The young man with the bad thought reached out to touch her, and, when he did, a cloud overshadowed the two. The cloud soon disappeared, and at her feet remained the dry bones of the man.

Shortly after this, when the people were all back to camp, they saw the beautiful woman coming to the camp with the bundle. In the bundle was the Buffalo Calf Pipe, which the woman gave to the people. She told them how to use it as an offering to Wakantanka, and then she left.

When she was some distance away, the people saw she had turned into a brown buffalo. The buffalo lay down, rolled over, and then it turned into a beautiful white buffalo, which vanished before their eyes. From that day on the Buffalo Calf Pipe was holy and was used extensively.

The Pipe is filled with sacred tobacco. Each grain of tobacco represents part of the thousands upon thousands of things in the universe. The fire of the great universe is thought to make the man smoking it become all the parts of the universe and be able to feel God's presence within him. The smoke rising is visible prayer, and the entire creation is thought to rejoice, and all things are at peace with each other. It is for this reason the Pipe is used.

So, the most widely used article in religious ceremonies today is the Sacred Pipe to carry out worship activities. The Pipe, representing the universe and man, is often smoked when visitors arrive. The Pipe bowl, where tobacco is put, stands for the heart or sacred center of man. The filled Pipe represents everything in the universe. The fire represents the Great Spirit who created all things. When one smokes the Pipe, he becomes one with God and the universe. When the smoke rises to heaven, it is a visible prayer.

Before the smoking of the Pipe occurs, a ceremony is conducted. The Pipe is offered to the sky to begin the official ceremony, followed by offerings to various directions beginning with the west and clockwise. (A brief description is given for each direction.)

1. West is represented by the color black. The prayer for the west is, "Great Spirit, while darkness comes over us, we pray in Thanksgiving for all the blessings given us from the bounty of your love. 0 Great Spirit."

2. North is represented by the color white. White symbolizes the Great Spirit, creator and provider of all things. White symbolizes His purity from which came the purification ceremonies.

The prayer for the north is, "Great Spirit, we need your strength to heal us and the earth to be our friend everyday. We will be patient and wait for your sign. Thank you, 0 Great Spirit."

3. East represented by the color red symbolizes the Great Spirit in the rising sun of light and life.

The special prayer toward the east is, "As I hold the sacred pipe in prayer for you to see and hear, lead us, Great Spirit, and shield us from evil spirits. Thank you, Great Spirit, for all the benefits of your guiding hand. We are lost without you."

4. South is represented by the color of yellow symbolizing the Great Spirit as a provider of all blooming nature for man to use, multiply and store for future use.

The special prayer for the South is, "Great Spirit, guide us so that we will not destroy your gifts or be wasteful but conscious of the needs of our fellowmen at all times."

After completing the four direction offerings, the Pipe is then held toward the sky for a second time. This time to the Wambdi Oyate. The Eagle People. It is believed that the eagle takes the visible prayer even higher in elevation. Finally, the Pipe is pointed toward Grandmother Earth to provide wisdom for all our generations and so that our generations will continue to endure forever.

I could not perform the Pipe Ceremony without first giving a brief description of this religious ceremony. All people have different versions, different methods of performing the ceremony. This is what I have learned from my Grandfathers.