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When the Mentor is satisfied that the Candidate understands the social customs of the Oglala sufficiently well to know when a Shaman may, or may not, interfere with them, he should then instruct him relative to the doctrines and ceremonials pertaining to the Gods. Some of these are known to the people, but most of them are known only by the Shamans and they hide these in a ceremonial language known only by them. This language is made up of common words to which an esoteric meaning is given and of strange words that are known only by the Shamans. The sacred mysteries
are thus hidden from the people because they are unfitted to know them. But one who is to become a Shaman should be instructed relative to these mysteries, in substance as follows:--
The Supernatural is Wakan Tanka, or the Great Mystery that no one of mankind can comprehend. It may be pleased or displeased by the conduct of any one of mankind. It may be propitiated or placated by a proper ceremony correctly performed. Its aid may be secured by appropriate sacrifice. Therefore, it is the Great God.
This Great God communicates with mankind through various media and in various manners. The chosen medium is a Wicasa Wakan, or Shaman. Other media are called Akicita Wakan, or Sacred Messengers. A Sacred Messenger may be anything animate or inanimate, other than mankind, which makes itself known as such. It may be either permanent or temporary. A permanent messenger is one that is always the medium of communication from a certain God. A temporary Sacred Messenger is such only during one communication and may be the medium for any God other than those who have permanent messengers. A communication from a God may be either unsolicited or solicited. An unsolicited communication is transmitted through a Shaman. Solicited communications are granted through the Sacred Messengers. These may be either intelligible or unintelligible to the recipient, and if unintelligible, they should be interpreted by a Shaman.
The Shamans should teach these doctrines to the people and exhort them to practise the four great virtues which, named in the order of their importance, are:--
1. Bravery.
2. Fortitude.
3. Generosity.
4. Fidelity.
The doctrines which only the Shamans know are these:--
Wakan Tanka
is one, yet It is many who are:--The Benevolent Gods are of two kinds who are:
Wakan Kin
, the Gods.The Gods are of two classes which are:
Wakan Ankanta, the Superior Gods.
Wakan Kolaya, the Associate Gods
The Gods Kindred are of two classes which are:
Wakan Kuya, the Subordinate Gods.
Wakanlapi, the Gods-like
Each of these four classes consists of four individuals as follows:
The individuals of the Superior Gods:--
Wi, the Sun, the Chief of the Gods.
Skan, the Sky, the Great Spirit.
Maka, the Earth, the All-mother.
Inyan, the Rock, the All-father
The individuals of the Associate Gods:--
Hanwi
, the Moon, the Associate of Wi.The individuals of the Subordinate Gods:
Tatanka
, the Buffalo God.The individuals of the Gods-like:--
Nagi
, the Spirit.The following are four individuals, but they should be considered as only one, the Chief God:
The Sun.
The Moon.
The Buffalo.
The Spirit
The following are four individuals, but they should be considered as only one, the Great Spirit:--
The Sky.
The Wind.
The Bear.
The Ghost
The following are four individuals, but they should be considered as only one, the Creator God:
The Earth.
The Feminine.
The Four Winds.
The Spirit-like
The following are four individuals, but they should bc considered as only one, the Executive God:--
The Rock.
The Winged.
The Whirlwind.
The Potency
The following are but as one, and that One is Wakan Tanka, the Great Mysterious:--
The Chief God.
The Great Spirit.
The Creator.
The Executive
The individualities of the Great Mysterious have properties that may be described as follows:--
Except for the Four Winds, They had no beginning, though some were before others and some bear the relation of parent and offspring. This is akan, for no one of mankind can comprehend it. They will have no end.
The Sun is a material God whose substance is always visible and He ranks first among the Superior Gods, though the other three were before He was. He may be addressed as the Great God, the Revered One, or Our Father. His domain is the spirit world and the regions under the world. His will prevails though the Wind thwart his purposes. The Sky gave Him His power and can withhold it, but he is more powerful than the Sky. Daily He makes His journey above the domain of the Sky and at night He rests with His people in the regions under the World and there communes with his comrade, the Buffalo. He is the patron of the four great virtues, but is indifferent to small affairs. His favor may be secured by appropriate offerings and ceremonies and He may grant a communication to one who dances the Sun Dance. His potency abides in fire and cannot be imparted to any other thing. His symbolic color is red and because He is the Chief of the Gods, red is the sacred color.
