The White Buffalo Calf Virgin and the Pipe

There are many stories about the coming of the Pipe.  This one is presented as representative.  cf. www.bluecloud.org

Long ago, the Lakota were camping near the Red Pipe Stone quarry and were praying.  Two young men left the camp to bring in meat.   Suddenly a beautiful young woman appeared.  She was coming toward them down a hill and carrying a bundle in her arms.  One of the men began thinking unclean thoughts about her and said that he was going to her.  The other man said he ought to be careful, because this girl was not just an ordinary woman but someone especially holy – nina wakan.     But the other man did not believe it and he started walking towards the woman.  As he came close to her, a cloud covered them, and when the cloud lifted, he was whited bones. 

Seeing this, the other young man stood there shaking.

The beautiful woman said that he was not to feel afraid, because she was bringing something to the people that would help them live.  She asked him to go and tell the people that she would be coming to them soon.

After that the young man hurried to the camp and told the herald to announce to everyone that something was about to happen, and that they should get ready for it.

So all the people got themselves ready by keeping good thoughts in their minds and by behaving in a good way.

Finally, one day the woman came, walking toward the camp, singing.  She came walking among their tipis, and, when she stopped, she told the people that she had something for them.

It is said that she was very beautiful and that she was dressed in white buckskin with very long hair.  She opened her bundle and showed the Sacred Pipe to everyone. Twelve eagle feathers hung from the Pipe.  She handed the Pipe to the Leader of the people and told him that this was the Sacred Pipe and that the Great Spirit would bless them because of it.

The woman then showed the people how to pray with the Pipe, pointing it to the four directions, then lifting it up to the sky and then lowering it to the earth.  The Lady addressed the women, telling them that the work of their hands and the fruit of their wombs was what kept the people alive.

Then she turned to the little children and said that they should be treated with the same respect as the adults.  She told the little children that whatever the grown men and women did, whatever their parents did, was done for them.  She told them that children were the greatest possession of the nation.  They were the life of the people, and they kept the circle going without end.

Then she spoke to the men like a sister.  She made them understand that whatever it was that they depended on for living came from the four directions, from the earth and from the sky.  They should use the Pipe to offer prayers to Wakantanka Tunkasila (Grandfather) in petition and in thanks for all the things he gives them in life.  They should be kind to the women and children and love them. 

Last of all she spoke to the Leader.  It was his duty, she said, to take care of the Pipe.  She told him that the Pipe should be used when the people are threatened by war or sickness, or any great need.  She told them that eventually she would reveal to them seven Sacred Rites that would bless all the seasons of their lives.

It is said that she stayed with them four days and continued to teach them how to live good lives.  She also taught them about the Pipe and its meaning.

When she was finished, she sang a song and went away from the camp.  As the Holy Woman reached the top of the hill and looked back, she became a white buffalo calf.  It snorted and ran away out of sight.

It may be that from this time the people began to use the Prayer, “Mitakuye Oyasin” or “All My Relatives”, since it was the White Buffalo Calf Woman who taught them the Prayer.  From that time on, whenever the hunters saw a white buffalo calf in a herd, they never took any animals from that herd.  All the animals were guarding the White Buffalo Calf Woman.