Some Menominee Myths and Legends

Hi, dear friends and followers, thank you for dropping by. Today we visit the Menominee people

In between the waters of Lake Superior on the north and Illinois on the south is the state of Wisconsin. It is the last piece of the Northwest Territory to become a state.

The Ojibwe (Chippewa), Dakota Sioux, Ho' Chunk, Menominee, Potawatomi, and Munsee made this land of thousands of lakes their home. The oral history of the Menominee has been reasonably documented so we will look at some of their legends involving Manabush.

Manabush was a trickster-god of the Menominee. Brother of Moqwaoi, he was the survivor of twins born to Wenonah, a daughter of Nokomis, who died in childbirth. He turned into a white rabbit who later stole fire and gave it to the tribe.

When his brother, Moqwaoi, was killed by evil spirits, he killed two of their number. The other spirits then caused a flood from which Manabush was the only one to escape, which he did by climbing a pine tree and causing it to grow rapidly to beat the rising waters.

When Muskrat found a small piece of dry soil after Beaver, Mink and Otter had failed, Manabush was able to recreate the world.

In another story, Misikinebik, a monstrous serpent, ate nearly all the tribe so Manabush offered himself and, once inside the beast, stabbed its heart and killed it.

In some lore, Manabush is occasionally referred to as Manabozho, Hiawatha, Manabosho, Michabo, Nanabozho, Winabozho, Great Hare, Nanaboojoo, Nanabush, Abnaki, Gluskap, Ioskeha, Montagnais, Messou, Manabusch, Wabus, or Wabasso.
The Story of Manabush

There once was an old woman called Nokomis (Grandmother) who had an unmarried daughter. The daughter gave birth to twin boys and during the birth, one of the boys died and so did the mother.

Nokomis wrapped the surviving boy in soft grass and laid him on the ground at one side of her wigwam and placed a wooden bowl over him to protect him. She buried her daughter and the other grandchild a ways from her wigwam. She mourned them for four days and at the end of that she heard a small sound in the wigwam and it was coming from underneath the wooden bowl. The bowl moved, and suddenly she remembered her little grandchild, whom she had forgotten in her mourning.

Lifting up the bowl, she saw a little white rabbit with quivering ears, and she picked it up, saying "Oh! My dear rabbit, my Manabush." She loved the rabbit and it grew. One day the rabbit sat up and hopped slowly across the wigwam, causing the earth to tremble. The spirits underneath said to one another, "What was that? A great spirit has been born somewhere." To protect their own power, they began to scheme how to be rid of Manabush.

As Manabush grew up to be a young man, he thought about how he could prepare himself to assist his uncles, the people. He said to Nokomis, "Grandmother, make me two sticks, so that I can sing." Nokomis made the sticks, then Manabush left the wigwam and built a larger longhouse near the wigwam.

He began to sing, calling his uncles together, and told them that he would give them the Medicine Lodge and the Medicine Dance so they could cure diseases. He saw that they were hungry, so he gave them plants for food. He also gave them medicine bags made from the skins of mink, weasel, rattlesnakes, and the panther. Into each of these bags, he put samples of all the medicines, and taught the people how to use them. Manabush lived for many years after this and taught the Menominee many useful things.

(Adapted from W.J. Hoffman, 1890, "Mythology of the Menomini Indians," American Anthropologist 3[3]:243-58.)

Manabush and his Brother

When Manabush had accomplished the works which the Great Spirit had sent him to do, he moved far away and built his wigwam on the northeast shore of a large lake. Since he was alone, the spirits wanted to give him a companion in the form of his twin brother.

The spirits brought his brother to life. Manabush's brother looked like a human being but could also assume the shape of a Wolf, which he used when he hunted. Since Manabush had always been aware of the jealousy of the evil spirits from under the earth and the water, he warned his brother the Wolf never to return come home across the lake but rather to always go around it by shore.

