The story of the birth of the white buffalo calf goes as follows: Long ago, there was a great famine and the Lakota chief sent out two scouts to hunt for food. While they were searching, they saw a figure in the distance. As they approached, the figure appeared to be a beautiful woman. One of the two scouts was filled with sexual desire, but despite the warnings from the second scout that the woman appeared to be sacred, the man approached the woman. Soon a cloud enclosed the pair, and the man turned into a pile of bones. The second man approached the woman, and although frightened, the woman explained that she was wakan, or holy. She instructed the scout to go back to his People and tell them of her arrival. When the White Buffalo Calf Woman arrived, she brought the White Buffalo Calf chanupa (pipe) — the most sacred object a person can possess — and taught them seven sacred ways to pray. Before she left, she told the people that she would return again to restore harmony and spirituality to a troubled world. She then rolled upon the earth four times, changing color each time and turned into a white buffalo calf before she disappeared. As she left, great herds of buffalo surrounded the camps. When a white buffalo calf is born, it is a sign that their prayers are being heard and that the promises of the prophecy are being fulfilled. To American Indians, a White Buffalo Calf is the most sacred living thing on earth. The calf is a sign to begin life's sacred loop. Some American Indians say the birth of a white calf is an omen because the birth takes place in the most unexpected places and often happens among the poorest of people. The birth is sacred within the American Indian communities, because it brings a sense of hope and is a sign that good times are about to happen.