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By Bornali Halder
© 2002 by Bornali Halder
Url: http://www.lakotaarchives.com/laksymbolpr.html
This article is based on an extensive review of literature relating to Lakota Sioux philosophy and is supplemented by material gathered during the author's 12 months of interviews and field research in South Dakota between 1998 and 1999 as part of anthropological doctoral research on Lakota Sioux environmental activism at the University of Oxford.Living on the prairies in the middle of the North American continent, one cannot help but notice how the land lies in an interconnected pattern of circular sweeps, and that the sky is a circular dome that circumscribes one's world. The circle is a particularly potent symbol to the Lakota, that thoroughly exemplifies the Lakota notion of the circularity of all life. Thomas Tyon told Walker:
"The Oglala believe the circle to be sacred because the Great Spirit caused everything in nature to be round […]. The sun and the sky, the earth and the moon are round like a shield, though the sky is deep like a bowl. Everything that breathes is round like the body of a man. Everything that grows from the ground is round like the stem of a tree. Since the Great Spirit has caused everything to be round mankind should look upon the circle as sacred for it is the symbol of all things in nature […]. It is also the symbol of the circle that marks the edge of the world and therefore of the four winds that travel there. consequently, it is also the symbol of a year. The day, the night, and the moon go in a circle above the sky. Therefore the circle is a symbol of these divisions of time and hence the symbol of all time. For these reasons the Oglala make their tipis circular, their camp circle circular, and sit in a circle in all ceremonies. The circle is also the symbol of the tipi and of shelter. If one makes a circle for an ornament and it is not divided in any way, it should be understood as the symbol of the world and of time. […] The mouth of a pipe should always be moved about in a circle before the pipe is formally smoked" (1917: 160).1
Similarly, a few decades later, Nicholas Black Elk told Neihardt: "Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because [nature] always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. […] The sky is round. […] The earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing" (Neihardt 1932: 35).2
The circularity of life within the temporal span of a year is elaborated upon in the following excerpt of a conversation I had with an Oglala man:
"Everything necessary that is good should be in the circle of a year, which we call 365 days, so, that one year, it's saying that, omaka, o is 'within', maka is 'of the earth'. Omaka, in our language, means year. O, within the land of that year, omaka, everything's that's going to happen on the land should have happened within that omaka, one year. There should have been cracking of those seeds, there should have been landing on the ground, there should have been water on the ground to cause the plant to grow. Then all those connectives that mean growth: we say magaju - ga is another root word - magaju means maka-ga-ju, and that means the water came down to help those things that were planted - the oju, planting means oju - and when that happens, the water helps, we say magaju [rain]. Oju, is in the ground, so the water helps the plant to grow. So there's connection from the water with the ground meaning oju. You plant something, it means oju. Magaju means the water helps. So all those things happening together that way, then you have come to a full circle, then everything that should have happened during that year should have happened. That's why we call it omaka, within the time-span of that earth. And that includes spring, summer, fall, and then winter. Everything that should have happened should have happened in that circle of the omaka, the things of the earth, omaka, the things within the earth" (1998).
A spiritual practitioner described the circle of life to me in the context of the medicine wheel: "[I]f you look at the four directions, the above and below, and then what's in the centre as being something complete and whole, and that would relate to the circle which is complete and whole which relates to the Creator, and that relates to mitaku'oyasin - the sacred hoop of life" (1998). Several people described to me the sacred hoop of life (cangleška wakan) in which seven spheres interconnected - each one related to the other.
The sacred or medicine hoop, most often divided into four symmetrical quadrants representing the four directions or winds, was and is used by medicine and ordinary men as protective power symbols.
Some Lakota today talk about the broken nature of the sacred hoop and the necessity for it to be mended. Others are not so pessimistic, pointing to the fact that life is still revolving. The earliest written documentation of the notion of a broken sacred hoop is in the interviews of the Oglala Black Elk with Neihardt.