One day, after the Wolf had been hunting all day, he found himself directly across the lake from his wigwam, and so he decided to cross directly over the frozen lake. When he was partly across the lake, the ice broke and he fell through. He was seized by the bad underwater spirits and destroyed.

Manabush immediately knew what had happened to his brother, and he mourned his brother for four days. Every time Manabush sighed it made the earth tremble, forming the hills and valleys.

The spirit of his brother, the Wolf, appeared before Manabush and Manabush realized that his brother would not return to him. He told the wolf's spirit to go to the west to become the chief of all the departed spirits. Sadly, Manabush gave up his home by the lake and hid himself inside a large rock near Mackinaw.

For many years, the people would visit Manabush there and hold the Medicine Dance which he had taught them. And when Manabush wanted to interact with the people but did not want to show himself in human form, he appeared to them in the shape of a little white rabbit with trembling ears, just as he had appeared to Nokomis when he was a baby.

(Adapted from W.J. Hoffman, 1890, "Mythology of the Menomini Indians," American Anthropologist 3[3]:243-58.)


The Origin of Fire and the Canoe

When Manabush was still young, he once said to his grandmother Nokomis, "Grandmother, we have no fire and it is cold in here. Let me go and get some fire." Nokomis tried to make him forget the idea of getting fire because it was dangerous, but Manabush insisted.

Manabush knew he had a long journey ahead, so he made a canoe made of bark-the very first canoe. He took on the shape of a rabbit so he wouldn't be recognized and started east across a large body of water. He knew that there was an old man living on an island who had fire.

As Manabush-in the form of a Rabbit-approached the island, it was still dark, and he pulled his canoe ashore and hopped along until he came to the wigwam of the old man. The old man had two daughters, who came out of the wigwam and saw the little Rabbit, all wet and cold. They picked him up and took him inside, setting him down next to the fire to get warm.

The girls went about their evening duties while the Rabbit sat by the fire. He hopped a little nearer to the fire to try to pick up a coal but as he moved, the earth shook and disturbed the old man, who was napping in the wigwam. "What was that?" said the old man. The daughters said it was nothing, and told him that they were only trying to warm up the poor little rabbit they had found.

When the girls went back to their work, the Rabbit grabbed a burning stick and ran out of the wigwam, going as fast as he could back to the place where he had left his canoe. The girls and the old man dashed out of the wigwam chasing the Rabbit who had stolen the fire.

The Rabbit reached his canoe safely and pushed off into the water, leaving the old man and his daughters on shore. He paddled as fast as he could toward his grandmother's home. The air rushing past the canoe made the stick burn fiercely, and by the time he reached home, Nokomis could see that his fur was badly burned in several places. She took the burning stick from him and made a fire with him, and then dressed his wounds so his fur would grow back.

(Adapted from W.J. Hoffman, 1890, "Mythology of the Menomini Indians," American Anthropologist 3[3]:243-58.)

Grasshopper and the Origin of Tobacco

One day Manabush was walking past a high mountain when he smelled a delightful fragrance which seemed to be coming from a crevice in the cliffs. He went closer and found that the mountain was home to a Giant who was known to be the keeper of tobacco. Manabush found a cavern in the side of the mountain and went inside, following a passage which led into the center of the mountain where the Giant lived.

The Giant asked Manabush very sternly what he wanted. Manabush answered that he had come for some tobacco, but the Giant told him that the spirits had just been there for their smoke. Since the ceremony only happened once a year, the Giant told Manabush to come back in a year. Manabush found this difficult to believe, because when he looked around the Giant's cavern, he saw bags and bags of tobacco all around it.

So he snatched one of the bags and dashed out of the mountain, closely pursued by the Giant. Manabush reached the top of the mountain and leaped from peak to peak. The Giant followed him closely, and when Manabush reached the edge of a cliff, he fell down flat and the Giant leaped over him and fell over the cliff and into the chasm.

