an ascending sense "body, soul, spirit"),
or "coarse, subtle, pure"8 .

The essential functions of Existence and its two foundations "fatherly" and
maternal9the 'divine' and 'existential' must always be remembered and updated.
new by Chanumpa so that man never loses contact with the Whole, of which
it is like a particle; the ritual of Chanumpa is equivalent to a bond and a consecration,
for "since no good thing can be done by man alone, I want to first do a
offering and sending a voice to the Spirit of the World to help me be true
(Black Moose). Thus, the Chanumpa is the pontiff: it is the "eucharistic" instrument that unites
to man, pursued as he is by the limitations of the 'finite' to the Infinite, and this explains the
veneration and the love that the Indians show him.

This leads us to consider another aspect of this rite in which the analogy between appears
the smoke of sacred tobacco (kinni-kinnik) and incense: in most traditions, incense
it is in a certain way the "human response" to the divine Presence; therefore, the smoke indicates
the 'spiritual presence' of man in the face of the supernatural Presence10of God, as enunciated
this Iroquois enchantment: "Health! Health! Health!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8We will remember... that, in various traditions, the image of the Sun is also linked to that of the tree, because it is
represented in it as the fruit of the 'Tree of the World'; abandons its tree at the beginning of a cycle and comes to
to rest upon it at the end, so that... the tree is effectively the 'station of the Sun'. (René Guénon, The Tree of...
World, in traditional studies, February, 1939.
"Great Spirit" is indeed the "Father" or the "Grandfather"; the "Earth" is the "Mother who gives birth to all beings", the

"only Mother". The Pawnee Indians refer to God as "Father" (Tirawa) and distinguish Him more clearly.
of the manifested spirit (Kawaharu); in the same line of thought - that is to say, regarding assimilation
symbolic of heaven to God as the paternal principle - the Blackfoot Indians call the Great Spirit 'Power'
solar (Natosiwa), but without ever identifying it with the visible sun.
This adjective does not constitute a pleonasm, because God's "natural" Presence is nothing other than Existence and the

various expressions or forms of this, such as, precisely, the symbols of Nature, the Sun, the Moon, the Bison and
others" that for the Indian sãowakan, are sacred. Let us mention here this example, of a profound symbolism, given by
an Indian chief to the well-known ethnologist Alice C. Fletcher: "Everything that moves stops in one place to do so there.
your nest, in another to rest from your flight. A man who walks stops when he wants. This is how the
Divinity paused. The sun, so radiant and so beautiful, is one of the places where She paused. She has been with the moon.
the stars and the winds. The trees, the animals, all are where she stopped, and the Indian thinks of these places and
Send them your prayers to reach the place where the Divinity stayed, and you will receive help and blessings.
17
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

‘ You who created all things, listen to our voice. We now obey your
Commandments. What You created returns to You, the smoke of tobacco (sacred) rises to You,
from what can be seen, our word is true11.

In the Chanumpa ritual, man represents the state of 'individualism'; the

space — with its six directions — represent the Universal in it that the individual must,
transmuting, reabsorbing itself; the smoke that dissipates into space and identifies with
it indicates this transmutation from the 'hardened', 'opaque' or 'formal' to the 'free',
"transparent" or "informal"; it simultaneously indicates the unreal of the "I" and, consequently
of the world, which, spiritually, identifies with the human microcosm.

But this reabsorption of smoke in space — which "is God" — also transcribes
the mystery of 'identity' by virtue of which, to speak in Sufi terms, 'the wise one was not
created": man is nothing but illusorily a "weight" subtracted from space and stranded in it;
in reality he "is" this space, and "must become what it is", as they say.
Hindu scriptures12.

The man, by absorbing with the sacred smoke the 'fragrance of Grace', and by exhaling
with him to the unlimited, expands supernaturally in the 'divine Space', if that is possible
to say; but God is also represented by the fire that consumes tobacco: the latter is the
man or, from the macroscopic point of view, the Universe; space "embodies" itself here
in the fire of Chanumpa, as the cardinal points come together, according to another symbolism, in the
central fire.

According to Hehaka Shapa, "everything an Indian does, he does in a circle, and that is how it is
because the Power of the Universe always acts in circles, and all things tend to be
round. In the old days, when we were a strong and happy people, we received all
our power from the sacred circle of the nation, and as long as the circle remained whole, the people
florescia. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four directions
nutria

The East brought peace and light, the South, warmth, the West, rain, and the North, with its
cold and powerful wind, gave strength and resistance. This knowledge came to us from the world
exterior (the Transcendent World, the Universe), with our religion. Everything that makes the Power
The Universe does it in a circular form.

The sky is circular, and I heard that the earth is round like a ball, and also the
stars are round.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11Cited by Paul Radin in his History of Indian Civilization.
The Buddhist "prayer mills" belong to a symbolism that is inversely analogous to that of the Chanumpa: while
that in this the divine Reality updates in the directions of space to which it goes, from the center that is the
state of individualism" the spiritual aspirations of the individual, the "prayer mill" will embody Reality
divine in the form of a revealed Word, fixed in space by the sacred letters that transcribe it, and blessing,
through its rotation, to the Universe in its spatial manifestation. According to an Upanishad, "Brahma is in the
North, South, East, West, Zenith, and Nadir." In the same sense, the Quran said: "Wherever you go,
Ali finds the face of Allah.

18
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The wind, at its maximum strength, swirls. The birds make their nests in
in the shape of circles, as they share the same religion as us... Our tents (tipis) were
circular like the nests of birds and were always arranged in a circle: the center of
nation, a nest made of many nests, in it the Great Spirit wanted us to protect the
our children." (Black Elk Speaks.)

Thus, all static forms of existence are determined

for a 'concentric' archetype, material or mental; centered on its qualitative ego,
"totemic," almost impersonal, the indigenous person tends towards independence, and consequently to
indiferença, respeito ao mundo externo; se rodeia de silêncio como se este fosse um círculo
magical, and this silence is sacred because it transmits celestial influences.

The Indian draws his spiritual strength from this silence, whose natural support is solitude;
your habitual prayer is silent: what it requires is not a thought, but rather a
"consciousness of the Spirit", and this "consciousness" is immediate and informal like the vault.
celestial.

If the Great Spirit always acts "through circles", from another point of view
também atua sempre «mediante Quaternidade»13, as indicated by the spatial directions and the
temporal cycles, and then the circle turns into a cross, that's why the Indian, whose life
unfolds in a certain way between the central point and the unlimited space, performs things
static according to the circular principle, and dynamic things. — actions according to the
quaternary principle, that is to say, and in conformity with the four cardinal virtues which are for
he the value, patience, generosity, and fidelity.

This deep structure of Indian life means that the red man does not
proposes to "settle" in this land where everything, according to the stabilization law and also of
condensation, and even 'petrification', threatens to 'crystallize'; and this explains the
the Indian's aversion to houses, especially stone ones, and also the absence of a deed
which, according to this perspective, would "fix" and "kill" the sacred flow of the spirit.

European civilization, on the contrary, both in its dynamic forms and in

its static forms are deeply sedentary and urban: it is therefore anchored in space
and it extends quantitatively through it, while Indian civilization has its axis in
in a certain way outside of space, in the main center, unlocated; its expansion will be through
subsequent "qualitative", in the sense that it is nothing but pure movement, a symbol of

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13After what we have just said, we cannot fail to mention that the circle also has a meaning.
dynamic in relation to the cross considered according to its static symbolism; we do not speak of the square, shape
static par excellence, because it does not intervene in the nomadic perspective that is addressed here. In effect, if the cross
it represents not a centrifugal tendency, but rather the cardinal points, the circle in turn will not indicate a
concentric tendency, but rather the circular movement of the 'Four Winds' around the world, that is to say, the 'step
from the power to the act" of the four cosmic Principles; the same image reappears in the swastika (suástica), in
that the simple cross is evidently static, while the brackets are dynamic and 'circular'.

19
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

unlimited, and not quantitative delimitation, "mercantile", of spatial extent.

It is important here to note that Christianity, like other religions of the 'Old
"World", fixes the Celestial in the earthly plane and builds sanctuaries with the finest matter.
static, the stone; the tradition of the redskins, for its part, integrates the earthly — the
"spatial" is desired— in the omnipresent Celestial, and also for this the earth must remain
intact, virgin, sacred, just as it came from the divine Hands — for only pure things
reflect the Eternal14.

The Indian is not 'pantheistic', but knows that the world is mysteriously
submerged in God.

What we have just said will help understand why nature — landscape,
sky, stars, elements, wild animals — are the necessary support of the skins tradition
red at the same level as the temples for other religions; all the limitations
imposed on nature by artificial, heavy, irremovable works — and imposed on man
for their enslavement in respect to them — they are, therefore, sacrilegious, including "idolaters", and
they carry within themselves the germs of death15.

It results from this way of seeing that the fate of the redskins is tragic in the sense
proper to the term: it is tragic a situation with no way out that results, not from a random cause,
but rather from the fatal clash of two principles.

The crushing of the Indian race is tragic because the red man could do nothing but
to win or to die16has succumbed because it represented a spirit incompatible with the
mercantilism of the 'pale faces'. This immense drama could be defined as the struggle, not
only between a mercantile and materialistic civilization and another chivalrous and spiritualistic one, but
also within urban civilization — in the strictly pejorative human sense of this
term, which implies an idea of "artifice" and "servility" — and the kingdom of Nature,
considered as the majestic, pure, and limitless garment of the divine spirit. Now well,
Nature, of which the Indian feels like the incarnation and which is at the same time his
sanctuary, will ultimately triumph over this artificial and sacrilegious world, for it is the Clothing, the
Habit, the Hand of the Great Spirit.

FRITHJOFSCHUON

________________________________________________________________________
This perspective explains the great "nomadic revolutions" that, starting from the Mongolian steppes with a

unprecedented impetuosity, they intended to sweep away the cities, places of corruption and 'petrification', from the surface of the earth;
let us remember that Genghis Khan's ring bore the swastika, which also appears frequently in art of the
redskins. While the attitude of the redskins towards Nature on one hand and towards the cities on
Another, Tacitus points out characteristics that are all analogous in the Germans: "They consider that the act of enclosing among
walls and representing gods with human aspects would degrade their majesty: they dedicate forests to them and
forests, and invoke, with the names of deities, the Mystery that they see only through reverential fear
(...they call the secret by the names of deities, which they see only with reverence). "It is known that the Germans do not
there are cities and that could not even bear that their houses lean against others." Marcelino, author of
the 4th century, refers that the Germans looked at the Roman cities with horror, as if they were prisons and
tombs, and that they abandoned them after having taken them.
As a "guardian of the Chanumpa" said to Joseph Epes Brown, God shows kindness by leaving nature.

intact: "Even though we have been pressured in every possible way by the white man, we still have
a lot to give thanks to the Great Spirit, because, even in this period of darkness, His work in nature
remains unchanged and continuously reminds us of the divine Presence.

20
 THE SACRED PIPE - Sioux Rites, Black Elk

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16one might ask who was less noble, the unfair methods employed during the westward expansion, or
the treatment inflicted on the Indians after their defeat: 'The attempt to suppress the authority of the chiefs and the order'
Indigenous social began with the agent who came to Pine Ridge in 1879... According to his sincere conviction, the Indian
could not adapt to his new situation more than accepting to create gain and establish himself in areas designated for
cultivation. Without a doubt, like all the men of his time, the agent also estimated that this should go
accompanied by the complete abandonment of Indian customs. Thus, when the Indians seemed to engage with
too much tenacity in their habit of camping in groups and celebrating counsel among themselves, or when they do not
they were quite willing to collaborate, they either withheld their rations or used the police to impose a change
by force... The suffocation of indigenous society and the authority of the chiefs was later followed by
official regulations that prohibited Indian dances, rituals, in a word, pagan customs... Indeed,
the children were kidnapped to be incorporated into government schools; their hair was cut, they were taken away their
Indian clothes. They were forbidden to speak their own language… Those who persisted in their old way of life and the
Those who fled and were captured were confined. As much as possible, children were kept in school year after year.
from the year with the aim of removing them from the influence of their relatives" (Gordon Macgregor, Warriors without Weapons).
17 "Cain, who killed his brother Abel, the shepherd, and built a city for himself, foreshadows modern civilization.

civilization that was described as "a deadly machine devoid of conscience and ideal" (G. La Piana),
"neither human, nor normal, nor Christian" (Eric Gill), and in fact, "an anomaly, to say the least a monstrosity"
(René Guénon) said: "The values of life decline slowly. What remains is an appearance of civilization without
"none of your realities" (A. N. Whitehead). Similar criticisms could be cited indefinitely.
Modern civilization, through its divorce from all principle, is comparable to a headless corpse whose last
movements are convulsive and insignificant. It is not, moreover, of suicide, but of murder of what
"we want to speak" (Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Am I and Guardian of My Brother?). "We call them savages.
because their customs differ from ours, which we consider the perfection of urbanity; they think that
even from your own... By having few needs, they have a lot of free time to cultivate the soul through
conversation. Our laborious way of life esteems servile and low, compared to yours; and the instruction according to
to the extent that we value ourselves, they consider it frivolous and vain" (Benjamin Franklin, Remarks concerning the
Savages of North America

21
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

THE SACRED PIPE

22
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

HEHAKASHAPA(ALCENEGRO)
(Photo by J. E. Brown, 1947.)

23
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

PREFACE BY HEHAKA SAPA

24
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

In the grand vision that came over me at the dawn of my life, when there was
having known only nine winters, there was something whose importance was revealed to me as time passed
that the moons were passing. I want to talk about our sacred Pipe and what it means to
our people.

The white men, at least those who are Christians, told us that God sent
your Son to men to restore order and peace on earth; and they told us that Jesus
Christ was crucified, but he is to return on the Day of Judgment, which will be the end of the cycle.
of this world. I know and understand that this is right; but let the white men know
that, also for the red skins, by the will of Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit,
an animal transformed into a biped to bring the very holy Pipe to its people; and
we also know that this White Buffalo Woman brought our sacred Pipe
will appear again at the end of this world, an event that we, the Indians, know that
it's not too far away anymore.

Most people call our pipe 'Peace Pipe', but in

our days there is no peace on earth, not even among neighbors, and I know this has been the case since
A long time. There is much talk about peace, but it is nothing more than speeches.

It is possible, and this is my plea, that through our sacred Pipe, and thanks to this
a book in which I will explain what our Pipe really is, peace comes to those who are
capable of understanding; this understanding must come from the heart and not solely from
head. Those will realize that we, the Indians, know the one true God
true and we ask you constantly.

I dictated this book with no other desire than to help my people become aware of the
greatness and the truth of our own tradition, and also to facilitate the coming of peace to
earth, not only among men, but between them and all of Creation.

We must understand that all things are the work of the Great Spirit. We must
to know that He is in everything: in the trees, in the herbs, in the rivers, in the mountains, and in
all quadrupeds and the winged peoples; and, what is even more important, we must
understand that He is also beyond all these things and all these beings.

When we have deeply understood all this in our hearts,

we will fear, we will love, and we will know the Great Spirit; then we will strive to
to be, act and live as He wants.

HEHAKASHAPA(ALCENEGRO)
Manderson, S. D., December 1947

25
 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

THE ARRIVAL OF THE SACRED PIPE

26
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Many winters have passed since this happened: two Lakotas1that they had
left to hunt and were observing from a hill; they saw in the distance, in the same
the moment the sun was rising, something was approaching it in a strange manner and
wonderful.

As they got closer, they saw that it was a very beautiful woman, dressed in
white deer skins, and carried over his right shoulder a fringed pouch. Then a
two men had impure thoughts and spoke to his friend; but he told him not to have
such thoughts, because she was certainly a wakan woman, a sacred woman2 .

Soon this woman was nearby; and after letting go of her bag, she asked the man
who had had impure thoughts to approach her. When the man got closer
approached the mysterious woman, a great cloud enveloped them, and when, shortly
then, it dissipated, the woman was still standing and on the ground was the wicked man reduced to
condition of a skeleton with worms devouring its bones3 .

The woman then said to the other, to the good man:

"Consider what you saw! I will meet your people and I wish to speak to your chief."
ehloghecha Najin, Chief Oco Em Pé. Return and tell him to prepare a tent
spacious where he will gather all his people and will prepare for my arrival. I want to say-
I have something very important for you.

The young hunter ran to the tent4from your boss and narrated everything that happened,
that this mysterious woman would come to visit him and that he would have to prepare her reception.

Chief Hollow Horn at that time had several dismantled tents available, and
he had them make a big one, as the woman had asked.5 .

He quickly sent a messenger to notify the tribe that they should put their
best clothes and meet without delay in the tent.

Everyone was very intrigued as they waited in the vast tent for the arrival of the
celestial woman, and everyone wondered what she could want to tell them.

_________________________________________________________________________
1 The Lakotas are the Sioux of the Teton branch. Black Elk belonged to the Oglala group of this branch. The other three tribes of

The Sioux proper are the Dakotas of the west, the Santee, and the Yankton (Nakota). As for the linguistic family.
Sioux encompasses many other tribes, especially the Crow, the Hidatsa, and the Mandan.
We translate this word 'wakan' itself as 'sacred' or 'holy' — sometimes as 'mystery' — still by

"power" or "powerful," as many ethnologists do. The latter terms may be accurate, but do not provide
completely the meaning of the word wakan; we must not forget that for the Sioux, as for the people
In general traditional contexts, the 'power' — or the 'sacred character' — of a being or a thing is in proportion to the
the ability of the thing to reflect as directly as possible the Principle — or the Principles — that are in
Wakan Tanka; this is One. The term 'power' is misleading in the sense that it might suggest a purely forceful nature.
terrestrial or psychic.
3Alce Negro explained to us that this should not be interpreted simply as a temporal event, but

also as an eternal truth. "Every man — he told us — who is attached to the senses and the things of this
the world and that, for this reason, lives in ignorance, is devoured by serpents — its own passions.
4Otipi, conical tent made of bison skin, used by the Plains Indians.

27
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The young people who were watching the arrival of the unknown announced that the
they perceived in the distance, approaching with grace and dignity; and suddenly the woman
mysterious entered the tent and went around it in the direction of the sun's movement6, and after
complete the entire turn stopped in front of Hollow Horn Standing7. He took the bag from his shoulder and,
holding it with both hands in front of the chief, he said to him:

Contemplate this and love Him always! It is a very sacred thing -wakan lill- , and
you should always consider her as such. Never an impure man should be allowed to see her.
there, for in this bag is a sacred Pipe. With it, in future winters,
You will send your voice to Wakan - Tanka, your Grandfather and Father.8.

After speaking like that, the celestial woman took a Chanumpa out of her bag, and also
a round little stone that was placed on the ground. Driving the Pipe, through the stem, to the sky,
said:

With this Pipe of mystery, you will walk through the Earth; for the Earth is your Grandmother.
and Mother9it is sacred. Each step taken on it should be like a prayer. The small oven of this
The pipe is made of red stone; it is the Earth. This young bison that is carved in the stone, and
that looks to the center, represents the quadrupeds10who live about your Mother.

The pipe's stem is made of wood, and this represents everything that grows on the
Earth. And these twelve feathers that hang from where the shaft penetrates the core are from
Wambali Galeshka, the Painted Eagle11and represent the Eagle and all winged beings of the
To all these peoples, and all the things of the Universe, are bound to you, who smoke the
Pipe; everyone sends their voices to Wakan - Tanka, the Great Spirit.

When you pray with this Pipe, you will pray for all things and with them.

_________________________________________________________________________
The Sioux ceremony tent is built with twenty-eight poles; one of them is the 'key' that supports all of the...

Moreover, this rod, the wise say, represents the Great Spirit that sustains the Universe; this is represented
throughout the entire tent.
6A to circle according to the movement of the sun is commonly used among the Sioux; since the reverse movement is

is also used on certain occasions, for dances or in rites that precede or follow a catastrophe: this
movement, in effect, is that of the Beings of the Thunder who always act contrary to the general laws of nature,
because they arrive in a terrible way and always bring destruction. The reason for the 'solar' circumvention was
explained by Black Elk in these words:
Isn't the South the source of life? And doesn't the flowering branch truly come from there?
And the man, does he not come from there, advancing towards the setting sun of his life?
Do not approach the cold North later, where the white hairs are?
And then, doesn't it arrive, if it still lives, the source of light and knowledge that is the East?
He does not return, finally, to the place from where he came, which is his second childhood, in order to give back his life to
all the living, and his flesh to the Earth from where it came?
The more you think about it, the more meanings there will be (Black Elk Speaks, op. cit.).
Hollow Horn Bear, in his capacity as chief of the tribe, should have been sitting in the West, which was the place of honor; of

West, in the tent, one sees the door, which is the East, from where the light comes, which symbolizes wisdom; a leader must
always possess this illumination to be able to guide your tribe in a manner that is "sacred", "according to the
mystery.
8Wakan Tankacomo 'Grandfather' is the Great Spirit while independent from creation: then it is unqualified, not

determined, in the sense of the 'Divinity' (Godhead) of Christian doctrine, or of Brahma-Nirguna in Hindu doctrine.
Wakan Tankacomo 'Pai' is the Great Spirit considered in relation to its manifestation, whether as Creator,
as Conservator or as Destroyer; it is then the Christian 'God' or the Hindu Brahma-Saguna.

28
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The celestial woman then touched the round stone with the tip of the Pipe.
not alone, and said:

"With this Pipe you will be united to all your ancestors: your Grandfather and
Father, your Grandmother and Mother. Your Father Wakan Tanka also gifts you with this stone.
round that is made of the same red stone as the pipe's furnace. It is the Earth,
your Grandmother and Mother, and it is the place where you will live and grow.

This Land that He gave you is red, and the men who live in it are red;
and the Great Spirit also gave you a red day and a red road12They are
venerable; do not forget them.

Each dawn that arrives is a sacred event, and every day is sacred.
for the light comes from your Father Wakan Tanka; you should also always agree that the
men and all other beings on this Earth are sacred and must be treated
as such13.

From now on the Pipe of mystery will be in this red Earth, and the men
they will take the Pipe and send their voices to the Great Spirit. These seven circles14what
seeing in the stone means many things, as they represent the seven rites by which one
will use the Pipe.

The first great circle represents the first rite that I will transmit to you, and the
the other six circles represent the rites that will be revealed to you directly, in due time
time15.

Hollow Horn Standing, be respectful to these gifts and your people, because
they are sacred. With this Pipe, men will prosper and all good will come to them.

Similarly, we have to distinguish, in Wakan Tanka, between the 'Grandfather' and the 'Father', it is also distinguished, in Maka, the

Earth, between the 'Grandmother' and the 'Mother'; this is the Earth considered as the producer of all things that grow, for
both in action, while the "Grandmother" is the substance of all these things, that is to say, the potentiality. This distinction
It is, ultimately, what the scholastics establish between natura naturata and natura naturans.
The bison was the most important of all quadruped animals for the Indians because it provided them with their

food, your clothing, and also your tents, which were made of tanned skins. As the bison contained within itself all
these things — and for many other reasons — were a natural symbol of the Universe, that is, of the totality of forms
manifested. All things are symbolically contained in this animal: the earth and everything that grows on it,
all animals, including the 'bipedal peoples'; each part of the bison represents, for the Indian, one of these categories
of creation. Just like the four legs of the bison: they represent the four ages, which are a condition of
creation.
The Painted Eagle—Wambali Galeshka—flies higher than all other creatures and sees all things, and by

this is considered the revealing function of Wakan Tanka. It is a solar bird, its feathers are similar to the
sun rays; when an Indian carries one of these feathers - it doesn't matter how, even just by hand -
that represents, or rather "is" the "Real Presence". The Indian who wears the headdress made of eagle feathers
to convert 'really' into the eagle, is to say, it identifies in principle —or virtually— with the splendor of Wakan
Tanka.
The Painted Eagle corresponds to what Hindu doctrine calls Buddhi: the Intellect, which is the informal principle and
transcendent of all manifestation.
Buddhi is defined as the ray that emanates directly from Atmâ, the spiritual Sun.
All of this will allow us to understand what the song —so often misinterpreted— of the 'Dance' means.
"The Painted Eagle comes to take me to the"
lion.
29
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

From above, the Great Spirit gave you this Pipe so that, thanks to it,
you will be able to obtain knowledge. Always be grateful for this great gift!

Now, before I go, I wish to give you instructions on the first rite with which
your people must use this Pipe.

May the day when one of your loved ones dies be sacred to you! You should then keep
your soul16how am I going to explain to you, and thus you will gain much in power, for each soul
it will strengthen your selflessness and your love for your neighbor.

As long as one of yours remains with his soul among your people, you will be in
conditions to send your voice to the Great Spirit through it17.

May the day when a soul is freed and returns to its own be equally sacred.
dwelling, which is Wakan Tanka; because on that day four women will be sanctified and with the
time will bring children who will walk in the light of life according to the mystery, setting an example to
your people.

The 'red path' is the center that connects the North with the South; it is the good and straight way, because, for the Indians, the

The North is Purity and the South is Life. This 'red path' is thus similar to the 'narrow and straight way' of Christianity: it is
the vertical line of the cross, or also the çirât-el-mustaqîm of the Quran. On the other hand, there exists, in the cosmology of
Sioux, the blue or black path that links the West with the East, and which is the way of error and destruction. "Those who travel
through this path — said Black Elk — is distracted, dominated by the senses, and lives for himself more than
for your people." The "people" should be understood here in the sense of the "neighbor" from the Gospel.
When the Indian kills in hunting or in war, he must perform rites of reconciliation, purification, or duel, in order

to restore the lost balance.

The seven circles are arranged in a circle by size, so that the smallest is located
next to the largest.
According to Black Elk, two of these rites were known to the Sioux before the arrival of the Celestial Woman, namely:

the sweat lodge rites and the rite to gain a vision. The Chanumpa ritual was added to these two techniques
spiritual.
When translating the word siouxwanaghi, we have used the term "soul" and not the term "spirit" that many.

ethnologists prefer; we believe that the first term, understood in its Christian and scholastic sense, is more accurate,
because what is stored and purified in this rite is the totality of the psychic elements of being; these elements, if
although they are located in a material form — usually the hair roots — they are actually of
subtle or spiritual nature, and intermediate between the material body and pure Spirit. We must not forget that, by
another part, which is the pure Spirit — the presence of Wakan Tanka — who is in the 'center' of the subtle elements and
materials. The soul is thus retained, so that it will already be described, in an extension of the individual state, in order to
that the subtle or psychic part of the being be purified and that a virtual release may be achieved. This is very similar
to the state that Catholic doctrine calls purgatory. For more detailed explanations of this important
question, see René Guénon, L'Homme et son Devenir according to Vedanta.

30
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Look at me, for I am the one who will lead you to your mouth, and thanks to that, you will convert.
in Santos.

The man who holds the soul of a person must be virtuous and pure, and must
serve the Pipe so that all, with their souls, send their voices together to the Great
Spirit.

The fruit of your Mother Earth, and the fruit of everything she bears, will thus be blessed, and
your people will then march according to the mystery along the path of life.

Do not forget that the Great Spirit gave you seven days to send Him your voice.
And while this happens, you will live. The rest will be revealed to you by the Great Spirit.

Then the heavenly woman turned to leave the tent, but turning back again to
Hollow Horn Standing said:

Look at this Pipe! Always remember how sacred It is, and treat it as such,
because he will guide you to your goal. Look! In me, there are four ages18Now I'm going, but
I will look after your people during each of these ages and, in the end, I will return.

After circling the tent following the movement of the sun, the mysterious woman
he went out; but, a short distance away, he turned to the people and sat down. When he got up, the
people were surprised to see that she had transformed into a young red bison and
brown. So this young bison, after moving away a little, lay down on the ground and
he got up and looked at the people; and when he stood up again, he was a white bison.
It distanced itself and sprawled on the ground, transforming into a black bison, which
distant more, leaned towards each of the four Regions of the Universe, and disappeared
behind the hill.

17 "It's good - said Black Elk - to have something in front of us that reminds us of death, because this helps us.

understand the non-permanence of earthly life, and this understanding can help us prepare for our
own death. Those who are well prepared know that they are nothing compared to Wakan Tanka, who is everything; they know
so this divine World that is the only real one.
According to Sioux mythology, at the beginning of the cycle a bison was placed in the West to hold back the waters that

they threaten the Earth. Each year this bison loses a hair, and in each of these cyclical ages, it loses a leg.
When all your fur and your four legs have disappeared, the waters will flood the world again and the cycle
will have come to an end. The same myth speaks again, in a highly concordant form, in Hindu tradition:
each leg of the bull Dharma—the Divine Law—represents an age (yuga) of the total cycle (mahâ-yuga), and in each
At the age of the bull, it withdraws a leg. Throughout these four ages, spirituality progressively darkens, until
that the cycle ends with a cataclysm; then the primordial spirituality is restored and a new cycle begins.
The redskins, like the Hindus, admit that in our time, the bison — or the bull — sustains itself on its
last leg and is almost naked. Similar myths can be found in other traditions.

31
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

2
THE GUARDIAN OF THE SOUL

32
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

With this rite, we purify the souls of our dead and our love for others.
increases. The four pure women who eat the sacred part of the bison,
I will describe, they will always remember that their children will be sanctified and that, for this reason, they must
to be created according to the mystery.

A mother must sacrifice everything for her children and develop in herself and in them a great
love for Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, for over time these children
they will become men of mystery and guides of the nation, and they will have the power to convert
in Santos to the others. At first, we not only kept the souls of our great ones.
chefs, but then we started to keep those of almost all virtuous men.

Looking at a soul according to the prescribed rites, just as we received them from Ptesan.
Win - The White Bison Woman, and we purify in order that this soul and the Spirit
convert them into one and so that I can return to the place where I was born – Wakan Tanka – and already
do not have any need to err on the earth, as is the case with wicked men;
furthermore, the guarding of a soul helps us to remember our mortality, just as
O Great Spirit who is beyond all death.

When a soul is kept, many men gather in its tent to pray; and
On the day when the soul is released, everyone gathers and sends their voices to the Great Spirit.
through this soul that will travel through your sacred sky. But I will explain to you.
first how our people performed this rite in its origin.

A great-grandson of Hollow Horn in Standing had a son whom he and his wife loved.
a lot; but there came a day when this child died, which saddened greatly the
your father, who was recounting his suffering to the guardian of the Chanumpa, who at that time was
Hollow High Horn.

We were instructed by the Buffalo Woman on the use of the sacred pipe and in the preservation of
a deceased person. Now the loss of my beloved son causes me extreme sadness, and
I wish to keep your soul as we were taught; and since you are the guardian of the very holy
Chanumpa, I ask you to instruct me.

