In
Lakota spirituality, ''Wakan Tanka'' (
Standard Lakota Orthography: ''Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka'') is the term for the
sacred or the
divine. This is usually translated as the "
Great Spirit" and occasionally as "Great Mystery".
''Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka'' can be interpreted as the power or the sacredness that resides in everything, resembling some
animistic and
pantheistic beliefs. This term describes every creature and object as ''wakȟáŋ'' ("holy") or having aspects that are ''wakȟáŋ''.
The element ''Tanka'' or ''Tȟáŋka'' corresponds to "Great" or "large".
Before contact with European Christian missionaries, the Lakota used ''Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka'' to refer to an
organization or
group of sacred entities whose ways were mysterious: thus, "The Great Mystery".
[Helen Wheeler Bassett, ]Frederick Starr
Frederick Starr (September 2, 1858 – August 14, 1933) was an American academic, Anthropology, anthropologist, and "populist educator"Parezo, Nancy J. and Don D. Fowler. (2007) "Taking Ethnological Training Outside the Classroom: the 1904 Lou ...
. The International Folk-lore Congress of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, July, 1893. Charles H. Sergel Company, 1898
p221
226 Activist
Russell Means
Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012) was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native Americans, libertarian political activist, actor, musician, and writer. He became a prominent member of the American Ind ...
also promoted the translation "Great Mystery" and the view that Lakota spirituality is not
monotheistic
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
.
Cognate terms in other languages
Siouan: ''Wakan Tanka'' or ''Wakan'' is also known as ''Wakanda'' in the
Omaha-Ponca,
Ioway-Otoe-Missouri,
Kansa and
Osage languages; and ''Wakatakeh'' in
Quapaw.
See also
*
Manitou
Manitou (), akin to the Iroquois ''orenda'', is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American theology. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aasha ...
*
Sioux language
Sioux is a Siouan language spoken by over 30,000 Sioux in the United States and Canada, making it the fifth most spoken indigenous language in the United States or Canada, behind Navajo, Cree, Inuit languages, and Ojibwe.
Regional variation
Si ...
References
Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America
Lakota culture
Lakota words and phrases
Native American religion
Sioux mythology
{{NorthAm-myth-stub