Miin-giizis (Blueberry Moon)/Aabita-niibino-giizis / (Midsummer Moon), August 14, 2024
THE HOLE IN THE SKY, WHERE OUR ORIGIN LIES
Boozhoo! Hello! Biindigen miinawaa, welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge, where there is love and learning!
Today we will talk about three related phenomena, or themes, that are central to Anishinaabe aadizookewin (traditional Ojibwe storytelling): A celestial portal, or "womb" if you like, called Hole in the Sky; a relatively recent aadizookaan (sacred story) about Seven Sisters guarding it; and the spiritual and ceremonial connection between the Hole in the Sky and two ceremonies that are central to the Anishinaabe way of life.
Let's start off with a brief observation, about how the Ojibwe Anishinaabeg traditionally conceive the world.
Inawendin is an Ojibwe Anishinaabe word expressing that everything in life is interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent on one another, and the phrase gakina-awiiya means “we are all related,” literally: “someone is everyone.”
The star stories of the Anishinaabeg Peoples are part of this complex system of spiritual philosophies and beliefs. Anangoog, the stars and planets, have always been regarded as our oldest relatives. Anang gikendaasowin, knowledge of the stars and other celestial bodies, is found in many aspects of our culture; it particularly relates to our knowledge of aandakiiwinan (seasonal changes), nandawenjigewinan and maamawinigewinan (hunting and gathering activities), manidookewinan (our ceremonies), and – last but not least – our aadizookewin (storytelling).
Some of our spiritual leaders alive today are astronomers who still possess special anang gikendaasowin that our ancestors passed on to them; these specialists, anangoog maamiikwaabanjigedjig or “star gazers,” still use this ancient knowledge to help guide the day-to-day affairs of their communities. Privileged in this area are particularly the Waabanoowiwinininiwag, "The Men of the Dawn," members of the Waabanoowiwin, a secretive Lodge that mainly practices its age-old rituals and ceremonies under cover of the night. Much of their knowledge of the Sky Beings is sacred in nature and is used only under special circumstances associated with certain spiritual matters – which are never to be discussed in writing, or shared with those who aren’t members of the Lodge.
At the very base of the concept of inawendin lies the traditional izhinamowin (belief or worldview) that our world basically consists of two interrelated realms: a below-realm (the earth’s material world, including the lakes and the underworld of the lakes) and an above-realm (the star-sky-spirit world) and that every person in their life must strive to, either in ceremony or everyday life, acknowledge this relationship. Each person on earth was born in a doodem/clan whose origin lay in the above-realm; it was to the same clan they returned after death.
The gateway between the star constellations to the place in the above-realm and the below-realm is called Bagonegiizhik by the Ojibweg and Pakone Kisik by the Ininewak/Cree. Both literally mean: 'Hole in the Sky.' Aaniindi Nitam Anishinaabeg Gaa-Ondaadiziwad : 'Where the First People Came From,' is how the hole in the sky is defined in Ojibwemowin, the Ojibwe language.
What did that mean in practice? Simply put, it means that when a person’s time on earth was up, their jichaag/jiibay (spirit/soul) traveled to the constellation designated by their doodem (clan). This is where it became cyclic: the person's spirit/soul ascended to the giizhigong (above-realm) in order to achieve its proper rebirth into a new member of the doodem in question. The animal, tree, or spirit associated with the constellation in question was seen as the person's celestial progenitor; in other words, when a person was born in a certain doodem (let's say, the loon clan), it was from Maang (the loon constellation, known as Little Dipper/Ursa Minor in Western astronomy) that they descended and it was to the same constellation they returned to at death.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. One would suppose that, in order to travel in between the below and above realms, there has to be some kind of celestial portal. In old cultures across the world, the origins of humanity were thought to come through a cluster of seven stars – known in the Western World by its ancient Greek name Pleiades. The connection to birth, death, post-death, and transmigratory matters was considered within the realm of this star cluster, and there was an overall belief that the wombs of women were directly connected to it. Indigenous cultures have known about this portal, or gateway if you like, since time immemorial, including the Anishinaabeg Peoples that have been walking on Turtle Island soil since a female sprit from the sky lowered them from the star world.
