DIBAAJIMOWIN
  • HOME
  • Author
  • Dibaajimowin Blog
  • Michif
  • Ojibwemowin

Legend Stories

The Funeral Fire

12/27/2017

2 Comments

 

Why we burn a fire for the recently deceased


​It is the custom of the Ojibwe people to light and maintain a fire in the days following the death of a member of the tribe.  How did this custom come to be?
 
Many years ago, a war raged between the Ojibwe and their enemies the Sioux, and the lands were stained red with blood of both tribes. A small party of Ojibwe warriors encountered their enemies upon an open plain and a fierce battle ensued. Mitaawang (Sandy), the leader of the Ojibwe, was a very brave and capable warrior; his many deeds in battle were well-known by everyone and he was revered for his numerous exploits on the battlefield. During the skirmish, Mitaawang killed many enemies, but eventually a Sioux arrow found its mark and he fell to the ground dead.

At that time, no warrior killed in battle was buried. According to old custom, he was placed in a sitting posture upon the field of battle, his back supported by a tree and his face turned towards the path in which his enemies had fled. His spear and club were placed in his hands, and his bow and quiver leaned against his shoulder. So his comrades left him.
Even though he was dead, Mitaawang did not travel to the land of spirits.  Though he could not move, nor speak, he heard everything going on around him. He heard his friends crying over his death, but could not comfort them; he heard them speak of his great deeds and discuss who would be the one to tell his wife that he had fallen in battle. He could feel the touch of their hands as they propped his body against a tree, but his limbs felt as if they were bound and he could not move them. His anguish, when he felt himself being abandoned, was heavy but he was compelled to bear it as he could do nothing. A desire to follow his friends, as they started walking back to their village, filled his mind. With all the will that he had, Mitaawang tried to stand up and to his surprise he rose, or seemed to rise, and followed after them. However, he was invisible; they neither saw him nor heard his voice.  Astonishment, disappointment, and rage filled him. While he attempted to make himself heard, seen, and felt, he could not; but still he followed his friends.  As they sat around a fire that night, he heard them recount their valiant deeds, but try as he might, he was unable to tell them how much his own had exceeded theirs. ​
Picture
At length the war-party reached their village, and the women and children came out to welcome their return. As his friends found their wives and children, recounting the tales of their great victory, Mitaawang saw his grieving wife and could not comfort her as his friends told her how he had fought, conquered, and fallen with an arrow through his heart and left on the battlefield. “It is not true!” Mitaawang yelled.  “I am here; I live…I move! See me! Touch me!” But no matter how he screamed, nobody knew he was there; they mistook his shouts for the softest whisperings of the winds. He went to his lodge and saw his wife tearing her hair and crying for him. He tried to comfort her, but she could not feel his hands or hear his words of consolation. He then placed his mouth close to her ear and shouted, “Wife, I am home. Give me food.” At this, his wife said, “I hear a fly buzzing.” Enraged, Mitaawang struck her upon the forehead as hard as she could. She placed her hand to her head and said, “A mosquito has bitten me.”

​Foiled in every attempt to make himself known to those around him, Mitaawang thought about what he had heard the elders say about dreams. He remembered them say that the spirit sometimes left the body, and might wander at times. He reflected that possibly his body had remained upon the battlefield, gravely wounded, while only his spirit had returned.  He made up his mind to return there, though it was four days' journey. For three days he walked and saw nothing, but on the fourth day he came to the outskirts of the battlefield. There, he saw a fire in the path. He tried to walk around it, but it seemed to move to block his way. He tried to go another direction, but the fire still burned in his path. “Maji-manidoo” he yelled, “Why do you keep me from where my body lies?  I want to return to my body. Know that I am a chief and a warrior! I will not be turned back.” Mitaawang made a last, forceful effort, and passed through the flames.  As he did, he woke to find himself back in his body, having lain eight days on the battlefield. He was sitting on the ground with his back to a tree, his bow leaning against his shoulder just as he had been left.  Looking up, he saw a large giniw—a war-eagle—sitting upon the tree above his head. This was the bird that he had dreamed of in his youth. He knew that it was a guardian spirit—his Manidoo. While his body had lain on the field, this spirit had guarded it.
Mitaawang stood upon his feet but he was weak.  He waited a long time before he felt that his limbs were his. The blood of his wounds had dried, but he took the time to treat the, with some medicine. After making a fire and spending the night warming himself, he stood up and started his journey home.  When he finally arrived at this village, he found his lodge and his wife almost fainted from fear that he was an evil spirit returned in the form of her dead husband. He reassured her that he was quite alive and asked her to call his friends to the lodge. When everyone arrived, Mitaawang told them all that happened and how he had come to return.
 
