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19.
WHITE BUFFALO
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In Search of the Shaman
Sarah J. Andrew
Original photography and photo-graphics by Nancy Hopkins
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It did not take long to meet up with Lizard. Great Buffalo had learned, long ago, how to call other creatures to him. Great Buffalo asked, "Can you teach me how to be a Shaman and to enter the dreams of other beings to understand their special gift?" Lizard replied, "Well, I can certainly show you the door to the Dream World. What you do there is up to you." Dog said, intuitively, "Crow said you would help us." Lizard looked to Dog. "Crow gave permission to enter the Secret Knowledge of the Dream World?" Dog replied, "He said he would meet us there." Lizard corrected, "I believe he said he would meet Great Buffalo. A wolf could never survive the Dream World." |
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"Besides, Dog, it is necessary for you to be on this side of the door. When Great Buffalo enters the Dream World, you must help him leave and get back."
Dog felt proud and disappointed, at the same time, "How do I do that?"
Lizard continued, "You obviously must protect Great Buffalo while he is in the Dream World. But, you must use your tail to guide him in and out of the Dream State."
Great Buffalo and Dog looked at each other. "How?" they asked in unison.
Lizard directed, "Dog lay down on the ground. Wag your tail."
Wolf followed the directions, but Lizard corrected, "No, hard. Thump hard."
Dog thumped the ground with his tail. Lizard yelled, "More, faster, louder."
Thump, thump, thump went Dog's tail.
Lizard said to Great Buffalo, "You lay down." Great Buffalo comforted himself on the ground, next to Dog. Lizard continued, "Now, focus on the sound of Wolf's tail and let your mind travel until you can hear the beat between the beats of the tail. There you will find the doorway to the Dream State. It will take some practice. And, Dog, from time-to-time, beat that tail so Great Buffalo can find his way home. The drumming can take him away and bring him back.
And it did take practice. For the first few times, Great Buffalo just got restless. The third time they tried, Great Buffalo was tired and felt like he was falling asleep. But, he kept focusing on the thumping of Dog's tail, as Lizard directed. Quite suddenly, he felt himself transported somewhere else.
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Great Buffalo looked around at this new place. He could still hear Dog drumming with his tail. In the distance he could see a herd of buffalo. It stretched out forever. It made him long to be home again, amongst his own particular family. In his mind he heard the question, "What is the significance of Buffalo?"
Great Buffalo thought, "There is none. They just are. They need a reason for being by creating a Superior Being, one capable of dreaming while awake." And all the voices that had spoke up with fear of the dangers, yelled in Great Buffalo's head, "No, danger!"
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"Yes," thought the Great Buffalo. "But, I will make a being who needs each and every one of Mother Earth's creations, in order to survive. I will have a Time limit that will make them understand death. And they will be naked and need food, and they will be weak and need All-That-Is. Yet, they will be able to dream while awake, to evolve for Mother Earth a new level of consciousness."
And, so it went for many sun rises. Sometime three times a day, Great Buffalo would follow Dog's drumming into and back from the Dream State. Finally, one day, Great Buffalo came back and said, "Well, it is done my old friend. I have come to an understanding of the significance of everyone of Mother Earth's creations. And, not too soon, I think. Your poor old tail is hardly thumping anymore."
Dog picked his head up. "Done?" he asked. "What now, Young Buck?"
Great Buffalo leaned down and nuzzled his nose between Dog's ears. "For now, let us just enjoy the rest of our lives."
Dog suddenly realized the buffalo nuzzling his head was all white. "Buck," he screeched, "Look at yourself."
Great Buffalo looked down and saw white fur. "Am I white all over," he asked Dog.
Dog had gotten up and was scurrying around his friend. "Yes, every inch of you has turned white! What do you suppose the significance of that is?"
And, as he had done a thousand times before, to Dog's incessant questions, White Buffalo said, "I don't know."
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