"How! Hechetu welo! It's okay!", said Chifre Oco Alto; the two went to the place
where the child was resting and there were the women crying. When they arrived, the
lamentations ceased; Hollow Horn High approached the child and said:

This boy looks dead, but he is not really, for we will keep his soul.
among us, and thanks to her our children and the children of our children will become saints.

_________________________________________________________________________
1 Through a decree that reveals as much misunderstanding as hostility, this rite of the 'guard of the soul' was
forbidden by the government in 1890, and it even required that all the souls kept by the Sioux be
released on a certain date set arbitrarily by decree. For a description of this rite as it was practiced in
1882, according to Alice C. Fletcher, The Shadow or Ghost Lodge (16 and 17 Annual Report of the Peabody Museum, vol.
III, nos. 3 and 4; Cambridge, 1884.
The bison, which represents the Universe, contains all things, like the ashvamedha horse. Aside from that
corresponds to the human gender — and also to the White Buffalo Woman — is a certain piece of flesh taken from
elbow. This meat is for the Indians, mutatis mutandis, what the Holy Eucharist is for Christians; the Chanumpa
it serves the same purpose, but the formal analogy is then much less direct.

33
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Let's now do as the Buffalo Woman and the Chanumpa taught us. It is desire.
O Great Spirit, let it be so." And, taking a lock of the child's hair,
Hollow Horn High prayed:

ÓWakan Tanka, see us! It is the first time we do your will in this way,
as You taught through the Buffalo Woman. We will keep the soul of this child so that
our Mother Earth carry your fruits, and for our children to walk in the light of
life according to the mystery.

Hollow Horn High then began to purify the child's lock of hair;
they brought a coal and placed a little aromatic herb on top3 (kids).

ÓWakan Tanka! — High Hollow Horn prayed again —, this smoke of the herb
the aromatic will rise to You and extend throughout the Universe; its scent will be felt
through the winged beings, the quadrupeds, and the bipeds, because we understand that we are all
parents; that all our animal brothers love us and no longer fear us!

Hollow Horn High took the lock of hair and, holding it over the smoke, the
He directed to Heaven, to Earth and to the four Directions of the Universe; and said to the soul that
it was in the hair:

Look, soul! The place in this land where you dwell will be a sacred place; this center will make
that the nation be sacred like you. Our children will walk from now on in the light of life
with a pure heart and a firm step." After purifying the lock in the smoke, Hollow Horned High
he turned to the child's mother and father, and said:

We will receive great knowledge thanks to this soul that has just been purified.
Be good to her and love her, for she was sanctified. We fulfill the wish of the Great
Spirit just as the Celestial Woman taught us; do you not remember how, when we leave, we
Did it transform the second time? This gesture represented the guarding of the soul that we are going to perform.

May this help us remember that all the fruits of winged beings, of bipeds and
the quadrupeds are actually gifts from the Great Spirit. All are sacred and
must be treated as such. » The lock was wrapped in buffalo skin and this precious
the bag was placed in a special place in the tent. Then Chofre Oco Alto picked up the
Chanumpa, and after passing it through the smoke, carefully filled it according to the rite; and
driving the rod to the sky he prayed:

Our Grandfather, Wakan Tanka, You are everything, and undoubtedly above everything! You are
The First. You have always been it. This soul that we keep will be at the center of the circle.
sacred of this nation: thanks to this center our children will possess a brave heart and
they will advance along the straight red path according to the mystery.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The aromatic herb—wachanga—that the Indians prepare in the form of a braid has the same ritual function as the
incense in the different cults of the 'old world'.

34
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Oh Wakan Tanka!, You are the Truth. The men who bring their lips to this
Chanumpa will turn into the Truth; there will be nothing impure in them. Help us to
walk without barriers on the path of life, with our thoughts and our hearts
constantly fixed on You!

Then he lit and smoked the Chanumpa, and went around the circle in the direction of
movement of the sun. In it, the whole world was offered to the Great Spirit. When the
Chanumpa returned to High Hollow Horn, he rubbed it with aromatic herbs on each side -
West, North, East, South — in order to purify it, because it might have been touched by someone.
indignant; and turning to the audience said:

My parents, this Chanumpa is a sanctuary. We all know that it cannot

to lie. No man who has any lie in his heart can take it to his
mouth.

Furthermore, O my relatives!, our Father Wakan Tankanos made known his

will here on earth, and we must always fulfill what He desires if we want to go by
sacred path.

This is the first time we perform this soul guard rite, and it will be of great benefit.
for our children and the children of their children.

O my relatives, O Grandmother and Mother Earth, we are of the earth and we belong to You! O Earth
Mother of whom we receive our food!, You take care of our growth as do
our own mothers.

Every step we take upon You must be according to the mystery; each step must be
like a prayer. Remember this, brothers and sisters: the power of this pure soul you
it will accompany you on your journey, for it is also a fruit of the Mother Earth; it is a seed
that, planted in your center, will grow over time in your hearts and will make the
generations walk according to the mystery.

Hollow Horn raised his hands4and sent his voice to the Great Spirit:

O Father and Grandfather Wakan Tanka!, You are the beginning and the end of all things.

My Father Wakan Tanka, You are the One who watches over and sustains all that lives.

Oh Grandmother mine!, You are the earthly source of all existence.

Mother Earth, the fruits you carry are the source of life for the peoples of the Earth.

You watch over your fruits without cease, like a mother.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
We raise our hands when we pray because we depend entirely on the Great Spirit; His generous Hand
meets all our needs. Then we strike the ground because we are miserable creatures, worms that
dragging in front of your presence." Words of a Sioux Blackfeet to Father de Smet (Life, Letters
and Travels; F. P. Harper, New York, 1905, p. 253.

35
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

May the steps we take upon You during life be sacred and without weakness!

Help us, O Wakan Tanka!, to walk the red road with a steady step.

That we, who are your nation, may stand before You in a way
May it bring you joy!
Give us the strength that comes from understanding Your Powers!

Because we were made to know Your will, we want to walk holily by

road of life, carrying in our hearts the love for You and the knowledge of You. Therefore,
And for all things, we give you thanks.

So they wrapped the boy's body in a bag, and the men took him to a
high and airy place of the camp; they placed it on a scaffold raised in a
tree5.

When they returned, Hollow Horn went to the tent with the child's father to teach.
how one should prepare for the great duty that he was about to fulfill and which would sanctify him.

"You now guard the soul of your son - said Hollow Horn - Your son is not
dead; he is with you. From now on you should live according to the mystery, because your son will be
in this tent until your soul is released.

Remember that the customs you adopt at this moment should never be
abandoned. Make sure that no evil person enters the tent where you keep the soul,
and that there are neither discussions nor disputes there; peace should always reign in your tent.

All these things have an influence on the soul that is being purified here.

Your hands are consecrated: treat them as such!

And your eyes are also; when you look at your relatives and all things, you look at them.
with the eyes of the spirit6.

Your mouth is also consecrated; may every word you speak reflect this state of
grace in what you will live from now on.

_________________________________________________________________________
Thus the material or gross body is returned to the elements from which it came; if it is left exposed
to the agents of heaven: the four Winds, the rains, the 'winged beings' of the air, all of whom, like the earth,
they absorb a part of it.
The sacred nature of kinship is one of the most important aspects of red-skinned civilization: being the
essentially one creation, all parts are interconnected. The Indians address each other, not with their
particular names, but rather with a term that expresses a degree of relationship determined by age more than
through the bonds of blood. Thus, a young person addresses an older person calling them 'father' or 'mother' or,
if the age difference is very large, "grandfather" or "grandmother"; in turn, the elders address the younger ones
calling them "son" or "daughter", "grandson" or "granddaughter". For the Indians, all degrees of earthly kinship.
they symbolize the metaphysical kinship between man and the Great Spirit, or between man and the Earth, considered
as Principle. By using these terms, the Indians actually invoke the Principle, or at least remember it.
The individual, and even all things, are for them like a dim reflection of the main Reality.

36
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

You will always lift your head to look at the sky.

Every time you eat a fruit of Mother Earth, you will also nourish your child.

If you do this and everything I taught you, the Great Spirit will be merciful to you.

Day and night, your son will be with you; take care of his soul all the time, because so
will always remember the Great Spirit.

From this day you are sanctified; and likewise to the one I instructed you, you too
you will instruct others.

The mysterious Chanumpa will continue its path for a long time, until the end;
The same will happen to the soul of your son. It is surely so! Hechetu welo!

Before I explain to you how the soul is released, it is good to talk to you about some
obligations that the guardian of a soul must know and fulfill.

One who guards a soul must never fight, not even handle a knife.
with no end. To pray constantly, to be an example in all things, such is your
conduct.

The people should love and honor this holy man, and always bring him food and
In turn, the guardian of the soul should often offer his
Chanumpa to the Great Spirit, for the good of all.

When a group of warriors goes hunting7, the holy guardian of the soul must give them
to accompany; but while the others hunt, he must stay with his Chanumpa and send
your voice to the Powers above so that the hunt may be good, and for the good of the whole tribe.

_________________________________________________________________________
For the Indian, every act has a metaphysical meaning, especially hunting, to which he dedicates such a large part of
your time. The pursuit and killing of an animal are considered by the Indians according to two aspects
apparently opposing, but complementary: death symbolizes the destruction of ignorance, but represents
also a connection with the Great Spirit. This last meaning explains the ritual importance of tracking,
because when following an animal's track, one is ritually — and therefore, virtually — on the path that leads
Great Spirit; to face the challenges and dangers is equivalent to finding the Great Spirit.
what is the purpose of existence for all traditional peoples "The doctrine of common footprints to
Greek, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic teachings, and constitutes the basis of the iconography of the 'trail of steps'.
(Cf., for example, Plato, Phaedrus, 253A, 266B; and Rûmî, Mathnawi, II, c60-161.) "What is the provision of the Sufi? It is the...
trails. It pursues the game like a hunter; sees the tracks of the musky deer and follows its footprints." The Master
Eckhart speaks of the 'soul that goes on a fiery hunt for its prey, Christ'. One can follow the footsteps of the precursors until
the Gateway of the Sun, Janua Coeli, the End of the Path; beyond this point, one can no longer follow its track. The symbolism of the
following the trail, as well as that of 'error' (sin) while 'I speak of drawing a blank', is one of those that we
they came from the oldest civilizations of hunters. (Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, kindouism and
Buddhism, trans. Allar and Ponsoye.) Let us also note that each weapon of hunting or war has its meaning
own. Thus, the bow, for example, is particularly sacred to the Indians, and the arrows are almost always
decorated with a red zigzag line that represents lightning, or the Knowledge that casts the Eye
unique deWakinyan Tanka, the great Thunder Bird of the West. The arrows thus consecrated are literally traces.
of light that dispels the darkness; they are similar to the bolt—vajra—of the Vedic Indra or the sword of the Christian crusaders, the
which was considered a separate fragment of the 'Cross of Light'. The sword of the Islamic 'Holy War' has the
same meaning.

37
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

If a female bison is killed near you, the animal belongs to you, and you must
to sit by your side; must fill your Pipe, first offering a little of
kinnikinnik8to the winged powers of the West, North, East, and South; then it must rise
a final pinch of tobacco to the sky as an offering to the Great Spirit, where are
all Powers.

Once the Pipe is filled in this way, you should direct the stem towards the
nostrils of the bison9, and must pray like this:

O Great Spirit!, You taught us your will through a quadruped to

may your people walk the sacred road, and for our children and the children of
may our children be blessed.

You, Tatanka, have four ages; and when you turned to us for the last time we saw
that You were the fruit of our Mother Earth that makes us live.

This is the reason why you will be the first to be placed at the center of the circle.
Our nation, You are the one who strengthens our bodies and also our spirits when You
we proceed according to the celestial rule.

Thanks to You, who revealed to us the will of the Great Spirit, there is now a soul
Santa in the center of our circle. You will be there with her, and from there you will spread happiness to your
people. Look now at this center!

Educated men instructed by the guardian of the soul break the bison like this
consecrated, while they pronounce suitable supplications according to the part of the flesh that
we cut.

The elbow represents bipeds, but first and foremost the celestial woman who
I brought the Chanumpa; this meat is particularly sacred—lilla wakan—and cannot be
manipulated without reverence.

The guardian of the soul does not cause the shattering itself, since the contact with
A knife and with the blood is prohibited; but it is allowed to take to the camp.
this meat on your horse, and also the skin, which is equally sacred and is destined to
a special use10.

Your arrival at the camp is announced by a messenger, and the meat is taken away.
then to the tent of the soul guardian.
_________________________________________________________________________
8 Okinnikinnik, chamadochanshasha, is an ingredient of the ritual tobacco of the Sioux; it is the dried inner bark of the alder.
red or of the red rabbit (Cornus sotlonifera). Rarely smoked alone because of its bitter taste; if
usually mixes an equal part of rolled tobacco from the Rees or Arikara tribe, to which a small amount is added
portion of some aromatic root or herb, usually the root of Sweet Ann. The mixture of these ingredients is made
always ritually.
With this gesture, forgiveness is asked from the soul of the dead animal, and thus the vital breath that was taken from it is ritually returned.
restored through the sacred Chanumpa.
10 The fur, symbolically identified with the bison, is like this, the Universe; at another time, when everyone
the Indians had one of these skins, they used them not only for warmth but also as support for the realization of
your identity — as men — with the Universe, the Totality.

38
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

At this moment, one of the tent occupants addresses the soul in these terms: "Grandson, the
The chosen food will remain in the center of this tent, which is your dwelling. It will be very
beneficial for the nation. Hechetu welo!

In the tent where the soul resides, there must always be a woman who
was chosen to take care of the mysterious little bag; the first one to be elected for this
pious duty was Woman Red Day.

This holy person is in charge of drying in the sun the sacred meat with which it is made.
owasna, which is dried meat crushed together with wild cherries and mixed with marrow of
bison. This ritual food is placed in a painted bison hide box.
special; it is preserved until the day the soul is freed.

On favorable days, these relics are taken outside and suspended on a tripod.
southward11the people then arrive in large numbers to bring offerings and to
to pray, which is very valuable. His gifts are also placed in a leather safe.
painted in a special way, to be later distributed to the poor.

After being aged according to the rites, the buffalo hide is painted, and then it is
purified anew in the smoke of the aromatic herb. Then the guardian of the soul extends it to
the four Parts of the Universe, saying:

Oh soul, my grandson, keep yourself firmly on this Earth and look around you;
Look up to the Sky, to the four Directions of the Universe and to our Mother Earth! And You, oh Bison
that you are really present in this skin12, came to us for our greater good: now you will
unite with this soul.

The two will be at the center of the nation's circle and will represent the unity of the people.
By placing this skin upon you, O soul, I place it upon the whole tribe as if it were not
formed more than one soul.

Once the mystery bag is suspended from the tripod in front of the tent, it is
place this bison hide with the fur side out on top; it should be placed at the top of the tripod
a war bonnet made with the feathers of Wambali Galeshka, the Painted Eagle.

The helpers are authorized to handle these objects; but only the guardian of
Alma can touch the little bag.

He is always carried over his heart, in the hollow of the left arm, because this
the arm is close to the heart; and every time he takes this little bag to the tent, he offers it
first to Heaven and then to Earth and to the four Directions of the Universe.

_________________________________________________________________________
The three legs of this tripod are oriented towards the West, North, and East; the tripod is left open on the South side.
that for the Sioux is the direction they take when they pray. The mystery bag is placed on this side, right underneath
at the intersection point of the three poles. This central point represents Wakan Tanka, where the soul will soon go
to depart, and from this point hangs a strip of leather that represents the path that leads from the earth to Wakan
Tanka. This path that the soul is now traveling and the position of the little bag indicate that the journey is almost over.
It is again about the mythological and celestial Bison, the White female Bison, manifestation of the revealing Myth.

39
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Before the rites that free the soul can be completed, many must come together.
things, which can take several years; but the normal duration of guarding a soul is of
one year.
If the guardian dies before this deadline, his wife will keep the soul, and
also the soul of her husband; and if the woman dies, the helpers will be responsible for
to guard these three souls; your function therefore implies a responsibility and a dignity
a bit bigger.

When a soul is to be released, everyone gathers, because everyone participates.

in this mysterious rite.

In advance, all the men hunt buffaloes, and once several are killed
animals, the bones are broken and boiled; from this mixture of grease and marrow is made the
the women dry the best piece of meat, which is called 'papa'. Everyone
these preparations have a ritual character.

After consulting with the other holy men of the tribe, the guardian of the soul
indicates the convenient day for the ritual, and when this day finally arrives, the helpers
They build a large ritual tent with several smaller tents and cover the ground with sage.

The guardian angel's helper then takes the Pipe and raises it to the Sky,
exclaiming:

Look, oh Wakan Tanka! We will now fulfill your will. With all beings of
Universe, we offer you this Chanumpa.

Take a pinch of ritual tobacco, okinnikinnik, and raising it, at the same time...
that also raises the Pipe's pole, to the West, exclaims:

With this consecrated tobacco, we place you, O winged power of the West, in this
Chanumpa we will send our voices to the Great Spirit and ask for your help.

This day is sacred, because a soul will be released. Throughout the Universe there will be
happiness and joy. Oh, Heavenly power of the place where the sun sets, we make a great
thing when placing you in this Chanumpa. Give us, to perform our rites, one of the two days
sacred red and blue13that You control!

The Power of the West, mysteriously now present in tobacco, is introduced in

Pipe; then the helper, lifting a bit of kinnikinnik to the North,
exclaims:
O Being of Thunder where you pitch your tent, You who come with the winds
purifiers and that preserves the vigor of men, oh Black Eagle of the North, your wings do not
Never give up! There is a place for you in this Chanumpa that we will offer to
Great Spirit.

Help us and give us one of your two sacred days!

Raising another pinch of dekinnikinnik to the East, the assistant continues his
reza:

40
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

O sacred being of the place where the sun rises, you who control knowledge!

To you belongs the road of the rising sun that brings light to the world.

Your name is Huntka; You possess wisdom and your wings are large.

There is also a place for you in the Chanumpa: help us to send our voice to
Great Spirit! Grant us your sacred days!

Thus the Power of the East is introduced into the Pipe; then the assistant raises a
a little bit of the South, and pray:

O You who guard the path that leads to the place we always return to, and
through him walk our generations, We place you in this Pipe of mystery! You who
you control our life and the lives of all the peoples of the Universe.

Everything that moves and everything that exists will send a voice to the Great Spirit. We have
a place for You in Chanumpa; help us send our voice and give us one of your days
beneficial!

This is what we ask You, oh White Swan of the place where we always return!

Then, the helper directs the shaft of the Chanumpa and a little bit of dekinnikinnik.
the Earth:

Oh sacred Earth from which we came, You are humble while nurturing all things;
we know that you are sacred and that we are your relatives.

Grandmother and Mother Earth fertile, there is a place for You in this Chanumpa.

Oh Mother, may your nation advance on the road of life, facing violent winds!

May we walk on You with firmness!

May our steps never falter!

We and everything that moves upon You are sending our voices to the Great
Spirit!

Ajude-nos! Todos juntos gritamos em uníssono: Ajude-nos!

The Sioux designate in this way the 'days' of the 'end of the world' when the moon will turn red and the sun blue.
admit, like all traditional doctrines, that the things of the macrocosm have their correspondence in
microcosm, one must also consider a "world's end" for the individual being, when this one receives the
the illumination of Wakan Tanka; or ignorance - dies, and the being lives from the permanence of the Spirit.

41
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

After being filled this way, with all the Powers and everything it contains
Universe14, the helper gives to the guardian of the soul, who, amidst laments, follows to the tent of
guardian of the holy Pipe. He places the Chanumpa, directing the stem to the South, in his hands
of the guardian:
_________________________________________________________________________

14 When the Chanumpa is full, all the space — represented by the offerings to the Powers of the six Directions
— and all the created things — represented by the tobacco grains — are concentrated in one single point: the bowl
"heart" of the Chanumpa; thus, the Chanumpa contains, or rather "is" the Universe. By being the world, the
macrocosmos, the Chanumpa is also man, the microcosmos; and the Indian who fills the Chanumpa must
identify with it and update not only the center of the world but also your own center. This implies that
it 'dilates' virtually, so that the six Directions of space, which were outside, are then located in the
interior. When this "dilatation" or expansion becomes effective, man ceases to be a part or a fragment and
it becomes total and holy; the illusion of separation is abolished. To better illustrate this mysterious identity between the
man and the Chanumpa - altar, we will quote this song of the Osage Indians:

These people had a Chanumpa

From which they made your body.

Oh, I have a Chanumpa of which I made my body;

If you also make your body of it,

It will have a body freed from everything that causes death.

Look at the union of the neck, they said,

I made her the union of my own neck.

Look at the mouth of the Chanumpa,

I made it my own mouth.

Look at the right side of the Chanumpa,

I made him the right side of my body.

See the spine of the Chanumpa,

I made my own spine from it.

Look at the left side of the Chanumpa,

I made him the left side of my own body.

See the cavity of the Chanumpa,

I made her the cavity of my own body.

See what unites the Chanumpa and the rod,

I made him my trachea.

...use the Chanumpa as an object in your supplications,

Your prayers will be promptly answered.

Extracted from War Ceremony and Peace Ceremony of the Osage Indians, by Francis La Flesche, in Bulletin of the
Bureau of American Ethnology, no. 101, Washington, 1939, pp. 62-63.

42
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Hi ho! Hi ho! I thank you - says the holy man upon receiving the Pipe.

This Chanumpa that you bring me is actually as sacred as the Chanumpa.

original that we received from the White Buffalo Woman. In fact, for those who understand
it is really Him Himself.

But what you just handed me is particularly sacred, because, just as the
I see, now it contains the whole Universe:
What do you wish?

We wish for you to smoke this pipe and to conduct the rites meant to free the
soul of my small child.

We wish you to bring the original Pipe that you have in your care.

How, hechetu welo!— responds the holy man—; I will go.

Then offers the Pipe to the Sky, to the Earth, and the four Directions, and smokes. Then
gathers the ashes piously, for they are also sanctified.

Next the two men go to the tent, where everything is ready for the
great ritual.

They turn in the direction of the sun's movement and sit to the West, on the opposite side to
of entrance.

The wife of the soul guardian returns, amidst lamentations, to her own tent, from where
behind the mysterious little bag and, stopping in front of the guardian of the Chanumpa, deposits the
relic in your outstretched hands.

Thanks be to him, says the holy man; and he addresses the soul in these terms.
stored in the bag

Oh soul, you were with your people, but soon it will depart.

This day is your day, and it is sacred.

Today, your Father Wakan Tankase leans down to see you: all your people have come to
to be with you.

All your relatives love you; they took good care of you. You and the holy Woman of
four ages that brought us the Chanumpa are now together in this tent; this skin of
the bison that represents the heavenly woman and that covered you, will cover all your people!

The pipe she brought us made the tribe happy.

Look!

This is the sacred day! Hechetu welo!

43
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

A perfect circle is drawn on the ground, this circle represents a bison bed, and
the mystery bag is placed inside.

With the soil that was taken from this place, another circle is formed, in it a
cross from West to East and from North to South.

The Chanumpa is placed on this cross, with the shaft pointing to the West and the
furnace to the East.

The mysterious little bag is placed next to the Chanumpa, at the end of the good road.
red, because this is the place where, soon, the soul will travel.

One of the helpers approaches the fire in the center.15from the tent and with a
a forked stick takes a coal from it and places it before the guardian of the Chanumpa.

He takes the pipe with his left hand, takes a bit of aromatic herb with
to the right, it directs it to the Sky and lowers it slowly to the embers, stopping four times and
praying this way:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, on this sacred day that is Yours, I send this fragrance that will rise
to the sky.

In this grass is the Earth, the great island; in it are my Grandmother, my Mother, and all the
quadrupedal, winged, and bipedal peoples, who march all according to the mystery.

The smell of this herb will spread throughout the Universe.

Oh Great Spirit, be merciful to all!

So the small oven of the pipe held over the smoke; it passes through the
Pipe (bowl) and it goes out through the stem directed towards the Sky.

Thus the Great Spirit is the first to smoke; through this ritual act, the
Chanumpa is purified.

While doing these things, the guardian prays in these terms:

Oh Great Spirit, Look at this Pipe!

15 Therefore, for the Sioux, each tent —otipi— is an image of the world, the fire that burns in the center.
represents — or better yet, "is" — Wakan Tanka "in the world". To emphasize the ritual nature of this central fire,
we will note that, at the time when the sioux were still nomads, a man designated as 'guardian of the
fire» usually set up his tent in the center of the circular camp. When the camp moved, the
the guardian carried the fire in a small log, and when the camp was reestablished,
All the tents lit their fire in this central place. This fire did not go out and was replaced by another — always.
in a ritual way - more so than in the case of a great calamity, or when the whole camp had
need for a complete purification.

44
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The smoke of this herb should cover all things on Earth, and it should also reach
Sky.

May the road of your people be like this smoke!

I offer you this Pipe, and now I put in your little furnace okinnikinnik.

You taught us that the round bowl of this pipe is the true center of
Universe and the heart of man.

Oh Wakan Tanka! Incline your gaze upon us; look at your Chanumpa, with it is
that we will send a voice with the winged peoples, the quadrupeds, and all the fruits of our
Mother Earth. Everything You have done unites with us to send this voice.

When filling Chanumpa, your guardian saint makes the ritual tobacco offerings to the
six Directions with the following prayer:

Oh winged power of where the sun sets. You are sacred!

With you and through your mediation we send a voice to the Great Spirit before releasing
this soul.

There is a place for You in this Pipe.

Help us!

Give your people their red and blue days so they can walk the path.
of life according to the mystery.

Oh winged power of the place where lives Wazia, purifier of the earth, of men, and of everything
what is impure, with the soul of a man we will send a voice to the Great Spirit for
your intermediary.

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa; help us then to send this voice!

Give us the sacred days that You possess!

Oh winged being from the place where the sun comes from; You who have great wings and who controls the
knowledge, light of the Universe, we will send a voice to the Great Spirit with this soul
that has remained with his people.

You also have the two great red and blue days, give us and help us to
send a voice!

ÓMaghaska, White Swan of the place to which we always return.

You control the red path that leads to where Waziatem has their tent.

You guide all quadrupedal and bipedal peoples who travel this road of

45
 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

mystery.

We will free a soul that will depart down your road; along with this soul we send
a voice to the Great Spirit.

Help us send this voice and give us your two sacred days!

O Painted Eagle, who are near the Sky, close to the Great Spirit, your wings are
powerful!

You are the one who watches over the circle of the nation and over everything that is contained within it.
circle.

May all peoples be happy and receive many blessings!

Let's free a soul that is departing for a great journey, so that the steps of
may their future generations be sanctified.

There is a place for You in this Chanumpa!

Help us to send our voice to the Great Spirit and give us the sacred days.
red and blue that you have!

Oh Great Spirit, we are going to offer you this Pipe. Incline Your gaze upon us and
to our Grandmother and Mother, the Earth. Everything that takes our Mother, the earthly source of all life,
it is sacred.

Our people walk upon it!

May your steps be firm and strong!

From You, Grandma Earth, a soul will be released.

In this Chanumpa there is a place for You and for all your creatures!

All united, as one being, we send our voice to the Great Spirit.

Help us walk according to the mystery in a way that pleases You!

Give us the sacred red and blue days that You reign!

Thus the entire Universe was gathered in the Pipe; then turning to the
assistance, the guardian of the Chanumpa says:

Since we did all this correctly, the soul will have a good journey and will help to
our people prospering and walking the sacred way in a manner that pleases the
Great Spirit.

Then it addresses the soul in these terms:

46
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Oh soul, my grandson, you are the root of this great ritual.

From you will emanate many holy things: with this ritual, our people will learn to be
generous, to help those in need and to follow all the teachings of the Great
Spirit.

Oh soul, this is your day.

Now the moment has arrived.

There will be four virgins who will always carry with them the power of this rite.

And you, oh soul, will cover yourself with your sacred bison skin. This day is your day; and it is a
day of joy, because much light has descended upon our people.

Everything that was with you in the past is here with you today.

Your relatives came with foods that will be purified and will be offered to you, and
that then the four virgins will be given; and afterwards they will be distributed among the poor and
the unfortunate.

But now it is time to offer this Pipe to the Great Spirit and to smoke it.16.

We offer you everything that exists in the Universe.

We send you our voices through this Pipe. Hechetu welo!

Hi-ey-hey-i-i! Hi-ey-hey-i-i! Grandfather Wakan Tanka, look

for us!

It is the sacred day of this soul.

May it help future generations walk according to the mystery!

We offer you this Chanumpa, O Wakan Tanka, and we ask you to help this
soul, to her relatives and to the whole people.

Look at this Chanumpa and incline Your eyes to see how we fulfill Your will!

We send you a voice from this Earth!

Be merciful to us and also to this soul that will be released from the center
of the circle of the nation.

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, have mercy on us, so that our people may live!

To what happens, the assistance responds:

47
 THE SACRED PIPE — Sioux Rites, Black Moose

Hello! Thank you!

Hello!

Then Hollow Horn High lit the Chanumpa.17he took several puffs and passed it to
guardian of the soul, who offered it to Heaven, to Earth and the four Directions and, after smoking
a little, it passed through all the components of the circle in the direction of the sun's movement.

While smoking, each one asked for some favor, and when the Pipe returned to Hollow Horn.
Alto was purified and its ashes carefully collected in a special little bag made
of deer skin18.

Now that the Pipe had been offered to the Great Spirit, Hollow High Horn
Alto began to mourn, and soon the entire audience did the same.

Perhaps it is not useless to explain that lamenting at this moment is a good thing,
because it indicates that we think of the liberated soul and also of the death that awaits everything
it was created; it is a sign that we humiliate ourselves before the Great Spirit, because we know that
We are like fools before Him, who is Everything, and who is all-powerful.

All the foods offered to the soul were placed outside the tent; then the
women took them to the tent.

Ali, on the South side, a wooden willow post had been raised to the height
of a man, and around its end was placed a piece of painted deer skin
a face; on this face a war headdress was placed and around the post a
bison leather.

This face represents the soul; the bows, arrows, and knives have been pressed against it.
all other possessions of the deceased.

The women returned to the tent with food; they walked around in the direction of
movement of the sun, then they stopped in the South, where they embraced the post of the soul, and they
removed after the food was placed.

A portion of each food offered to the soul is then placed in a tray.

of wood that was placed in front of the holy men sitting to the West.

