Lakota Sioux Plant and Stone Symbolism::

Sacred Stones

Stones are especially sacred entities for the Lakota. They are said to be the possessors of ancient, esoteric knowledge. They are called tunkan after Tunkasila, Grandfather. Indeed, the universe itself was created out of Inyan the Rock, whose ancient remains, some say, now remain in the granite composition of the Black Hills. A medicine man once told Lone Man:

"'The earth is large, and on it live many animals. The earth is under the protection of something which at times becomes visible to the eye. One would think this would be at the center of the earth, but its representations appear everywhere, in large and small forms - they are the sacred stones. The presence of a sacred stone will protect you from misfortune.' He then gave me a sacred stone which he himself had worn. I kept it with me wherever I went and was helped by it. […]. Wakan Tanka tells the sacred stones many things which may happen to people" (Densmore 1918: 214).¹

The ideal, most wakan stone was described by Chased-by-Bears as follows:

"The outline of the stone is round, having no end and no beginning; like the power of the stone it is endless. The stone is perfect of its kind and is the work of nature, no artificial means being used in shaping it. Outwardly it is not beautiful, but its structure is solid, like solid house in which one may safely dwell. It is not composed of many substances, but is of one substance, which is genuine and not an imitation of anything else" (Densmore 1918: 205).

Brave Buffalo told Densmore:

"It is significant that these stones are not found buried in the earth, but are on the top of high buttes. They are round, like the sun and moon, and we know that all things which are round are related to each other. Things which are alike in their nature grow to look like each other, and these stones have lain there a long time, looking at the sun" (Ibid.: 208).

The gift of a sacred stone, either directly from the sacred realm or indirectly via another person, is very special. Possession of a sacred stone confers a lot of power. One man showed me a rock a late medicine man from Cheyenne River Reservation had given to him:

"I used to be afraid of the lightning, until about three years ago. Now I'm not afraid of the lightning anymore. Because a medicine man gave me his stone that he told me, 'From this day on, you will not be fearful.' And I'm not. I'm not afraid of that thunder anymore, like I used to be. He gave me a power and left. […] He said, 'I'm tired now,' and he wanted to give me a gift, and he gave me his stone. And the only instructions, he said, 'When somebody comes to your home and wants help, you pull that open and you give that person some tobacco, and offer tobacco to that rock. You only keep it sitting on sage and wrap it in a red cloth, and that's all you do for people who need help.' And so that's all I do. But my last instruction was, 'When you get tired, you pick somebody to take care of this rock next'" (1998).

The rock had been passed on to this late medicine man by an Alaskan medicine man who had been told in a vision that a Lakota man would be the next recipient. It was perfectly round and a little larger than a basketball. The present owner unwrapped it from its red cloth, and it lay between us on its bed of sage. He offered tobacco and burnt some sage and sweetgrass and he prayed, inviting me to do so also. He sang some songs and then wrapped it up again and put it away.

One spiritual practitioner has several large and perfectly round rocks which he found and uses on his altar during ceremonies at his house. Another person took me to the top of a sacred butte where we found tiny round stones that had been pushed up by ants. He told me to leave tobacco there, especially if I was going to take some of the stones. We left several cigarettes with the filters torn off. During a sweat ceremonial one night, a woman approached the man officiating and told him about a dream she had had about stones. The spiritual practitioner told her to go early in the morning to collect small stones at the top of a mountain (hill). When she asked him why early, he replied. "Early in the morning the small stones roll out to greet the sun. then when the sun becomes hotter and the day becomes strong, the stones crawl back from where they came from." His wife interjected, saying that the black stones were the best, but did not explain why (1998).

Dreams are an important medium through which the spirit world communicates to the physical one. Dreams must be heeded, and sacred stones cannot be ignored. In each stone or tunkan resides a sicun or spirit. Each stone spirit has a name. When such stone spirits reveal themselves to sacred persons they help the sacred person to cure the sick and locate lost possessions. When stone spirits reveal themselves to ordinary individuals, then they will protect that individual from danger, hunger, financial problems, marital difficulties and much more. In a moment of crisis a Lakota may seek the help and counsel of their stone spirit through prayer. Upon an individual's death the spirit leaves the original stone and is free to enter into another living person's stone.

The Lakotas recognise another kind of sacred stone: iyansa, 'red stone' or catlinite, quarried near Pipestone, Minnesota. Lakota legend has it that 'pipestone' is red because it is saturated with the blood of Lakota ancestors who were killed in a great primordial flood. Pipestone is primarily used to make the sacred pipes used in all Lakota rituals.

Notes::

• 1 - Frances Densmore. 1918. Teton Sioux Music. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 61. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.