Dieties of the Oglala Sioux

The Oglala mythology places their God figures in four ranks, with four dieties in eah rank, having prestige and precedence according to rank and place in rank.

First Rank: Superior Gods

The Superior Gods include:

• Wi (the Sun), chief of the Gods;

• Skan (the Sky), the Great All-Powerful Spirit;

• Maka (the Earth), the ancestress of all upon the world and provider for all;

• Inyan (the Rock), the primal source of all things.

Second Rank: Associate Gods

The Associate Gods include:

• Hanwi (the Moon), created by Wi to be his companion;

• Tate (the Wind), created by Skan to be his companion;

• Unk (Contention), created by Maka to be her companion, but who was cast into the waters and is the Goddess of the Waters and ancestress of all evil beings;

• Wakinyan (Winged One), created by Inyan to be his active associate.

Third Rank: the Subordinate Gods

The Subordinate Gods include:

• Ta Tanka (The Buffalo God), the patron of ceremonies, of health, and of provision.

• Hu Nonp (the Bear God), the patron of wisdom

• Wani (the Four Winds), the vitalizer and weather

• Yum, (the Whirlwind), the God of chance, of games, and of love.

Fourth Rank: The Inferior Gods

The Inferior Gods include:

• Nagi, (the Spirit);

• Niya, (the Ghost);

• Sicun, (the Intellect);

• Nagila (the immaterial self of irrational things)

These sixteen Gods are each a personal manifestation of one Supreme Being, called Wakan Tanka, (the Great Mystery).

The Oglalla Dieties    |    Relationships of the Oglala Gods