Ptesan WinWhite Buffalo Calf WomanThe Woman of the Pipe
Relationship
The one who brought the pipe and left
Warning
She is a sacred being and not a goddess to be invoked for favours
Resonance
Those who keep the pipe those who pray
Symbols
The pipeChanunpaThe white buffaloThe bundleThe seven rites
Mythology Summary
Ptesan Win, White Buffalo Calf Woman, is the Lakota wakan being who came to the people, taught the seven rites and gave them the sacred pipe (chanunpa), then left, promising to return. The account is recorded in Black Elk's The Sacred Pipe (1953, as told to Joseph Epes Brown) and in the Lakota oral tradition. She is a sacred being, not a deity to be invoked for favours, and the pipe is central to Lakota ceremony. The later white buffalo births are read by many Lakota as a sign, not as a proof.
Modern Practice
White Buffalo Calf Woman is honoured in the pipe ceremony and the seven rites, and the practice is prayer, the keeping of the pipe and the ceremony. The pipe is not a tool for outsiders, and the rites are taught by Lakota ceremonial people. Tobacco and sage are the offering.