The gateway between the star constellations to the place in the above-realm (where each individual originates) and the below-realm (where she/he lives her/his life) is called BAGONEGIIZHIK by the Ojibweg and PAKONE KISIK by the Ininewak/Cree (both literally mean: “Hole in the Sky”). Aaniindi Nitam Anishinaabeg Gaa-Ondaadiziwad: "Where the First People Came From," is how the hole in the sky is defined in Ojibwemowin, the Ojibwe language.
THE STORY OF THE SEVEN SISTERS
Now you may be thinking, why did the author/artist/jeweler depict the Hole in the Sky, that sacred spirit portal in the night sky, as a silver ring inlaid with a gold spider figure, connected through an oxidized spirit line to a sun and a moon? The answer lies in a red ocher pictograph drawn long ago on a cave wall in present-day Bay de Noc in Upper Michigan. To read more about this topic, please see: Star stories part 8: Our Clans Among the Stars.
The Hole in the Sky, which is known as Pleiades in Greek astronomy, is said to be guarded by seven sisters – the seven stars that comprise the Bagone-giizhig constellation; depicted here as seven jingle dress dancers that seem to float around the spider ring.
The story of the Seven Sisters – which is possibly a post-contact story as it may have been inspired by the Seven Sister Nymphs legend of the ancient Greeks – has been told for many generations, by many storytellers and in many different versions. Here's my favorite Ojibwe version of the story: "Seven children loved to dance and play, rather than help their parents in camp. The children’s mother went to seek advice on this problem and was told to place stones on their food. It was hoped that the children would appreciate the value of hard work if they were forced to remove the stones from their food before they could eat it. Unfortunately, this plan did not work. One day, the children danced so hard, they danced up into the sky where they can be seen to this day. Although you can clearly see them in the winter, they cannot be seen in the summer. One of the children fell back to earth, which is why most people can only see six stars in the cluster. It is believed that during the summer months, when ceremonies and dances are being celebrated by humans, the six children join them, returning to the sky with the onset of winter."
The East to West path of the Sun and the stars is analogous to, what is called, waabanong miinawaa ningaabii'anong bimaadiziwin miikana: the East to West life path that we, as humans, walk on earth and that we, as traditional beings, follow spiritually, through our ceremonies.
Elders and traditional stories tell us that the spirit of a person who dies on earth ascends through the Hole in the Sky star cluster via the Jiibay-miikana/Path of Souls toward the place of eternal happiness, beyond the setting Sun; seen in the context of doodem-clan origin, however, it makes sense to acknowledge that the true destination of the person's jiibay is the star constellation that represents his or her doodem-clan. Then, eventually, when it is time to become reborn, the jiibay leaves its designated doodem constellation and follows a contrary path along the Jiiibay-miikana, descends through the Hole in the Day asterism, and makes its reappearance on earth – into the doodem in which it was originally born. Of course, the idea that the east is where the spirits of humans are born is in line with the fact that the celestial beings, such as the Sun and the stars, move through the sky from east to west. The East to West path of the Sun and the stars is analogous to, what is called, waabanong miinawaa ningaabii'anong bimaadiziwin miikana: the East to West life path that we, as humans, walk on earth and that we, as traditional beings, follow spiritually, through our ceremonies.
In autumn, when the Jiibay-miikana points south, the birds follow it. When this happens, the path is no longer called Jiibay-miikana, but Binesiwi-miikana (Thunderbird Road). In spring, the Binesiwi-miikana turns north and the birds follow it back again. The jiibay of a deceased person, once it arrives in the star world, must therefore travel to the south and north, and, in doing so, follows the migratory path of the birds – which our ancestors considered to be carriers of the spirits of the dead. Thus, the jiibay of a deceased person respectively a to-be-reborn person follows the “Thunderbird Path” due north or due south. The direction of their path depends on which bird migration is underway; in late/spring/early summer the birds migrate north and in late autumn/early winter, the birds migrate south...
Two important Anishinaabe ceremonies are related to Bagonegiizhig: the madoodiswan, or sweat lodge purification ceremony, and the jiisakaan, or shaking tent ceremony.
