Mudjekeewis and the Great Bear
Before I begin the story of my oldest brother's great adventure I
feel as if I
should
explain how my mother managed to have children with a manitou.
According to my grandmother, it was more from my father's lust than my
mother's beauty that the two came together. After seeing my mother from
the sky, my father took the form of a human to have sex with her, and
after conceiving Mudjekeewis and satisfying his lust, he
disappeared. My mother did not think she would ever see him
again.
Now onto
the first visit from my brothers...
My
oldest brother Mudjekeewis has found his glory traveling across our
lands to protect us. He was already a man when I was born, so we
have
never been close, but he was the first of my brothers to come visit
me. I had so many questions about what it meant to be
half-manitou
and
half-human, but also what it meant to be a man in our nation.
Mudjekeewis told me the story of his first trip out of our lands and
how he got the reputation for being a skilled warrior, a story which I
will
relate to you now.
My
brother is famous not only among
our Ojibway people but also among the people to the North of us where
the
trees become scarce. When he arrived at the land of the Great Bear
Nation to the North there was a large conference being held among
many different nations of the Northeast, but all Mudjekeewis could
focus on was the
beautiful sash
the speaker held. Mudjekeewis made himself known to all those who had
gathered
there and explained that he
meant no harm, but wanted to learn the ways of many different
people while on his great journey. The people of the North held a
discussion and decided he could
stay. Later that night at the fire, Mudjekeewis asked about the
sash
he had seen earlier and his hosts explained that it was the wampum belt
that held the story of their people and the secrets of their great
alliance.
Mudjekeewis
decided that he must have this wampum belt to impress the
people back home. He continued to ask questions about the
belt and was told that it was protected by the great bear Mishe-Mokwa
in the
mountains. Mishe-Mokwa was the protector of the alliance of
Northern nations. He had been abandoned by his mother as a cub
and raised by the warriors of the Bear Nation. The bear was an
important symbol of the Bear Nation not only because their name came
from the animal, but because they revered it as the fiercest warrior.
His loyalty was to them only and he guarded their wampum
belt when it was not in use.
After hearing the story of Mishe-Mokwa, Mudjekeewis scaled the
great
mountain in search of this great bear that wore the wampum belt around
his neck. Finding the bear in a dark cave sleeping, Mudjekeewis
lifted
a giant club and knocked the bear in the head. The great bear
gave a loud roar and Mudjekeewis taunted him for being weak before
delivering
the killing blow. Taking the wampum belt from around the great
bear's
neck, Mudjekeewis returned home to share the story of his glory with
our people. He had hoped to not only impress his people, but also
his
father of the sky. The people were impressed, but his father
continued
to show no interest in his children of the earth.
After
finishing his story, my brother explained that although the glory
he received was great, he still does not have the perfect life.
He
is
unable
to stay home because he must protect the boundaries of our land and he
still fears that the people of the North will attack
in retaliation. He explained that as I continue my personal
journey, I should remember that every person must
deal with hardships. Hearing my brother's words made me feel
better,
but I know that I will never be a great warrior like him, so I still
wonder where I belong. My brother Pau-Puk-Keewis is visiting next
and I
hope
that he can offer more insight into what I should do with my life.
Author's Note:
This story of Mudjekeewis
comes from The Song of Hiawatha by Henry W.
Longfellow. I added details about Mudjekeewis's birth and
also how he
first saw the wampum belt. The bear was also portrayed as monster
in the poem, but I chose to portray him as a regular bear instead.
Longfellow does not explain in the poem, but the
people
that Mudjekeewis encounters are part of the Iroqouis
Confederacy.
The poem
goes on to describe the children of Mudjekeewis and their great deeds,
but I chose to end the story of his life early so that it will fit in
with the story of his youngest brother.
There are different
versions
of the story of Nanabozho and he often goes by many names. The Song of
Hiawatha is one of the versions and perhaps the
most famous Nanabozho story because of its mass popularity.
Longfellow
calls The Song of Hiawatha the legend of the Ojibway people, but
Hiawatha is the name of a famous Iroquois leader. It is not clear
if
Longfellow
got the two stories confused or if he chose to combine the two
legends.
I chose this version of the story for Mudjekeewis because most versions
focus only on Nanabozho and his brother Pukawiss. This is a
version
that contains a whole section on Mudjekeewis and his great deeds.
Longfellow, however, claims Mudjekeewis is
Hiawatha's father which does not follow any of the other versions of
the story. Longfellow was never clear on who his source was for
the
Song of Hiawatha so we cannot be sure why he claims Mudjekeewis is
Hiawatha's father.
The
Song of Hiawatha is definitely a great read and I definitely recommend
it to anyone who loves stories about heroes.
Source: "The Song of Hiawatha" By Henry W. Longfellow.
1855. Web Source: Project
Gutenberg
Background Information Source: The Song of
Hiawatha Wikipedia Entry
Further Information: Iroquois
Confederacy Wikipedia Entry
Image Information: Bear in the Mountains. Web Source: Emerald Isle
Studio