The Giant was badly bruised, but managed to climb up the face of the cliff, where he hung at the top with all of his fingernails torn off. Then Manabush grabbed the giant by the back and threw him to the ground and said, "For your stinginess, you will become the Grasshopper, and everyone will know you by your stained mouth. You will become a pest and bother all those who raise tobacco."

Then Manabush took the tobacco home and divided it among the people and gave them the seed so they could grow it themselves and use it for offerings and blessings.

(Adapted from W.J. Hoffman, 1890, "Mythology of the Menomini Indians," American Anthropologist 3[3]:243-58.)

Thank you again for dropping by and taking a few minutes to read Some Menominee Myths and Legends. I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on it. Thank you and have a wonderful Saturday.

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Hi, It's Frizzy Lizzy time

Hi, dear friends and followers, thank you for dropping by.
Today is Saturday and that means a visit to Frizzy Lizzy time, Please do join us

Hi, It's Frizzy Lizzy time

"Hi, Sarah! How's it going? Nice to see you this morning! How was your Thanksgiving Day? Really? Sure, I have fresh coffee and something other than pumpkin pie to get you started. Just leave your boots by the door and put the rest of you in a chair and we can talk."

"I'm glad that Charley and I had Thanksgiving together this year. That gave me a good reason to refuse my sister's invitation and stay home and have a pleasant day with Charley instead of a house full of drinking, burping, farting, and football.

"No, silly, I wasn't burping and farting! I didn't have to! Her sons-in-law did enough of that for me - and six other people!

Last time I was there they were playing cards while I was helping out in the kitchen and they got drunk, I mean inebriated, blotto, had a snoot full by the time we were ready to have dinner."

Now do you remember my little Dachshund? That's right, the black wiener dog, Sarge? You do?

Well, anyway, I had him with me and all was OK. He was the only dog there and he stayed out of the footpath.

So everyone eats, including the two sons-in-law, both of whom are lit like a Christmas tree before they start eating. They manage to get through supper without missing their mouths or spilling anything, I have to give them that much. All goes well, they have a few more beers, then the older one crawls into the recliner chair to watch football."

"Now this really piercing odor starts coming over toward the dining room and I can't figure where it's coming from. It was awful, like Satan melting brimstone! So I get really curious and I begin to think that it's the dog. Now what the hell am I going to do about that?

I can't tell the dog to stop farting. I can't give him a Beano pill because it's already too late for that. I can't put him outside because it's cold and icy, and if he sees another animal, he'll be off chasing it. So I try my best to scold him, nicely, of course, because the house is warm and full of people."

"So I go over by him and I give him a dose of 'Bad dog!', complete with finger wagging, and he looks at me with the quizzical look that all dogs give their humans when they have not the foggiest idea of why you are yelling at them. I tell him again, 'Bad dog!', and he turns his head sideways, maybe in the hope of getting a better understanding of why mommy sounds upset."

"Finally, I'm about ready to find my heavy winter jacket and put my boots on and take the little guy for an airing-out when I hear this KAA-RRRRRIP! Immediately my nose is assaulted by an odor of molten brimstone, so sharp that the little hairs in my nose are on fire! The dog looks up at me as if to say, "I told ya it wasn't me!"

"That lazy-assed, overfed, drunk-out-of-his-mind older son-in-law of hers is asleep, farting loud enough to need a permit and polluting the air badly enough to generate smog in the living room!

I apologized to Sarge and got my jacket and boots. A walk did both of us some good."

"So between turkeys stuffing themselves and fruitcakes getting blasted and farting like it's suddenly a new parlor game, I'm glad that I stayed here with Charley. We had a prime rib roast, garlic mashed potatoes, a nice, fresh salad, dessert, and a quiet night with only pleasant aromas.

I hope that your Thanksgiving was at least that good, Sarah."

Thank you again for dropping by and taking a few minutes to read Frizzy Lizzy. I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on it. Thank you and have a wonderful Saturday.

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Legends of Native American Sauk people

Hi, dear friends and followers, thank you for dropping by. Today we visit the Sauk people.