THE SEVEN GRANDFATHER STONES OF THE SWEAT LODGE
Some Anishinaabeg believe that the seven stars of Bagonegiizhig represent the madoodoowasiniig — the Grandfather stones used in the Sweat Lodge ceremony. Although the star constellation called Corona Borealis on the Western star maps is believed by many to represent the Sweat Lodge on earth, generations of Anishinaabeg around countless campfires across Anishinaabe Aki have witnessed aadizookaanan (sacred stories) telling of the Bagonegiizhig, the Hole in the Sky star cluster as being the celestial counterpart of madoodoowigamig, the Sweat Lodge.
In traditional Turtle Island cultures, one of the ways to reconnect one’s voice with the voices of the spiritual world is to undergo a Sweat Lodge ceremony. Called madoodoowigamig, or madoodiswan, or madoodison by the Ojibweg and inipi wakan by our neighbors and allies of the Oceti Šakowiŋ/Seven Council Fires, the Dakota, Nakoda, and Lakota Peoples, is a domed shaped and circular structure built low to the ground. Symbolizing the womb of Mother Earth, a madoodoowigamig or inipi is a place of purification, refuge, and healing but also a sacred place to get answers and guidance by praying to the spirits.
In the darkness of the Lodge, petitions are sent to aadizookaanag (spirit grandfathers), to bawaaganag (guardian spirits appearing in dreams), to the personal doodem (clan) helpers, to Gichi-manidoo (the Great Mystery), and to Omaamaa-aki (Mother Earth herself). A Sweat is a sacred commitment to Gichi-manidoo, the Great Mystery of Life, and to the true energy of Omizakamigokwe, Our Mother the Earth.
Symbolizing the womb of Mother Earth, the sweat lodge is a place of purification and refuge and healing but also a sacred place to get answers and guidance by praying to the spirits.
The Lodge is basically a place where a small group of people combine their spirits ‘‘to create an opening through which this Great Mystery can flow freely." The literal translation of the Lakota word for Sweat Lodge, inipi wakan, is ''To Live Again in a Sacred Way." Only those persons chosen, trained, or otherwise specifically directed by qualified tribal Elders are allowed to work with the Sweat Lodge.
Among the Ojibweg, it is Makwa the bear who guards and protects both the midewigaan (Midewiwin Lodge) and the madoodoowigamig (sweat, or purification lodge) – which is where Midewiwin practitioners cleanse their body, spirit, and mind before entering the ceremony inside the midewigaan. It was a bear who gifted the hide when the very first Ojibwe madoodoowigamig was built; thus, in a symbolic way, Makwa’s hide served to cover the Anishinaabeg as a People.
Madoodoowasiniig (stones of a sweat lodge) play a central role in the madoodiswan (sweat lodge ceremony). The grandfathers and spirit-helpers are awakened in the stones by heating them in a sacred fire placed to the east of the lodge, until red-hot. The water and sacred herbs that are poured on the grandfather stones and the steam that is caused by this ritual act are meant to purify those who enter, allowing each of the participants to “go back to the beginning” and to emerge reborn.
As the Grandfather stones glow inside the fire pit the midewewe'igan (Sacred Water Drum) sounds and calls forth the aadizookaanag and niiwin inagakeyaa wenaanimak (the Four Directions). At this point water is poured and giizhik aniibiishan (cedar leaves) are sprinkled on the stones; the person in charge keeps pouring and smudging until told by the spirits to stop. Cedar, honored with the name Nookomis Giizhik (Grandmother Cedar) and used for its medicinal and cleansing uses, is the tree that absorbs the rainwater to clean it with its roots and holds the nest of the birds that fly and regenerate life. In the steaming hot vapor and intense scent released by the stones and the cedar the participants begin their prayers, songs, and chants in petition of purification and guidance. There are usually four sessions in which there is song and prayer, presided over by the attending Elders. Traditionally, Sweat Ceremonies play an important role in the coming-of-age rituals for boys – and sometimes girls. Sometimes Sweats are part of longer ceremonies, and they always proceed important ceremonies that may last for several days – such as the Sun Dance.
