Photo: Cheyenne Artisan Exhibit showing clothing, a painted hide, a travois, and a parfleche, Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation, Carmelo Guadagno (Jimmy Guadagno), Non-Indian, 2009; Wikimedia
Sweet Medicine was a “Prophecy” who according to Legend, received sacred teaching from a Divine Power at Bear Butte.
He was credited with providing the Cheyenne People with Laws, Ceremonies, and the Four Sacred Arrows and the Sacred Buffalo Hat which represents male and female Power and are Central to Cheyenne Spiritual Life.
Sweet Medicine is revered for bringing order, a government structure and Spiritual Guidance to the Cheyenne People. He taught the Massaum Ceremony, a ritual reenacting the Creation of the World.
Sweet Medicine is said to have predicted what the future will see such as the coming of the Horses, Cows, and the White Man and the loss of the Buffalo and Our Land.
He is the foundational figure among the Cheyenne Culture, considered a Savior who brought his people from a state of “Chaos” into a state of order and light.
The name “Sweet Medicine” comes motse eonotse (Sweet Grass) a sacred plant used in Ceremonies.
Sweet Medicine gone into a Vision Quest at Bear Butte (Noahvose) a sacred mountain where he stayed for 4 years in a cave. There he was taught by God and received the Sacred Commandments for his people.
His Teachings changed the Cheyenne People to live Greater harmony and stability. These two sacred bundles are believed to be the Source of Continual “Life” and “Blessings” for the Cheyenne People.
In later times, a Cheyenne Chief named “Little Wolf” was elected “Sweet Medicine Chief” the highest honor. As such, he carried the Sacred Bundle and was expected to act with “Selflessness” and concern for his people above all else.
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