Baashkaakodin-giizis / Gashkadino-giizis (Freezing Moon/ Freezing Over Moon) (November 17, 2024)
CHAPTER 1: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BLUEBERRIES
Once upon a time, many strings of lives ago, at the mouth of a great river in the heart of Anishinaabewaki, ¹ the miinagaawanzhiig, or lowbush blueberries, were the most numerous of all the berries. The deep purple brilliance of these berries used to be unrivaled; so beautiful were the blueberries to the spirit and senses of the Anishinaabeg Peoples that they held them in high regard.
Needless to say, the blueberries were the favorite forest nibble of the makade-makwag, the black bears. Since it was believed that bears capture the essence of mino-bimaadiziwin – a good and wholesome life – thus symbolizing transformation and renewal, the Anishinaabeg traditionally offered the fruit of the blueberry bushes in combination with purification and healing rituals, such as those performed in the sweat lodge.
However, over time the sweet tasting blueberries, which flourished by the myriads along the shorelines of the lake and the river branches, became so common that tayaa! the Anishinaabeg forgot to mark their remarkable flavor and nutritious and medicinal qualities and their wild and juicy taste! Ehn, they even became blind to the dazzling deep blue color of the berries and the profuse white blooms that had pleases the eye of many generations before them!
The blueberries lost their charm to the Anishinaabeg; before long even the men and women of the Medicine Lodges stopped using them in their sacred ceremonies!
The Anishinaabeg seemed to have taken the blueberries for granted!
Geget, the People of the Great River Mouth, who were once the wisest of all Anishinaabe Peoples, seemed to have taken over the ways of the European Invaders. Many had begun to close their eyes to the original Teachings and to the age-old concept of circular dependency, that delicate fabric of the web that the Great Mystery had woven between plant, animal, and man...with truly dire consequences...
And this is why, when the miinagaawanzhiig started to decline in number and the richness and brilliance of their flowers and fruit diminished, almost no one seemed to care, almost no one deemed it necessary to become alarmed. After all, why should they be concerned? Was the cycle of scarcity and abundance not just a part of the natural order of things, a logical development in the process of bimaadiziwin, life itself? Was the natural cycle of decay and regeneration not something that applied to their relatives, the blueberries as well? Yet tayaa! Woe betided the Anishinaabeg! It was by reasoning like this, that they began to overlook the fragile nature of the balance that exists between all living things in general. Nor did they fully understand that the Pale-faced Outsiders who lived across the lake and who had come to their country and introduced the concepts of ego, greed, and immoderacy had already invaded and poisoned their thoughts and actions!
Geget, the People of the Great River Mouth, who were once the wisest of all Anishinaabe Peoples, seemed to have taken over the ways of the European Invaders. Many had begun to close their eyes to the original Teachings and to the age-old concept of circular dependency, that delicate fabric of the web that the Great Mystery had woven between plant, animal, and man...with truly dire consequences...
This particularly made poor Wenabozho, the great Hare shapeshifter and beloved trickster hero of the Anishinaabeg People, who made it a sport to annoy berry picking bears by encroaching upon them and stealing the berries right under their noses, then run away fast indulging in the juicy fruit, suffer from emotional distress...
So, it happened that not before long the deer, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, mice, opossums, skunks, bluebirds, doves, cardinals, catbirds, mockingbirds, wild turkeys, and even the robins started to become affected by the scarcity of the miinagaawanzhiig that once had covered the earth as far as the eye could see, their fatness decreasing and their bellies screaming for food. Although the Anishinaabeg of the Great River Mouth vaguely sensed that something was not quite right – the fur of makwa, the bear, became less rich and its meat tasted less sweet than it used to – it were our smart relatives the foxes who were the first to be alarmed, and, naturally, in the longer term the other animals and birds and finally the bears themselves, since they too depended on the nutritious berries.
Eventually, one summer there were no blueberries to be seen anywhere! This particularly made poor Wenabozho, the great Hare shapeshifter and beloved trickster hero of the Anishinaabeg People, who made it a sport to annoy berry picking bears by encroaching upon them and stealing the berries right under their noses, then run away fast indulging in the juicy fruit, suffer from emotional distress...
