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| White Buffalo Calf Woman, Original artwork above by Rogue Guirey Simpson, 1992 |
Mother is an inherent and inseparable part of creation. The glory of the natural world is her raiment. Her visage can be seen in the faces of people; the fragility, the fierceness and the tenderness of all humanity is there. For all peoples, cultures, and throughout history, she has also moved amongst us, making Herself known. Often, she will take form. She may appear as a beautiful woman, not even recognized as the entity she is. There are many stories which illustrate this. She becomes embodied in order to teach and to give blessings or boons.
One embodiment of Divine Mother that has been told of again and again is that of White Buffalo Woman. Below follows one of her tales:
It was a winter morning, and two hunters on their hunt saw a beautiful woman approaching. She was in buckskin that was pure white and she carried a small pack. One of the men saw only a beautiful woman and immediately began lusting after her. His partner told him to stop having such thoughts because it was obvious that she was a "wakan" or holy woman.
The woman came close, put down her bundle and asked the lustful man to speak with her. He came close, and all of a sudden, a great cloud enveloped the two of them. When the cloud disappeared, the woman stood there with a pile of bones at her feet which were being cleaned off of flesh by snakes.
This story, according to the Lakota Holy Man, Black Elk, teaches how our thoughts should be considered and measured and disciplined because worldly passions can consume us entirely.
To many, the stories about White Buffalo Woman are seen as ways of living, guideposts to spirituality, and ways of honoring community, and the environment. In fact, White Buffalo Woman has been told to have brought seven sacred rites to the Oglala Sioux, that support those very things.
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