#the White Buffalo Calf

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder and Scully, Past Lives, and the White Buffalo Calf

An extract from the next part of my Scully Family meta series.

Albert Hosteen at first compares Mulder's recovery in The Blessing Way to the Navajo tale of the Gila Monster: "When the F.B.I. man Mulder was cured by the holy people, we were reminded of the story of the Gila monster, who symbolizes the healing powers of the medicine man. In this myth, the Gila monster restores a man by taking all his parts and putting them back together. His blood is gathered by ants, his eyes and ears by sun, his mind by Talking God and Pollen Boy. Then lightning and thunder bring the man back to life."

However, Hosteen soon receives word from another (unnamed) tribe that links the birth of their legendary white buffalo calf to the day of Mulder's recovery: "Like the Navajo, these people have their own stories and myths. One of these stories tells of the white buffalo woman who came down from the heavens and taught the Indians how to lead virtuous lives and how to pray to the creator. She told the people she would return one day, then she turned into a white buffalo and ascended into the clouds, never to be seen again. But on this day, when the holy people had given the F.B.I. man a miracle, a white buffalo was born and every Native American knew, whether he believed the story or not, that this was a powerful omen and that great changes were coming." 

Canonically, this sets up exciting possibilities that aren't followed through (or, at least, not very well); but if one takes a step back, the Mulder and Calf comparison doesn't work at all:

Melissa's sacrifice is drawn directly to Scully throughout the entire episode, with Scully repeating that fact in doomed tones over and over and over.

The White Buffalo Woman is a feminine mythology, tying more neatly to the mother buffalo/Melissa's "sacrifice" and the calf/Scully's "rebirth" (as foretold in the legend.)

Not only does Melissa act as the "maternal" guide to Scully's inner voice, she is also her protector, supporter, and keeper-- in this life and the next (Beyond the Sea, The Blessing Way, A Christmas Carol, etc.)

If parallels between Mulder's "rebirth" and Melissa's "sacrifice" can be drawn, so can Scully's escape from her assassins and "rebirth" back into normal civilization alongside Melissa's death. It would also line up narratively with Albert's monologue about the buffalos: “The white buffalo calf had survived; but after a day it would no longer drink its mother’s milk. On the third day, the mother buffalo laid down in her stall and would not get up. They said the men could do nothing for her. That night, she died." Scully, too, was separated from her sister for a period of three days; and Melissa, too, died on the third.

Furthermore, there is no connection between Mulder's set of circumstances and Melissa's, narratively or mythologically.

However, we all know The X-Files is loaded with errors because of a lack of a show bible and a broken, incohesive narrative; that means, unfortunately, there is one possibility for the comparison to work-- and that is by taking The Field Where I Died's canon seriously.

TFWID posits that Mulder, Melissa Rydell, and Scully are connected soulmates, recycled together as an unholy trio in each life (kind of like the vampires in 3) and doomed to suffer tragic fates until they get it right. (On the surface, this might further prove the hypothesis that "the X-Files was always a dark show with an unhappy ending" except that Chris Carter himself said that wasn't the case-- though he might have changed his mind recently.) Massive plot holes of the episode aside, TFWID also posits each soul is reborn into a new body regardless of the sex of that body, meaning Mulder was alternately a Confederate man and a Jewish woman in previous lives.

And the Jewish woman reincarnation is the stickler... because that was the last past life Mulder had (to my knowledge) before his current one. Meaning, Mulder soul could very well be the White Buffalo Woman at some point in his past, reborn in this life, again, to bring about the justice and better ending he'd failed to accomplish in the preceding ones. It would do away with the feminine-only bent to the mythology, at the very least; and it would tie into Chris Carter's overall vision for the show-- fate vs. freewill, with fate winning out again and again in Mulder and Scully's lives.

However, that would negate the more interesting and accurate interpretation of the White Buffalo Woman mythology: that Scully, not Mulder, was the woman fated to save the world.

That interpretation would also make sense because Scully often experienced visitations from the dead or dying in the series, including Albert Hosteen's apparition in Amor Fati... which was right after the revelation that shook her to the core: finding the key to everything in Africa. And if that be the case, then the files and the Conspiracy and being a part of Mulder's quest was Scully's fated journey; and that Mulder had made repeated mistakes that destroyed his life in each of the past ones. That Scully was here, now, to "keep him honest, make him a whole person" and safeguard him from danger (and himself) while saving the world.

Furthermore, this interpretation of canon (which I argue is the only factual one) would also negate the late-in-the-game comparison between William and buffalos in Season 9 since:

The White Buffalo Woman was prophesied to be reborn with agency-- to be a leader herself, not a vessel for the next "Messiah"

It would mean Scully's son was a natural product of her and Mulder's dedication to each other, a bonus to saving the world and setting her partner's life to rights

Conclusion

While Hosteen's narrative states that Mulder is the White Calf and Melissa's life was sacrificed for his, it does not fit narratively with the White Buffalo Woman legend nor the ensuing events of the episode and rest of the series.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[generationexorcist]

Reported Birth of Rare White Buffalo Calf in Yellowstone Park Fulfills Lakota Prophecy

“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle.

