In
AnishinaabeAnishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is a self-description often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonkin peoples, who all speak closely related Anishinabe/Anishinabe languages.The meaning of Anishnaabeg is "First-" or...
mythology, particularly among the
OjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They're equally divided between the United States and Canada...
,
Nanabozho is a spirit, and figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creation.
Nanabozho is the Ojibwe
tricksterIn mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
figure and
culture heroA culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group who changes the world through invention or discovery. A typical culture hero might be credited as the discoverer of fire, or agriculture, songs, tradition and religion, and is usually the most important legendary figure of a people,...
(these two archetypes are often combined into a single figure in
First NationsFirst Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada, who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 600 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread all across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia...
mythologies). He plays a similar role as the Saulteaux
Wiisagejaak (Cree
WisakedjakWisakedjak is the Crane Manitou found in northern Algonquian mythology, similar to the trickster god Nanabozho in Ojibwa aadizookaanan and Inktonme in Assiniboine myth...
)—eastern
James BayJames Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
CreeCree is one of the largest group of First Nations/Aboriginals in North America, located mainly across Canada and historically in the United States from Minnesota westward but are found today in Montana....
s call this figure 'Chikapash', who is said to be a shape shifter.
In
AnishinaabeAnishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is a self-description often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonkin peoples, who all speak closely related Anishinabe/Anishinabe languages.The meaning of Anishnaabeg is "First-" or...
mythology, particularly among the
OjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They're equally divided between the United States and Canada...
,
Nanabozho is a spirit, and figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creation.
Nanabozho is the Ojibwe
tricksterIn mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
figure and
culture heroA culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group who changes the world through invention or discovery. A typical culture hero might be credited as the discoverer of fire, or agriculture, songs, tradition and religion, and is usually the most important legendary figure of a people,...
(these two archetypes are often combined into a single figure in
First NationsFirst Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada, who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 600 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread all across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia...
mythologies). He plays a similar role as the Saulteaux
Wiisagejaak (Cree
WisakedjakWisakedjak is the Crane Manitou found in northern Algonquian mythology, similar to the trickster god Nanabozho in Ojibwa aadizookaanan and Inktonme in Assiniboine myth...
)—eastern
James BayJames Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
CreeCree is one of the largest group of First Nations/Aboriginals in North America, located mainly across Canada and historically in the United States from Minnesota westward but are found today in Montana....
s call this figure 'Chikapash', who is said to be a shape shifter. (He can change from various animal forms to various human forms (adult to child) and various mythical animals such as (the great big porcupine, or big skunk.) Chikapash conquered or diminished these mythical animals to smaller size after killing or changing them with his trickery or shape shifting.
The Algonquin had a similar figure called
Ganoozhigaabe (Abenaki Gluskabe). He was the son of
Wiininwaa ("Nourishment"), a human mother, and
E-bangishimog ("In the West"), a spirit father.
Nanabozho most often appears in the shape of a
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
and is characterized as a trickster. In his rabbit form, he is called
Mishaabooz ("Great rabbit" or "Hare") or
Chi-waabooz ("Big rabbit"). He was sent to Earth by
Gitchi Manitou to teach the Ojibwe. One of his first tasks was to name all the plants and animals.
Nanabozho is considered to be the founder of
MidewiwinThe Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of the aboriginal groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew and the practices of Midewiwin referred to as Mide...
. Like the Egyptian god
ThothThoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon, often depicted with the head of an Ibis. His feminine counterpart was Seshat. His chief shrine was at Khemennu, where he led the local pantheon, later renamed Hermopolis by the Greeks and Eshmûnên in Coptic...
, he is thought to be the inventor of fishing and hieroglyphs, and the creator of the earth.
Mishaabooz name variations
Like the transcription variations found among "Nanabozho," often
Mishaabooz is transcribed into French as
Michabous and represented in English as Michabou.
See also
- Aayaase
Aayaase is a character found in the Aadizookaan of the Anishinaabe peoples...
- Glooscap
Glooscap is a mythical culture hero, and "transformer" of the Wabanaki peoples...
- Naniboujou Club Lodge
The Naniboujou Club Lodge was built as part of an exclusive private club on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Cook County, Minnesota, about east of Grand Marais. Named after Nanabozho, a character from the Ojibwa traditional stories, the lodge's décor is influenced by native design...
- Winneboujou, Wisconsin
- Wisakedjak
Wisakedjak is the Crane Manitou found in northern Algonquian mythology, similar to the trickster god Nanabozho in Ojibwa aadizookaanan and Inktonme in Assiniboine myth...
- Maymaygwashi
External links