As with all peoples through history, most Ojibwe would know of some myths, legends and tales explaining natural phenomena, ceremonies, life and death etc. However, the Ojibwe Grand Medicine Society or Midéwiwin kept many details secret of these explanations from the common people so as to confer belief, respect and wisdom to those with this knowledge. There are four different levels or degrees in the Midéwiwin of seniority and hence levels of details in the stories. The following origin description is from the highest or fourth level and contains a spirit or Manitou called Black Stone or Black Rock. It is told by the high midé shaman, Alec Everwind (b 1898) at the Red Lake Penemah village in Minnesota, translated and recorded in about 1960 and involves the trickster Manitou, Nehnehbush (or Nanabush), an important go between the highest spirit Gitche Manitou and man.
The frightening creature many call Big Foot takes on many names and thrives in some of the most remote places of the world. He is as old as the old stories and legends claim him to be, but evidence from the modern world have yet to capture him. Big Foot is known worldwide for terrorizing small local and secluded towns as it remains elusive in our back yard. This ape like being is a tall, hairy, and muscular creature that ranges from six to nine feet tall.
The term “bigfoot” was coined in 1958 when a bulldozer operation found the tracks while working. These tracks were discovered in Bluff Creek, California; moreover, this was the same location where the famous film of Bigfoot happened in 1967. This film has been researched for centuries and is still researched to this day to find out if it was real or faked. No matter what culture or country, the sasquatch was a tall, hairy, and foul-smelling creature that always disappeared when a human tried to further investigate. Bigfoot is believed to be a primitive human, a unevolved version of our kind.
The Navajo Origin legend is one of hundreds of other interpretations of how man originated. From Christianity to Buddhism most religions have a somewhat different interpretation. Often they Includes things from that particular religion. For example: In the Navajo Origin Legend they have things like buckskins and eagle feathers, these are all things that exist in native american culture. Also most of these tales tell a story that have similar events.
Extra Credit: Iroquois Legends and Myths: A psychotic Onondaga chief named Todadaho was a cannibal who ate from bowls made out of the skulls of his victims. He could kill with only a Medusa like look. After this two heroes entered, they were Deganawidah and he then encountered a violent, cannibalistic Onondagan chief. According to the legend, Deganawidah watched through a hole in the roof and in which he saw Todadaho preparing to cook his latest victim.
In the mid-seventeenth century the Meherrin Indians were living in North Carolina on the north side of the Meherrin River. The Meherrin Indians were affiliated with the Iroquois Indian Tribe. They spoke Iroquoian and were related to the Tuscarora and Nottoway. They also shared a government, language, and culture with the Tuscarora.
When the two sides come together, the argument boils down to one major point, should we “Free Willy?” Those who side with the whales, whether their reasons be emotional or defended with welfare standards, feel that the whales should be released back into the wild or into private coves3. The opposing side makes valid arguments against the release of the currently captive whales. Currently captive whales were either removed from the wild at a young age, albeit in a cruel way, or they were bred in captivity11. The point in discussing this issue is not to address the cruelty of taking an animal from the wild, or to argue whether or not breeding programs are successful or appropriate.
In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.
“The Abominable Snowman or yeti is very alike to Bigfoot”.(“Georgia Bigfoot Hoax Draws Global Attention”). The Bigfoot 6 feet to 15 feet tall, stands on two feet and moves very silently trying not to leave a trace. His footprints have been measured up to 24 inches in length and 8cm in width. This creature has been a legend for many years now, Roger Patterson at Bluff
Throughout history, many different people have wondered how life on Earth started. Different cultures came up with many different ideas on how life was created and used these ideas to create stories. Today we call these stories origin myths. The Native Americans had many different origin myths. Almost every tribe had their own individual story.
Since the beginning of time, animals have symbolized the strong and desirable traits, usually that they possess such as, strengths, purity, love, and wisdom. Since the Mesopotamian era, animals have been depicted in paintings statues, and stories. Many Gods and Goddess from mythology from every culture are represented by an animal, as well as half human half animal creatures. During the Medieval times, animals have been used to symbolize traits or meanings of a family name on their Coat of Arms. Native Americans use carvings of animals on their totems to represent their tribes, spirits, etc. As you can see Animal motifs have been around for a significantly long time.
Trickster tales are very common among the Winnebago cultures and well known by many Native Americans. Paul Radin did not originally hear these tales, but worked with a Winnebago man and a consultant named Sam Blowsnake. They worked together and translated the tales into writings in the
Here is some background on Skinwalkers. Skinwalkers are legendary cryptic Native American creatures, in the Navajo culture they are called Yeenaaldlooshi which translates to “Beings that travels on four legs” but they are known by many different names throughout the Native American culture. Skinwalkers are said to be found in the southwest mountains regions, many non believers think they are a myth or just folktales to scare children into behaving, the Navajo people take the skinwalker tale very seriously they believe that even the mention of skinwalkers can bring their attention towards them and bring bad luck. Skinwalkers are evil creatures that cause harm and sometimes even kill, even in the Navajo culture they are seen as a taboo because of the way they obtained their powers. What are Skinwalkers?
A ritual is a religious or solemn ceremony in which certain actions are performed according to a prescribed order; rituals are seen across all religions and cultures. Tibetan Buddhism, is a part of the practical philosophy of Buddhism, which was first taught by Prince Siddartha Guatama (The Buddha); The philosophy is over 2,500 years old and currently has 376 million adherents worldwide (BBC , 2014). A ritual that is evident in Tibetan Buddhist culture is the Sky Burial, which has been performed for centuries with the first rites being recorded in an indigenous Buddhist community in the 12th century. This ritual entails the deceased to be dismembered and fed to Sky Vultures (Danikis) in the rocky Tibetan Autonomous Region as the most common
Name : Chhon Phalla Room : Nokor Bachay (301) Supernatural Beliefs Cross-culturally For as long time age’s, we have been fascinated with the idea of other worlds and other creatures that are somehow 'supernatural'. All around us is the physical world and the reality of that world is something we deal with on a daily basis. But since the dawn of man we have been telling stories of something else, something 'other', which might take the form of ghosts, of demons, of aliens or of elves.
