--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Fascinating. This places the actual physical center near the > sacred site of Bear Butte--the place where Crazy Horse and > Geronimo achieved siddhi--and one of the most powerful sacred > sites I've ever experienced. Ritual activity in this area goes > back over 10,000 years and is sacred to the Sioux and the > Cheyenne. It's their "Mt. Sinai". If you are ever in this area, > it's worth the day hike or better, an > overnight. It will blow your mind.
Vaj, your excellent description of the place below prompts me to ask whether you're familiar with the cult film "Powwow Highway." One of the key scenes in the film takes place there, as Philbert (one of the best characters I've ever met in film) climbs Noahvose as part of his own odd vision quest. It's a really lovely movie; if you don't know it, you should definitely add it to your Netflix queue. > There were still medicine men taking initiates in for the 3-day > and night vigil and fast/visioning when I was there last-- > consequently you can only approach the summit by one path, as > completely surrounding the path are hundreds of old magical > circles in stone that various shamans had sat in over history. > The trees all along the path are all strewn with cloth used to > hold offerings to the Great Spirit. Bear Butte is unique in > that to the east of it lies the high plains and to the west > the Black Hills, so Bear Butte stands like a lone sentinel > and gateway to the Black Hills. > > This is also where the cave where the sacred arrows were > received. Unfortunately the US military used the cave for > target practice in the last century and it is damaged but > visitors to this day still spontaneously catch the smell > of burning sweet grass.