THE SEVEN POLES OF THE SHAKING TENT
In our Indigenous cosmologic world view, the jiisakaan, or shaking tent (or, depending on the dialect spoken, gozaabanjigan), is directly connected with the spirit world, of which the stars are part as well. As we have seen in the above, the open star cluster called Bagonegiizhig represents the opening between the Earth and the star world, or the spirit world. The jiisakaan that a certain type of Midewiwin (medicine) person -- called jaasakiid in the Ojibwe language -- builds, acts as a spiritual doorway that relates to the Bagonegiizhig. Besides seven sisters and the sweat lodge, the stars comprising the Hole in the Sky are believed by some to represent the poles used in the construction of the jiisaakaan.
Jaasakiidjig belong to the highest degree of all the medicine practitioners in the Midewiwin. These spirit-doctors treat the sick without material means, without using herbs and medicinal plants, but via
spirit-travelling. Knowledge is acquired through fasting. Some jaasakiidjig receive their power from the Thunderbirds. Others have claimed they draw spirit power from the water, or from the wind, or the earth. A special category of jaasakiidjig has the power to make a tent and everything that’s in it shake (hence the name, shaking tent) by inviting a myriad of beings from various spirit worlds, including the turtle, thunderbirds, and the bear. Some use whatever spirits and environmental forces happen to be nearby, in and around their tent. This is done between sundown and sunrise. It is with the aid of these spirit helpers from the waters, the winds, and the earth (mikinaak the snapping turtle being the most prominent intermediator) that jaasakiidjig pass on their spiritual medicine power to their patients or apprentices. A very old league of tent shakers exists; these jaasakiidjig communicate directly with the turtle to get into the underground realm of the earth...
Being a shaking tent seer and using the hole in the sky to contact the spirit world is practice that makes it a special ability...
It is believed that the Hole in the Sky is the spirits' trail access that makes contact with the shaking tent seer. The tent shakers can access that trail of knowledge and "understand" reality from picking up the energy left in the trail of their journey. This is a great responsibility and has to be dealt with with the utmost caution. Once the spirits come to a tent they can be tracked back to where they came from. Some of their reality, however, is not hospitable to human life -- humans simply cannot survive there -- and has to be accessed by, what some would call, an ethereal astral body.
This "ethereal self" is like the Jaasakiid's spirit body, sent from the shaking tent while the jaasakiid is inside it. That way it is still alive and breathing as opposed to a near-death experience, where one has to be revived. Only a few jaasakiidjig are capable of this out-of-body-experience. Some places a living body cannot survive in; the ethereal body, however, doesn't need to breathe and can go into a hostile environment without harm. Sending your ethereal self is not something that can be created at will; it is more like an experience that has been duplicated/practiced from an experience like that of your spirit leaving your body -- very similar to a near death experience or a dream, but actually a real experience that has happened before. In short, being a jaasakiid and using the bagonegiizhig to contact the spirit world is practice that makes it a special ability.
According to an ancient Anishinaabe tradition, the Shaking Tent originates from the black hole in the Mashkode Bizhiki (Bison). This is the constellation in the northern sky known as Perseus on the Western sky maps. It can be found in a direction away from the center of the galaxy into the outer reaches of the Bison Arm, the second major spiral arm that emanates from the core of the Path of Souls (Milky Way). The bison is the guardian of the jiisikaan/gozaabachigan. In the winter, the Bison Constellation can be easily seen, but in the summer, she is barely visible because she is on Earth, feeding and helping the Anishinaabeg...
