Abenaki Deities
I am researching and basing my project around Native American mythology, beliefs and teachings, but with there being over 500 unique tribes with their own individual beliefs, I had to narrow down the mythological tales I was looking at. I chose to specifically focus on the Abenaki tribes, as they are one of the most visually and culturally unique tribes. Their folklore and mythology is equally as diverse, with many traditional tales being told to teach a variety of lessons, and many deities being worshipped.
The Abenaki have adapted their culture and way of life over time in order to keep their diversity in modern times, whether they wanted to or not. The way the Native American tribes were oppressed and brutalized by the first american settlers lead to a loss in their culture. I want to show that instead of seeing the Native Americans, specifically the Abenaki, as an ancient tribal people with wildly different ways of life to our own, they are actually very adaptable and similar to us, and perhaps we could learn a lesson from their traditions?
Chief in telling these traditional tales are the Abenaki's four main deities, or at least, the four most prominent in their tales. I looked at these gods and one tale related to each one in detail:
Azeban, The raccoon trickster god: Azeban is a mischievous and deviant god, depicted as a raccoon. He often gets up to all kinds of mischief, and finds himself in a lot of trouble. Stories involving Azeban are usually aimed at children, and carry important life lessons. Most Native American tribes have evil, manipulative trickster gods, but Azeban is far from this. His exploits are funny, trivial and usually have very little consequence.
Bmola, The bird god: Bmola is the malevolent bird spirit who resides atop Mount Katahdin. He is associated with the cold and storms. No one dared to venture near Mt. Katahdin out of fear of Bmola, as he was said to have the body of a man, the head of a moose and the wings and feet of an eagle. He was a powerful spirit, and no one dared invoke his wrath.
Gluskabe, The hero of the Abenaki: Gluskabe is the cultural hero of the Abenaki people. He was one of two brothers. Gluskabe was the good brother, and always strives to uphold justice and peace, and taught the Abenaki people nearly everything they know. Some legends even say he created them himself. Gluskabe is the most prominent of the deities, and often makes and appearance in nearly every story, even when the focus isn't on him.
Malsumis, The evil wolf-god: Malsumis is Gluskabes evil twin brother, and is depicted as a wolf. Where Gluskabe seeks to create and help, Malsumis only wants to spread destruction and ruin his brother's plans. He is usually shown as an antagonistic figure, but not in every case, unusually. His stories never end well for him, with Gluskabe often putting an end to his plans.
The Abenaki have adapted their culture and way of life over time in order to keep their diversity in modern times, whether they wanted to or not. The way the Native American tribes were oppressed and brutalized by the first american settlers lead to a loss in their culture. I want to show that instead of seeing the Native Americans, specifically the Abenaki, as an ancient tribal people with wildly different ways of life to our own, they are actually very adaptable and similar to us, and perhaps we could learn a lesson from their traditions?
Chief in telling these traditional tales are the Abenaki's four main deities, or at least, the four most prominent in their tales. I looked at these gods and one tale related to each one in detail:
Azeban, The raccoon trickster god: Azeban is a mischievous and deviant god, depicted as a raccoon. He often gets up to all kinds of mischief, and finds himself in a lot of trouble. Stories involving Azeban are usually aimed at children, and carry important life lessons. Most Native American tribes have evil, manipulative trickster gods, but Azeban is far from this. His exploits are funny, trivial and usually have very little consequence.
Bmola, The bird god: Bmola is the malevolent bird spirit who resides atop Mount Katahdin. He is associated with the cold and storms. No one dared to venture near Mt. Katahdin out of fear of Bmola, as he was said to have the body of a man, the head of a moose and the wings and feet of an eagle. He was a powerful spirit, and no one dared invoke his wrath.
Gluskabe, The hero of the Abenaki: Gluskabe is the cultural hero of the Abenaki people. He was one of two brothers. Gluskabe was the good brother, and always strives to uphold justice and peace, and taught the Abenaki people nearly everything they know. Some legends even say he created them himself. Gluskabe is the most prominent of the deities, and often makes and appearance in nearly every story, even when the focus isn't on him.
Malsumis, The evil wolf-god: Malsumis is Gluskabes evil twin brother, and is depicted as a wolf. Where Gluskabe seeks to create and help, Malsumis only wants to spread destruction and ruin his brother's plans. He is usually shown as an antagonistic figure, but not in every case, unusually. His stories never end well for him, with Gluskabe often putting an end to his plans.
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