Stone Song (59 page)

AFTERWORD

This book is first of all a work of imagination.

In the form called the biographical novel the writer must make music in two keys at once, fulfilling the responsibilities of fiction and biography. These sometimes yield harmony and sometimes dissonance, because each seeks a different kind of truth.

The biographer’s fidelity is first of all to the particular shape of his subject’s life. He studies the record assiduously. First in his mind and then on paper he recreates a reality from it, working analytically, logically, always ready to rethink. He assembles the pieces as an outsider, and gives them the shape his judgment discerns. He restricts himself, more or less, to what can be proven.

The novelist’s aspiration, or at least my own, is less to limn the particular form of the life of his subject than to discover the profile of what is permanently human in it. So a story that begins as reportage, then metamorphoses into history, and is transformed once more, this time into myth.

For this transformation the novelist sees the facts as merely an armature for a work of art. And the tools he uses to create are not analysis, logic, and judgment, but feeling, imagination, and dream.

All this requires, absolutely requires, that he see his subject not analytically but holistically, as in a dream. Then he must sing boldly the song of his dream, whatever it is.

Otherwise we have facts but not truth. For no record is complete enough, or trustworthy enough, to give us a person’s spirit. That lies within reach only of the artist, not the analyst. In the end it is not right because it satisfies the mind but because it satisfies the spirit.

In this book I have treated the record with scrupulous fidelity. I have read the books and the archival materials. I have consulted closely with Lakota people and studied their oral traditions about their great warrior. Yet I have also gone beyond the record. In the last months of composition I have dreamed of His Crazy Horse many nights. Those dreams, in the broadest sense of the word
dream
, are the breath of these pages, the spirit of the book.

One example: Ethnologists tell us that most Lakota of His Crazy Horse’s time had spirit guides, animals who were their counselors or models. That spirit guide was at the center of the person’s life. Not to know about a Lakota’s spirit guide would be like not knowing that Billy Graham’s guide is Jesus of Nazareth.

Though His Crazy Horse, the Strange Man of the Lakota, surely had such a guide, the record only hints at what creature it was. Nor does the record tell us what His Crazy Horse learned from his guide. Striving to
reach beyond the facts to the truth, I have given my Strange Man a hawk as a guide, and have put that spirit creature at the very center of his being.

But the reader objects, “We don’t know that his spirit guide was a hawk.” That’s true. In giving him that friend I speculate. I may be mistaken. In my view, however, not to do it would be both error and cowardice. It would falsify his life utterly.

This is the freedom that the novelist claims but the biographer dares not.

Thus: This is a work of imagination. Of dream.

—Win Blevins

Jackson Hole

January 1994

LAKOTA WORDS AND PHRASES USED IN THIS BOOK

Note:
These commonsense English pronunciations are very approximate, for some Lakota vowel and consonant sounds do not have equivalents in English. The
ⁿ
represents one such sound: It is not pronounced but signals that the preceding vowel is nasalized.

Pronunciations have changed over time. The ones indicated here aim at representing neither the very old Lakota nor the contemporary language but the speech of the early reservation period. The expression
hiye haya
is a vocable and so has no translation.

a-i-i-i
an expression or exclamation of anxiety. AH-eeee.

ake wancinyankin ktelo
literally, “until I see you again”; farewell. ah-KAY wah
ⁿ
-CHEE
ⁿ
-yah
ⁿ
-kee
ⁿ
k’TAY-loh.

akicita
tribal police; men of a warrior society delegated to keep order. ah-KEE-chee-tah.

ate
father (used to address the biological father and his brothers). ah-TAY.

Canapegi Wi
September, Moon When Leaves Turn Brown. chah-NAH-peh-GHEE wee.

Canapekasna Wi
October, Moon When the Leaves Fall, Moon When the Wind Shakes Off Leaves. chah-NAH-peh-ka-SNAH wee.

