Stories and Teachings From the Earth, part 16: Who Was It Who Gave Us Our Language?
- zhaawano
- May 24, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: May 31
Namebine-giizis (Suckerfish Moon)/Zaagibagaa-giizis (Budding Moon) - May 24, 2024
Boozhoo! Hello! Biindigen miinawaa, welcome once again to my Storytelling Lodge, a place filled with love and learning!
What is happening to Anishinaabemowin, our beloved language? Initially an oral language based on sounds and the idea of nisidotan – comprehension through listening – it has evolved into a written language shaped by European ideas and structured around English grammar rules.
Before colonization led many of us to lose touch with our ceremonies and the land, Anishinaabemowin was a language deeply connected to manidoo, the spirit, and aki, the earth. A central concept was akinomaagewin: learning from the land. "Aki" means earth, and "nomaage" means to follow her guidance. To communicate with aki, we needed to use the language of manidoog (spirits). The spirit Wenabozho provided us with this language by naming everything as he traversed the land after its recreation. But where is Wenabozho today?
Anishinaabemowin has turned into a format language because we've lost the ability to listen. I mean, genuinely listen.
Many strings of lives ago ago, when the land, shaped like a turtle shell, reemerged after a great flood, Wenabozho, the kind spirit-human, traveled across the turtle island and named everything in nature. As he journeyed, he became familiar with everything, including the mountains, rivers, lakes, trees, plants, animals, insects, birds, and fish. Wenabozho fully immersed himself in each creation, experiencing multiple existences simultaneously. He could do this because, as a shapeshifter, his supernatural abilities freed him from the physical confines of the human body. By naming everything in nature, Wenabozho gave us gidinwewininaan, our richly descriptive language. Thanks to Wenabozho, Ojibwemowin is a language of aki, the land, emphasizing action, relationship, unity, and connection. Ojibwemowin, unlike English, is a verb-action-based language, with over 4,000 verb forms; approximately 80% of Ojibwe words are verbs, whereas 60% of English words are nouns.
For instance, the Ojibwe term for fog is awan. In English, "fog" is a noun, but this isn't the case in the Ojibwe language. When Wenabozho walked the newly formed land, he observed fog rising over the lake and remarked, "This one is being foggy." Thus, the word for fog is understood as "The one that is being foggy." The Ojibwe word for fog, an action-based verb, reminds us of Wenabozho's actions as he walked the land, naming what he saw. Even today, although we have adopted European practices like dividing time into years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds, we use verb-based words for – for instance – weekdays. Niizho-giizhigad noongom (“Today is Tuesday”) signifies Tuesday as the second day of the week. It literally translates to, “Today it is Two-daying.”
The influence of Wenabozho's actions on the action-oriented language of Anishinaabemowin is most evident in the names he assigned to the four directions and the moons (months). Wherever Wenabozho walked, there was manidoo, or energy in motion. Just as Wenabozho did when he traversed the land, we observe the world around us filled with manidoo, constantly evolving, much like life itself. This manidoo, which Wenabozho invoked by moving across the land, continues to resonate in our language, teachings, and ceremonies. Our culture, teachings, ceremonies, and our cosmic perspective on life are all naturally and intrinsically embedded within our language!
Since Wenabozho originally came from the Morning Star, it is easy to envision him entering aki (the earth) through the eastern door. When Wenabozho walked through the eastern door at dawn, he remarked, "gashkii giizhigad: 'day is enclosing the sky.'" This was his way of saying, "the sky is becoming light." As darkness fell and a full moon rose, Wenabozho observed a hard crust on the snow. "Onaabanad," he said, "there is crusty snow. I will call this moon Onaabani-giizis: 'Crusty Snow Moon' (March)." When the sky brightened again, he declared: "Waabanong will be the name for the East: 'Where it is dawn.' Waabanong is where the spirit of spring resides, who, as the earth awakens and the snow becomes crusty and the ice on the lakes and rivers thaws, pours the first warm weather over the land, rivers, and lakes. 'Waaban' and 'Ziigwan' are related spirits symbolizing youth and creation; the first initiates each new day, while the second embodies the power of a seed beginning full life cycles from birth to death and regeneration. 'Ziigwan' will be the name of this powerful spirit in the East, 'The One That Is Pouring.'"
Therefore, Ziigwan, The One That Is Pouring, was the initial manidoo positioned in the cardinal directions.
Continuing his journey following the sun, Wenabozho reached a warm area filled with flowers and the sounds of birds. The sun, positioned high in the clear sky, was directly above. "This place, which I will call 'Zhaawanong' or 'In the South,' is where the spirit of summer resides," Wenabozho declared, and the name of this spirit, which represents mid-day and youth growing into maturity, will be 'niibin': 'The One That Is Summer.'" As night descended over Zhaawanong, a full moon rose, casting her silver glow over a vast field of blooming flowers. Wenabozho remarked: "Seeing flowers stretch as far as the eye can reach, I shall name this moon Waabigonii-giizis: 'It Is Blooming Moon.'"
Thus, Niibin, 'The One That Is Summer,' was the second manidoo that he placed in the cardinal directions.
The following morning, Wenabozho resumed his journey. As he traced the Sun's path across the southern sky, he traversed numerous mountains. During his travels, a full moon appeared, and he observed the leaves on the trees changing color. He remarked, "'waatebagaa': 'there are bright leaves.' Waatebagaawi giizis will be the name I give to this moon (September)." Eventually, he arrived at a vast sea and, standing on the shore, he watched as the yellow sun transformed into a fiery ball that gradually descended beyond the horizon. "I will call this place 'Bangishimog,' or 'Toward The One Who Sets,' where the spirit of autumn resides," he declared, "and the name of this spirit, symbolizing the end of the day and the final phase of all life, will be 'Binaakwii': The One That Has Its Leaves Fall.'"
Thus, Binaakwii, 'The One That Has Its Leaves Fall,' was the third manidoo that he placed in the cardinal directions.
When the sun rose in the East, Wenabozho resumed his journey. After walking for many days, he reached a cold region where the plants were dormant, and the spirits were hungry. "Hoowah," he thought, "Nigiiwe, 'I am coming home.'" This was his way of expressing that his mission of placing and naming everything in Creation was complete. Realizing his feet were cold, he exclaimed: "Tayaa! Mishkwaakwadin! (Oh boy! It is freezing all the way through to the ground!)" As darkness fell and a full moon appeared, Wenabozho, still shivering, declared, "I will name this moon 'Baashkaakodin-Giizis': It Is Freezing Moon (November). This is where biboon, the spirit of winter, resides. I wish for the great ice sheets that cover this land to return to their original home. * I will name this direction, which symbolizes remembrance, purification, and wisdom, Giiwedinong, 'Place of the Returning Home Wind.'"
Thus, Giiwedin, 'The Wind That Returns Home,' was the fourth manidoo that Wenabozho placed in the cardinal directions...
So, Wenabozho traversed the land, naming the four spirits and the four moons that rule our existence. This event signified the start of our beautiful language and the perspective we once held of the world.
Giiwenh. So goes the teaching story... Miigwech gibizindaw noongom. Thank you for listening today. Giga-waabamin wayiiba, I look forward to seeing you again soon!
*"The great ice sheets that cover this land will return to their origins" refers to the conclusion of the last ice age, when glaciers moved northward, leaving the Canadian Shield and Great Lakes largely free of ice.
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