It wasn’t until the fourth day after the incident on the hill that scouts on the lookout for the beautiful female noticed something moving across the prairie. All of a sudden, the woman was inside of the great lodge. She walked in the direction of the sun and stood before Standing Hollow Horn in the lodge. Offering her bundle to the chief, she said, “Look on this”¦and always love and respect it. No one who is impure should ever touch this bundle, for it contains the sacred pipe.”
As she unrolled the skin bundle, a pipe appeared. She also placed a small round stone on the ground that was contained inside the bundle. The woman stated: “With this pipe you will walk on the earth, which is your grandmother and your mother. The earth is sacred, and so is every step that you take on her. The bowl of the pipe is of red stone; it is the earth. Carved into it and facing the center is the buffalo calf, who stands for all the four-leggeds. The stem is of wood, which stands for all that grows on the earth. These twelve hanging feathers from the Spotted Eagle stand for all the winged creatures. All these living things of the universe are the children of Mother Earth. You are all joined as one family, and you will be reminded of this when you smoke the pipe. Treat this pipe and the earth with respect, and your people will increase and prosper.”
On the stone, there were seven carved circles, which she said stood for the seven rites that the people would learn to use the sacred pipe , the first being the rite of ‘keeping the soul.’ This was the only rite that she taught the people, as the rest would be learned when the time was right. Making her way to leave the lodge, the woman turned around and spoke to Standing Hollow Horn once more. She exclaimed: “This pipe will carry you to the end. Remember that in me there are four ages. I am going now, but I will look on your people in every age, and at the end I will return.”
Slowly, the woman walked the lodge in the direction of the sun. Her presence had truly fascinated the people and the camp grew silent. All eyes were fixated on the woman. After she left, the people still saw her in the distance and noticed that she turned to face the people again and found a place in the prairie to sit. Those who were still staring at the woman saw that she laid down and when she rolled over, she was no longer a woman, but instead , a youthful buffalo calf of red and brown. When she stood up, she was a white buffalo that walked until she was no longer in view. Rolling over again, she turned into a black buffalo. As the creature walked, it stopped and then bowed to all four directions of the earth. At last, the vision disappeared as it made its way over the hill.
For the conclusion of this series, check the next article titled, “Theories and Observations: the White Buffalo Woman Myth.”
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Resource: http://www.livingmyths.com/Native.htm