The Wolf & Native American Spirituality

I have decided to stick with legends and myths regarding wolves.
Today's post is related to native american beliefs.

The Pawnee of present day Nebraska and Kansas are different then most other Native Americans. The Pawnee divided their world horizon into four semi cardinal points. They placed the Mountain Lion, the Bobcat, the Bear, and the Wolf to these semi cardinal points. These animals were chosen primarily because they were the great hunters. The stealth of the Cats, the endurance of the of the Wolf, and the strength of the Bear. The Eagles are not part of the semi cardinal points but nevertheless very important. The Eagle has great vision, but more importantly when you pray, you pray into the smoke of the sacred fire. The smoke from the fire carries your prayers into the sky, the Eagle it is said will fly into the smoke and catch your prayer and deliver it to the Great Spirit. The white feathers of the Bald Eagle are tipped with black. It is said, this happened because the Bald Eagle was the messenger to the Great Spirit. He had to take the prayer to the other side of! the sun. When he delivered the prayer his feathers were singed by the fire of the sun as proof that he was the messenger of the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit said, " You are my messenger and the whole world shall see that I have kissed your tail feathers as proof that you are indeed my messenger.

The Pawnee set the Mountain Lion to the northeast, the Wolf to the Southeast, the Bobcat to the Southwest and the Bear to the Northwest. The cats are said to guard the primal female presence and were put into the ski as the Evening Star. The Wolf was also put in the ski as the Red Star or Wolf Star. The Red Star is to symbolize the color of the Red Wolf. These animals were held in high esteem by these primitive hunters.

The Wolf is an important part of tribal, ceremonial, individual life but the wolf was nevertheless was regarded as "other" by our native brothers. The wolf is never to be confused with his domesticated cousin the dog. The dog and the wolf are poles apart. The wolf had great powers given to him by the Great Spirit. The wolf it is said could change into a man and help a man out that was in trouble. The Sioux word for wolf is Skunkmanitu Tonka, (The animal that looks like a dog but has a powerful spirit).

Native Americans probably had three different breeds of dogs. They continued to breed these dogs to each other. Dogs were used for: their hair for weaving, their flesh among some tribes for food. They were used to pull travois and sleds, to pack food, panniers, and firewood, and to hunt game. These dogs were not pets. Any dog that proved to be a nuisance by getting into food catches or digging under tepees were quickly dispatched.

Crossing wolves and dogs would produce hybrids that were headstrong and dangerous, so Native Americans rarely tried this. Dogs several generations removed from the cross proved to be gentle, obedient, intelligent, and very hardy, but Native Americans were not interested in this kind of special breeding. More fundamentally, dogs and wolves were poles apart, and it was not deemed appropriate to mix them. The wolf has a soul in Nunamuite Eskimo eyes: not so their sled dogs. The wolf is an integral part of many religious ceremonies, the dog would be unceremoniously kicked out of any ceremonial lodge.

The Sioux men used to sing songs while they traveled. These were short songs of encouragement or songs about a lover or in praise of past deeds. These were collectively called wolf traveling songs by the Cheyenne. Such songs usually came to a warriors in their dreams. A warrior may also sing to call the wolves in song to eat the flesh of their enemies after a battle. A warrior may compare himself to a wolf. A wolf it is said has changed himself into human form to warn young men of dangers, where to find food, and what plants heal, and have the most nourishment.

Here is an example of one of the songs that was sung by a Sioux, Weasel Bear:

A Wolf I consider myself
But the owls are hooting
At daybreak I roam and the night I fear
Awake to who is following me
I roam At daybreak
I roam At daybreak
I roam Shivers coming up my spine
I roam Eyes in back of my head
I roam.

The Legend of Greywolf



Legend of Greywolf





One of the biggest Turkish emperors had two daughters and they were both extremely beautiful. They were so beautiful that people believed these two daughters could only marry beings with supernatural powers and that these women were not created for humans.

As the emperor believed this same idea, he searched for ways of keeping his daughters away from people. In the farthest point of his land, a place where no man had neither walked nor seen before, he built a tall tower and locked his two daughters into this tower. He then prayed and begged so adamantly that the god who he believed in could not resist. The god came down to earth, took the form of a greywolf, and married the daughters of the emperor. Nine children were born after this marriage; They were named the Nine "Oguz" (meaning a good-hearted decent) and their voices resembled that of a greywolf.

In the end, these children all carried the spirit of the Greywolf, their population grew and thus the Turks embody characteristics such as great strength, great courage, and great agility.