Lakota Divine Woman: Part 2

Part 1 of this series can be found here. Understanding part 1 will be essential to understanding this second part, which deals with a symbolic identity of White Buffalo Calf Woman.

Other than the meaning behind the sacred pipe to symbolically identify her, we have two other things. The account of Black Elk tells us that she is wakan, or sacred/holy/divine. She is a heavenly type of being. Secondly, accounts of her visit demonstrate that the man with “bad intentions” towards her could not accomplish his design.

“Early one morning, very many winters ago, two Lakota were out hunting with their bows and arrows, and as they were standing on a hill looking for game, they saw in the distance something coming towards them in a very strange and wonderful  manner. When this mysterious thing came nearer to them, they saw that it was a very beautiful woman, dressed in white buckskin, and bearing a bundle on her back. Now this woman was so good to look at that one of the Lakota had bad intentions and told his friend of his desire, but this good man said that he must not have such thoughts, for surely this is a wakan woman. The mysterious person was now very close to the men, and then putting down her bundle, she asked the one with bad intentions to come over to her. As the young man approached the mysterious woman, they were both covered by a great cloud, and soon when it lifted the sacred woman was standing there, and at her feet was the man with the bad thoughts who was now nothing but bones, and terrible snakes were eating him.” The Sacred Pipe, p. 3-4.

This woman had power to remain undefiled, despite the bad intentions of another. This, to me, is a tradition meant to preserve something about her nature that helps us identify her type in scripture. This relays the nature of her innate “purity,” both physically and spiritually, in my opinion. I find this similar to a description of a certain woman in scripture:

Then the Spirit said: Look! And I looked and saw a tree, like the tree that my father had seen. Its beauty surpassed all beauty and its brightness exceeded the whiteness of the newly fallen snow. After I had seen the tree, I said to the Spirit: I see you’ve shown me the tree that’s more precious than anything else. Then He asked me: What do you want? I replied: To know what it means. I spoke to Him as a man speaks, because I saw His form was as a man, yet I still knew it was the Spirit of the Lord, and He talked with me just like talking to another person.

Then He told me: Look! And I looked in His direction but didn’t see Him, since He departed. Instead, I looked and I saw the great city of Jerusalem and other cities as well. And I saw the city of Nazareth. And in the city of Nazareth, I saw a virgin, and she was very beautiful and pure. Then I saw the heavens open, and an Angel came down and stood in front of me. He asked me: Nephi, what do you see? I replied: The most beautiful, pure virgin. He asked me: Do you understand God’s condescension? I replied: I know that He loves His children, but I don’t understand everything. Then He said to me: The virgin you see is the Mother of the Son of God when He becomes a mortal. I saw She was carried away in the spirit. 

After She had been carried away in the spirit for some time, the Angel told me: Look! Then I looked and saw the virgin again, now carrying a child in Her arms. The Angel told me: Behold the Lamb of God, even the Son of the Eternal Father. Do you know the meaning of the tree your father saw? I replied: Yes, it’s God’s love, which inspires the souls of mankind; so it’s the most valuable of all things. Then He told me: Yes, and the greatest joy for mankind’s soul. 1 Nephi 3, paragraphs 7-9

To explain this passage a little, Nephi has asked God to see the same vision his father saw, and is given the same vision. He desires to know the meaning behind it and the spirit of God is explaining its meaning. Here, he learns of the Virgin Mary and the birth of Christ, which would come 600 years after this vision. The imagery in this and the angel’s responses imply a divine origin not just for Christ, but also for Mary. And Mary, of course, is through whom Christ would take up His “tabernacle of clay” and dwell among us.

If you follow the pattern, and part 1 of this series, it seems that the tradition of White Buffalo Calf Woman’s appearance, follows the role of Mary. They are both pure. They both bring to the people something of sacred importance: the means of uniting with God.

