the old woman who became the young man's wife (Tale 29)

Family: Arikara · Role: the young man's wife; messenger from the Buffalo · First appears: Tale 29 · The Buffalo-Wife and the Javelin Game · Part 1

In Tale 29, the old woman declared herself Man-Who-Kills-Game-Easily’s wife and remained fast to his back, telling him, “No, my grandson; you cannot put me down; I am your wife now.” the poor boy (Tale 29) shot her with arrows and took her off the young man’s back; she was placed on a big fire and burned.

In Part 2, as a Buffalo cow, she warned the Buffalo calf (Tale 29) not to run toward his father because the man had put them in the fire. That night she and Man-Who-Kills-Game-Easily slept together, and the next morning she revealed herself as a Buffalo while the boy became a calf. She, the young man, and the calf met the Buffalo bull grandfather (Tale 29) and entered the Buffalo village, where she was told to tell the man to wait on a hill while the Buffalo decided his fate.

In Part 3, the man recognized and picked her out among the Buffalo cows, then became a Buffalo himself. The next morning the three changed into human beings and walked into the village; after collecting presents, they left and became Buffalo again.