as told by_Henry Crow Dog
Introduction by Wakinyanhoton Tatanka
But how did the siyotanka come to be in the first place? The following legend is from the Brule Sioux as told by Henry Crow Dog to a gathering in New York City in 1967. It has been somewhat condensed due to space limitations.
Many generations ago, the people had drums, rattles and bull-roarers, but no flute. At that time a young man went out to hunt. Meat was scarce, and the people were hungry. He found some elk tracks and followed them for a long time. Elk is wise and swift and owns the love charm. If a man possesses Elk Medicine, the girl he likes can't help sleeping with him. He'll also be a lucky hunter. This brave had no Elk Medicine.
He finally sighted his game. Although skilled with weapons, Elk stayed just out of range, and kept leading him on. By night he was deep in the forest. He had lost track of the elk and there was no moon. Realizing he couldn't find his way out, he rolled up in his fur robe and tried to sleep, but the noises of the forest kept him awake.
Suddenly there was an entirely new sound! It was mournful and ghost-like. It made him afraid, but on the other hand, it was like a song, sad but beautiful; full of love, hope and yearning. Before long he was asleep. He dreamed that wagnuka, the redheaded woodpecker, was singing the song and saying, "Follow me and I will teach you".
The sun was already high when he awoke, and he saw wagnuka in a nearby tree. The bird started to fly from one tree to the next, but remained in sight. It seemed the woodpecker was looking over his shoulder saying, "Come on!" Finally it landed on a cedar tree and began hammering on a branch, making a sound like the fast beating of a small drum. Suddenly there was a gust of wind, and the hunter heard the strange sound again. He then realized that the song was coming from the branch as the wind whistled through the holes the woodpecker had made.
He took the branch and headed home. No elk, but happy just the same. Back in his tipi, he tried to make the branch sing, but could not. So he purified himself with a sweat in the inipi, and fasted four days and four nights, crying for a vision that would tell him how to make the branch sing. In the middle of the fourth night, wagnuka appeared and said, "Watch me." He turned himself into a man, and gave directions saying again and again, "Watch this, now".
The vision complete, the man went and found another cedar branch. He hollowed it out with a bowstring drill, and whi-tled it into the shape of a long necked bird with an open beak. He painted the top of the head with washasha, the sacred red color. He smoked it up with sage, cedar and sweetgrass. He blew softly into the branch and fingered the holes as he had seen the man-bird do in his vision. All at once there was a song, ghost-like and beautiful beyond words drifting into the village. The people were astounded and overjoyed to hear it. With the help of Tate, the wind, and wagnuka, the woodpecker, the young man had brought them the first flute.
Soon he composed a special song, and played it to the daughter of an itanchan, big chief. Of course, she couldn't resist. They got married and the hunter himself became a great chief. When the other young men heard of this, they all began to whittle cedar branches. Soon the beautiful love music traveled from tribe to tribe, and all over, young girl's feet went where they shouldn't.
That's how the flute was brought to the people... thanks to the cedar, the wind, the woodpecker and the young hunter who shot no elk, but knew how to listen.