Compare this idea with these scriptures:

And Elizabeth was filled with the holy ghost, and she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is it that this blessing is upon me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed are you who believed, for those things which were told you of the angel of the Lord shall be fulfilled. 

And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed, for he who is mighty has done to me great things, and I will magnify his holy name for his mercy on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their high seats, and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of mercy, as he spoke to our fathers — to Abraham and to his seed for ever. Luke 1: 7-8

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of government and peace there is no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. Isaiah 4:1

I do think this comparison fits with the tradition of White Buffalo Calf Woman. I also think it is possible, if there is any truth in this comparison, that the faithfully kept Lakota tradition of her, in part fulfills Mary’s words that “all generations shall call me blessed.”

Looking at this tradition another way, and taking it as a type of divine woman leads to the Revelations of John, where even Mary herself, stands of a symbol of something else.

And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth: a woman, clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And the woman, being with child, cried, travailing in birth and pained to be delivered. And she brought forth a male child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God and his throne. 

And there appeared another sign in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was delivered, ready to devour her child after it was born. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred sixty years. 

And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against Michael. And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman — who was the church of God — who had been delivered of her pains and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ; neither was there place found in Heaven for the great dragon who was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil, and also called Satan, who deceives the whole world, he who was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, Now has come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night; for they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O Heavens, and you that dwell in them. 

And after these things, I heard another voice, saying, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, yea, and they who dwell upon the islands of the sea, for the Devil has come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time; for when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the male child. Therefore, to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might flee into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent casts out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helps the woman, and the earth opens her mouth and swallows up the flood which the dragon casts out of his mouth. Therefore, the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have also the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelations of John 4:1-5

This specific version, shows that though at first glance, the woman represents Mary, and the child represents Christ, even the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus is symbolic of “the church of God” giving birth to the “kingdom of our God and his Christ,” which, of course, comes through Jesus the Christ.

This passage also defines those who qualify as the “kingdom of God” as “they who have overcome him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death.” This describes those who prevailed against the dragon, and perhaps also the means of how they accomplished this. The “remnant of her seed” are also described towards the end of this passage as those “who keep the commandments of God and have also the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

As this scripture would indicate, “the church of God” isn’t necessarily or likely an organization or building that we refer to as a church today. Rather, it is whoever meets God’s requirements for being a part of His church: “Behold, this is my doctrine: whosoever repents and comes unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declares more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me. Therefore, he is not of my church.” Joseph Smith History Part 10, paragraph 19

This symbolism in the mother of Jesus is echoed in His own words:

While he was yet with them, and while he was yet speaking, there came then some of his brethren and his mother, and, standing outside, sent unto him, calling unto him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, your mother and your brethren outside seek for you. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother? Or who are my brethren? And he looked round about on them who sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren; for whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. Mark 2:10

To tie together why this comparison of White Buffalo Calf Woman and the "church of God" matters, I've been trying to figure out how White Buffalo Calf Woman’s promise to return relates to anything I know in scripture. Obviously Christ is prophesied to return to earth, but in glory the second time, but how this ties into the promise of the divine woman (White Buffalo Calf Woman) isn’t obvious at first, unless one considers her symbolism as both a mother, and as a group of those who “repents and comes unto me (Christ),” or in other words "whoever shall do the will of God." If we also remember Mary’s ties to the beautiful and white (pure) tree Nephi saw in his vision, then we can possibly see White Buffalo Calf Woman’s promise to return in the symbolism of another tree.

There is another prophecy in scripture that describes a “mother tree,” and a return to that tree. I’ve written about it before: how the Tree of Peace of the Six Nations resembles the prophecy, similar to how the Anishinabe Seven fires prophecies resemble the prophecies of the gathering of the house of Israel. I have created a page on this site that has the words of that prophecy, Zenos’ parable of the olive tree.

