Pipe Carrier

 According to Lakota History, the Sacred Pipe was brought to Earth about 19 generations ago by Pte San Wi, The White Buffalo Calf Woman at a time when the seven tribes were gathered in council.  The people were starving, the hunting was bad, no Buffalo were to be found.  Pte San Wi came to the people and instructed them on the importance of living in balance with nature.  She taught them about the sacred directions and the Grandfathers of the Four Winds. Then she taught them everything they needed to know about the making, handling, and caring for the sacred pipe.   Then she taught the people how to pray.  She taught them the sing and how to use the pipe as a tool to communicate with Great Spirit Grandfather, Wakan Tanka Tunkasila.  In this way the people could ask for Tatanka to return and sacrifice himself for the people so that they could eat and survive.  The Buffalo was listening, and Great Spirit Grandfather sent him to the people.  The people began to prosper, ate well, and live in balance. It was a good thing.

There are two types of pipes, the personal pipe that can be owned and used by anyone for personal prayer and ceremony.  This pipe should not be shared.  It is intended to be used by and for the person who owns it.  The other is carried by the Pipe Carrier to be used for the people.  This pipe is used by the Pipe Carrier either alone, or with others in ceremony.  It is shared by a group for the whole that the prayer will arrive on mass to Great Spirit Grandfather for the betterment of all either for Teaching or Healing, or Both.  

A Pipe Carrier carries this task from lifetime to lifetime.  He is born to the task, he does not earn it.  This is something that was given to him before he arrived on this Earth.  Today due to the mix in cultures and the rise in spiritual awareness, the pipe has taken on the weight of cultures from all over the globe.  This is a good thing, and a bad thing.  Those who jump into an indigenous Pip Ceremony blindly without the knowledge and background to ground them to the Earth are running great spiritual, emotional, and mental risks.  The misuse of such things can lead to madness and death.  However those who have a calling and come to these things with respect and humility may add to the power of humanity and spread the healing and love to all the people. 

The Pipe reflects both the masculine and feminine side of nature.  The bowl with it's hole to accept the stem represents the feminine, the stem that in inserted into the bowl is the male.  Alone they will not function, but together they are a whole conduit to Great Spirit Grandfather. Only together will the prayer pass from the pipe to the Four Winds, to Great Grandfather.  The stem is the organic nature of existence, and the bowl is the inorganic aspect of the Earth, the fire is the ever present spirit.  Yin Yang. 

There are many correct ways to conduct a Pipe Ceremony.  The reader may find one that fits them the best, however there are a few practices that should be followed before beginning and when finishing the ceremony.  First it is important to smudge or sage yourself and any one else using the pipe.  This spiritually cleanses the participant and protects from spiritual problems.  Second is to maintain the utmost respect and humility while participating in ceremony.  Keeping your practice at the highest levels of respect and humility keeps you, me, and all that much closer to the Creator.  

Pipe Carriers are Healers, Warriors, Teachers, and Sacred Clowns.  We are the rugs that others come to and clean their feet on.  We are the bowls of water that are passed around to quench the thirst of the many.  We are the words that the Four Winds whisper into the hearts of the people.  We are Happy and Stand in High Honor to be of service, Mitakuye Oyatsin Hetchetu yelo, HO.  For all of my relations it is so.  

Peace and Balance,

John