Tradition / Region: Pawnee mythology, American Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow, Hybrid
The Myth
In the earliest days, when the Pawnee still wandered and lived on roots and wild plants, a strange woman appeared at dusk near their gambling grounds. She moved in silence, her body wrapped in a covering that hid her hair, and she passed through the place where the people played before vanishing over the hills.
The next morning, her tracks were found—but they were not human footprints. They were the split hooves of an animal. Still, the people continued their games.
On another evening, the woman returned. This time she ran across the gambling ground and circled it. As she fled over the hills, a man saw her transform before his eyes into a buffalo. He pursued her for many days, until he reached a place where there was nothing but water. There, exhausted, he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, the Buffalo Woman touched him and led him into a lodge. Inside sat four ancient men, the gods of the west. They told him that the buffalo were being given to the people so they might live. They taught him how the buffalo were to be prepared and honored, showing him that the heart and tongue were sacred and must be offered in gratitude. They also entrusted him with seeds—corn, beans, squash, and tobacco—tied in buffalo hide, gifts meant to sustain the people.
Thus the Buffalo Woman was revealed as a messenger between worlds. She crossed between human and animal, bringing food, life, and sacred instruction. From that time on, the Pawnee lived by the buffalo and honored the western gods first in their offerings, remembering the woman who came at dusk and changed the fate of the people.
Gallery
Sources
Dorsey, G. A. (1906). The Pawnee Mythology (Part I).
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Buffalo Woman