The Sky is an immaterial God whose substance is never visible. He ranks second among the Superior Gods. His titles given by the people are Taku Skan-skan and Nagi Tanka, or the Great Spirit, and those given by the Shamans are Skan and To, or blue. The concept expressed by the term Taku Skan-skan is that which gives motion to anything that moves. That expressed by the Shamans by the word, Skan, is a vague concept of force or energy and by the word, To, is the immaterial blue of the sky which symbolizes the presence of the Great Spirit. His domain is all above the world beginning at the ground. He is the source of all power and motion and is the patron of directions and trails and of encampment. He imparts
to each of mankind at birth a spirit, a ghost, and a sicun, and at the death of each of mankind He hears the testimony of the ghost and adjudges the spirit. He may sit in judgment on other Gods. His word is unalterable, except by Himself. He only can undo that which is done. His people are the stars and the Feminine is His daughter. His potency can be imparted only to mysterious things and by much ceremony correctly performed by wise Shamans. The Fetish that has His potency can prevail in all things. Only Shamans may have such a Fetish. His symbolic color is blue.
The Earth is a material God, whose substance is always visible. She ranks third of the Superior Gods, though she existed next after the first in existence. She is most often addressed as the All-mother, for She is an ancestor of all material things, except the Rock. Her domain is the world and She is the patron of all things that grow from the ground, of drink and food, and the tipi. Her potency may be imparted to anything that has grown from the ground. Her symbolic color is green.
The Rock is a material God whose substance may always be seen. He ranks fourth of the Superior Gods, but existed first of all. He is most often addressed as the All-father, for He is the ancestor of all things and all the Gods. The All-father and the All-mother never were related as husband and wife and neither has a child by the other. The Rock is the father of Iktomi, whose other parent is the Winged God, and the father of Iya, or Ibom, the Great God of Evil, whose other parent is an Unktehi, or one of the Monsters.
The domain of the Rock is the mountains; but His authority extends through all the domain of the Earth. He is the patron of authority and vengeance, of construction and destruction, and of implements and utensils. His potency can be imparted to anything that is hard as stone. His symbolic color is yellow.
The symbolic colors of the four Superior Gods, red, blue, green, and yellow, are sacred, when applied by a Shaman with ceremony and each symbolizes the God to which it pertains. If red alone is ceremonially applied, it signifies consecration. Black is also a ceremonial color, its significance being intensity of emotion or firmness of purpose.
The Moon is a material God whose substance is visible or partly invisible, as She wills. She governs the third time, which is a moon, and combats Anog Ite, the double-woman, who incites contention. She has no domain and Her potency cannot be imparted to anything. She fixes the time for the more important undertakings of mankind but She is indifferent to ceremonies and cannot be influenced by them.
Tate is an immaterial God whose substance is never visible, for He is
as a Spirit. He is the father of the Four Winds whose mother is Anog Ite. He governs the fourth time, which is a year, and the coming and going of the four seasons. He abides at the entrance of the spirit trail and hides it from mankind. He admits or excludes spirits from this entrance, according to the judgment of the Great Spirit, Skan. He cannot be influenced by sacrifice or ceremony and His potency cannot be imparted to anything.
The Feminine is a material God whose substance may be visible or invisible as She wills. She is most often addressed as the Woman, the Beautiful One, or the Gracious One. She is the daughter of Skan, the Sky, and is of the star people. She abides in the tipi of Okaga, the South Wind, and is His associate. Her potency, which cannot be imparted to anything, is in the smoke of the pipe and the smoke of sweetgrass. Her functions are to harmonize and are effective when the pipe is smoked or sweetgrass burned. She is a mediator between the Gods, between the Gods and mankind, and between mankind. She is the protector of chastity and of little children and the patron of adornment and pleasure. She should be invoked in every ceremony and there has precedence over all the Gods.
