Sacred Language: The Nature of Supernatural Discourse in Lakota (The Civilization of the American Indian series ; #179)

Anthropologists, linguists, ethnomusicologists, and other scholars of the American Indian will welcome this study of the Pine Ridge Lakota people and their religion.Of prime importance in this volume are the author's translations and exegeses of Lakota sacred song texts. Powers, one of the rare linguists who i8s fluent in the language he discusses, brings a high level of scholarship to both description and analysis. In readable fashion he traces the birth of sacred language to philosophical discourse among medicine men, converse between them and their followers, and prayers to the supernatural. Although classified as "ghost," some Lakota supernatural make their presence known within ritual context through sensory appeal, being seen or heard in the Yuwipi curing ritual and the Vision Quest or detected in the aroma of sage in the Sweat Lodge. The pantheon they represent is the subject of Lakota creation myths. However esoteric and mysterious it may be, sacred language is an efficacious instrument for the people. It is not, as Powers points out, archaic but living and contemporaneous, vulnerable to a wide array of influences. Powers discusses these influences, including Christianity. He also considers the special field of sacred numbers and numerical systems as a means of classifying, the social universe for the Lakota. In addition he provides new insights into the writings of James R. Walker, the Pine Ridge physician of the early 1900's who studied Lakota religion. Anthropologists, Linguists, Ethnomusicologists, And Other Scholars Of The American Indian Will Welcome This Study Of The Pine Ridge Lakota People And Their Religion. Of Prime Importance In This Volume Are The Author's Translations And Exegeses Of Lakota Sacred Song Texts. Powers, One Of The Rare Linguists Who Is Fluent In The Language He Discusses, Brings A High Level Of Scholarship To Both Description And Analysis. In Readable Fashion He Traces The Birth Of Sacred Language To Philosophical Discourse Among Medicine Men, Converse Between Them And Their Followers, And Prayers To The Supernaturals--book Jacket. Incomprehensible Terms -- Oglala Song Terminology -- Song Texts -- Containing The Sacred -- Sacred Numbers -- Naming The Sacred -- Shamans And Priests. By William K. Powers. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 233-242. This is a book of the supernatural environment the American Indians lived under. The content describes the methods they used to lead their life.