In a vision, a nine year old Black Elk was taken up into the skies to meet the Six Grandfathers who lived inside a tipi made of clouds and sewn with lightning, with a flaming rainbow door. These Six Grandfathers were the six powers of the world: the powers of the west, north, east, south, sky and earth. Black Elk looked down at the earth and "saw it lying yonder like a hoop of peoples, and in the center bloomed the holy stick that was a tree" (Neihardt 1932: 31).
"The leaves on the trees, the grasses on the hills and in the valleys, the waters in the creeks and in the rivers and the lakes, the four-legged and the two-legged and the wings of the air - all danced together to the music of the stallion's song. […] Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the centre grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy. […] Then I saw the rainbow flaming above the tepee of the Six Grandfathers, built and roofed with cloud and sewed with things of lightning; and underneath it were all the wings of the air and under them the animals and men. All these were rejoicing, and thunder was like happy laughter" (Neihardt 1932: 39-41).
In this vision the Grandfathers showed Black Elk that in these troubled times the flowering tree of the Lakotas was withered and the nation's hoop was broken. They told this nine year old boy that it would be in his power to bring this hoop together and make the holy tree flower again.
Notes::
The cocoon or diamond shape is another sacred symbol of the Lakota. It can be seen in many designs today. In the past, it was a common protective design, featured on war shields or on garments. Wissler described how during battle, geometric designs and medicine objects on buffalo hide shields protected the bearers in a supernatural manner. The wakan potency of the particular designs distracted the enemy and diverted their aim (1907: 22).1 The whirlwind symbolised confusion of mind and was used in the context of war so as to confuse the mind of the enemy. It is associated with the spider's web and the moth, especially the cocoon. Sometimes the power of the whirlwind is depicted as a feather in decorative and protective symbology.
The cocoon is a mysterious bundle which emanates a similar power to that of the whirlwind. A reason why the moth is sacred is its ability to escape its cocoon enclosure: like the wind, the moth cannot be confined. From this point of view, its intangibility and invisibility, like that of the wind, are qualities desirable by the Lakota. For some, the real power of both resided in the wind: "There was a deep mystery in the wind, since it was intangible and visible only in its effects. The moth by its wings reproduced the phenomenon of the whirlwind, or received from it power to rise in the air […]" (Wissler 1905: 258).2
The cocoon and whirlwind are also symbolically associated with the buffalo. Wissler was told: "The buffalo bull is said to pray to the power of the whirlwind before going into a fight [since it is observed that] […] as a preliminary to an encounter the bull paws the earth, every now and then deftly scooping up the dust with his hoof and driving it straight up into the air" (Ibid.). Wissler said that this action was the bull outwardly duplicating the visible aspects of the whirlwind power in order to harness it against his enemies (Ibid.: 258-259).
Bushotter described how whirlwinds are caused by the cocoon or chrysalis, which can be found in the small of the back of some buffalo. He also said:
"All such men who dream of the buffalo, act like them and dance the buffalo (bull) dance. And the man who acts the buffalo is said to have a real buffalo inside him, and a chrysalis lies within the flat part of the body near the should-blade; on account of which the man is hard to kill; no matter how often they wound him, he does not die" (in Dorsey 1894: 477).3
Thunder or Wakinyan is commonly represented as short and long, usually black or blue zig-zag streaks, or as the Thunderbird with a single flashing eye, outstretched wings and flexed talons. These symbols of the Wakinyan represent spiritual power of a most wakan and powerful, even dangerous kind and is commonly associated with both military and spiritual warriors. During battle or ceremony an eagle-wing-bone whistle with zig-zags down its length is often used to utilise the Thunder's power. A blue horse is another potent symbol of the Wakinyan. Lakota artists today often dream their designs before painting them, and traditional symbols as are being described here are used frequently.
Closely related to the Wakinyan is the spider, whose web stretches outwards to the Four Directions and the four Wakinyan, and was said to resist the destruction of bullets or arrows. Thus its symbol has lingered on as powerful and protective.