As soon as summer ended and winter approached, the Anishinaabeg of the Great River Mouth, as many of their small animal relatives had almost become extinct and the makade-makwag (black bears) were all hide and bone and too skinny and weak to follow their yearly pattern of hibernation, finally started to worry and even to despair, and at last, everyone became alarmed and – since such is human nature – started to blame each other. So, it was in the time of year called waagaabagaa-giizis, ² which would soon become known as The Autumn of the Disappearance of the Blueberries, when more and more conflicts were reported and famine and desperation were at its highest, that a meeting was called.
CHAPTER 2: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE SUN
During the meeting a young warrior named Makwa stepped into the circle. "Aaniin nisayedog ashi nimisedog gaye! (Hello brothers, and you too sisters!) Like you, I am worried about the extinction of our relatives, the blueberries because they are becoming scarcer by the day and my People, as well as the deer and many of our little relatives, the winged ones included, are starving! It is my belief that we all are to blame. We have taken over the greedy ways of the White Invaders. We stopped attending our ceremonies and do not listen to our wise Elders anymore. Instead of regarding Mother Earth as a living being, we now see everything she produces and gifts to us as a commodity. This mistaken perception has become the foundation of our spiritual and health-related ills. I believe it is our conceit and immoderacy that made the blueberries decline in number and plunged us all into sickness and starvation. But it is not too late to turn the tide. What do you suggest we can do to help bring the blueberries back?"
Makwa had hardly finished his sentence when the crowd started a furious uproar! A lot of lip-pointing and name-calling went on that day! There was truly no shortage of wild accusations and public scapegoating!
Then, pointing his finger at the members of the Marten, Wolf, and Hawk clans present that day, he shouted: "THEY ARE EATING THE BLUEBERRIES!"
But then, tayaa, suddenly, in full daylight, a shadow began to creep over the face of Grandfather Sun. The day was turning into night! A dark blanket covered the universe, stirring panic among the Anishinaabeg! "Makadewaabikizi a’aw giizis! (the Sun has turned black!)" a man in the crowd shouted. Some people turned away their faces in horror, others gazed at the eclipse in awe and wonderment. The earth stood still! The phenomenon provoked wonder and dread, and people worried about what it might foretell.
Then, suddenly, the loud voice of a man named Makadewaagosh (Black Fox), a member of the notorious Bear Walker Society, ³ broke the ominous silence: "Bizindoshin! Listen to me! will tell you who made the Sun disappear! It is the same bad people who are to blame for the disappearance of the blueberries! It was the Outsiders from other tribes, those bad people who were adopted in our Marten and Wolf and Hawk clans, who did it!
Then, pointing his finger at the members of the Marten, Wolf, and Hawk clans present that day, he shouted: "THEY ARE EATING THE BLUEBERRIES!"
Next, pointing his chin at Makwa, he shouted, his voice filled with contempt: "It was Makwa who invited them in. It is he who is responsible for the blackening of the Sun and the disappearance of the blueberries! But do not fret! I am the right man to make things right and punish the bad people and their accomplices! If you give me the mandate to be your leader, I will fix that! But first, I will make the Sun reappear!"
He hadn't finished speaking yet when with a flash of light, the Sun started to reappear and light gradually returned to the earth. An ominous silence had followed the revelation by Makadewaagosh, but, now the sunlight had reappeared, the latter seized the moment to utter more insinuations and threats. Within only a few blinks of the eye the uproar rose again like a thunderstorm in spring. A group of young men, incited by Makadewaagosh's inflammatory language and encouraged by shrill whoops of the women, seized the poor adoptees who were present that day and started to beat them up. Despite Makwa’s attempts to intervene, many Marten and Wolf and Hawk clan members were assaulted that day! When the assembly finally broke up and the people returned to their wiigiwaaman, the ground was soaked with the blood of innocent people...
