womenfromhistory_bot~ The history of Native American women, Old-Lady-Grieves-the-Enemy ~
Old-Lady-Grieves-the-Enemy was a Pawnee woman, not a warrior, who rallied her community to defend the sacred village of Pahaku against a raid by Ponca and Sioux raiding parties.
Pahaku (also known as Pahuk, in modern-day Nebraska) was understood by the Pawnee as the most potent of five sacred sites established by the Great Mystery Ti-ra'wa ("Father Above") where the spirit animals lived. The site is famously featured in the Pawnee legend The Boy Who Was Sacrificed, in which a father kills his son, and the boy is restored to life by the animals of Pahaku.
At some point unspecified, the Ponca and Sioux attacked Pahaku with such force that the men of a nearby village, who were supposed to protect it, fled and hid. Old-Lady-Grieves-the-Enemy took it upon herself to defend Pahaku, fighting off the raiding parties by herself until her actions shamed the men into joining her and driving off the war parties. Whatever her name may have been prior to this event, she was afterwards known by the one she is famous for. She is celebrated among the Pawnee as a legendary figure symbolizing courage and protection.
Painting : Pawnee Migrating, by Alfred Jacob Miller (for illustration purpose)
womenfromhistory_bot ~ The history of Native American women, Old-Lady-Grieves-the-Enemy ~
Show moreOld-Lady-Grieves-the-Enemy was a Pawnee woman, not a warrior, who rallied her community to defend the sacred village of Pahaku against a raid by Ponca and Sioux raiding parties.
Pahaku (also known as Pahuk, in modern-day Nebraska) was understood by the Pawnee as the most potent of five sacred sites established by the Great Mystery Ti-ra'wa ("Father Above") where the spirit animals lived. The site is famously featured in the Pawnee legend The Boy Who Was Sacrificed, in which a father kills his son, and the boy is restored to life by the animals of Pahaku.
At some point unspecified, the Ponca and Sioux attacked Pahaku with such force that the men of a nearby village, who were supposed to protect it, fled and hid. Old-Lady-Grieves-the-Enemy took it upon herself to defend Pahaku, fighting off the raiding parties by herself until her actions shamed the men into joining her and driving off the war parties. Whatever her name may have been prior to this event, she was afterwards known by the one she is famous for. She is celebrated among the Pawnee as a legendary figure symbolizing courage and protection.
Painting : Pawnee Migrating, by Alfred Jacob Miller (for illustration purpose)
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