_________________________________________________________________________

We point out that the complete Chanumpa ritual consists of three distinct phases: the 'purification' with smoke.
from the ritual herb; the "expansion" through which the entire Universe is transferred to the Chanumpa and, finally, the "identity"
or the sacrifice of the whole in the fire that represents Wakan Tanka 'in the world'. These three phases are common, in a
One way or another, to all traditional and orthodox methods of spiritual realization, see Frithjof Schuon, The Eye
of the Heart, and especially the chapter On Meditation.
17 The Indian author, having lost sight of the fact that he was describing a ritual and not the institution of it,
replace "soul guardian" with "High Hollow Horn" and return the initial account like this.
Every time smoking in an original Chanumpa, the ashes are collected to be transported, at a time
determined, to a high mountain, from where they are scattered to the four Winds, with a preference for Harney peak
Black Hills (Pa Sapa), which the Sioux consider to be the center of the world.

48
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

At this moment, four virgins enter and position themselves to the North, because the Power
of this Direction is Purity.

Then Hollow Horn High stood up and spoke to the soul in these terms:

Oh soul, you are the seed!19.

You are like the root of the sacred tree that is in the center of the circle of our nation.

May this tree blossom!

May our people and the winged and four-legged peoples prosper!

Oh soul, your relatives brought this food that you will soon eat and, thanks to this
So, the kindness will extend throughout the tribe.

O soul, the Great Spirit has given you four relatives who are sitting to the North and who
they represent your true parents:

Grandfather and Father Wakan Tanka and Grandmother and Mother Maka, the Earth.

Remember these four relatives who are in reality but one; and with
they in your spirit, take a look back at your people while you travel through
big path!

A small hole was made in the skin of the soul post; High Hollow Horn then took the
small wooden vessel that contained the purified food and, leaning until the
cavity, said the soul:

You will eat this sacred food.

When it is placed in your mouth, its influence will extend and it will grow and
to prosper from the fruits of our Mother Earth.

Your grandmother is holy; we are standing over her and introducing this food into you
mouth.

Do not forget us when you go to Wakan Tanka, and take a look back at
we!

They placed the food in the small hole and then poured cherry juice.
savages about him; this juice is the water of life.

Then the embers were covered with earth: the soul had completed its last
meal.

The four virgins then began to eat the sacred bison meat and drink the
cherry juice; but first the foods were purified in the smoke of the aromatic herb,
after which Hollow Horn addressed the young women:

49
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Netas, you will now receive the spiritual seed of the soul; by your virtue, you and your
fruits will be sanctified forever.

Nets, do not forget to share your food and everything you have,
because in the world there are always the homeless, orphans, and the elderly.

But, above all, my granddaughters, never forget your four great ones.
Parents, who represent their relatives here on Earth.

They will now eat and drink the fruit of Mother Earth and, through this ritual, you and your
fruits will be sacred.

Always remember this, my daughters!

Hollow Horn took the bowl, and each time he put a little bit of food in it
mouth of a virgin, he said:

I put this food in your mouth.

It is sweet and has the aroma of the sacred.

The people will see your future generations.

Then the four virgins bowed down and drank the juice of wild cherries.
what was in the wooden bowl placed on the ground, and when they finished drinking, Chifre
Oco Alto told them:

Guys, everything we did here today is full of mystery—lilla wakan—; the

we did according to the instructions given by the Celestial Woman who was also a bison, and
that brought us the very holy Chanumpa.

She told us that she had four ages; you too, granddaughters, have these ages.

Understand deeply, because it is important.

It is a great thing that we did today.

It is so, indeed! Hechetu welo!

Hollow Horn then walked in a circle to the South and, lifting the little bag of
soul, I told you:

Neto, you are going on a big trip.

This word, hokshichankiya, is not used in everyday language. It means 'primordial seed', 'root',
"source", "spiritual influence".

50
 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

Your father and your mother, all your relatives loved you. Soon they will be happy.

The boy's father embraced the sacred little bag, placing it on each shoulder, then
Therefore, Hollow Horn High said to him: You loved your son, and you have kept him in the center of the
circle of our people, be good to others as you have been with your son!

The mysterious influence of your son's soul will be with men; it is like a
tree that will always blossom. Hollow High Horn then advanced describing a circle until the
North and, touching each of the virgins with the little bag of mystery, said:

Here is the tree that was chosen to be the center of your sacred circle!

May it always prosper and flourish according to the mystery, then Raising the little bag
to the Sky, he exclaimed: Always direct your gaze towards your people, so that they walk with purpose
be firm on the sacred path!

Hollow Horn High let out this cry four times while walking towards the exit of the
and, when he stopped for the fourth time - he was already outside, in front of the tent, shouted in a
very high pitch

Look at your people, remember them!

At the moment the small bag passed through the exit of the tent20, the soul has been released and
departed down the road of spirits that leads to Wakan Tanka.

When the soul departs, the little bag with the lock of hair stops being a token.
sacred, in a direct sense, but the family can keep it as a memento if they wish22.

The four sanctified virgins received a bison skin each and

they abandoned the tent immediately after Hollow Horn.

Thus the ritual ended; throughout the camp, the people were happy and
they were expressing their joy and running to touch the four virgins who were now little
wakan; they have become a permanent support of this great spiritual influence and
an inexhaustible source of strength and courage for the tribe. A great was made
distribution of gifts to the poor and the needy, and everywhere there was no more
what parties and rejoicing.

It was, in truth, a great day. Hechetu welo!

_________________________________________________________________________

To more clearly capture the meaning of this ritual act, it should be remembered that it typifies the Universe, the cosmos.
while the outer space symbolically represents the Infinite, Wakan Tanka.
According to the Sioux, the liberated soul travels to the South, along the 'Spirit path' — the Milky Way — until
a place where the path divides. There sits an elder named Maya Owichapaha, 'the one who pushes'
to the other shore," that is to say, the one that judges the souls. It allows the good to continue their journey along the path of
right, while "pushes to the other shore," the left, to the wicked. Those who go to the right arrive at
union with Wakan Tanka, while those who go to the left must remain in a conditioned state
until they are sufficiently purified. 22 In this sentence, the Indian author again takes on the tone of a description
general of the rite, to continue your account in the following sentence.

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Sweat Lodge

THE RITUAL OF PURIFICATION

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The ritual doonikaghe— the tent of suar — involves all the Powers of
Universe: the Earth and everything that is born from it; the water, the fire, and the air.

The water represents the Beings of Thunder, who appear in a terrible way but
they bring benefits: because the vapor that comes out of the cliffs where the fires are is dreadful,
but they purify us and allow us to live as the Great Spirit desires.

If we truly become pure, it may be that the Great Spirit sends us

a vision.

When we use water in the sweat lodge, we should focus our thoughts on
Great Spirit, who expands endlessly communicating your Power and your Life to all
things; we must also always strive to be similar to water, which is the most
humble of all things and, at the same time, is stronger than the rock.

The sweating hut is built with twelve or sixteen young willows; they
they also teach us something, for in autumn their leaves die and return to the Earth, and in
spring brings life back.

Similarly, men die, but are reborn in the Real World of the Great
Spirit, where there are only the spirits of all things; and this true life we
podemos conhecer aqui na terra se purificamos nossos corpos e nossas almas, nos
thus approaching the Great Spirit who is All Purity.

The willows that form the structure of the sweat lodge are embedded in the ground of
a way that indicates the four Directions of the Universe; in this way the set of
the cabin represents the Universe in image, and it protects the bipedal and quadrupedal peoples and
winged and to all the things of the world; all these peoples and all these things must be
purified before being able to send a voice to the Great Spirit.

INIPI: THE PURIFICATION CABIN

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The stones we use in this ritual represent our Grandmother Earth, from where
taste all the fruits; but the stones also represent the indestructible Nature and
eternal of the Great Spirit.

The fire that heats these stones represents the Power of the Great Spirit, which gives
life to all things: it is like a ray of sunshine, because the sun is also, in a certain aspect,
Great Spirit.

The round place in the middle of the sweat lodge is the center of the Universe, where it resides.
the Great Spirit with His Power, the fire. All these things are sacred to us and
we must deeply understand if we truly want to purify ourselves; the
the power of a thing or an act resides in its meaning and in our understanding
we have it.

The sweat lodge is always built with the door facing East, because it is from there that
comes the light of Wisdom.

At eleven steps from the cabin, we built a ritual place called Peta.
Owihankeshni, "endless fire", and there the stones are heated.

To make this place, we used four poles in the East-West direction, over the
we placed four more sticks in the North-South direction; then we drove them in
around this hill some sticks that form a cone as if to make a tent,
primeiro ao Oeste, depois ao Norte, ao Leste e ao Sul; depois colocamos pedras nestas
four directions and to finish we place a certain amount of stones on this set.

As we build this place, we should pray in this way:

ÓWakan Tanka, this is your eternal fire that was given to us on this great island!

It is your will that we build this place in a way according to the mystery.

This fire always burns; thanks to it we will be reborn, purified and closer to you.
Powers.

To build, in the sweat hut, the central altar to which the stones will be taken.
warm, we started by driving a stick into the ground, in the center of the cabin, and around it
Next, we traced a circle with a strip of leather.

While we establish this sacred center, we must pray like this:

O Grandfather and Father Wakan Tanka, who made everything that exists, You who have always been, look at me!

And You, Grandmother and Mother Earth, You are sacred and have holy ears, listen to me!

We came from You, we are a part of You, and we know that our bodies will return to You.
when our spirits depart on the great path.

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By fixing this center on the earth, I remember You, to whom my body will return, but,
above all, I think of the Great Spirit, with which our Spirits will unify.

By purifying myself in this way, I wish to become worthy of You, O Wakan Tanka, so that my
live people!

A hole is then dug in the center of the cabin, and with the collected dirt, it is outlined.
a path that leads out of the cabin towards the East and at whose end is
raise a small mound of that earth; in doing this, we pray like this:

About You, Grandmother Earth, I want to establish the sacred path of life.

By purifying ourselves for the tribe, we will walk this path with a steady step,
because it leads to the Great Spirit; and in it there are four sacred steps.

May our people walk this path!

May we be pure! May we be reborn!

Then, sending a voice to the Great Spirit, we shouted:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, we learn your Will and know that sacred steps
we must give.

With the help of all things and all beings, we will send you our voice.

Be merciful to us!

Help us!

I place myself on this path and send you my voice through the four Powers that we know.
that are no more than a single Power.

Help me with all this, oh my Grandfather Wakan Tanka!, be merciful to us!

Help my people and all things to live in a way that is in accordance with the mystery,
in a way that is pleasing to You!

ÓWakan Tanka, help us be reborn!

The person who leads the purification ritual now enters the hut, alone and with their
Chanumpa.

Turn in the direction of the sun's movement and sit to the West; then consecrate the
central hole, which thus becomes an altar, putting some pinches of tobacco in it
in each of its four parts. A coal is introduced into the cabin, which is placed on the
center; the officiant then burns aromatic herbs and spreads the smoke all over their body, and
Then by your feet, head, and hands; afterwards the Chanumpa is purified in the smoke.

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In this way, everything is consecrated, and if there is any impure influence in the hut, it is
expelled by the Power of smoke.

At this moment, the officiant should offer a bit of ritual tobacco to the Winged Power.
from the place where the sun sets, from where the purifying waters come: this Power is invoked and
I ask for your help in the ritual.

Then the tobacco is placed in the Chanumpa and in the same way, it is offered some.
tobacco offerings to the other Powers: to the North, from where the purifying winds come; to the
East, where the sun rises and where Wisdom comes from; to the South, which is the beginning and the end of all
life; to Heaven and, finally, to Mother Earth.

While invoking the help of each Power and placing each pinch of tobacco in
Chanumpa, everyone abroad exclaims: How!, because they are happy and
satisfied that the mystery is fulfilled.

Now that the Chanumpa is full and all things have been consecrated, the
the officiant leaves the cabin, moves east along the sacred path and places the Chanumpa
about the mound of earth, with the small oven to the West and the shaft to the East.

All those who are to be purified then enter the cabin, with the officiant in front,
and each of them, at the moment they lean in to enter, utters this prayer:

Hi ho! Hi ho! Thanks be given!

As I lean to enter this cabin, I remember that I am nothing in front of You, oh

Wakan Tanka, who is everything.

And You are the one who placed us on this island; we are the last beings created by You, who are the
First and always has been.

Help me to purify myself here, before I send You my voice.

Help us with everything we are going to do!

As soon as they enter the cabin, the men go around it in a clockwise direction.
sun and sit upon the sacred sage spread across the ground; the officiant is sitting at the
East, next to the door.

Everyone remains silent for a moment, remembering the kindness of

Great Spirit and remembering that He is the one who created all things.

The Chanumpa is then introduced into the cabin by the helper, who is usually a
woman; this person remains outside during the ritual. The man sitting in the West takes the
Place the Chanumpa in front of you with the shaft pointing to the West.

With a stick with a fork, the assistant removes one from the sacred fire.
stones and, along the way, takes her close to the cabin, then pushes her inside,

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where it is placed in the center of the altar; this first stone is dedicated to the Great Spirit,
what is at the center of all things.

The man sitting to the West then touches the stone with the base of the Chanumpa, and makes the
even every time a stone is placed on the altar; and all the men exclaim:

Oh yes! Thanks be given!

The second stone that enters the cabin is placed to the West of the altar, the next one to the North,
another to the East, another, still, to the South, and lastly, there is another for the Earth; finally the
the hole is filled with the rest of the stones, which represent everything that exists in the world.

The man from the West then offers the Chanumpa to the Sky, the Earth, and the four
He lights it up and, after taking a few puffs, spreads the smoke all around.
body; then gives the Chanumpa to the man on his left, saying:

How AteouHow Tunkashila, according to his degree of kinship.

What receives her says the same, and thus the Chanumpa traverses the entire circle in
sense of the movement of the sun.

When he returns to him, the man who is to the West purifies it out of fear that
some impure person has touched it, and carefully collects the ashes, which are placed in the
altar edge.

This first job of Chanumpa in the cabin is done in remembrance of the

Santa Buffalo Woman who mysteriously entered the tent in the past and walked.
transforming.

The Chanumpa passed from hand to hand until it reaches the main officiant, who is seated in the East;
the officiant suspends the Chanumpa for a moment over the altar with the stick directed towards the
West, and returns it to the assistant, who remains abroad; the latter fills it with
ritual mode and place it back on the sacred mound, with the little furnace directed towards the East and
the haste to the West, because it is the Power of the West that is now invoked.

The helper closes the sweat cabin, thus plunging it into darkness.
complete; this darkness represents that of the soul, the ignorance from which we must now free ourselves.
purify to receive the light.

During the purification ritual - the dainipi - the door will open four times.
times and will allow the light to penetrate; this reminds us of the four ages and how, by the goodness of
Great Spirit, we receive the light in each of these ages.

The man from the West then raises his voice to the Great Spirit, shouting four times:

Hi-ey-hey-i-i !

This is what we say when we need help or when we are

helpless; and, are we not now in darkness, and do we not need the light?

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Then the same man shouts four times:

I send a voice! Listen to me!

And then:

Wakan Tanka, Grandfather, You are the First and You have always been.

You led us to this great island where our people wish to live according to the
mystery.

We teach to know and to see all the Powers of the Universe, and it gives us wisdom.
to understand that they are really no more than one single Power.

May our people always send You their voice as they walk the sacred path.
of life!

Oh ancient stones— Tunkayatakapa —, are present here; the Great Spirit made
the Earth and placed them very close to it.

The generations will walk over you and your steps will not falter.

Oh stones, you who have neither eyes, nor mouth, nor limbs; you are not
furniture, but with your sacred breath, the steam, our people will march the path of life
with powerful hope; your hope is that of life!

There is a winged Being — there where the sun descends to its rest — that controls the waters to
it is to her that all living beings owe life.

That we use these waters here according to the mystery!

Oh you, who are always standing, who emerge from the Earth and reach to touch the Sky,
people trees, are countless, but one among you was chosen to sustain this
sacred purification hut.

You, tree people, are the protectors of the winged peoples, for over you they
they build their tents and create their families, and beneath you there are many peoples to
which protects.

May they, with all their generations, walk together as relatives!

To each earthly thing, o Wakan Tanka, you have given a power, and because fire is the most
powerful of your creations, because it consumes everything, we place it in our center; and
When we look at him or when we think of him, we really remember You.

May this sacred fire always be at our center!

Help us with what we are going to do!

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The main officiant then sprinkles the stones with water, once for our Grandfather,
Tunkashila; once for our Father, Ate; another time for our Grandmother, Unchi; once
also for our Mother, ma, the Earth, and one last time for Channonpa, the Pipe;
the sprinkling is done with a sprig of sage or aromatic herb, so that the steam is
fragrant, and while it rises and fills the cabin, the officiant exclaims:

Oh Great Spirit, Look at me! I am the people.

By offering myself to You, I offer the entire people as one being, so that they may live.

We wish to be reborn. Help us!

At this moment in the cabin, it is very hot, but it is good to experience this.
purifying qualities of fire, air, and water, and smelling the scent of sacred sage.

After these powers act upon us, the door opens reminding us of the first age,
the one in which we receive the light of the Great Spirit.

Water is brought, and the officiant sitting on the East makes it circulate in the direction of the
movement of the sun; each person drinks a little or sprays their body with some
drops.

When doing this, we think of the place where the sun sets and where the water comes from, and the
The power of this Direction helps us to pray.

The helper, who stays outside, picks up the Chanumpa that was in the little mound of
earth and it offers to Heaven and Earth; and after advancing along the ritual path the offering,
presenting the staff to the man seated to the West of the tent. He offers it to the six Directions,
takes a few puffs and passes the smoke around the body, then the Chanumpa goes around the
circle until it is completely smoked.

The person who is to the West empties it, deposits the ashes next to the central altar and the
devolves to the outside, like before.

The helper fills it again and places it back in the sacred mound with the rod.
pointing to the North, because during the second period of darkness that will occur in the
the cabin will invoke the Power of the Winged Being from the North.

The door is closed again and the occupants submerge for the second time in
darkness.

Now it is the person in the North who prays:

Look, oh Black Eagle of the place where the giant Wazi has his tent!

The Great Spirit put you there to control the way.

You are there with the purpose of safeguarding men's health, so that they may live.

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Help us with your purifying wind!

May he make us pure so that we walk in the way according to the mystery,
In a pleasant way to the Great Spirit!

O Grandfather Wakan Tanka, You are above all!

You are the one who placed a sacred stone on Earth that is now in the center of
our circle.

You also gave us fire; and there where the sun sets, you gave the Power to Wakinyan.
Tanka1, which controls the waters and guards the very holy Chanumpa.

You placed a winged Being in the place where the sun rises, which gives us wisdom; and also
you placed a winged Being in the place to which we always return: he is the source of life and
drive along the red road.

All these Powers are Your Power, and are in reality only One;
they are now here, in this cabin.

O Great Spirit, Grandfather, who is above all, it is your will that here
we did it!

By the Power that comes from the place where the giant Wazianós lives, we return so
pure and as white as freshly fallen snow.

We know that in any case in darkness, but soon the light will come.

When we leave this cabin, may we leave behind all thoughts.

impure, all ignorance!

_________________________________________________________________________
The great 'Thunderbird' of the West, Wakinyan-Tanka, is one of the most important and profound aspects of

Sioux doctrine. The Indians describe it as living "in a tent on the summit of a mountain located at
the extreme of the world where the sun sets. It is multiple, but all its pairs are nothing more than One. It has no shape.
but has wings that have four joints each; it has no legs and nevertheless has some claws
immense; it has no head and yet has an enormous beak with rows of teeth similar to those of a wolf;
your voice is the crack of thunder, and the beating of your wings on the clouds is the roar of thunder that resounds; it has only one
eye whose gaze is lightning. In a large cedar tree located next to his tent is his nest, made of
dry bones; there lies a huge egg from which its offspring continuously emerge. It devours its offspring and each
one of them turns into one of its countless pairs... It flies across the entire expanse of the sky, hidden in
a clothing of clouds... Its function is to rid the world of impurities and to fight the monsters that
rise waters... Its symbol is a zigzag red line forked at both ends.
Walker, in Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. XVI, part II, New York,
1917).
This Thunder Bird is actually Wakan Tanka as the dispenser of Revelation, symbolized by the lightning;
corresponds to Garuda, the great bird - one-eyed - of Hindu tradition, and to the Chinese Dragon that rides
in the clouds of the storm and whose voice is the thunder; as dispenser of the Revelation has the same function as the
Archangel Gabriel in Semitic religions. It is normal that the Thunderbird is the Protector of the Indians.
Sacred Chanumpa, because it is, like lightning, the means that unites heaven to earth.

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May we be like newborn babies!

Let us be reborn, oh Wakan Tanka!

Then water is poured over the stones - four times for the Powers of
four Directions — and as the steam rises, we sing a chant or a simple
melody; this helps us understand the mystery of all things, and the muffled thunder
of our drum reminds us of the Beings of the Thunder from the West who control the waters and who
they bring goodness.

The cabin door soon opens for the second time, which represents the coming of the
Purifying powers of the North, and makes us see the light that drives away the darkness, like wisdom
that dispels ignorance.

Water is given to the officiant sitting on the East side; he offers it to the other men.
mentioning your degree of kinship or age of each of them, as I described before
above.

Chanumpa is reintroduced into the hut and handed over to the man who is
sitting in the North; this man offers it to the six Directions, lights it, and then gives
some puffs, blows smoke on your body; then the Chanumpa goes around
in the circle.

When all the okinnikinnik has been consumed, the Chanumpa returns to the North, where it is.
purified; its ashes are deposited near the central altar. Then it is returned to the
helper, who fills it up again and deposits it on the hillock, with the rod facing towards the
East; because now we are going to invoke the Power of this direction.

The door is closed and the man sitting on the East side of the cabin now sends his
voz:

ÓWakan Tanka, at last we saw the clarity, the light of life! You gave the Power of wisdom to
star of the dawn in the place where the sun rises.

The winged Being that guards this path has a powerful breath, and with the two sacred days
What you gave him, oh Wakan Tanka, he has kept the path of the tribe!

O You who control the path from where the sun rises, Look at us with your red and blue days, and
help us to send our voices to the Great Spirit!

O You who possess knowledge, grant us a part of your science so that our
hearts be illuminated and so that we may know all that is sacred!

O Star of Dawn, from the place where the sun rises!

O You who have the wisdom that we seek, help us to purify ourselves, just as
to the people, so that our future generations have the light to walk the path
sacred!

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You are the one who leads the Dawn as it advances, and also to the day that follows it with
your light, which is knowledge.

You do this for us and for all the peoples that exist in the world, so that they can see
sure to follow the path and for them to know everything that is holy and grow in
compliance with the mystery.

Again, water is poured over the stones; then we begin to sing.

Then, when the heat penetrated us well, the door is opened for the third time and
for the third time the light of the East floods us.

While the Chanumpa passes to the hands of the man who is to the East, all
they exclaim:

Hi ho! Hi ho! Thanks be given!

And the officiant raises the Chanumpa to the Sky and sends forth his voice:

Wakan Tanka, we give thanks for the light you gave us through the Power of the place
where the sun rises

Help us, O Power of the East!

Be merciful to us!

The Chanumpa is lit and smoked all around the circle, and when it ends, the assistant...
pick it up and deposit it on the pile with the stalk pointing south.

The water is passed again among the people in the circle in the direction of movement of the
sun, and each one rubs their entire body, especially the top of the head and the chest; then
Thus the door is closed for the last time.

It is the man sitting on the South side who now sends his voice:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, look at us!

You placed a great Power in the place we always return to, and many
generations have come from this Direction and have returned to it.

There is a winged Being in this Direction that guards the red path they have come from.
the generations.

The generation that is here today wishes to wash and purify itself in order to be reborn!

We will burn aromatic herbs as an offering to the Great Spirit, and its scent will
will extend through Heaven and Earth; and thus the quadrupeds, the winged nations, the peoples of the
stars in the sky will all be relatives.

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From You, oh Grandmother Earth, who is humble and carries us in your bosom like a mother,
this perfume will emanate; may its power be felt throughout the Universe, and purify the feet and
the hands of men so that they may advance across the sacred Earth raising their heads to the
Great Spirit!

All the remaining water is now placed over the stones that are still very
hot, and while the steam is released and penetrates everything, we sing or
we modulated a song of mystery.

Then the officiant speaks like this:

The helper will open the door for the last time in a few moments, and when it is
open we will see the light.

It is the wish of the Great Spirit that light enters the Darkness so that we can
see not only with our two eyes, but also with the Single Eye that is in the Heart—
Chante Ishta - with which we see and know everything that is true and good.

We give thanks to the helper; may his generations be blessed!

Alright!

We finished! I hug you!

When the door of the cabin opens, the men exclaim:

Hi ho! Hi ho! Thanks be given!

And they are all happy, because they came out of the darkness and now live in the light.2.

The helper quickly brings a coal from the sacred fire and places it on the ritual path,
in front of the cabin threshold.

While burning aromatic herbs over this ember, he says:

This is the aroma of the Great Spirit.

_________________________________________________________________________
The entry into the light after the stay in the darkness of the purification tent represents the release regarding
of the Universe, or also, from the point of view of the microcosm, the disappearance of the ego; the ego and the world are
"obscure" do not have more than a relative or illusory reality, because, ultimately, there is no other
distinct reality of Wakan Tanka, which is represented here by the daylight or by the space surrounding the tent. This
liberation concerning the cosmos, or this disappearance of individuality, is particularly well represented in
rite of Purification of the Osage Indians: "At the end of the ceremony, the chief tells the men to each take
one of the beams that form the framework of the small dwelling, and when everyone did it, he exclaimed: "There is no other
Out, my friends!, and together they throw the little house into the air towards the setting sun.
Peace Ceremony of the Osage Indians, Washington, 1939.

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Through him, the bipeds, the quadrupeds, the winged beings, and all the peoples of the Universe.
they will be happy and will rejoice.

The main officiant then says:

This is the fire that will help future generations if they use it according to the mystery.

But if they do not make good use of it, this fire will have the power to cause them a
great damage.

The officiant purifies his hands and feet in the smoke and then raises the
arms up to the sky and pray:

Hi ho! Hi ho! Hi ho! Hi ho! Wakan Tanka, today was a good day for us, You
I thank him, I now place my feet on the Earth.

Filled with happiness, I walk through the sacred Earth, our Mother, that the generations
future ones walk this way, according to the mystery!

All men leave the sweating cabin following the movement of the sun, and
they also purify their hands and feet, and pray to the Great Spirit, as was done by
officiant.

So the ritual ends, and those who took part in it are as if they have been reborn.
de novo; they did very well, not only for themselves but also for the whole nation.

One must also mention this: whenever we are in the sweat lodge,
there are children who insert their heads inside and ask the Great Spirit to
purify your life.

We do not call them to attention, because we know that small children have
an innocent heart.

When we leave the sweat lodge, we are like the souls that have departed.
stored, just as I described, and that return to the Great Spirit after being
purified; we also left behind, in the doinipi cabin, everything that is impure, in order to
to live as the Great Spirit wants, and in order to know something of this true World of
Spirit that is hidden behind this sensible world.

These rituals are very sacred and are carried out before all things.
great ones who demand purity or strength; there are many winters, our men — and also
our women - practiced oinipitodo daily, and sometimes even several times a day;
a large part of our strength came from this.

Now that we have neglected these rituals, we have lost a great part of this power;
I cry when I think about it.

I pray that the Great Spirit will show our youth the importance of
all these venerable practices.

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4
HANBLECHEYAPI:

IMPLORING FOR A VISION

To implore for a vision— hanblecheyapi —, similarly to the purification rites of the

Inipi was already practiced long before Chanumpa arrived on the land.

This type of prayer is very important; it is, in a way, the center of our religion and
thanks to him we have received many favors, such as these four great rites: the dance
of the sun, the kinship, the preparation of the young woman, the throwing of the ball.

Every man can plead for a vision; in ancient times, men and
women constantly begged.

What one obtains in this way depends in part on the character of the one who implores; in fact, only the
truly qualified men receive the great visions, and these are quickly
interpreted by our holy men; they give strength and health to our tribe. When someone
you wish to plead, it is very important that you ask for the help and advice of a holy man
— you are beautiful1—, so that everything is fulfilled correctly, because if the
things are not done according to the rules, some disaster could happen; it could, for
for example, a snake appears and curls around the imploring one.

Everyone must have heard of our great chief and priest Tashunko Witko,
Crazy Horse; but they probably don't know that his great power came over everyone
of the imploration that he practiced several times a year, including in winter, with a climate
very cold and very hard.

He received the visions of the Cliff, of the Shadow, of the Badger, of the Rearing Horse —
hence your name—, from the Day and also from Wambali Galeshka, the Painted Eagle; and received from
all these visions very power and holiness2.

Many reasons can drive a man to retreat to the summit of a mountain.

to implore.

_________________________________________________________________________
We translated 'wichasha wakan' as 'holy man' instead of 'medicine man', which is an incorrect expression.

employed in many works about the Indians. The Lakota term that corresponds to "doctor" or "physician" is in
reality peju ta wichasha. To clarify things clearly we cannot do anything better than to cite the
Explanation given by Espada, a Sioux Oglala, to J. R. Walker: "Wichasha wakandesigna to a holy Lakota man"
from the ancient religion; a medicine man is called, among the Lakota, pejuta wichasha. The whites designate our
Wichasha wakan is called a medicine man, which is a mistake. Moreover, they say that a wichasha wakan 'does'
medicine"(is making medicine) when performing a ritual. This is also a mistake. The Lakota do not refer to one thing
"medicine" is more than when it is used to cure a sick person or an injured one, and then the exact term is "pejuta".
(Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. XVI, part II, p. 152.)

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Some had visions when they were children and unexpectedly.3; in this case, go
beg to understand them better.

We also implore when we wish to increase our value with a view to a

great test, like the sun dance, or to prepare us to depart on the path of
war.

Sometimes one begs to ask a favor from the Great Spirit, such as healing a
parent; we also implore to give thanks to the Great Spirit for some gift that has been given to us
granted.

But the most important reason to implore is, without a doubt, that it helps us to give.
the account of our unity with all things, to understand that all things are ours
parents and then, in your name, we ask the Great Spirit to grant us the knowledge of
Himself, He who is the source of everything and who is greater than everything.

Our women also beg, after purifying themselves in the sweat lodge;
other women help them, but they do not go to a high and deserted mountain; they withdraw
for a hill of the valley, because they are women and need protection.
Quando um índio deseja implorar, vai com um Chanumpa cheio até homem santo;
enters his tent holding the pole with his right hand and sits in front of the elder who
will be your guide.

The imploring one places the Chanumpa on the ground with the shaft pointing towards himself, because it is he
Who wishes to acquire Knowledge.

The holy man then raises his hands to the Great Spirit and then to the four
Directions, and taking the Chanumpa ask the man what he wants.

I wish to implore and offer my Chanumpa to the Great Spirit.

I need your help and your advice, and I wish you would send a voice.
by me to the Powers on high.

