Abenaki Mythology
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Abenaki Mythology
The Abenaki people are an indigenous peoples of the Americas located in the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands region. Their religious beliefs are part of the ''Midewiwin'' tradition, with ceremonies led by shamanism, medicine keepers, called ''Medeoulin'' or ''Mdawinno''. Creation In Abenaki mythology the highest deity is Gici Niwaskw, also referred to by the titles of Tabaldak or Dabaldak, meaning Lord, and Niwaskowôgan, meaning Great Spirit. According to the creation myth, there existed no sound or color prior until Gici Niwaskw desired it and began the process of creating the world. To do so he called forth a giant turtle, called Tolba, from the Cosmic ocean, primordial waters, crafting the land on top of Tolba’s shell and the clouds above that. After this creation the Great Spirit fell asleep and began to dream of every creature and plant to ever exist, waking to discover that his dreams had become reality as he had slept. Thus the ne ...
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Atosis
Atosis or Kci-Athussos is a mythological being from Abenaki and Algonquian folklore in northeastern North America. It is a large, swimming snake. In one legend, Atosis had once been a human man but became a snake later. He fights the hero Glooskap but never manages to kill him. In one of the stories, Atosis captures Glooskap's brother, Abistanooch the marten. Glooskap tells Abistanooch how to trick Atosis, and they defeat him together. In another story, a woman has fallen in love with the snake, and she lures her husbands, one after the other, to the water for the snake to eat. In another, the woman falls in love with the snake but does not kill her husband or harm anyone. Maine writer Christopher Packard numbers Champ, the cryptid of Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The citi ...
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Eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila (bird), Aquila''. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found—two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia. Eagles are not a natural group but denote essentially any kind of bird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall) vertebrates. Etymology The word "eagle" is borrowed into English from and , both derived ultimately from ("eagle"). It is cognate with terms such as , and . It is broadly synonymous with the less common English term "erne" or "earn", deriving from , from , in which it acts as the usual word for the bird. The Old English term is turn derived from and is cognate with other synonymous ...
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Human Cannibalism
Human cannibalism is the act or practice of Human, humans eating the Meat, flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended into zoology to describe animals consuming parts of individuals of the same species as food. Early modern human, Anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals, and ''Homo antecessor'' are known to have practised cannibalism to some extent in the Pleistocene. Cannibalism was occasionally practised in Egypt during ancient Egypt, ancient and Roman Egypt, Roman times, as well as later during severe famines. The Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles, whose name is the origin of the word ''cannibal'', acquired a long-standing reputation as eaters of human flesh, reconfirmed when their legends were recorded in the 17th century. Some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture. Reports describing cannib ...
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Kee-wakw
According to the folklore of the Abenaki tribe of the north-eastern United States, a Kee-wakw or ''Giwakwa'' was a giant, cannibalistic, half-animal half-human creature that inhabited the forests and woodlands of the area of present-day New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ... during ancient times. Most legends describe them as former humans whose hearts turned to ice due to either possession by an evil spirit or commission of some dreadful crime, such as cannibalism or allowing a person to starve but he doesn't feel regret for his crimes, he only feels hunger, that is all he is able to feel. Other Abenaki legends speak of ''Asinikiwakw'', who were not transformed humans but man-eating stone giants, who were defeated by the culture hero Gluskabe. References ...
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Trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and defy conventional behavior. Mythology Tricksters, as archetypal characters, appear in the myths of many different cultures. Lewis Hyde describes the trickster as a "boundary-crosser".Hyde, Lewis. ''Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. The trickster crosses and often breaks both physical and societal rules: Tricksters "violate principles of social and natural order, playfully disrupting normal life and then re-establishing it on a new basis." Often, this bending and breaking of rules takes the form of tricks and thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both. The trickster openly questions, disrupts and mocks authority. Many cultures have ta ...
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Wolverine
The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself. The wolverine is found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern Taiga, boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest numbers in Northern Canada, the U.S. state of Alaska, the mainland Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia. Its population has steadily declined since the 19th century owing to trapping, range reduction and habitat fragmentation. The wolverine is now essentially absent from the southern end of its range in both Europe and North America. Naming The wolverine's questionable reputation as an insa ...
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Raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of . Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur, which insulates it against cold weather. The animal's most distinctive features include its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are common themes in the mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas surrounding the species. The raccoon is noted for its animal cognition, intelligence, and studies show that it can remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates. The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, mixed ...
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Azeban
Azeban (also spelled Azban, Asban or Azaban), or "the Raccoon," is a lower-level trickster spirit in Abenaki mythology. The traditional homeland of the Abenaki is Wobanakik (''Place of the Dawn''), what is now called northern New England, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Azeban is a raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ..., the Abenaki trickster figure. Pronounced ah-zuh-bahn. Azeban does many foolish and/or mischievous things in Abenaki folktales, but unlike animal tricksters in some other tribes, is not dangerous or malevolent. Azeban deceives animals and other beings for food or other services. There is an Abenaki story where a woman names her six dogs after their characteristics. She named one of the dogs Azeban. This woman Cedar Girl of th ...
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