Oglala Sun Dance: Narratives: Wooing Wohpe

Yata said to Wohpe, "I want you for my woman. I am strong and my will is right. I am dreaded, for I am mighty. I will give you a part in my powers. Will you be my woman?"

Said Eya, "Yanpa, if my rest is undisturbed I do no harm. My evening walk is my only want. Only when I am called early in the day do I fume and plague others that I may be left at my ease. Will you be my woman?"

Wohpe heard them and looked into the eyes of Okaga. That was all. Then she said, "He who will do that which pleases me most, in his robe will I stand, and him will I serve."

With this decision they must abide; the brothers were again at wordy war as to who should first make an offering for the pleasure of Wohpe.

(b)

Before the creation of the world the South wind, the North wind, the West wind, and the East wind dwelt together in the far north in the land of the ghosts. They were brothers. The North wind, the oldest, was always cold and stern. The west wind, next to the oldest, was always strong and noisy. The East wind, the third, was always cross and disagreeable. The South wind, the next to the youngest, was always pleasant. With them dwelt a little brother, the whirlwind, who was always full of fun and frolic.

The North wind was a great hunter and delighted in killing things. The South wind took pleasure in making things. The West wind was a helper of his brother, the South wind, and sometimes he helped his brother, the North wind. The East wind was lazy and good for nothing. The little whirlwind never had anything to do, so he played all the time and danced and made sport for his brothers.

After a long time, a beautiful being fell from the stars. Her hair was like the light and her dress was red and green and white and blue, and all the colors, and she had decorations and ornaments of all colors. As she was falling, she met the five brothers and begged them to give her some place to rest. They took pity on her and invited her into their tipi. When she came into the tipi, everything was bright and pleasant and all were happy, so all the four brothers wanted to marry her. Each asked her to be his woman.

She told them that she was pleased with their tipi and would be the woman of the one who did that which pleased her the most. So the North wind went hunting and brought her his game; but everything he brought turned to ice as soon as he laid it before her, and the tipi was dark and cold and dreary.

The South wind went in and reproached his brother. They quarreled and finally fought and the North wind was about to conquer when the West wind rushed in to help the South wind and they conquered the North wind. They could not kill him so they bound his feet and hands and left him in the tipi. The other brothers all sided with the South wind and determined to live no longer with the North wind. So the West wind went to live where the sun sets, the East wind where the sun rises, the South wind went opposite the tipi of the North wind far as he could go.

The little whirlwind was too small to have a tipi of his own, so he lived with the South wind the most of the time, but part of the time he was to live with the West wind. The East wind was so lazy and disagreeable that he would not even visit him.

When they were leaving the North wind, he defied them all and told them that he would forever combat them, that he would break his bonds and go on the warpath against each of them. He said to the South wind, "I know where your woman is. I know what covers her and hides her. When I loosen my bonds I will go and

So the three brothers, the South wind, the West wind, and the East wind continued to warm the dress, but the East wind was so lazy that he only worked occasionally in the evening. Little Whirlwind was too small to do much work but he danced about over the dress and threw things in the air and tried to keep the South wind from grieving over his loss. The South wind grew weary with grief and work and went to his tipi to sleep and left only the West wind to guard the dress.

Then the North wind freed himself and came. He and the West wind fought furiously and the North wind was about to conquer and had destroyed all the ornaments on the dress and made it hard and cold. When the North wind came, little Whirlwind fled to South wind's tipi to tell him. He found South wind asleep and could not wake him. He tried and tried again and again, but could not wake him, so he ran all the way to the tipi of East wind who was sitting looking on at the fight between his brothers, intending to take sides with the one who won. Little Whirlwind persuaded East wind to go with him and wake South wind.

When South wind was told what had happened he came in a great rage to the help of his brother, the West wind. They fought all over the dress and finally North wind was driven back to his tipi, but he would slip away at night and embrace the dress and make it hard and cold until he was bound again. Then the South wind and West wind had to warm the dress again and the woman under the dress had to push the ornaments through it again. Thus began the warfare between the brothers which continues to the present time.