Thunderbird (mythology)
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The thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural bird of power and strength. It is especially important, and frequently depicted, in the art, songs and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, and is found in various forms among the peoples of the American Southwest, Great Lakes, and Great Plains. Thunderbirds were components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex of American prehistory.[1][2]
Naming
The thunderbird's name comes from the common belief that the beating of its enormous wings causes thunder and stirs the wind. The Lakota name for the thunderbird is Wakį́yą, from wakhą 'sacred' and kįyą 'winged'. The Kwakwaka'wakw have many names for the thunderbird, and the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) called it Kw-Uhnx-Wa. The Ojibwa word for a thunderbird that is closely associated with thunder is animikii, while large thunderous birds are known as binesi.
Common depictions
Across many North American indigenous cultures, the thunderbird carries many of the same characteristics. It is described as a large bird larger than both the eagle and the condor, capable of creating storms and thundering while it flies. Clouds are pulled together by its wingbeats, the sound of thunder made by its wings clapping, sheet lightning the light flashing from its eyes when it blinks, and the thunderbird could shoot individual lightning bolts, Native Americans believed. In masks, it is depicted as multi-colored, with two curling horns, and, often, teeth within its beak.
In oral history
Depending on the people telling the story, the thunderbird is either a singular entity or a species. In both cases, it is intelligent, powerful, and wrathful.
The singular thunderbird (as the Nuu-chah-nulth thought of it) was said to reside on the top of a mountain, and was the servant of the Great Spirit. It was also told that the thunderbird controlled rainfall.
The plural thunderbirds (as the Kwakwaka'wakw and Cowichan tribes believed) could shapeshift into human form by tilting back their beaks like a mask, and by removing their feathers as if it were a feather-covered blanket. There are stories of thunderbirds in human form marrying into human families; some families may trace their lineage to such an event. Families of thunderbirds who kept to themselves but wore human form were said to have lived along the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The story goes that other tribes soon forgot the nature of one of these thunderbird families, and when one tribe tried to take them as slaves the thunderbirds put on their feather blankets and transformed to take vengeance upon their foolish captors.
Sioux people believed that in "old times" the thunderbirds destroyed dangerous reptilian monsters called the Unktehila.
The Anishinaabe, who speak Ojibwa, one of the Three Fires Society, have many stories about thunderbirds. During the sundance ceremony a thunderbird nest is put near the top of the tree of life. The dancers often face the nest while dancing, and their hands and arms reach up towards the nest at times. A thunderbird pipe is used during the ceremony, and thunderbird medicine is prepared as well. The area of Thunder Bay, Ontario, is related in some ways to the Anishinaabe stories of thunderbirds.
A famous story of the thunderbird is "Thunderbird and Whale". The thunderbird mythology parallels tales of the Roc from around the Indian Ocean; as the roc, it is generally assumed to be based on real (though mythically exaggerated) species of birds, specifically the Bald Eagle, which is very common on the Northwest Coast. It is said that when the Eagle and the Condor fly together wing-tip to wing-tip, the world will know balance, and amazing things will be able to happen. The Condor is said to carry the spirit of the mighty thunderbird. "It is going to be a wonderful thing, when the Thunderbirds come home," says Grandmother Agnes of Grants Pass, Oregon.
See also
Notes
- ^ Townsend, Richard F. (2004). Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10601-7.
- ^ Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms. University of Texas Press. 2004. pp. 29–34. ISBN 978-0-292-71347-5.
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External links
- U'mista Cultural Centre
- Edward Curtis Film - Kwan’wala “Thunderbird Dance”
- Hotcakencyclopedia - Cultural thunderbird stories!
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