Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Ojibwe Clan System

        Ojibwe people are divided into a number of doodems [Doh-dems] or clans and those clans consist of a variety of animals. 
Nowadays, there are many more clans than there were originally. The clans are more generalized to accommodate adopted clans. There are the Crane and the Loon clans, the Bear, the Hoof, the Bird, the Fish, and the Marten clans.
        In the Ojibwe society, children typically take to their father’s clan. The clans defined the government, marriage and responsibilities given. Marriage was not allowed within the same clan in order to encourage a wider genetic pool. For some groups, the clan was only assumed by a child until they were of age, then they would seek their own. With other groups, the female children assumed their mother’s clan and the male children assumed their father’s. The clans also reflected their respective animal’s traits.
   
Mang, [mahng]: Loon
Makwa, [muk-wa]: Bear
Giigoonh, [geeg-oonh]: Fish
Waabizheshi, [Waab-izh-esh-eh]: Marten
Bineshiinh, [behn-knee-she]: Bird
Waawaashkeshi, [wah-wash-kesh-eh]: Deer
Ajijaak, [awh-jhi-jhawk]: Crane






Friday, October 25, 2013

Religion

            A huge part of culture to any group is religion. Both the Ojibwe and Iroquois cultures fall under monotheism, meaning that they have one higher being they acknowledge. I personally do not like the words religion, worship, God, etc., but that is only my opinion. There are other greater spirits that the Ojibwe and Iroquois acknowledge, but the Creator is the one who created all life on Earth.
            Both cultures practice ceremonies. The Iroquois conduct ceremonies several times a year in the longhouse. A major ceremony that takes place is the mid-winter ceremonies. The Ojibwe, except for the northern areas, conducted Midewiwin [Mid-eh-wee-in] ceremonies semi-annually, however it has become a more common practice and they are held four times a year, each time in a different season. These ceremonies last several days. Everyone helps to set up and clean up.

Gichi-manidoo, [Gizh-eh man-eh-doo]: greater spirit or Creator/God
Lawʌni•yó [lah-when-ni eh-yoh]: he is the good word or Creator/God









Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Basic Four Directions Teaching


In this post, I am going to explain a bit about the medicine wheel. The number four is a very sacred number in the Ojibwe culture. It represents the four seasons; spring, summer, autumn, winter. It represents the four directions; East, South, West, North. It also represents the four main medicines; tobacco, cedar, sage, sweetgrass.

                We are taught that life starts from the East, and beginning the cycle of life is childhood. The season associated with the eastern direction is spring, the season of life and renewal. The gift of life is honoured with tobacco. We pray with tobacco, give thanks, and often burn it or lay it on the ground beside a tree.

                The next stage of the cycle of life is adolescent hood. The season associated with the southern direction is summer, when life is thriving and at its peak, although growth still occurs. Cedar is the medicine for this direction. When your mind is caught up in the daily routine of life in this society, you often forget to take care of your mind and spirit. Cedar is ingested through teas; it is a cleansing medicine.

                The West is associated with the adult stage of life. The sun sets in the West and this is where life has run its course and begins to return to the Creator. When we burn and smudge with sage; we clear our minds and hearts. The teachings of acceptance, change and healing are very important in this stage.

                The North is known as the resting stage, in between death and rebirth, a place of wisdom and a time for reflection. Elders are honoured in this stage. Sweetgrass is the medicine for this direction as it attracts positive energy.

                This was a very basic explanation, but I hope it was found useful and interesting!

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Monday, September 30, 2013

There is a Beginning to Everything

 
Every culture has a story that tells of how they were put on this earth. This creation story originates from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois).  In this legend, our planet, in the beginning, was nothing but water. No land existed and the only inhabitants were creatures who could survive without land.

In the Sky World, however, the beings there thrived. There was a Tree of Life that was sacred to the human-like beings there and they were instructed not to touch it. One day, a woman who was very close to giving birth fell through the Sky World onto Earth. There are many versions where Sky Woman jumped through the hole, she fell through by accident or she was pushed. Nonetheless, the Tree of Life was uprooted and Sky Woman fell through the hole it created.

When Sky Woman fell she frantically grabbed two plants, in her left she grabbed the tobacco plant and in her right, the strawberry. The birds flying over the water noticed Sky Woman falling, and they caught her. With the help of the sea animals, they led the birds to the back of a giant turtle. Once the woman was safely on the turtle’s back, the animals decided that she needed something more than the turtle’s back to live on, and the turtle offered his back as the base of the land she could create. So, one by one the creatures dove into the water, each one failing except for the muskrat that floated up dead, but in his paw was a little bit of earth. Sky Woman took the bit of earth and placed it on the turtle’s back. The woman walked counter clock-wise and the earth began to spread until it created Turtle Island. Life began to form on Turtle Island and Sky Woman thrived. To this day, the Haudenosaunee dance counter clock-wise in order to honour Sky Woman and her contribution to the development of the earth.

Some time passed and Sky Woman gave birth to a girl. This girl grew older and she was instructed by Sky Woman to never walk towards the West. One day, this girl walked towards the West and she was overwhelmed by a powerful force. Sky Woman later found her daughter with two arrows crossed on her stomach. Later on, it became more apparent that the girl was pregnant with twins. The two boys growing inside her did not always agree with things, and as the date of their birth grew nearer, they disagreed on how they should start their earthwalk. The Good twin, Thaluhyawaku (Sky-Holder), entered this world the right way. The Evil twin, Tawiskalu (Flint), entered this world through his mother’s side, killing her in the process.

                Sky Woman believed that Thaluhyawaku was the one that entered this world from his mother’s side, and so out of the two, she favoured Tawiskalu. As they grew older, it became more apparent that Thaluhyawaku and Tawiskalu had two different mind sets. When Thaluhyawaku would create something, Tawiskalu would change it to the opposite way. Sky Woman passed on, and the twins disagreed with each other how she would be placed to rest. The conflict resulted in Tawiskalu throwing his grandmother’s head in the sky and forming the moon.


                This cycle continued. Eventually, the twins disagreed on who would be in most influential on the living things of Creation. They fought day and night until Thaluhyawaku won. To this day, Thaluhyawaku is considered to be influential during the day and Tawiskalu was cast to have influence during the night. Since Sky Woman favoured Tawiskalu, she is seen mostly at night, although occasionally she visits Thaluhyawaku during the day.
 
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Creation Story