To which the elder replies:

How! It's okay, and the two leave the tent; after walking a bit, they stop and look.
to the West; the young man is to the left of the holy man.

_________________________________________________________________________
The Indian identifies spiritually with the cosmic — or divine — quality of being or the thing that appears to him.

in a vision, whether it is a mammal, a bird, one of the elements, or any aspect of creation. For this
"May power never abandon you, the Indian always carries some material form that represents the animal or
object that has received its 'Power'. These objects have been called 'fetishes', which is inappropriate because
correspond more precisely to what Christians call 'Guardian Angels'; for the Indian, the animals and
All inanimate things are the 'reflections' - in a material form - of the divine Principles. The Indian does not...
It takes shape as such, but rather to the Principle that is in a certain way 'contained' in the form.
The Black Elk himself received his great vision when he was no more than nine years old. For a description of this

vision, see Black Elk Speaks, chapter III.

66
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The people nearby join them.

Everyone raises their right hand, and the elder prays, while directing the
haste do Chanumpa to the sky.

Hi-ey-Hey-i-i, say that four times, and then continue:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, You are the first, and You have always been!

All things belong to You.

You are the one who created all things.

You are mysterious and unique, and we send You a voice.

This young man who is present here is in difficulty and wishes to offer You
O Chanumpa.

We ask you to help him!

In a few days, She will offer you her body.

Place your feet on the sacred Earth, our Mother and Grandmother, according to the mystery.

All the powers of the world, the sky and the peoples of the stars, and the sacred days
red and blue, all the things that move in the Universe, in the rivers, the streams, the springs,
all the waters, all the trees that rise and all the herbs of our Grandmother, all the
sacred peoples of the Universe: listen!

This young man will ask for a sacred kinship with all of you so that his
future generations grow and live according to the mystery.

O Winged Being from where the sun sets, You who watch over our sacred Chanumpa,
help us!

Help us to offer this Chanumpa to the Great Spirit so that He may bestow His blessing upon
this young man!

Then the others shout:

How!, and they sit in a circle on the ground.

The elder offers the Chanumpa to the six Directions, lights it, and gives it first to the young man.
that will beg; this one offers it with a prayer, and all those in the circle smoke
delete.

When the Chanumpa is completely smoked, it is returned to the holy man, who cleans it, the
purifies it and hands it back to the youth, asking when he wishes to implore; then if
choose the day.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

When the chosen day arrives, the young man who will beg alone is dressed in his skin.
of bison, his loincloth, and his moccasins; arrives, crying, with his Chanumpa at the tent of
holy man.

As soon as he enters, he places his right hand on the elder's head, saying:

Cry out to Him! Have mercy on me!

Put your Chanumpa in front of the holy man and ask for his help.

The elder replies:

We all know that Chanumpa is full of mystery, and with it, you came.
crying.

I want to help you, but you must always remember what I'm going to tell you; in winters
In the future, you will proceed according to the instructions and advice that I will give you.

You can plead for one to four days or even longer if you wish: how many days do you choose?

I choose two days.

Well, here is what you should do: first, you will build a sweat lodge, where we
we will purify, and for this you must select twelve or sixteen small willows.

But before cutting the willows, do not forget to make an offering to them.
tobacco, and when you are in front of them, you will say:

There are many species of trees, but the chosen ones are here to help me.

I will pull them out, but others will come in their place.

Then, he will take these trees to the place where we will build the cabin.

He will piously gather stones and sage, and will make a bundle of five large sticks, and
also five other bundles of twelve small sticks that will be used as offerings.

He will leave these sticks resting on the West side of the hut, let us be ready.
to purify them.

We will also need tobacco rolls from the Arikara, kinnikinnik, a board for
cut the tobacco, a deer skin to wrap the tobacco offerings, aromatic herb,
a bag of sacred earth, a knife, and a stone axe.

You should look for these objects yourself, and when you are ready, we...
We will purify. Hechetu welo!

When he has the purification hut and has gathered all the utensils, the man
saint enters her and sits in the West; the imploring one enters next and sits in the North; in

68
 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

then a helper enters and sits to the South of the elder.

They then take a cold stone to the cabin which is placed on the North side of the altar.
central, where the holy man purifies it with a brief prayer; then the assistant returns to
take her abroad.

It is the first stone destined for the eternal place,— Peta Owihankeshni—, which was
made to the east of the cabin.

To the east of the central altar, in the purification hut, the assistant rakes the earth and
place a coal in that spot.

Then the holy man walks in a circle to the East and, bending over the ember,
put a little bit of aromatic herb and pray like this:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, Look at us! Over the sacred earth I placed this herb that You
you created.

The smoke that rises from the earth is the fire that will belong to all that moves.
Universe: to the quadrupeds, to the volatiles, and to all that exists.

They will give you your offering, O Wakan Tanka!

We want to dedicate to You everything we touch!

At the moment the aromatic herb is placed on the embers, the other two men
from the cabin they exclaim:

Oh yes! Thanks be given! And when the smoke rises, the holy man spreads it.
through the hands and then passes them over his body; the imploring one and the helper
they purify in the same way with the smoke of mystery.

The little sack of soil is also purified and the three men return to occupy their
places to the West; all movements are made in the direction of the sun's movement.

The purified earth is carefully spread in a circular motion on the

interior da cavidade central, e este gesto é feito lenta e respeitosamente, porque esta terra
represents the entire Universe.

The helper hands a staff to the holy man, who uses it to mark four
movements around the cavity, to the West, to the North, to the East, to the South; then
draw a cross, one of whose lines goes from East to West and the other from North to South; and this is
particularly sacred, because this cross establishes the four great Powers of
Universo, assim como o centro nele reside o Grande Espírito.

At that moment, a helper enters with a coal on a stick.

four-pronged; walks slowly, stops four times, and on the fourth time puts the charcoal in
center of the cross.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The holy man, sprinkling a little aromatic herb over the embers, prays.
like this:

Grandfather and Father my Wakan Tanka, You are everything, all things belong to You!

I will put your herb on this fire. Its smell belongs to you.

Then the elder slowly lowers the aromatic herb to the fire.

The helper takes the Chanumpa and moves with it towards the
the movement of the sun, gives to the holy man, who thus prays:

Great Spirit, look at your Chanupa!

I suspend over the smoke of this herb.

ÓWakan Tanka!, Olha também este movimento consagrado que temos feito.

We know that your center is your dwelling.

Generations will walk through this circle.

The quadrupeds, the bipeds, the flying creatures, and the four Powers of the Universe
they will contemplate this place, which is Yours.

The holy man suspends the Chanumpa in the smoke, directing the shaft first to the
West and then to the North, the East, the South and the Sky; then it touches the Earth with the foot of
Chanumpa.

Purify all the ritual objects and make some tobacco pouches that tie up.
to the extreme ends of the offering sticks.

The elder is now sitting in the West; he takes the board to cut the tobacco and begins to
cut and mix okinnikinnik.

First, carefully evaluate the capacity of the Chanumpa, because you must place the
tobacco only to fill the little pipe, no more.

Every time he cuts a pinch of tobacco, he offers it to one of the Directions of the world and
be very careful so that none falls off the board, something that would irritate the Beings of
Thunder, when the mixture is finished, the elder takes the Chanumpa with his left hand and,
lifting a pinch of kekinnikinnik with the right hand, pray like this:

_________________________________________________________________________
This humiliation by which the Indian makes himself "lower than the smallest ant," as Black Elk once said,
it is equivalent to what Christians call "humility" or "poverty"; it is the faqr of Sufism or the obâlyado of Hinduism;
this poverty is the condition of those who realize that, in comparison with the Principle, their own
individuality is nothing.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

O Great Spirit, Father and Grandfather of mine, You are the first and always have been!

Look at this young man whose soul is clouded.

He wishes to proceed along the sacred path; he wants to offer You this Chanumpa.

Be merciful to him and help him!

The four Powers and the whole Universe will be placed in the furnace of Chanumpa, and
so this young man will offer you with the help of the winged beings and with all things.

The first to be placed on the Chanumpa is You, oh Winged Power of the place where it sets.
the sun!

You and your guardians are ancient and full of mystery.

Look! There is a place for You in Chanumpa.

Help us with your two sacred days, red and blue!

The holy man puts this tobacco in the Chanumpa and then raises a little more.
to the North, where the giant Wazia lives:

O Winged Power of the place where the giant has its tent, from where the winds come
purifiers and strong ones: there is a place for You in the Chanumpa; help us with the two days
sacred that You possess!

The Power of this Direction is introduced into the Chanumpa and a third pinch of tobacco.
is offered to the East:

O You who are there where the sun rises, who keeps the light and gives Knowledge, this
Chanumpa will be offered to the Great Spirit; You will also have a place in it; help us
with your two sacred days!

The Power of the East is introduced in the same way in Chanumpa and is elevated a
a little tobacco for the South, the place we always return to.

O You who controls the sacred winds and who lives in the place where always
we return, your breath gives life; from You come our generations and to You they return.

This Chanumpa will be offered to the Great Spirit; there is a place in it for You!

Help us with the two sacred days that you have!

In this way, the Powers of the four Directions were introduced into the furnace of
Chanumpa, and the elder now raises a bit of tobacco to the Sky; it is for Wambli.
Galeshka, the Painted Eagle, who is above all created things and manifests
directly to the Great Spirit.

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

ÓWambli Galeshka, You who goes around the highest skies, You see everything that
there is in heaven and on earth.

This young man will offer this Chanumpa to the Great Spirit in order to obtain the
knowledge.

Help him, as well as those who, through you, send their voices to the Great
Spirit.

There is a place for You in this Chanumpa; give us your two holy days, red and
blue!

With this prayer, the Painted Eagle is introduced into the bowl of the Pipe; then the
the elder extends a pinch of tobacco to the Earth praying like this:

Oh Auntie Ina, our Grandmother and Mother, You are full of mystery!

We know that our bodies came from You.

This young man wishes to be one with all things; he wishes to acquire knowledge.

For the sake of all creatures, help him!

There is a place for You, the Chanumpa; give us your two sacred days, red and blue.

Thus, the Earth, which is now truly present in the tobacco, is introduced into
Pipe, and in this way the six Powers of the Universe are converted into One.

But, in order that all the peoples of the world, without exception, be included in
Chanumpa, the holy man offers small portions of tobacco to each of the peoples.
the following wings:

Oh bird that flies on the two sacred days; you who create your family so well, that
we can grow and live the same way!

This Chanumpa logo will be offered to the Great Spirit and here there is a place for you.
Help us!

With an identical prayer, small portions of are offered and introduced into the Pipe.
tobacco for the meadow lark, the blackbird, the woodpecker, the snowbird, the
the raven, the magpie, the dove, the falcon, the hawk, the bald eagle, and what remains of tobacco is
offered by the biped who will beg, offering himself to the Great Spirit.

Next, the Chanumpa is sealed with fat, because the supplicant will take it with them.
when he reaches the top of the mountain, he will offer it to the Great Spirit; but he will not smoke it
before having finished the ritual and having reunited again with the holy man.

All the rods and all the equipment, already purified, are left outside the cabin,
to the West.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The three men leave and prepare for the oinipi, removing their garments with the exception
do tapa sex.

Everyone present is authorized to participate in this rite of purification.

The imploring one is the first to enter the sweating cabin; after going around the
cabin imitating the movement of the sun, sits in the West.

Take your Chanumpa, which was left there; then move in the direction of the
sun movement raising the Pipe with the stem facing East; it will maintain this
position during the first part of the ritual.

The holy man then enters and, passing behind the imploring one, sits down.
East, right next to the door.

All those who wish to take part in the ritual then occupy the space that was freed.
and two men stand outside as helpers.

One of the assistants fills a Chanumpa in a ritual manner and hands it to the man who
he is sitting to the left of the beggar.

The stone that was previously purified is introduced with a rod.

forked, because it is very hot; this stone is left in the center of the hole
dedicated.

Then a second stone is placed to the West, in the same hole, and the others.
they are placed to the North, to the East, and to the South.

During this operation, the man who is with the Chanumpa touches all the stones.
with the foot of the Pipe and at the same moment everyone exclaims: Hay ye! Hay ye!

Then the Chanumpa is lit and offered to the Sky, the Earth, and the four Directions,
smoked by everyone.

As it passes from hand to hand, each man turns to his neighbor

calling him by his degree of kinship, and when all have smoked him, they say in unison:
All are relatives!

The man who lit the Chanumpa empties it and leaves the ashes on the altar.
central; after purifying it, he passes it to his neighbor on the left, who passes it outside
from the cabin.

The assistant carries it again and places it on the sacred mound with the pole.
headed to the West.

The tent door is closed, and the holy man, seated in the East, begins to pray in the
obscurity

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Look! Everything that moves in the Universe is here!

This is repeated by everyone, and to finish, everyone exclaims: How!

Then they shout four times: Hi-ey-hey-i-i!, and also four times: Wakan Tanka,
Grandpa, see us!

Great Spirit, Pai, see us!

On this great island, there is a man who says he wants to offer you a Chanumpa.

Today you will fulfill your promise.

Who would I send a voice to, if not to You, Wakan Tanka, Our Grandfather and Father?

ÓWakan Tanka, this man asks You to be merciful with him!

He says that his mind is cloudy and that he needs your help.

By offering you this Chanumpa, you will offer your whole body and your whole soul.

The moment has come; soon he will go to a high place and there he will plead to succeed.
your help.

Be merciful to him!

Oh you, the four Powers of the Universe, you, winged of the air, and all the peoples who
they move in the Universe, all were placed in the Chanumpa.

Help this young man with the knowledge that the Great Spirit has given you.

Be merciful!

Great Spirit, allow this young man to have relatives!

That he may not be merely one with the Four Winds, the four Powers of the World,
and with the light of dawn.

May you understand your kinship with all the winged and aerial peoples.

He will place his feet upon the sacred ground of a mountain peak; may he
may receive, up there, wisdom; may your future generations remain according to the
mystery!

All things give thanks to You, O Wakan Tanka!

You who are merciful and help everyone.

We ask you for all this, knowing that You are the One and that Your power extends

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

about all things.

While a little water is poured over the burning stones, all the men
cantam

Grandfather, I'm sending a voice!

To the heavens of the Universe, I send a voice
So that my people live!

While the men sing and the steam rises, the imploring one sobs, because
humiliation in thinking of your nullity in the presence of the Great Spirit4.

A few moments later, an assistant opens the door and the imploring one hugs his
Chanumpa placing it on one shoulder and then on the other, and pleading incessantly
to the Great Spirit:

Have mercy on me, help me!

O Chanumpa passes from hand to hand and everyone hugs it and cries like the
imploring
In this way, he is put out of the hut, and the helpers also embrace him; and
then they place it on the mound with the shaft facing East; this is the direction in which
find the Source of light and knowledge.

The second Chanumpa, which should be used in the purification rite and which was on
the small mound of sacred earth with the pole to the West is brought into the hut and handed over to
person sitting immediately to the left of the beggar.

This pipe is lit and then all the members of the circle smoke from it; then it is
again taken outside the tent.

Then water is circulated and the supplicant is allowed to drink from it as much as
as much as you want, but be careful not to spill a single drop, neither on the ground nor
about your body, because this would provoke the wrath of the Thunder Beings who care for the waters
sacred and that could appear at night while pleading.

The holy man tells him to sprinkle the body with sage; the door is closed.
again, a honored man who has already had a vision prays:

About this stone full of mystery, the Beings of Thunder revealed themselves.
merciful to me: they granted me a power coming from the place where the giant lives
Wazia.

An eagle appeared to me.

She will see you too when you go to plead for a vision.

From the place where the sun rises, they sent me a bald eagle; it will see you too.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

To the place where we always return, they sent me a winged being.

They were very merciful to me.

In the heights of Heaven, there is a winged Being close to the Great Spirit: it is the Eagle.
Painted, and she will also look at you.

All the Powers and the sacred Earth upon which you stand will look at you.

They pointed me a good path to follow in this Earth; may you be able to.
also get to know this path!

Put your spirit to understand the meaning of these things, and you will see!

It's like this, don't forget! Hechetu welo!

So this elder prays (sings):

They send me a voice

From the place where the sun sets
Our Grandfather sends me a voice.
From the place where the sun sets
They tell me when they come.
The voice of our Grandfather calls me.
This winged being that is in the place where the Giant lives
Send me a voice; call me
Our grandfather is calling me!

While the elder sings, water is poured over the stones, and after a few moments
of silence in the midst of obscurity and of the hot and fragrant steam, the door is opened, and the air
freshness and light fill the small cabin.

Again, he takes the pipe from the pile and hands it over to the man who is there.
sitting to the North.

After it is smoked, it is placed back in the pile with the stem facing East.

The door is closed again and the man sitting in the East is the one who prays:

O Great Spirit, observe how much we do here and we ask You!

O Power of the place where the sun sets, You who control the waters: with the breath of your
in these waters this young man is purified.

And also you, O stones of an ancient age who now assist us, listen!

They are firmly anchored in this land; we know that the winds cannot reach you.
mover.
This young man is going to send a voice and cry to gain a vision.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

You help us by giving a part of your power; your breath purifies it.

O Eternal Fire of the place where the sun rises, with you this young man gains strength and clarity.

Oh trees, the Great Spirit has given you the power to stand tall.

May this young person always take you as an example; may they join you.
firmly to you.

So be it! Hechetu welo!

Again everyone sings; then the door is opened and the Chanumpa is delivered and it is
handed to the holy man sitting in the East, who lights it, takes a few puffs and does it
circular throughout the group.

When tobacco is consumed, the helper takes the pipe and puts it back in the
small hill, with the stem directed towards the South.

The door has been closed for the last time, and then the holy man directs his prayer.
to the stones:

Oh you, ancient stones, you are full of mystery, you have no ears or eyes, and
this is how they see and hear all things.

Thanks to your powers, this young man is purified and worthy to depart to receive a
message from the Great Spirit.

The men who guard the door of this sacred cabin will open it for the fourth time.
come and we will see the Light of the world.

Have mercy on the men who guard the door.

May your generations be blessed!

Water is poured over the stones that still burn and, after the steam fills
quickly the whole cabin, the door is opened and the men exclaim: Hi ho! Hi ho! Thank you
let them be given! (pilamaya ye)

The imploring one is the first to leave the cabin and, crying without ceasing, goes to sit down.
on the ritual path, in front of the small mound where the Pipe rests.

One of the helpers takes the purified bison skin and places it over the shoulders of the
imploring; another takes the Pipe and presents it to the young man, who is now ready to
go to a high mountain to plead for a vision.

Three horses are brought; on two of them are loaded the sticks of the offerings and
certain amount of sage; the imploring one gets on the third, crying it is sad and
lifting your Chanumpa in front of you.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

When they arrive at the foot of the mountain, the two helpers move ahead with everything the
equipment to prepare up there the start of the ritual: they advance in the direction that is given to them
distance faster from the camp and go directly to the chosen location
as a center; there they unload the equipment.

They start by digging a hole in the ground, and in it, they deposit a little bit of kinnikinnik;
then they drive a long stick there, to the end of which the offerings are tied.

One of the helpers takes ten long steps to the West and plants another stake there, with
offerings.

He then returns to the center, where he grabs another rod, which he will drive to the North;
back to the center.

In a similar way, drive a stake to the East and another to the South. Meanwhile, the
another helper was busy preparing a sage bed in the center, it is there that the
imploring, in its moments of fatigue, may rest by resting its head on the rod
central and extending the feet to the East.

When everything is finished, the helpers leave the sacred place by the path.
from the North and meet with the imploring one, who waits at the foot of the mountain.

The pleading one then takes off the loafers and also the thong, because if we desire
sincerely implore, we must be poor in worldly goods; and rise only up to there above,
raising your Chanumpa in front of you and wearing your bison skin, which you will use during the
night.

As she walks, she cries and constantly repeats:

Great Spirit, hear me, the people are speaking!

ÓWakan Tanka, have mercy on me so that my people may live!

When he arrives at the consecrated place, he heads to the central rod and looks at the
West; and, raising his Chanumpa with both hands, he continues praying amidst tears:

Oh Wakan Tanka, have mercy on me so that my people may live!

Then it slowly approaches the stick that is to the West; there it offers to
same prayer and return to the center.

In the same way, it goes to the North rod, the East rod, and the South rod, returning every time.
to the center; and after each of these paths, he raises his Chanumpa to the Sky and asks the
winged beings and all things that help you, then direct the staff to the ground and ask for
help of everything that grows over our Mother.

All this is told in a short time; but the imploring must execute so
slowly and in such a solemn way that it sometimes takes an hour, or even two,
to make one of these routes.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

You cannot move in any other way; but as you traverse this
The cross shape can stop at any point along the route, and for as long as desired.

This is done throughout the day, praying without rest, whether aloud or
silently within you, because the Great Spirit is everywhere and for
count on this or hear everything that is in our thoughts and in our hearts; it is not
necessary to speak to you loudly.

The supplicant is not required to always say the prayer that was indicated to him; he can
remain silent, concentrating all your attention on the Great Spirit or on one of
your Powers.

You must carefully avoid thoughts that distract you, but on the other hand
part, you must remain awake to recognize any messenger that the Great
Spirit can send you: these messengers may take the form of an animal, sometimes
so tiny and seemingly so insignificant like an ant.

Is it possible that from the West a painted eagle comes to him, or from the North an eagle
black, or from the East a bald eagle, or even from the South a woodpecker with a head
red.
Although at first none of these birds speak to you, they are important and should be
observed.

If a little bird or a gecko arrives, the imploring one must also remain still.
nele.

Perhaps at first the animals may seem wild, but soon they become tame and
the birds perch on the sticks, and there will also be ants and small insects that
they move on the Chanumpa.

All these peoples are important because they are wise in their own way and can
to teach many things to the bipeds, if we adopt a humble attitude towards them.

Among all the creatures, the ones most deserving of attention are the birds; they are the ones that are
closer to the sky and not tied to the earth like quadrupeds or small peoples
reptiles.

It is worth remembering that it is not by chance that humans are bipedal like birds;
but see that they abandon the land with their wings and that we, men, can.
also leave this world, not with wings, but with the spirit.

This will help you understand in part why we consider sacred and
important all created beings: everything has an influence—wochanghi—that
can be given to us and thanks to which we can gain a little more understanding if
we are attentive.

Throughout the day, the imploring one sends his voice to the Great Spirit to obtain his
help, and moves along the ritual path in the shape of a cross; this shape has much

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power: every time we return to the center it’s as if we are returning to the Great Spirit, which
it is the center of all things; and even if we believe that we have distanced ourselves from It, we must
return to Him sooner or later, along with all the other creatures.

Upon nightfall, the beggar is very tired; because he cannot drink or

to eat during the days he/she devotes to implore a vision.

You can nap on the sage bed that has been prepared for you and should rest your head on the
he is central, because, even if he sleeps, he remains thus close to the Great Spirit, and, with
Very often, the most powerful visions appear during sleep.

These are not normal dreams; on the contrary: the visions are much more real and more
intense as dreams; they do not come from ourselves, but from the Great Spirit.

It may happen that the first time we plead, we receive no vision.

not any message, but we should try anyway; because we should not
to doubt that the Great Spirit is always willing to help those who seek him with a
pure heart.

As a result, much depends on the nature of the one who begs, on their degree of
purification and preparation.
Sometimes at night the Beings of Thunder come, and although they are terrifying, they make us
a great good testing our strength and our resistance. They also help us to
to realize how small and insignificant we are in the face of Powers
incommensurable of the Great Spirit.

I remember a day when I was begging; a great hurricane was coming from the place where
The sun sets, and I was conversing with the Beings of Thunder who came with the hail, the thunder,
the lightning and abundant rain; in the morning I saw that the hail was piled up at
around the sacred place, but it was completely dry.

I believe they were testing me.

And there was a night when the evil spirits came to take the offerings from the
sticks, and I heard their voices underground and one of them said: Let's see him beg.

I heard noises from evil spirits, but they remained outside the sacred space and did not
they could penetrate him, because I was determined not to be scared, and I kept sending
my voice to the Great Spirit to seek your help.

Later, somewhere underground, one of the evil spirits of this:

Yes, certainly it begs, and in the morning I saw that the sticks and the offerings continued.
in your place.

I was well prepared, as you can see, and I did not waver, so no harm
it could happen to me.

The supplicant must rise in the middle of the night and go to the four Regions,

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returning to the center each time and without stopping to send your voice.

You should already be up with the first light of morning and start walking towards the
East, pointing the shaft of his Chanumpa to the star of mystery and asking it to give him.
wisdom; make this request in silence, deep in your heart, and not aloud.

This is how the supplicant must proceed during the three or four days.

At the end of this period, the helpers come with the horses and take again the
imploring with his Chanumpa to the camp; when he arrives, he enters the tipi
prepared for him.

He sits to the West, constantly having the Chanumpa in front of him.

The holy elder who is your spiritual guide immediately enters afterward and, passing through
behind the imploring one, will sit to the East; the other men occupy the free space that
stay.

The first ritual stone, which has already been heated, is introduced into the lodge and placed in the
altar center; the other stones are brought afterward, as was described
previously.
All this is done in a very solemn manner, but faster than before,
because all men are impatient to hear the imploring and to know that great
things happened to you on the mountain.

When everything is ready, the holy man says to the supplicant:

You sent a voice to the Great Spirit.

From now on, this Chanumpa is very sacred, because the entire Universe has seen it.

You offered this Chanumpa to the four heavenly Powers; they saw it!

The winged power of the place where the sun sets, which controls the waters, has heard you!

The trees that are present here have heard you!

And it also heard you, the very sacred Chanumpa that the tribe received;

Tell us the truth and make sure you don't make anything up!

Who knows, even the tiny ants and the small worms came to you
to see when, up there, you were begging for a vision.

Tell us everything!

You brought us the Chanumpa that you offered.

It's finished!

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And since you will soon bring this Chanumpa to your mouth, it will only tell you the truth.

O Chanumpa is holy and knows everything; cannot be deceived.

If you lie, Wakinyan Tanka, the Thunderbird that takes care of the Chanumpa, will punish you.

Hello!

The holy man then rises from his place in the East and, circling the tent in
in the direction of the movement of the sun, will sit to the right of the supplicant.

In front of him are placed some dried bison ribs and on top of them is placed the
Chanumpa with the stalk directed towards the Sky.

The holy man removes the seal of fat from the chafing dish and places it over the bison ribs.

With an ember taken from the fire, light the Chanumpa and, after offering it to the...
Powers of the six Directions, direct the rod towards the imploring one, who touches it only with the
lips.

The holy man then describes a circle with the stick, smokes a little, the
approaches again the lips of the beggar.

It begins to describe a circle with the rod and takes a few more puffs.

This is done four times; then the Chanumpa is passed from hand to hand and everyone
men smoke.

When he returns to him, the holy man empties him by striking him four times in the
mount formed by the seal of fat and the ribs of bison, and then it purifies it.

Raising the Chanumpa in front of you, then says to the imploring one: Young man, it's been three days since
he left here with your two helpers, who built for you the five pillars of the place
consecrated.

Tell us everything that happened to you up there after your departure.

Do not omit anything!

We have prayed a lot for you to the Great Spirit, and we have asked the Chanumpa to
may He be merciful5.

Tell us now what happened!

The imploring one replies, and each time he says something important, the men who are in the
They exclaim: Hey there!

I went to the mountain, and after entering the sacred place, I walked towards

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each of the four Directions, always returning to the center, as you taught me.

On the first day, while I was facing the place where the sun sets, I saw
an eagle that was flying towards me, and when it was closer I distinguished that it was a
painted eagle.

It landed on a tree close to me, but said nothing; then it took flight to
the place where the giant Wazia lives.

And to this all men respond: Hay ye!

I returned to the center and went up North, and while I was there I saw an eagle that was giving
turned in the air; and when she descended towards me I noticed that she was a young eagle, but she also
He didn't say anything to me; and soon returned and flew to the place we always look.

I returned to the center, where I pleaded and sent my voice, and then I headed to the place.
where the sun rises.

I noticed something flying towards me and soon saw that it was a bald eagle,
but she also didn't tell me anything.

Constantly imploring, I returned to the center, and then, when I was going to the place to
That we always look at, I saw a red-headed woodpecker perched on the stick of
offerings.

Who knows, maybe it gave me something of its genius, seuwochangh, because I heard it telling me in
very low but clear voice: Watch out! Stay alert!

And do not be afraid, but do not pay any attention to anything bad that may come and speak to you.

Everyone then says aloud: Hay ye, because this message from the bird is very
important.

The imploring one continues:

Even though I have begged and sent my voice continuously, this is all that
I saw and heard that day.

Night came and I leaned my head in the center, and I fell asleep, and during my sleep
I heard and saw my people and noticed that they were happy.

_________________________________________________________________________
When a man goes to plead for a vision, it is customary for his relatives and friends to gather in his tent to

sing and pray during the days and nights that your lamentation lasts. At least once every night, everyone goes out and
they look silently at the place where the seeker is; they observe carefully any sign that may
to appear in that direction; for example a lightning bolt, a symbol of Revelation, is considered a particularly sign
favorable.

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I got up in the middle of the night and walked again to each of the four Directions,
always returning to the center and constantly sending my voice.

Shortly before the morning light appeared, I revisited the four Directions, and
when I arrived at the place where the sun rises, I saw the morning light and observed that at first
it was red; then it turned blue, then yellow and in the end I saw that it was white; and in these
four colors discerned the four ages.

Mesmo assim esta estrela não me falou, mas mesmo assim, me ensinou muito.

I stayed there, waiting for the sun to rise, and at the moment of dawn I saw the world full of
small winged peoples full of joy.

At last, the sun came out, bringing its light to the world; then I began to plead and returned.
in the center, and there I lay down, leaving my Chanumpa resting on the central pole.

While I was leaning, I heard all kinds of small winged beings that
they were in the bars, but none of them spoke to me.

I looked at my Chanumpa and saw two ants walking along the stem.

Maybe they wanted to talk to me, but they left soon.

All the time, while I begged and sent my voice, birds approached.
and butterflies; once a white butterfly came to land at the tip of the stem of
Chanumpa, fluttering its beautiful wings.

That day I didn't see big quadrupeds, just small animals.

Just before the sun went down to rest, I saw the clouds gathering, and they came
the Beings of Thunder.

The lightning filled the sky and the thunder was terrifying, and I think I was even scared for a moment.
little.

But I kept my Chanumpa raised and continued to send my voice to the Great
Spirit, and soon I heard another voice saying: Hi-ey-hey-i-i! Hi-eyhey- i-i!

Four times I said it, and then I lost all fear, because I remembered the words.
of the little bird and I felt full of courage.

I also heard other voices that I could not understand.

