The White Buffalo Legend

The Blessing

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The Legend

The winter was long and the village was in
turmoil; children argued with their parents,
neighbours quarreled, everyone was bad
tempered and mean. The Elders knew that
spring would bring peace because with
spring would come the buffalo, and
with the buffalo would come the need to work
together. Although the weather grew warmer, the
buffalo did not return. It seemed as if the
people were doomed to eternal conflict.
The weather grew warmer but the buffalo
did not return. So they sent out scouts to
look for them. Two best scouts in the
village were Black Knife and Blue Cloud.
Both were young and strong and
knew the plains and distant hills.
But they were very different, Black Knife
was selfish and bad tempered, always showing
off and fighting if he did not get his way.
Blue Cloud was kind and good natured always
ready to help. The two scouts walked for
days but no signs of the buffalo. Black Knife
wanted to go back to the village and felt
they were wasting their time. But
Blue Cloud wanted to keep on searching for
he knew his people were depending on them.
As he spoke he saw foot prints on
the soft ground leading towards the hills.
He thought someone may be lost and need their help.
Blck Knife complained and said we do not
need to help someone stupid enough to get
lost and let's go back. But Blue
Cloud kept on walking following the footprints
with Black Knife grumbling after him.
Both men stopped for they saw someone
coming down from the hills. It was a woman
dressed in the finest white buckskin dress
and on it were beads of many colours. Her
long black hair floated around her and she was
the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.
Black Knife wanted this woman for himself and
said he would drag her back to the village.
Blue Cloud spoke of respect for this woman.
Black Knife sneered. Blue Cloud asked the
woman if she was lost and if she needed
help. The woman ignored Blue Cloud and spoke
to Black Knife....she knew what he wanted
to do and told Black Knife I dare
you to come and try...black Knife lunged
towards the woman and Blue Cloud tried to
stop him but it was to late...Just
as Black Knife was ready to touch the
woman a cloud descended and when the cloud lifted
Black Knife was gone....Blue cloud realized
this was a sacred woman with great powers
and he was frightened. The woman spoke to
Blue Cloud and her voice was gentle and
so he lost his fear.
She told blue Cloud he was a good
man and that she had a message for him to
deliver to his people..."Tell
your people that the fighting and
arguing must stop and that they must
prove they can work together. They must
build a great tipi in the center of the
village and when it is finished I will come."
Blue cloud hurried back to the village and
told the elders what had happened and the
Elders called the people together.....they
explained to the people that they had not
listened when they tried to make peace among
them all and they also told of Black Knife
not listening and perishing....The Elders
said if we do not listen we too may perish
and asked the people if they were ready to
listen.....One by one each member of the
tribe answered Yes....A change came over
the village and everyone brought something to the
task....even the children helped and a beautiful
tipi of white rose hide rose before them....At
last the tipi was finished and they had all worked
together without fighting...The Chief sat at the
entrance to the tipi and the Elders inside awaiting
the arrival of the sacred woman....She
walked into the village singing...in
her arms she carried a bundle covered
with the same white buckskin as her dress.
The woman entered the tipi and said I am
White Buffalo Woman and I have come to bring
you a gift...The woman placed the bundle in
front of her and slowly opened it to reveal a
pipe with a buffalo carved on one side....
attached to the stem were twelve eagle
feathers tied with sweet grass, and four ribbons of
red,black, white and yellow. She held up the
pipe and said you have shown yourselves to be
worthy and therefore I bring you this pipe...
She held it out to the chief and explained.....
The buffalo stands for the earth, our
mother who gives us food. The eagle feather
stands for the sky and the twelve moons
....The sky is our father who watches over
us..the ribbons represent the four corners of
the world. When you smoke the pipe you must
offer it to each in respect to the earth.....
The Black is for the West....Whose thunder
sends us rain to make the seeds grow..
White is for the North that sends
the cooling winds....Red is for the East
the home of the first light and it
brings wisdom...The Yellow is for the South
that gives us summer sun to make the grass grow tall
in the fields...You have shown yourselves
worthy of it by working together in harmony....
Use it with peace in your hearts and it will make you
prosperous....White Buffalo Woman handed the
pipe to the chief to pass around to the elders....
She rose and walked out of the tipi....The people
moved to let her pass and they watched as she moved
through the village and into the fields....
Suddenly she began to run and as she ran
she transformed into a magnificent white buffalo.
Then , just as miraculously a herd of buffalo
appeared grazing in the fields beyond the village.
The people treasured the pipe.....Whenever
they were tempted to quarrel among themselves
they remembered that only through peace could
they solve their problems and prosper.
Soon they were offering the pipe to the people
of other villages and explained the meaning
as was done with them by White Buffalo Woman.
That it must be used with understanding of
what nature gives and what people must do in
return..They had hoped that its message would
spread to the west,north,east and south....
to the ends of the earth.

by C.J.Taylor who is a Mohawk artist and writer.

White Buffalo Calf

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