Back to Local Place Names Tipi Wa-Kan
Tipi Wa-Kan
(1) habitation (2) sacred -- a sacred house, a churchThe early mission house of Samuel Pond at Shakopee's village. Compared to Christian theology, the Dakota hierarchy and power structure is a complicated one. It consists of 16 persons yet all in the one person of Wa-Kan Tan-Ka, the great god. He is composed of four ranking superior gods, each with his own associate god or other selves:
1) the Inyan, or Rock, the source of all things, ancestor of all the gods, whose associate is Wakinyan, the winged god, voice of thunder and giver of revelation;
2) Maka, the Earth, the Grandmother, patroness of all that grows, whose associate is Whope, the Beautiful One, daughter of the Sun and the Moon, the great mediator, is married to South Wind;
3) Skan, the Sky, the Great Spirit, the source of all motion and judge of all gods. His associate is Tate, the Wind, controller of the seasons;
4) Wi, the Sun, chief god and most powerful, whose otherself is Hanwi, the Moon, and wife, who sets the time for all important undertakings.The subordinate gods are the issue of the superior and associate gods. They are: Tatanka, the Buffalo, patron of generosity; Hunopa, the Bear, patron of wisdom and medicine; Tate Topa, the Four Winds, controller of the four directions and weather; and Yumni, the Whirlwind, god of chance, of games, and of love. A very fickle person.—James R. Walker
These are followed by the Four Black Spirits of Night: The first is the spirit of the body that dies with the end of life; the second remains always with or near the body; next is the immortal soul that that accounts for the deeds of the deceased and goes south (some say west) after death; and the fourth lingers with the small bundle of hair of the deceased and is kept by relatives until they have a chance to throw it back into enemy country where it becomes a roving spirit bringing death and disease. Some ghosts are beneficent, most of them are not. They know all things, even the thoughts of the living.—James W. Lynd
In all, they are 16 in number yet one, all component parts of the Supreme Being, Wa-Kan Tan-Ka. Iya, evil incarnate, is a Wakan Tanka, albeit a deposed one. He does not sit in the celestial councils, though, together with his cohorts, has retained all his powers and is greatly feared. It must be expressly noted that in later times the missionaries ascribed the term Wa-Kan Tan-Ka to the God of the Christians, Jehovah, rather than to Skan, the Great Spirit, the Supreme Being, the third person amongst the superior gods.
Ethical questions of right and wrong that preoccupied the Christian were of little concern. Neither did they believe in original sin, nor did they consider themselves sinners of worry of nemesis after death. Misdeeds were punished in the present life, not in the next; conversely, the afterlife did not present a moral reward for good deeds performed.
The requisite for a successful religious life was the ability to dream well, the ability to communicate through visions with the guardian spirits, the "Grandfathers." This enabled the supplicant to receive important revelations that would aid him in his daily life.
In order to become a tribesman in good standing, it was not necessary to become doctrinaire or to adhere to any set of religious tenets. It was a personal matter and there was no interest in converting anyone. Joseph LeCaron, an early Recollect priest, advised his brethren, "No one must come here in hopes of suffering martyrdom, for we are not in a country where savages put Christians to death on account of religion."
Much to the disappointment of the missionaries, the Indians' worship seemed to center on attempts to deflect the evil actions of the Ta-Ku Wa-Kan (the gods) instead of praising the Creator for benefits conferred. "They say much in regard to poverty in supplicating their gods yet never speak of their sins nor ask forgiveness for their sins."
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