I don't know how long I stayed there with my eyes closed.

When I opened them, everything was very bright, even brighter than
during the day; and I saw a large number of men coming to me on horseback, all
they rode horses of different colors.

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One of the knights addressed me in these terms:

Young one, you offer the Chanumpa to the Great Spirit; we are very happy that the
do it!

This is all they told me; then they disappeared.

The next day, just before the sun rose, and while visiting the four
Regions, I saw the same little red-headed woodpecker; it was perched on
go back to the place we always return to and told me more or less the same as on the day
previous

Friend, be careful when you walk!

That was all; and shortly after, the two assistants came to pick me up.

This is all I know.

And I tell the truth and I didn't make anything up!

This is how the beseecher ends his account.

The holy man gives him his Chanumpa, which he embraces and passes around.

Then an assistant takes it and places it, with the rod turned towards the West, in the
sacred mound, to the East of the cabin.

More hot stones are introduced; the door is closed and the oinipi begins.

The holy man begins to pray and thanks the Great Spirit:

Hi-ey-hey-i-i!, say it four times.

And then: Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka!

Today it helped us.

You were merciful to this young man by giving him knowledge and a path that
you may proceed.

You made your people happy, and all beings that move in the Universe rejoice!

Grandfather, this young man offered you the Chanumpa, he heard a voice telling him:

Be careful when walking!

Do you want to know what this message means; now you should explain yourself.

This message means that you should always remember You, O Wakan Tanka,

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while walking the sacred path of life, and that one must pay attention to all the
signs that you gave us.

If you always act this way, you will become a wise man and be a guide for your
people.

Great Spirit. Help us to always be attentive!6

This young man also saw the four ages in this star from the place where the sun rises.

These are the ages that all creatures must go through during their journey.
that goes from birth to death.

All peoples and all things must go through these four ages.

ÓWakan Tanka, when this young man saw the dawn of the day, he saw how your light came to
Universe; it is the light of wisdom.

You reveal all these things because your will is that the nations of the world do not
they live in the darkness of ignorance.

ÓWakan Tanka, You have established a kinship with this young man, and with this
kinship will bring strength to your tribe.

We who are seated here represent the entire nation and we thank You, O
Great Spirit.

We now raise our hands to You and say: Oh Wakan Tanka, we thank you for this
knowledge and this kinship that you gave us.

Always be merciful to us!

That this kinship exists until the end.

_________________________________________________________________________
The message "Be alert!" expresses very well a characteristic state of mind of the natives; it implies that in

in every act, in everything, and at every moment, the Great Spirit is present, and one should be continuous and
intensely "attentive" to the divine Presence. This presence of Wakan Tanka—and the awareness of it—is
what Christian saints called 'life in the moment', or 'eternal now', or what is designated in Sufism
with the word waqt, "instant", that is to say, "spiritual instantaneousness". In Lakota, this presence is called
Taku Shkanshkan..., or simply Shkanna the language of the holy men. Let us cite in this regard the
Next conversation between a Lakota holy man and J. R. Walkr: 'Who makes the stars fall? Taku'
Shkanshkan... makes everything that falls fall and moves everything that moves. When a movement is made, who is the
What makes you move? Shkan. When you launch an arrow with a bow, who is it that makes it move?
ar?Shkan…Taku
Shkanshkandá the spirit at the bow and makes him shoot the arrow. Who is it that makes the smoke rise? Shkan. Who is it that
Who makes the water flow in a river? Shkan. Who is it that makes the clouds move across the world?
shkan. Some Lakotas told me that this Shkan is the Sky; is that so? If. Shkan is a Spirit, and the blue of the sky is
Everything that humanity can see of Him, but is everywhere? Is Shkan Wakan-Tanka? Yes.
(Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. XVI, p. 11.)

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Then all the men sing:

Grandpa, look at me!

Grandpa, look at me!

I raised my Chanumpa and offered it to you

So that my people may live!

Grandfather, look at me!

Grandpa, look at me!

I give you all these offerings

So that my people live!

Grandpa, look at me!

Grandpa, look at me!

We, who represent the entire nation,

We offer to You

So that we live!

After this corner, water flows over the stones and continues in a sluggish manner.
that I have already described.

This young man who pleaded for a vision for the first time may become who knows in a
holy man; if walking with the mind and heart fixed on the Great Spirit and
your Powers, as you were taught, will certainly walk the red path that
leads to goodness and holiness.

But he will have to plead for a vision a second time, and then the evil spirits
they may try you; but if you are really an elected one, you will resist firmly and overcome all
dispersing thoughts; will be purified of all that is harmful and will then be able to receive
some great vision that will give strength to the nation.

If after this second lamentation you still have doubts, you should try a third.
and yet a fourth time; and if he remains sincere and humbles himself in front of all things,
you will definitely receive help, because the Great Spirit always helps those who implore him
with a pure heart7.

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_________________________________________________________________________
In our days, some Lakotas resort to a ritual different from what is described in this chapter.

The women establish the sacred space at the top of the mountain, first preparing a bed of sage laid out.
towards West-East and has a stone as a cushion; blue flags are placed as offerings,
white, red, and yellow at the four corners, forming a rectangle around the bed; on these sticks
they place as offerings some bags of tobacco. Three wide cords, on each of which a hundred are tied
of tobacco pouches, are placed on the rods, from South to West, from West to North, and from North to East,
leaving the South side open; then a wooden stick is set into the ground in front of the stone cushion,
cherry tree that represents the tree of life and has an eagle feather at the tip. The imploring one, who has already fasted all
the day has just completed the purification rites, then approaches the place; he and all the people present
they turn to the four Regions and offer an appropriate prayer to each one. Then they enter the sacred space,
with your Chanumpa and dressed only in your sex cover and a blanket; the chain of little tobacco bags closes behind
And the imploring one begins to lament, asking for help from the Great Spirit; and remains in this place, praying without
cease, for a period ranging from one to four days. It is not uncommon for your hands, arms and...
feet, which is a form of extremely painful sacrifice, because even in summer the nights are very cold
in the state of Dakota.

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5
WHAT DO YOU SEE?

THE DANCE OF THE SUN

The "dance that looks at the sun" -wiyanag wachipi -is one of our greatest rituals and was
established many winters after our people received the Chanumpa from the Buffalo Woman
White.

It is held every year during the fattening moon (June) or the cherry moon that
they darken (July), always on the full moon, because the growth and decrease of the moon in the
remember our ignorance that comes and goes; but when the moon is full it is as if the Light
eternal of the Great Spirit was extended all over the world.

But now I want to tell how this ritual came to our people and how it was carried out in the.
origin.

One day, our people were camping in a suitable place, in a circle as always, and the
elders were sitting celebrating the council; soon they noticed that one of our
men, Kablaya -The One Who Stretches-, had let his cloak fall to his waist and
danced only at a certain distance with hands raised to the sky.

The elders thought he might be crazy and sent someone to see what
was happening; but the messenger also wrapped the cloak around his waist and began to
dance with Kablaya.

Finding it strange, the elders went to see for themselves.

Then Kablaya explained to them:

A long time ago, the Great Spirit told us how we should pray with the
Sacred Chanumpa; but we have been slacking in the practice of prayer and our people are losing strength.

A new way of praying has just been revealed to me in a vision; the Great
Spirit came to our aid.
Upon hearing these words, all the elders exclaimed: How! and showed a
great joy
They gathered a council and sent two men to the guardian of the sacred Chanumpa.
who corresponded to give their opinion on issues of this kind.

The guardian replied to the messengers saying that it was certainly about something
very good; because we were promised that we would have seven ways to pray to the Great
Spirit, and this is surely one of them, since He Who Extends received instructions
about her in a vision; well, this is how it was told to us that we would receive our
rituals.

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The two messengers conveyed this news to the elders, who asked for
Cable that instructed them on what they would have to do.

He then said:

This will be the Dance of the Sun: we cannot do it next, for we must wait.
four days, which we will dedicate to the preparations, just as I was taught in my vision.

This dance will be an offering of our bodies and our souls to the Great Spirit,
and will be full of mystery.

Let all our wise men and elders gather; let a build a
large pavilion and adorn its interior with sage.

We also need a Chanumpa and the following objects:

A roll of tobacco from the Arikara tribe; red willow bark; herb
aromatic; a bone knife; a stone axe (flint); bison marrow; a skull of
bison; a raw leather bag; a tanned hide of a young bison; rabbit skins; feathers
of eagle; red earth painting; blue painting; a skin without tanning; chest feathers of
an eagle; whistles made from painted eagle bones.

When all these ritual objects were gathered, Kablaya asked those who knew.
sing that they would go to your house that same night to learn the revealed songs;
he warned that they should also bring a large drum made of bison skin, and also some
drumsticks with the tips covered in bison skin with the fur side facing out.

As the drum is often the only instrument we use in our

rites, I should now explain to them why it is particularly venerable and important for
We: it's because the round shape of the drum represents the Universe and its regular and strong beat.
it is the pulse, the heart that beats in the center of the Universe.

It is like the voice of the Great Spirit, and this sound sets us in motion and helps us to
understand the mystery and the power of all things.

That night, the singers, four men and one woman, joined Him Who
He said to them in these terms:

Oh my relatives, for a long time we have sent our voices to the Great
Spirit.

This is what He told us to do.

We ask you in many ways and thanks to this holy way of living, our
generations have learned to walk the red path with a firm step.

O Chanumpa is always at the center of our nation and with him the people have advanced.
and will continue to advance in a manner in accordance with the mystery.

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In this new rite that I have just received, one of the peoples that are always standing was
chosen to be in our center: it is owagachun, the murmuring tree, the poplar; it
it will be our center and also our tribe.

This sacred tree will also represent the path of the people, because it does not rise.
the tree from the earth to the sky?1.

This new way of sending our voices to the Great Spirit will be very powerful;
its use will spread, and every year, during this season, many people will pray to the Great
Spirit.

Before teaching the sacred songs, we will offer the Chanumpa to our Father and
Grandfather Great Spirit.

Oh Grandfather and Father Wakan Tanka, we will fulfill your will as you commanded us in
my vision.

We know it will be a very powerful way to send our voices; that our
nation receive, thanks to it, wisdom! may it help us advance along the sacred path with
all the Powers of the Universe!

Our prayer will truly be the prayer of all things, because in reality
they are all but one.

All of this was seen in my vision.

May the four Powers of the Universe help us to perform this ritual well!

Oh Great Spirit, have mercy on us!

Everyone smoked from the Chanumpa and then Kablaya began to teach them the
mysterious chants.

Many other people gathered around the singers, and He Who Stretches
lhes disse que enquanto escutavam deviam gritar de vez em quando: Ó AvôWakan Tanka,
I offer you the Chanumpa so that my people may live!

The first song that taught the prophet was wordless; it was a simple melody.
which repeated four times with a strong drumbeat.

The words of the second canto were as follows:

Wakan Tankatenha have mercy on us, so that our people may live.
_________________________________________________________________________
1NoAtharva Vêda Sanhitâdas Hindu scriptures, the symbolic meaning of the tree of the world is entirely identical.

to what the tree means to the Lakota: 'The tree of the world, whose trunk is also the column of the sun, the post of
sacrifice and the axis mundi rises over the altar that is in the navel of the earth, penetrates through the door of the world and
extends over the top of the world (Atharva Veda Sanhitâ, X, 7-21), as 'the non-existent (unmanifested) rama'
that our deceased know as Him the Supreme.

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The third was like this:

A herd of bison arrives,

They are already here!

Your blessing will reach us.

It's already with us!

The fourth canto was a melody without words.

Then Kablaya taught the men how to use the eagle bone whistles.
that they had brought; he also indicated to them the things they should prepare and explained the
meaning of each ritual object:

You will make a necklace of otter skin and place a ring with an inscribed cross on it.

At the four points where the cross meets the ring, some feathers are placed.
eagle that will represent the four Powers of the Universe and the four ages.

In the center of the ring, you will fix a feather plucked from the eagle's chest, because this is the
place closest to the heart of the sacred bird.

This feather will represent the Great Spirit who dwells in the depths of the Heavens and
what is the center of all things.

They must look for eagle bone whistles; and for a feather at the end of each one.

When blowing your whistles, always remember that it is the voice of the Painted Eagle and that
our Grandfather Wakan Tankaa constantly hears; they must understand that it is really theirs
own voice.

They will cut a moon, in the shape of a crescent quarter, in untanned skin; the moon
represents a creature and also all of creation, because all created things come to be and
they dissolve, live and die.

They must also understand that the night represents ignorance, but that the moon and
the stars bring the light of the Great Spirit to these darkness.

As you know, the moon comes and goes, but the sun always lives; it is the source of light, and by this
reason is similar to the Great Spirit.

They will cut into a skin without enjoying a five-pointed star.

It will be the sacred star of the soul, which is between darkness and light, and which represents
Knowledge.

They will make a circle of skin without liking it that represents the sun; it will be painted with

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red, but the center will be a blue circle, because this center, which is the most intimate,
represents the Great Spirit in His aspect of our Grandfather.

The light of this sun illuminates the entire Universe, and in the same way, the flames of the sun us
they arrive with the dawn, so too does the Light of the Great Spirit descend upon us, which
illuminates all creatures.

This is why quadrupeds and winged beings rejoice when

the light appears.

During the day we can see, and this vision is something profound because it represents the vision
of the real world that we can obtain through the Eye of the heart.

By carrying this mysterious signal during the dance, we remember that we bring light to
Universe, and you will gain great benefit if you concentrate on these various meanings.

They will cut out a circle, which will be painted red and will represent the Earth.

The Earth is full of mystery, because we place our feet on it and send from it.
our voices to the Great Spirit.

She is our relative and whenever we call her Grandmother and Mother we must remember him.

When we pray, we raise our hand to the sky and then touch the ground; by chance
Doesn't our spirit come from the Great Spirit and our bodies from the Earth?

We are relatives of all things: the earth, the stars, we all raise our hands to the
Great Spirit, we only pray to Him.

They will also cut a circle in an unprocessed skin and paint it blue to
represent the sky.

When they dance, they will raise their heads and hands to Heaven, and they will look at it, because they
If they do this, our Grandfather will see them.

He is the owner of everything; there is nothing that does not belong to Him, and therefore only to Him
they will pray.

Finally, they will cut it out of a skin without enjoying the shape of the bison.
represents the nation, and also the Universe, and should always be treated with respect; not
He was here before the bipedal peoples, and is he not generous to us?
provide our tents and our food?

The bison is wise in many things, and for that reason, we should learn from it and always know.
that we are related to him.

Each man will carry one of these symbols on his chest and will be aware of his
meaning, just as I have just explained to you.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

In this great ritual, you will offer your body in sacrifice in the name of all
a tribe; thanks to you, the tribe will gain in wisdom and in strength.

Always be aware of these things that I said today; they are sacred.

The next day, the murmuring tree that was to rise had to be chosen.
center of the large enclosure;

The One Who Stretches told his helper what kind of tree he should look for and for the
mark with sage so that the warriors could locate it and take it to the camp.

He also indicated how they would have to delimit the land around the tree.
sacred, it is in it that the ritual pavilion of the dance of the sun will be built, and how they would have to
mark the entrance from the East with green branches.

The explorers, appointed by the holy men, went to choose a good

tree; once they did that, they returned to the camp and after turning around
sense of the movement of the sun in the location where the pavilion would be built, rushed towards the
entry, trying to strike a blow at you.

Then they took a Chanumpa and, after offering it to the six Directions,
they swore to tell the truth.

The One Who Stretches then spoke to the men:

They took the holy pipe; therefore, they must truly tell us the
what they saw.

We know that along the shaft of the Pipe there is a path that goes straight to the center
and to the heart of the Chanumpa; may your thoughts be as straight as this path.

May your tongues not be divided.

I sent them to find a tree that will be very beneficial for our
nation; tell us, faithfully, what was found.

Then the prophet made a circular motion four times with the Chanumpa and directed
the haste for the explorer who was going to make the report.

I climbed a hill and saw there a large number of these sacred peoples who are always there.
standing.

In which direction did he look, and what did he see behind the first hill?

I was facing West - replied the explorer - I continued on and looked

but beyond the second hill; and I saw many more peoples than those who are always standing that
I will live there.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The explorer was interrogated this way four times; as you must know, all
the good things are four times; moreover, when we go down the path of war always
We questioned our explorers in this way; well, we consider this tree.
like an enemy we are going to kill2.

After the explorers informed us, everyone dressed as if they were going to go.
along the path of war; then they left the camp as if they were going to attack a
enemy.

Many men followed the explorers, and when they were near the tree
chosen everyone gathered around her.

The One Who Stretches arrived last with his Chanumpa; he raised the staff in
direction to the tree and said this:

Among the numerous peoples who are always standing, oh whispering poplar, it was
chosen in a way according to the mystery; goes to the sacred center of the nation;
you will represent the tribe and help us fulfill the will of the Great Spirit.

It is a benevolent and beautiful-looking tree; the winged peoples have created their
families about you; in you, from the tip of your lofty branches to your roots, the winged peoples
and the quadrupeds have made their homes.

When it is raised in the center of the sacred circle, it will be the nation, and it will be like the
Chanumpa, extended between heaven and earth.

The weak will lean on you and you will be a support for the tribe.

With the tip of your branches, it will sustain the sacred days red and blue.

_________________________________________________________________________
Black Elk explained to us one day that the sacred tree destined for the sun dance is captured as an enemy by the

razão seguinte: «Pouco tempo depois de que nos entregaram o Chanumpa sagrado, fugimos de caça e colhemos a
the hair of an enemy; we fixed this hair on the Chanumpa to guard an soul in our center, with
so that the bipeds, along with all other beings in the Universe, would also be represented in
Chanumpa. In memory of this deed, we took the tree as if it were an enemy, because, as you see, the tree
it also now goes to our center as the soul of the slain enemy did. Our people never killed like the
the whites do; for us it was a sacred thing and we greatly honored the dead in battle, including
when they were enemies" We believe that it is not too much to complete this account of Black Elk with this explanation of
origin omaha: "My son saw a wonderful tree. The Thunder Birds come and go around this tree, and
they form a fire star that leaves behind four paths of burnt grass that stretch out towards the
Four Winds. When the Thunder Birds land on this tree, it crackles in flames and the fire rises up to
summit. The tree burns, but no one can see the fire, except at night. The tribe deliberated on what this could mean.
mean, and the chiefs said: 'We will fetch him; put on your ornaments and prepare as if you were going to
combat." The men painted themselves, put on their adornments, and went in search of the tree, which was located near a.
lake. They rushed towards him as if they were attacking him, as if he were an enemy warrior. Everyone ran.
the first to reach the tree was a ponca, and it struck it as it had done with an enemy. They felled the tree, and
four men in a row carried her on their shoulders to the people.
27th, American Journal of Bur Ethnol., pp. 217-219.

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

You will rise where the four paths of mystery intersect, there you will be the center.
two great Powers of the Universe.

May men always follow your example, for we see how you look.
constantly to the sky.

Logo, with all the peoples of the world, will lift you in the center; you will bring good to all.
beings and all things. Hechetu welo!

O profeta ofereceu em seguida seu Chanumpa ao Céu e à Terra, com a haste tocou
the tree on the West, North, East, and South sides; then he lit the Chanumpa and smoked.

I believe I should explain now why we consider the poplar sacred.

To start, I will say that, in very remote times, he taught us to build

our conical tents, since their leaves are an exact model of datipi; we learned this way:
the elders observed some boys who were making huts with these leaves
to play.

This is also an example that adults can always learn from

small ones, because the hearts of the small are pure; the Great Spirit can give them
show many things that go unnoticed by adults.

Another reason why we chose the poplar to place it in the center of our
pavilion, it is that the Great Spirit taught us that, when cutting off an upper limb of this
tree, a perfect five-pointed star appears in the fiber, which represents for us the
presence of the Great Spirit.

Who knows, you might have already noticed that the voice of the poplar is heard even with the
gentle breeze; we understand that this is your prayer to the Great Spirit3, because not only the
men, but all things and all beings pray continuously, still in different ways
different.

The chiefs performed a victory dance around the tree, singing their songs of
boss, and while they sang and danced, they chose the man who would have the honor of playing the
tree with the spear4this man must have good character and must have shown it
brave in the sacrifice of oneself on the path of war.

In this way, three more were elected, and each of these four men positioned themselves
one of the four sides of the tree, with the guide to the West.

_________________________________________________________________________
3Yalâl ed-Dîn Rûmî said, speaking of demons and spiritual combat: "There are men who dance and whirl in

battlefield; there, some musicians play the drums: in their ecstasy, the seas burst into foam. You do not
they see, but for their ears, even the leaves of the trees clap their hands... one must have spiritual hearing, not the
of the body." (Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Mathnawi.)
This spear or staff was used to 'count coups', that is, to touch the enemy - not to kill him.

—, which was considered a great feat.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The latter then recounted his warrior feats, and when he finished, the men
they shouted and the women released tremors; then he threatened the tree three times with his
tomahawk, and on Wednesday it struck.

After him, the other three brave men recounted their feats in the war, and
when they finished they struck the tree in the same way, and with each blow they dealt the
people exclaimed: Hi hey!

When the tree was about to fall, the leaders mingled with the crowd and
they elected a person of calm and pious character, who struck the final blow to the tree;
the fall was greeted with cheers and the women performed the tremble.

Great precautions were taken so that when it fell, the trunk would not touch the ground, and
no one was authorized to pass over him.

Then, six men transported the tree to the camp, but before
they reached him after stopping four times; after the last stop they mimicked the coyote's howl,
just like the fighters who return from the path of war; then they
they rushed to the camp and placed the tree on some stakes - since it should not
touch the ground - and with the base directed towards the hole that had been prepared, and the crown for
the West.

The pavilion around the tree had not yet been raised, but it was already ready.
all the rods and the necessary equipment to build it.

Then He Who Stretches, after counting those who were going to participate in the dance, directed Himself
to a large tent; he gave them instructions, and they prepared for the ritual.

The tent was completely closed, and leaves were even placed around it.
base.

Kablaya, the prophet and great holy man, was seated in the West.

First, he dug the soil in front of him and had a coal placed there.
he lit aromatic herbs in it and said:

We burn this herb for the Great Spirit, so that all bipedal peoples and
Heirs of the Universe are close relatives.

And so there will be much happiness.

Next, a small model of a meat dryer was built using three sticks.
two forks stuck in the ground and a straight one placed on top, and they painted them blue; because
the meat dryer represents heaven, and we pray that our dryers are
always as full as the skies.

Then, after purifying with the smoke, the pipe was rested on the dryer, because
In this way, it represents our prayers; it is the path that leads from Earth to Heaven.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

All the objects that would be used in the dance were then purified in the smoke.
from the aromatic herb: the leather figures, the paintings, the calfskin, the leather bags; and
the dancers were also purified.

When all this was done, the great holy man raised his Chanumpa to
the sky and prayed:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, You are the Creator of all things!

You have always been and will always be.

You showed yourself good with your people, because you taught us a way to pray with the
The pipe you gave us; and now showed me in a vision the dance of mystery that
I will teach my people.

Today we want to do your will.

Standing on this sacred Earth on which generations of our people have lived,
I send a voice to You offering this Pipe.

See me, O Wakan Tanka, for I represent the whole people.

In this Chanumpa, I want to offer to the four Powers and to all the winged beings of the
Universe; along with them, who will be no more than one, I want to send You a voice.

See me and enlighten my thoughts with your immortal light!

I offer this Chanumpa to the Great Spirit, first with you, O Winged Power of
place where the sun sets; there is a place for you in this Chanumpa: help us with these two
days, red and blue, that sanctify the nation!

The One Who Stretches then took a pinch of tobacco, and after showing it to the
He placed it in the furnace; then, at the same time in the Sky, to the Earth and to the four Regions.
who pronounced the prayers that I will say, put a little tobacco in the Chanumpa to
each of the other Directorates:

O Winged Power of the place where Wazia lives, I will offer this Chanumpa to the Great
Spirit: help me with the two good days, the red and the blue, that You possess – days that
they purify the people and the Universe.

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa, help us!

O Power of the place where the sun rises, which gives knowledge and takes care of the dawn of the day,
help us with your two days red and blue that bring understanding and light.

There is a place for You in this Chanumpa that I will offer to the Great Spirit help-
us!

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

O Most Holy Power of the place we always return to, You who are the source of life,
that safeguards the nation and future generations, help us with your two days red and blue!

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa.

O Painted Eagle of the Sky, we know that you have penetrating eyes that see even to the
smaller object that moves over Grandmother Earth; You who are in the heights of Heaven and know everything,
I offer this Chanumpa to the Great Spirit! Help us with your two good red days and
blue!

O Grandmother Earth, who is spread out supporting all things, upon You rises
a man who offers a Chanumpa to the Great Spirit.

You are in the center of the two good days, red and blue, there is a place for You in
Chanumpa, help us!

The prophet and great holy man then placed a bit of tobacco in the Chanumpa.
for each of the following birds: the flycatcher, the robin, the lark, that sing
on the two good days; the woodpecker, the hawk, which makes life so difficult for others
winged peoples; the falcon, the owl, who knows everything; the blackbird, and many other birds;
the way all objects of creation and the six directions of space were introduced to
Chanumpa's bowl; then it was sealed with fat and bison marrow, and supported on
small blue hairdryer.

The prophet then took another Chanumpa, filled it, and headed for where it lay.
the sacred tree.

They brought a ember, and the tree and the hole were purified with the smoke of it.
aromatic herb.

Wakan Tanka! He who stretches raising his Chanumpa with one hand,
look at this mysterious tree that will soon be placed in this hole!

It will rise together with the sacred Chanumpa; it will be the Chanumpa!

The toque with the powerful red color of our Grandmother and with bison fat.
quadruped, when touching this tree being with the red earth, we remember that the
generations of all that moves come from our Mother Earth.

With your help, oh tree, I will soon offer my body and my soul to the Great
Spirit, with me, in me, I offer my people and all future generations!

The great holy man then took the red painting and offered it to the six Directions.
and went again to the sacred tree:

Oh tree, rise up, be merciful to my people so that,

Beneath you, prosper!

Then he painted a red line on the West, North, East, and South sides of the tree, and

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

made a very small mark for the Great Spirit at the highest point; then placed
a bit of paint for Mother Earth.

Finally, he took a young bison hide and said:

Our nation lives from this bison; it provides us with our tents, our clothes,
our food, everything that makes us.

Oh young bison, I now give you a sacred place on top of the tree.

She will have you in her hands and will raise you to the Great Spirit.

Look at what I am going to do!

Thanks to him, all things that move and fly on the earth and in the sky will be
happy.

He raised a small cherry sprout and continued praying:

See this, oh Wakan Tanka, because it is the tree of the nation and we ask for it to have
abundant fruit.

They placed a little tree on the sacred poplar, right below the bison hide, like this
as well as a little pouch made of otter skin that contained a bit of grease.

Kablaya then raised the images of bison leather and of man, and offered them
at six Directions, requested:

Look, oh Grandfather, this bison you gave us; he is the chief of all the quadrupeds there are.
About our sacred Mother; the nation comes from her, and with her walks the path of mystery.

Look, also, at the man who represents the tribe.

They are the two chiefs of this great island; we ask that you grant them all the
favors that you ask, oh Wakan Tanka!

These two images are placed just below the place where the tree branched; in
Then the prophet lifted a small bag of tallow - which will be placed later underneath the
tree - and prayed like this:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, look at this sacred residue about what this being tree is
Let it be raised, may the land always be as fertile and abundant as this tallow!

O tree, this day is sacred to you and to all our people; the land of this circle you
belong, oh tree, and it is here, beneath you, where I will offer my body and my soul for
love for the tribe5.

Here I will be sending you my voice, O Wakan Tanka, with the offering of the Chanumpa
of mystery.

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

All of this is undoubtedly very difficult to do, but it must be fulfilled, for the good of
all.

Help me, oh Grandfather, and give me value and strength to endure the sufferings that I
we wait.

Oh tree, you are now admitted to the pavilion.

Amid many exclamations and trembling shrieks, the tree was set upright well
slowly, because the men stopped four times before lifting it up and sliding it
for the hole prepared for her.

Everyone, the bipeds, the quadrupeds, and the winged beings rejoiced; all
I am prospering under the protection of the tree.

She will help us walk the sacred path; we can lean on her, and she will us
will always guide and strengthen.

A dance was performed around the base of the tree, and construction of the enclosure began.
surrounding it, driving a wide circle with twenty-eight forked posts, on top of
each of which was placed a rod that would join with the tree, located in the center.

I need to explain now that, when building the sun dance pavilion, we constructed
really an image of the Universe; because you must understand that each of the posts
represents a particular object of creation, in a way that the complete circle is creation
whole, and the unique tree in the center, on which the twenty-eight rods rest, is the Great
Spirit, which is the center of all things.

Everything comes from Him, and everything returns to Him sooner or later.

I have to explain why we used twenty-eight rods: I have already explained to you about
the reason the numbers four and seven are sacred; if you count four times seven, you will get twenty
eight.
The moon lives twenty-eight days, which make up our month; each of these days represents
something that is sacred to us.

Two of these days represent the Great Spirit; two others Mother Earth; four, the
four Winds; one day, the Painted Eagle, another the sun and another the moon; there is a day for the Light of
aurora is four days for the four ages; seven days represent our seven great
rituals, one day the bison, one day the fire, one the water, another the rock and, finally, one day
represents the bipedal people.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5Speaking properly, the spiritual act does not concern the individual, but rather the state of existence of which the being
the singular is an expression, and the fortioria Divinity is like a reflection. Such an act always implies the
awareness of the indistinction between the 'I' and the 'other', and thus, at a higher degree, the indistinction between the
"we" and the "Self."

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

If you add these days, you will get a total of twenty-eight.

Furthermore, you should know that the bison has twenty-eight ribs, and that in our
War helmets usually use twenty-eight feathers.

As you can see, all things have their meaning, and it is good to know and remember that.

But let’s return to the dance of the sun.

The warriors dressed and styled their hair.

They entered the venue and danced around the central tree; in this way, the ground
purified and leveled itself.

The chiefs gathered and chose the brave ones, one of whom was going to be the director of the
dance.

Estes homens escolhidos dançaram avançando primeiro para o Oeste e voltando ao

center, then to the North and back to the center, then to the East and returning again
go to the center,

Sun Dance Lodge

and finally to the South and again to the center; in this way they made a path in
cross shape.

But before performing the sun dance, the men had to purify themselves in the lodge.
of suar.

The prophet entered first into the cabin with the Chanumpa already.
loaded, and sat down to the West; the other men who were going to participate in the dance entered.
then, avoiding passing in front of him; the last to enter was a woman, who
sat near the door.

