Post by Okwes on Feb 6, 2008 11:37:27 GMT -5
Flood - Ojibwa
In the beginning, when spirit beings still lived among people, Manabozho was
the protector of the human race. He was the son of an earthly woman and the
Great Spirit, Manitou. Manabozho taught the people how to hunt and catch
fish, how to plant crops, and how to make sugar from the sap of the maple
tree. He shared with them the secret of fire so they could prepare hot meals
and warm themselves on cold nights.
Manabozho lived in a lodge with his young cousin, whom he treated as a son.
One day Manabozho returned home from a long journey to find his beloved
cousin missing. He called out the little boy's name but received no answer.
So Manabozho went outside to look for the boy There he discovered the trail
of his enemy, the Great Serpent, and realized that the giant snake had
kidnapped the boy Manabozho grabbed his bow and arrow and followed the
trail. It led him across several high mountains and steep valleys, over a
fast- moving river, and through a dark forest. At last it brought him to the
edge of a deep, gloomy lake.
At the bottom of the lake dwelled the Great Serpent with his many companions
and servants. All were terrible monsters with evil sprits and snakelike
forms. They obeyed the Great Serpent without hesitation. Manabozho peered
into the water, and in the middle of all the vile creatures he spied the
Great Serpent The serpent's immense head was blood-red in color with fierce
eyes of blazing fire Hard, glistening scales of every shade covered his body
To Manabozho's horror he saw that the serpent's massive form was coiled
around the lifeless body of the precious young boy.
In sadness and anger, Manabozho vowed revenge. He decided to make the lake
so hot that the Great Serpent and his ruthless companions could not remain.
They would be forced to find shelter in the cool shade of the trees growing
on the lake bank. There Manabozho would dispense his own justice.
Manabozho asked the clouds to vanish from the sky the winds to cease their
cooling breeze and the sun to shine unremittingly on the lake. Manabozho
then picked up his bow and arrow and found the coolest, shadiest patch of
forest, knowing that this was where the Great Serpent would come. Manabozho
then transformed himself into a broken stump so the evil spirits would not
detect his presence.
Soon the winds stopped blowing, the clouds disappeared, and the sun beat
down relentlessly on the lake. The water became warm, and then hot. When it
began to steam and hiss the vile creatures poked their heads above the
surface and scanned the shore. Sensing a trap, they searched for signs of
Manabozho and listened for his footsteps. But they found no trace of him.
The heat became too much for the Great Serpent to tolerate. Slowly he
emerged from the lake's depths. His blood-red head shimmered a deep crimson,
and the fire in his eyes burned white-hot. Had he been capable of spitting
fire, flames surely would have leapt from his mouth. As he slithered onto
the banks of the lake, his cronies trailed after him, filling the shore with
their foul-smelling hulks. When the creatures spied the broken trunk, they
immediately suspected that it was Manabozho. So one of them wrapped its body
around the stump and tried to uproot it. But Manabozho held on fast. After a
few minutes the creatures gave up and slunk away to find shady places to
rest.
The Great Serpent slipped into the forest and looped his gargantuan body
around several majestic trees. Soon he and his companions fell fast asleep,
leaving one particularly savage fiend on the lookout for Manabozho.
When the guard was looking the other way Manabozho silently picked up his
bow and arrow and carefully took aim. Then he shot the Great Serpent in the
heart. The serpent awoke with an ear-splitting shriek.
His face contorted in pain, the Great Serpent dragged his wounded body back
into the lake, where his worried companions joined him.
When the serpent realized that he had been mortally wounded, he and his
cohorts vented their rage on Manabozho. They forced the lake to expand and
rise from its depth. In giant waves, the water cascaded over the banks and
poured onto the forest floor.
Writhing in agony the Great Serpent rode the crest of the first mighty wave.
The color had drained from his head and scales, but his eyes still burned
like fiery coals. Alongside the serpent raced his loyal followers, hissing
loudly vowing vengeance.
Retreating from the onslaught, Manabozho thought of the men, women, and
children who lived in the countryside. He also thought of the spirit beings,
like Beaver, Otter, and Muskrat, who lived among the humans. Quickly
Manabozho raced to their villages and warned everyone to flee to the
mountains. As the people and spirit beings fled, water filled the valleys
and swallowed the highest hills. Now it clawed at the sides of the
mountains, and Manabozho urged everyone to climb higher.