From that day on, everything changed. Instead of listening to Makwa, the majority of Anishinaabeg chose Makadewaagosh as their war leader, whom they followed blindly! What they did not realize right away, though, was that Makadewaagosh was possessed by a wiindigoo – a cannibal spirit from the north! ⁴ Prior to his election as ogimaa that day, some observant people already suspected he was a bear walker possessed by the spirit of a cannibal, but now that he was elected by his People to be their leader, his true nature became increasingly more unveiled. But so many people, blind and deaf to his flaws, followed him that it was too late to stop him and his murderous plans; the moderate voices were too weak to be heard above his aggressive and polarizing rhetoric.
CHAPTER 3: MORNING DOE
One night, Waaban-oniijaani (Morning Doe), a young mother of two children and wife to Makwa, woke up to remote human screams of mortal agony drowning out the howling wind, and decided she could not take it anymore. Consumed by feelings that could best be described as a mix of shock, mourning, and panic, Waaban-oniijaani pulled aside the door flap and swiftly stepped out of her wiigiwaam. Making sure no one saw her, she left the village. Defying the howling wind she walked with quick steps toward the lake where ookomisan (her grandmother) lived a secluded life away from the summer village. Above the wind the tremor of a far-off rattle, sinking, swelling, reached Waaban-oniijaani's ears. By the time she approached the shore, the wind had lied down completely and a grove of cedars and cottonwood poplars, bathing in the silver light of the full moon, stood motionless on the lakefront. The sound of the rattle swelled in the quiet of the night. That, and smoke rising from behind the trees, indicated to her that ookomisan was at home. Waaban-oniijaani could hear her high-pitched voice echo across the lake...
Grandmother sat at a fire in front of her wiigiwaam. The moon shone white and bright, illuminating her long, unbraided hair into a glowing halo of silver. Carefully she put her rattle down on the blanket she sat on. Her wrinkled face smoothed as her lively almond eyes smiled at her granddaughter. “Biindigen, noozis, welcome my grandchild. I expected you. Have a seat and tell me what bothers you.”
Above the wind the tremor of a far-off rattle, sinking, swelling, reached Waaban-oniijaani's ears. By the time she approached the shore, the wind had lied down completely and a grove of cedar and cottonwood poplar trees, bathing in the silver light of the full moon, stood motionless on the lakefront.
Waaban-oniijaani sat across grandmother. With a shudder she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders. Staring into the fire she started to speak. "Nooko, Grandmother, I come to you with great sorrow in my heart. We live in times of terrible danger. The bleak wind of change that blows across the land affects our People’s lives in an extremely negative and unbalanced way. The people in our village live in darkness, and I am afraid of what is about to come. The wiindigoo chief has poisoned us with his false religion. He made our People believe that the famine among us is caused by those who came from outside and have been adopted into our tribe…he calls them “the enemy within.” By blindly following this man, my people have failed our Mother Earth, failed humanity, and fooled themselves into an unbalanced state of mind and spirit.... Now, a black cloud hovers over our wiigiwaam. Even my own family has been labeled as “enemy within!” My husband Makwa is angry and talks of resistance and taking up his weapons against his fellow tribesmen who shun away from our family, even threaten to banish us from the village under threat of death. There is so much anger and confusion in the hearts of our people. When I look around, I see brothers fighting brothers. Some, encouraged by the wiindigoo ogimaa, have even begun to kill and eat the immigrants and even the old, the weak, and even the disabled of our tribe are being outlawed. I see fear in my children's eyes and my heart is filled with sorrow and despair..."
“We live in a time and a place where spirits get eaten. It is therefore important to understand that you must protect your spirit against those who try to take it away from you. Do not let fear and despair consume your thoughts and your life. Do not allow bitterness to fill your heart. Our people are not bad. Like everyone else they want confidence, they want freedom, they want a normal life. They wish their bellies to be filled with berries, fish, and deer meat and they, like you, strive for a prosperous and carefree future for their children and grandchildren. But you see, noozis, empty stomachs lead to poor judgement."
