{"id":21861,"date":"2022-08-02T18:55:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/?page_id=21861"},"modified":"2022-08-02T18:58:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:58:03","slug":"conte-lakota-brave-woman-counts-coup","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/tale-lakota-brave-woman-counts-coup\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakota Tale: Brave Woman Counts Coup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"21861\" class=\"elementor elementor-21861\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0213dcd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0213dcd\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fe03723\" data-id=\"fe03723\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ead0a9a elementor-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"ead0a9a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Sioux mythology<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0f4a8fe\" data-id=\"0f4a8fe\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9edbf38 elementor-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"9edbf38\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstpeople.us\/FP-Html-Legends\/BraveWomanCountsCoup-Lakota.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Wiki<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d602c73 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d602c73\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-20cbb04\" data-id=\"20cbb04\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3bb6599 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3bb6599\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>The Lakota<\/strong> or Titunwans (&quot;people of the prairie&quot;) or Tetons in English (traditional Dakota\/Wyoming territory) was originally one of the seven council fires. Here is their tale: Brave Woman Counts Coup.<\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9347 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/cropped-AlphaOmega-e1602613368367.png\" alt=\"Brave Woman Counts Blow\" width=\"25\" height=\"25\" title=\"\"><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3695471 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3695471\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3018a10\" data-id=\"3018a10\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-188a183 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"188a183\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/tale-lakota-brave-woman-counts-coup\/#Brave-Woman-Counts-Coup\" >Brave Woman Counts Blow<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Brave-Woman-Counts-Coup\"><\/span>Brave Woman Counts Blow<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a01c6fc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a01c6fc\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-231b99b\" data-id=\"231b99b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9dc5a63 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9dc5a63\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Over a hundred years ago, when many <a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/mythes-et-legendes-siouans-2127\/\">Sioux<\/a> were still living in<br \/>what now is Minnesota, there was a band of Hunkpapa Sioux at Spirit<br \/>Lake under a chief called Tawa Makoce, meaning His Country.<\/p><p>It was his country, too \u2013 Indian country, until the white soldiers<br \/>with their cannon finally drove the <a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/\">Lakota<\/a> tribes across the Mni<br \/>Shoshay: The Big Muddy, the <a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/mythology-winnebago\/\">Missouri<\/a>.<\/p><p>In his youth the chief had been one of the greatest warriors. Later<br \/>when his fighting days were over, he was known as a wise leader,<br \/>invaluable in council, and as a great giver of feasts, a provider for the poor.<\/p><p>The chief had three sons and one daughter. The sounds tried to be<br \/>warriors as mighty as their father, but that was a hard thing to<br \/>do. Again and again they battled the Crow Indians with reckless<br \/>bravery, exposing themselves in the front rank, fighting hand to<br \/>hand, until one by one they all were killed.<\/p><p>Now only his daughter was left to the sad old chief. Some say her<br \/>name was Makhta. Others call her Winyan Ohitika, Brave Woman.<\/p><p>The girl was beautiful and proud. Many young men feel their fathers<br \/>to the old chief with gifts of fine horses that were preliminary to marriage proposals.<\/p><p>Among those who desired her for a wife was a young warrior named<br \/>Red Horn, himself the son of a chief, who sent his father again<br \/>and again to ask for her hand. But Brave Woman would not marry.<\/p><p>\u201cI will not take a husband,\u201d she said, \u201cuntil I<br \/>have counted coup on the Crows to avenge my dead brothers. \u00bb<\/p><p>Another young man who loved Brave Woman was Wanblee Cikala, or<br \/>Little Eagle. He was too shy to declare his love, because he was<br \/>a poor boy who had never been able to distinguish himself.<\/p><p>At this time the Kangi Oyate, the Crow nation, made a great effort<br \/>to establish themselves along the banks of the upper Missouri in<br \/>country which the Sioux considered their own.