The water rose higher still. Soon it gobbled up every mountain except for
the highest one, where Manabozho stood surrounded by desperate people and
spirit beings. Manabozho hastily gathered up trees and lashed them together
to form an enormous raft. Just as the floodwaters licked the mountaintop,
Manabozho guided the last of the people and spirit beings onto the raft.
For a week, Manabozho and his charges floated alone on the water. The people
begged him to disperse the water and renew the Earth. But to repair the
world, Manabozho first needed a few grains of earth from beneath the
floodwaters.
Beaver volunteered to dive to the bottom of the floodwaters and retrieve
some earth. Although she was warned of the danger, she dove into the deluge.
As the minutes and then hours passed with no sign of Beaver, the anxious
people realized that she could not have survived her mission. Her body
eventually floated to the surface, and the people opened her paws. There was
no earth inside them.
Next Otter offered to try. He plunged into the murky waters and was gone
longer than Beaver. At first when his body resurfaced, the people thought he
had survived. But like Beaver, Otter had perished, and there was no earth in
his paws.
The people were becoming desperate. Who could save them? Finally Muskrat
stepped forward. He took a deep breath before diving into the water and
disappeared for an even longer period than Otter. The people thought he
would never return.
Suddenly someone spotted a speck in the water. Slowly it moved closer to the
raft. It was Muskrat, so tired he could barely swim. The people pulled him
aboard, where he gave one final gasp and died from exhaustion. Inside his
paw Muskrat grasped a few clumps of earth.
Manabozho took the precious grains and laid them out in the sun. When they
were dry, he pulverized them into tiny bits of dust and blew the dust over
the water.
Instantly the floodwaters began to subside, and soon the mountains appeared
and then the hills and the valleys. The newly emerged land showed no trace
of the flood except for a thick layer of mud, which was the dust that
Manabozho had blown over the water.
And the evil spirits? Although their master, the Great Serpent, had died
from his wound, his followers returned to the bottom of the lake. They were
so frightened of Manabozho they never dared to leave their home again.
Chippeway-Ojibwa
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Province of Ontario
Retold in the book Weather Legends - Native American Lore and the Science of
Weather by Carole Garbuny Vogel
In the beginning, when spirit beings still lived among people, Manabozho was
the protector of the human race. He was the son of an earthly woman and the
Great Spirit, Manitou. Manabozho taught the people how to hunt and catch
fish, how to plant crops, and how to make sugar from the sap of the maple
tree. He shared with them the secret of fire so they could prepare hot meals
and warm themselves on cold nights.
Manabozho lived in a lodge with his young cousin, whom he treated as a son.
One day Manabozho returned home from a long journey to find his beloved
cousin missing. He called out the little boy's name but received no answer.
So Manabozho went outside to look for the boy There he discovered the trail
of his enemy, the Great Serpent, and realized that the giant snake had
kidnapped the boy Manabozho grabbed his bow and arrow and followed the
trail. It led him across several high mountains and steep valleys, over a
fast- moving river, and through a dark forest. At last it brought him to the
edge of a deep, gloomy lake.
At the bottom of the lake dwelled the Great Serpent with his many companions
and servants. All were terrible monsters with evil sprits and snakelike
forms. They obeyed the Great Serpent without hesitation. Manabozho peered
into the water, and in the middle of all the vile creatures he spied the
Great Serpent The serpent's immense head was blood-red in color with fierce
eyes of blazing fire Hard, glistening scales of every shade covered his body
To Manabozho's horror he saw that the serpent's massive form was coiled
around the lifeless body of the precious young boy.
In sadness and anger, Manabozho vowed revenge. He decided to make the lake
so hot that the Great Serpent and his ruthless companions could not remain.
They would be forced to find shelter in the cool shade of the trees growing
on the lake bank. There Manabozho would dispense his own justice.
Manabozho asked the clouds to vanish from the sky the winds to cease their
cooling breeze and the sun to shine unremittingly on the lake. Manabozho
then picked up his bow and arrow and found the coolest, shadiest patch of
forest, knowing that this was where the Great Serpent would come. Manabozho
then transformed himself into a broken stump so the evil spirits would not
detect his presence.
