Bibooni-giizis (Winter Moon) - December 31, 2024
Boozhoo, aaniin! Biindigen miinawaa nindaadizooke wigamigong; enji-zaagi'iding miinawaa gikendaasong. Ninga-aawechige noongom giizhigad! "Hello my relatives, I greet you in a good way. Welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge, a place of love and knowing. Let's share a teaching today!"
With the last day of 2024 drawing near, I thought it to be an appropriate moment to reflect on its importance for the Anishinaabe People.
Traditionally, the Anishinaabeg follow a lunar calendar. The idea of a 'year' as defined by the Gregorian solar calendar is not part of traditional Anishinaabe beliefs. We perceive everything as a continuum, with solstices and equinoxes being key points on this continuum, each possessing their own unique medicines.
Therefore, traditionally, the concepts of 'year' and 'new year' are foreign to the Anishinaabe Peoples.
For the majority of Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, new life (the start of a new lunar calendar cycle) begins in ziigwan, or spring. For those of us who adhere to the moon's cycles, ziigwan commences with the appearance of the full moon that signals the flow of the life-sustaining maple tree sap. Some Anishinaabeg observe the rising of the Sugar Making Moon as the New Year.
The full moon that appeared around March 25, 2024, was the nearest full moon to the vernal equinox on March 19. This date, as per the solar calendar, signifies the astronomical start of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere—when Giizis the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north. Ziinzibaakwadooke-giizis (Sugar Making Moon) is our name for the full moon that appears in March.
We refer to the spring equinox, or late spring, as Minookamin. Traditionally, Minookamin marks the start of the new lunar calendar for the Society of the Dawn People (Waabanoowiwin), in contrast to the Midewiwin, who hold that new life begins in Winter. The celebration or ceremony of the Spring Equinox takes place right after the Sugar Bush camps.
According to Midewiwin belief, new life (the beginning of a new lunar calendar cycle) starts in abitaa-biboon (midwinter), around akiinaaniwan (winter solstice).
So, for some Anishinaabeg, new life (the start of a new lunar calendar cycle) begins in spring, when Mother Earth comes to life. For others, particularly the Misi-zaagiwinini Anishinaabeg (Mississaugas), the start of the lunar calendar—and thus the New Year—begins when the full moon appears in February, as bears start to emerge from their winter dens. In the southeastern region of Anishinaabe Aki , February is known as Makwa-giizis, or Bear Moon; another name for this period is Makoonsag-gaa-nitaawaadi-giizis; Moon when the bear cubs are born. Additionally, there are Anishinaabeg who consider the moons when the sap of the maple trees begins to flow as the start of a new year; this occurs, depending on the region, from mid-March to mid-April.
According to Midewiwin belief, new life (the beginning of a new lunar calendar cycle) starts in abitaa-biboon (midwinter), around akiinaaniwan (winter solstice).
This period was typically a time for organizing spirit dishes, feasting with the community, and engaging in sacred storytelling. It was also a time for gathering and preparing for spring ceremonies and initiation rites. For the Ojibweg residing in the west, the winter solstice marks the start of preparations for the summer solstice thirst dance (sun dance). The "beginning of the sun" fire is lit, and four preparations, in the form of songs, for the thirst dance are made, along with tying the tobacco bundle for the summer solstice.
Among the members of Animikiigamig (the Thunder Lodge), the beginning of spring also coincides with the winter solstice. According to Animikiigamig tradition, there are four animikiig (Thunders). The oldest, the Waabishki-animikiig (White Thunders), bring snow and ice. The youngest, the Ziigwan Animikiig (Spring Thunders), usher in spring with rain. When the Thunders announce the start of spring during winter, baby bears are born. The Thunders awaken the bears and give the Anishinaabeg thunder names. In winter, the Thunders allow rain to melt the ice and snow, signaling the awakening of Mother Earth. As soon as the winter solstice arrives, the Thunder people of Animikiigamig begin making tobacco offerings. They prepare their tobacco offering for the Thunderbird expected at the summer solstice. Four lodge members, representing the four Thunders, place the asemaa in a white cloth symbolizing winter. During the Thirst Dance (Sun Dance) at the summer solstice, this tobacco offering is used in the first pipe to offer the Thunders a smoke. The same four individuals smoke the first pipeful of tobacco—which is the first plant of Creation—as a thanksgiving to the first Thunderbird that brings rain. This tobacco bundle is stored in a bison skull until it is opened at the summer solstice.
