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Friday, September 18, 2015

How Gluskabe Stole Tobacco




Long ago, Gluskabe and his Grandmother Woodchuck, lived alone in a small lodge near the water. One day his Grandmother said to him, "My Grandchild, it is sad that we have no tobacco." "What is tobacco, Grandmother?" Gluskabe asked.
"Ah, Grandson, tobacco is a great gift from Tabaldak, our Maker. If you are sick, you need only tobacco out in the woods, and you will find the medicine plants. Then, when you place some tobacco on the Earth, you can pluck those plants from the root and use them. Tobacco is a great comfort to the old. They can smoke it in their pipes and see all the happy days of their lives in the smoke as it lifts up. When you pray and burn tobacco, that smoke carries your prayer straight up to our Maker. Tobacco is a very good thing indeed, when it is used as Tabaldak intended."
"Then we should have tobacco," Gluskabe said. "Where can I find it, Grandmother?"
"Ah, Grandson," Grandmother Woodchuck said, "it is not easy to get tobacco. It is on a big island far out in the water. A person with great magic lives there. He raises tobacco and will not share it because of selfishness. He is very dangerous. Those who go to steal tobacco never return."
"Huunh!" Gluskabe said. "I will go and get tobacco, and I will share it with everyone."
Then Gluskabe went to the edge of the water. There was a hollow log there, and Gluskabe shaped it into a canoe. He put it in the water.
"Now," he said, "let me see if this canoe will go."




He pushed it with his foot, and the hollow log canoe shot out across the water. It went one whole look, as far as a person can see.
"This canoe is not fast enough," Gluskabe said.
The Gluskabe took a big white birch tree. He stripped off the bark and fashioned it into a canoe and put it in the water.
"Now," he said, "let me see if this canoe will go."
He pushed it with his foot, and the birch bark canoe went very swiftly over the water. It went two looks, but Gluskabe was not satisfied.
"This canoe is not fast enough," he said.
Then Gluskabe fashioned a boat with ribs of cedar and the skin of a moose. He put it into the water and pushed it out and it went three looks. But Gluskabe was not happy with the moose hide canoe.
"This canoe," he said, " is not fast enough."
Gluskabe looked around. There at the edge of the water was a great white boulder. Gluskabe turned it over, shaped it into a canoe and put it into the water.
"Now," he said, "let me see if this canoe will go."
He pushed it with his foot, and it shot out across the water with Gluskabe inside. It went four looks almost as quickly as one could think, leaving a great white wave behind it. Gluskabe was very pleased.
"Now I can go and get tobacco."
He went back into the lodge. "Grandmother," he said, "I am going now to steal tobacco. But first you must tell me the name of my enemy, the magician who will not share the tobacco."
Grandmother Woodchuck shook her head. "Who will hunt for me and bring me wood for my fire and water for my cooking if Grasshopper kills you? No, Gluskabe, I cannot tell you his name."
Gluskabe laughed. "Oleoneh[1], Grandmother," he said. "When I return, you will be the first one to smoke tobacco in your pipe."
Then Gluskabe climbed into his white stone canoe. He pushed off from the shore, and the canoe shot over the waves towards the island of the magician, Grasshopper. As the canoe sped along, Gluskabe sang:
Grasshopper, you are going to travel,
Grasshopper, you are going to travel,
You must leave your home now,
Grasshopper, you are going to travel.
He sang his song four times. By the time he was finished, he had reached the island, and, sure enough, just as he had wished in his song, Grasshopper was not there. The cooking pot was still on the fire, and the beautiful clay pipe decorated with bright stones was beside the fire, with smoke still rising from the bowl, but the magician was nowhere to be seen. Gluskabe picked up the pipe.
"Grasshopper," he said, "you are not going to need this anymore." Then he placed the pipe in his own pouch. Inside the lodge on many racks, tobacco bundles were drying. Gluskabe took them all and placed them in his canoe. He took all of the tobacco and did not leave a single seed. All around the fields were the bones of those who had come to steal tobacco and were killed by Grasshopper. Gluskabe gathered all the bones together and then shouted.
"Get up!" Gluskabe yelled. "Your enemy is coming back." Then all of the bones came back together, and all of the people came back to life. They were very happy, even though some of them had been in such a hurry to return to life that they had gotten the wrong bones. Some of them had legs or arms that were too short or too long. The old people say that is why there are crippled people today. Gluskabe shared the tobacco among them. He mended their boats, which had been broken by Grasshopper, and sent them back to their homes.
"Tobacco is for everyone." he said. "You must always share it and give it freely or it will not do you good."
Then Gluskabe climbed back into his white stone canoe. He pushed it with his foot, and it flew back across the waves to the place where his Grandmother Woodchuck waited.
"Grandmother," he said, "I have brought tobacco. Never again will it be scarce."
Grandmother Woodchuck was very happy. She filled her pipe with the tobacco and smoked it and gave thanks to Tabaldak. She began to sing a song in praise of her Grandson, Gluskabe. But as she sang, the magician, Grasshopper, came. He came across the sky in a magical canoe.
"YOU!" he shouted in a loud and terrible voice. "You have stolen my tobacco!"
"That is not so," Gluskabe said. "It was not right for you to keep it all to yourself. Now my children and my children's children will have tobacco to enjoy." Then he rubbed Grasshopper between his hands, and Grasshopper became very small.
"Please," Grasshopper said in a small voice, "give me seeds so I can grow tobacco for myself."
But Gluskabe shook his head. "No longer can you be trusted to grow tobacco. That will be the job of my children and of my children's children. But since you were the first to grow tobacco, I will give you enough to enjoy in your lifetime. Open your mouth."
Grasshopper opened his mouth and Gluskabe filled it with tobacco. Grasshopper was pleased, but he spoke again. "Give me back my canoe so that I can fly across the sky."




