A yuwipi man, fingers and hands tied, wrapped in a blanket that is tied with seven knots, a stone tied close to his ear so that he can hear Them whisper. Placed on a Star Quilt, surrounded by prayer flags and prayer ties. All goes completely dark. Songs are sung. A Black Dog with a being that looks like a spider rides into the room. Other spirits, dozens, hundreds enter a yuwipi. Someone is sick. Someone is ALL TIED IN KNOTS.
The yuwipi man is conduit to another world. Another possibility. Is a mirror for the people. ‘Look at me all tied in knots and suffocating in this blanket. Is this how you want to live your life?’
The yuwipi man, the yuwipi spirits ask the sick person … “Do you want to be healed?” (Do you want to be untied?) Even with the help of all the people’s prayers gathered in the room … even with all these hundreds of spirits waiting ‘right there’ to help … if the person doesn’t deeply and truly wish to be healed then nothing will happen.
The yuwipi man asks to see the web of the person. An Oka, the wound(s) is seen by the yuwipi man and an arrow is shot into that Oka … an arrow of love, of questions, of relationship, of wonder, of grace, of so much you cannot imagine. The yuwipi man listens, listens for what the wound has to say… for what the wound has to show … maybe even a scent, a touch. The wounded person has to recognize the wound themselves. They can’t be told exactly what it is …they have to make sense of it … have the ‘ah-ha’ themselves. Then the healing begins.
But as Tess so aptly put it, if their despair (whatever the wound) is larger than their capacity to imagine themselves as whole, healthy, healed, happy, balanced… whatever … they cannot deeply and fully state, “I want to be healed” … “I want to be untied.”
(Song can be found at the above: Dewight Provencial, Sr. (Lead singer) Harold Thompson Johnson Running Cy Sanchez Winfried Alessi-Narr Elva Thompson)
How can we know what we don’t know? How do we know when we have found the root of the root of the root? I believe we can only accomplish that feat with the help of others. Someone who is brave, courageous, honest, skilled and knows we are sacred must stand next to us as we look in the mirror … as we search for the wounds that others have inflicted upon us and/or that we have inflicted upon ourselves.
We need someone to hold us up when we finally truly SEE our wounds in all their infected, toxic reality … as we scream …cry out …the pain hurts so badly …. “How could they?” “Why?” “What was I thinking?” “I trusted them.”" So many doors open. So many curtains swept aside. Memories rekindled. A counselor, mentors, elders, a set of friends you trust … relationships in nature. A daily practice.
In the yuwipi it is can be very straightforward. “There it is,” a spirit points out. “Look … see … open your eyes now … it is ok … we are here… look … remember?” It is impossible to explain a yuwipi. What happens there. The digging, turning, twisting, confronting, holding, questioning, laughing, crying, sounds, smells, lights, breezes, rain … .
There are so few yuwipi. Why are you telling us this? Nice story for us. Nice memory for you.
Yes, well … ceremony is not stagnant. Lakota is not a religion. It is a way of life. Lakota people have always been wise enough to move … to move with the buffalo because buffalo know there are different grasses that have different vitamins (meet physical and spiritual needs)…so the Lakota follow the buffalo and eat those grasses too. The Lakota saw horses, rifles, cloth, beads, glass and made them part of their world. The Lakota have never been stuck.
So I am going to give my class an opportunity. I am going to tell them all about the yuwipi. And then tell them they will have an opportunity to hear that song above … while they are blindfolded … and moving in place… and to imagine being untied. I am able to bring the altar to those who wish to seek assistance at some level. It is a beginning. I have no idea what will happen. But I’m listening to the altar. I have faith in Them … that They will help my students. They love them as much as I do.
Gail Meyer told me the books are on the way to the class. She said that many of her friends chipped in to pay the freight for the books. She has a tiospaye too it seems. 46 count, 5 pound books. Yikes. What a generous soul. Our tiospayes have both helped so many people. This is the hope.
I will let you know about the books and the first untying with the students. The speech continues to write itself. It is cold and raining outside. Students see the Kwakiutl transformation mask today. They create their persona mask today. It is a big day in the Disconnection and Connection class.
Have a good day
Rags
It seems to me that you have come out of your despair and are motivated to make a positive difference with those kids!
There is so much beauty here, there is so much power here, there is so much truth here, I am pretty sure I can not take it all in. Thanks beyond thank you Tom. I want to share this with my son Taj.