The White Buffalo Woman, A Wonderful Native American Legend
It tells a prophecy of the Lakota Indians that at some point the woman of the white buffalo will return to us. It is about a wakan , a wise woman who brings magic that will restore with her power the union between all the children of Mother Earth. Your arrival will also contribute to restoring our balance with nature, to restoring this badly treated legacy.
There is something truly wonderful about all these Native American legends. It doesn’t matter how old they are, it doesn’t matter the centuries that have passed nor that we ourselves don’t have such ethnic or cultural roots. These traditions always leave us teachings to reflect on.
For Native Americans, the birth of a white buffalo is a symbol of rebirth and world harmony.
The legend of the white buffalo woman is over 2000 years old. It is an account originating from the Lakota nation, one of the most relevant peoples of the so-called Turtle Islands, in North America. It is not surprising to learn that for the past few months this prophecy has been a source of hope for the Lakota, a desperate prayer.
It has been more than a year since we heard about the Lakota Access Pipeline project . This construction aims to transport oil from North Dakota to Patoka (Illinois). It is a megastructure of more than 1800 kilometers that would pass through several indigenous reserves. A cultural and environmental atrocity that has put the natives and naturalist groups such as Greenpeace on the warpath.
After Barak Obama halted the project at the end of his term, Donald Trump reactivated it. The indigenous people continue with their tireless struggle, hoping that at some point the white buffalo woman’s prophecy will come true…
The white buffalo woman, a female figure of power
One of the diffusers of this wonderful legend is Joseph Chasing Horse. Ambassador to the United Nations of the Lakota Sioux people, he never misses the opportunity to report this prophecy that acts as a channel of unity among a large part of the indigenous peoples.
This prophecy tells that the white buffalo woman appeared in our world over 2000 years ago. It was during a period of great famine, wars and disagreements between various peoples. The story begins with two young Lakota, two warriors walking their skinny horses looking for something to hunt, when they suddenly glimpsed on the horizon a female figure shrouded in a warm light, in a haze of fascinating flashes of light.
The woman was accompanied by a white buffalo. She was tall, slender and wore a dress with sacred embroidery, a feather in her hair and sage leaves in her hand. She was very beautiful, so much so that one of the young warriors did not hesitate to approach her with the desire to possess her. However, and before he could even touch his skin, a dark cloud hovered over him, shooting off a bolt of fire. It was charred within seconds.
The other young warrior immediately knelt in terror, thinking he would also be so lucky. However, the beautiful woman did not hesitate to stroke her hair and speak her same language. She said she was a wakan , a woman who had come to help them.
The beginning of a new era remembering old traditions
The holy woman was received with great anticipation in the Lakota village. The best tent was prepared for her, and when she was accommodated inside, the morning turned to twilight and an amber light with pink rays enveloped those lands where hunger and misery extended. Despite this, people tried to offer him what they had best: some roots, some insects, dry herbs and fresh water.
After that, the white buffalo woman taught the Lakota people to smoke their pipe, offered them complimentary red willow tobacco, and called them to walk around the tents to honor the sun, to create a circle of strength with life and to thank. Later, he presented a series of spiritual practices, ways of revering nature, praying with correct words and uttering ancestral rites that the Lakota village had completely forgotten.
Even so, she invited them to sing songs to make the Earth happy, melodies, verses and intonations that should be directed to the four directions of the universe. He also recalled the importance of practicing the peace pipe ceremony, where men and women should gather to honor their souls, to honor their own group and their union with the beyond.
The woman with the white buffalo said goodbye indicating that as long as they performed all these sacred ceremonies and took care of the Earth, they would protect them. Before leaving, he brought an extensive herd of black buffaloes from the horizon. There were so many that the mountains were covered with darkness and the ground trembled underfoot, the world pumped a force again in the face of the arrival of these animals that represented survival for the Native Americans.
The holy woman left them saying: Toksha ake wacinyanktin ktelo (which in Portuguese means “I will see you again”). A message of hope that even today many Lakota repeat, dreaming of a return where this female presence can once again purify the world, bring harmony, balance and spirituality to all nations.
