HORSES OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS

"A GLORIOUS VISION"

"High in the sky he was carried in his dream and up among the towering clouds to a beautiful teepee made of flaming rainbows where he met a council of six grandfathers who represented the Great Spirit. They told him he was being sent out across the sky to see the future of his people and the world. Riding a bay horse and followed by four troupes of horses, twelve in each troupe, one black, one white, one yellow and one red (whom I believe represented the four races of man), he started on his journey. On this journey he saw repeatedly that though his people at the time of the dream were walking in the sacred way, under the flowering tree of their understanding and unity, they were soon to become sick in the spirit while great clouds and storms of darkness would surround and pummel them. Towards the end he saw them fleeing through a storm like frightened swallows, each voice crying alone and all unity lost. Later he was to understand that this great storm that broke and scattered his people was brought by the coming of the white people who conquered them, broke their spirit and filled their minds with so much conflict they indeed became lost. Yet he was given the promise in his vision that something beautiful was coming and somehow the darkness would pass and a new day be born. He saw the Daybreak Star come from the east and with it a Sacred Being, all colored red, who turned into a bison, and he understood that though the buffalo would be lost to his people, something else equally good would take its place. He saw also that he would help bring back the spirit of his people and plant the Sacred Herb that grew up into a mighty Tree of understanding, spreading its beautiful branches over the earth and filled with singing birds. Under this tree the Sacred Hoop of the Sioux, the symbol of their unity, but which had been broken, grew back together again. Then he saw many other hoops of other peoples and around them one great hoop that meant they had come into unity and understanding. Last he saw that the day was so beautiful that even the rocks and trees danced with joy in the glorious light, also the four-leggeds, the winged peoples and the two-leggeds."
Vision from the Lakota holy man, Black Elk. - From Voices of Earh and Sky by Vinson Brown