66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 6i 



respect and reverence this pipe, and above all, lead pure lives. Wakag'tagka is your 

 great grandfather. ' ' 



Turning to the men: 



"Now my dear 1 rothers: In giving you this pipe you are expected to u.se it for nothing 

 but good purposes. The tril)e as a whole shall depend upon it for their necessary 

 needs. You realize that all your necessities of life come from the earth helow, the 

 sky above, and the four winds. Whenever you do anything wrong against these ele^ 

 ments they will always take some revenge upon you. You should reverence them. 

 ■ Offer sacrifices through this pipe. When you are in need of buffalo meat, smoke this 

 pipe and ask for what you need and it shall l)e granted you. On you it depends to 

 be a strong help to the women in the raising of children. Share the women's sorrow. 

 Wakag^tagka smiles on the man who has a kind feeling for a woman, because the 

 woman is weak. Take this pipe, and offer it to Wakag'tagka daily. Be good and 

 kind to the little children." 



Turning to the chief: 



"My older brother: You have been chosen by these people to receive this pipe in 

 the name of the whole Sioux tribe. Wakag'taqka is pleased and glad this day because 

 you have done what it is required and expected that every good leader should do. 

 By this pipe the tribe shall live. It is your duty to see that this pipe is respected 

 and reverenced. I am proud to be called a sister. May Wakag'tagka look down on 

 us and take pity on us and provide -us with what we need. Now we shall smoke the 

 pipe." 



Then she took the buffalo chip which lay on the ground, lighted the pipe, and 

 pointing to the sky with the stem of the pipe, she said, " I offer this to Wakag'tagka 

 for all the good that comes from above." (Pointing to the earth:) "I offer this to 

 the earth, whence come all good gifts." (Pointing to the cardinal points:) "I offer 

 this to the four winds, whence come all good things." Then she took a puff of the 

 pipe, passed it to the chief, and said, "Now my dear brothers and sisters, I have 

 done the work for which I was sent here and now I will go, but I do not wish any 

 escort. I only ask that the way be cleared before me. ' ' 



Then, rising, she started, leaving the pipe with the cliief. who ordered that the 

 people be quiet until their sister was out of sight. She came out of the tent on the 

 left side, walking very slowly; as soon as she was outside the entrance she turned into 

 a white buffalo calf.^ 



It is said that the chief who received the pipe from the White 

 Buffalo Maiden was Buffalo Stands Upward (Tataij'ka-woslal'- 

 nazir)). The pipe has been handed down from one generation to 

 another, and is said to be now in the possession of Elk Head 

 (HeKa'ka-pa), who lives at Thunder Butte, on the Cheyenne River 

 Reservation. He is said to be of "about the third generation" 

 which has kept the pipe, and is 98 years of age.^ Each preceding 

 keeper of the pipe lived to be more than a hundred years old. 



The Indians named the pipe the White Buffalo Calf pipe. Dupli- 

 cates of it were made, and soon every male member of the tribe 

 carried a similar pipe. The stem was made to resemble the wind- 

 pipe of a calf. Whenever this pipe is used in a smoking circle, or 

 even when two men are smoking together, the rule is that the pipe 



i It is interesting to observe that the identity of a dream object often is unrecognized until it turns to 

 depart. See Bulletin 53, p. 207; also p. 185 of this volume. 

 ' Elk Head died in January, 1916, after the above paragraph was written, 