The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations. More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim stewardship over an animal their ancestors lived alongside for millennia...

Time

White Buffalo Calf Woman: The Lakota Goddess of Peace and Healing

[cognitivejustice]

Many tribes consider a white bison birth to be a sacred omen that signifies change. The herd this calf was born into has also become an important cultural symbol - it's the last wild buffalo herd in North America.

The herd is entering a new chapter of its life as stewardship of the species is increasingly being overseen by indigenous communities again and advocates push to grow bison populations.

The white calf has added spiritual significance to buffalo advocates' efforts as they test a long-standing status quo where government policies prioritise beef ranching over the beliefs of native tribes.

For the last 2,000 years the people of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakoda tribes have told the story of a woman who arrived during a time of need.

A version speaks of two scouts searching for food and buffalo in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The mysterious woman appeared and offered their tribe a bundle of sacred gifts, including a pipe carved from red rock, and instructed the people on how to live and pray.

She transformed several times before taking the form a white buffalo calf with a black nose, black eyes and black hooves. As she departed, a great number of buffalo returned to feed the people.

Dozens of other tribes have white buffalo stories, interpreting its arrival as both a blessing and a warning.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, a spiritual leader of the Lakota Tribe, is known as the Keeper of the Sacred Bundle — the bundle and pipe left by the spirit. He likens the white calf’s return to the second coming of Christ.

Looking Horse, 70, said that before she departed, the woman told the people that she would return as a white buffalo calf “when everything is sickly and not good, and when people are with a not good mind”.

“This is spirit. It means spirit is happening,” he added.

[thegenxorcist]

White Buffalo Calf Woman

White Buffalo Calf Woman is a revered figure in Lakota culture, known as a sacred goddess of peace, healing, and transformation with a profound mythological and spiritual significance.

Her teachings are deeply embedded in Lakota tradition and include the bestowal of the Sacred Pipe, symbolizing unity and communication with the divine. She is also associated with the Vision Quest, where individuals embark on a spiritual journey to seek guidance and understanding. The story of White Buffalo Calf Woman serves as a reminder of the importance of respecting nature and maintaining harmony within oneself and the community. Her presence is a representation of hope, renewal, and the enduring spirit of the Lakota people...

White Buffalo Calf Woman: The Lakota Goddess of Peace and Healing

Reported Birth of Rare White Buffalo Calf in Yellowstone Park Fulfills Lakota Prophecy

[worldwithoutmiracles]

Lakota Elders see omen in Yellowstone's rare white bison birth

"An incredibly rare white bison calf has been photographed in Yellowstone National Park, exciting [Lakota] who view it as a religious sign heralding major change.

It was spotted in the Lamar Valley area, and is the first white bison to be born in the last wild herd in the US, according to modern records. (Born 4 June 2024)

Simon Moya-Smith, an Oglala Lakota writer who was also raised on the white buffalo woman's story, told the BBC that tradition says the arrival of a white calf is seen as both a 'blessing and a warning'.

Every time a white calf is seen, 'you have this prophecy of something good or something bad will happen. But we know that it's going to be great - great in the sense that it's going to be significant'."

article from the BBC here (added Lakota to the headline because just saying "Native Americans" is fine for an article from the BBC but felt kind of disrespectful for me), second article from PBS, link to one retelling of the white buffalo calf woman story

[comparativetarot]

Queen of Pentacles. Art by Lisa Hunt, from the Animals Divine Tarot.

White Buffalo Calf Woman

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"....SHE DISAPPERAED, AND THE PEOPLE SAW ONLY A WHITE BUFFALO COW..."

PIC INFO: Spotlight on the White Buffalo Woman, the mythological figure of Lakota Indian legend in which she presents her people with the Sacred Calf Pipe giving them the means to pray to the Great Spirit, artwork by Eric Carle (1929-2021), from the children's book "Dragons Dragons and Other Creatures that Never Were" (1988).

". . . A beautiful maiden dressed in sage. . . unwrapped the pipe and taught the songs and prayers of five great ceremonies. . . She disappeared, and the people saw only a white buffalo cow trotting over the prairie."

-- "White Buffalo Woman" by JOHN BIERHORST (b. 1936)

Source: www.fairyroom.ru/?p=56315 & World History.