Wakinyan is a material God whose substance is visible only when He so wills. His properties are akan and anti-natural. He abides in his lodge on the top of the mountain at the edge of the world where the Sun goes down to the regions under the world. He is many, but they are as only one; he is shapeless, but has wings with four joints each; be has no feet, yet he has huge talons; be has no head, yet has a huge beak with rows of teeth in it, like the teeth of the wolf; his voice is the thunder clap and rolling thunder is caused by the beating of His wings on the clouds; he has an eye, and its glance is lightning. In a great cedar tree beside His lodge He has His nest made of dry bones, and in it is an enormous egg from which His young continuously issue. He devours His young and they each become one of His many selves. He had issue by the Rock and it was Iktomi, the oldest son of the Rock. He flies through all the domain of the Sky, hidden in a robe of clouds, and if one of mankind sees His substance he is thereby made a heyoka, and must ever afterwards speak and act clownishly in an anti-natural manner. Yet, if He so wills, He may appear to mankind in the form of a giant man, and if so, He is then the God, Heyoka. One who looks upon the God, Heyoka, is not thereby made a heyoka. The potency of the Winged God cannot be imparted to anything. His functions are to cleanse the world from filth and to fight the Monsters who defile the waters and to cause all increase by growth from the ground.
The acceptable manner of addressing Him is by taunt and villification, the opposite of the intent of the address. He may be visualized as a bird whose wings have four joints. His symbol is a zigzag red line forked at
each end. His akicita are the dog, swallow, snowbird, night hawk, lizard, frog, and dragon fly, and if either of these is seen in a vision the one to whom it appears is thereby made a heyoka.
The Buffalo is a material God whose substance is visible only when He so wills. His form is that of a great beast, but he may appear to mankind as a man. He abides with the buffalo people in the regions under the world, and roams throughout all the domain of the Earth. He is the patron of sexual relations, generosity, industry, fecundity, and ceremonies. He is the protector of maidens and of the very old. He is the comrade of the Sun and in ceremonies pertaining to the Sun, His potency prevails. He controls the chase and gives or withholds success to hunters. His potency abides in the skull of the animal buffalo and can be imparted to anything that has been a part of a buffalo.
The Bear is a material God, whose substance is invisible at His will. He may appear to mankind as a huge bear, or as a very old man. He is the patron of wisdom, medicine, and magic. Those who would know the lore of the Lakota should have His aid. His potency can be imparted to anything that is strange or unusual.
The Four Winds is an immaterial God, whose substance is never visible. He is akan and therefore no one of mankind can comprehend him. While He is one God, He is four individuals:--
He may be addressed as the Four, or, the Four Quarters, or, as the Wind of the Four Directions, or as the Sons. They are the sons of Tate and their mother is Anog Ite. They were born at one birth, but Yata came first. Eya, the second-born, displaced Yata and holds the birthright of the firstborn. Yanpa was third born and Okaga the last-born son. They have their tipis at the edge of the world, that of Eya on the mountain beside the lodge of the Winged God; that of Yata under the stars that never come down to the edge of the world; that of Yanpa where the Sun begins His daily journey over the world; that of Okaga is under where the Sun pauses at midday when His journey is half done. They do not abide in these tipis, for they are continually traveling on the trail that circles the edge of the world, and where they are, or whence they may come, no man can tell. In ceremonies, they should be addressed as the one God, the Four Winds, and have precedence over all the Gods, except Wohpe, the Feminine. They are jealous of their precedence and of that among themselves. In every ceremony of importance they should be invoked after the Feminine, in the following manner:--