To provide context to what is happening in the part quoted from the prophecy below, the Lord of this particular vineyard has an olive tree representing the “house of Israel” that has provided good fruit in the past, but it begins to decay and die. In an effort to save the tree and still have a means of producing the fruit it used to produce, he cuts the natural branches off the tree and grafts in wild branches to preserve its good roots. The young and tender natural branches worth saving, he grafts into the “lowest” parts of his vineyard. This works for a time. The mother tree, though separated from her natural branches is preserved, and the natural branches that were divided to different parts of the vineyard and separated from their mother, do produce good fruit. But eventually things begin to go downhill again with each tree becoming corrupt and producing wild fruit. The Lord of the vineyard and his servant determine they will return the natural branches to the mother tree in one last effort to store up the desired fruit.

So they took branches from the original tree that had become wild and grafted them into the original tree that also had become wild. They also took branches from the original tree that had become wild and grafted them into their original tree’s root. And the lord of the vineyard said to the servant: Only cut away the most bitter, wild branches from the trees. And graft in their place according to my instructions. We’ll tend the vineyard’s trees again and trim their branches and cut from the trees the ripe branches, which have to be destroyed, and throw them into the fire. I’m doing this to let their roots perhaps regain strength because they’re still promising and because changing the branches will let the good overcome the evil. Now I’ve saved the natural branches and their roots and grafted the natural branches into their mother tree again and kept the mother tree’s roots from dying. That way my vineyard’s trees can perhaps produce good fruit again, and so I can celebrate with my vineyard’s fruit. Maybe I’ll be able to have great results because I’ve kept the roots and branches of the original plant alive. Now go ahead and call servants, so we can work diligently with our strength in the vineyard, so we can prepare the vineyard to again yield the best good fruit as I originally had in my vineyard. Jacob 3, paragraph 24

This comparison or my logic behind it may not be obvious for everyone to see, but I see here a parallel in White Buffalo Calf Woman promising to return, and this reunion of the natural branches and the mother tree, a union meant to return righteousness to the world prior to the second coming of her Son, a labor necessary to produce the Kingdom of God on earth as it is also in heaven.

This union is described in the scripture below as the gathering of God's people from the four quarters of the earth.

Now I’ll bring my remarks about myself to an end and continue to give my account of what’s happened before my time. I’m Mormon and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to praise God and my Savior Jesus Christ, for bringing our ancestors out of the land of Jerusalem — and no one knew it except Him and those He brought out of that land — and for giving me and my people so much knowledge for the salvation of our souls. He’s certainly blessed Jacob’s family and been merciful to Joseph’s descendants. And to the degree Lehi’s children have kept His commandments, He’s blessed them and prospered them as He promised. He will certainly return a remnant of Joseph’s descendants to know the Lord their God again. As surely as the Lord lives, He will gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of Jacob’s descendants who are scattered throughout the whole earth. He has covenanted with all of Jacob’s family, and that covenant will likewise be fulfilled when He decides it’s the right time, restoring all of Jacob’s family to know of the covenant He’s made with them. Then they will know their Redeemer — Jesus Christ, the Son of God — and be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth to their own lands, from where they’ve been scattered. Indeed, as the Lord lives, it will happen. Amen. 3 Nephi 2, paragraph 18

Some versions of White Buffalo Calf Woman have her performing four transformations into buffalo calves on her departure (Black Elk’s version contains 3). While this could represent ages as suggested in Black Elk’s version (and as I have explored a little more in this post), it may additionally represent the gathering from the four quarters peoples who have become very diverse, but who will become united, like the natural branches returning to the mother tree.

This reminds me of Christ’s words in both Jerusalem and Bountiful about His other sheep. He visited more than the people He lived among at Jerusalem. He had others in the world that knew of Him, that He visited. Likewise this type of divine woman, a mother even, may have been demonstrating a similar statement, something like, Yes, you are my people, but there are others who came from me too, and I promise to return again to all of you, and we will be reunited.

But none of it is possible without the gift she brought us, the gift of Her Son.

These are my thoughts anyway, for whatever that is worth.