About: Wocekiye

Wocekiye (Lakota: Wočhékiye, "to call on for aid," "to pray," and "to claim relationship with"). The word is sometimes used to denote the practice of contemporary Lakota Spirituality. The Lakota prefer the word spirituality, as opposed to the practice of religion. Central to this spiritual practice is the mythology of Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka, or the Great Mystery. Their primary cultural prophet is Ptesáŋwiŋ, White Buffalo Calf Woman, who came as an intermediary between Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka and humankind to teach them how to be good relatives by introducing the Seven Sacred Rites and the čhaŋnúŋpa (sacred pipe).