Walking in the Sacred Manner by Mark St. Pierre

Author:Mark St. Pierre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchstone

It was in the evening. My sister was still up, helping Grandma wash the dishes. Us younger ones were already tucked in.

She said, “Look, Grandma, someone is sitting on the couch.” So I looked, too. From where I was lying, I could see this man, just behind the wood-stove. He sat with his legs and arms crossed. He was very still. From what I could see, he was dressed in western clothes and wore a white hat.

My grandmother started talking to him like he was alive: “If you are hungry, help yourself. There is food on the table.” She went on talking as she checked the windows and the door. They were all locked.

“If you’re not hungry, I would like you to leave. You are scaring my takoja [grandchildren].” My sister was peeking from behind her. I stayed on the bed. I don’t remember how the man left. Grandma prepared a dish for him and took it outside to feed the spirit.

The old people called the place where we lived Oti wota [an old traditional encampment]. People had camped and lived there for a very long time, and that is why there were so many spirits there… .

When I was living with my Grandma Sadie, and even after that with Grandma Dora, we would always put out bits of food for the spirits.

The Lakota believe that spirits or ghosts seen in daylight or at dusk can be dangerous as well as benevolent. Certain kinds of ghosts can cause those who see them to suffer Wana’gi kteb, or stroke. It is believed that seeing the wana gi literally surprises or “shocks” the person. Madonna Swan said, “I know it’s not the way white doctors see it. We call it Wana giktepi and know that contact with ghosts of departed ones may in fact produce a stroke.” This short passage from Mitchell Zephier, about an occurrence in 1992, shows these beliefs still persist: “I have a friend at Rosebud, a well-known medicine man, who told me of a relative of his who saw a ghost. He was collecting split wood for the cookstove at dusk, and he saw a ghost. You know, I thought about it, and the fellow he was referring to does have a twisted face, even though he is still fairly young.”

Madonna Swan, herself a teacher and college-educated, nonetheless maintained a very traditional worldview. The following story is remarkable. Madonna clearly sees a recently deceased friend in broad daylight. Her affection for him is never affected by the tragic outcome of his visit.

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