<\/p><p>The Sioux decide to send out a strong war party to chase them back,<br \/>and among the young men riding out were Red Horn and Little Eagle.<\/p><p>\u201cI shall ride with you,\u201d Brave Woman said.<\/p><p>She put on her best dress of white buckskin richly decorated with<br \/>beads and porcupine quills, and around her neck she wore a choker<br \/>of dentalium shells. She went to the old chief.<\/p><p>\u201cFather,\u201d she said, \u201cI must go to the place where<br \/>my brothers died. I must count coup for them. Tell me that I can go. \u00bb<\/p><p>The old chief wept with pride and sorrow. \u201cYou are my last<br \/>child,\u201d he said, \u201cand I fear for you and for a lonely<br \/>old age without children to comfort me. But your mind has long been<br \/>made-up. I see that you must go; do it quickly. Wear my war-bonnet<br \/>into battle. Go and do not look back. \u00bb<\/p><p>And so his daughter, taking her brothers&#039; weapons and her father&#039;s<br \/>war bonnet and best war pony, rode out with the warriors.<\/p><p>They found an enemy village so huge that it seemed to contain the<br \/>whole Crow nation \u2013 hundreds of men and thousands of horses. There<br \/>were many more Crows than Sioux, but the Sioux attacked nevertheless.<\/p><p>Brave Woman was a sight to stir the warriors to great deeds. To<br \/>Red Horn she gave her oldest brother&#039;s spear and shield. \u00ab Count<br \/>coup for my dead brother,\u201d she said. To Little Eagle she gave<br \/>her second brother&#039;s bow and arrows. \u201cCount coup for him who<br \/>owned these,\u201d she told him. To another young warrior she gave<br \/>her youngest brother&#039;s war club. She herself carried only her father&#039;s<br \/>old, curved coup-stick wrapped in otter fur.<\/p><p>At first Brave Woman held back from the fight. She supported the<br \/>Sioux by singing brave-heart songs and by making the shrill, trembling<br \/>war cry with which Indian women encourage their men.<\/p><p>But when the Sioux, including her own warriors from the Hunkpapa<br \/>band, were driven back by overwhelming numbers, she rode into the<br \/>midst of the battle. She did not try to kill her enemies, but counted<br \/>coup left and right, touching them with her coup-stick. With a woman<br \/>fighting so bravely among them, what Sioux warrior could think of retreat?<\/p><p>Still, the press of the Crow and their horses drove the Sioux back<br \/>a second time. Brave Woman&#039;s horse was hit by a musket bullet and<br \/>went down. She was on foot, defenseless, when Red Horn passed her<br \/>on his speckled pony. She was too proud to call out for help, and<br \/>he pretended not to see her.<\/p><p>Then Little Eagle came riding toward her out of the dust of battle.<br \/>He dismounted and told her to get on his horse. She did, expecting<br \/>him to climb up behind her, but he would not.<\/p><p>&quot;This horse is wounded and too weak to carry us both,&quot; he said.<br \/>&quot;I won&#039;t leave you to be killed,&quot; she told him.<\/p><p>He took his brother&#039;s bow and struck the horse sharply with it<br \/>across the rump. The horse bolted, as he intended, and Little Eagle<br \/>went back into battle on foot. Brave Woman herself rallied the warriors<br \/>for a final charge, which they made with such fury that the Crows<br \/>had to give way at last.<\/p><p>This was the battle in which the Crow nation was driven away from<br \/>the Missouri for good. It was a great victory, but many brave young<br \/>men died. Among them was Little Eagle, struck down with his face to the enemy.<\/p><p>The Sioux warriors broke Red Horn&#039;s bow, took his eagle feathers<br \/>from him, and feels him home.<\/p><p>But they placed the body of Little Eagle on a high scaffold on<br \/>the spot where the enemy camp had been. They killed his horse to<br \/>serve him in the land of many lodges.<\/p><p>\u201cGo willingly,\u201d they told the horse. \u201cYour master<br \/>has need of you in the spirit world. \u00bb<\/p><p>Brave Woman gashed her arms and legs with a sharp knife. she cut<br \/>her hair short and tore her white buckskin dress. Thus she mourned<br \/>for Little Eagle. They had not been man and wife; in fact he had<br \/>hardly dared speak to her or look at her, but now she asked everybody<br \/>to treat her as if she were the young warrior&#039;s widow.<\/p><p>Brave Woman never took a husband, and she never ceased to die<br \/>for Little Eagle.<\/p><p>\u201cI am his widow,\u201d she told everyone. She died of old<br \/>age. She had done a great thing, and her fame endures.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sioux Mythology Wiki The Lakotas or Titunwans (\u201cprairie people\u201d) or Tetons in English (traditional Dakota\/Wyoming territory) constituted \u2026 <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3889,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21861","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21861"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21865,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21861\/revisions\/21865"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}