Soon the winds stopped blowing, the clouds disappeared, and the sun beat
down relentlessly on the lake. The water became warm, and then hot. When it
began to steam and hiss the vile creatures poked their heads above the
surface and scanned the shore. Sensing a trap, they searched for signs of
Manabozho and listened for his footsteps. But they found no trace of him.
The heat became too much for the Great Serpent to tolerate. Slowly he
emerged from the lake's depths. His blood-red head shimmered a deep crimson,
and the fire in his eyes burned white-hot. Had he been capable of spitting
fire, flames surely would have leapt from his mouth. As he slithered onto
the banks of the lake, his cronies trailed after him, filling the shore with
their foul-smelling hulks. When the creatures spied the broken trunk, they
immediately suspected that it was Manabozho. So one of them wrapped its body
around the stump and tried to uproot it. But Manabozho held on fast. After a
few minutes the creatures gave up and slunk away to find shady places to
rest.
The Great Serpent slipped into the forest and looped his gargantuan body
around several majestic trees. Soon he and his companions fell fast asleep,
leaving one particularly savage fiend on the lookout for Manabozho.
When the guard was looking the other way Manabozho silently picked up his
bow and arrow and carefully took aim. Then he shot the Great Serpent in the
heart. The serpent awoke with an ear-splitting shriek.
His face contorted in pain, the Great Serpent dragged his wounded body back
into the lake, where his worried companions joined him.
When the serpent realized that he had been mortally wounded, he and his
cohorts vented their rage on Manabozho. They forced the lake to expand and
rise from its depth. In giant waves, the water cascaded over the banks and
poured onto the forest floor.
Writhing in agony the Great Serpent rode the crest of the first mighty wave.
The color had drained from his head and scales, but his eyes still burned
like fiery coals. Alongside the serpent raced his loyal followers, hissing
loudly vowing vengeance.
Retreating from the onslaught, Manabozho thought of the men, women, and
children who lived in the countryside. He also thought of the spirit beings,
like Beaver, Otter, and Muskrat, who lived among the humans. Quickly
Manabozho raced to their villages and warned everyone to flee to the
mountains. As the people and spirit beings fled, water filled the valleys
and swallowed the highest hills. Now it clawed at the sides of the
mountains, and Manabozho urged everyone to climb higher.
The water rose higher still. Soon it gobbled up every mountain except for
the highest one, where Manabozho stood surrounded by desperate people and
spirit beings. Manabozho hastily gathered up trees and lashed them together
to form an enormous raft. Just as the floodwaters licked the mountaintop,
Manabozho guided the last of the people and spirit beings onto the raft.
For a week, Manabozho and his charges floated alone on the water. The people
begged him to disperse the water and renew the Earth. But to repair the
world, Manabozho first needed a few grains of earth from beneath the
floodwaters.
Beaver volunteered to dive to the bottom of the floodwaters and retrieve
some earth. Although she was warned of the danger, she dove into the deluge.
As the minutes and then hours passed with no sign of Beaver, the anxious
people realized that she could not have survived her mission. Her body
eventually floated to the surface, and the people opened her paws. There was
no earth inside them.
Next Otter offered to try. He plunged into the murky waters and was gone
longer than Beaver. At first when his body resurfaced, the people thought he
had survived. But like Beaver, Otter had perished, and there was no earth in
his paws.
The people were becoming desperate. Who could save them? Finally Muskrat
stepped forward. He took a deep breath before diving into the water and
disappeared for an even longer period than Otter. The people thought he
would never return.
Suddenly someone spotted a speck in the water. Slowly it moved closer to the
raft. It was Muskrat, so tired he could barely swim. The people pulled him
aboard, where he gave one final gasp and died from exhaustion. Inside his
paw Muskrat grasped a few clumps of earth.
Manabozho took the precious grains and laid them out in the sun. When they
were dry, he pulverized them into tiny bits of dust and blew the dust over
the water.
Instantly the floodwaters began to subside, and soon the mountains appeared
and then the hills and the valleys. The newly emerged land showed no trace
of the flood except for a thick layer of mud, which was the dust that
Manabozho had blown over the water.
And the evil spirits? Although their master, the Great Serpent, had died
from his wound, his followers returned to the bottom of the lake. They were
so frightened of Manabozho they never dared to leave their home again.
Chippeway-Ojibwa
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Province of Ontario
Retold in the book Weather Legends - Native American Lore and the Science of
Weather by Carole Garbuny Vogel