[shamandrummer]

Pass the Pipe

You've probably heard the expression "pass the peace pipe." It might have been when two parties struck a compromise after previously being at an impasse. The phrase comes from early American settlers and soldiers who noticed Indigenous peoples smoking ceremonial pipes during treaty signings. They misunderstood this to mean pipe smoking symbolized peacemaking in Native American culture and hence the word "peace pipe" and phrases like "pass the peace pipe" came about.

But, like many conventional American ideas about the history and culture of Indigenous peoples, the term peace pipe is a misnomer, says Gabrielle Drapeau, an interpretive park ranger at Minnesota's Pipestone National Monument and an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Tribal enrollment requirements preserve the unique character and traditions of each tribe. The tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language and tribal blood.

Many Native Americans smoke pipes -- and not just in recognition of peace, but in ceremony and prayer as well as a way to connect with God. "So, don't use the term peace pipe," Drapeau says. "It's just pipe."

But these were -- and are still -- not just pipes. These artifacts, the tradition of pipe smoking and the ceremonies during which they are smoked hold far more significance for American Indian peoples across North America than the misnomer conveys.

A Short History of the Ceremonial Pipe

There is no singular word for these ceremonial pipes that spans all Native American cultures. The broad term often given to them is calumet, from the French word chalumet, which means reed or flute. Various tribes have their own unique names in their own languages. For example, the Lakota sacred pipe is called a chanunpa.

Ceremonial pipes have been a part of several Native American cultures for at least 5,000 years and are still used for ceremony and prayer. "I grew up this way. It's the only way I know how to pray," Drapeau says. "To me, it is like a physical representation of your connection to God."

The legends of how tribe elders first received pipes differ, too. According to Lakota legend, the first pipe was brought to Earth 19 generations ago by a divine messenger known as White Buffalo Calf Woman (known in the Lakota language as Pte-san Win-yan). The pipe was given to the people who would not forget -- the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations. The Buffalo Calf Woman came to the tribes when there was a great famine and instructed them about living in balance with nature. She gifted the people with a sacred bundle containing the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, which still exists to this day and is kept by Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Other members of the tribes are also pipe carriers: stewards entrusted with the care of particular ceremonial and personal pipes.

[fiberwoman15]

A good omen! 👍

[creator-of-calm-queer-chaos]

You are correct!

i just bawled my eyes out and it feels like i just got the biggest hug to my soul. thank you thank you thank you. it is sacred and it is SAFE the poster will not tell anyone even what state this is in, only thats this is in USA. even if you are not indigenous i hope this lifts your spirits and comforts you.

[spaceysoupy]

Happy birthday to the white buffalo calf in Yellowstone <3

[geezerwench]

Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy

Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy https://www.yahoo.com/news/reported-birth-rare-white-buffalo-184557014.html

[crystal-wind]

JUST RELEASED!

Brand new beautiful and stunning artwork by Lisa Iris!

The Gift of the Sacred Pipe

White Buffalo Calf Woman, sacred to the Great Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation, is more than an ancient legend. She is a promise fulfilled: returning as a white buffalo calf, when the earth is in turmoil. Since 1994, several white calves have been born. Their arrival is both “a blessing and a warning” as they herald great changes.

White Buffalo Calf Woman’s story begins with two scouts searching for game, to feed their starving people. As the scouts looked across the plains from a hilltop, a light appeared and floated towards them. The light became a beautiful woman, dressed in white buckskin. One hunter reached out to claim her, and was consumed by a cloud and left as a pile of bones. The other hunter, who greeted her with reverence, was told by this vision: “Good things I am bringing, something holy to your nation. A message I carry for your people, from the Buffalo nation.” The scout was told to return to his tribe and instruct them to raise a medicine lodge for her arrival.

In four days, White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared to the people, descending from a cloud, bearing a gift. It was the Chanupa, the sacred pipe, along with tobacco mixed with red willow bark.

“With this holy pipe, you will walk like a living prayer. With your feet resting upon the earth and the pipestem reaching into the sky, your body forms a living bridge between the Sacred Beneath and the Sacred Above. The pipe holds them all together.”

The smoke rising from the red bowl was the breath of Wakan Tanka, The Great Mystery.

White Buffalo Calf Woman stayed with the people for four days, teaching them sacred ceremonies, the Four Directions, songs, and dances. She promised that her spirit would return in troubled times, when a white buffalo calf would stand upon the earth. She then departed, and in the distance, She transformed into a buffalo: first black, then red, yellow, and white.

A herd of buffalo appeared, offering themselves to ensure the survival of the people. The buffalo herd provided not only food, but also shelter, clothing, weapons, tools, medicine, and connection to The Creator. This sacred cycle of giving and receiving engenders respect and gratitude. All things sustain each other, and respect for all of our relations creates balance in the world. White Buffalo Calf Woman embodies the return of harmony.

Mitakuye Oyasin

Aho.

Art and Story by Lisa Iris: https://www.lisairis.ca​

All Lisa Iris artwork is protected by copyright.