These activities—such as feasting, offering spirit dishes, storytelling, and preparing asemaa for the Thunder Grandfathers—occur around what is considered the annual beginning of the lunar calendar.
Although the traditional Anishinaabe 'New Year' seldom falls on January 1, it does occur in the week before, or after, depending on when the full moon rises right after the Winter Solstice. This year, the full moon after the winter solstice rises on January 13, 2025.
The ancient wiigwaasabakoon (birchbark scrolls), preserved for centuries in the caches of the Midewiwin's spiritual practices, reveal that many characters in the aadizookanan (sacred stories) are beings that originated during the last ice age. Animikii-binesiwag (the Thunderbirds) endured, Mishiginebig (The Great Horned Snake) endured, Mishibizhiw (the Great Horned Lynx) endured, Gichi-misaabe (the Giant) endured and is still seen, Wenabozho (the Great Shapeshifter) and his brothers are still talked about, and most of our ceremonies celebrate the endurance of those from the last ice age.
But why do most Anishinaabeg now celebrate "new year" in the winter? There isn't a straightforward answer to this. Some might claim that celebrating New Year on January 1 was imposed by the European invaders who introduced the Gregorian solar calendar to Turtle Island. This is certainly true. However, there's more to the story. Although the traditional start of a new lunar cycle rarely falls on January 1, it can occur in the week before or after, depending on when the full moon appears right after the Winter Solstice. An ancient teaching, likely from pre-contact times, has been passed down by an old warrior society known as the Windigookaan (No-flight Contraries; literally: 'Society of the Cannibal Winter Monster'), suggesting that it was the wiindigoog who were responsible for the creation of biboon (winter). They did this to save the planet; their interference from the sky formed the polar caps and the seasons, which marked the beginning of the Anishinaabe lunar calendar.
The ancient wiigwaasabakoon (birchbark scrolls), preserved for centuries in the caches of the Midewiwin's spiritual practices, reveal that many characters in the aadizookanan (sacred stories) are beings that originated during the last ice age. Animikii-binesiwag (the Thunderbirds) endured, Mishiginebig (The Great Horned Snake) endured, Mishibizhiw (the Great Horned Lynx) endured, Gichi-misaabe (the Giant) endured and is still seen, Wenabozho (the Great Shapeshifter) and his brothers are still talked about, and most of our ceremonies celebrate the endurance of those from the last ice age.
It is thought that long ago in history, the wiindigoog were not humans but spirits residing on the banks of the Jiibay-ziibi, the grand River of Souls winding through the Galaxy. They were ghastly beings, resembling enormous frightening skeletons with bones protruding against their skin, which had the ash-gray hue of death. In this galactic realm drifting through the sky, enveloped by gas, debris, and massive clouds of water, they would lie in wait to capture and consume those unfortunate deceased humans whose souls were not ready for their journey home to Waakwi—the Land beyond the stars where their ancestors dwelled.
A notable aadizookaan (spirit being, antagonist of the sacred stories) from the last ice age is Wiindigoo, the cannibal spirit from the North. The teaching of Wiindigoo illustrates that everything in the universe remains ice until it is sufficiently warmed to melt on a planet or by a sun/star. This is where the Wiindigoo spirits have a role. Regardless of their location—whether on earth or in space—wiindigoog trace the boundary between ice and water.
It is thought that long ago in history, the wiindigoog were not humans but spirits residing on the banks of the Jiibay-ziibi, the grand River of Souls winding through the Galaxy. They were ghastly beings, resembling enormous frightening skeletons with bones protruding against their skin, which had the ash-gray hue of death. In this galactic realm drifting through the sky, enveloped by gas, debris, and massive clouds of water, they would lie in wait to capture and consume those unfortunate deceased humans whose souls were not ready for their journey home to Waakwi—the Land beyond the stars where their ancestors dwelled.
But then, long ago, countless lifetimes past, the earth shifted, causing chaos in the world. It was then that the sky wiindigoog stepped forward to restore order. They traveled directly from the stars through the void of space, moving through the earth to stabilize its tumbling and keep the Earth's poles steady. As a result, the wiindigoog were endowed with the power of ice for maintaining the Earth's actual poles! This event signified the creation of biboon (winter) and the start of the Anishinaabe calendar, initiating the cycle of the seasons around the Winter Solstice — a few days before the full moon rises, when the sucker fish spawn...
Mii'iw. Miigwech gii bizindawiyeg. That's all, thank you for listening.
For additional information on the lunar calendar of the Anishinaabe Peoples, check out Stories and teachings from the Earth: Dance of the 13 Moons