In the beginning when the Wakan Tanka was forming, it's members were also young and made mistakes, as well. At the time this event happened in which the Moon cried, there were only seven members of the Wakan Tanka. They were inyan (the rock), anpa wi(the sun), maka (the earth), hanhepi wi (the sky),wakinyan (the thunder-beings), hanhepi wi (the moon) and tete (the wind). inyan and wakinyan were companions. Anpa wi and hanhepi wi were also companions and they traveled together at that time. mahpiya and tete were like best friends.

At this time, there were two times, which are the day and the night. The plants and animals were created and began to live on the surface of the earth. But the Pte Oyate, who are the buffalo people, were still living under the ground. The Pte Oyate would put on feasts inside the earth for the Wakan when they had their meetings. Ksa, who was the counselor to the Wakan Tanka, was the offspring of inyan and wakinyan. And since wakinyan has no shape, half of Ksa's body looked peculiar. When people first saw Ksa, their first impression was to laugh because he looked so funny. After a time, Ksa began to get tired of people always laughing at him so he decided to play a trick on as many people as he could. Then Ksa went under the ground to the Pte Oyate. The chief of the Pte Oyate was Wazi and his wife was Wakanka. Their daughter was Ite, who was a very beautiful buffalo woman. Ite was also the wife of Tate and she had four sons by him, and at this time she was pregnant with their fifth baby. Because tete is a member of the Wakan Tanka, tete and Ite's sons would also one day become part of the Wakan Tanka. Ksa told this family that Ite was even more beautiful than hanhepi wi, and that Ite should replace hanhepi wi was the Wi's new companion. Ksa said since Wazi and Wakanka's grandchildren would one day become part of the Wakan Tanka, Ite and her parents should become part of it, as well. He told them that if they wanted this he could help them achieve it. So Ite and her parents secretly agreed to this pact with Ksa, who then gave Ite¹s parents a potion which would make Ite more beautiful every day. Before the next feast for the Wakan Tanka was to be held under the ground, Ksa lied to hanhepi wi by saying to her that the Wi wanted her to come a little bit late and to not fix herself up because it was not an important social occasion. Since Ksa was known for his wisdom, hanhepi wi believed him. Next, Ksa told Ite to come to this feast early and to sit in hanhepi wi place. And when she did, Wi could not take his eyes away from Ite. Then hanhepi wi came to the feast. She saw that another woman was sitting in her place and that her husband Wi could not take his eyes off of the other woman. Hanhepi wi hid her face and began to cry as she hurriedly fled from the feast. She ran to mahpiya and explained to him what had happened to her and she pled to him to settle this matter. So mahpiya went to the feast and questioned every one there and no one could justify their behavior. mahpiya proclaimed that Ksa would no longer be the Counselor to the Wakan Tanka. mahpiya also proclaimed that Ksa would no longer be known for wisdom, but instead would become a trickster and that Ksa's name would now be known as Iktomi.

When a person does not have an established 7th Direction, it is easy for Iktomi to trick that person. When one's 7th Direction is established, Iktomi only tricks himself. Also, when a person does not have an established 7th Direction, that person becomes like Iktomi. Just as Iktomi's tricks backfire on him, so do those who have no established 7th Directions end up only tricking themselves.

Mahpiya next proclaimed that anpa wi and hanhepi wi would no longer be companions, neither would they ever travel together again. So when anpa wi shines on hanhepi wi, she turns her back to him so she will not ever have to see him again. Hanhepi wi said hanhepi wi could now journey around. Maka and he gave her the third time which is when she comes closest to anpa wi until she returns there again. This is called the moon's time, or the month. Before when hanhepi wi was married to anpa wi, she traveled with him. It does not mean she was traveling beside him. It meant she was traveling around him like the rest of the planets. After mahpiya divorced hanhepi wi from anpa wi, anpa wi began to travel around Maka.

Next, hanhepi wi proclaimed that since Ite, who was already married, had children and expecting a fifth child, and yet she sought after another woman's companion, that now her and tete would no longer be married. i caused the fifth child to be born early and his name was Yum. Mahpiya said that Ite could keep her exquisitely beautiful face; however, mahpiya caused a second face to grow beside her pretty face which would be extremely ugly. Mahpiya also changed Ite¹s name to Anun-Ite (the double faced woman) to represent duality, and that an un-established 7th Direction does not enable soul to develop .

Anun Ite,Wazi, and Wakanka were now cast upon the earth to live alone. Tete asked mahpiya if he and his five sons could dwell upon the earth so they could be at least close to their mother. mahpiya lets them because mahpiya also intends for tete's four older sons to prepare to establish the four cardinal directions, as well as the fourth time which is the year.

In this story, the phrase "the sun and the moon were once companions" means that the moon once traveled around the sun. This story is also symbolical of an event which occurred when our solar system was forming. Certain events caused the sun to send a huge fireball out which glazed by the moon. This sent the moon out of it's orbit from around the sun and the earth's gravity caught what was left of it. Hence, since that time the moon has been revolving around the earth. This means that someone must have been around to see this event as it occurred. How ever long ago this event happened indicates how long the Lakota's have been in existence. We have words for dinosaurs as well. This indicates how ancient our society is. Lakota people know these things which happened long ago and some of this knowledge is found in our Lakota Star Knowledge stories.

Western scientists still have a long way to go in their discoveries of knowledge of that which we already know, as evident in such matters as quantum physics. There are Lakota Star Knowledge stories that tell about the technology we once obtained at the expense of upsetting the balance of nature. That we were once Children upon the red land, the mother of this present world. And because of our violations then of the ozone, the earth, the water, and the fire, in those ancient times, the Lakota Society learned the hard way that we are connected to everything and that everything we do affects everything around us and inside of us.

This means that the Lakota People have already gone through what this very young society that is here now is growing through at the present. We already made the same mistakes they are making concerning violating the ozone, the earth, the water, and the fire.

The Lakota P{eople know very well everything is connected because we learned it the hard way. This new society is going through it's terrible two's (as in dualism) right now.

Author unknown