The equidistant cross is also a potent sacred symbol. The two centrally-intersecting lines which form the symmetrical cross exhibits the power of the Four Winds or Directions. Brown stated:
"This form has much power in it, for whenever we return to the center, we know that it is as if we are returning to Wakan-Tanka, who is the center of everything; and although we may think we are going away from Him, sooner or later we and all things must return to Him" (1953: 59).4
Most altars are constructed in the form of the sacred hoop intersected with the cross motif. Black Elk told Brown: "By constructing the altar in this manner, we see that everything leads into, or returns to, the center; and this center which is here, but which we know is really everywhere, is Wakan-Tanka" (Ibid.: 89-90).
Fletcher identified the umane as a sacred Lakota symbol. The umane is a square or oblong of mellowed earth, with the four corners often slightly extended to encompass the entire universe. The symbol often represents earth or land, and "the unappropriated life or power of the earth" (1884: 284, n.6).5
The umane is where "sod is removed [within the ritual space of a hocoka] from a square of about five feet […] leaving the brown earth exposed which is mellowed and made fine" (Ibid.: 263). The four corners of the square or oblong of mellowed earth are slightly extended to encompass the entire universe. The symbol represents the, as yet, unexpropriated power of life.
"Here […] is the exposure of the unappropriated earth, from which the power of life has not yet been drawn out into vegetative forms. This U-ma-ne, as the Dakotas call it, is needful to secure the hearing of the address by the life-giving power of the earth, which is appealed to [in ceremony]. All the sacred articles are placed upon it: the skull, hide and black earth. From the earth thus made visible powers of various kinds are desired […]" (Ibid.: n.8).
Regarding the umane, an Indian man told Fletcher: "We believe the real power of the earth to reside in the freshly exposed soil, so we cut off the sod in preparing it for religious ceremonies, that we may reach this real power and derive benefit from it" (Ibid.: 282, n.4).
Notes::
One will have observed from the above discussion how four is a common form of numerical classification for the Lakota. Sword described to Walker the significance of the number four:
"In former times the Lakota grouped all their activities by four's. This was because they recognised four directions: the west, the north, the east, and the south; four divisions of time: the day, the night, the moon, and the year; four parts to everything that grows from the ground: the roots, the stem, the leaves, and the fruit; four kinds of things that breathe: those that crawl, those that fly, those that walk on four legs, and those that walk on two legs; four things above the world: the sun, the moon, the sky, and the stars; four kinds of gods: the great, the associates of the great, the gods below them, and the spirit kind; four periods of human life: babyhood, childhood, adulthood, and old age; and finally, mankind had four fingers on each hand, four toes on each foot, and the thumbs and the great toes of each taken together are four. Since the Great Spirit caused everything to be in four's, mankind should do everything possible in four's" (Walker 1917: 159-60).1
My own research participants told me of the four sacred Lakota virtues: bravery, generosity, respect and wisdom. Ceremonies are frequently divided into four, for example, both the vision quest and sun dance traditionally take four days, and the sweat lodge ceremony is most often divided into four parts. The pipe is offered to the Four Directions and then Skan, Maka and frequently Spotted Eagle (Wanbli Gleska). One Oglala man told me that the sacred significance of four can be seen in the inipi ceremony is this way: "When we sweat [during inipi] the spirit of the sun is in the spirit of the fire, the spirit of the sky is in the water, the spirit of the earth is what we sit on in the lodge, and the spirit of the Creator is in the rocks. So those are the first four primal elements that we go by […]" (1998). In the past, an Oglala camp might be divided into four circles, with the centre forming the hocoka.
Powers described the four divisions of time in more detail:
| Lakota | Free Translation |
|---|---|
| 1) omaka | year, season |
| waniyetu | winter |
| wetu | spring |
| bloketu | summer |
| ptanyetu | autumn |
| 2) wi | month |
| witanin | new moon, crescent |
| wiyašpa | half-moon |
| wimimela | full moon |
| wit'e | waning moon |
| 3) anpetu | day |
| wihinapa, anpo | sunrise or dawn |
| hihanna | morning |
| wicokanhiya, sam iyaye | noon |
| wimaheya | sunset |
| 4) hanhepi | night |
| htayetu | dusk |
| hanyetu | evening |
| hancokan | midnight |
| hanwakan | aurora |
(After Powers 1975: 49-50)2
The above tabulation also reveals the symbolic significance of four by four - sixteen, and may explain why Walker so systematically and hierarchically classified the Oglala supernatural world into sixteen 'gods'.