1. Eya, the West Wind.
2. Yata, the North Wind.
3. Yanpa, the Wind.
4. Okaga, the South Wind
The lighted pipe should be elevated with its mouthpiece toward the tipi of Eya and carried so that the mouthpiece, pointing toward the edge of the world, circles until it points toward the tipi of Yata, where it should be held for an instant, then carried in the same manner until it points toward the tipi of Yanpa, and held there an instant; then it should be carried in the same manner and held an instant toward the tipi of Okaga; thence in the same manner until it returns toward the tipi of Yata. Thus, the potency of the Feminine is tendered in the proper order of precedence to each and all of the Four Winds. While the Four travels continually on the trail around the edge of the world, when He comes on the world, that individual of himself that prevails will give the direction from which He comes. As the four sons of Tate, the Wind, they established the four directions on the world and then, by the decree of Their father, were to travel forever on the trail around at the edge of the world. Each such completion from beginning to end is the fourth time, or, a year. Therefore, a circle is an emblem of all four of the units of time, each of which, day, night, moon, and year, goes in a circle. While they are one as a God, as the sons of Tate, they are four individuals. The personality of these individuals differs each from the other. Eya is a burly, boisterous God. He is the associate of the Winged God and accompanies Him when He flies through the domain of the Sky and aids Him in cleansing the world. Eya is reckless and often does His work harshly, when He prevails and sweeps the world. His akicita is the hawk. Yata is a strong, cold, and surly God. He is forever contesting with Okaga, because He desired to have Wohpe, the Feminine, as His own, but Okaga won Her as His companion. Because of His surly selfishness He was deposed from the birthright of the first-born son and it was given to Eya. His akicita is the magpie. Yanpa is an indolent God whose akicita is the crow. Okaga is a pleasing God and when He prevails all things rejoice. The Feminine, Wohpe, dwells in His tipi and is His companion, often traveling with Him. The little son of Tate, the Whirlwind, also dwells in the tipi of Okaga, and comes forth only when Okaga prevails, for He fears Yata. The akicita of Okaga are all the waterfowls. The functions of the God, the Four Winds, are to be the messengers of Skan, the Great Spirit, and of Tate, their father, and to control the weather.
Yumni is a merry God. He is the little son of Tate and his mother is Anog Ite, but because of a curse placed upon her, be was not born as other children are, and for this reason He remains little, and is not counted with the other sons of Tate, who are counted as His four sons and Yumni as His little son. Wohpe taught Yumni all the sports and games and gave him control over them, so that He is the patron of all gambling, friendly contests, sports, games, and courtship. He has no akicita and never appears
in a vision. His potency may be imparted to any implements for sport or games and to philters by wicasa hmunga, or wizards.
The Wakanlapi are immaterial Gods that abide or have abided in material things. While there are four kinds there are many of each kind. But all of each kind should be considered as only one when considering them as Gods.
Nagi, the Spirit, is an immaterial God whose substance may be visible at its will and who can communicate with mankind, directly or through the medium of a Shaman. Skan imparts a spirit to each of mankind at birth. It abides with its recipient until death, controlling the disposition and actions of the person. At death, it leaves the body, but lingers near the haunts of the person, awaiting its endowment for the spirit world. When it is thus endowed it appears before Skan for judgment, and, if adjudged worthy, Tate admits it through the entrance to the spirit trail, on which it travels to the spirit world. When it is there it is allotted a place according to its endowment and then it becomes the Spirit.
A spirit is endowed with the nagila, or spirit-like, of things in the following manner:--One who wishes to contribute to the endowment abandons the thing to be contributed, in the name of the deceased, when the spirit-like of the thing becomes the possession of the spirit. The material of the things thus abandoned is taboo to those who abandon them and becomes the property of any others who may take them. Thus, the family of a deceased man may abandon all their possessions, endowing his spirit with them, for by so doing, the spirit-like of these things is taken by his spirit to the spirit land, and if the spirits of those who contribute arrive there, they will enjoy these things in the spirit world. If the deceased has killed an enemy and taken his scalp, he has thereby gained control of the spirit of the enemy whose spirit cannot enter on the spirit trail until the one who controls it does so and even then it must serve the controlling spirit to the end of the trail. If a spirit is adjudged by Skan as unworthy to go on the spirit trail, it thereby becomes a sicun, or wandering spirit, and must wander over the world until Tate deems it fitted, when He may permit it to pass through the entrance. Such wandering spirits can communicate with mankind, but their communications are uncertain and not to be relied upon. They often serve Anog Ite, whisper malicious things to tattling women, or excite men to jealousy. They may become the familiars of the very old and do their bidding.
The Niya is an immaterial god whose substance is visible when It so wills. A niya is imparted by Skan to each of mankind at birth and abides with the person like a shadow until death, when it lingers with the spirit until the latter goes before Skan for judgment. Then it appears to testify regarding
the conduct of the spirit and upon its testimony the spirit is adjudged. When Skan has given judgment, the ghost returns whence it came and is no more. Its functions during the life of the person are to cause vitality, to forewarn of good and evil, and to give the power to influence others. When it departs from the body, this is death, though it may depart and return again if the spirit has not left the body.