To read more about the topic of the shaking tent, please see: Stories and Teachings from the Earth, part 3: Turtle and Bear, guardians of the Shaking Tent
PRONUNCIATION TABLE*
Aadizookaan - sacred story; nonhuman protagonist of a sacred story - aah-dih-zoo-kaan
Aadizookaanan - sacred stories - aah-dih-zoo-kaan-nun
Aadizookaanag - nonhuman protagonists of sacred stories - aah-dih-zoo-kaan-nuk
Aadizookewin - sacred storytelling - aah-dih-zoo-KEH-win
Aandakiiwinan - seasonal changes - aahn-dah-KEE-wih-nun Aaniindi Nitam Anishinaabeg Gaa-Ondaadiziwad - Where the First People Came From - aah-NEEN-dih-nih-TAHM-ah-nish-ih-NAA-bek-gaah-uhn-daah-dih-zig-wut
Anang gikendaasowin - ah-NANK-gih-kehn-DAA-soh-win
Anangoog maamiikwaabanjigedjig - star gazers - ah-nahn--GOOK-maah-MEEK-waah-bahn-DJIH-geh-djik
Anishinaabe aadizookewin - Ojibwe/Anishinaabe storytelling - ah-nish-ih-NAA-bek-aah-dih-zoo-KEH-win
Bagonegiizhig - Hole in the Sky - bah-goh-neh-KEE-zhik
Bawaaganag - Guardian Spirit Animals; sacred pipes - bah-WAAH-gun-uk
Binesiwi-miikana - Bird trail; Thunderbird Trail; Milky way - bih-NAY-sih-wih-MEE-kah-nah
Boozhoo! Biindigen miinawaa - Hello! Welcome (come in) again - boo-ZHOO (or: POO-zhoo)! BEEN-dih-ken-mee-nah-WAAH
(O)doodem - (his/her) clan - (oh)-dooh-TEM ("oo" in "dooh" has a long "o" sound)
(O)doodemag - (his/her) clans - (oh)-DOOH-tem-uk ("oo" in "DOOH" has a long "o" sound)
Giizhigong - In the Sky; the Above Realm - kee-zih-GONG, or: kee-zih-GONK
Giizhik aniibiishan - (Northern/Eastern white) Cedar leaves - KEE-zhik-ah-nee-bee-SHUN
Inipi wakan- (Lakota/Nakoda-Dakota expression) - sacred sweat lodge (ceremony) - ee-nee-pee-wah-KAŋ (nasal sound)
Izhinamowin - vision; dream; worldview (literally: “The way it is perceived”) - ih-zhi-NAH-mo-win
Jaasakiid - shaking tent seer - djaah-sah-keed
Jaasakiidjig - shaking tent seers - djaah-sah-keed-jig
Jiibay - ghost; spirit of the dead - jih-BEIGH
Jiiibay-miikana - ghost/spirit trail; milky way - jih-beigh-MEEH-kah-nah
(Nin)Jichaag - (my) soul; the spirit within (me) - (nin)-jih-CHAAG
Jiisakaan - shaking tent - djeez-uh-KAAN
Maamawinigewinan - gathering (for food) activities - maah-mah-WIH-nih-gay
Madoodiswan - sweat lodge (ceremony) - mah-too-tis-WUN
Madoodison - sweat lodge (ceremony) - mah-too-tis-SUN
Madoodoowasiniig - sweat lodge stones - mah-too-too-was-sin-NEEG
Madoodoowigamig - sweat lodge - mah-too-too-wih-gah-mik
Manidookewinan - ceremonies - mah-nih-DOO-kay-win-un
Midewewe'igan - sacred (Midewiwin) drum - mih-day-WAY-ih-gun
Midewiwin - Medicine Lodge - muh-DAY-w'win. Alternative pronunciation: mih-DAY-win
Nandawenjigewinan - hunting or fishing activities - nan-dah-WAYNE-djih-gay-wih-nun
Niiwin inagakeyaa wenaanimak - the four directions - NEE-win-ih-nah-guh-kay-YAAH-way-NAAH-nih-muk
Nookomis Giizhik - My Grandmother Cedar - noo-koh-miss-KEE-zhik
Oceti Šakowiŋ - (Lakota/Nakoda-Dakota expression) - oh-CHET-ee-shock-OH-wiŋ (nasal sound)
Omizakamigokwe - Everywhere on Earth Woman; Mother Earth - oh-mih-zah-kah-mig-OH-kway Waabanong miinawaa ningaabii'anong bimaadiziwin miikanan - East to West life path - WAAH-ba-nung-mee-nah-WAAH-neen-gah-bee-ah-nonk-bih-MAAH-dih-zih-win-MEE-kah-nun
Waabanoowiwin - Ceremonial Lodge of the Dawn - WAAH-bun-NOOH-wih-win
Waabanoowiwinininiwag - men of the Ceremonial Lodge of the Dawn - WAAH-bun-NOOH-wih-win-ih-nih-wug
*Bear in mind that Anishinaabe Aki is a vast territory with many dialects, which means that Ojibwe words are not pronounced the same everywhere.
>Read the episodes of the "Star Stories" series published so far:
Star Stories: Mishibizhiw and the Great Passing of the Spirit Rabbit\
Star Storis: The Great Sky Bear That Lives Among the Stars
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