Lakota philosophy also conceives of seven as a socio-spiritual classificatory device. There are the seven divisions (Oceti Šakowin) of the Sioux: Teton, Yankton. Yanktonais, Mdewakanton, Wahpeton, Sisseton and Wahpekute. There are the seven bands of the Teton: Oglala, Sicangu, Hunkpapa, Minneconjou, Sihasapa, Oohenunpa and Itazipco. Seven sacred rites were passed on to the Sioux by the White Buffalo Calf Woman: Sweat Lodge, Vision Quest, Keeping of the Soul, the Sun Dance, Making of Relatives, Girl's Puberty Rite, and Throwing of the Ball. In ritual, the pipe is offered seven times: to the Four Directions, Skan, Maka, and a messenger such as the Spotted Eagle. There are seven directions: north, south, east, west, zenith, nadir, and cante (heart, implying where one is now).
Black Elk elaborated upon the importance of the product of four and seven:
"I should explain to you here that in setting up the sun dance lodge, we are really making the universe in a likeness; for, you see, each of the posts around the lodge represents some particular object of creation, so that the whole circle is the entire creation, and the one tree at the center, upon which the twenty-eight poles rest, is Wakan-Tanka, who is the center of everything. Everything comes from Him, and sooner or later everything returns to Him. And I should also tell you why it is that we use twenty-eight poles. I have already explained why the numbers four and seven are sacred; then if you add four sevens you get twenty-eight. Also the moon lives twenty-eight days, and this is our month; each of these days of the month represents something sacred to us: two of the days represent the Great Spirit; two are for Mother Earth; four are for the four winds; one is for the Spotted Eagle; one for the sun; and one for the moon; one is for the Morning Star; and four for the four ages; seven are for our seven great rites; one is for the buffalo; one for the fire; one for the water; one for the rock; and finally one is for the two-legged people. If you add all these days up you will see that they come to twenty-eight. You should also know that the buffalo has twenty-eight ribs, and that in our war bonnets we usually use twenty-eight feathers" (Brown 1953: 80).3
Notes::
Blue, green, red, yellow, white and black are particularly sacred colours for the Lakota. Colour symbology encompasses the entire cosmic universe, including sacred values and sacred entities:
| Blue | Skan, Taku Skanskan, Wakinyan, Tate, zenith, west |
| Green | Maka, nadir |
| Red | 'all that is sacred', Wi, Tatanka, north |
| Yellow | Inyan, knowledge and wisdom, east |
| Black | Wakinyan, heyoka, power, courage, strength, authority, purification (rain), west |
| White | fertility and rebirth, south |
Red symbolises the totality of all that is sacred and in itself contains sacred potency. Application of red paint to a person spiritually ties him or her to the ceremony of which s/he is a part. To a thing, such as a stone, application of red paint consecrates and makes it an altar. Similarly, wrapping something in red cloth consecrates it. During the sun dance, for example, head, wrist and ankles bands of sage (a sacred object in itself) are also tied with red cloth. When a woman has her first menstrual blood she is considered to have become sacred and continues to inhere sacred power whenever she menstruates during the course of her life.
Often, the combination of black and blue signifies a heyoka or Thunder Dreamer, although one heyoka I knew used the colours black and yellow. Indeed, yellow is sometimes associated with Wakinyan in addition to blue and black. Black is a powerful colour and black stripes were often painted on the face of a warrior to denote authority, strength and pride. Today, heyokas may still be seen during certain rituals with half their faces painted black.
Many medicine men, even today, talk of 'red days' and 'blue days'. Brown stated that the terms are "really far more than a wish for good weather, for the Sioux believe that these are the days at the end of the world when the moon will turn red and the sun will turn blue" (1953: 19).1 An anonymous medicine man told Walker that when a shaman asked for a 'blue day', he was not only asking for a good, clear, sunny day but also for "an effective performance of a ceremony" (1917: 158).2 I have also heard the term 'green day' being spoken of in ritual contexts, but have not been able to determine its significance.
Notes::
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