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.

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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.