The Nagiya is an immaterial God whose substance may at will be seen in any form it chooses to appear. As separate individuals they are the immaterial selves of material things other than mankind. A nagiya is imparted by Skan to each thing at its beginning, remains with it until it ceases to be, and then returns whence it came. It can be with the thing and separate from it at the same time, as for instance, when it is with the thing it may at the same time have been given in the endowment of a spirit and taken to the spirit world. It may possess any other thing; for instance, the nagiya of the wolf may possess a tree, when the tree will have the nature of a wolf; or, it may possess one of mankind, for example, the nagiya of a bear may possess a man when the man will have the nature of a bear. By proper ceremony, its potency can be imparted to inanimate things, as, the potency of the nagiya of a poison herb may be imparted to powdered clay, or, the potency of a medicinal thing may be imparted to one of mankind. A thing may be caused by its nagiya to speak or act in a supernatural manner and to communicate with mankind.
The Sicun is an immaterial God whose substance is never visible. It is the potency of mankind and the emitted potency of the Gods. Considered relative to mankind It is many, but apart from mankind It is one. Skan imparts a sicun to each of mankind at birth. It remains with the person until death, when it returns whence it came. Its functions are to enable its possessor to do those things which the beasts cannot do and to give courage and fortitude. It may be pleased or displeased with its possessor and may be operative or inoperative according to its pleasure. It may be invoked by ceremony or prayer, but it cannot be imparted to any other person or thing. Most of the Gods can emit their potencies and when so emitted their potencies become sicunpi. Such a sicun can be imparted to material things by a proper ceremony correctly performed by a Shaman.
A sicun so imparted must be clothed by proper wrappings about the material It pervades. The wrappings may be in the form of a pouch, bag, bundle, or any receptacle that will cover and hide the material. The wrapping, the material, and the sicun, all together make a wasicun. A sicun is operative only when It is a part of a wasicun. The Oglala concept of a wasicun is most nearly expressed in English by the word Fetish, and this word will be so used hereinafter. While a Fetish may be operative
independent of the source of its potency It must be treated with the veneration due to the God that emits its Sicun, for in all Its properties It is as that God. Thus, while the sicun ranks lowest among the Gods, a Fetish may have the potency of any God, except that of Skan, the Great Spirit, and of the Sun, the Chief of the Gods. A Fetish whose sicun is a nagila, or spirit-like, is potent only to remedy wounds or diseases, or to impose disorders on mankind. Such a Fetish is called piyaha, or a medicine bag. The contents of a medicine bag may be either the material, the spirit-like of which is the potency, or material to which potency has been imparted.
Any Oglala who is eligible for conducting a ceremony may choose and have a Shaman prepare for him a Fetish whose potency is commensurable with the ceremonies he may perform. As only Shamans should undertake to conduct ceremonies that pertain to the Superior Gods, so should they only choose Fetishes having the higher potencies. If the potency of any God abides in anything that thing should be the material enclosed in the wrapping of the Fetish pertaining to that God. As the potency of the Sun abides in fire and cannot be imparted to any other thing and as fire cannot be clothed with wrappings, a Fetish having the potency of the Sun cannot be prepared. As the Great Spirit is the source of all power, a Fetish having His potency is not permissible to mankind. The functions of a Fetish are to serve Its possessor with Its supernatural powers which are effective when properly invoked. When preparing a Fetish, the Shaman devises a formula which must be repeated to invoke Its powers.
Other sicun are the dissociated spirits that wander over the world; but they are classed with the Malevolent Gods. The Malevolent Gods are dissociated, but rank as follows:--
Iya or Ibom is a material God whose substance is visible only at his will. His form is that of an enormous giant man and his predominant property is his appetite. He is the last born son of the Rock and his mother is an Unktehi or monster. He has no abiding place and wanders over the world seeking to devour all that he gets into his power, He can swallow at one gulp a host of people or a herd of animals. His breath is a miasma and the cause of many diseases. He is stupid and frequently the butt of pranks by his older brother, Iktomi. As Iya, he is Lord over other malevolent Gods and shares in the evils that they devise; as Ibom he is a destructive cyclone. He abhors ceremony, fears fire, and flies from an incense of sage or sweetgrass. The smoke of the pipe is repugnant to him.