We are now in Michigan, a place that became a territory in 1805 and a state in 1837. It was originally a part of the Northwest Territory that yielded the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The Potawatomie and Ojibwe held the greatest territorial influence in Michigan. Other tribes present were the Kickapoo, Sauk (also Sac), Fox, Kickapoo, Miami, and Menominee.

Today's stories feature two characters common to literature and tales throughout the world: the orphaned brother and sister who have nothing, but fortune smiles on them and their conditions improve. These legends surely qualify as "tall tales" because they take what is impossible or unheard of and reduce it to an everyday occurrence for the orphan protagonists.

Although these legends were selected and attributed to the Sauk People, they could have been told with little alteration by any number of prairie and plains-dwelling tribes. They were oral traditions that were first recorded by French missionaries working in the Upper Mississippi River Valley in 1637.

Pour yourself a warm drink, get comfortable, and enjoy three short stories featuring the orphaned boy and girl.

Legends of Native American Sauk people

1.
A hostile tribe caught sight of a camp of about four hundred Stoney lodges. They waited until night fall when all the Stoneys were asleep. Then they killed all except a young girl and her little brother, who hid in a dog-house.

After the Blackfoot were gone, the children came out of their hiding place, looked about and found that everyone was killed. The girl packed her belongings and set out with her brother to look for another Stoney band.

At sunset, the girl struck fire, and they lay down without any supper. The next morning the boy asked his sister to make a bow and arrows for him. She made two of the arrows with a blunt (?) point and strung the bow with sinew. Then they traveled all day again and went to bed supperless.

The boy grew perceptibly every day. He told his sister, "If I kill four rabbits, each of us will eat two." The girl agreed. The boy went off a little distance, found four rabbits in the brush, killed them, and brought them home. The girl asked how he had killed them, and he told her he had used the blunt (?) arrows. The girl skinned and roasted the rabbits. Then she said, "Let each of us eat one rabbit to-night and another in the morning." "No, each must eat two now, as I said." At last, the girl. agreed, and they ate up the rabbits.

In the morning the boy had grown again. "Sister," he said, "if I kill a moose, we'll have plenty of dry meat." He traveled some distance and shot a moose. He came home. "I have killed a big moose, but it is too heavy for me to turnover for skinning." The girl took her knife and helped him to skin it. Then he seized it by the legs and carried it to the fire. The next morning he had grown again. The boy made new arrows of larger size for himself, while the girl was preparing dried meat. Every day the orphan killed some game.

One night the boy began to sing, "Before we get up in the morning, I wish we had a new lodge with new furniture. What do you think?" His sister said she also desired a new lodge. In the morning the girl woke up first and found herself in a new, well-furnished lodge. She was very glad and roused her brother. Then she built a fire.

The boy said, "If I go hunting and some Indians carry you off in the meantime, what do you think of that?" She said, "Whatever you say, happens. Why do you speak like this?" The next morning he went to hunt, but did not kill any game. He stood on a hill, looking around until he got drowsy and fell asleep. In the meantime, some Indians came to the tent, stole their property and abducted the girl on horseback.

While the boy was sleeping, something spoke to him, saying, "People are stealing your sister and your lodge." He woke up and ran home as fast as he could. He was very angry. There was nothing left on the site of the lodge. He followed the enemy's tracks and from a ridge saw them traveling fast. He pursued them, but could not catch up; he only saw them from afar. Being exhausted, he called out, "I am weary; come, White-Horse-with-the-Black-Mane."

He walked on until he heard a voice behind. The white horse came singing. He jumped on it. It said, "Don't release my mane." Then it went as fast as a bird. When they got close to the enemy, he singled out his sister, took a blunt (?) arrow, pulled the bow-string three times, and the fourth time shot off the arrow, saying, "Pass around my sister." With two shots he killed all the people. He took his sister back.

