Chanunpa, or Chanupa, is the Sioux language

Sioux language

Sioux is a Siouan language spoken by over 33,000 Sioux in the United States and Canada, making it the fifth most spoken indigenous language in the United States or Canada, behind Navajo, Cree, Inuit and Ojibwe.-Regional variation:...

 name for the sacred, ceremonial pipe and the ceremony in which it is used.

The Chanunpa is one means of conveying prayers to the Creator

Creator deity

A creator deity is a deity responsible for the creation of the world . In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...

 and the other sacred beings. The various parts of the pipe have symbolic meanings, and much of this symbolism is not shared with those outside of the culture.

Lakota tradition has it that White Buffalo Calf Woman

White Buffalo Calf Woman

White Buffalo Calf Woman , a sacred woman of supernatural origin, is treated as a prophet or a messiah and is central to the Lakota religion. Oral traditions relate that she brought the extended Lakota nation of the Teton Sioux their "Seven Sacred Rituals".- Story :The traditional story is that,...

 brought the Chanunpa to the people, to serve as a sacred bridge between this world and Wakan Tanka

Wakan Tanka

In the Sioux way of life, Wakan Tanka is the term for "the sacred" or "the divine". This is usually translated as "The Great Spirit"...

, the "Great Mystery".