Since this time, it has always been the practice of the Ojibwe to build and keep a fire for the dead, so that they might have light and warmth before they travel to the spirit world, or so that they can find their way back as Mitaawang did.
Picture
2 Comments

Why the Red River is Red

12/25/2017

1 Comment

 

 (RED LAKE OJIBWE LEGEND)

Picture
In regard as to how the Red River received its name, Rev. E. G. Wright of Oberlin, who came to Red Lake in 1843, and was a missionary for forty years among the Chippewa Indians of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, states that the Indians informed him that under the water was another world, and that long ago there was a desperate battle there and a great many of the people and animals were killed, their blood causing the water to turn red.  Others of the Indians on the Red River banks attributed its name to the bloody battles fought between the Sioux and Chippewas in canoes on the river, the blood of the slain coloring the water.
From Collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota (1906)
1 Comment

Biboon, the Winter Manitou

12/23/2017

0 Comments

 
Biboon is the north wind spirit of the Anishinaabe people.  The name Biboon literally means "Winter."  He is the manitou who brings winter snow and cold winds to the land and puts it to sleep for a time before it reawakens.
Picture
0 Comments

Little People -- Memeguayiwahk (Lawrence Barkwell)

12/21/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
The folklore of the Metis contains a varied mix of monsters, trickster spirits, “little” people and other fantastic beings—all of which are a syncretistic mix of Algonquian and Western European supernatural beings. The “Little People” or Ma-ma-kwa-se-sak (Meme-guay-iwahk), are human beings, only very tiny. Myths of “Little People” are found in all cultures.

It is the belief of Metis and other Aboriginal people that they live along riverbanks, the sand hills by large lakes and in caves. They like to live under rock. The “Little People” are there to protect you; if you see one your luck will change. If you feel sad or sick, you will feel better. Sometimes they venture into urban areas, mostly to visit the Native people. They are the reason your everyday objects go missing.

​They are said to particularly like shiny objects and will take tin foil or spoons and other cutlery out of people’s homes. They also like to eat sweets. For this reason Metis will put out sugar, candies and tobacco as offerings to them in places they are known to frequent. If one is camping on a lake shoreline and hears noises coming from the ground at night this is believed to be the Little People working.  

A complete version of this story is available here.
Compiled by Lawrence Barkwell, Louis Riel Institute

1 Comment

The child and the Wendigo (Red Lake Ojibwe)

12/20/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
A cold north wind began to blow. The great Ogemaa heard the wind and understood its message.

The Wendigo, a cannibal giant was coming to eat all the Anishinaabek of the village. Everyone was terrified. However, there was a little child who offered to save the people. They all wondered what could this little child do, as he was only a baby. Nonetheless, he insisted he would help the Anishinabek.

First he said he would need an ax and a piece of liver. Then he would go and meet the giant. Once he received these, the young child started on his way. When he met the giant, he became as tall as a pine tree. He fought the giant and killed him.

When he came home, he told his mother he had killed the Wendigo. She didn't believe him, so he told her to go and look where he had killed the giant. She went and found a toenail as big as a turtle. Then everyone believed that the small child had killed the giant and saved the Village.

Later the boy himself turned into a Wendigo.

Told in Ojibwemowin by Jack Blackhead, interpreted by Florence Ka-Kay-Geesick. 
0 Comments

    Author

    A collaborative effort of members of the Ojibwe and Metis communities

    Archives

    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

About Dibaajimowin

Dibaajimowin was created as a way to share interesting and unique stories and other information about the Metis and Ojibwe people (and others) so that these can be used by our guests to educate themselves and others about the history, culture, and language of the people.

We hope you enjoy everything you find here and are glad to have you return in the future. If you are interested in using our content for educational or personal purposes, please give proper attribution and credit to our page. It is important that we acknowledge the tellers of stories and the creators of intellectual property in all forms.

​Please enjoy! See you soon.

Contact Us

    Subscribe Today!

Submit
  • HOME
  • Author
  • Dibaajimowin Blog
  • Michif
  • Ojibwemowin