Wakan Tanka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Lakota traditions, Wakan Tanka is the term for the "sacred" or the "divine" as understood by the Lakota people. It is often translated as "The Great Spirit" or "The Great Mystery", and is typically understood as the power or the sacredness which resides in everything, similar to many animistic and pantheistic notions of God. Every creature and object is either understood as wakan or having aspects that are wakan.

Though there are subtle differences depending on the speaker, Wakan Tanka, Tunkashila, and God are often used interchangeably in casual discussions.

In Pop Culture:

Manzo Medicine Band have a song called Wakan Woman.

Alternative: Wakan, Wakanda (Omaha Tribe), Oki (Iroquois)

In the movie, A Man Called Horse (starring Richard Harris), the Indian tribe refer to Wakan Tanka (probably spelt incorrectly in the subtitles as Wakantanka) as the Great Spirit of the Sun.