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The White Buffalo Woman Once there were two Sioux warriors who were out hunting in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Their people were starving so they went in search of buffalo. While hunting, the warriors observed a large presence moving towards them. At first the presence appeared to be that of a white buffalo but as it came closer it transformed into a beautiful young woman. One of the warriors became consumed by desire for the beautiful young woman and tried to touch her. Upon touching her, a darkness came over him. Soon the darkness left. The warrior was gone with only a pile of bone remaining. The second warrior became very frightened at this sight and fell to his knees and began to pray. The beautiful woman, who was really a white buffalo calf, told him to return home and in four days she would deliver to him a sacred bundle. The second warrior returned home and told the elders of his village of the beautiful woman and her promise. Just as promised, four days passed and a white buffalo calf appeared to him and again became a beautiful woman. The beautiful woman delivered a sacred bundle. The woman, who was really a white buffalo, remained four days in the village teaching them seven sacred ceremonies. The ceremonies were for purification, child naming, healing, adoption (relatives), marriage, the vision quest and the Sundance. The beautiful woman promised that as long as the ceremonies were practiced their people would never die. The beautiful woman, who was really a white buffalo, returned to her original form. Before rising up into the clouds she promised to return one day to reclaim the sacred bundle and purify the world. She prophesied that the birth of a white buffalo calf would serve as a sign of her return. Bibliography www.kstrom.net/isk/arvol/buffpipe Text by Paula Giese copyright, 1995, 1996. Traditional Story copyright Joseph Chasing Horse, 1995. Arvol Looking Horse's pages. Native American Indian Resources. Last updated 7/19/1996. The purpose of Paula Giese's web page is to serve as an educational resource. For this web assignment I summarized Joseph Chasing Horse's version of the White Buffalo Woman. |