The Journey Home

In ancient times, there existed a beautiful land filled with the most breathtaking views of mountains and rivers, flowing through lush green fields of violet, pink, yellow and red flowers of every description – this beauty was disrupted suddenly, when a terrible tragedy occurred.

In this place lived a people who were in tune with the land and all the animals that lived with them. There was no need to hunt and slaughter them, for all lived in harmony, honouring each other’s connection to the Perfect One.

These people lived for many generations upon this land, with no interference, until the trappers came.

These men were a strange burley lot - big, rugged and aggressive. They destroyed the harmony of the people and all living creatures, by their gross energies and their lust and greed for possessions.

They slaughtered mercilessly and raped and pillaged the land, bringing about chaos and disruption.

In this place lived Buffalo Woman, she was the one chosen to work with the animals, especially the female buffalos that roamed the plains. It was a great honour to learn the skills of the ancestors; she was looking forward to the day of full initiation into her womanhood.

All her senses were alive and in tune with the forces of nature. She didn’t mind that she was different/unique in her own special way. She loved all her people and they in turn valued her as an integral part of the clan.

She was preparing for her final stage of initiation when the trappers came, looking for furs that her people had gathered for the cold winter ahead. The men of the village were out hunting, when the trappers came. They shot many of her clan; they raped the women and killed most of the children. Each took a woman with them when they left.

Buffalo Woman was also raped and taken by one of the trappers. Her hands were bound and she was secured to the horse, so that she could not escape. The trapper kept a short reign, so that he could keep an eye on her.

They travelled many weeks before they reached a small cabin. Buffalo woman felt a rage and hatred towards the trapper, that she had never experienced before. She was taught that the act of lovemaking was a sacred experience, given freely and with love. The defilement of her body, was more than she could bear.

The isolation and lack of communication between them was so agonising that she spent many weeks, crying for the loss of her loved ones. The loneliness and separation turned her into a wild animal.

She fought with all the strength she could muster, every time the trapper came near her, but his brute strength overpowered her, and she was often knocked unconscious – only to wake up again - sore, body aching from the brutal assault on her delicate form.

As time went by, she became indifferent to the abuse – often the trapper would attempt to show kindness during his sober moments, but always when he drank, he would become demanding and violent – he couldn’t understand that Buffalo woman was so traumatised by the experience that all she wanted to do was run away.

Many, many times she would escape, but always he would hunt her down, like the animals he hunted and trapped - and bring her back, often having to knock her unconscious to stop her violent behaviour.

Finally in frustration, he took his rifle butt and smashed both her ankles, and then went out to his traps, leaving her in such agony that she would leave her body just to escape the physical torture.

It was in these times that she would connect with her ancestors, who encouraged her to persevere in her journey to overcome all her life’s experiences. She was given healing on an inner level, so that she could come back to the physical dimension and continue to expand her awareness.

Her pain led her to resentment and hate, in spite of all the help given on the inner levels. However, for a time she stopped fighting and began adapting (it appeared) to her plight.

For many months she kept silent, not resisting his advances, skinning and cooking the animals the trapper brought back.

This sickened her, as her people always honoured the animals and performed sacred ceremonies before any animal was asked to sacrifice their body for nourishment.

The poor animals brought back by the trapper were killed without thought to the soul residing within. The stench of fear and brutality emanating from their hides, sickened Buffalo woman and she wept for her friends and providers.

She silently performed ceremony, to help the slaughtered animals adjust to the new realm they entered, but this could not undo the savagery perpetrated upon them.

After some time, the trapper began to show a bit more compassion for her plight and began treating her more like a woman than an object. This gave Buffalo woman more freedom of movement, which she relished with a delight that she had never experienced before.

She would go out into the meadows and lie in the lush grasses, insects buzzing around her, sun shining down on her, absorbing the delightul rays.

Those were happy moments, in what was an otherwise dismal life. She yearned for the comfort of her people, the nights sitting by the fires, soaking up the deep resonance of the drumming, the exquisite ecstasy of song and dance, children running around just before bed, laughing and chasing each other – oh, how Buffalo woman yearned for those days to return.

But her visions were always interrupted, by him screaming for her to come and do her chores, shattering what delight she was experiencing in that precious moment. How she hated this gross, brutish man. She vowed to try again to escape, when winter came to the land.

With the first snowfall, the trapper knew that Buffalo Woman would attempt to escape again - so he attached iron shackles to her ankles - with such a short chain between her legs, that she was forced to take small steps, often making her trip over her own feet - and each time she fell, she would become angrier and resent her plight even more.

Finally, out of sheer frustration and desperation, she promised herself she would not return to this cabin again. When the trapper went out to collect his kill, she escaped for the last time . . .

The journey was extremely difficult. Although the snow was not very thick, the shackles made it very painful, and little progress was made. But this didn’t daunt her – she knew that all the pain and loneliness would soon come to an end.

The further away she got from the cabin, the happier she became, and although the pain was unbearable, she began to pick up pace. Unfortunately, the snow began to fall so heavily, that she couldn’t see more than a short distance in front of her.

The wind came up and brought a chill in the air that made it hard to breathe and Buffalo woman began to tire. The snow covered the landscape with a most beautiful glistening shimmer that reminded her of her childhood days, laughing and playing with the other children of her clan.

The wind turned into a blizzard, biting into her flesh, numbing her feet, to the point that she lost all sensation – even of pain.

A warmth overcame her and finally, she gave up, surrendering to the elements. She laid down and accepted her departure from this physical manifestation willingly. Finally she was free!

If only she had known how close she was to reuniting with her people – if only the blizzard hadn’t set in – if only she had just waited a little bit longer, before trying to escape again – if only – if only – if only...

The men of the clan, had been searching for her all this time – and they finally found her, lying in the snow - but it was too late.

The snowfall covered her tracks, so that they didn’t know what direction she had come from, but when they saw her shackled feet, they knew that the perpetrator was not too far away. They spread out, each man taking a different direction, so that they could cover many miles.

Eventually they found the trapper’s hut – he was not far from it, as he had returned and begun searching for Buffalo woman - full of rage and betrayal. In his disoriented state, it was not difficult to capture him.

They tortured him until he finally slipped into unconsciousness and died. They left him there to be devoured by the very same animals he slaughtered so mercilessly, out of greed and ignorance.

Buffalo woman was once again re-united with her people – they prepared her for the funeral pyre. She was home at last.