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

The Universe of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg by Zhaawano Giizhik - 2014
Zhaawano Giizhik: Wiidigemaaganag (Niizhomaangwag) ("Life Partners/ Two Loons") pen and ink drawing (2003)
The quiet splashing of paddles slicing the tranquil, transparent
waters of a deep lake. The distant and melancholic call of a loon at
nightfall. These sounds sooth the Anishinaabe ear like no other
sound does. The lakes, however, are sometimes home of various
hazards in the form of the treacherous Nibiinaabekwe (Mermaid) who
with her sweet voice lures people into the waves, or families of Mishiibizhiwag, or Great
Horned Lynxes – sacred underwater spirits associated with copper (a sacred metal) and
whose occasional hissings and roaring caused by the violent slashing of their copper tails
disturb wind and water of lakes and rivers. These dreaded creatures, capable of travel by
means of underground rivers to appear in certain inland lakes, not only emerge on the
surface of these lakes, but also through dangerous and remote spots between the
surface and the underworld such as caves, crevices, or whirlpools.
Luckily, there are also less dangerous beings that live in or
around the lakes: these include the mischievous water
dwarfs called memegwesiwag and the friendly
bagwajininiwag, the little wild forest people, creators of
mystic glades in the woods, who are known to sometimes
inhabit the sandy beaches, emerging from their sanctuaries
on moonlit nights to dance in the shadows, warning
passers-by of the fearful Mermaid. And the shining lodges
of the mishiinimakinagoog, the turtle spirits, can be seen in
the summer evenings when the moon shines on their island habitat; Ojibwe and
Odaawaa fishermen, who steer their canoes near certain steep cliffs and jagged pinnacles
at night, occasionally hear their happy voices echo across the dark lake…
Inserted image: “Mishipashoo”’ (Mishibizhiw) by the late Norval Morrisseau (Copper Thunderbird) (ca. 1959)
The Universe of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg by Zhaawano Giizhik - 2014
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