Copyright Antonio © 2023. All rights reserved.

CrystalWind.ca - https://www.crystalwind.ca

[wachinyeya]

According to the National Bison Association, there are approximately 500,000 bison in North America, and only about one in every ten million bison born is white.

Among the Lakota people, the white bison holds a special place in their spirituality and traditions. The legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman is central to their beliefs.

According to the legend, a white buffalo calf appeared to the Lakota many generations ago and transformed into a beautiful woman who taught them sacred ceremonies and imparted important spiritual knowledge. The White Buffalo Calf Woman promised to return again, signaling a time of peace and harmony.

[randomfoggytiger]

Hey Tiger!

So I’m doing a XF rewatch and In the coming days I’ll be on the infamous ‘The Field where I Died’ I don’t think I’ve seen this episode in over 10 years and I don’t really remember it. I know this episode is quite divisive amongst the community because iirc it portrays M and S as “friends” in every previous lifetime and not lovers. So I want to know your opinion/thoughts on this episode. Thank you!

Hey, thanks for droppin in! :DDDD

Your question spiraled into a longer meta I've been meaning to write, so I cut those segments out and should finish the post later on.

I've talked about The Field Where I Died before (posts here and here) but! To the point: I think TFWID can be separated into three categories: the intent, the execution, and the lack of fault-taking.

The intent of The Field Where I Died is intriguing, I own: soulmates, not in twos but threes, that are trapped in a doomed, self-fulfilling, cycle (that never-ending line.) Love and longing; yearning and relearning. For those reasons, I can see why some fans love it. (I can especially see why David Duchovny loves it-- the security of forever, impermeable love unbound by time or human faults and frailties.) And the score and cinematography are gorgeous, and moving, and haunting. I get it.

The execution, however.

It... wasn't great. So much so that Morgan had to admit its many faults. The execution is so faulty, in fact, that it's easy to write off these grand examinations and touching gestures as nothing more than the sway of persuasive, mentally unwell people. That, and Kristin Cloke's acting; that, too, and cutting up David Duchovny's hypnosis scene so badly that his own acting flails without context.

The fault-taking... was worse. And a recent discovery. Well, half recent. I'd long heard the lovers of TFWID-- DD and Kumail Nanjiani, recently-- reiterate that the power of the story doesn't dim even though Mulder and Scully aren't romantic soulmates. That that wouldn't lessen their bond; and they could be romantic soulmates if they (read: you) wanted them to. Sure, I can see it; I can buy it. The problem is, the intent was mangled in execution so badly that the message wasn't translated so much as narratively spelled out to the audience in broad, cursive, underlined letters that didn't loop back into the story elegantly (if at all.) We're told the message so we must believe it. We feel magic in the air; and thus, are expected to let rationale pale in comparison. But because the story, theme, and execution is so mangled, no one largely cares for the end result. And because no one largely cares for the end result, fault has to be laid somewhere.

And because fault had to be laid somewhere, Morgan laid it neatly on the fans for not quite understanding and on the executives for having to cut out necessary scenes and, maybe, a little on himself for not explaining as best as he could. Instead of accepting, of course, that he could have written shorter exposition to get the point across within the time limit; should have fact-checked whether CSM had already been born when Gestapo CSM was killing a previous incarnation of Mulder's; and would have anticipated these plot holes if he wasn't so self-involved in recreating his and his wife's love story through the mouths of disparate characters with separate stories, personalities, and goals.

Now, The Field Where I Died did have its merits. I love how the writers explored Mulder's draw to lonely, vulnerable, self-destructive women (like himself); and I like their read on his and Scully's characters (to be discussed in a future post.) And I do understand the magnetism of this episode's concept on screen. And I'm lulled by the thought that this episode could be stretched into a larger concept: that of Mulder the sacrificial lamb and Scully the savior, an angle canon keeps plucking at throughout the series (Deep Throat, Tooms, Little Green Men, One Breath, End Game, Paper Clip's The White Buffalo Woman/the White Calf, Pusher, Redux II, Fight the Future's "But you saved me", One Son, Amor Fati's "Get up and fight", Deadalive, etc.) and one that neatly ties into her possible immortality. But those are aspects the fans have to read into "the text", not ones that are written in purposefully.

It's just, in short, not for me. :))))))

[acti-veg]

The American buffalo, also known as bison, once numbered in the tens of millions before being brought to the brink of extinction in the 1800s. Now, the only wild herd in the US is limited to just 5,000 animals.

But tribes and bison advocates see opportunity as Yellowstone, America’s first national park and the home of the white calf, considers a proposal to expand the wild herd’s size for the first time in decades.

The white calf has added spiritual significance to buffalo advocates' efforts as they test a long-standing status quo where government policies prioritise beef ranching over the beliefs of native tribes.