Tiopa Ki Lakota (4 page)

The elder woman filled a bowl with stew and handed it to Wanbli Zi who made appropriate noises of gratification as he set his arrow aside. A second bowl was brought to Cinksi.

"Thank you,
ina

," the girl smiled, accepting it. "It smells very good." Cinksi immediately dug into the repast with a great show of enjoyment.

"How were the ponies?" Wanbli Zi asked as he ate.

The girl shrugged. "They are fine. The travel has done them good. That fat pony of Hwa's has even lost some weight." Looking up from her bowl, Cinksi commented, "My pony's getting old. I will have to find another."

The man nodded solemnly. "Perhaps at the summer camp. You will have to train your own this time."

"Do you think I could trade for it?" she asked, finishing her stew.

"Possibly. You might want to wager instead. Or race or wrestle. You do all these things well." Wanbli Zi watched his youngest fondly as she held her bowl out to her sister to be refilled.

"I will do that, then," Cinksi decided. "Nupa says we may be at summer camp within two days." She watched her sister blush at her friend's name and grinned.
Perhaps Nupa will be my brother-in-law!

"It will be good to have a rest from our travels." The warrior finished his own meal and, in an exact echo of his daughter's gesture, he held the bowl out to his woman for more.

And so the evening went. After the meal, Cinksi's mother and sister cleaned up and proceeded to work on their own projects. The elder woman,
Waniyetu Gi

, was involved in resewing a pair of moccasins that had worn through a seam. Her daughter,
Hca Wanahca

, was grinding a bone needle to a point on a well worn rock.

Wanbli Zi, finished with the fletching of his arrow, rose to his feet. He nodded at Cinksi, who stood as well, and the pair of them drifted over to the main fire where the men of the camp were gathering. There, the men smoked and talked, telling stories and singing songs. Many of the older boys were there, listening, learning.

Eventually, the hour grew late and the fire was allowed to burn down. The men drifted off to their women's and mother's
ti ikceyas
for the night. Tomorrow they planned to be up early and on their way, one day closer to the summer camp.

Cinksi ducked into the lodge and glanced about. The firepit was in the center, her father's robes across it and opposite the door in the respected place. Her mother was already rolled up in the robes, awaiting her man's arrival. To the right, Hca Wanahca was pulling a wooden comb through her long hair.

The younger girl averted her gaze, visually avoiding the area as she stepped over to her own sleeping robes nearby. Living in a
ti ikceya
with a number of people, avoidance was a common practice within. It was the only way to guarantee privacy. Respectfully, the younger girl's family returned the favor and did not look towards her as she pulled off her shirt and prepared for bed.

For a long time, Cinksi lay in her robes, her hands behind her head as she gazed up to the juncture of several logs that was the top of the lodge.
Soon we will be at summer camp and there will be a Sun Dance.
She thought of the men who would be attempting the Sun Dance this season.

Last season, Nupa had vowed to do the Sun Dance when he had survived a sickness through the winter. Others who felt that they needed to prove themselves to the spirits or show their appreciation for their help would do so this season. Cinksi knew of three here in camp who would be participating as dancers.
But none of them will be me
, she thought mournfully.

While the Sun Dance was not written in stone, changing and evolving fluidly over the seasons, the one thing that appeared constant was the fact that no
wicincala

had ever danced. Cinksi had begun to wonder exactly what she could do should she call upon
wakan tanka

for assistance and receive it.
There has to be some way to show my gratitude. Maybe I will be able to talk the shaman into allowing me.

Cinksi drifted off to sleep, hearing the drums and songs of the Sun Dance, feeling the sun on her face as she danced, feeling the tug of the ropes where they were attached to her shoulders and back.

Cinksi awoke in the pre-dawn hours of the morning. All was silent and peaceful, the sun not yet beginning to grey the sky. She rolled over onto her side and brought her arms around her middle. Her belly ached considerably, feeling as if someone had put a rope around her and was pulling it tight. The pain came and went, cramping.

Unsure of what was happening, she worriedly considered calling to her mother, asking for the medicine man. And then a fresh cramp hit unexpectedly and she moaned a little. She rocked in agony until the pain let up.

There was moisture between her legs.
Did I wet my robes?
she wondered, her fears gaining ground.
I haven't done that since I was a baby!
Cinksi's hand delved beneath her breechclout, feeling a heavy slickness. Pulling her hand out, the embers from the firepit showed only a dark stain on her fingers. The girl squinted in the dim light, trying to understand just what the substance was. And then they widened as she understood.

I am bleeding!
she thought. Another cramp hit her and she moaned again, her heart pounding in fear.
I am going to die!
Once the pain subsided again, she struggled out of her robes, crawling towards her older sister, to wake her, to get help.
I do not want to die!

Hca was rousted from sleep by a frantic little sister. There were whispered words as Cinksi explained what was happening and that she was going to bleed to death. When the older girl comprehended the reality of the situation, she urged the younger back to her robes. "I will take care of you,
mitankala

, she whispered.

Cinksi did as she was told, wondering why her sister did not wake their parents, did not call the medicine man and the shaman. She watched in pain as Hca slipped her dress over her head and moved away from her bedding to rummage around in the herbal stores their mother kept.

"Here," Hca murmured as she returned. She handed her little sister a root. "Chew on this while I make a tea for you. It will help with the pain." The older girl kindly caressed Cinksi's head and smiled. "It will be fine. Trust me. You are becoming a woman now." She then moved to the remains of the fire and stirred up flames to heat some water.

Chewing on the root, Cinksi watched, frowning.
I am becoming a woman? This is the bleeding time?
Many questions filled her mind regarding this new insight and she resolved to ask her sister and mother about them as soon as possible. Another wave of pain hit her and she gasped and rocked.

