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Community Starlight July 2024
the Lakota Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman
Image reproduction from the book Images of Primordial and Mystic Beauty:
Paintings by Frithjof Schuon (World Wisdom 2003). From the World History Encyclopedia White Buffalo Calf Womanhttps://www.worldhistory.org/article/2277/white-buffalo-calf-woman/
retrieved 7/6/2024
By Mike OSullivan
July 7, 2024
Marquette, Michigan, USA--A young girl recently took a photo of a rare white buffalo calf somewhere in America. The picture was published in an article on the Internet. Unfortunately, as one of the commenters on the article pointed out, the girl unknowingly put a target on the white buffalo calf.
But why? Chief Arvol Looking Horse speaks of the Lakota Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman.
Thousands of years ago, the White Buffalo Calf Woman saved the people from starvation, taught them seven sacred ceremonies, and left with them a sacred pipe still held today, 19 generations later, by Chief Arvol Looking Horse (Chief Arvol Looking Horse Speaks of White Buffalo Prophecy, retrieved 7/3/2024).
The White Buffalo Calf Woman promised to return to the people. Rare white buffalo calf births remind the people of their beloved White Buffalo Calf Woman who saved the people from starvation and ruin.
Chief Arvol Looking Horse claims a white buffalo calf has walked on the earth every year since 1994. He shares these births as a prophecy and a warning. He calls all people to come together for harmony on Mother Earth.
The Lakota Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman is important to learn for all people living a good life on Mother Earth.
The Lakota Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman
According to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, it was 19 generations ago when two scouts were out hunting one day. Their people were starving. Buffalo herds had not come for many years. The people depended on buffalo herds for their survival.
The scouts saw a young maiden with long dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes dressed in white buckskin approaching over a hill. As the woman came closer, one of the scouts thought to himself, I will possess this beautiful maiden to satisfy my lust for her. When this first scout reached the woman, a cloud enveloped them both. When the cloud settled, only the bones of the scout remained. The other scout became afraid.
At this time, the woman explained that she was wakȟáŋ (holy, having spiritual and supernatural powers). She further explained that if he did as she instructed, his people would rise again. She spoke to the scout in the Lakota language. The scout promised to do what she instructed, and was told to return to his encampment, call the Council, and prepare a feast for her arrival (Wikipedia, retrieved 7/3/2024).
The respectful scout returned to his people. The people prepared for the holy woman’s arrival. When the young woman arrived, a dust cloud surrounded the people. The cloud cleared and a buffalo herd appeared around the encampment. The holy woman explained to the people how the buffalo would always be with them now. The people rejoiced and were no longer starving.
The holy woman sang songs and taught the people seven sacred ceremonies.
"She taught the Lakota seven sacred ceremonies to protect the Mother Earth and gave them the čhaŋnúŋpa, the sacred ceremonial pipe.The seven ceremonies are:1. Inípi (purification lodge)2. Haŋbléčheyapi (crying for vision)3. Wiwáŋyaŋg Wačhípi (Sun Dance)4. Huŋkalowaŋpi (making of relatives)5. Išnáthi Awíčhalowaŋpi (female puberty ceremony)6. Tȟápa Waŋkáyeyapi (throwing of the ball)7. Wanáǧi Yuhápi (soul keeping)[1]Each part of the čhaŋnúŋpa (stem, bowl, tobacco, breath, and smoke) is symbolic of the relationships of the natural world, the elements, humans and the spiritual beings that maintain the cycle of the universe.[2]"
(Wikipedia, retrieved 7/3/2024)
When the young woman left the people, she promised she would return. Before she disappeared over a hill, she turned into a buffalo calf and rolled over four times. She changed color each time, first black, then red, then yellow, and finally white. This act symbolized the four heads of humanity and the four cardinal directions. The people called the holy woman White Buffalo Calf Woman because she last changed to a white buffalo calf.
The Context for the White Buffalo Calf Woman
During the time of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, the subjugation of women began dominating the old world. In the Bible, for example, Queen Vashti loses her sacred royal house when her husband commands her—through his chamberlains-- to come to his house to dance for him and his friends. Queen Vashti refuses. Instead, she invites her husband and his friends to her royal house to be entertained.
The husband’s guests compel him: You must refuse Vashti, otherwise all women in the land will think they have rights and choices. “For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported.”
Queen Vashti’s husband listens to his male guests, abandons his wife, takes away her royal estate, gives it to another, and banishes her to come no more before him because “…every man should bear rule in his own house…." (Esther: 1:1-22)
Where did Queen Vashti go? Surely, she would have had a large and devoted party of supporters. Did Vashti arrive in the Americas? Did she explore the Americas with her entourage? Did she or one of her descendants share old world knowledge and pageantry with the Lakota people and with others in the Americas? Did she receive news of people starving and move a buffalo herd to save them?
Or perhaps The White Buffalo Calf Woman was some other queen driven from her lands by male domination, betrayal, and banishment.
Main Theme of the Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman
Elevate respect for women to help heal humanity's relationship with Mother Earth.
---Mike OSullivan (she/her) writes and publishes web content and is a community collaborator. Mike is a board member of Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy (UPLC). She is a healthcare coding consultant living in Marquette with her beloved husband, Todd Carter. Todd is an award-winning regional artist. He is a lifelong painter, educator, and technical specialist. Todd contributes artwork, photos, technical support, and editing support to Upfirst.com.
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