The baykok (or pau'guk, paguk, baguck; ''bakaak'' in the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

and ''pakàk'' in the

Algonquin language Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian languages, Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe language dialects, Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alon ...

) is a

malevolent spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the ghost, spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial o ...

from the

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

of the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

y nation.

In traditional culture

The Baykok is a character from the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

''aadizookaan'' (traditional stories). It is said to fly through the forests of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

region. The cries of Baykok are also described as being shrill. Described as "Death" in ''

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his lo ...

'', it is said to appear as an extremely emaciated

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

-like figure, with thin translucent skin and glowing red points for eyes. The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim. Baykok was also said to approach a sleeping hunter, gently cut an opening in the chest and remove a piece of the stomach, without waking the victim. The word ''bakaak'' in the

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algon ...

means "skeleton" in the sense of "bones draped in skin" rather than "bare-bones", such that it lends itself to words like ''bakaakadozo'', meaning "to be thin/skinny/poor", and ''bakaakadwengwe'', meaning "to have a lean/thin face". The name ''Bakaak'' occasionally appears as ''Bekaak'' (reflected in English as "Baykok"), which may be a shortening of ''bekaakadwaabewizid'', meaning "an extremely thin being". The description of ''Bakaaks shrill cries (''bagakwewewin'', literally meaning "clear/distinct cries") is a pun of its name. The method the ''Bakaak'' uses to subdue its victim is another pun of its name: the word for "to beat using a club" is ''baagaakwaa'ige''. A similar construct is found in the name for the basketry splints called ''baagaako'igan'', prepared by pounding

black ash Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Acer negundo'', native to North America * ''Fraxinus nigra ''Fraxinus nigra'', or the black ash, is a species of ash native to much of eastern Canada and the northeastern United ...

. Yet another pun on the name is the way the ''Bakaak'' "flings its victim's chest open" (''baakaakwaakiganezh'') to devour the victim's liver.

In popular culture

First introduced to the non-Anishinaabe public through ''

'', the baykok is occasionally referenced in modern fiction. Elliot James' novel ''Daring'' features a bakaak which hunts werewolves. The Bakaak is depicted as a race of primordial homonins that preyed upon early humans in Gemma Files's short story ''Grave Goods''. The Baykok also appears in the Japanese franchise of role-playing games ''

Megami Tensei ''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...

'', in the first two installments of the Shin Megami Tensei series as a demon enemy. Baykok is depicted in the Minecraft mod Totemic, where it is a skeleton boss with high health and a powerful bow that fires invisible arrows, and must be summoned using a ritual. The Baykok is a variety of undead creature in the Pathfinder RPG.

External links

List of words found in ''The Song of Hiawatha''

References

{{Reflist * Cuoq, Jean André. 1886. ''Lexique de la Langue Algonquine''. Montréal: J. Chapleau & Fils. * Johnston, Basil. 2001. ''The Manitous: the spiritual world of the Ojibway''. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. * Nichols, John D. and Earl Nyholm. 1995. ''A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Ojibwe legendary creatures Native American demons Undead

In traditional culture

In popular culture

See also

External links

References