The Universe Of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg, an illustrated glossary by Zhaawano Giizhik*

The Universe of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg by Zhaawano Giizhik - 2014
Above illustrations: both paintings depict the amazing silhouette of the SLEEPING GIANT
at Animikii-Wiikwedong (Thunder Bay), situated in the northern part of Gichigami (Lake
superior); an island that according to a local Anishinaabe tradition is the petrified body of
Nanabozho (Wiinabozho*). Wiinabozho, who was truly fond of the Anishinaabeg, had
gifted them with a mine rich with waabishki-zhooniyaa asiniiwaabik (silver ore). GICHI-
MANIDOO, the Great Mystery, had warned the Anishinaabeg not to reveal its location to
strangers, or Wiinabozho would be turned to stone. Nevertheless, a canoe guide of the
Bwaanag (Dakota Nation) did disclose the secret, and the European intruders whom he
led to the mine (present-day Silver Islet) were drowned in a fierce storm that lashed the
bay that night. The next morning the horrified Anishinaabeg, who for many generations
had used the silver of the mine to craft jewelry and ornaments and tools that brought
them much material wealth, noticed that, where once used to be a wide opening to the
bay, now lied what appeared to be a sleeping figure of a giant. Nanabozho had been
turned into rock overnight…GICHI-MANIDOO’s warning had come true and Wiinabozho,
the beloved manidoo of the deep waters, had been turned to stone for eternity…
* Wiinabozho is also known by a variety of other names and spellings, including
Nanabozho, Nanabush, Wenabozho, Waynabozho, Winaboozhoo,
Manabozho, Nanabojo, and Nanabijou. According to some traditional sources,
Wiinabozho's grandmother Nookomis, who allegedly named him “Nanabozho”
(“Nanabozh” when she addressed him), used the particle "N-” to begin his name,
which means "my." Some Anishinaabe speakers, however, would normally drop
this endearment and use the more general prefixes W- (meaning “he”) or M- (a
null-person prefix). The name Manabozho, then, might possibly reflect the
concept or idea behind the Wiinabozho character. A fluent Ojibwe speaker telling a
Wiinabozho story or explaining something about Wiinabozho may refer to him as
Wiinabozho most of the time, but switch to calling him Nanabozho (or Nanabozh)
while narrating for his grandmother. Depending on the story and the narrator's role
in telling the story, the name may be presented in its regular nominative form
(Wenabozho/Wiinabozho or Manabozho or Nanabozho), or in its vocative form
(without the final o: Nanabozh).
The Universe of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg by Zhaawano Giizhik - 2014
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