All the bison skin clothes that would be used in the dance were placed.
above the cabin of the doinipi, because that is how they would purify themselves.

The five heated stones that represented the five Directions were then
introduced and placed on the altar in their respective place, after which it was put in the
ritual path a sixth stone.

The One Who Stretches took the Chanumpa that was supposed to serve for the dance; but for the
ritual defines a second Chanumpa, which was given to the great holy man
for blessing and lighting.
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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

This Pipe was smoked in a ritual manner, and after being purified, they took it to
outside the cabin. The door closed; it was the moment when the prophet would explain to the people his
vision

My parents, listen to me everyone!

The Great Spirit has been good to us and has established us in a sacred land;
we are sitting here now.

They just saw the five stones placed in the center, and this sixth stone that has been placed.
On the path represents the nation.

For the good of us all, the Great Spirit taught me in a vision a way
of the worship that I will teach you.

The heavens are sacred, for in them lives our Grandfather, the Great Spirit; these heavens
they are like a cloak for the Universe; this cloak is now over me, as I am here
in front of you.

Oh Great Spirit, I show you the circle of our nation, this circle that is here and
there is a cross; this cross is borne by one of us on the chest.

And It shows you the Earth that You made and continue to make without ceasing; it is represented by
this red circle that we carry.

We also bring the unquenchable light that turns night into day, so that it is
between ours and theirs they may see.

I also show you the light of dawn, which gives us knowledge.

The four-legged bison that you placed here below before the bipeds is also
I know.

And here is the heavenly woman who came to us in such a mysterious way.

All these people and these things, which are holy, are listening at this moment to what
I say.

I, along with my relatives who are here, will suffer and endure great hardships.
penalties in favor of my people.

In the midst of tears and suffering, I will raise my Chanumpa and lift my voice.
for You, oh Great Spirit!

I will offer my body and my soul so that my people may live.

By sending my voice to You, O Wakan Tanka, I will use what unites You to the four.
Regions, to Heaven and to Earth6.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Everything that moves in the Universe, the quadrupeds, the insects, the winged beings,
they cheer us up, me and my tribe.

And sang a song of mystery:

I hear coming to the sun, the light of the world,

I see your face as you arrive,

Makes the beings of the earth happy, and they rejoice,

Oh Wakan Tanka, I offer you this mantle of light!

The Chanumpa that would be used in the dance was then wrapped in sage and the woman
took him from the cabin; led him along the sacred path to the East and placed him on top of the skull
of bison, ensuring that the staff was directed towards the East.

The woman stood outside the sweat lodge and helped to open and close the door.

The Oinipic began then in the way I have already described.

After closing the door for the second time, the prophet prayed like this:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, see us!

O sacred Chanumpa that you gave us and with which we have created for our children soon
will go to the center of the Universe, alongside the bison that helped strengthen our bodies.

The woman of mystery who came in ancient times to the center of our circle
he will return to our center; and a man who will suffer for his people will also go to the center.

O Great Spirit, that when we are all at the center, let us not have in our
thoughts and in our hearts more than You!

And then he sang another song that he had received in his vision:

I hear you coming. I see your face.

Your day is sacred. I offer it to You.

I hear him coming. I see his face.

On that sacred day, the bison insists on surrounding me.

You made a happy day for the world.

_________________________________________________________________________
6It is the untreated leather strip that goes from the central tree to the dancer's chest.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

I offer you all things.

Then water was poured over the burning stones while the great man
the saint prayed:

ÓWakan Tanka, in this moment we purify ourselves to be worthy of elevating our

hands to You!

So, raising his right hand, all the men sang:

Grandfather, I send you a voice.

Grandfather, I send you a voice.

Along with the whole Universe, I send you a voice.

So that I live.

When the door opened for the third time, the men were able to drink a little of
water, but this was the only time during the entire ritual that they were allowed to do it.

While the men were receiving the water, the prophet said to them:

I give you water, but remember The one who, in the West, guards the waters and also
the mystery of all things.

They will drink water, which is life; let not a single drop be wasted.

When finished, raise your hand to give thanks to the Power of the place where it is placed.
He will help them endure the sufferings you will experience.

He closed the door for the last time, and again all the men sang, while the
heat and steam purified them, and when the door finally opened, everyone left guided.
by the prophet and raised their hands to the six Directions saying: Hay ho! Hay ho! Pilamaya
yes!

Each of the dancers had an assistant responsible for removing from on top of the
cabin of suar one of the purified bison hides and put it around your body.

Kablaya then took his Chanumpa, which rested on the bison's skull, and
returned with all the men to the grand tipion where they had gathered before the consecration
from the tree and before the doinipi ritual.

The great holy man left his Chanumpa supported on the small dryer that
it had been painted blue to represent the sky.

He placed an aromatic herb over a hot coal and everyone was purified in the sacred smoke.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Immediately afterwards, while blessing and purifying the drum and the drumsticks, the prophet
said:

This drum is the bison and will go to the center.

Playing the drum with these sticks, it is certain that we will defeat our enemies.

All the clothes and accessories were purified, as well as the four skulls of
a bison that one of the men will carry embedded in his flesh until it comes loose.

The prophet explained to the men that their purified bodies were now sacred and
they could not even be touched by their own hands.

As a result, the dancers had to put some sticks in their hair with which they
they would be covered, if necessary, and they would use it to paint themselves with earth paint
red.

Kablaya placed the blue-painted leather circle around her neck that
represented Heaven, and the others each carried a different symbol: the circle with the
cross, the red earth, the sun, the moon, the light of dawn, the bison; the woman carried the
Chanumpa, since it represented the White Buffalo Woman.

Even so, the men put rabbit skins on their arms and legs,
because the rabbit represents humility, for being gentle, sweet, and unassuming, a quality
what we all must possess when we go to the center of the world.

Finally, the men put feathers in their hair, and once finished
preparations, the prophet explained to them what they had to do when they were in the pavilion
of the sacred dance.

When we go to the center of the circle, we will all shed tears, because
We must know that everything that comes into this world through birth, which they see in
our surroundings must suffer and endure pain.

Now we will suffer in the center of the sacred circle, and by doing so, let us take upon
we are a large part of our people's suffering!

Each man then declared that he would suffer sacrifice and the prophet expressed his vow.
first of all:

I will subject my body to the straps of the Great Spirit that descend to the earth.

This will be my offering.

I must say here that meat represents ignorance and, consequently, when
we dance and our detached flesh comes loose from the straps, it’s as if we are freeing ourselves
of the ties of the flesh.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The same happens when breaking a colt: at first the halter is

indispensable, but when the colt is tamed the rope is no longer necessary.

We are also like colts when we start to dance, but soon we become
dominated and surrendered to the Great Spirit.

The second dancer said:

I want to join the four Powers of the world that the Great Spirit established.

In this case, the dancer will be effectively situated in the center, because he will be
amidst four posts and the right side of your chest will be subjected to the post of the East, and the side
left to the North post, the right shoulder to the South post and the left shoulder to the post
of the West.

You will dance in this position until the four straps detach from your flesh.

The third dancer made his vow:

I want to take four of my closest relatives, the ancient bison.

The dancer means that four straps will be fixed to his back, the
four bison skulls will be placed; these four bindings represent the pulls of the
Ignorance: this should always be behind us, as we must turn towards the light.
from the truth that is in front of us.

The fourth dancer said:

I want to leave twelve pieces of my flesh at the foot of the sacred tree.

One is for our Grandfather Wakan Tanka, gold for our Father Wakan Tanka, a third
for our Grandmother, the Earth, and a room for our Mother, the Earth.

I want to leave four pieces of meat for the Powers of the four Directions,
I will abandon another for the Painted Eagle, another for the Light of dawn, another for the moon and,
finally, another for the Sun.

The fifth dancer said:

I want to make an offering of eight pieces of my flesh: two will be for the
Great Spirit, two for the Earth, and four for the Powers of the four Directions.

The sixth dancer said:

I want to leave four pieces of my flesh at the sacred tree: one will be for the
Great Spirit, another for the Earth upon which we walk, one for the nation, in order to
to walk with a firm step, and one for the winged peoples of the Universe.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The seventh dancer said:

I want to leave a piece of my flesh for the Great Spirit and another for the
Earth.

The eighth dancer, who was the woman said:

I want to offer a piece of my flesh to the Great Spirit and in favor of all.
the things that move in the Universe, so that they give their powers to the tribe, in order that
advance with your children along the red path of life.

When they finished speaking, the great man told them that if
they would purify by splashing the face and the whole body with sage, because we are going to come closer
now at the sacred place where the tree is thrown; the tree is also the Chanumpa that is
extends from the sky to the earth.

We must be worthy of going to this center.

All the tribe members had gathered around the pavilion of mystery;
inside, to the south, were the singers with the women who helped them, and all
they wore crowns of leaves in front of them and had sprigs of sacred plants in their hands.

Then the dancers arrived, led by the woman carrying the Chanumpa.
followed by the prophet who carried the bison skull, and at the end of this line came the
helpers with all the gear.

They walked slowly around the pavilion imitating the movement of the sun and
crying pitifully without cease:

O Great Spirit, have mercy on me so that my people may live!

It is for him that I sacrifice myself!

While the dancers sang this way, the others cried, because they
I was the nation for which the dancers were going to suffer.

They entered the sun pavilion and positioned themselves to the West.

The prophet placed the bison skull among the dancers and the sacred tree, with the
nasal bone directed to the East; in front of it, he placed the three sticks painted blue, and
about this easel the woman placed the Chanumpa.

Then the singers chanted one of the inspired songs:

Wakan Tanka, have mercy on us!

We want to live!

This is the reason why we do this.

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 THE SACRED PIPE — Sioux Rites, Black Elk

They say a herd of bison is coming;

They are already here.

The power of the bison comes to us;

It's already here!

When the singing ceased, everyone broke into tears; and throughout the rest of the day and all
They danced at night.

This dance of the first night represents the people lost in the obscurity of
ignorance; however, they are not worthy of meeting the light of the Great Spirit, which
it will shine upon them when the next day arrives; they must suffer and purify themselves before
let us be worthy to dwell in the Great Spirit.

In the last moment, before dawn, the dance stopped and then the dancers or
your relatives deposited offerings outside the pavilion, in the corresponding place for each one
the four Regions.

With the dawn, the dancers re-entered the pavilion, and the guardian of
Sacred Chanumpa is with them; the prophet had asked him to build the sacred altar,
but that venerable man replied:

You had the vision, Kablaya, and it is up to you to build the altar; but I will be with you.
side, and when you finish I will offer the prayer.

And thus it was that the prophet and great holy man arranged the sacred place; first
he marked on the ground, in front of him, a circle, in whose center he placed a ember7; then,
gathering some aromatic herbs and raising them above her head, she prayed:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, this is your mysterious herb, which I place in the fire; its smoke
will extend all over the world and will also reach the sky; the quadruped and winged peoples and
All things will know what this smoke is and will rejoice.

May this offering help to establish a kinship among all things, all
beings and us!

May they all give us their powers so that we can endure suffering.
what awaits us.

Look, oh Wakan Tanka, I place this aromatic herb in the fire and the smoke will rise.
for you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This ember was taken from a fire that has been burning all night before and will continue to burn all
the nights while the dance lasts. It is located to the East, outside the pavilion, and, according to Black Elk, it remains lit
to remember the eternal presence of Wakan Tanka. During the day this fire is not necessary, because the sun is already there.
remember this presence

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As he put the herb in the fire, he sang this song of mystery:

Sacred smoke face;

In this way I make smoke;

Let all the peoples see it!

I make sacred smoke;

May everyone be attentive and see!

That the winged beings and the quadrupeds

Be attentive and see it!

In this way, I make smoke;

Throughout the Universe, they will rejoice!

The knife intended to cut the dancers' chests was then purified in the smoke.
as well as a small stone hatchet and a bit of earth.

The One Who Stretches can then make the altar, but first prayed:

Oh Grandfather, Wakan Tanka, I now want to turn this into a sacred place.

When you build this altar, all the birds of the air and all the creatures of the earth will rejoice.
and they will appear from all directions to behold him.

All generations of my people will rejoice.

This place will be the center of the paths of the four great Powers.

The dawn of the day will see this holy place.

When your light appears, O Wakan Tanka, everything that moves in the Universe
will make happy.

After being offered to Heaven and Earth, a pinch of purified earth was placed.
in the center of the ritual site.

A little more was offered to the West, to the North, to the East, and to the South, and deposited
on the West side of the circle; similarly, soil was placed in the areas of the others
directions and then spread out evenly across the circle.

This land represents the bipeds, the quadrupeds, the winged beings, and everything that exists.
in the Universe.

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So the great holy man began to build the altar in this sacred place: he took
first a staff, he directed it towards the six Directions and then, lowering it to the ground,
a small circle was drawn in the center; this circle indicates the dwelling of the Great Spirit.

Then, after having directed the staff again to the six Directions,
drew a line from the West to the edge of the circle; and similarly drew a line
from the East to the edge of the circle, and repeated the operation from the North and the South.

Building the altar in this way we see that everything leads to and returns to the center; and
this center that is here, and that we know is found everywhere, is the Great
Spirit.

Kablaya then gathered a small bunch of sage and offered it to the Great
Spirit, and prayed:

Oh Great Spirit, see us! The closest to the bipeds, the chief of the quadrupeds,
stateanka, the bison.

Here is your dry skull; upon seeing it, we know that we too will turn into
skulls and skeletons, and in this way we will walk together on the way back to
Great Spirit.

When we reach the end of our days, be merciful to us, O Wakan.

Tanka!

Here, on earth, we live with the bison and we are grateful to him because he
gives us our food and does good to the people.

For this reason, I now give grass to our relative the bison.

He then made a small bed of sage to the East of the altar and, bringing the skull by the
figures and looking to the East, he prayed:

Give herb to the bison;

May the people behold him

So that I live!

Then, turning and lifting the skull to the West, the great holy man prayed:

Give tobacco to the bison;

May the people behold him

So that he/she lives!

Turning to the North, he prayed:

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

I give a coat to the bison;

Let the people behold him

So that you live!

And, turning to the South, he prayed:

From painting to the bison;

May the people behold him

So that you live!

So, standing on the sage, he prayed:

I give water to the bison;

May the people behold him.

So that you live!

Then, the bison skull was placed on the sage bed, facing East, and
Kablaya placed some sage beads in the orbits; then tied a little bag of
tobacco on the horn that pointed South, and a piece of deer hide on the horn that pointed
to the North, because this skin represents the clothing offered to the bison.

Then he painted a red line around the head and another red line.
what went from the front to the nasal bone, and while doing so, said:

Oh bison, you are the Earth.

Let us understand this and everything that is done here! Hechetu welo! It's okay!

When the offerings to the bison were finished, the dancers circled around the pavilion.
and stopped at the entrance, looking East to greet the sunrise.

Look at these men, O Wakan Tanka," asked the great holy man raising the
right hand, the face of dawn will meet their faces; the arriving day will suffer with them.

It will be a sacred day, because You, O Wakan Tanka, are here present!

So, at the very moment the sun began to rise, the dancers
they sang a melody inspired without words, and the prophet chanted one of his songs of
mystery

The Father rises!

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

The light of the Great Spirit is upon my people;

Bright return to all the earth.

My people are happy now!

All beings that move rejoice!

While the men sang without words and the prophet sang the formulas
sacred, everyone danced, and as they did so, they moved in such a way that their faces
they looked to the South, then to the West, to the North, and then stopped again in the East, looking at this
go to the sacred tree.

The songs and drumbeats ceased and the dancers went to sit in the West.
in the pavilion, in the beds of sage that had been prepared for them.

The helpers splashed the bodies of the dancers to remove the paint and then
they placed crowns of sage and eagle feathers on their heads; the women made the
even in your hair.

Throughout the entire sun dance, we wore sage crowns on our heads, because it is a sign of
that our thoughts and our hearts are close to the Great Spirit and his
Powers, since the crown represents celestial things, the stars and the planets, that are
full of mystery.

Kablaya then indicated to the men how they should paint themselves: the upper part of the
body, starting from the belly, in red, and the face also in red; the red
represents everything that is sacred, and especially the Earth; thus, why should we
recordar de que nossos corpos vêm da Terra, e de que voltarão a ela.

We need to paint a black circle around the face because this circle helps us.
to remember the Great Spirit, which, like the circle, has no end.

Como eu disse a pouco, há muito poder e o círculo; os pássaros o sabem, visto que
they fly in circles and build their nests in this shape; the coyotes also know this because
they live in round holes in the ground.

A black line should be drawn from the forehead to between the eyebrows, and another line in
each cheek, just like the chin: these four lines represent the four Powers
the four Directions.

They also paint black stripes around the wrist, the elbow, the part
superior of the arm and ankles; you should know that black is the color of ignorance8, and by
these stripes are like the ties that bind us to the earth.

We must also note that these rays start from the ground and do not rise any higher.
of the breasts, because that is where the straps are attached to the body; these straps are like rays
of the light of the Great Spirit.

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Thus, when we take off these straps even to detach ourselves from them, it is as if the Spirit
may it be freed from our dark bodies.

When this dance was performed for the first time, all the men were painted with
this way, and it has been since a recent time that each dancer is painted in a certain way
different according to the vision one might have had.

When everyone finished painting themselves, the dancers purified themselves with the smoke.
from the aromatic herb and placed the various symbols that I have already described.

The dancer who had vowed to carry the four bison skulls was wearing a
bison shape on the chest, and on the head some horns made with sage.

Once the preparations were finished, the dancers positioned themselves at the foot of the
sacred tree, to the West; and, looking at the crown of the tree, they raised their right hand and touched
your eagle bone whistles; meanwhile, the great holy man prayed:

O Grandfather Wakan Tanka, incline yourself and direct a glance at me when I raise my hand to
You.

See here the faces of my people.

You see the four Powers of the Universe and you saw us now in each of the four.
Directions.

You saw the sacred place and the center where we are fixed, and where we are going to suffer.

I offer all my suffering for the good of my people.

There is a good day ahead of me, since I am before You, and this brings me closer to You, O
Great Spirit!

It is Your light that comes with the dawn and that crosses the skies.

I am standing on your sacred land.

Have mercy on me, oh Wakan Tanka, so that my people may live!

_________________________________________________________________________
The Sioux also paint their faces black on the occasion of the dance that takes place when they return from the journey.

of war, because, as Black Elk said: 'We know that going down the path of war we do something bad and
we wish to hide our faces from Wakan Tanka.

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Then all the singers began to sing in chorus:

Oh Great Spirit!

Have mercy on me!

I do this so that my people may live!

The dancers spun in a circle towards the East, looking at the crown of the tree, the
West; and, raising their hands, they sang:

Our Grandfather Wakan Tankame gave us a path that is sacred.

Now going to the South and looking to the North, the dancers played their whistles.
eagle's bone, while the others sang:

Here comes a bison, they say;

It's here!

The power of the bison comes;

It is already upon us!

During this song, the dancers moved in a circle to the West and
they stood facing the East, relentlessly sounding their strident eagle bone whistles.

Then they went to the North and faced the South, and finally they went again.
to the West and faced the East.

Then all the dancers broke into sobs; the prophet received a strap and
two wooden pins, went to the center and, leaning in front of the sacred tree, sobbed:

Great Spirit, have mercy on me!

I do this so that my people live!

Crying continuously, he went to the North and there made a complete circle around the enclosure.
stopping at each of the twenty-eight poles.

Taking their pins and their straps with them, the dancers did as he did, and
when everyone was in the North, facing the South, the prophet went back to the center and
he touched the sacred tree with both hands.

As the singers and drums accelerated the rhythm of their songs and beats, the
helpers jumped up suddenly, roughly grabbed the great holy man and
they were thrown to the ground; one of them took the skin from the left breast of the great holy man and nailed it
turned a sharp little stick, and did the same with the right breast.

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The wide strip of raw leather was fastened around the sacred tree in the middle, nearby.
of the cone, and its two ends were tied to the pins stuck in the chest of That One
What is stretched.

The helpers rudely stood you up; you began to blow your bone whistle.
eagle and, leaning back and supported by its straps, began to dance.

Will dance in this position until the straps come loose from their flesh.

I want to explain to you now why we use two belts that, to put it simply,
truth, they are nothing more than a very wide one, placed in the center of the tree and made with a
bison skin strip cut in a circular shape.

This should remind us that, although it seems there are two separate straps, these
they are in reality no more than one: only the ignorant sees as multiple what is really one
unique.

We can understand a little of this truth of the unity of all things.

better participating in this ritual and offering ourselves in sacrifice.

The second dancer went to the center and, just like the prophet, embraced the
tree and broke into sobs.

The helpers rushed at him and, after roughly throwing him to the ground,
they pierced her breasts and her right and left side; they nailed some into her flesh
wooden needles which tied four short straps.

This brave man was then tied between four posts, so tightly that he could not
move to no side.

First he cried, not out of pain like a little boy.9but because I knew he was suffering for his
people and understood the holiness of the union in its body of the four Directions, in which
the center was really transforming.

Raising his hands to the sky and blowing his whistle, this man would dance until the
straps would come out of her flesh.

The third dancer, who wanted to take four bison skulls, went to the center and,
After embracing the sacred tree, it was his turn to be knocked down and placed face down on the ground.
they carved four small sticks that pierced the flesh of his back where they placed the
four bison skulls.

The helpers made sure that the skulls were securely fastened; then
they gave the eagle bone whistle to the dancer, who played it nonstop while dancing.

I believe they understand how painful this was for him, because at every
the pointed horns of the skulls pierced her skin, but in those times
our men were valiant and showed no sign of suffering; they were
truly happy to suffer for the good of all.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

Parents and friends sometimes approached the dancers and danced alongside them.
to give him strength, a girl who loved one of them would pick an herb that was there
chewed and put in the mouth of this dancer to give him strength and quench his thirst.

The beating of the drums, the songs, and the dance never stopped, and one could hear,
dominating over the other sounds, the high-pitched sound of eagle bone whistles.

The fourth man, who had made the vow to give twelve pieces of his flesh,
he moved forward and sat at the foot of the tree, which he caressed with both hands; the helpers
they took a needle carved from a bone and in several places lifted the flesh, of what
they cut six pieces on the right side and another six on the left side.

This meat was left as an offering at the foot of the tree, and the man stood up and
joined the dance with the others.

Similarly, the fifth dancer sacrificed eight pieces of his flesh; the sixth
He gave four of his and the seventh sacrificed two.

Finally, the woman hugged the tree, sat down, and said through tears:

PaiWakan Tanka, in this single piece of flesh I offer myself to You, to your Heavens, to the Sun,
to Lua, to the Light of the Dawn, to the four Powers and to all things.

They continued dancing, and the people were acclaiming the prophet, telling him that he had taken the
stronger of the belts, which exerted force until finally one of them came loose, and all
They shouted!

He fell, but they helped him get up and he continued dancing until the other belt.
it broke, fell again, but got back up and raised its hands to the sky, and then all the
the world acclaimed you with loud voices.

They carried him until he reached the foot of the sacred tree, where he rested on a
sage bed; took from the pulsing flesh of her breasts and ripped twelve pieces, which he placed on
tree foot.

The medicine men placed a healing herb over their wounds and changed them.
to a place in the shade where he rested for a moment; then he got up and continued
dancing with the others.

In the end, the man who had danced for a long time with the four skulls lost.
two, and then the prophet ordered that his skin be cut in such a way that the other two skulls
they detached.

_____________________________________________________________
This is evident, because the Indian had to endure the worst sufferings without a complaint. All warrior peoples

they are stoics, but none have surpassed the redskins in the mastery of pain. The tears in question have for
purpose to appease the Divinity.

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But despite freeing himself from the four skulls, this brave one continued to dance.

So, what had danced in the center of the four posts broke two of its
bindings; the prophet said that he had already endured enough, and with a knife they cut him
pele, so that he was free from the other two bindings,

These two men then offered twelve pieces of their flesh to the tree.
sacred, and all the dancers and many other people continued the dance until the sun
was about to set.

At the moment preceding the sunset, a Chanumpa was brought to the dancers and
to the singers as a sign that the dance had ended and that they could smoke.

Then the dancers and the guardian of the Chanumpa sat to the West of the pavilion, and
the woman took in her hands the Chanumpa that had been in front of her; raising the
haste from Chanumpa, walked around the bison skull and stopped in front of the guardian
do Chanumpa; he prayed like this:

O Holy Father, have mercy on me!

I offer my Chanumpa to the Great Spirit!

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, help me!

I do this so that my people may live and grow according to the mystery.

The woman offered the Chanumpa to the guardian three times, and on the fourth time she handed it over.

"How," said the guardian upon receiving the Chanumpa; then he stepped back and remained.
under the sacred tree, to the North, and shouted four times: Hi-ey-hey-i-i!

He prayed like this:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, You are closer to us than anything else, today you saw
how much we did.

Now it's over, our task is finished.

Today a bipedal being carried out a very sacred ritual that You commanded to be performed.

These eight men present here have offered you their bodies and their souls.

With their suffering, they sent their voices to You; they even offered a part.
of your flesh, which is now at the foot of this sacred tree.

The favor they ask of You is that Your people walk the path of life and that
grow according to the mystery10.

Look at this Chanumpa that we offer you, along with the Earth, the four Powers, and
all things.
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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

We know that we are relatives, that we form a unit with everything that exists.
Heaven and on Earth, and we know that all things that move are a people like us.

We all wish to live and grow according to the mystery.

The light of dawn and the dawn that comes with it, the sun of the night (the moon, hanhepi
The stars in the sky have all been gathered here.

You taught us our kinship with all things and all beings, and we give You
thank you for this, now and always. May we be continuously aware of this kinship
existing among quadrupeds, bipeds, and flying creatures.

May we all rejoice and live in peace!

See this Chanumpa, which is what the quadruped11brought to the nation12; with him
we have fulfilled your will.

O Great Spirit, you placed your people on a sacred path; may we

follow him with firm and secure steps, holding the hands of your children, and that the children of
Let your children walk according to the mystery.

Have mercy, oh Wakan Tanka, on the souls that have returned to the earth and departed.

May these souls be worthy to walk the great white path that
you have established!

Let's light and smoke the Chanumpa, and we know that this offering is very good.

The smoke that will rise will spread throughout the Universe, and all beings will
will bring joy.

Then the dancers sat west of the pavilion and the guardian removed the seal from
he placed Chanumpa's pipe over a purified bison rib.

The Chanumpa was lit with a coal and, after offering it to the six Directions and
give some puffs, the guardian passed it to Kablaya, who in turn offered it among
tears, took a few puffs and passed it to the person next to them.

_________________________________________________________________________
We repeat that oegose always identifies with the collective. 'May all beings be happy,' says the prayer.

Buddhist. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to say that the 'sacred' life and conformity with the 'mystery' coincide.
with the attainment of salvation.
11A Celestial Bison.
12A "nation" or the "people" ultimately identifies with the "human race". Counting in millennia, the

separation into 'tribes' is relatively late; this is expressed by the Sioux when they say that all tribes
Indians have separated from them over time, claiming that they are primitive humanity. Other Indians claim the
even from his own tribe.

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Each of the men, after offering to smoke, returned it to the big man.
saint, who offered it to the closest man.

Once everyone had smoked, the prophet slowly and carefully deposited the ashes in the
middle of the altar and prayed:

O Great Spirit, this sacred place is yours.

Everything was done for him... We are happy for him.

Two helpers then placed some ashes from the fire of mystery on the altar.
to the east of the pavilion; likewise, he placed purified clay on the altar, and then
all the garlands, skins, feathers, and symbols used in the dance were piled up
in the center of the sacred place.

This was done because these things were too sacred to be preserved, and
we had to return to the land.

Only the bison skin dress and the eagle bone whistles were preserved; these
objects will always be considered particularly venerable, since they were
employees at the first great festival of the sun dance.

On top of the mountain formed by the objects used in the ritual was placed the skull of
bison; this skull reminds us of death and also helps us remember that here
consumed a cycle.

Then everyone rejoiced, and the children were allowed to play and prank the
older, but nobody cared about it and they were not punished, because everyone
I was happy.

But still, the dancers had not finished: they took their skin clothes.
bison and returned to the preparation tent; once there, they took off their clothes with the exception
of sex and entered the doinipi hut, except for the woman, who was in charge of
take care of the door.

The five stones were introduced, and the Chanumpa was smoked in turn; but before
smoking the men supported him on one of the rocks.

He closed the door and the great holy man said the following:

Parents, I want to say a few words.

Listen carefully!

Today they did something full of mystery, because they gave your bodies to the Great
Spirit.

When you return with your memories, always remember that thanks to this act
they were sanctified.

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

In the future, you will be the guides of your people, and you must be worthy of this pious.
duty.

Be merciful to your own, be good to them and love them!

But always remember this: that your closest relative is your Grandfather and Father.
Wakan Tanka, and after Him comes your Grandmother and Mother the Earth.

Water was poured over the hot stones, and when the steam rose filling the
small cabin and it was very hot inside, the door opened and water came in.

She soaked aromatic herbs in water and applied it to the dancers' lips, and this was
all the water they could receive at that moment.

The Chanumpa was passed around the whole circle, the door was closed and again the prophet
he addressed the men:

Thanks to your actions, today you reinforced the circle of our nation.

They created a sacred center that will always be with you, and they established a kinship.
but narrower with all things of the Universe.

Again, water was poured over the stones, and as the steam rose, the men
they sang.

When the door opened for the third time, the men were allowed to drink a
water bowl, and the Chanumpa went around the circle as before.

Once again the door closed, and while steam rose from the stones, everyone...
men sang:

I send a voice to my Grandfather!

I send a voice to my Grandpa!

Listen to me!

Along with all the things of the Universe

I send a voice to the Great Spirit!

The prophet said:

The four paths of the four Powers are your close relatives.

The dawn and the sun of the day are your relatives.

The morning star and all the stars of the sacred heavens are your relatives.

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Let's always remember this.

The door was opened for the fourth and last time, and the men drank as much water as
they wished, and when they finished drinking, The One Who Stretches said these last words
words:

They now see four times the light of the Great Spirit.

This light will always be with you.

Remember that there are four steps that lead to the end of the sacred path.13.

But they will get there!

Alright!

It's finished! Hechetu welo!

The men then returned to the tent of preparations, where they were served.
a lot of food, and everyone was happy and content.

A great thing had been accomplished; in the future winters, the life of the nation
I would receive a lot of strength thanks to this great ritual.

_________________________________________________________________________
The four steps represent for the Sioux the four ages or phases of a cycle: the age of rock, the age of

arch, the age of fire and the age of Chanumpa; the rock, the arch, the fire, and the Chanumpa each constitute the
main ritual support of the respective age. The four ages can also refer, from the point of view
microcosmic, to the four phases of human life, from birth to death.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

HUNKAPI:

THE RELATIONSHIP

In the kinship ritual —hunkapi—we establish a bond that reflects on the

ground plan or real kinship that has never ceased to exist between man and the Great
Spirit.

