🧚 Myths and Folk-lore of the Timagami Ojibwa., part 1

Introduction.1

In the following pages are presented the myths and items of folk-lore related by various informants through Aleck Paul, the second chief of the Timagami band of Ojibwa.2 I present them without any comparisons with other mythologies at this time, as we may expect before long to have more northern Algonkian mythology available for study and analysis.3

(1) Nenebuc, the Transformer.4

(a) The Magic Birth of Nenebuc and his Four Brothers.5 [10]6

There were two people living, a man and his wife, who had an only daughter.7 When she was twelve years old, the age of puberty, she was taken over a hill and was kept there in a camp alone for twelve days, neither eating nor drinking, in order that she might have a dream.8 [11] If she should eat or drink, she would have no dream.9 If, while she was dreaming, a panther came alone, she would be very strong.10 So her parents kept her there.11 The girl dreamed of the sun, so she could not look at the sun any more, for if she did so, she would have to go away from her parents and live with the sun. When the girl had had this dream, she went back to her parents and her father asked her, “What have you been dreaming?”12 “I am very sorry, but I have dreamed of the sun, so I cannot ever look at the sun again,” replied his daughter.13 “Well, now it is too bad, but you mustn’t look at the sun,” said her father.14 “You stay here all the time.15 Don’t look at the sun, that’s all.”16

The girl used to get water at the shore and stay there a long time.17 One day in March, she went to the water hole, broke the ice and looked into the water.18 In so doing, she made a mistake, for there was no cloud in the sky and the sun was shining brightly near the horizon, so that, early in the morning, she looked at the sun. [12] She brought the water back in a birch bark pail and placed it inside the wigwam, but she could not sit down.19 “What is the matter?” said her father.20 “Why, I looked at the sun,” answered his daughter.21 “Well, good-bye, you’ve got to live with the sun now,” said her father.22 Then the girl and her parents shook hands and she went away to live with the sun, and is there yet.23 Before she went away she said to her father, “You will see your grandchildren before long.”24 Then she told him to put his wooden dish upside down before the fire and to leave it there four days and four nights and to look under it every morning.25 Then she went to live with the sun.26

So the old man put the dish upside down before the fire.27 The first morning he lifted the edge of the dish, looked under, and there he saw Nenebuc, the child of the sun, sitting.28 The next morning he did the same thing and he saw Nenebuc’s brother sitting with him.29 He kept doing this the third, fourth, and fifth mornings, until there were Nenebuc and his four brothers all sitting under the dish.30 Then the old man picked up the dish.31 One of the brothers, the second brother, had horns on his head and the old man said to him, “You won’t stay here.32 You go to the west.”33 Then he sent one brother to the east, one to the south, and one to the north.34 So Nenebuc, the eldest of the five, was left.35 The old man told him to attend to the world and to keep the winds going just right lest the water get stagnant and bad.36 Then Nenebuc stayed, and his four brothers started to the four parts of the earth.37

One day Nenebuc asked his grandfather, “Where have I been born?38 Had I a mother like other people?”39 His grandfather would not tell him, but his grandmother told him that he had been found.40 This appeared queer to Nenebuc and he thought to himself, “The other people have mothers, but I have none.41 I must find out.”42 So he took a whetstone and, scraping it on a rock, he asked it, “Have I any mother?”43 “Yes, you have a mother,” replied the whetstone and then it told him his story.44 Then Nenebuc told his grandfather, “I have a mother and four brothers besides.45 The whetstone told me so.”46

Soon Nenebuc began growing larger and he thought it strange that he had not been sent out into the world like his brothers, so he asked his grandfather for what reason he had kept him.47 His grandfather told him that he had kept him at home so that when he became old and feeble Nenebuc would be able to help him, cut wood for him, and hunt for him.48 This satisfied Nenebuc and he used to help his grandfather in many ways, spearing fish for him in calm days, hunting for him, and doing many other things.49 He never got into any mischief and he grew very fast.50

(b) Nenebuc Tempers the Wind.51

One summer Nenebuc was unable to get fish for the whole summer on account of the high winds.52 The people almost starved, and then Nenebuc became very angry.53 He did not like to see his grandfather starving and his anger was aroused against the West Wind for blowing so much.54 So he told his grandfather that he was going to kill the West Wind for this, but the old man said to him, “Don’t kill him.55 Make him let the wind blow a while and then stop, so that everything will be all right, but don’t kill him.”56 “Well, I won’t be long away and I’ll punish my brother”, replied Nenebuc.57

So he went away and finally met his brother, the one with the two horns, who lived in the west.58 Nenebuc hammered him soundly with a club and broke one of his horns.59 This hurt him, but did not kill him.60 Then Nenebuc said, “Don’t blow so hard any more.61 You don’t care for your grandfather, but I do and I fear he and the people will starve.”62 Then he arranged things with his brother and went back.63 After this he went fishing and found it calm with only a little puff of wind now and then.64 Then the West Wind told his three brothers not to blow, for if they did Nenebuc would come and kill them.65 The winds became frightened at this and did not blow at all, and because of this the water grew thick and stagnant and Nenebuc was unable to fish.66 Then his grandfather said, “We are going to die.67 There is no wind and the water is bad.68 Did you kill the West Wind?”69 “No,” said Nenebuc.70 “I will go and see him and tell him to send the wind once in a while, not too often but just right.”71 So Nenebuc went to his brother, the West Wind, and said to him, “I came here to tell you that I want a little wind once in a while, but not too much.”72 Then everything was arranged satisfactorily.73 Shortly after this Nenebuc’s grandparents died and were heard of no more.74 [13]75

(c) Nenebuc Starts Travelling, Anum Suum Castigat for Deceiving Him, Changes the Colour of the Partridge Family, and Originates Rock Tripe from his Scabs for the Benefit of the People.76

Now Nenebuc grew up and was alone.77 He was a man and began to travel.78 He knew all kinds of things concerning the trees, the world, and everything which his grandfather had taught him.79 He set out on his first journey and went toward the mountains.80 In one day’s walk he climbed over three great mountains, something that no man could do.81 When he reached the top of the first mountain he found a goose and killed it.82 In like manner he killed a goose on the tops of the second and third mountains.83 Then he went down to the lake below.84 He was very, very tired from his first day’s journey.85 He made a fire with his bow-drill [14] and put his geese in the sand, which he had heated to bake them in.86 He buried them with their legs sticking out.87 He lay down by the fire and ano suo dixit to watch the geese while he slept, so that no one would steal them.88 Just as he was dozing off to sleep, anus ejus dixit, “Somebody’s coming for your geese!” and Nenebuc jumped up.89 Sed anus ejus eum deci piebat.90 It did this three or four times.91 At last Nenebuc grew angry.92 He took a club and anum suum percussit and told it not to do that again.93 Then he went to sleep.94 Some people came along and stole the geese, but left the legs sticking in the same place.95