Medicine Wheel Sun Dance
Saturday night, July 21st
Chapter 6

Today was VERY full. During the opening round, I was holding down my usual position in the East gate. It's wonderful how the dancers greet the day. They face the sun in rows with the men in front and the women behind. (The reasoning behind this is that it is said that the women are the backbone of the men dancers.) They start near the center of the arena and with each song, they move in unison towards the East gate. This is all done as the sun pops up over the mountain ridge. Very wonderful.

Next round was another piercing round. One dancer dragged 5 skulls. (I think mine is still in tact.) And Vic danced with a skull hanging from each of his upper arms. (A bone needle is placed through the deltoid muscle. The skull is attached by rope to this needle.) After the dancer dragging the skulls broke loose, the skulls were quickly yanked from Vic's arms. There was lots of whooping and hollering on their success.

(One note about the dragging of skulls.... If the skulls don't pull loose after three trips around the track, someone sits on the lead skull while the dancer jumps forward. Some times this is the only way they pull free.)

I had a vision during the piercing round again. Red Earth tells the story of his buffalo medicine. When he was a young man and newly married, he and his wife were traveling. They came across a small herd of buffalo crossing the road. He stopped their car. They had both windows rolled all of the way down. The bull first went to his wife's window, looked her in the eye and then walked around to his side of the car. The bull gazed at Red Earth for more than a moment. He stuck his nose just inches from Red Earth's face. Once the bull was satisfied, he moved on. Ever since then, he has carried buffalo medicine with him. I did not know of this until after my vision. Once I had heard this story, though, my vision made sense.

When I had this vision, it was like I went inside and saw a picture show. Don't know how else to explain it. What I 'saw' was buffalo on every ridge around the arena encircling us. There were hundreds and hundreds of them. They had come from near and far to be with us. They were watching us and giving to us their strength and endurance. They were magnificent. I couldn't get over how many there were! It was an incredibly clear vision.

The next round was huge for me. It is called The Wiping of the Tears. One would choose to participate in this ceremony if they needed to release a deep hurt so that a healing could take place. Each supporter (as well as a dancer, if they so choose) steps into the inner circle (the track area). Then the elders and the dancers pass by one by one, and wipe away one's tears with a stalk of sage. I have been thinking of my dad a lot recently. And the feeling that I got from those thoughts is that it was time to finally say goodbye. I was going to be alright and he didn't need to stay with me any longer. It was time to let him go.

The next round after that was The Healing Round. One would chose to participate in this round if one was looking for a healing of the mind or body or spirit. As each Elder and then each dancer passes by you, they perform a healing on you. They use either their feather fan or stalks of sage. It was the most profound experience of my life.

And the following round after that was called The Tasting Round. This is my least favorite part of today's rounds. We are fed a tripe and potato stew. Tu Bears tells me that I am a very poor Indian because I think stuff is just vile. Smile. But I participated in the round anyway. This is about support and if the dancers can stomach this stuff, I can too. But boy, it's just awful stuff.

We closed after dark again tonight. Beef stew and salad for dinner. It tasted *immensely* better than the previous 'stew'. Smile..... Nite.