She was crying, because the enemy had consumed all their provisions. "Don't cry, we'll get some more." He dismissed his horse and walked home with the girl. In the evening he said, "I wish to have a nice lodge at sunrise." The next morning they woke up in a fine lodge. He went hunting and killed some game. "Go, get that meat," he said to his sister. "How far is it? If it is very far, I won't be able to pack it." "Don't go to-day; wait until to-morrow, then I'll get you a horse to pack it on." In the morning the girl woke up and said, "Hurry up, get me the horse." The boy set out, found four horses by a spring, and brought them home. He gave two to the girl, and said, "When you pack this one, just tell him to go straight home." Thus he brought the meat back.

The boy was ashamed to be living alone with his sister. He said, "If any young man comes near when I am out to-morrow, bid him enter." He went away. The girl saw a young man by a nearby hillock and called him to her. They married. When the boy returned, he was glad to meet his brother-in-law, and presented him with all his property and his lodge.

The woman told her husband about her brother's doings. The young man had many friends whom he wished to see. "You had better come to my camp," he said to his wife and the orphan boy. "I'll get some more horses," replied the boy, and brought four pack-horses and three to ride on. His brother-in-law rode on ahead and told his father that he had found the orphans and had married the girl. He also told him about the boy's exploits. His father said, "Bring them here, I will give him my prettiest daughter."

Then the husband again invited his wife and his brother-in-law home. The woman asked her brother to marry her sister-in-law, and he was willing to do so. They arrived at the camp-circle, the old man as chief lodging in the center. The boy's brother-in-law gave him many fine presents. He gave him half of his horses. The orphan boy said, "I wish I had a new house in the morning," and the next day he had a fine lodge close to that of the chief.

2.
A young orphan boy was living with his sister. By his medicine he managed to kill beavers. In the winter he was in the habit of cutting the ice and putting his medicine in the water, then all the beavers would come out, and the boy caught them. Thus he obtained plenty of beaver-skins.

He would hear people trying to kill beavers, but they could not do it. When they gave up the attempt, he would go there and use his medicine, which he carried about his neck. Being very strong, he tied all the beavers to a sinew string and carried them home.

Once the other people tried to rob him, but he said, "Let me alone, these are my beavers." If they persisted, he seized their arms and broke them. He never told his sister where he went to hunt. When the people came back to camp with broken arms, the girl said, "You never told me about breaking their arms, you must set them again." The boy was paid well for treating the people. He just touched their arms, saying, "There is nothing wrong, "and they went home cured. All the people were afraid of him now.

One day, he said to the girl, " Perhaps a lot of people will come and carry you off together with our lodge." She asked, "Supposing they take me, what will you do?" "I will put a shell in the ground, go inside, and sing."

The people came and carried off the girl. They heard something within a shell. They tried to break it open by stamping on it, but only tore their feet. They tried to push it over, but could not do so. Then they just went away with the girl. The boy had two arrows. He shot them at the enemy, crying, "Avoid my sister!" The arrows killed everyone except the girl, whom her brother then took back again.

The boy went traveling. He heard a bear singing, "I am walking on the earth." The orphan sang, "I have met the stone." The bear heard him, and stopped singing. "What are you saying?" he asked. "I was not saying anything." "I want to know - what you were singing. How many times have you met the stone?" The bear was scared and fled, but the boy shot an arrow into his anus, splitting his back open and piercing his heart.

3.
An orphan boy and his sister were living together. The boy had a sinew string. During the daytime he was never home. "What do you do during the day? "his sister asked. "I am trying to ensnare the sun with my sinew."

One day he caught him and there was no day light. The girl asked, "What is the matter? Why is there no light?" "I have caught the sun." "You had better release him; if we don't see the daylight, we shall die."

The boy approached the sun, but it got too hot for him. He returned to his sister, and said, "I cannot free him, he is too hot." At last, he sent a small mouse to gnaw up the sinew. The mouse went close. All its hair was burnt up, nevertheless it gnawed the sinew in two. Then the sun was free, and there was daylight once more.

Thank you again for dropping by and taking a few minutes to read this Native American legend. I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on it Thank you and have a wonderful Thursday!

