BLACK ELK: The Sacred Ways of a Lakota

by Wallace & William S. Lyon Black Elk ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1990

Although no blood relation to the legendary mystic of Black Elk Speaks, this latter-day Lakota shaman claims to be that teacher's spiritual grandson, and spokesman for an ancient shamanistic way of life in which spirit guides are real as rock and earth and stars. Here, the new Black Elk's spiritual saga is transcribed and edited by anthropologist Lyon. Recognized by the elders of his tribe at five years old as the chosen mouthpiece of the spirits, Black Elk received an intensive education in the way of the sacred Chanunpa, the pipe. Counting the famous Black Elk as but one of his mentors or ""grandfathers,"" he describes a spiritual education that's only just begun after four vision quests that take place over 16 years. In an earthy, self-styled ""dumb Indian"" voice, Black Elk details the science and precision behind the ""stone-people-lodge ceremony"" (the sweat lodge) and the holy, sometimes terrifying rite of the Chanunpa--after the purification comes the offering of the pipe to an invisible but palpable world of spirits. In his 60-odd years, he has seen aliens in flying saucers (what he calls ""star people""), visions of nuclear weapons, uncanny instances of ESP and healing (the spirits even fixed a broken-down TV). Ultimately, Black Elk was given a vision of the sun and the solar system that eclipsed anything Edgar Mitchell ever saw in space. ""When you return to Earth,"" the spirits told him, ""tell your people to love each other and stay behind this sacred Chanunpa."" Although it's impossible to assess the veracity of Black Elk's tales, his is a refreshingly homespun, tradition-steeped alternative to the instant mysticism of Lynn Andrews.

Pub Date: March 1, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990

Categories: NONFICTION