Yuwipi Dream

I never saw Joe Eagle Elk perform a yuwipi ceremony when I was on the reservation. He was too sick and brittle by that time. The yuwipi takes a lot out of the person. The yuwipi man’s fingers are tied together behind his back, maybe his arms as well, a blanket or star quilt placed over his body and a rope looped around his neck and knotted seven times around his body, then tied at the feet. He is placed flat on the floor, surrounded by prayer ties and flags, lights extinguished and the long ceremony begins. The spirits are called in and the yuwipi man is taken through a series of experiences that are impossible to describe … and finally untied.

Spiders are synonymous with the Yuwipi Ceremony. In our ceremonies we have been blessed by visitations from many different spiders. The Spider with Eyes of Red, The Green Spider, The Black Widow Spider and a few Spiders that were a bit ‘creepy’ that fell into the classic ‘trickster’ category that taught through harassment, odd language and laughter and discomfort. (We learned to avoid those Spiders in later years)

Yuwipi is a strong ceremony involving many people, specific songs, specific ties and those in attendance being of One Mind. That is very important … One Mind. So much can be accomplished when the people can be of One Mind … singing in unison, praying in unison. It is quite amazing what we, the spirits and our tisopaye, have accomplished when we are of One Mind in Yuwipi.

Now in my typical learned Lakota fashion (like in the last post where I seemingly spoke in circles or broken thoughts … I have edited that by the way) allow me to digress a moment.

Remember me telling you about the Naica Caves, and other caves around the world, deep in The Mother where giant quartz and selenite pillars were discovered? Here are some pictures to remind you.

Incredible aren’t they?

I was able to procure a piece of gypsum from the Naica Mine (Above). It resides under the Kwakiutl Mother Earth mask on the shelf in my home. Next to this beautiful ‘stone’ I keep my Yuwipi bundle. Every morning I light a candle next to the stone, next to the bundle all underneath the mask. In the early morning dark the green flickering is stunning … alive.

The Black and White Star Quilt under which I sleep …

I am too old and brittle now to undertake Yuwipi Ceremony. My hands have been operated on 7 times in an effort to straighten my fingers. Arthritis has done quite a number on them … so like Joe I now can only conduct Yuwipi in my dreams.

Last night I had a vivid Yuwipi Dream. A dream that it seems important to tell you about. In the dream were many spiders … but what is important to tell you is that each spider was different. Each spider had a personality. A look. The old timers speak of many spiders … Flying Spider (Inktomi Kinyan) who was definitely there in the dream. Fast Spider (Inktomi Luzahan), Spider Who is Hard to Fool (Inktomi Ognaya Sica) and Spider Who Respects Nothing (Inktomi Takuni Oholasni) … to name a few.

Inktomi Takuni Oholasni is that spider we learned to avoid. To never mention ‘his’ name. He has a very disconcerting voice and manner. Creepy to say the least. Off putting. Teaches and heals in an up-side-down manner. Last night in the dream Inktomi Takuni Oholasni was on the floor with Inktomi Kinyan … there was a woman sitting in a chair. They were at her feet and in the dream I tried to warn her that these spiders were about to crawl on her.

In that moment Inktomi Kinyan flew at me carrying Inktomi Takuni Oholasni with Them … They were on my face, it felt like a hundred spiders but it was only the two. The next moment I was attempting to fold the Star Quilt. I couldn’t fold it. As I tried it grew larger and larger. I kept trying to square it off to fold it but the quilt was now becoming immensely large. The woman in the chair was present and I asked her to assist me … she kept looking behind her … in fear … “Something is coming. Something is coming.” She kept repeating this and couldn’t concentrate on helping to fold the quilt which kept growing in size.

I woke up at 2:30 AM. Knew it was time to rise and entered the ceremony space. Lit the candles and listened.

The Spider is not just one thing. The books will say to you, The Spider is the Trickster. The dominant culture likes to put things in a box. It likes to put things on ‘cards’. The fox mans this. The wolf means that. Really? Well to the Cherokee the spider means this and to the Omaha it means that and and and. Crazy. Where all this came from I do not know.

The Spider sometimes is that … Inktomi the little man like spider thing that rides in on the Black Dog, yes. But my experience is that Spider is often times the conduit between worlds … my experience has been that other helper spirits pretty much are friends that help …like the Black Tail Deer or the Hummingbird. They have a task and they complete it.

But the spider …the spider likes to talk. The spider likes to twist and turn one’s mind. The spider is an Iyeska…and Interpreter. That is my experience. Inktomi Takuni Oholasni came out of the Naica Caves last night. Came through the gypsum last night. Had something to say. The woman … I think it was The Mother. Something is coming… she was looking behind in fear as the Yuwipi Blanket grew larger and larger.

The black and white yuwipi star quilt is many things. It is comfort. It is a means of travel. It is a way to move through doors. It is both frightening and caring. As it grew larger my impression was that it was growing larger to protect us from what is coming. Ceremony will protect us from what is coming.

I have to listen now to what Inktomi Takuni Oholasni wants to say. What often happens is that I can remember only parts of a dream at first. Like a puzzle only portions are revealed. This happens after a yuwipi ceremony … I, Tom, don’t remember everything but as people discuss the ceremony my mind is triggered and I remember what happened. Rags performed the ceremony, not Tom. The same happened here … I have to trust that what was said will be shared in the hours to come. It seems important.

Puzzle pieces.

Just wish they’d let me sleep. ehhhhhhh!!

Mitakuye Oyasin

Rags