Spirit of the Seasons, part 14: Song of the Sky Bison
- zhaawano
- Aug 29, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 28
Miskomini-giizis (Raspberry Moon)/Manoominike-giizis (Ricing Moon) (August 29, 2024)
Boozhoo! Hello! Biindigen miinawaa, welcome once again to my Storytelling Lodge, a place filled with love and learning!
Today, let's discuss music inspired by space.
It is a widespread misconception that space is completely silent, due to the fact that it is a vacuum and lacks a medium for sound waves to travel. Nevertheless, a galaxy cluster has large quantities of gas encircling the numerous galaxies it encompasses, providing a medium for sound waves to move through.
One of these clusters is the Bizhiki, or Bison. NASA recently "discovered" that "mysterious, eerie-sounding music" is emanating from within the makade-waanikaan (black hole).* This black hole is located at the center of the Mashkode Bizhiki.
But it is no mystery at all. It is the Buffalo grandfathers sharing their songs with us.
Bizhiki, or Mashkode-bizhiki, is the English equivalent of the Bison. This constellation aligns with Perseus on Western sky maps in the northern sky. In winter, the Bison Star is prominently visible, whereas in summer, it is barely seen as it is on Earth, providing sustenance and support to the Anishinaabeg, who interestingly lack a bison clan.
How do we perceive the connections between various star formations in the starry realm? Did our ancestors think there was a link between earthly elements like the bison and the sweat lodge and their celestial counterparts? If they did, what is their relationship to the Bagonegiizhik, the celestial hole known as "Pleiades" in Western star charts?
To explore this, let's first examine the Madoodoowasiniig, or "Stones of the Sweat Lodge," which in our cosmology are part of the Madoodiswan, the Sweat Lodge star formation known as Corona Borealis in Western star charts. These stars are visible in a circular arrangement with the sweat lodge's entrance facing north/northeast. Madoodoowasiniig appear in the northeastern sky in March, are directly overhead in the early evenings of June, and disappear on the horizon by September. The Madoodiswan (Corona Borealis) and Bagonegiizhig (Pleiades) constellations switch positions in the sky approximately every 12 hours.
You might wonder how the Shaking Tent, the Hole in the Sky, and the Bison are connected. The connection is rooted in the ancient Anishinaabe belief that the seven stars of the Sweat Lodge constellation symbolize the seven poles used to build the lodge for our Shaking Tent ceremony. Long ago, the medicine men and women of the Shaking Tent chose the bison as their guardian. Similarly, the shaking tent serves as a spiritual doorway, akin to the spiritual doorway known as the Bagonegiizhig.
This moon, the Perseid meteor shower is highly active. Known as the Perseids in English and mashkode bizhiki jiingwanan in our language, this meteor shower is visible every year from mid-July to late August. The mashkode bizhiki jiingwanan reached its peak on August 11/12 but will continue to be active until late August. The radiant of the mashkode bizhiki jiingwanan is located somewhat north on the sky’s dome, making it more visible from the Northern Hemisphere—even during aabitawaabikizi (half-moon)—but it can also be observed as far south as the southern mid-latitudes. To see it, look toward the Mashkode Bizhiki constellation, as the shower's radiant is located next to this constellation.
I hope that the flaming tail tips of the mashkode bizhikiwag, which, if we're fortunate, can still be seen streaking across the night sky, will nourish and protect the Anishinaabeg and all other Turtle Island Peoples for the rest of this summer season, preparing them physically and mentally for the upcoming cold seasons. If the sky lights up with fiery streaks of shooting stars tonight, I will think of my People in a good way and quietly sing a mashkode bizhiki song…
Miigwech gibizindaw noongom. Thank you for listening today. Giga-waabamin wayiiba, I hope to see you again soon!
NOTE:
*Makade-waanikaan literally means "black pit." Another Ojibwe word for this phenomenon is made-makadedanoo-bagonegiizhig ("Distant-keeps-dark-in-place-makes a-hole-in-the-Sky").
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