According to Cinnamon Moon, the Lakota have four superior mysteries of sixteen in total. These are the first manifestationsof the Great Spirit, in the order in which they occurred. Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, the Creator, in whom [in which] the Self is a molecule.
- Wi, the Sun, representing personal power, but perhaps not as other cultures would perceive it. Wi manifested from pure spirit as Light and Life. Wi is a teacher, a sustainer, and was transformed by the Great Spirit into the sun, with the power to provide energy for the earth to produce the substance of life. Wi is the light.
- Skan is Motion, the action inherent in all things, and manifestation incarnate [meta-manifestation?]. In the act of creation, Skan set the stars and planets moving on their paths and released the winds to travel across the universe. Skan blew water onto the earth to create the oceans and seas. Skan enters the body with the spirit and sets in motion the breath and blood of new life. Skan's the dance.
- Maka! Mother Earth, birth and sustenance, and so takes the form of the earth. Maka is the essence of feminine energy, both the source and substance of life, The Great Spirit took all the colors of light and, putting them together, created the sacred brown of Mother Earth. Maka is mama, and she makes her needs known.
- Inyan is the foundation, the Spirit of Equilibrium, who came as stone to support the earth, holding her together. (Lakotas say "Maka-say-elo" all things upon this earth are endless.) Inyan is a living force; all stones in your path are alive. The rock, the mountain, and all minerals are the material body of Inyan. Inyan Ska, the quartz crystal, lives and grows within the dark interior of the earth; carrying this stone, dark energy becomes clear. Inyan's grounded.
Lakota creation mythInyan - Rock - is shapeless and omnipresent, and his spirit is Wakan Tanka: the Great Mystery. Han, Darkness, also exists.Inyan longs to exercise his powers, or his compassion, so he creates another being - as part of himself in order to keep control of his powers. This being is Mother Earth, or Maka. But in doing so he sacrifices his blood, which becomes the waters, and he shrivels up and becomes hard, losing his power. The water cannot retain the power, and goes into the making of Skan, the sky. Maka, meanwhile, complains to Inyan that all is cold and dark, so he creates Anp, the red light. This is not enough for her, so he creates Wi, the sun. Maka now wants to be separate, not part of her creator. Inyan can only appeal to Skan, in his role as supreme judge. Skan rules that Maka must stay bound up with Inyan - which is why rocks are bound up with soil. In another version, Inyan loses all his power when he makes Maka, and she taunts him with his impotence, so that he appeals to Skan. Skan then banishes Han, Darkness, and creates Anp to light the world. When Maka complains that she is still cold, Skan creates Wi, the Sun. Maka now complains that she is too hot. Skan therefore orders Han and Anp to follow each other round the world, thus creating day and night. To the Lakota, the most significant thing is Inyan's self-sacrifice in making the world. It is interesting that the prime mover of the universe is motivated by a desire to interact, and has to create a dynamic deity to continue creation. Duality, represented by day and night, is considered essential to this creation. Skan, Father Sky, resembles Zeus, and even creates for himself a daughter, the beautiful Wohpe, patron of beauty, harmony and pleasure - very like the Greek Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus: harmony springs from judgement. This myth is also interesting in relation to scientific accounts of the beginnings of the universe - the Big Bang. |
Links to explore
- The Lakota Pantheon, Elizabeth Bissette
- Lakota Sioux Creation Myth, another variation
- Wohpe, White Buffalo Maiden, HinTamaheca
- My favorite Sioux character, Inktomi
- Indian Legends link list for 5 Lakota stories
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