Legends of the Origins of the Sacred Pipes
Exploring the Sacred Traditions and Spiritual Healing Practices of the Kainai People
Long Time Pipe Woman
Long Time Pipe Woman got her name because she was the wife of the holder and caretaker of the Long Time Pipe Sacred Bundle. Her husband, Chief Shot Both Sides was the primary holder. But Long Time Pipe Woman took the initiative to open it and sang all 500 different songs that went with the 500 nature items that were prayed upon and blessed in ceremony that was announced at the first sign of thunder in the Spring.
The Sacred Pipes
The sacred pipes that were given to the Winter Weasel People (White Ermine), were used for the practice of spiritual beliefs. The legends have been preserved by oral tradition from elders to eager and willing younger ears. Doctoring for healing of the physical body and for the empowerment of the human psyche was utilized in these ceremonial practices.
Medicine pipes are the ancient pipes of the real people. The Beaver Bundles, Pipe Bundles, Water Pipes and other sacred bundles and pipes are all sourced from the animals, plants and the elements of earth, wind, fire and water. Today the Winter Weasel, (Ermine), People still have some of the original seventeen pipes in their possession. At one time, museums and Caucasians bought many of these items. There were certain families who buried the pipes with the pipe holders when they passed on to the Big Sand Hills. Perhaps they did not know how to carry on the sacred tradition, or it could have been that they were fearful of the great responsibility of being a sacred pipe holder.
Chief Shot Both Sides and the Long Time Pipe
Chief Shot Both Sides was the official carrier of the Long Time Pipe, one of the most sacred spiritual healing sources in pipes. His wife was then given the name of Long Time Pipe Woman as the helper of the holder of the pipe, the only other person able to tend to the sacred bundle. This pipe was kept in a place of honor behind the hearth at the west end of the lodge, always facing towards the east. The Long Time Pipe is one of the oldest pipes with the most ancient ceremony still being performed today. The dreams that came to the pipe carriers sourced from the spirits.
The Smudging Practice
The Kainai elders taught their people to smudge by holding their hands over the smoke of the burning herb and cleanse them as if they were in a flow of water. Then cupping the left hand, gathering smoke, moving it from the top of the head downward on the exterior lines of the right side of the body down to the toes, this done twice in succession. The same process is done using the right hand to do the exterior lines of the left side of the body.
The Ancient Pipe Maker
An ancient pipe maker would be called to a particular stone that was destined to be the bowl of a pipe. He would ascertain if it was durable for it had to be strong enough to be carved and not crack when heated. He would place it in hot water and soak it, leaving it in the water for two days, then reexamine it. If it had soaked in moisture, it would not be used as it was weakened. He used a harder rock to scrape the bowl into the center of the stone.
Using sod from the base of a burnt tree, the pipe maker would cover the pipe in this dark substance. The sod would seep into the pores, creating a blackish color. The Weasel People only used pipes with black bowls. The new pipe would be placed on the top of a sweat lodge while the pipe owner would be purified inside in the lodge. Prayers and songs were performed for the blessings of the pipe and pipe holder alike within the lodge.
Tipi Circles and Sacred Energies
Deciphering the number of years that have passed since a medicine person once dwelled is often done by looking at the tipi circles they left when they moved on. When a medicine person or chief camped in a place, a circle of rocks was put around the tipi before it was moved. Certain indications would be left so a knowledgeable person could know which pipe holder had been there. The area was not to be camped upon for a period of at least four years. There can still be felt strong energies in areas where people such as the scholars of the medicine ways and sacred bundle holders once camped.
The Beaver Bundle
The beavers were especially interesting to study as they often work all night to fell a tree creating a small lake out of a stream or rivulet. They create lakes and also prevent lakes from flowing away in rivers. They are the guardians of lakes.
The legend of the Beaver Bundle and its sacred pipe revolved around a warrior and his bride who lived alongside a lake. He was a medicine person who lived near the water to study all the ways of the water animals and spirits that dwelled nearby. He was also a student of animal and bird migration, habits of hibernating creatures, and had knowledge of the phases of the moon and their meanings. He was able to prognosticate many things by his studies, including forecasting the weather.
One evening, the warrior's bride did not return from her daily trip to obtain and haul water to the lodge from the lake. When he investigated, he saw that her footprints went directly into the water and disappeared. Beside her footprints were the prints of a large beaver. Her water containers were still there by the lake. He feared the worst, that she had drowned and he had lost her. He began grieving in earnest, but remained at the encampment.
One night he dreamt that a warrior walked out of the lake and visited him in his lodge. This warrior told him that he was one of the beaver spirits of the lake and that the man's wife was there with them receiving special medicine, including a pipe. He instructed the medicine scholar to prepare for a ceremony to bless this beaver pipe when his wife returned from the magical waters. Believing in his vision, he invited a group of other pipe holders to join him in the upcoming ceremony.
He and his guests heard the dogs barking towards the lake, they looked out and saw the wife walking out of the lake with a beaver bundle. They performed the smudging, praying and dancing that is involved in an opening of a pipe at that time. The woman knew all of the five hundred songs that came with the pipe and she sang them for her husband and guests that night. She taught them to her medicine man husband, for it as instructed that he was to be the holder of the pipe.
The Beaver Bundle is still with the Kainai Tribe to this day. It can be opened at any time, and generally is during the Sun Dance ceremonies. There might be reproductions of the original bundle, as sometimes duplicates were made when another honorable person requested to become an additional holder due to a strong vision or prophetic dream.
The Sharing of the Pipe Ceremony
The Sharing of the Pipe Ceremony is still practiced today. The current and previous owners of the bundles and pipes join together and speak of these legends, the medicine and healing miracles that occurred due to these sacred rituals at this gathering. They sing their songs during an all night ceremony, each having at least sixteen in number. Also, the members of the Horn Society are always included in this pipe ceremony.
Some North American native tribes lost most of their sacred things after the treaties; therefore it was allowable for them to duplicate various bundles, so that the customs and traditions could proceed. In some instances, one tribe would gift a neighboring tribe with their own sacred items or reproductions in attempt to bring them back to their ancient ways.
There is a lot of grief concerning the loss of many of the traditions and sacred ceremonies amongst many indigenous people. But we must remember that these things were given to us from the spirit people and they can not be destroyed. These items and songs will come back to us from the spirits just as they were given to our ancestors originally in ancient times.
Cathi Dupuis, a wise Kootenai woman, on the Flathead Reservation in Montana at Kicking Horse Job Corps, spoke a message of hope regarding the loss of traditions, songs, customs and sacred items of native people.
