Native People |
Nanabozho and the RaccoonNanabozho built his new wigwam at the foot of Thunder Bird Mountain. Not far away lived two blind old men. They had been great hunters in their youth and had provided much food for the tribe in difficult times. Now that they were no longer able to hunt, Nanabozho had built them a wigwam in which to live, and brought them a portion of whatever he caught. Nokomis had made a rope of cedar fibers, which she fastened, from tree to tree, leading from the old men’s wigwam to the edge of the lake.By following this rope, the old men were able to fetch water for their cooking and their other needs. Thus provided for, they lived quite happily together, sharing the work and talking of the great exploits of their youth. One day the Raccoon was walking along the shore when he came upon the old men's rope. Curious, he followed it to their wigwam. He hid in the bushes and watched as one of the men came out, followed the rope down to the water’s edge, filled his birch vessel with water, and returned to the wigwam. As soon as he was gone, the Raccoon untied the rope. He fastened the end of it to a tree away from the water's edge. Then he settled down to watch. Several hours passed before the second old man came down to get another vessel of water. He followed the rope as usual, but when he reached the end of it and bent over to dip his vessel, he found only grass and bushes. He groped about but could find no water and he went away bewildered. The Raccoon, who had been laughing in the bushes, now hurried over and moved the rope back to its original position beside the water's edge. "Alas?" said the old man when he entered his wigwam with the empty vessel. "The lake has dried up and we have no water for our needs." "Nonsense"' laughed his companion, "I went down for water this morning and could easily dip the vessel full. You must be mistaken." "Go and find out for yourself," snapped the first man, very much annoyed. The second man took the dish and followed the rope to the river. But when he bent down to fill his vessel the water was there just as it had always been. He was quite vexed with his companion—he thought that this had been a trick to make him do more than his share of the work. For the sake of peace, however, he said nothing. A few days later the two old men boiled some wild rice and added four pieces of venison. When the stew was cooked, they poured it into a wooden bowl. Then they sat down with the bowl between them and each took a piece of meat. They did not know that the Raccoon had entered the wigwam. He came quietly over to the bowl and took the two pieces of meat that were left. Then he calmly started eating them. One of the men reached into the bowl for his second helping and was surprised to find that there was no meat left. "You must be very hungry, my brother," he said, "for you have eaten my second piece as well as your own. I certainly did not," cried the other. "I have had only one piece. You must have eaten the meat, and now you are trying to hide your greediness by accusing me. Or perhaps you would like me to believe it has disappeared, just as you tried to convince me that the lake had disappeared the other day to save yourself from doing your share of the work." The Raccoon was enjoying the quarrel and, thinking to have more fun, reached up and struck both of them in the face. Each man thought the other had hit him. They sprang up and began to fight, knocking over the bowl and spilling the rest of their dinner. The Raccoon quickly ate up all the stew and ran out of the wigwam laughing. His laughter soon ceased, however, for he met Nanabozho. The Big Man had heard the fighting and had come to seek the cause. "What do you know of the old men's quarrel?" he asked the Raccoon suspiciously. "Nothing at all," was the answer. "Let me pass." Instead of answering, Nanabozho picked up the Raccoon and carried him back inside the wigwam. The old men told their story and the Raccoon, still imprisoned in Nanabozho's grasp, was forced to reveal his trickery. The angry Nanabozho was determined to put an end to the animal's teasing once and for all. "You have abused the right to travel freely in the day," he said severely. "Henceforth you shall do your hunting only at night, and you will always need to find water when you hunt, in order to wash your food in it." Then the Big Man wiped charcoal from a burnt stick across the Raccoon’s face to form a black mask and show him for a thief. On his tail he made eight rings, four for each piece of meat that he had stolen from the blind men. Since that day all raccoons have worn a black mask and rings on their tail. They do their hunting at night, and always wash their food before they eat it. Nanabozho was a hero spirit of the Eastern Woodland People. He was the biggest, the strongest and the wisest of them all. |
Nanabozho and the Raccoon
by Gary Gangnier , Teacher, Saint Vincent's Elementary School
Central Quebec School Board
Sillery, Quebec