IS 'CREATOR' AN INDIGENOUS CONCEPT?
Published: Miini-giizis (Blueberry Moon) ( (July 27, 2023)
__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________
Is there truly a "The Creator"? The answer to this question varies depending on whom you ask.
A scientifically oriented person would probably say something along the lines of "No, there is not. The concept of a God or Creator is a human invention. Our Galaxy inherited its water from ice-coated interstellar grains in the dust cloud from which the Sun and the planets (including Earth) formed. In other words, we're looking at a spontaneous chemical reaction in space."
I think this is not far from the truth.
People sometimes ask me why I never use the word "Creator." I answer them, "that's because I'm no Christian, or Muslim, nor am I an orthodox Jew. 'Creator' is not an Indigenous concept. To me, aki, the world as we know it, is infused with manidoo, spirit, or 'mystery' if you will. It is the manidoo in the galaxy that flows and pulsates inside and throughout all life on the aki. Life, existence, that what we call bimaadiziwin, started in the galaxy. Our origins lie in the anang akiiwan, the star world. The manidoo that is in all things and beings alive created itself. There is simply not one 'Creator' that created the world and everything in it (unless you want to believe it, of course). All there is, is manidoo.
This manidoo not only resides within beings and things. Our aadizookanan, our sacred stories, are imbued with the same manidoo. These stories, once shared, not only transform into aadizookaanag (spirits that inhabit the stories); they become manidoo, or "alive" within those who receive the story. They convey manidoo, spirit, and create bimaadiziwin, life. They become sacred stories! They also have their origin in the stars. They are inscribed in the eternal stars so we can never forget the truth of our existence.
This, of course, is my own viewpoint. But that is what I (basically) tell them.
See also part 8 in the series: Our Clans Among the Stars, Chapter 1
Illustration: "Our Origin" © 2022-2023 Zhaawano Giizhik.
_________________________________________________________
As an American non-commercial artist and jewelry designer residing in the Netherlands, I draw inspiration from the oral and pictorial traditions of my Ojibwe Anishinaabe ancestors from the American Great Lakes region. To achieve this, I rely on my manidoo-minjimandamowin, or "Spirit Memory," which involves recalling the wisdom and teachings of my ancestors.
The mazinaajimowinan, or "pictorial spirit writings," are rich in symbolism and have historically been painted on rocks and carved into sacred items like copper, slate, birch bark, and animal hide. These writings served as a form of spiritual and educational communication that provided structure and meaning to the universe.
Many of these sacred pictographs or petroforms, some dating back countless generations, are concealed in sacred sites where the manidoog (spirits) dwell, especially in those mystical areas near the coast where the sky, earth, water, underground, and underwater converge. These ancient expressions offer a limitless source of story elements for my work, whether graphically, in my written stories, or within the realm of my jewelry making.
No comments:
Post a Comment