The Seven Gifts that
Accompanied the Pipe
The seven gifts that White Buffalo Calf Maiden brought to "The People" (Sioux) were the ceremonies that incorporated the use of the Sacred Pipe.
The Keeping of Souls
The first ceremony is for purification of the Soul of the deceased loved one. The purification is necessary to enable the soul to return to Wakan Tanka, and includes the ceremony that takes place as far as one year from the departed Soul's death when
the Soul is released to travel to the Great Creator.
The Rite of Purification
The Sweat Lodge Ceremony, or Inipi, is known as a cleansing and prepatory ceremony. Before embarking on any important event in a persons life, that person must first prepare for this event by cleansing themself in the Sweat Lodge. At this is the time
, their lifeblood {sweat} is mixed with the lifeblood of all their brothers and sisters present in the lodge with them. The ceremony release all impurities and are sent forth from the Lodge on the four winds. This ceremony binds a person to Mother Earth.<
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The Vision Quest
The Vision Quest is an individual's private ceremony and requires considerable preperation. It is strictly a connection between the individual and the Great Creator. This significant very important ceremony marks the coming of age of the young adoles
ent Native Americans. It is preformed by an individual who wishes to seek their own relationship to the Great Creator, and is looking for the part they desire to play in this life's Walk.
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The Sun Dance
The Sun Dance Ceremony {Wiwanyag Wachipi} is the coming together of the tribe to offer thanks, and to honor and show devotion to the Great Mystery for the bounty of the past year. This ceremony was banned by the White Man after he had confined the Na
tive Americans to reservations. The reason for the ban was due to the practise of Native Americans who pierced their skins with wooden pegs that were attached to the Sun Dance Pole. Once secured to the pegs, they danced around the pole while at the same t
ime pulling against the pegs until there skins ripped to release the wooden pegs. Native Americans sacrificed themselves in this manner to prove their faith to the Great Mystery not just for themself but for their tribe. In the past couple of decades, ho
wever, this ceremony has been revived on some reservations.
Making Relatives
The Hunkapi Ceremony is to establish a relationship between two people who become closer than kinship. It is likened to the adoption ceremony of someone. Once this ceremony has taken place, the participants become responsible for each other.
The Preperation of Womanhood
The Ishnata Awicalowan Ritual is one that every girl shares when she experiences her first moon time, or menstruation. It is an important teaching that is handed down to her as a young women who is now able to bear children. She becomes like Mother E
arth - a link to the preservation of the tribe. In Native American Culture, it is the woman who is held in high regard and who sets in the place of honor at the Spirit-calling Ceremony. This ceremony is spiritually uplifting to participants and all othr w
omen of the tribe. A woman was the first pipe carrier to "The People." Women are considered the peace seekers in time of great disasters.
Throwing the Ball
Tapa Wanka Yap is the ritual that expressed and grounded the belief of Wakan Tanka as a part of all things. All participants of this rite hold a ball each that represents the Great Creator. These balls are thrown in the directions of the four quart
ers of the Universe, and establish the relationship between people and the Universe, or Wakan Tanka, who is everything.
In some ways, many of these ceremonies have changed. The Sun Dance, Sweat Lodge, and the Vision Quest Ceremonies are still practiced and used on many reservations in their original forms. In the other ceremonies, each tribe or community has made cha
nges that reflect the progressing of time.
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