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

How Wisakatchekwa Got Into Some Trouble

Hi, dear friends and followers, thank you for dropping by. Today we visit the Illini people.

The Illini was quite a force in the territory of Illinois.  The map might not accurately show boundaries of any tribes in any given place because Native Americans had no borders or boundaries but it does show the degree of influence held by the Illini.

This was not a single tribe or people but was instead a confederation of peoples that included the Kaskaskia, the Cahokia, the Peoria, the Tamaroa, Moingwena, Michigamea, Albiui, Amonokoa, Chepoussa, Chinkoa, Coiracoentanon, Espeminkia, Maroa, Matchinkoa, Michibousa, Negawichi, and Tapouara.  At the time of European contact in the 17th century, they were believed to number over 10,000 people. They occupied a broad inverted triangle from modern-day Iowa to near the shores of Lake Michigan in modern Chicago, south to modern Arkansas.  By the mid-18th century, only five principal tribes remained—the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Peoria, and Tamaroa.

Wisakatchekwa (Wisaka) is the benevolent culture hero of the prairie Algonquian tribes (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.)  His name is spelled so many different ways partially because these tribes speak several different languages, and partially because they were originally unwritten (so English speakers just spelled it however it sounded to them at the time).

Wisaka is a trickster character whose adventures are often humorous.  Unlike Plains Indian tricksters, Wisaka is usually portrayed as a good friend of humankind, not a dangerous or destructive being.

The details of Wisaka's life vary somewhat from community to community. Most often he is said to have been directly created by the Great Spirit.  (Some Kickapoo communities in Mexico identify Wisaka as the son of the Great Spirit, though this may be an influence from Christianity.)  In other traditions, Wisaka is born of a virgin mother and raised by his Grandmother Earth.  In some stories Wisaka is said to have created the first humans out of mud, while in others, the Great Spirit created people modelled on Wisaka, who then became their Elder Brother.  In many tribal traditions, Wisaka has a younger brother named Chibiabos or Yapata, who was killed by water spirits and became the ruler of the dead.

How Wisakatchekwa Got Into Some Trouble

Two old blind men lived together and had plenty of game. They were far off by themselves, they had no cook, not anything. They did their own cooking. They had a guide rope to the river where they got their water.

This Wisakatchekwa was traveling through the country by himself and ran onto these old people. And he asked them if they wouldn't let him stay with them, that he might do the cooking.  So the old men told him he might stay, and he stayed there quite awhile.

He asked them how they got their game, them being blind and never anyone close, but the old men never told him how they got it. He finally got tired of staying with them.  Then he told them, "I guess I'll travel on," and the old people told him, "You may go."  And when he left, he changed the guide rope to go to the steep bank. 

So after he was gone, one of the old men told the other, "I believe I'll go and get a bucket of water."  And he went and never came back for a long time.  Finally, the other fellow was uneasy.  He went out.  He fell into the river like the other.  And they had hard work to get out.  And they said, "That's some of our crazy grandson's doings."

By that time, Wisakatchekwa was far out of the country.  The old men said to one another, "We can draw him back by smoking a pipe."  So they filled a pipe and began making long draws of smoke.  And that drew Wisakatchekwa back to the house.

 When he got close to the house, how was he going to get along with them, and what were they going to do with him?

He found that the door was wide open.  He walked in quietly, and finally the old men said, "I believe our grandson is in the house."  Then one said to the other, "I believe I can smell our grandson."  And the other said, "Suppose we cause the door to be closed?"  And the door was closed so that Wisakatchekwa could not open it himself. 

 Then each got a spear and tried to spear Wisakatchekwa; they kept going around inside the house.  Finally, they could hear him.  They got him worn out.  Finally they could hit pretty close to him, and he began to get scared, as he could not get out.  Finally he made himself known to them.  And the old men asked him why he changed the guide rope to the water.  And he told them he changed that for himself and that he forgot to put the guide rope where it belonged when he left.  So he begged them not to kill him, that he would do anything in the world for them.  Then the old men let him go. He stayed with them a while longer.

