 Pictogram of Nanabozho on Mazinaw Rock,Bon Echo Provincial Park, Ontario | |
| Folklore | Ojibwe and otherFirst Nations |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | ᓇᓇᐳᔓ, Nanabush |
| Region | Southern Canada, and midwestern / Northern Plains United States |
Nanabozho (insyllabics:ᓇᓇᐳᔓ,[nɐˌnɐbʊˈʒʊ]), also known asNanabush,[1] is a spirit inAnishinaabeaadizookaan (traditional storytelling), particularly among theOjibwe. Nanabozho figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creation. Nanabozho is the Ojibwetrickster figure andculture hero (these two archetypes are often combined into a single figure inFirst Nations mythologies, among others).
Nanabozho can take the shape of male or female animals or humans in storytelling. Most commonly it is an animal such as a raven or coyote which lives near the tribe and which is cunning enough to make capture difficult.
Nanabozho is atrickster figure in many First Nation storytellings.[2] While the use of Nanabush through storytelling can be for entertainment, it is often used as a way to pass down information and general life lessons.[3]
As a trickster figure, it is often Nanabozho’s goal to create problems, which often highlight the struggles many Native people experience. According to Anishinaabe scholarLeanne Simpson, for instance, Nanabush often experiments with capitalistic means. They can be greedy, manipulative, and money driven. Because of their worldly desires, chaos often ensues. However, by developing deep relationships with others, Nanabozho becomes more balanced. Furthermore, as Nanabozho becomes more receptive to their surroundings, Nanabozho is able to create the ideal ofdecolonization through learned consent, recognition, and reciprocity. Therefore, the stories of Nanabush are used to guide people through life experiences and teach moral lessons.[4]
Nanabozho is a shapeshifter who is both zoomorphic as well asanthropomorphic, meaning that Nanabozho can take the shape of animals or humans in storytelling.[5] Thus Nanabush takes many different forms in storytelling, often changing depending on the tribe. The majority of storytelling depicts Nanabozho through a zoomorphic lens. In theArctic andsub-Arctic, the trickster is usually called Raven. Coyote is present in the area of California, Oregon, the inland plateau, the Great Basin, and the Southwest and Southern Plains. Rabbit or Hare is the trickster figure in the Southeast, and Spider is in the northern plains. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Jay are the trickster in parts of Canada. Often, Nanabozho takes the shape of these animals because of their frequent presence among tribes. The animals listed above have similar behavioral patterns. For example, they all live near human settlements and are very cunning, enough so as to be captured with great difficulty.[5]
Nanabozho is one of four sons from what some historical and religious scholars[who?] have interpreted as spirits of directions.[6] He has a human mother, and E-bangishimog ("In the West"), a spirit father.
Nanabozho most often appears in the shape of arabbit and is characterized as a trickster. In his rabbit form, he is calledMishaabooz ("Great rabbit" or "Hare") orGitchii-waabooz ("Big rabbit"). He was sent to Earth byGitche Manidoo to teach the Ojibwe. One of his first tasks was to name all the plants and animals. Nanabozho is considered to be the founder ofMidewiwin. He is the inventor of fishing andhieroglyphs. This historical figure is a shapeshifter and aco-creator of the world.[7][8] In this he is called Michabo Ovisaketchak ("the Great Hare who created the Earth").[9]
An Ojibwe legend describes Nanabozho's encounter with folkloric lumberjackPaul Bunyan.[10] Along Bunyan's path of deforestation, Nanabozho confronts Bunyan in Minnesota and implores him to leave the state without logging any more timber.[11] A fight ensues and they battle for forty days and forty nights. Nanabozho ends the fight by slapping Bunyan across the face with aRed Lakewalleye fish.[11] After this, Bunyan "stumbles, [and] Nanabozho pulls at Paul’s whiskers, making him promise to leave the area."[11] Unofficial sources add a portion in which Bunyan lands on his rear end at the end of the battle, creatingLake Bemidji with the shape of his buttocks.[12][13]
This story claims to explain why Bunyan is beardless and facing west inthe Lake Bemidji statue.[11] A Nanabozho statue is situated across the street from the aforementioned Bunyan statue.[14]
Among the eastern Algonquian peoples located north of the Abenaki areas, a similar character to Nanabozho existed calledTcakabesh in theAlgonquin language,Chikapash among the easternJames BayCrees,Chaakaapaas by theNaskapi,Tshakapesh in theInnu language andTcikapec in theAtikamekw language, changing to various animal forms to various human forms (adult to child) and to various mythical animals such as the Great Porcupine, or Big Skunk. He conquered or diminished these mythical animals to smaller size after killing or changing them with his trickery orshapeshifting. Among theMeskwaki,Wīsakehā serves a similar role, as doesWisakedjak among northern Algonquian peoples and for the Saulteaux in the Great Plains. The Lakota had a similar figure known as 'Iktomi.'[15][16][17][circular reference] The Abenaki-influenced Algonquin had a similar figure calledKanòjigàbe (Fiero spelling:Ganoozhigaabe; AbenakiGluskabe; EnglishGlooscap).