Cannanpopa Wi
February, Moon of Popping Trees. chah
ⁿ
-NAH
ⁿ
-poh-pah wee.

cansasa
tobacco (the shredded inner bark of the red willow, red alder, or red dogwood). chah
ⁿ
-SHAH-shah.

cante
heart. chah
ⁿ
-TAY.

cante ista
the (one) eye of the heart. chah
ⁿ
-TAY eesh-TAH.

canupa
pipe. chah
ⁿ
-NOO-pah.

ce
adult penis. CHAY.

e-i-i-i
an expression or exclamation of regret. AY-eeee.

hai
an expression or exclamation indicating startlement. HAH-ee.

han
yes. HAH
ⁿ
.

hanbleceyapi
crying for a vision; vision quest. hah
ⁿ
-BLAY-chee-AH-pee.

hau
welcome; a greeting; literally, “I am listening.” HAH-oo, which sounds like HOW.

he, he
an expression of regret. HAY, HAY.

hecitu welo (
or
yelo)
an expression or exclamation of affirmation; literally, “that is true.” hay-CHEE-too way-LOH
or
yay-LOH.

heyoka
thunder dreamer, especially one who, by dreaming of thunder, becomes a contrary, a person who does things backward. hay-YOH-kah.

hinu, hinu
a woman’s expression or exclamation of astonishment. hee-NOO, hee-NOO.

hokahe
a war cry. HOH-kah HAY.

hoye
expression or exclamation of assent. ho-YAY.

hu ikhpeya wicayapo
an expression or exclamation calling for total defeat of enemy, including buggery. hoo EE-k’pay-yah wee-CHAH-yah-poh.

hunhunhe
a man’s expression or exclamation of sorrow, astonishment, or apprehension. hoo
ⁿ
-hoo
ⁿ
-HAY.

hunka
relative by choice. The ceremony by which a person is made your relative is the
hunka lowanpi
or
hunkapi
. hoo
ⁿ
-KAH.

Hunkpapa
One of the seven council fires of the Lakota, Those Who Camp by the Entrance of the Circle. HOO
ⁿ
-k’pah-pah.

Hunkpatila
His Crazy Horse’s subband of the Oglala. Like
Hunkpapa
, it means “those who camp by the entrance” but does not refer to one of the seven council fires. HOO
ⁿ
-k’pah-tee-lah.

inyan
stone, pebble. When capitalized, medicine stone. ee
ⁿ
-YAH
ⁿ
.

isna tipi
the lodge of seclusion during menstruation; literally, “alone lodge.” eesh-NAH tee-pee. See also
isnati
.

isnati
menstruation. eesh-NAH-tee. See also
isna tipi
.

Itazipicola
One of the seven council fires of the Lakota, Those Without Bows or the Sans Arcs. ee-TAH-zee-pee-CHOH-lah.

iyotancila
I love you. ee-YOH-tah
ⁿ
-chee-lah.

Kangi Yuha
The Raven Owners, a warrior society. kah
ⁿ
-GHEE yoo-HAH.

kola
friend. KOH-lah.

leksi
maternal uncle. leh-K’SHEE.

mahpiya
sky. Mahpiya Luta, Red Cloud’s name, means “colored sky” or “colored cloud.” mah-K’PEE-yah.

mahpiyato
cloud. Capitalized, it means the Arapaho tribe. mah-K’PEE-yah-toh.

maka
earth. When capitalized, Mother Earth. MAH-kah

mitakuye oyasin
all my relations, or we are all related, a phrase repeated ritually in almost all Lakota prayers and ceremonies. mee-TAH-koo-yeh oi-AH-see
ⁿ
, often elided to mee-TAH-kwee AH-see
ⁿ
.

mni
water. MNEE.

mni wakan
spirit water, whiskey. mnee wah-KAH
ⁿ
.

Mniconjou
One of the seven council fires of the Lakota, Those Who Plant by the River. mnee-KOH
ⁿ
-zhoo.

nagi, wanagi
soul; spiritual self. wah-NAH-gee.

Oglala
One of the seven council fires of the Lakota, Sand Throwers. oh-GLAH-lah.

Oohenumpa
One of the seven council fires of the Lakota, the Two Boilings or Kettles band. oh-oh-HAY-noom-pah.

opawinge
one hundred. oh-PAH-wee
ⁿ
-hay.

Paha Sapa
Black Hills (of modern South Dakota and Wyoming). pah-HAH sah-PAH.

Pani
the Pawnee tribe. pah-NEE.

Pehingnunipi Wi
May, Moon of Shedding Ponies. pay-HEE
ⁿ
-g’noo-NEE-pee wee.

pezuta wicasa
healer; herbalist.

pila maya
thank you. The ceremonial phrase was
hiye pila maya
. pee-LAH mah-YAH.

Psatoka
Crow enemies.
Psa
alone means “crow.” Or the Absaroka, “the people of the big-beaked bird” (the raven). P’SAH-toh-KAH.

pte
buffalo. p’TAY. The time of
pte
, the time of the buffalo, is one of the great ages of the earth. The bull is
pte bloka
, the cow,
pte winyela
.