Seeing that we love Wakan Tanka first and more than anyone else
thing, we must also love our neighbor and strengthen the ties that can unite us,
still in the case where they belong to other tribes.

By performing this ritual that I will describe, and by witnessing it, we fulfill the will
of the Great Spirit, for this is one of the seven rituals that, in the beginning, the Buffalo Woman gave us
prometheus.

Other tribes say that this ritual originated with them, but that is not the case, considering
who was the Lakota Mato-Hokshila - Young Bear - a very holy man.
received this rite, in a vision, from the Great Spirit.

They must know that the sacred plant, corn, does not come from the land of the Sioux; but
Young Bear saw her in a vision and later, while traveling, encountered a small
cornfield, exactly like what he had seen in his vision; and took this corn
to your people, not knowing that it was the property of the Arikara tribe1, with which the Sioux
they had been at war for a long time.

Now well, the corn was as sacred to the Arikara as the Chanumpa to our
people; for this reason, shortly after their corn disappeared, the Arikara sent
messengers to the Sioux camp with many gifts and a lot of twisted tobacco from
what they do and that we greatly appreciate; and they asked that I return to them their
corn.

The Sioux accepted the peace proposal; and Young Bear, who then understood the
meaning of his vision, he explained it to his people and said that, through the ritual of it
it turned out, the sioux should establish a perpetual kinship with the arikara, a peace
which would last until the end of times and serve as an example for the other tribes.

Everyone accepted it with joy, and the Sioux granted Young Bear authority.
and the power to make peace with the help of the ritualhunkapi, the kinship.

Young Bear then explained that whenever this rite was performed, those who wished to

_________________________________________________________________________
The Arikara belong to the Caddo language family; they are therefore close relatives of the Pawnees.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

to appear as someone would be considered as an arikara, and he would be the one who should
sing about the other.

Young Bear later told the Arikara to build a ritual tent and
they should choose one of their men to represent their entire tribe; he would be the one who should
sing about Young Bear, who would represent the Sioux tribe.

After a while, Young Bear filled his Chanumpa and approached the Arikara.
chosen to represent his tribe and, at the same time, offered him the
Chanumpa gave this speech:

I wish to help you by performing this rite that was given to me in a vision by the Great
Spirit for the good of our tribe.

It is your will that we do this.

He, who is our Grandfather and Father, established a kinship with my people, the Sioux;
our duty is to create an image of this kinship among the different nations.

May what we do serve as an example for other peoples!

You represent the entire Arikara tribe and I represent the Sioux.

We came here to make peace, and we accept your offer; but, as you can see,
let's establish something deeper than what you asked for.

By asking for peace, you brought us your tobacco, which we greatly appreciate, and likewise,
we will give you the sacred corn that you love above all. Both things are
sacred, for they come from the Great Spirit.

He made them for us!

Young Bear then taught the Arikara how to make the offering intended for the
Sioux, and listed everything needed for the ritual, namely: a Chanumpa, tobacco;
four stalks of corn with ears; one stalk without ears; a bison skull; three sticks
to make an easel; dried bison meat; red and dark blue paint; large feathers
of eagle; a knife; aromatic herb; a dry bison bladder.

When they had gathered all these things, Young Bear took a knife and
he/she dug the soil to purify it.

In this consecrated place, four embers were placed, and in them Young Bear
burnt a little aromatic herb, and prayed like this:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, See us!

In this place, we want to create relatives and make peace; your will is for this to come true.

I make smoke with this aromatic herb that belongs to You, and it will ascend to You.

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In everything we do, You are the first, and then comes our Mother Earth; and after that
they come to the four Regions of the Universe.

By observing this rite, we want to fulfill your will on this earth, and we want
establish a peace that should last until the end of time.

The smoke of the aromatic herb will be with all things of the Universe.

Alright!

All the ritual objects were then purified in the smoke; the three sticks were
arranged in the form of a meat dryer, and the Chanumpa was supported on this easel.

Young Bear then placed the bison bladder in front of him, and lifting it a little
tobacco for the West, prayed:

O You who guards the path where the sun sets and who controls the waters: let's go
establish a kinship and a sacred peace.

You have two days of mystery; may the people enjoy them and walk the path of
life with firm steps!

You must be included in this kinship and this peace that we are willing to
establish; help us!

We establish here, on earth, the kinship that has always existed between the Great Spirit.
and its people.

This tobacco, now identified with the Power of the West, was deposited in
balloon.

I have to tell you that this bladder is as sacred to many tribes as our
Chanumpa is for us, because it too can contain the entire Universe.

Then a pinch of tobacco was offered to the North with this prayer:

You, place where the giant Wazia lives; You, who control the purifying winds,
you must be placed in this sacred bag; help us, with your two days of mystery, and help-
us so that we can walk the straight path of life!

The Power of the North, now identified with tobacco, was introduced to the stock market;
later, Young Bear offered a little tobacco to the Power of the East:

O You, who controls the path from where the sun rises; You, who gives knowledge, are
included in this offering; help us, with your two sacred days!

Finally, after putting the Power of the East into the bladder, Young Bear offered.
a pinch of tobacco to the Region to which we always return, and prayed like this:

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Oh White Swan; You, who controls the path along which generations walk, there is
a place for You in this sacred bag; help us, with your two days red and blue!

After placing the Power of the South in the ritual bag, Young Bear offered a pinch.
from tobacco to Heaven:

Grandfather and Father Wakan Tanka, may we know this quaternary kinship that we
To You; let us use this knowledge to make peace with another tribe.

By establishing relationships here on earth, we know that we fulfill your will.

O Great Spirit, You are above all things, but today you are here with us!

After putting the tobacco for the Great Spirit in the bag of mystery, Young Bear
it prayed like this:

Grandmother Earth, listen to me!

Let us establish a kinship with a people over You, equal to what You
you established with us by giving us our sacred Chanumpa2.

The bipeds, the quadrupeds, the winged beings, and everything that moves upon You3we are
your children.

We want to be, with all creatures and all things, like the members of a
just family; like our kinship with you, O Mother, we also want to make peace with
another people, and we will be relatives of them.

Let us walk with love and mercy on this path that is sacred!

Oh Grandmother and Mother, we place you in this bag of mystery.

Help us establish a kinship and a perpetual peace!

And in this way the Earth was introduced into the bag, which was closed and on which
they placed bison fur and aromatic herb.

Young Bear then said to the representative of the Arikara tribe:

_________________________________________________________________________
We must not forget that the bison is like an animal incarnation of the Earth principle, whose material manifestation

it is the visible earth; but the Earth - Principle is evidently divine, and this is the reason why the White Buffalo Woman
came from Heaven. Earth and Heaven — the visible regions — have their eternal prototype in the Divine; these prototypes form
a duality, they do not confuse; but Wakan Tanka, in its supreme unity, surpasses this duality. The fact that the
Chanumpa brought by a celestial female buffalo means that it is a gift from the dual Earth Sky: matter
do Chanumpa indicates the Earth, and the smoke, the Sky.

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You will take care of this bag, because it is full of mystery, and you will treat it just like these things.
must be treated; it is really similar to the sacred Chanumpa that the Sioux received,
and will make peace among many tribes.

But they must always remember this: our closest relatives are our Grandfather and
PaiWakan Tanka, our Grandfather and Mother Earth.

With this sacred pouch, go to the chiefs of the Sioux, and with it, you will establish the
relationship.

So they covered the bag with a deer hide that they stitched on both sides.
with a leather strap, so that the pouch could be easily carried;
thus ended the first day of the ritual.

The next day, at sunrise, Young Bear took his Chanumpa and
he went to the Arikara tent.

After offering the Chanumpa to the six Directions, he smoked a little and then the
he gave to the Arikara; he said: Hi ho! Hi ho! and embraced the Chanumpa, smoked a little and the
passed to the other men present natipi.

When everyone smoked the Chanumpa, it returned to Young Bear, who purified it and the
put it back in her bag.

After this, Young Bear went to his tent; there he waited with the other chiefs.
Sioux and the wise men of the tribe, the arrival of the Arikara, who was supposed to bring them their offering of
according to the instructions he received the day before.

When the Sioux arrived, the Arikara man shouted: Hi ho! Hi hoe
four of them went to meet him and led him to the tent.

The Arikara turned following the movement of the sun, standing in front of the Young.
Bear, who was sitting to the West and placed before him the bag of offerings.

Young Bear burned aromatic herb on a coal and then lifted the little bag of
mystery about the smoke.

Then he shouted:

Hi ho! Hi ho embraced the little bag and prayed:

Grandfather and Father, Wakan Tanka, See us!

On this earth we fulfill your will.

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3E whose prototypes are included in the Earth principle.

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You established a kinship with us by giving us the Chanumpa, and now we do

extensive this kinship to another people making peace with them after having been in
war.

We know that we perform one of the seven rites that were promised to us at the origin.

May these two peoples, thanks to this rite, always be at peace and serve as
an example to other nations.

With this offering, my tribe will rejoice.

This is a sacred day!

Alright, let's now open this bag of mystery, and with this offering
we will be bound to You and Your Powers.

Wakan Tankacentemple what we do.

After saying this prayer, Young Bear took the straps off the bag and unrolled it.
slowly the deer skin, and when they saw the bison bladder, they exclaimed: Hi ye, because
Everyone knew why this balloon was so sacred.

Young Bear then raised the balloon in the smoke of the aromatic herbs, embraced it and
he repeated endlessly: Hi you, and then prayed:

Be merciful!

Now that it has come to us, the people will walk the path of mystery holding hands.
of your children.

I am the people (Sioux), and I love you, I want to be affectionate towards you, and I always want to take care of you.
of you.
The people from where you come (the Arikara) should always love you, and always know
what is saint.

After this speech, Young Bear offered the bladder to the six Directions, and when the
He hugged and kissed her opening, everyone shouted: Hi ho!

Young Bear turned to the arikara and said:

For our tribe, this offering means that you wish for peace and to establish a bond.
of kinship with us.

Is this why you brought such a sacred object?

The Arikara replied: Yes!

Desejamos ter um vínculo de parentesco com vocês, e que seja tão estreito como o
kinship between you and the Great Spirit.

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This answer pleased the Sioux; so they took out the bladder of mystery.
tent so that the whole tribe could embrace it and kiss it as Young Bear did.

Then they put her on the tip of the twenty-eighth rod to show that the
the peace proposal from the Arikara had been accepted, and to put the little bag that contained the
balloon in the most sacred place.

As I have already explained, this twenty-eighth rod represents the Great Spirit, because it is
the key pole that supports the other twenty-seven poles of the tent.

Thus ended the offering ritual.

The messengers of the Arikara returned to their villages, where they began the
preparations for the next day, and Young Bear prepared a special tent for newcomers
rituals.

On each side of the entrance, some skins were placed that formed a path of a
length of ten steps; the skin fence was four feet high; this is the
path of life, that leads to the tent.

What enters through it cannot deviate from the path, because the barriers it
we must then walk straight to the center.

The next day, four men from the Arikara were chosen to represent the
the whole tribe; with their ritual equipment, headed towards the tent that Young Bear had
had prepared.

Young Bear was sitting to the West; before preparing the altar he said to them:

The corn that the Sioux now have actually belongs to the Arikara, because they
We consider it sacred, just like we do with our Chanumpa;
because they also received their corn from the Great Spirit through a vision.

It is the will of the Great Spirit that they have their corn.

For this reason, we want not only to return their lost corn to them, but also
establish a ritual through which we will create peace while at the same time a
Real kinship that will be a reflection of the kinship bond existing between us and Wakan.
Tanka.

I want to produce now an aromatic smoke that will reach the heavens and also to
O Light of dawn, which divides the day into darkness and light; will also reach the four.
Powers that take care of the Universe.

This smoke will rise from our Grandmother, the Earth.

Young Bear then placed aromatic herbs over the embers and purified in the smoke the
Chanumpa, the corn ear, the axe and the other ritual objects; now it was already

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ready to prepare the altar.

He took the axe, directed it towards the six Directions, and then struck the ground to the West.

Repeating the same movement, he struck the ground to the North and then, the same way.
way, to the East and to the South; then he raised the axe to the sky and struck the ground twice
times to the center for the Earth and then twice to the Great Spirit.

After Young Bear dug into the soil and, with a stick that he had purified in
smoke is offered to the six Directions, drew a line that went from the West to the center, in
followed by another from the East to the center and, lastly, another from the South to the center; then he offered the
staff to the sky and touched the center, and to the earth and touched the center.

This is how the altar was made; as I have already said, we have fixed here the center of the earth, and
this center, which is actually everywhere, is the dwelling place of the Great Spirit4.

Young Bear then took a cob of corn and drove a stick into one of its
extremes; and on the other placed a large eagle feather.

This corn actually belongs to the Arikara - said Young Bear - and it will be
returned because they love him like we love our Chanumpa.

The ear of corn that you see here has twelve important meanings, because it is
made up of twelve rows of grains, and receives them from the various Powers of the Universe.

When thinking about the different things that corn can teach us, we should not
to forget, above all, the peace and the kinship that establishes between us.

We must remember, first and foremost, that our closest relatives are our
Avô e PaiWakan Tanka, nossa Avó e Mãe Terra, os quatro Poderes do Universo, os dias
red and blue (light and darkness), the Beacon of dawn, the Painted Eagle that guards all the
what is sacred in corn; our Chanumpa is also like a relative, because it protects the
tribe, and through it we ask the Great Spirit.

The tassel that grows at the tip of the ear of corn, and which we have marked with
An eagle feather represents the presence of the Great Spirit; because, like the pole.
that extends from the plume and gives life, just as the presence of the Great Spirit gives life
to all things.

This penalty that is always fixed at the tip of the plant is the first to see the light of dawn;
See also at night, the moon and all the stars, for all these reasons it is sacred.

And this little stick that I stuck in the corn cob is the tree of life, which extends
from the earth to the sky5and the fruit, which is the ear with all its grains, represents the
people and all things of the Universe.

This definition is very remarkable because it contains the doctrine of the primordial altar, of the sanctuary as such.

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It is necessary to remember these things in order to understand the rites that we are going to
to carry out.

Young Bear then propped the ear of corn on the easel that was set up nearby.
the altar; this easel is an image of the dryer where bison meat is dried; now it is the
corn dryer, because corn is as important to the Arikara as the buffalo is to the
Sioux.

Young Bear pulled a cob from its stalk and offered it to the tribe's representative.
two Arikara, and said like this:

It is the will of Wakan Tanka that this corn returns to you.

In this way we will make peace and establish a kinship that will be an example
for all nations.

We just talked about the Twelve Powers of the Universe; we will unite these twelve Powers, with
the sioux and the arikara, in one.

In doing so, the Arikara should sing about the Sioux; I will represent my people, and
your chief will represent you; we will become relatives, and for this reason our two
peoples will be as one and will live in peace.

In the past, the men whom the Great Spirit placed on this island6have been
enemies, but this ritual will bring peace, and in the future other nations of this island will resemble each other
thanks to him.

You, Arikara, must now act as if you are on the path of war against
they must distance themselves in search of the enemy singing their war songs.

After hearing these words, the Arikara grabbed an ear of corn with his hand.
right and the stem with the left, and declared that the men of his tribe sought to
enemy, the Sioux; and, chanting their war songs, they shook the corn stalks.

This balancing of the stalks represents the corn when the breath of the Great Spirit it
caress: when the wind blows, the pole falls from the plume, the fabric that surrounds the ear, and this is
what makes the fruit ripen and be fertile.

We can see how the example of corn represents the kinship that we are going to
to establish between these two people.

While the Arikara messengers pretended to seek their enemies, the Sioux,
everyone gathered to watch them, and everyone was happy, because they understood what
it will happen.

5A the analogy with the cosmological symbolism of various ancient peoples appears here in a way

particularly impressive; we will limit ourselves to recalling for this purpose the Yggdrasil ash, the center of the world
in Germanic mythology.

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The Arikara logo pararam in front where they were waiting for the four Sioux, and the chief.
Arikara said to his warriors:

Who among you was the first to touch the enemy?7on the path of war?

Now we will count the hits on this tent and enter it to capture Young.
Bear; then we will take prisoners of the others.

But first, they must recount the acts of bravery they performed on the path of war.

Then the Arikara began to recount his war feats, and after each sentence
all the assistants shouted: Hi ho! Hi ho, and the women showed their joy by throwing
tremulous.

When it was over, she rushed to the tent, touched it (counted the blow), then she entered.
and left with young Bear; the other Arikara also entered and took the other four.
Sioux.

The Arikara continued singing their war songs, and all the attendees, Sioux
the Arikara were happy and exchanged gifts, food or clothes, or even horses.

A procession then formed led by the arikara, who continuously waved the
behind him were the four captured Sioux, among whom there was a woman,
a boy and a girl, so that the whole tribe would be represented.

The Arikara carried the children on their shoulders, and accompanied the procession.
the singers, the drums, and all the people from the two tribes.

The procession stopped four times, and each time the people howled like coyotes,
just as the warrior groups do when they return to the camp.

They just arrived at the sacred altar that had been prepared in the center of the.
camping8, and the captured Sioux were taken to some beds located at
To the west of the tent, many gifts offered by them had been piled up on top of them.
arikara.

The Arikara helpers then took some bison skin clothes and lifted them up.
in front of the five Sioux and the Arikara chief: this is called 'hiding from close relatives.'

Then an Arikara warrior and a woman from this tribe slid behind this.
curtain and painted the faces of the Sioux.

_________________________________________________________________________
60 The continent of red skin, the land that stretches between the two oceans.
It is known that touching the armed enemy, without killing him, with a stick adorned with feathers (coup-stick) was

considered to be a particularly noteworthy feat.

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The woman painted the faces of the Sioux woman and the girl red, while the
the warrior did the same with the Sioux men and the boy, painting a blue circle around
around their faces and a blue line on the forehead, on the cheek, and also on the chin.

Throughout this time, the Arikara shook the corn stalks and sang songs of
mystery.

Then they removed the eagle feathers from the ears and placed them in the hair of the
Sioux; meanwhile, they painted a bison skull red, and the four Powers were
represented by four lines; they filled the orbits and the nose of the skull with sage, and this
it was placed, facing East, on a mound whose earth had been taken from
consecrated place.

So they separated the bison clothes, so that everyone could see them.
Sioux with painted face.

Perhaps I should explain to them what this means: through painting, men were
transformed; they experienced a new birth and gained new with it
responsibilities, new obligations, and a new kinship9.

This transformation is so sacred that it must take place in darkness.0it must be

hidden from the view of most; but when the curtain is drawn back, they appear pure, free from
ignorance, and they will have forgotten the restlessness of the past.

Now they are no longer one with the Arikara; the kinship has been established.11.

As they waved their corn stalks, the Arikara sang this chant:

Everyone is related.

All of these are relatives.

Then, turning to each of the four Directions, they sang:

O Power from where the sun sets,

You are a relative!

_________________________________________________________________________
Let us remember that the Indian villages are arranged in a circle.
This role of ritual painting is also found in Hinduism; in most civilizations, painting has been

replaced by clothing, as in the case of the ochre dress of the sannyasis or the monastic habit.
This darkness is also symbolic: it indicates the more or less 'chaotic' transition of a state of consciousness to

outro.
Through spiritual transposition: the self is nothing more than one with the other. The initiatory symbolism of this passage is

particularly explicit.
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Oh Power from where the giant lives,

You are a relative!

Oh Power from where the sun rises,

You are a relative!

O Power from where we have always looked,

You are a relative!

Then, looking at the sky, they sang:

This is our relative.

And leaning towards the tender, and also over the bison skull, they sang:

The Earth is our relative.

Finally, shaking the corn over the Sioux, they sang:

These five are our relatives; we are all related; we are all one!

Then, Young Bear got up, picked up the Chanumpa that was resting on
easel, placed himself in the middle of the tent and, raising his right hand and elevating the
Chanumpa with the left hand, prayed:

O Great Spirit, I lift my hand to You!

Today is very close to us.

I offer you my Chanumpa.

To you as well, winged powers that dwell in the place where the sun sets, you
we offer this Chanumpa.

On this day Wakan we unite everything that is sacred in the Universe; on this day it was made
a great peace.

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, may this peace last forever; may no man nor any
circumstance to destroy!

These peoples will walk together on this unique path that is red and sacred.

Turning to the people who were watching, Young Bear said:

The rituals have come to an end; we are united, we are one!

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You, Arikara, this corn that you love but had lost, will be returned to you.

Upon hearing these words, the men showed joy and the women made the
tremulous, and the songs began again; the Arikara who waved the corn stalks
they danced to the East door, and plunged five times for the five sioux; then
these movements and these dances have ceased.

So he brought a lot of food to the tent; the Arikara chief, taking a piece of
dried meat and purified it in the smoke of aromatic herbs, prayed like this:

Oh Great Spirit, have mercy on me!

This meat is the seed: it must be introduced into our mouth and it converts into our
body and our soul, which the Great Spirit, in his goodness, gave us.

Just as He is merciful to you, so you must be to others.

With these words, the Arikara chief placed the consecrated meat in the mouth of each one.
Of the four Sioux; he and Young Bear sat facing each other in the middle of the tent.

Young Bear has in front of him the bison skull and the Chanumpa, and in front of the chief of the
arikara was the ear of corn and the four stalks.

The Arikara chief then took a piece of bison meat and after purifying it in the
smoke, he extended it to Young Bear and said:

How, my son!

I will be your father.

On this day that belongs to Him, the Great Spirit saw our faces; the dawn of this day
saw us, and our Grandmother Tender listened to us.

We are at the center, and the four Powers unite in us.

I want to put this meat in your mouth, and from this day on you shall never fear my
house, because my house is your house12and you are my son.

The chief put the meat in Young Bear's mouth; the Arikara tribe rejoiced and
thanked, because, through this act, the two peoples became one.

Then Young Bear also took a piece of meat, purified it in smoke, and,
he offered it to the Arikara, and said:

How, my father!

We made peace according to the will of the Great Spirit, not only among us, but
also within us and with all the Powers of the Universe.

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The aurora of this day surely saw us, and the Bison, which is the source of our life in this
land and that protects the tribe, has been with us; and our Chanumpa, which gave to our people the
food for your souls, has been with us; and we have had your corn with us, which is
sacred and with it we establish kinship.

I want to put this food in your mouth so that you never fear my house, which will be
your house.

That, by doing this, Wakan Tankaseja be merciful with us!

Young Bear put the meat in the mouth of the Arikara chief, and all the Sioux gave.
displays of joy and thanked.

Then, Young Bear took the Chanumpa, lit it, and offered it to the six.
Directions, and after taking four puffs he offered it to the Arikara, saying:

How, my father! Take this and smoke it, and may there be nothing else in your heart but the
truth.

The Arikara took the Chanumpa, offered it to the six Directions, and after giving
four puffs, he passed to the assistants.

All the Arikara and all the Sioux who were present smoked it, and
even when the fire had gone out, they would still place the Chanumpa in their mouths and
they embraced.

Meanwhile, the Arikara chief said to Young Bear:

How, my son!

He returned to us the ear of corn that the Great Spirit gave us, but that you
gathered because of a vision he had.

As we wanted you to return our corn, we came to propose peace; but we

give more than this by carrying out today the mystery of kinship.

In order to connect us even more closely, I give you a part of the corn with the
right to employ it in your rites.

From now on, it will also be sacred for you, as it is for us.

The people were happy to see that this great thing had been fulfilled, and they threw a party.
that lasted all night.

I wish to mention here that with these rites a triple peace was established.
_________________________________________________________________________
One notices the curious coincidence with the Arabic courtesy formula: 'My house is your house' (dârî dârek).

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

The first peace is the most important: it is the one that arises in the souls of men when they
they become aware of their kinship, of their unity, with the Universe and all its Powers, and
when they realize that the Great Spirit resides at the center of the Universe, and that in
In reality, this center is everywhere; it is within each of us.

This is real peace; the other peaces are merely reflections of it.

The second peace is the one established between two individuals; the third is the one that
it happens between nations.

But they must understand that there can never be peace between nations until it is known
and feel that true peace, as I have already said, is in the souls of men.

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6
ISHNA TA AWI CHA LOWAN:

PREPARATION OF THE GIRL FOR THE DUTIES OF A WOMAN

The rites of preparation of the girl - ishnata awi cha lowan, "they are singing about
you" are realized after the first menstrual period; at this moment the girl becomes
convert into a woman; she must understand the meaning of this change and should be instructed
in the obligations that it must fulfill from then on.

It is necessary to realize that the change produced in it is something sacred,

because from now on it will be like Mother Earth and will be able to bring forth children, who should be
educated according to the paths of the Great Spirit.

In addition, you should know that every month, when her period comes, she takes a
influence that one must be careful of, because the presence of a woman in this state
you can take away the power of a holy man1.

Therefore, you must carefully observe the purification rituals that I will describe, and
that were given to us by the Great Spirit in a vision.

Before receiving the revelation of this rite, it was customary that during the period
menstrual, the woman or the girl would withdraw to a small type of circle of the
camp; a woman brought him food and no one else could get close to the.
tent.

When a girl had her first menstrual period, an older woman

that she instructed you in the things every woman should know, including the art of
to make loafers and clothes.

This older woman is the one who purifies the young woman with the help of smoke.
aromatic, must be a good and pure person, because their virtues and customs shine through
for the girl whom he purifies.

Before she was allowed to return with her family, the young woman had to
purify in the cabin.

_________________________________________________________________________
The Indians told us about a woman who, inadvertently, one day entered the tent of a "man of mystery".
and with her presence took away the power not only from the man but also from his 'purse of mystery', which was
hanging natipi. Similar actions, although less extreme — the cited case seems to be very special—,
they are found in most traditions; there are incompatibilities of subtle currents that normally need to be taken into account
tells, but they can also be careless when they find themselves neutralized by other influences. It is about
in any case, from the psychic plane and not from the spiritual plane; nonetheless, the spiritual may depend to some extent —
not in itself, but in its manifestation — of the psychic vehicles, which explains the prescriptions of purification
that can be found in the most diverse religions.

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But now I want to tell you how we received our new preparation rites for
marital status of married woman.

A very long time ago, a Lakota named Tatanka Hunkeshni - Slow Buffalo - had
a vision: a bison mother was grooming a little bison, her daughter. Thanks to the power of this
vision, Slow Bison became a holy man (wichascha wakan), and understood
that a rite for the young women of her tribe had been revealed to her.

A few months after Slow Buffalo received his vision, a fourteen-year-old girl
years, called The White Bison Woman Appears, had its first rules, and her father,
Feather On The Head, immediately remembered the vision of Slow Bison; took a
Chanumpa full of tobacco and offered it to Slow Bison, who accepted the Chanumpa, saying:
Hi ho! Hi ho! Why do you bring me this sacred Chanumpa?

Pluma Na Cabeça replied:

I have a daughter who has her first period, and I want to purify and prepare her.
for your role as a woman, because I know you had a very powerful vision in which you learned
A more effective and holier way to do what we have been following so far.

Certainly, I will do what you want, replied Slow Bison.

The people of the bison were instructed by the Great Spirit and given this rite.
close to men; he is our source of life in many aspects2.

At the origin, the White Buffalo Woman gave us our very sacred Chanumpa, and since
So we have been brothers of the quadrupeds and of everything that moves.

Tatanka, the bison, is the closest relative we have among quadrupeds; they live
like a tribe, just like us3.

It is the will of our Grandfather Wakan Tanka that it be so; and His will is that this rite
it takes place among men on earth; that is why we now want to establish this rite, which
it will be very beneficial for the people.

It is certain that quadrupeds and all the peoples that move in the Universe possess
this rite of purification, especially our relatives the bison.

Vi que eles também purificam a seus filhos e os preparam para levar fruto.

It should be remembered that the Indians, like all peoples of primordial spirit, see, first and foremost, not the plan

of existence that limits, but rather the essence that traverses the planes of existence: the visible bison "is" the Bison
It is a principle, but it is at a certain level of cosmic manifestation. The redskins do not "worship",
evidently, to the bison animal, since they kill it; undoubtedly, they never forget the 'genius' of the species, in the sense of
higher of the term.
The bison, like the Indian, leads a nomadic life and moves in large herds.

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It will be a sacred day when we do this, and it will please the Great Spirit and everyone.
the peoples that move.

First you should place all these peoples and all the Powers in your Chanumpa.
Universe, so that together with them, we can send a voice to the Great Spirit.

I will prepare a holy place for your daughter, who is pure.4 andwhat is about to
to become a woman, The dawn, which is the light of Wakan Tanka, will be in this place, and
everything will be sacred.

Tomorrow you should set up a tent outside the circle of our camp; you should
to have a protected access path, just like the rite of kinship; and should
gather the following objects: a bison skull, a wooden cup, a few cherries,
water, aromatic herb, sage, a Chanumpa, a little bit of braided tobacco from the Arikara,
tobacco, a knife, a stone axe, red and blue paint.

Feather On The Head gave Slow Bison horses and other gifts, and went to prepare everything
the things for the next day.

The next day, everything was ready in the ritual tent, and the whole population gathered at
around you, except for the women who were preparing the feast that would end the ritual.

Slow Bison was sitting to the West of the fire; in front of him the ground had been dug out and
A coal was placed in this location.

Lifting the aromatic herb over the embers, Slow Bison pronounced this prayer:

Grandfather and Father Wakan Tanka, I offer you your sacred herb.

Grandmother Earth, from whom we come, and Mother Earth who brings many fruits, listen!

I will make a smoke that will penetrate the Heavens and will even reach our
Grandfather Wakan Tanka will extend over the entire Universe and touch all things.

After placing aromatic herbs over the embers, Slow Bison purified the Chanumpa and
all objects intended for the ritual.

Then he said:

Everything that will be done today will be accomplished with the help of the Powers of the Universe.

May they help us purify and make sacred this young woman who is now going.
to turn into a woman.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4With these words, the seer explicitly declares that menstrual impurity does not reach the individual itself.
Extending the hands over the smoke and spreading it across the body.

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I enchant this Chanumpa with mystery and, in doing so, I put all the Powers into it
today they will help us.

The Slow Bison first purified himself in the smoke.5, and then, raising the
Chanumpa took a pinch of tobacco with his left hand and prayed with his right hand:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, we will send a voice to You through our Chanumpa.

This is an elected day, because we are going to purify this girl.

The White Bison Woman Appears.

There is a place in this Chanumpa for all the Powers of the Universe; so have, then,
have mercy on us and accept our offerings!

