As early as 1869, Stephen Riggs described Dakota belief as such:
"The religious faith of the Dakota is not in his gods as such. It is an intangible, mysterious something of which they are only the embodiment, and that in such a measure and degree as may accord with the individual fancy of the worshiper. […] [T]he great object of all their worship, whatever its chosen medium, is the TA-KOO WAK-KON, which is the supernatural and mysterious. No one term can express the full meaning of the Dakota's Wakan. It comprehends all mystery, secret power, and divinity. […] All life is Wakan. So also is everything which exhibits power, whether in action, as the winds and drifting clouds, or in positive endurance, as the bowlder [sic] by the way side" (1869: 56-57).1
Fifteen years later, Alice Fletcher described the Oglala Lakota belief system in the following way:
The Indian's religion is generally spoken of as a nature and animal worship. The term seems too broadcast and indiscriminate. Careful inquiry and observation fail to show that the Indian actually worships the objects which are set up or mentioned by him in his ceremonies. The earth, the four winds, the sun, the moon and stars, the stones, the water, the various animals, are all exponents of a mysterious life and power encompassing the Indian […]" (1884: 276, n.1).2
The mysterious force she was referring to was Wakantanka. Wakantanka, a generic term according to Dorsey (1894: 431),3 flowed through and bound all things. It both composed and was composed of a variety of spiritual entities, all of which were wakan. Unlike the previously quoted writers, some commentators mistook the multi-faceted nature of Wakantanka and described a religion in which Wakantanka was 'chief' of an array of minor 'deities'. Lynd, for example, wrote that Wakantanka
"is not alone in the universe. Numbers of minor deities are scattered throughout space, some of whom are placed high in the scale of power. Their ideas of the Great Spirit appear to be that He is the creator of the world and has existed from all time; but after creating the world and all that is in it He sank into silence and since then has failed to take any interest in the affairs of this planet" (1864: 64-65).4
Several decades later, this idea was elaborated upon by the physician James R. Walker. Walker formalised this misunderstanding into a hierarchical formulation in which the different 'gods' were divided into classes of 'gods' under the over-arching 'chief' of Wakantanka:
| 1) WAKANTANKA | The Great Mystery. |
| 2) TOBTOB ('FOUR-FOUR'): | The sixteen 'gods' of the Wakantanka hierarchically ranked in groups of fours: |
| Rank One Superior wakan: | Wi (the Sun) Škan (the Sky) Maka (the Earth) Inyan (the Rock) |
| Rank Two Associate wakan: | Hanwi (the Moon) - created by Wi to be his companion Tate (the Wind) - created by Škan to be his companion Wohpe (the Falling Star) - companion of Maka Wakinyan (the Winged, or Thunder-being ) - created by Inyan to be his active associate |
| Rank Three Lesser wakan: | Tatanka (the Buffalo) Hununpa (the Two-legged - both the bear and man) Tatetob (the Four Winds) Yumni (the Whirlwind) |
| Rank Four 'Those similar to wakan': | Nagi (the Shade, or Apparition) Niya (Life or Breath) Šicun (the Potency) Nagila (the Shadelike) |
(After Powers 1975: 54; Walker 1917: 79-80; and Walker 1980: 50)5
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