Sahiyela
the Cheyenne tribe. shah-HEE-yay-lah.

Sicangu
one of the seven council fire of the Lakota, generally called the Brulés (Burnt Thighs). see-CHAH
ⁿ
-hoo.

Sihasapa
One of the seven council fires of the Lakota, the Blackfoot. see-HAH-sah-PAH.

sinte
tail. shee
ⁿ
-TAY.

skan
spiritual vitality. SHKAH
ⁿ
.

Taku Skanskan
literally, “that which moves all that moves”; spiritual vitality. tah-KOO SHKAH
ⁿ
SHKAH
ⁿ
.

tanke
a man’s term for an older sister. tah
ⁿ
-KAY.

tasunke
his or her horse. tah-SHOO
ⁿ
-kah.

Tioheynuka Wi
January, Moon of Frost in the Lodge. tee-OH-hay-NOO-kah wee.

tipsila
prairie-turnip. TEE-p’see-lah.

Titunwan
Teton, part of the formal name of the Lakota people. tee-TOO
ⁿ
-wah
ⁿ
.

to
a vigorous affirmative, like “damn right!” TOH.

tonwan
spirit, bad spirit. toh
ⁿ
-WAH
ⁿ
.

tunkasila
grandfather (used for the biological grandfathers and for the ancestors generally and for an approximate equivalent of “God”). too
ⁿ
-KAH-shee-lah.

unci
grandmother. oo
ⁿ
-CHEE.

unse ma la yelo, unse ma la ye
a phrase used in prayer—take pity on me. oo
ⁿ
-SHAY mah lah yay-LOH.

wakan
sacred, mysterious. wah-KAH
ⁿ
.

Wakan Tanka
the mysterious, the first principle or supreme spirit, the father-creator. wah-KAH
ⁿ
-tah
ⁿ
-kah.

wakinyan
lightning. wah-KEE
ⁿ
-yah
ⁿ
.

Wakinyan Tanka
the thunderbird, or thunder being, the power of the west. wah-KEE
ⁿ
-yah
ⁿ
TAH
ⁿ
-kah.

wambli
eagle. The
wambli gleska
is the spotted or immature golden eagle, the highest-flying of all creatures and symbol of Wakan Tanka. wahm-BLEE.

wanh
an exclamation of pleased surprise. WAH
ⁿ
.

Wanicokan Wi
December, Midwinter Moon. wah-NEE-choh-kah
ⁿ
wee.

wanisugna
living seed within the shell; creativity. wah-NEE-soo-gnah.

Waniyetu Wi
November, Winter Moon. wah-NEE-yay-too wee.

wasicu
white man; literally, “one who takes the fat” or “one who brings the message” (of the Church). wah-SHEE-choo.

wasiyuta el unpi
those who live among the whites; the loaf-around-the-fort people. wah-SHEE-yoo-tah el oo
ⁿ
-PEE.

Wasutun Wi
August, Moon When All Things Ripen. wa-SOO-too
ⁿ
wee.

Waziya
north; the giant that lives in the north. wah-ZEE-yah.

wi, anpetuwi
sun. WEE.

wicasa
man. wee-CHAH-shah.

wicasa wakan
holy man. wee-CHAH-shah wah-KAH
ⁿ
.

wicasa yatapika
shirtman; literally, “owner of the tribe.” wee-CHAH-shah yah-TAH-pee-kah.

Wicokannanji
July, Middle Moon. wee-CHOH-kah
ⁿ
-nah
ⁿ
-gee.

win
a suffix meaning “female.” wee
ⁿ
.

winkte
literally, “a man who wants to be a woman”; a psychological hermaphrodite. Such men took women’s roles entirely, even married men, had special spiritual power because of their participation in both sexes, and had particular ceremonial roles. wee
ⁿ
-TAY.

Wipazuka Waste Wi
June, Moon When the Chokecherries Ripen, Moon of Ripening Berries, Moon When the Ponies Get Fat. wee-PAH-zhoo-kah wahsh-TAY wee.

witko
crazy. weet-KOH.

wiwanyag wachipi
the sun dance, or gazing-at-the-sun-pole dance. wee-WAH
ⁿ
-yahg wah-CHEE-pee.

yaspapi
the time of the bitten moon; the first half of the new moon and last half of the old one. yah-SPAH-pee.