Hca returned a few minutes later with an herbal tea to help with the pain. She insisted that Cinksi drink it all before it cooled to get the healing benefits from the herbs. Hca then gave whispered instructions on what to wear, helping the younger girl put on the necessary items to contain the bleeding. Afterwards, she held her sister's head in her lap, caressing her hair and crooning a soft song that their mother used to sing to them when they were babes.

The pain backed away and the younger girl relaxed, a weariness stealing over her. She drifted off to sleep with a lullaby in her ear.

Cinksi carefully placed the sacred bundle in the branches of a tree near the summer camp. She murmured a prayer to the spirits, asking for a vision of her adulthood before she climbed back down and settled at the base of it.

It had been a week since she first began bleeding. The camp had made it to the summer place a day later and she had spent quite a bit of time with her sister and mother. Apparently, Wanbli Zi had been informed of the new state of affairs with his youngest daughter and had stayed away.

For a while, Cinksi was worried that she would have to give up her path and become a woman, but that had not come to pass. She was taught by the women of her camp the ways of the bleeding - how to protect against the painful spirits that invaded her belly when it happened, what to do with the soiled clothing used to capture the fluid that flowed from her. Hca had eased her mind by telling her that the pain only lasted a day or so with herself, dissipating to a dull discomfort rather than the aching cramps.

And now, Cinksi was doing as many young women did with their first bleeding. Attempting a vision.

I do not see how a vision can come to me
, she mused with a frown.

Cinksi was on a small hillock that had a stand of trees on it. Beneath her was the summer camp, laid out in all its splendor. The pole in the center of the clearing was where the Sun Dance would be held in two days and the entire camp was buzzing with excited preparations. From here on the southern edge the girl could see her own camp's settlement.

According to tradition, a girl's first bleeding was put into the limbs of a tree and the girl was to sit at the base for the day. A vision was supposed to come to her if she should be worthy of it.
But how can I be worthy of it? The
hoksila

have to sit for days to receive visions from the spirits. How can the spirits deem me worthy if I am not willing to sacrifice more to achieve a vision?

The doubts swirled around in her head as she sat and watched the camp's activities.

"
Wicahcala

?"

The shaman, Inyan Ceye, looked up from his work. He was sewing a small pouch made of fox fur. Before him stood the youngest daughter of Wanbli Zi. "
Hau

, Cinksi. Please, sit with me." He set aside his task and smiled warmly at the girl.

Gingerly, Cinksi sat to the left of the shaman and in the honored place. She frowned to herself as she considered what to say.

Inyan Ceye kept his counsel, knowing the girl needed to come to terms with whatever she wanted. He had seen her on the hill a few days earlier and had surmised why she was there.
But she needs to ask for herself. She must be strong for herself.

The silence continued for some time. It seemed to grow more comfortable as the sun moved across the sky rather than distressful. Cinksi mulled over her reasons for approaching the shaman, finally speaking up. "
Wicahcala

, I would like to seek a vision."

The shaman nodded solemnly, his suspicions confirmed. "You did not receive one on the hill?" he asked.

Cinksi blushed and ducked her head. "
Hiya

, wicahcala
. I did not." She appeared to almost speak, but held back.

"Tell me your thoughts, Cinksi," Inyan Ceye said. "I cannot help you if you do not."

Her face flushing further, the girl said, "I do not see why the spirits would give me a vision that way,
wicahcala
. I did not seek a vision as my father did or his father before him." She shrugged a little and stared at the firepit before them. "I know that I am not
hoksila
, but I feel the spirits would want me to seek a vision as the other
hoksila
have. If I am to be a warrior, that would be the only way the spirits will speak to me."

The shaman nodded with the same serious intensity. Again silence filled the immediate area as they both contemplated this turn of events. After some time, Inyan Ceye spoke up. "Then I must instruct you on seeking a vision, Cinksi, so that you might hear what the spirits have to say to you."

The girl looked up in surprise, a glow in her dark eyes. "You will help me,
wicahcala
?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"
Hau
, Cinksi. Now, go. I must prepare to teach you the way."

"
Ohan

, wicahcala
!" The girl jumped up, failing in her attempt to temper her excitement. "Thank you!"

"Do not thank me, young warrior," Inyan Ceye intoned, though his dark eyes sparkled with humor. "It is
you
that must be clear and centered and able to receive a vision from
wakan tanka
." He shooed her away, happy to see the life return to her as she ran off. It had been disheartening to see her moping about the camp this last week.

The shaman inhaled deeply and looked down at the fur pouch he had been making.
It is time to smoke a pipe and prepare the spirit banners.
He set the project aside and rummage around for his pipe and tobacco.

Cinksi ducked out of the
oinikaga tipi

, her body slick from the sweat the heat inside caused. She was wearing only a breechclout and moccasins, as was prescribed by the elders of her camp. Outside the rounded lodge, she picked up a leather bag that she slung across her shoulders and a buffalo robe. These would be the only things she would take on her quest for a vision.

It was still dark out, the coolness in the air despite the season causing her to shiver. Cinksi pulled the robe tighter around her shoulders and moved into the darkness.

Time passed and soon the sun was high in the sky. The girl had removed the robe, not expecting to meet anyone out in the wilderness of the northern plains. Rolling hills rose around her and she considered which would be the proper place to make a stand for her vision. The warm breeze of summer caressed her back and she felt goose bumps arise at the oddity. She'd been forced to wear a shirt for the last two winters. It was good to be free of it as she'd been as a child.

Cinksi finally found a hillock that felt right and began to climb. Her stomach indicated that it was now nearing dinner as she reached its summit and looked around.
This will do well
, she thought with respect.