One day while he was out hunting, the old men talked to themselves about it, how they could get rid of him.  Finally one of them proposed how to get rid of him.  So when he came back, the old men told him they could get along without him if he was of a mind to travel. 

The old man told him how they got so much game.  He said, "I will tell you how we get this game, and you can do the same.  You can go to some big lake.  There you will find all kinds of fowls and so on.  You must prepare a lot of string to tie from your waist to each bird.  Then you dive into one end of the lake. Dive from one bird to another.  Tie them by their feet.  Then, when you get as many as you want, you come up in the middle of the lake.  And you tell them, "You birds cannot always live in that lake."

Wisakatchekwa did just what the old man had told him. When he attached himself to the birds with the string, they began to fly.  But instead of holding them down as the old man told him, they raised him out of the water.   He had so many birds of all kinds.  They carried him so many days.  He wondered how he ever could get down.  He had nothing to cut the strings with.  Finally he asked for the strings to be all broken, and the strings were all broken from the birds.

Then he came down.  He was up high when he was coming down.  He lit his pipe and smoked several times, and he could finally see the earth.  He began to wonder where he was going to fall, in deep water or in a deep hollow full of leaves.  Instead, he fell into a hollow tree, and he was in there several days and could not get out.

 Finally some people camped close by. Women were out hunting for dry wood.  They saw a big tree.  They imagined it was hollow.  They went there and began to pound on it, and they could hear something run up and down in the hollow tree.  They thought it might be a bear, and they cut a little hole, and sure enough they could see some black hair.  It was Wisakatchekwa's [body] hair. 

 Then the women went back to the camp and told the men that they thought they had found a bear in a hollow tree.  Then the men went out to prepare to kill the bear.  They cut the tree down, and before that tree began to fall,  Wisakatchekwa began to be frightened.   He began to talk to them, and when they cut the tree down, then he came out.  That was the only way he had a chance to get out.

(As told by George Washington Finley to Truman Michelson, 1916; after Knoepfle 1993. George Washington Finley (1858-1932) was the last full-blooded Piankashaw Indian. He was raised as a Peoria and was one of the last speakers of the Peoria language.)  

Thank you again for dropping by and taking a few minutes to read this Native American legend.  I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on it  Thank you and have a wonderful Thursday!

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Pandora's Enchantment Part 2

Hi dear friends and followers, thank you for dropping by, Today is Wednesday, poem day. I wish to present to you another Poem titled, Pandora's Enchantment. So take five and relax and have a read. Enjoy

Pandora's Enchantment Part 2

Click on link below to review Part 1

Pandora's Enchantment Part 1

A soft, green light drifted through the woods;

it illumined the grove

where the prince had slept.

A delicate hand brushed his sleeping cheek.

He awoke with a start and took to arms,

eyes open, feet solid, ready, he was,

for whatever it was that he saw as a threat.

But he was not ready for this adversary!

Before him stood, or rather, hovered in air,

three small beings, in a green glow bathed.

As their radiance faded,

they descended, softly,

to stand on the ground

before the dumbstruck prince.

Through his befogged mind

he heard them speak thus:

"We are emissaries of Queen Vare.

Our Queen has sent us

to intervene.

Please move quickly, your Highness!

The air here is charged

with the energy of

someone's dark and evil magic."

"If you will, your Highness,

please follow us."

The beings descended and walked before him

shaped as three swordsmen,

complete in all ways.

'twas only by stature

that they were enchanted.

To the prince's knee

their full height was!

Yea, small, but with swords

as lethal as any man has felt.

Swiftly they moved, and with agility,

in places where none save rabbits could go.

The passage was harder

for the much taller prince,

who, hacking his way where the others ran,

continued forward, sword in hand.

They fought with the woods

for an interminable time.

Until before them they saw

a lush, verdant valley;

the prince was in awe!.