Grandmother was silent for a moment as she placed a twig on the fire. Then she started to speak, slowly and thoughtfully. “We live in a time and a place where spirits get eaten, noozis. ⁵ It is therefore important to understand that you must protect your spirit against those who try to take it away from you. Do not let fear and despair consume your thoughts and your life. Do not allow bitterness to fill your heart. Our people are not bad. Like everyone else they want confidence, they want freedom, they want a normal life. They wish their bellies to be filled with berries, fish, and deer meat and they, like you, strive for a prosperous and carefree future for their children and grandchildren. But you see, noozis, empty stomachs lead to poor judgement. So now our people have put their faith in the wiindigoo bear walker from within our own ranks, an evil man and a false prophet who only thinks of himself and who misled our people with his lies and poisoned their hearts and minds with his malicious cannibal spirit."
Grandmother paused a few moments, then continued: "Despite all the bad things that are happening these days you and your husband need to be positive and strong. Go home, gently hug your children, and ask your husband to sit with you at the fire. Then, quietly ask him to put down his weapons, because fighting is senseless, and tell him that focusing in an angry way on the chaos and immorality that lives in the hearts of his tribesmen and women is futile and leads to more chaos. Ask him to be a true warrior by leaving the anger to those who choose to fight with anger. Tell him that anger only breeds more anger, that the flames of warfare only incite more warfare. All it does is feed the wiindigoo inside of us. Tell him that we must heal ourselves and, instead of fearing the wiindigoo that has invaded our community and tries to poison our hearts and minds, we must concentrate on finding back our sanity. We must go back to our ceremonies. We must return to our lodges and perform our old purification rites. We must go to the river and the forest and return to picking medicines; each medicine carries a story, a teaching, and an origin story that helps us see things in the right perspective and to find our way back home within the greater order of things. And we must go back to telling our children and grandchildren the teaching stories that our ancestors passed on to us. We must learn to honor again the lessons of love, respect, honesty, courage, truth, wisdom, and humility. Only then we will find back the inner peace that humanity is so desperately in need of today. Finding bizaanide'iwin (inner peace) is the best minwaaji'igowin (antidote) to the wiindigoo. If the wiindigoo is afraid of one thing, it is sanity and peace of mind!”
CHAPTER 4: THE FIRE AND THE CEDAR BRANCH
The sky above the lake started to pale. Then, dark clouds rapidly drifted in from the west, became larger and thicker, at last covering the moon and the stars that had shone brilliantly a few moments ago. The wind increased in force, and grandmother, smothering the campfire with a few handfuls of dirt, signaled Waaban-oniijaani to follow her into the wiigiwaam. Exchanging smiles and giggles, they sat down at the firepit in the center of the lodge. The wind outside, ripping at the tent flaps, gathered strength and sounded like the howling of a pack of hungry wolves. Grandmother, still smiling, put a handful of mashkodewashk aniibiishan (sage leaves) on the fire. She closed her eyes and sat there, silent, and to her granddaughter it seemed as if she were consulting the spirits. The scent of mashkodewashk and the sound of the crackling fire filled the wiigiwaam. Waaban-oniijaani shivered, despite the warmth of the fire. Suddenly, grandmother opened her eyes and, gesturing toward the fire, slowly started to speak again. ”Ganawaabandan iwe ishkode, noozis. Bapakine iwe ishkode. Look at that fire, my grandchild. It is giving off sparks.” She smiled, then continued: “As you know, our word for fire is ishkode. When you break down the word ishkode you get ishk-ode’, which means so much as ‘first spark of the heart.’ This tells us that ishkode is related to the human heart. The fire has always been a central and vital element of our ceremonies – just like nibi (water), which has the power to extinguish fire; this is why the heart and the blood of our Nation are symbolized by fire.”
The wisdom of our ancestors' ways will protect us from the wiindigoo's evil ways of insanity, hate, and manipulation, and give us the strength that we need to become the change we want to see...
