Wakíŋyaŋ is a

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

word for "thunder". It also may be a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

which associates "wahka" ("sacred") and "kinyan" ("wings"). The word is usually translated as "Thunder Spirits", "Thunder Beings," or " Thunder Birds".

Heyoka The heyoka (, also spelled "haokah," "heyokha") is a type of sacred clown Shamanism, shaman in the culture of the Sioux (Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota people, Dakota people) of the Great Plains of North America. The heyoka is a contrarian, jest ...

s, that is contrarians, dream of Wakinyan and can burn cedar (''

Juniperus scopulorum ''Juniperus scopulorum'', the Rocky Mountain juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, from southwest Canada to the Great Plains of the United States and small areas of northern Mexico. They are the most widespread of all ...

'') to protect themselves from thunder and lightning, since Wakinyan respect trees and will not harm them. Filmmaker and storm chaser Martin Lisius produced a short film in 2016 titled, "Wakíŋyaŋ" which honors the Lakota "thunder spirit" Wakíŋyaŋ.

References

Lakota mythology Lakota culture Thunder gods Lakota words and phrases {{NorthAm-myth-stub