Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...

mythology, Matshishkapeu ("The Farting God") is the most powerful spirit and is even more powerful than the

Caribou Master The Caribou Master, variously known as Kanipinikassikueu, Katipenimitak, Papakashtshishk, or Caribou Man is a powerful spirit in traditional Innu religion and mythology, an indigenous people of present-day Canada and Quebec Quebec ( ; )A ...

. He proved himself when the Caribou Master refused to give the Innu any

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

to eat. Matshishkapeu was so angry that he cursed the Caribou Master with a painful case of

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

. Finally, the Caribou Master relented, and Matshishkapeu then cured him of his ailment.

References

* B. C. Goddard, "''Rangifer'' and Man: An ancient relationship", ''in'' Proc. Ninth Workshop North American Caribou, edd. S. Coutourier and Q. van Ginhoven, Kuujjuac, Quebec, 2003. '' Rangifer'' special volume 14, pp. 15–28 Deities and spirits Flatulence in popular culture Innu culture Algonquian mythology {{NorthAm-myth-stub