After a brief pause, Grandmother continued: “Now. Your husband Makwa has a big heart with a bright fire burning inside. It is the fire of a warrior, and it is no use tempering it. So, be proud of his warrior spirit and tell him to never cease speaking up at the council fire against the rude behavior and manipulation that has become so common these days and keep standing up for those who are treated badly and are unable to defend themselves. But as he speaks, he must not stoop down to the level of the wiindigoo who sits at the head of the council and has made it a habit to bully and belittle his own people. Tell your husband to use his words carefully and never walk the path of division, ignorance, and rudeness that his fellow tribesmen and women follow. Instead of expressing anger and scorn at the council fire, his words must be straight arrows and his message a bright fire, fanned by the virtues of dignity and restraint. The best way to resist walking the path toward blind self-destruction is through careful contemplation and prudence. Amid the chaos and delusion that surround us, we must quietly focus on creating our version of a better world, based on the seven teachings, where we as human beings live in a healthy balance with each other and all the relatives that surround us...as long as we can still remember the lessons of our ancestors we have the power to resist, and eventually beat, the wiindigoo spirit that is eating us from within. The wisdom of our ancestors' ways will protect us from the wiindigoo's evil ways of insanity, hate, and manipulation, and give us the strength that we need to become the change we want to see...
Grandmother, absorbed in thought, stared in the fire for a few moments before she continued: "So, my child, do not give up hope. Now is not the time to be afraid of the dark. Find balance in yourself and concentrate on the things in life that have promise and beauty in them. Go back to the village and as soon as the sun has risen, go to the river and collect giizhikaandagoon, branches of the cedar tree. Then go home and tell Makwa that, to make the spirit of the wiindigoo that hovers over your wiigiwaam go away, he must put another log on the fire. When the fire flares high and bright, he must spread a cedar branch on top of the log for crackles and sparks. Then you must tell him: “Remember, nimaabem, that the wiindigoo, no matter how hard he tries, will never be able to steal our light. The spirits of our ancestors watch over us and will always be on our side."”
Waaban-oniijaani, feeling lighter in her heart than she had in a long time, bade her grandmother “baamaapii” ⁶ and stepped outside, smiling. The wind had gone down. The lake appeared peaceful, shrouded in the soft light of the early morning. Soon the sun would rise and cast his warm rays over the world…
NOTES:
¹ Anishinaabewaki, also Anishinaabe Aki: the land of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Peoples. ^
² Waagaabagaa-giizis: Leaves Turning Moon (October) ^
³ The Bear Walker society: An old Ojibwe society of ‘Bear Walkers.’ Originally, before malicious medicine people started to misuse their spiritual powers to transform themselves into bears causing harm to individuals, families, and communities, ‘bear walkers’ showed themselves to the people as symbols of hope, reminding them that there is life after death and that there were benevolent spirits out there who were willing to help the people if called upon. But one day ill-willing people started to request some Bear Walkers to destroy an enemy or rival. This is when some Bear Walkers took on the role of maji-mide (evil medicine person) – sometimes called maji-aya'aa, or evil being. These medicine persons employ their powers and would assume the form of an animal (or in some cases a ball of fire), and after having injured or killed the victim – no matter how remote his whereabouts – they would resume their human form so as to appear innocent of the crime. This is why sometimes impressions of the footprints of a bear or another animal were found in the vicinity of wiigiwaaman (lodges) or homes occupied by victims of a crime…this was, allegedly, the work of a maji-mide using his bear powers for selfish purposes. ^
⁴ Wiindigoo: a cannibalistic spirit from the North. The Anishinaabeg believe that any type of creature — not just humans — can be a wiindigoo, and there have been many accounts of a psychosis that gets into the brain of creatures and causes instant and intense sanity. It's called wiindigoo psychosis. The wiindigoo is nowadays a metaphor for many bad things that threaten and poison us as Indigenous People — such as forced removal to new lands and the intergenerational trauma caused by the boarding/residential school experience, racism, unbridled consumerism, cultural appropriation, large-scale and systematic exploitation and pollution by multinationals of our lands and waters, the rampant violence and substance abuse in our own midst, and, last but not least, the widespread child abuse and sexual aggression against our young women and men, committed by outsiders as well as by our own people. Underneath all that, the wiindigoo very likely symbolizes the deep-felt fear of the loss of self and land ...^
⁵ Noozis: grandchild ^
⁶ Baamaapii: “Until later.” ^
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