Gnaski, the Demon, is a material God, whose substance is visible at his will. His form is that of the bull buffalo, like that of the Buffalo God. The people call him the crazy buffalo. He is fierce and cruel, but he may appear as if he were the Buffalo God and thus for the purpose of inciting to
crime or cruelty. He may possess a person and if he controls the spirit, the person is insane; or, if he controls the ghost, the person is paralyzed. He may be exorcised by the incense of sage and sweetgrass and can be controlled by the Fetish of a Shaman.
The Unktehi or Monsters, are material gods, whose substance is visible, but they hide under the deep waters. Their forms are those of huge reptiles with horns that can be projected to the Clouds and tails that beat down forests. They tear the ground with their claws and make deep ravines; they defile waters and make then unfit for use by mankind; they lurk near shore to capture children, and in deep waters to take adults. These they hold in bondage under the waters or transmogrify them to water animals. The Winged God is forever at war with them and in battle with them they gore the ground making the bad lands, where may be seen the bones of Unktehi that were slain. A Shaman whose fetish is of the highest potency can subdue the Unktehi and drive them away and can undo their magic deeds.
The Mini Watu or Water Sprites are material beings whose substance is visible, except when too small to be seen. Their form is that of maggots and they cause things to rot. They ever seek entrance into the bodies of mankind and lurk in the waters to do so. When in the body they pinch the bowels, or pull the cords of the joints, or beat upon the brain, for they delight in the suffering of mankind. They ever war against the niya, or ghost, and if they prevail, the ghost leaves the body. But they may be exorcised in a vitalizing lodge by a Shaman or a medicineman.
The Can Oti or Forest Dwellers are elves who wander in lonely places and bewilder mankind so that directions and locations are not recognized. These elves can assume the forms of beasts or birds for the purpose of enticing mankind into their power. The smoke of the pipe or the potency of the Four Winds, can defeat their purposes.
The Ungla are goblins who haunt deserted places and lurk at night near tipis where they may appear like gibbering ghosts. They frighten timid people and children and cause distressing dreams. They fear the potency of the Sun and fly from it as it is shown in the light from a fire.
The Gica are cunning and malicious manikins who are visible or invisible at their will. They, cause accidents and mishaps and prowl at night to do mysterious provoking things. The potency of the Buffalo, or of the Bear, can ward off their activities.
The nagilapi of noxious things are classed with the Malevolent Gods.
The potency of a Malignant God can be imparted to a material by a wicasa hmunga, or wizard. The material thing is thereby made potent to do that which the God can do and is subservient to its possessor. A Shaman
can invoke the potency of either, or of all the Malevolent Gods, and make it operative or impotent. The being other than the Gods, with whom a Shaman may have to deal and whose activities the powers of a Fetish can control are as follows:--
Iktomi, the first-born son of the Rock was a God until the Great Spirit dissociated him from the Gods and condemned him to wander forever over the world without friend or associate. He is a material being whose substance is visible or invisible at his will. Because his other parent is the shapeless Winged God, his normal shape is queer, but he may appear as a handsome young man. He has the potencies of a God, but is a misanthropic being, and delights in making others the butts of ridicule. He is crafty and cruel, but is often the victim of his own schemes. He invented languages and gave common names to all things. He can converse with mankind and with the nagilapi, but he talks more often with other things. He is often with Iya, his younger brother, and then he exercises his birthright of the first-born son, demands obedience of Iya and causes him to do ridiculous things. If Iktomi is present during a ceremony, he will scheme to make it ridiculous and an offense to the Gods, for he is an imp of mischief. In whatsoever form he may appear, a Shaman can detect him and by the aid of the Fetish restore him to his normal shape and drive him away.
