In Lakota religious philosophy, trickster lore provides valuable life lessons and moral guidelines for all members of tribal society. The stories contained within trickster mythology serve as cautionary tales, warning each generation to heed the moral contained within the story in order to avoid the same fate as the participants in the original myth. To strike a deal with a trickster is a folly that always carries with it unforeseen consequences. In order to elevate her daughter and take on the powers of Wi, Wakanka made a deal with Iktomi that angered the gods and had devastating results for all concerned. Iktomi promised to help Wakanka only if she helped him play a joke on the other gods. What Wakanka did not know was that the deal she was making and the joke Iktomi intended to play were one and the same. This bargain would forever widen the gap between the human world and the spiritual realm. Iktomi played on Wakanka’s desire for power, on Ite’s vanity, and on Hanhepi’s jealousy and serves as the prime manipulator in this tale.
Mahpiyato’s Outrage
The outrage of the primary Lakota deity, Mahpiyato (Sky), would be felt throughout the mortal and spiritual realm. Having seen how easily they had been tricked by Iktomi, Mahpiyato sought to make an example out of the key players in this cosmic drama. Calling all the spirits to a special council, Mahpiyato expressed his intense displeasure at the way his fellow deities had been duped by Iktomi’s ruse. He further chastised the human involved for the twin sins of hubris and vanity. In the end, everyone who had been touched by the trickster’s duplicity would be punished.
Banishment
Wakanka and Wazi (who himself had nothing to do with the deal) were expelled from the territory of the Buffalo Nation; banished to the far reaches of the known world to wander forever. For falling into Iktomi’s trap, Wi (Sun) and Hanhepi (Moon) are forever divided; with one keeping watch over the earth by day and the other by night. On the occasion when they are both together, Hanhepi must cover her face in shame. This punishment serves as a chastisement for both—for Wi’s presumed infidelity and for Hanhepi’s jealousy of Ite’.
Ite’s Fate
For her part in the conspiracy, Ite’ was banished forever from the spiritual realm and forced to walk the earth as Anukite—or, Double-Faced Woman. She is forced to endure disfigurement, with one half of her face hideously scarred as a punishment for her vanity. Furthermore, for abandoning her responsibilities to her children (The Four Winds), Ite’s next child is born unruly and wild. Yumni, otherwise known as Whirlwind, is to be a source of grave concern for Ite’. Tate’ is vested with the responsibility of raising the five “wind children” and departs the spiritual realm to dwell in the human world.
David M Jones and Brian L Molyneaux, Mythology of the American Nations. (London: Hermes House, 2006).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 1995)
Peter Matthiessen, ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Group, 1989).
Mark St. Pierre and Tilda Long Soldier, Walking in the Sacred Manner: Healers, Dreamers, and Pipe Carriers—Medicine Women of the Plains. (New York: Simon and Schuster,1995).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