O Power from where the sun sets, who keeps the Chanumpa, and who appears in such a way
terrible to purify the world and its inhabitants6, we want to offer this Chanumpa to
Great Spirit, we need your help and your purifying waters; we are prepared.
to purify and sanctify not only a young woman but also an entire generation.

Help us with your two good days, red and blue!

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa.

Slow Buffalo put this tobacco in the Chanumpa and, lifting a bit of tobacco
to the place where the purifying winds come from7, rezou:

O giant Wazia, Power of the North, who preserves the health of the tribe with your winds and
who purifies the earth by whitening it: You are the one who keeps the path by which our walks
people, help us today with your purifying influx; we will sanctify a virgin, The Woman
White Bison Appears; from it will come the generations of our tribe.

There is a place for You in this Chanumpa; help us with Your two good days!

The Power of the North was placed on the Chanumpa; then, lifting a bit of tobacco in
direction from where the light comes, Slow Bison continued praying:

Ohuntka8Be and Power from the place where the dawn of the day and the light of the Great come
Spirit, You who are of great breath and who gives knowledge to men, grant today a
a little of your wisdom to this virgin, The White Buffalo Woman Appears, who will be
purified.

Help us with your two red and blue days!

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa.

After placing the Power of the place where the light comes from in the Chanumpa, and raising a
a little tobacco in the direction of the place where we always return, he prayed:

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Oh White Swan, Power of the place we always turn to, that controls the
path of generations and everything that moves, let us purify a virgin so that
that their future generations may walk in a way consistent with the mystery on the path
that You control.

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa.

Help us with your two red and blue days!

The Power of the South was placed in the Chanumpa and, directing a pinch of tobacco to the
sky, Slow Bison continued:

Oh Great Spirit, Grandfather, look!

We are going to offer you the Chanumpa.

Then, directing the tobacco to the ground:

Oh Grandmother, about whom the generations of the tribe have walked, that the Buffalo Woman
White Appears, with its future generations, walk upon You according to the mystery in us
forthcoming winters!

Oh Mother Earth, who gives fruits endlessly, and who is like a mother to the generations,
this virgin who is here today will be purified and consecrated; may she be equal to You, and her
children, and the children of their children, walk the sacred path in accordance with the
mystery.

Help us, O Grandmother and Mother, with your red and blue days!

The Earth, in her quality as Grandmother and Mother, was now in tobacco and found herself
no Chanumpa; and the Slow Bison raised a pinch of tobacco to the heavens and prayed:

Great Spirit, see us!

We are going to offer you this Chanumpa.

Then, directing the same tobacco to the skull of the bison:

Oh quadruped relative, you who among all quadruped peoples are the most
near us, you must also be placed in the Chanumpa, because you taught us how to clean the
your offspring, and by purifying her, The White Buffalo Woman Appears we want to imitate your way
to do.

_________________________________________________________________________
The west wind, the storms.
The North wind purifies through the cold.
Undoubtedly, the red-headed woodpecker, whose common name is kankecha; this bird lives in
East, where the light comes from.

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I give you as an offering, oh quadruped, water and paint, cherry juice, and also
herb.

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa; help us!

Thus the quadruped people of the bison were placed in the Chanumpa, and Bison
Lento raised a little tobacco to the Great Spirit one last time, and asked:

ÓWakan Tankae all the winged Powers of the Universe, see us!

I offer you this tobacco, Chief of all Powers, You who are represented by
Painted Eagle that lives in the depths of the Skies, and guards everything that exists within them.

Let us purify a girl who will soon be a woman.

Protect the generations that will come from it!

There is a place for You in the Chanumpa; help us with your red and blue days!

O Chanumpa, which now contained the Universe, was supported on the small dryer, with
the foot touching the ground and the mouth looking at the sky9.

Slow Bison then began to prepare the ritual site, and only close relatives of
The White Buffalo Woman Appears were admitted into the tent; the rites that were about to take place
following was not meant for everyone.

The Great Spirit - said Slow Buffalo - gave men a quaternary kinship:
your Grandfather, your Father, your Grandmother and your Mother.

These are always our closest relatives.

Given that everything good is made in a quaternary way, men will pass.
through four ages; thus, they resembled all things.

Our closest relative among quadrupeds is Tatanka, the bison; I mean

that he established a kinship with me.

I am preparing a consecrated place for this virgin, The Buffalo Woman

White Appears, and I received the power from the bison to make it happen.

All things and all beings have been gathered here to be witnesses.
this, to help us.

_________________________________________________________________________
It is known that the head of a Chanumpa has an inverted 'T' shape, at least among the Sioux and most of the

other tribes; the part that surpasses the "fornilho" —which is the "altar"— is considered as the "foot" of the Chanumpa,
while the mouthpiece is its 'mouth'.

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It is like this! Hello, everyone!

He made smoke with the aromatic herb and Slow Bison, purifying his whole body.

Before preparing the sacred place, it was necessary for Slow Bison to demonstrate
to truly possess a power of the bison, that is why he sang the song of mystery that it gave him
taught:

Come and see this!

I will make a place that is sacred.

Come and see that!

The Woman of the White Buffalo Appears

She is sitting in a sacred way.

Everyone come to see her!

When this song ended, Slow Bison let out a big huh, similar to the
the bison's moo, and from its mouth came a red powder, just like a female bison does
when there is a calf.

Slow Bison did this six times and blew the red smoke over the girl and then
about the consecrated place; every otipiestava full of this red dust; the boys who
they were peeking through a crack in the door, got scared and ran away quickly, because it was a
truly terrifying show.

Slow Bison then took his stone axe, and after purifying it in the smoke
the aromatic herb, struck the ground in the center of the tent and created a cavity resembling a
bison bed; with the earth he removed, he made a small mound to the east of the cavity.

Then he took a little tobacco and after directing it to the sky, he placed it.
at the center of the ritual place; then he drew a line with tobacco that went from West to East and
another that went from North to South, forming a cross.

The entire Universe is now contained in this space of mystery.

Finally, Slow Bison took some blue paint and after directing it to the
sky touched her at the center of the cross; then painted blue over the tobacco lines,
first in the East-West direction and then in the North-South direction.

The use of this blue color is very important; its holiness is evident when you
understand its meaning, because, as I have already said, the power of a thing or an act
lies in the understanding of its meaning.

Blue is the color of the skies; by placing blue over tobacco, which represents the earth,
we unite the sky and the earth, and everything becomes unified.

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Slow Bison then placed the bison's skull on the little mound, with the face turned
to the East; then he painted a red circle around the skull and a straight line from the
same color from the top of the head - between the horns - to the front, and placed
some balls of sage in the orbits; finally placed the wooden cup full of water in the
in front of the bison's mouth.

Então colocou as cerejas na água; deviam representar os frutos da terra, que são
similar to the fruits of men10.

The cherry you see is the Universe, and it extends from the earth to the sky; the fruits that
take the tree, and they are red like us, men, they are like the fruits of our Mother
Earth; and this is why - and for more reasons that I could not enumerate - because this tree is
for us very sacred.

Slow Bison crafted a small knot with aromatic herbs, cherry bark and
hair of a live bison.

These hairs are sacred because they come from a living tree.11we can already see that the
the bison people also have a religion: this is the offering they made to the tree12.

Then the White Buffalo Woman had to get up, and Slow Buffalo,
raising the small knot of mysterious substances above her head, she said like this:

What is above your head is like the Great Spirit, because, when it is.
foot, you stretch from the earth to the sky, and everything that is above your head is like the Great
Spirit.

You are the tree of life.

Now it will be pure and holy; may your generations bear much fruit!

Wherever your feet touch the ground, it will be sanctified, for from now on it will carry
with you a powerful influx.

May the four Powers of the Universe help you to purify yourself, because in the same
the moment I pronounce the name of each Power, I will sprinkle each side of your body with
up and down with this little knot.

_________________________________________________________________________
It is to say, the fruits are to the earth what the children are to men.
The bison rub against the trees and leave hairs on them that the Indians collect and keep piously.
Here is the tree that is divinized because it unites the earth with the sky, while the bison is considered in this case.

in its purely earthly aspect. The Indians consider all things in nature alternately since the
point of view of the universal essence, which connects things with the Divine, and from that of existential accidentalism,
that limits you to the level of your immediate appearance. This way of seeing things is found, in excess, in all the
traditions of a more or less primordial or mythological character, which have preserved a sufficient vitality.

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May the purifying waters of the place where the sun sets come down to purify you!

Let it be like the purifying snow that comes from the place where Wazia lives!

May the light of the dawn grant you wisdom when the dawn of the day descends upon you!

May the power of the place we always return to purify you, and may the peoples that
they walked this straight and good path may it help you to purify yourself!

May it be like the White Swan that lives in the place where you look, and that your children
be as pure as the children of the Swan!

The girl sat down, and Slow Bison told the audience how, in his view,
had received his power from the bison:

I saw a large tribe that was breaking camp and getting ready to leave.

I was heading there when they quickly gathered in a circle, and I found myself
among them.

They brought a girl to the center and told me that this girl had to be
purified according to the custom of her tribe.

Then they prepared a ritual space in the shape of a bison bed and placed in it the
girl, then they asked me to blow over her to purify her.

I hovered over her, then they told me they wanted to teach me her way of doing it.
the, which is better, and immediately turned into bison, and a great bison arrived
and blew, releasing a red dust, over the little calf that was in the center; and
with the calf lying there, all the bison came and licked it, and every time that the
lambs were breathing loudly and a mysterious red smoke was coming out of their noses
and your mouths.

They told me that this is how they purify their children, and that the little calf,
now that it was purified, it would continue living and bear fruit sanctly, and that,
continuing your life, you would reach the end of the four ages.

This girl, they said, would walk the sacred path as a guide for her people and
would teach his children to walk in a holy way along the path of mystery.

After showing me this, they established a kinship with me; they showed me a
adult bison and they told me: He will be your grandfather; and showing me a younger one, they...
they said: He will be your father; then they showed me a female bison and told me: She will be
your grandmother; and finally they showed me a younger female bison and said: She will be
your mother.
They said I should return to my people with this kinship.
quaternary and teach you what I had learned.

Isto é o que eu vi e isto é o que estou fazendo ao purificar deste modo a uma moça

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from my own tribe; this virgin, The White Buffalo Woman Appears, is the little calf
what I saw.

Now I want to let you drink sacred water, and this water is life.

Slow Bison then sang another song of mystery:

These peoples are sacred.

From all parts of the Universe come see this.

The White Bison Woman Appears

She is seated here in a sacred manner.

Everyone comes to see her.

Slow Bison lifted the bison skull by the horns, and as he sang, he exited.
red smoke coming from the skull's nose; then, acting as if it were a bison, it
he started to invest in the girl with the skull, pushing her into the glass full of water; a
Then there, the young woman crouched down and took four sips, and upon seeing this, everyone present
they cheered.

Then they gave a piece of bison meat to Slow Bison, and after purifying it in the
smoke of aromatic herbs and to offer it to the six Directions, he raised it in front of the
girl said:

Oh The White Bison Woman Appears, you have prayed to the Great Spirit; from now on
Before you will walk among the tribe according to the mystery and you will be an example for them.

You will love the things that are most sacred in the Universe; you will be like our Mother Earth,
humble and fruitful.

May your steps and the steps of your children be firm and respectful!

Just as the Great Spirit has been merciful to you, so will you be.
merciful to others, especially to children without parents.

When one of these children comes to tuatipi, even if you only have a piece of meat
what you have already put in the mouth, will be taken out and given to this child.

Will it be this generous!

When this flesh in your mouth we will all remember the mercy of
Great Spirit who meets our needs; in the same way, you will meet the
needs of your children.

Slow Bison put the meat in the girl's mouth; then, the glass of water with the
cherries turned around and everyone took a sip of it.

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Then Slow Bison grabbed the Chanumpa that was leaning on the dryer, and,
raising the pole high, he said four times: Hi-ey-hey-i-i, and uttered this prayer:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, do not see!

This people and all future generations are Yours.

See this virgin, The White Buffalo Woman Appears, who has been purified and honored
on this happy day.

May your light that never goes out always be with her and with all of yours.
parents!

Grandmother and Mother Earth, the tribe will walk upon You; may it follow the path of mystery
with the light, without the darkness of ignorance!

May you always remember your relatives from the four Regions, and remember that you are related.
of everything that moves in the Universe, and before anyone of the bison, who is the chief of
quadrupeds and help to create the tribe!

Great Spirit, help us and have mercy on us, so that we may live in a
happy and holy way!

Have mercy on us so that we may live!

Then everyone exclaimed: Hi ho! Hi ho they cheered.

They took her, The White Bison Woman appears out of the tent and the people are
they rushed to touch her with both hands, because now she was a woman and the ritual that was
had done for her, they had conferred upon her a lot of mysterious strength.

The tribe was celebrating; people gave them many gifts and everyone was
happy because of the great event of that day.

Thus the rites of preparation for a girl to become a woman were established;
that have been a source of great spiritual strength, not only for our women but also
for the whole tribe.

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COVER THE VOICE:

THE THROWING OF THE BALL

Until recently, we practiced a ball game with four

teams and four goals located in the four Regions.

Nowadays very few of us understand why this game is sacred or

what it was originally, in a distant past, when it was not just a simple game, but rather a
of our most important rites.

Today I will describe this rite; it is the seventh and last that the Great Spirit has given us.
at that time, in a vision.

This game represents the course of human life, a life that should be
dedicated to taking care of catching the ball, because it represents the Great Spirit, or the
Universe, as I will explain later.

As the game is currently played, it is difficult to keep the ball, because all the
possibilities - that represent ignorance - are against one, and only one or two teams
they can take the ball and score.

But in the original rite, everyone could take possession of the ball, and if we think about what this
it represents, we will see that this deed contains a great truth.

It was a Lakota, Washkan mani -He Who Moves Walking-, who received this rite in
a vision makes many winters.

He didn't talk about it to anyone for a long time, until the day a Lakota
called High Hollow Horn saw in a dream that It Moves Walking had received a
rite that had to belong to everyone.

For this reason, High Hollow Horn built a sacred tent, according to our
tradition, at the campfire circle, filled the Chanumpa according to the rite and, accompanied
of four holy men, he went to see the Se Move Caminhando, to whom he offered the Chanumpa.

Hi ho Hi ho Hechetu welo! It's alright!

These Se Move Walking, what do you want from mm?

I learned through a dream - said Hollow Horn - that you received a rite full of
mystery, which will be the seventh that the White Buffalo Woman promised us at the beginning.

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The tribe expects that this rite will now be performed.

That's right, replied He Moves Walking.

Announce to everyone that tomorrow will be a holy day, and that they should paint their faces.
and for your best clothes.

We will have this rite that the Great Spirit sent me through the bison.

Se Move Caminhando then raised the Chanumpa to the Sky and prayed:

Oh Grandfather, Wakan Tanka, see us!

You gave us this Chanumpa to bring us closer to You.

With the Chanumpa we have walked the sacred path during this time.

We have done Your will on earth and now we want to offer You once more this
Chanumpa.

Give us a holy red and blue day!

Let it be sacred; may everyone rejoice!

Then Move Walking said to Hollow High Horn and the other four men.
saints who should gather the following objects: a Chanumpa; kinnikinnik; herb
aromatic; a painted eagle feather; a knife; an axe; sage; a ball of fur
from a bison covered with a bison skin; a bag full of dirt; red paint and
blue; a bison skull; a blue-painted meat dryer.

The five Lakotas went to make preparations for the next day.

Many people had already gathered around the sacred tent.

A man said:

It must be the seventh rite, because so far we have had no more than six, and I believe that
It is a game that represents life.

It seems to me that a ball will be launched, because I just heard that on the equipment.
there must be one.

Tomorrow will be a great day!

Throughout the night, people talked about what was going to happen the next day, and
Everyone was happy because what the White Buffalo Woman promised was going to come true.
entirely.

Before dawn everything was ready.

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Sage had spread across the floor of the tent; and the precise moment I was going
the sun rises, The Mover Walking approached the sacred place with slow steps,
crying, because he had thought of the six rites that his people already had, and he knew that the
Mulher Bisão Branco estaria de novo entre eles.

Many went out to meet Se Move Caminhando, and they too.

they cried as they approached the sacred tent.

The prophet was the first to enter and sat facing the setting sun; then
he dug the soil in front of him with a knife and asked the helpers to bring a coal.

He took the aromatic herb, raised it over the smoke, and prayed:

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, always has been and always will be.

You created all things; there is nothing that does not belong to You.

You led the red people to this island, and gave us the knowledge so that
we know all things.

We know that it is your light that arrives with the dawn, and we know that it is the Lightbearer of
aurora who gives us wisdom.

You gave us the power to know the four Beings of the Universe and to know that in
In reality, these four Beings are One.

We always see the sacred heavens and know what they are and what they represent.

This will be a great day, and everything that moves on earth and in the Universe will rejoice.

On this day I place your aromatic herb in this fire that belongs to You, and the smoke that
it will spread throughout the Universe and rise to the depths of the sky.

The Move Walking lowered their arm to place the aromatic herb on the coals, if
holding four times; then he purified the Chanumpa, the bowl, the bison skull and all the
fixtures.

ÓWakan Tanka, Grandfather, prayed the prophet, I made use of your aromatic herb and the smoke
extended throughout the Universe.

I want to build here the place of mystery, and the day that is approaching will see it.

They will look at each other face to face.

By doing this, I fulfill your will.

This is your place, oh Wakan Tanka!

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

He/She will be here with us!

When the first rays penetrated the tent, Se Move Caminhando took a
stone axe, offered it to the Great Spirit, and struck at the center of the sacred place
that had been dug in front of him.

He offered the axe to the West and struck to that side, and in the same way he struck.
the soil of the other three Regions; and after directing the axe towards the Earth, he struck again.
in the center.

Then he took the knife and slowly removed the dirt from the place he had excavated, and the
placed to the East; then took a handful of this purified earth and, after offering a
little to the Power of the West, it placed it on the West side of the consecrated place.

In the same way, he placed earth in the other three Directions and in the center.

Then, with the earth he had piled up to the East, he made a little mound in the center and the
esparramou cuidadosamente por todo o local sagrado, para nivelá-la finalmente com uma
eagle feather.

So Move Caminhando then picked up a sharp stick.1and after offering it to

Great Spirit drew a line on the flat land that went from East to West, and after
offering the staff to the skies, he drew another line from North to South.

Finally, the altar was ready with two lines of tobacco on the two paths
drawn on the ground, and then this tobacco was colored red.

Thus, this altar represents the Universe and everything in it, and at its center resides
the Great Spirit.

He is truly present at this altar, and this is the reason it is made with such
care and according to the precise rites.

While proceeding in this way, the prophet sang the song of the sacred Chanumpa - the
channonpa wakan olowan—, while another man played the drum
quickly and smoothly:

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

If you do this, your grandfather will see you.

When you are standing in the sacred circle,

Think of me when putting tobacco in the Chanumpa.

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 THE SACRED PIPE —Sioux Rites, Black Elk

If you do this, He will give you everything you ask for.

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

If you do this, your Grandfather will see you.

When you are standing in the sacred circle,

Send your voice to Wakan Tanka.

If you do this, He will give you everything you desire.

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

If you do this, your Grandfather will see you.

When you are standing in the sacred circle,

With screams and tears, send your voice to Wakan Tanka.

If you do this, you will have everything you desire.

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

Friend, do this!

So that your Father may see you.

When standing in the sacred circle,

Raise your hand to Wakan Tanka.

Do this, and He will grant you everything you desire.

There is great power in this corner, because it was given to us by the White Buffalo Woman.
when he brought us the very holy Chanumpa.

This song is practiced every day, and it revives my heart every time that
I either sing or I hear it.

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 O CACHIMBO SAGRADO —Ritos Sioux, Alce Negro

As the prophet and great holy man was moving while walking, he was building.
singing the altar, a girl who had to play an important role in the rite was introduced
at the tent for your father; after going around the tent in the direction of the sun's movement, if
placed to the left of the high priest.

Her name was Wasu Sna Win, Noisy Hail Woman, and she was the daughter of High Horn.
Oco.

Se Move Caminhando took the ritual ball made of fur and tanned bison leather.

He painted it red, the color of the world, and marked the four Directions with four
blue dots, the color of the sky; then painted two blue circles around the ball, forming
thus two paths that connect the four Regions.

With these blue lines, which completely surrounded the red ball, the Heavens and the
The earth was united in it, which gave it an eminently sacred character.

The great holy man placed aromatic herbs over a coal and purified the
Chanumpa in the smoke, then lifted the Chanumpa to the sky and prayed:

Oh Wakan Tanka, look at this Chanumpa that we are going to offer You.

We know that You are the first and that You have always been.

We want to walk the sacred path of life with the Chanumpa of mystery
that You gave us in one hand and with our children in the other.

Thus, generations will come and go, and will live according to the mystery.

This is Your sacred day, for on this day we will establish a rite that will complete the
number of Chanumpa rites.

Oh Great Spirit, direct Your gaze upon us as we offer You the Chanumpa.

On this day, the four Powers of the Universe will be with us.

O Power of the place where the sun sets, who controls the waters, we will offer this
Chanumpa; help us with your two good days, help us!

_________________________________________________________________________
The Sioux have the custom of tracing the ritual paths with the stick that is used to carry the Chanumpa and that, by

this reason, it is an assistant of the fire and an indispensable instrument for the sacrifice. The Indians say that it represents
the will of man, given that an initiative is necessary on the part of man in order to make a sacrifice
you will receive the wisdom of Wakan Tanka.

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The tobacco intended for the West and the other Powers or Directions has been placed in
Chanumpa with these words:

O Power from where the Giant lives, who purifies with your white breath; and You, Winged Being
what does this straight path hold:

We place you in this Chanumpa, help us, with Your two red and blue days!

O Power of the place where the sun rises; and You, Light of dawn, who separates the darkness from
light, giving wisdom to men; with you we want to offer this Chanumpa; help us
with your two good days!

Oh Power of the place we always look to, from where generations come and go; oh
White Swan that guards the path of mystery; there is a place for You in this Chanumpa that
Let's offer to the Great Spirit.

Help us with Your two good days!

O Winged Being of the Blue Skies; You who possess powerful wings and eyes that see
All things: You live in the depths of heaven; You are very close to the Great.
Spirit.

Let's offer this Chanumpa; help us with Your two days red and blue!

Oh Grandmother, from whom all earthly things come, and You, Mother Earth, who brings
all the fruits and foods: see and listen!

About You, there is a sacred path we walk thinking of the mystery of

all things.

About You shall be sanctified this young and pure virgin, Noisy Hail, because she
It will be at the center of the earth raising the ritual ball.

Help us, O Grandmother and Mother with Your two happy days, now that we offer this
Great Spirit!

During this prayer, the Chanumpa was loaded and supported on the small blue dryer;
this was made up of three sticks, two of which were driven into the ground and supported the
third.

Se Move Caminhando then took the ball and offered it to the girl saying
to stand up, to lift the ball in the left hand, and to raise the right one
to the sky.

Then he began to pray, holding the Chanumpa in his left hand and raising his right.
to the heavens:

Oh Grandfather Wakan Tanka, Father Wakan Tanka, see us!

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See the Wasu Sna Win who is here standing, raising the Universe in her hand.

Everything that moves on this earth today will rejoice.

The four Powers of the Universe, just like the heavens, are in the ball.

All of this, Wasu Sna Win sees.

The dawn of the day with the light of the Great Spirit is now with her.

She sees her future generations and the tree of life in the center.

See also the sacred path that leads from the place we always looked to the
place where the Giant lives.

See your Grandmother and Mother Earth and all your relatives in the things that move and
they grow.

She is standing there with the Universe in her hand, and there all her relatives are truly
Um.

O Grandfather Wakan Tanka, Father Wakan Tanka, it is by your will that your light shines in this
girl.

Today we all feel Your presence.

We know you are here with us.

For this and for everything you have given us, we give you thanks!

The great holy man stood before the bison skull and spoke to it like this:

SpiritHuntka, today they gave you a color that I put on you because it is relative to
our bipedal people and we live thanks to you.

When you have put this sacred painting upon you, you will go out with this girl and communicate.
your gratitude to all beings.

Then the prophet and great holy man painted the bison drawing a line.
red around its head and a straight line that went down between the horns to
middle of the orbits.

When it was over, he sat down near Wasu Sna Win and said to her:

Wasu Sna Win is here sitting in a sacred way.

It's okay, because the spirits of the bison came to see you.

I will reveal to you, therefore, the vision I had.

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I was heading to the place where the Giant lives, and I saw a large crowd on the march.

They had their guard, their chiefs, and their holy men, just like we do.

And when I got closer, they stopped, and one of their leaders stepped forward to
mim told me:

Man, see these people, who are celestial.

They will teach a highly esteemed young woman to walk, and in her life she will see four ages.

They brought a girl with a fragile appearance.

She sat down and I saw that it was a young female bison.

He got up and started to walk, but stumbled and fell.

Your tribe, which I now saw as a people of bison, gathered around you, and a
the female bison blew over her, releasing a red breath; and when the little
The female bison fell for the second time, I saw that it had transformed into a white bison.
very small.

Your mother kept blowing her red breath and pushed her with her snout; and
when the small animal stood up for the second time, I saw that it had changed again and
it was now a bigger bison.

She lay down, and when she got up, she had already become an adult in every way; then she ran away.
behind the hill, and all the bison blew loudly to the point of the Universe
to tremble.

I then noticed some bison in the four Regions, but they turned into men and I saw
the little girl standing in the center with a ball in her hand.

He threw the ball to the place where the sun sets, and everyone rushed towards it.
returned to the center.

In the same way, the girl threw the ball to the place where the Giant lives, then
to the place where the sun rises and then to the place we always look at, and each time the ball
was returned to the center, for the girl.

Finally, she launched into the air and at that instant everyone transformed into bison,
so none of them can catch the ball because bison don't have hands like we do.

The girl, who was again a little bison, threw the ball to me, and the chief
two bison told me:

This Universe actually belongs to men, because the quadruped bison do not.
we can play with the ball; for this it is necessary that you take it and return to your people and give it to them
explain what we taught you here.

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Se Move Caminhando then explained the rite to Wasu Sna Win and to all those who
they were gathered there:

The bison has four ages, as they showed me in my vision.

Some Sna Win and the bison represented by this skull will leave this tent together, and
she will throw the ball as we were explained in my vision.

It is the will of the Great Spirit that it be so.

Don't forget that the ball is the world, and it is also our Father Wakan Tanka.
because the world – or the Universe – is your home.

For this reason, whoever takes possession of the ball will receive a great blessing.

You must take her and Wasu Sna Win will be the young bison of the center.

Now it will go out and will stop four times, and each of its steps will be for the benefit.
of your people.

The whole tribe had gathered around the tent to hear what was being said there; everyone
they had put on their best clothes and were happy.

Hollow High Horn, with the Chanumpa, was the first to leave the tent; after him came out
your daughter Wasu Sna Win, who was holding the ball in her right hand; followed Se Move Caminhando,
who carried the skull and breathed heavily, and pushed Wasu Sna Win four times with the
skull, and each time a red smoke came out of it.

As he sang one of his mystery songs:

In a sacred way, from all directions,

Come to see you.

Wasu Sna Win has been sitting in a sacred manner.

Everyone comes to see her!

Finally, when they stopped for the fourth time, High Horn Hollow and Moves
Walking, they positioned themselves on either side of the girl, all three facing the place.
where the sun sets.

Wasu Sna Win threw the ball to the West and one of the men caught it and, after
kiss her and offer her to the six Directions, returned her to the girl, who was in the center.

In the same way, the three turned to the place where the giant Wazia lives, and the
the ball was thrown in this direction; everyone rushed to be with it, and the ball was
returned to the center.

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Then it was sent to the place where the sun rises, and then to the place to which
we always look; all those who had the luck to grab it received a horse or some
another valuable gift.

On the fifth time, the ball was thrown up and there was a great commotion, until,
finally, a man can take her and return her to the center.

When the ball throw ended, Alto Chifre Oco offered the Chanumpa to
prophet; he directed the rod to the sky and began to send a voice to the Great Spirit.

Hi-ey-hey-i-i, he shouted four times.

I send you a voice, oh Wakan Tanka, to You who has always been and who is above
of everything.

Great Spirit, You are the Chief of all things; everything is Yours, because You are the one who
created the Universe.

You placed our people on this great island and gave us the wisdom that reveals all
the things.

You made us know the moon, the sun, the four winds and the four Powers of
Universe.

We know that the generations come from the place we look at, and that they return to it; and
we have walked righteously on this straight and red path that leads to the place where
long live the Giant.

And above all, we know that our four closest relatives are
always our Grandfather and Father Wakan Tanka, and our Grandmother and Mother Maka, the Earth.

O Wakan Tanka, look today at Wasu Sna Win, who holds in her hand the ball that is the Earth.

She has in hand what will give strength to the generations that will inherit the Earth tomorrow.
It is Yours; and the steps they take will be firm, and they will be freed from the darkness of ignorance.

Noisy Granulated Woman is standing here, raising your Universe, and from this
dia a bola pertencerá às gerações futuras, e marcharão alegres segurando as mãos de seus
children.

Help them walk without ignorance along the sacred path.

May the heavens behold us and have mercy on us!

Grandfather Wakan Tanka, Father Wakan Tanka, may we always know and fulfill your
desire!

That we always desire and love!

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ÓWakan Tanka, have mercy on me so that my people may live!

Then all the attendees smoked or touched the Chanumpa; the men who had
those lucky enough to catch the sacred ball received horses or bison skins; the whole people
it was a party and everyone was full of joy, because of what Ptesan-Win, the Woman
White Bison promised in the beginning if it had been fulfilled.

I, Black Elk, must explain to you now some things about this rite that you
they may not understand.

Let's see why it is a girl and not an adult person who is at the center and throws.
the ball.

So it must be, because the Great Spirit is eternally young and pure, and so it is.
this little one that has just arrived from Wakan Tanka; it is pure and without obscurity.

The ball is launched from the center to the four Regions, in the same way as the
Great Spirit is in all Directions and in all corners of the world; and the ball falls
about the people, just as the Power of the Great Spirit is received by few men, about everyone
in recent times.

Without a doubt, you realized that the quadruped people of the bison were not
able to play this game, and for this reason he gave it to the bipeds.

This is very fair, because, as I mentioned earlier, of all the creatures of

Universe, only the bipeds purify themselves and humble themselves, and can come to be one with
Wakan Tanka, or they may know him.

In these sad times in which our people have plunged, we run after the ball, and
some didn't even try to catch it; and I cry when I think about it.

But I know that the ball will soon be caught, because the end is rapidly approaching, and then
it will put you back in the center, and with it will be our people.

My prayer is that it be so; and it is to contribute to this restoration of

ball that I wanted to make this book.

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