Anog Ite

by Gerald Musinsky

Double Faced Woman, also known as Ite, is the wife of Tate (Wind) and daughter of Skan (Sky). Her name reflects her two faces; one beautiful, the other ugly, a punishment for her attempt to seduce Wi (Sun). She is a malicious influence, causing dissension, laziness, and temptation and bedevils pregnant women.

In other Lakota tales she is the bringer of "quilling," the craft of sorting and dyeing porcupine quills.

References

Sources

  • Gill, Sam D.; Sullivan, Irene F. (1992). Dictionary of Native American Mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
  • Lynd, James William. (1889). The Religion of the Dakotas, Chapter Six of Mr. Lynd's Manuscript. Fort Snelling, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Collections, p. 153.
  • Walker, James R. (1980). Lakota Belief and Ritual, ed. Raymond J. DeMaillie and Elaine A. Jahner. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, pp. 53, 107, 243, 249.