The creation stories of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ describe how the various spirits were formed from Wakȟáŋ Tháŋka.
Black Elk describes the relationships with Wakȟáŋ Tháŋka as:
Beneficial spirits There are sixteen Wakȟáŋpi of the Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka, which are arranged into groups of four and ranked according to their group. Superior spirits: • Wí — Sun •
Škaŋ — Motion, Sky • Makhá — Earth •
Íŋyaŋ — Stone Associate spirits: •
Haŋwí — Moon •
Tȟaté — Wind •
Wóȟpe — the Divine Feminine •
Wakíŋyaŋ — Thunder Beings Subordinate spirits: • Tȟatȟáŋka — Buffalo • Hunuŋpa — Bear • Tȟatúye Tópa — the Four Winds/Directions • Yumní — the Whirlwind Inferior spirits: • Niyá — spirit (breathe) • Naǧi — ghost (shadow) • Naǧila — Spirit-like • Šičúŋ — spiritual potency (intellect)
Malevolent spirits The Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka Šíča are Malevolent (or indifferent) spirits, and follow in rough order of rank: • Iya or Ibom - Second son of
Inyan and an
Unktehi. Lord of the Malevolent Gods. Stupid. • Iktomi - First-born son of Inyan and
Wakinyan. A fallen god, doomed to wander the earth as a spirit. The clever
trickster. • Unk - Goddess of passion. Maka's sister. Banished to the underwater world. • Gnaski - A demon called the crazy buffalo. Daughter of Unk. •
Unktehi - Underwater monsters. The enemies of Wakinyan. Formed from the wrath of Unk when she was tossed into the sea. • Unkhcegila - Monsters of the land. Formed from the wrath of Unk when she was tossed into the sea. • Mni Watu - Water sprites. • Can Oti - Forest dwelling elves. • Ungla -
Goblins who lurk in the night. • Gica - cunning and malicious manikins who are visible or invisible. • Waziya - The Old Man, or Wizard, who received his god-like nature from Iktomi, and is therefore doomed to a lonely immortal life on Earth. • Wakanka - the Old Woman, the Witch, the wife of Waziya, doomed forever to a lonely immortal life on Earth. •
Anog Ite - Daughter of Waziya and Wakanka. The mother of the Four Winds, whose father was Tate. Also the mother of Yumni. Because she intrigued with Iktomi, she is doomed to a lonely immortal life on Earth. • Wanagi - Rejected ghost spirits who fail the test of To Win, doomed to wander the earth. • Hohnogica - Spirits of the home & hearth. There are also a variety of other spirits in the world. They are indifferent to humans, but may cause harm, or be convinced to help humans. • The Star People • The Underworld Buffalo People • Very Old People - have power which can be used for evil. • Moon Women - When on their moon, women who are easily tricked or duped by Gnaski, Anog Ite and Iktomi. • Tunkan (Tuh-kaw) - Spirits of the rocks. They are said to play a major role in the
sweat lodge ceremonies. ==Types of medicine and holy people==