The Traditional Anishinaabe World View.pdf

The Universe of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg by Zhaawano Giizhik - 2014
NANABOZHO: the original
name of Wiinabozho,
undoubtedly the most
prominent and beloved
aadizookaan of the Ojibwe
Anishinaabe Peoples. An
aadizookaan is a spirit
grandfather, a muse, and a
protagonist of sacred
stories.
Traditionally, Wiinabozho, or
Nanabozho* stories are told
during long winter nights by
the old ones to the young.
Wiinabozho, son of
Wiininwaa, a mortal
woman, and the Spirit of the
West and grandson of
Nookomis (his
grandmother on earth), is
(sometimes) called
Wiisagejaak (Crane Spirit)
by the Nakawēk
(Northwestern Ojibweg), the
Anishininiwak (Oji-Cree),
and their neighbors to the
north, the Cree.
Illustration: Wiinabozho, detail of
the digipainting “Wiinabozho And
The Storyteller’s Mirror” by
Zhaawano Giizhik. Click on image
to see details.
Wiinabozho is associated
with rabbits or hare and is
sometimes referred to as
the Great Hare (Misabooz),
although he is rarely
depicted as taking the
physical form of a rabbit ort
hare. He is the benefactor of
the Anishinaabeg who helps
little children, the poor, and
the weak. But he is also
known as the first man who
walked the earth and the
mighty creator and namegiver
of plants, animals, and
the geography of the
landscape as the
Anishinaabeg know it. And
he is many other things: a
shape shifter who can
change from various animal
forms to various human
The Universe of The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg by Zhaawano Giizhik - 2014
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