William stoddart the essential titus burckhardt

The Essential Titus Burckhardt foliage trembling in the wind, one has the impression of being in the presence of a great living creature endowed with magical strength. From the dance itself there emanates a powerful magic that resonates in the heart for days and days.

The second day is also the culmination of the dance. The third day is the day of cures. From morning onwards, a crowd of people, including entire families of white farmers, come to the Sun Dance site and patiently wait for Yellowtail to let them share in the healing power with which the sacred tree is, as it were, filled as a result of the rite of which it has been the center. Yellowtail heals in the name of the eagle who is his particular protector, and also in the name of the otter. He touches the trunk of the sacred tree with an eagle feather, and then with it he strokes the sick parts of the patient’s body; as he does this he holds up an otter’s skin. In reality all these gestures are addressed to the archetype of the protecting animal; with the Indians the function of healer is of necessity part of the spiritual rank of the one who is invested with it. Essentially, the Indian seeks the harmony of nature, as well as the harmony of his own people with their cosmic ambience.

The third day ends with the giving of presents to clan relatives who have offered special prayers for the dancers; this exchange is an expression of the harmony between creatures.

A long prayer is said on behalf of the sponsor, who has undertaken to cover the costs of the rite and who, during it, has offered ritual prayers alongside Yellowtail, the Medicine Man. Finally a ritual meal of bison meat is offered to all present.

Yellowtail, in full vigor in spite of his age, could not but be exhausted by the dance and the fast, and we suggested to him that we should camp in a forest in the Bighorn Mountains so that he could rest. He agreed and we left almost immediately. Before choosing our camp-site, we climbed to the ridge of the mountain which, on our side, rose gently; on the other side was a deep gorge.

On the ridge is situated the famous “Medicine Wheel”, the meaning of which, according to the tradition of his tribe, Yellowtail explained to us: a man who was suffering from a disease of the skin had withdrawn to the solitude of the mountain, there to express in stone the outline of the Sun Dance. Twenty-eight radii joined the rim of the wheel to its axis; these are the twenty-eight mansions of the moon.

Four heaps of stones indicated the cardinal directions; they looked like four shrines. According to Yellowtail, the maker of the sacred wheel was able to sleep there by covering himself with fir twigs. The 288