Waziya is the Old Man, the Wizard, who received from Iktomi the potencies of a God; because of this the Great Spirit decreed that his ghost should remain with him forever and that he should dwell alone on the world. He is the husband of Kanka and the father of Anog Ite, and thus the grandfather of the Four Winds. His tipi is the same as that of Yata, the North Wind, but Yata does not abide in it. He is always seen coming from the direction of his tipi and can enter a tipi or lodge only when the door opens toward the north. In summer and winter he is heavily clothed with furs, for he is cold and his presence causes chilliness. His presence at a ceremony will chill the rites and make the Gods indifferent to them. He is an irascible being and quick to vent his anger, but he may be kind and helpful to one who pleases him. The wandering spirits are his familiars and they do his bidding. He is the adversary of the Shamans and interferes with their works. Sage is repugnant to him and he will not come near it and will leave whenever incense is made of it.
Wakanka is the Old Woman, the Witch, the wife of Wazi, and the mother of Anog Ite, and so, the grandmother of the Four Winds. She is a seer and because of this she induced her husband to purloin the potency of a God and incited her daughter to profane the disposition of the Sun. She schemed with Iktomi to accomplish these things. Because of this the Great Spirit doomed her forever to dwell alone in the world. Her tipi is old, smoky,
and ragged, and is where she places it. She appears to young men and young women as a decrepit woman in want of something, and begs of them for what she wants. According to the disposition that they manifest in their treatment of her, she foretells their good or evil fortune, and may give that which will make her prediction true. If her purposes be evil, a Shaman by the aid of his fetish can thwart her.
Anog Ite is the daughter of Wazi and Kanka. She was the wife of Tate and gave Him four sons at one birth. She was the most beautiful of womankind, but was vain. When she was again with child she was incited by the scheming of her mother and Iktomi, to attempt an intrigue with the Sun; and thus desecrated the seat of the Moon and brought shame upon Tate. Because of this the Great Spirit doomed her to abide on the world forever and to have two faces, one enticingly beautiful, the other so horrible that one seeing it would either flee from her or go mad; to give forth heir child without birth, so that it would always be little; and that her children should know her no more as a mother. Having sat in the seat of a God she thereby gained occult powers and so abides on the world. She became ruthless and vindictive and vents her spite on mankind. With her beautiful face she lures men to embrace her and then shows them her horrid features and drives them to distraction. She foments scandal and jealousies and torments pregnant women; she plagues babes with pains and fears; she promotes illicit love affairs and adultery; she is afraid of old men and old women and abhors the bark and twigs of the cottonwood, for they will fend against her scheming. The Shamans should oppose her, for with the aid of their Fetishes they can overcome her and her works.
The Stars are a supernatural people, the people of the Sky. They are indifferent to the affairs of mankind, but they may come down to the world and mingle with the people, and some of them have married among the Lakota. They are beyond the province of a Shaman, for they are the people of the Great Spirit, who controls them.
The Buffalo People are those who dwell in the regions under the world, and are the people of the Sun. Waziya was their chief, but when he was deposed they chose the Buffalo God to be their chief and He is so. They have the power to transmogrify and may appear on the world as animals or as of mankind, and may mingle with the Lakota and become their spouses. They can transmogrify their spouses and take them to the regions under the world.
The offspring of a buffalo person and a Lakota has the powers of its buffalo parent and controls Its other parent. A Lakota espoused to a buffalo person, or having buffalo children, can be freed from their control only by a Shaman whose fetish has the potency of the Buffalo God.
A very old man, or a very old woman, because of age and experience may have supernatural powers which they can use for good or evil, and only a Shaman can defeat their harmful purposes.
A woman, during her menstrual flow, is susceptible to control by Gnaski and Anog Ite and is an easy dupe of Iktomi. During this time she should live alone and a Shaman should not permit her presence during a Ceremony.
To have game animals submit to their fate and become food for mankind, a Shaman should explain to a captured one that this is its destiny, then decorate it as a mark of friendship, and, freeing it, bid it tell its kind what he said and did to it. A man may so offend game animals that they will escape from hunters, and if so a Shaman should penalize the offending one by making taboo to him some portion of the offended animals.
A Shaman should receive an honorarium for whatsoever he says or does for the benefit of others. The practices of a Shaman must be learned by association with other Shamans.