TheNanabozho name varies in theOjibwe language depending on whether it is presented with a first-person prefixn- (i.e.Nanabozho), third-person prefixw- (i.e.Wanabozho), or null-person prefixm- (i.e.Manabozho); the "Manabozho" form of the name is most commonly associated withMenominee language version of these stories. In addition, depending on the story and the narrator's role in telling the story, the name may be presented in its regular nominative form (with the finalo, i.e.Nanabozho) or in its vocative form (without the finalo, i.e.Nanabozh). Due to the way the twoo sounds, they are often each realized asoo (i.e.Nanaboozhoo). In some dialects,zh is realized asz. These variations allow for associating the name with the word for "rabbit(-)" (waabooz(o-)).
Due to the placement of word stress, determined by metrical rules that define a characteristiciambicmetrical foot, in which aweak syllable is followed by astrong syllable, in some dialects the weak syllable may be reduced to aschwa (ə), which may be recorded as eitheri ore (e.g.Winabozho orWenabozho if the first weak syllable is graphically shown,Nanabizho if the second weak syllable is graphically shown).
In addition, though the Fiero double-vowel system useszh, the same sound in other orthographies can be realized asj in the Algonquin system orš (orsh) in the Saulteaux-Cree system (e.g.Nanabozho v.Nanabojo). To this mix, depending on if the transcriber used French or English, the Anishinaabe name may be transcribed to fit the phonetic patterns of one of the two said languages (e.g. "Winnaboujou" and "Nanabijou": French rendering ofWinabozho andNanabizho respectively, or "Nanabush": English rendering ofNanabozh).
Like the transcription variations found among "Nanabozho," oftenMishaabooz is transcribed into French asMichabous and represented in English as Michabou. Additional name variations include "Winneboujou, Winabojo, Wenabozho, Wenaboozhoo, Waynaboozhoo, Wenebojo, Nanaboozhoo, Nanabojo, Nanabushu, Nanabush, Nanapush, Nenabush, Nenabozho, Nanabosho, Manabush, Manabozho, Manibozho, Nanahboozho, Minabozho, Manabus, Manibush, Manabozh, Manabozo, Manabozho, Manabusch, Manabush, Manabus, Menabosho, Nanaboojoo, Nanaboozhoo, Nanaboso, Nanabosho, Nenabuc, Amenapush, Ne-Naw-bo-zhoo, Kwi-wi-sens Nenaw-bo-zhoo [...] Michabo, Michabou, Michabous, Michaboo, Mishabo, Michabo, Misabos, Misabooz," and "Messou."[1]
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poemThe Song of Hiawatha (1855) is adapted from several Nanabozho stories, along with Longfellow's own inventions. However, the poem has little to do with the historical or legendaryHiawatha.
Nanabozho is featured, as "Nanabozo", in the form of a trickster rabbit in the Swissbandes dessinées seriesYakari, e.g.Yakari et Nanabozo (1978).
The novelMotorcycles and Sweetgrass, a novel byDrew Hayden Taylor, contains a contemporary depiction of Nanabozho.[18] Published in 2010, the trickster is portrayed as awhite man who charms his way into an Indigenous family living on theOtter Lake reserve.
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