The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions

Classical myths could be rescued by allegory,
prefiguration, or other methods of reinterpretation; but they
could not be accepted literally. 5
Other material that has come to light more recently in this regard
has been forced to conform to the preconceived theories of
Christian enculturated mythologists prior to Sir James Frazer,
the Scottish classicist and anthropologist who compiled The
Golden Bough, his study of magic and religion. But an
alternative explanation to those popularly held is possible,
based on an examination of actual contemporary Native
American practices. This explanation coincides, in some
significant ways, with contemporary psychoanalytical
observation. Its ultimate proof, of course, lies in the actual
practice among mythopoeic peoples around the world.
Briefly stated, myth and ritual are based on visionary
experience. This simple observation has apparently escaped
notice because generally neither mythologists nor social
scientists credit visionary experience with the same validity
given them by visionary peoples, including some artists and
poets. Yet a careful look at Native American cultures reveals
evidence of direct vision as central to religious practice, ritual,
and literature. In most Indian societies, the vision is actively
pursued and brought back to the people as a gift of power and
guidance.
A significant example of the relationship of vision to myth and
ritual is in the story of Sweet Medicine, a central figure in the
Cheyenne religion. Called a “culture hero” by anthropologists
and a prophet and savior by the Cheyenne, Sweet Medicine
brought religion, religious rituals, and social laws to the
Cheyenne people. 6 He received them from the Sacred Ones who
live on the mountain that the Cheyenne call Noahvose (Sacred or
Holy Mountain) 7 and is known to whites as Bear Butte, in the