Teaching Stories, part 9

"Walking The Sacred Path Of Life"

- Updated: November 3, 2018

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Gaawiin bekaanizid awiya odaa’aanjimokibidoosiin anishinaabemowinan gaye gagiikwewinan, giinawind gidaawimin...

"There is nobody else who can revitalize our culture and values except ourselves. Life is what we make of it."

- Anishinaabe proverb*

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Boozhoo! Hello! I consider it an honor to share with you today the sacred story of these gold rings. The rings serve as teaching tools and are not available for purchase. 

The story of the rings has been told throughout history, its meaning deeply rooted in the collective memory and cultural consciousness of the Anishinaabe Peoples. It's also a story that's quintessentially universal in its scope and in its applicability to our everyday lives and relationships.

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Teaching rings titled: Mino-bimaadiziwin/Giizis-babaamaadiziwin (The Way of the Good Life/ Path of the Sun). 

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The outer surfaces of the rings feature a stylized representation of the Midewiwin Miikana diagram, also known as Anishinaabe mino-miikana: the Good Life Road of the People. The inner surfaces show the daily journey of Gimishoomisinaan giizis, our grandfather the sun, who is our Lifegiver, providing us with light, warmth, and energy.

The Life Path design of the rings symbolically aligns with the earth's rotation around the sun and the sun's daily journey from east to west. Gete-ayaa’ag, the ancestors, viewed the Road of Life as a cyclical journey, akin to the changing seasons and the day-night cycle.

The spherical overlay symbols within both rings depict the sun. The yellow gold interior of the ring on the right signifies waaban, the morning light from the east, and mookise giizis, the rising sun; the red glow inside the other ring represents bangishimo giizis, the setting sun in the west.

Therefore, the ring set, with its ancient Life Road design, cosmically connects the love between two life partners with the sun, the seasons, and the cycle of day and night. 

Teachings of the Midewiwin

The teachings of MIDEWIWIN, the Medicine and Ethics Lodge of the Anishinaabeg Peoples, convey that each individual has a path to follow, known as The True Path of Life. This unpredictable journey includes many deviations (dangers and temptations) and traverses four "hills": infancy, youth, adulthood, and old age. Originally illustrated by the ancestors on ancient, sacred birchbark scrolls, this life path is shown as a stylized trail with seven or nine deviations or lines branching from the main path of life. Preserved securely within the Mide spiritual practices, the teachings of the True Path of Life have been handed down through many generations.

For a Midewiwinini or Midewekwe - Mide man or Mide woman -, straying from Bimaadiziiwin-Miikana, the true path of life, without returning is equivalent to dying.However, since deviation is rarely permanent, it is expected that he or she will annually retreat in vigil and prayer to seek guidance from the aadizoogaanag (spirit helpers) and reflect on their life to determine if they remain on the true path. 

A good way of life

The name of these Mide path story rings, Mino Bimaadiziwin, translates to "A Good Way of Life." It embodies the way the People should live to achieve good fortune, good health, and inner peace in this life, and to enter the Land of Peace in the afterlife. In Anishinaabe society, material wealth does not elevate a person's status. Only bravery, skill, and respect for children, elders, and the sacred web of life lead to mino-bimaadiziwin, a good way of life. 

For traditional Anishinaabeg, living a good way of life is the primary goal. Achieving this goal requires personal effort and the assistance of specialists, such as medicine persons, as well as the effective help and cooperation of certain nonhuman entities known as aadizoogaanag (“our grandfathers” or spirit-helpers), who exist throughout all layers of the universe. Reciprocal responsibilities and mutual obligations are assumed as a matter of course, not only among humans but also in relation to all life forces and beings in the world. 

Inaabandamowinan (dreaming) or pursuing waasayaabindamiwin (a vision) are the main ways to engage in direct social interaction with nonhuman entities. Upholding a high moral standard within Anishinaabe society, respecting the principle of mutual obligations among all life forms, and acquiring power from both aadizoogaanag and bawaajiganag (grandfathers and ancestors appearing in dreams) are equally crucial for achieving Bimaadiziwin.

Giiwenh. That's how far the story goes. Thank you for reading & listening.

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Read the next episode in the "Teaching Stories" series: Heartbeat of the Earth.

*Source: The Seven Sacred Teachings

Image storytelling rings by ZhaawanArt. "MINO BIMAADIZIWIN": overlay rings, 14K white gold, red gold, yellow gold by ZhaawanArt. The rings serve as teaching tools and are not for sale.

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About the artist and his sources of inspiration:

Zhaawano Giizhik, an American currently living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was born in 1959 in North Carolina, USA. Zhaawano has Anishinaabe blood running through his veins; the doodem of his ancestors from Baawiting (Sault Ste. Marie, Upper Michigan) is Waabizheshi, Marten.

As a writer and non-commercial artist and jewelry designer, Zhaawano draws on the oral and pictorial traditions of his ancestors. In doing so he sometimes works together with kindred artists.

Photo: the artauthor at Agawa Rock, Ontario. Photo by Simone McLeod.