The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux (Volume 36) (The Civilization of the American Indian Series)

Description

Black Elk of the Sioux has been recognized as one of the truly remarkable men
of his time in the matter of religious belief and practice. Shortly before his
death in August, 1950, when he was the “keeper of the sacred pipe,” he said,
“It is my prayer that, through our sacred pipe, and through this book in which
I shall explain what our pipe really is, peace may come to those peoples who
can understand, and understanding which must be of the heart and not of the
head alone. Then they will realize that we Indians know the One true God, and
that we pray to Him continually.”Black Elk was the only qualified priest of
the older Oglala Sioux still living when The Sacred Pipe was written. This is
his book: he gave it orally to Joseph Epes Brown during the latter’s eight
month’s residence on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where Black
Elk lived. Beginning with the story of White Buffalo Cow Woman’s first visit
to the Sioux to give them the sacred pip~, Black Elk describes and discusses
the details and meanings of the seven rites, which were disclosed, one by one,
to the Sioux through visions. He takes the reader through the sun dance, the
purification rite, the “keeping of the soul,” and other rites, showing how the
Sioux have come to terms with God and nature and their fellow men through a
rare spirit of sacrifice and determination.The wakan Mysteries of the Siouan
peoples have been a subject of interest and study by explorers and scholars
from the period of earliest contact between whites and Indians in North
America, but Black Elk’s account is without doubt the most highly developed on
this religion and cosmography. The Sacred Pipe, published as volume thirty-six
in the Civilization of the American Indian Series, will be greeted
enthusiastically by students of comparative religion, ethnologists,
historians, philosophers, and everyone interested in American Indian life.
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Features:

Product Details:

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Oklahoma Press; Later Printing edition (October 15, 1989)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 143 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0806121246
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 46
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.7 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #133,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #41 in Native American Biographies #113 in Native American Demographic Studies #269 in Native American History (Books)
• #41 in Native American Biographies
• #113 in Native American Demographic Studies