Teachings of the Eagle Feather, part 29: Look Within Yourself for Love
- zhaawano
- Oct 26, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 18
Binaakwe Giizis/Falling Leaves Moon (October 26, 2021)
Boozhoo, aaniin! Biindigen miinawaa nindaadizooke wigamigong; enji-zaagi'iding miinawaa gikendaasong. Ninga-aawechige noongom giizhigad! "Hello my relatives, I greet you in a good way. Welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge, a place of love and knowing. Let's share a teaching today!
Today's narrative highlights a collection of storytelling rings crafted at my workbench. These rings, which are not available for purchase, embody a lesson about perhaps the most crucial element of life: love. Zaagi'idiwin, or Mutual Love, represents the second Grandmother/Grandfather Teaching of the Anishinaabeg people. But why is it so vital, and what does it mean to love someone or something?
~~ LOVE IS AN OUTWARD EXPRESSION ~~
For our ancestors, the verb for love (zaagi') signified an outward expression. However, today, we have transformed love into a self-centered act; it revolves around me and what I love... I love money, I love food, I love pleasure, and so on. We demand it NOW. Yet, as the second Grandfather teaching suggests, we should return to the selfless, outward expression of love that our language imparts, extending our love to others, our relatives, and all creatures of the earth, water, and sky.
Here are several examples in Anishinaabemowin, our language, demonstrating this outward expression of zaagi':
Zaagidenenaniwetaw: "stick out one's tongue at someone"
Zaagidin: "put someone out"
Zaagidoode: "crawl out"
Haw sa, yet the concept of outwardness is perhaps most beautifully conveyed through the verbs 'zaagigi,' 'zaagibagaa,' and 'zaagijiwan': meaning 'sprout, grow out,' 'leaves bud,' and 'flow out,' respectively. It's as if love were a tree shoot spontaneously emerging from the human heart-mind, or a river flowing toward its mouth, winding through the countryside and blessing its banks with floods, leaving behind lakes and bringing fertility to the land...
~~ LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF FIRST ~~
Ganawaabandizon zhawenigewining, awiyag.
Gaawiin gidaa-zhawenimaasii awiya baamaa giishawenidizoyan.
Onjida ji-nisidotaman aanind ningodwaaswi gagiikwewinan jibwaazhawenjigeyan.
Gidaa-anokiitaan zhawenjigewin.
Gidaa-baabiitoon zhawenjigewin.
Zhawenjigwe mino-bimaadiziwin.
Gaawiin wiikaa gidaa-wiimaashkaziin gizhewaadiziwin gaye.
Gaawiin gigakendanziin gizhewaadiziwin zoongendaman.
Gaawiin gigakendanziin gizhewaadiziwin gwayakwaadiziyan.
Gizhewaadiziwin ayaa gwayakwendamowining weweni ji-nisidotaadizoyan gaye.
Inaadiziwin ji-nisidawinaman zhaagwaadiziwinan gaye gichi-apiitenidizoyan.
Gizhewaadiziwin naawisin gagiikwewinan.
Gaabizhiwaadizide’e gidizhibimiwidaasomin.
"Look within yourself for Love. Love yourself, and then love others.
You cannot love another until you first learn to love yourself.
You must understand and live the other six Teachings before you can love.
Love is worth working for.
Love is worth waiting for.
Love is the key to life.
There is no short cut to achieving the state of love
You cannot know love unless you are courageous.
You cannot know love unless you are honest.
Love is based on the wisdom to understand one’s self and the humility to accept weaknesses as well as being proud of one’s strengths.
Love has as its very core the other Teachings.
The loving heart center of each true-hearted person lies within each of us." *
~~ WHY THE BALD EAGLE REPRESENTS LOVE ~~
Gete'ayayaag, our forebears, have imparted the wisdom that experiencing true zaagi'idiwin involves knowing and loving Gichi-manidoo (the Great Mystery), as the breath of Gichi-manidoo is regarded as the source of human life. They taught that by loving ourselves, we express our love for the Great Mystery of Life. Migizi, the Bald Eagle, symbolizes the Teaching of love because it soars high above the earth, closer to the Great Mystery than any other being. Love is the most elusive of virtues, and no creature is as elusive as this majestic spirit-bird, with love having the same light and airy quality as its feathers.
Migizi miigwanan, the eagle feathers adorning the storytelling rings above, thus represent gookomisinaan/gimishoomisinaan migizi — our Grandmother/Grandfather the Bald Eagle — itself. The marquise-cut diamond set on the feather of the ladies' ring symbolizes the purity of Migizi's wisdom and his/her insightful teachings about love and introspection. The stone's off-center position on the feather, ultimately, is my artistic nod to the aforementioned concept of outwardness — which, in turn, is expressed through the verb zaagigi, meaning "sprout, grow out." As if the diamond were a blade-tipped leaf spontaneously sprouting from a tree branch in springtime...
Ahaaw sa. Mii sa ekoozid. Miigwech gibizindaw noongom. Well, that is the end of the today's teaching. Thank you for listening to me. Giga-waabamin wayiiba giishpin manidoo inendang, I will see you again soon, if the Great Mystery wills it. Mino bimaadizin! Live well!
* Source: Seven Sacred Teachings
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