Gentle slopes, laden

with blossoms so fair,

some with colors and aromas

he had ever experienced before.

The blooms bobbed lightly

in the warm, fair breeze,

their aroma filling the air,

transforming its very essence

into a sweetness such that

he felt he could drift away,

and stay in the ecstasy

of the pure divinity

of this strange land.

Suddenly, a shift in the wind

caught the three swordsmen

and the noble prince as well;

in a cloud of vapor it swallowed them up!

They rose in a spiral, and continued to rise

until all became still and the mist withdrew.

“This is not the green valley, the place so fair.

I have traveled to a place but I know not where!”

The prince and his companions

were afraid to move

as around them a heavy mist stood.

All around them was foliage,

lush, verdant, and green,

but not like the blossoms

they had earlier seen.

“Where on Earth can I be?,”

the Prince asked himself.

Intrepid, but prudent,

he waited in stealth

to see this place

upon which he had landed

and what sort of person

its people commanded.

The mist slowly parted;

he saw land's ragged edge.

As the mist drew back further,

the ocean beckoned to him.

It was there with whitecaps

and waves a-plenty,

but far below him!

Not just below,

as in a mountain or cliff,

but further below

than the eagles fly!

“I am having a dream,

or my mind is ill!” thought the Prince

as his visage fell.

Away from the land's end

the prince did fly.

He was on an island in the sky!

For a distance he walked

towards the island's center (he hoped!)

and saw a building of stone

with golden spires.

Solid and gleaming

it sat like a jewel.

The Prince prayed that its keeper

would bid him well.

To its massive doors he walked

and was received without their fear.

He was alien in their land,

just one against their many.

Inside the fortress-like structure,

he was guided to a room,

large and lighted softly,

not by candle or torch,

but with a soft light that seemed

to emit from its walls.

So strange was this place

he thought, “Magic, of course!”

He was led to a chair

and motioned to sit.

Upon taking his seat,

his swordsmen left him,

floating in the air,

just as they had come.

It felt like eternity

but they returned to the Prince

with a woman'like being,

clad in fine purple

and linen and gold.

Her face was thin, with almond eyes;

vibrant green, they were; they betrayed her not.

She floated to the room in a throne-like chair

with smaller beings, each a their own vibrant color,

servants hovering to her right and left.

A sweet sound, like that of songbirds, filled the air. 

“If there is a paradise, this must be it,”

the Prince thought.

He pinched himself to ascertain its reality,

the reality that he would sit afore,

the ancient, legendary Queen Vare,

Queen of the land of Nepenthe!

His mind had no image that 

this was where

the Wizard of Deluca's directions

had been for him to follow,

He had not truly believed

in the wizard's disclosure,

that such a place truly existed.

The Queen spoke,

and the room lit up

in soft, fluidic light;

colors flashing on the walls all around,

like to sunbeams reflected on the surface of a pond!

Birds sang their strange, enchanting melodies!

More smaller beings floated into the room,

from other places within the sky palace!

She tapped her staff once and all fell silent.

“Come forward, young prince.

I have been waiting for you.”

He stammered and said,

“Yes, and I have arrived, your honor;”

then clearly intoned, “I am at your service!”

He knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“My dear boy, if you wish to go back to your Kingdom,

it will not be without risk.

However, you have another choice:

you may live here, but never must you stray

for if you do, the curse will return.

Not just upon you,

but on your kingdome as well.”

“Here, I have an amulet which contains inside

the power to overcome Pandora and her pride.

But you must never look into her eyes.

Make that mistake and you shall pay

for eternity in Hades as her slave.

This will also free her from her childhood curse,”

The Queen stretched her long, slim arm

and placed the amulet gently into

the Prince's right hand.

Though the Queen had

some insect-like features,

her beauty, like her dominion,

was singular, unto herself.

Composed by Cynthia©

End of part 2, Part 3 will be announced in advance. 

Thank you again for dropping by and taking a few minutes to read my poem. I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on it, thank you and have a wonderful Wednesday.

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