But Gluskabe shook his head. "It is not right for you to have such a magical canoe. I will split the back of your coat and give you wings. Now you will be able to fly on your own, but you will no longer be able to frighten the people."
So it is that to this day tobacco is used by the children of Gluskabe and their children's children, and when they use it as Tabaldak intended, always giving it freely to others, it does them no harm. As for Grasshopper, he flies about with the wings Gluskabe gave him and chews his mouthful of tobacco which will last all his life. And he remembers the lesson taught to him by Gluskabe. If you ever pick up any grasshopper it will immediately spit out its tobacco as if to say, "See, I am willing to share."
Notes
1"Oleoneh"= This is the Abenaki word for "thank you," spelled woliwoni in the modern Abenaki spelling system.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

About Fox





If Fox has made Her appearance in your life


The solution to a problem is at hand. The Fox spirit is the grand problem solver. She will guide you to solitude and silence until the way out is shown. A healthy combination of persistence and patience will strike a balance that picks apart a problem until it is solved.
Alternatively, are you having trouble adjusting to a new living situation or job? Do you feel like you’re barely scraping by? When sly Fox crosses your path it can be a signal to open your eyes so that you can see the situation for what it is – not as you wish it to be.
When a situation or environment is difficult allow yourself to be fluid and adaptable. You have all the tools and resources you need to turn money, career or living difficulties around.
If Fox is your Animal Totem
You are intensely loyal. Often you are a joy to watch or to be around. You are energetic, outgoing, personable, and very flattering. While not exactly social butterflies fox people can use that sly energy, their keen sense of camouflage to “fit right in”. You are also a keen observer and skilled at remaining unnoticed. This means that you blend into your environment and move around unnoticed in any kind of company or society.
You adapt and portray yourself as whoever you need to be in a given interaction. This affinity for fitting in often means you are a jack of all trades, taking interest and educating yourself superficially in great number of areas while mastering none. This allows you to chat or small talk with ease whenever you care to. This does not mean you are disingenuous. It simply means that you really do care and take an active interest in the feelings of those around you.
You are also a very creative problem solver and can seem eccentric because they are quick to think outside the box. Quick thinking or wit is definitely a common tool for you.
If Fox has come to visit you in your Dreams
Perhaps you need to conceal your thoughts and be more discrete about some situation. The fox may also symbolize someone in your waking life who is sly and sneaky. Alternatively, seeing a fox in your dream indicates a period of isolation or loneliness. You need to take this time to ponder some issue or reflect upon your life. The dream could also be a metaphor for someone who is a “fox”, as in a foxy lady.
To dream that a fox is flying into your window means that you need to be careful with who you trust. Someone in your waking life is up to no good.
Additional Associations for Fox:
Cunning
Strategy
Quick Thinking
Adaptability
Cleverness
Wisdom
Northern Native American – noble messenger
Plains Native American – trickster or luring one to their demise
China – afterlife
Japan – rain spirit, messenger of Inari the Rice God, longevity and protection from evil
Celtic – guide, wisdom



Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The Fish-Man



Salish


Somewhere near the mouth of the Fraser River lived a girl who had refused all suitors.
After a while, a man came to visit her and lay with her at night.
The girl said to him, "You must stay until daylight, and show yourself to my parents."
He answered, "No, I am too poor. Your people would not like me."
As he continued to come every night, the girl told her parents, and they were very angry. Then Fish-Man caused the sea to recede for many miles from the village. He let all the freshwater streams dry up, and no rainfall. The animals became thirsty and left the country. The people could get no fish, no game, and no water to drink.
The girl told the people, "My lover has done this because you were wroth with him and refused him."
Then the people made a long walk of planks over the mud to the edge of the sea. At the end of this they built a large platform of planks, which they covered with mats. They heaped many woolen blankets on it. Then they dressed the girl in a fine robe, combed and oiled her hair, painted her face, and put down on her head. Then they placed her on the top of the blankets and left her there. At once the sky became overcast, rain fell, the springs burst out, the streams ran, and the sea came in. The people watched until the sea rose and floated the platform with the blankets. They saw a man climb up beside the girl
They stood up, and the girl called, "Now all is well. I shall visit you soon."
Night came on, and they saw them no more. In two days she came back and told the people, "I live below the sea, in the fish country. The houses there are just the same as here, and the people live in the same way."
She returned again with her husband bringing presents of fish. She said, "Henceforth people here shall always be able to catch plenty of fish."
Once more she came to show them her newly born child. After that she returned to the sea and was never seen again.
Source: Franz Boas, Folk-Tales of Salishan and Sahaptin Tribes = Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, vol. 11 (Lancaster and New York: American Folk-Lore Society, 1917), p. 131.
This tale was collected by James A. Teit.
A note by Teit concerning his source: "This myth ... I collected at Hope [on the Fraser River], where interior influence is rather strong. Similar versions are said to be current among the Spuzzum Indians. The narrator was an old man who could speak some Thompson.
The Fraser River flows through British Columbia, Canada, into the Strait of Georgia at the site of present-day Vancouver.
Artist: Carl Ray, a self-taught artist, was born in 1943 on the Sandy Lake First Nation reserve in Northern Ontario.
Title: "Fish"




Friday, June 12, 2015

RAVEN

#BMB



Ravens are the largest songbird in North America. Raven are often referred to by some indigenous tribes as the 'secret keepers' and are the subject of many stories. Their ebony black color is sometimes associated with darkness. Ravens are very intelligent and are able mimic the sounds other birds and can squawk out some human words. Ravens are found in many different regions and climates.

RAVEN MEDICINE

The raven spirit guide is not chosen by those who seek its wisdom. The raven only comes to those to whom it may speak in private and share its secrets with the knowledge its mysteries will be well guarded by one who already possesses wisdom.

The raven is known as the 'Secret Keeper by some native tribes because of their way of silently perching near people and 'listening' to conversations then flying away in a flutter shrieking an eerie sound or mimicking a human word. Because of their inky black color they are linked to a place where fear and secrets are kept.

When the sun shines on the ravens shiny body it sometimes reflects many colors is therefore sometimes said it has the ability to transform itself, especially when it makes the call of another species. If the raven is seen in dreams or visions it may mean significant changes are about to take place.

Ravens are intelligent and can be seen in the wild 'instructing' other birds and animals. From the raven, we may learn ways to become better teachers and understand the languages of many.

Regardless of common European belief, the raven is not an omen of death and should never be feared as its messages are those that can benefit the listener. The Creator did not make any evil creatures on Mother Earth.

Because of ravens ability to make a variety of sounds and high pitched vibrations are known to alter consciousness, the raven is sometimes credited with the ability to transform, move into other dimensions or to shape shift. We may expect frequent changes if the raven is perched on your shoulder.