Teaching stories, part 10

"Heartbeat of The Earth"

 - Updated: April 16, 2020

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Boozhoo! 

In this blogpost, we will dwell a little further on our pictorial and jewelry art and the ancient teaching stories that we share along with it. Here's part 10 of a series that wants to explore (and describe) the spiritual relationship between the world of our Native forefathers, the land they lived on, and the beings that surrounded them.

We will discuss the concept of GICHI-MANIDOO, the Great Mystery of the Universe. We will talk about Sleeping Giant, the sacred island in Thunder Bay where Wenabozho, the most beloved manidoo of the Anishinaabe People, found his eternal resting place after he was turned to stone. The main focus in this post, however, will be on the meaning of the Midewiwin drum, whose beat has since time immemorial attuned the heartbeat of the Ojibwe Anishinaabe people to the pulse of Aki, the land. 

The Anishinaabe-Ojibwe-style wedding rings shown on this page, their strong graphic designs reflecting the outline drawing style of the Native Woodland Painters, mirror in color and form the pictographic and oral traditions of the ancients. The rings tell of all these things that have for many generations been handed down by the elders. 

The rings, like the elders, are storytellers in themselves.   

==The sum of all Mystery==

Traditionally, our ancestors who lived in gaa-zaaga'eganikaag, the land of many lakes (the North American Great Lakes area), have always been aware of an existence in the cosmos that vibrates with a sacred, creative energy. 

The sum of this cosmological energy - or manidoo- is called GICHI-MANIDOO: literally ‘‘Great Mystery.’’ This sacred existence Zhaawano tried to capture in the above shown multicolor gold-and-silver storytelling rings.

==The Sleeping Giant==

The SLEEPING GIANT at Thunder Bay, according to Anishinaabe tradition the sleeping body of a petrified manidoo, inspired Zhaawano into designing the ring set; its amazing silhouette even served as a model for the two adjacent human faces and bodies that, depicted in a dramatically stylized fashion, can be recognized in the design of both rings.

 

==Symbolism of the rings==

The title of the ring set is GOOKOMISINAAN-BAPANGADE'EWIN, literally: ‘‘Heartbeat of Our Grandmother.’’ The red gold part and the oxidized outline of the ring designs represent the bodies and spirits of two soul mates becoming one with each other and with the earthmother herself. It serves the notion that from her fertile womb we sprang, and unto Mother Earth we shall return.

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The graphic , oxidized ‘‘earth line’’ that runs across the surface of both rings, showing the characteristics of the earth surface as well as the anatomy of the human body, symbolically connects the individual to the cosmos through a ‘‘sound’’ that represents all aspects of GICHI-MANIDOO. 

The Anishinaabe ancestors believed it to be important that a person joined his or her voice on a regular base with the voices of the spiritual world. This concept is called aanji-nkweshkamong enweying shka-kimi-kweng: ‘‘Reconnecting our voice with Creation.’’ 

One side of the rings shows a heartbeat graphic; on the other side a red gold, oval-shaped inlay design of baagaakokwaan is constructed - a drum stick representing the MIDEDEWE'IGAN (also called mitigwakik), the ‘‘Grandfather’’ water drum that belongs to the Midewiwin, the age-old Society Of The Way Of The Hearbeat. A sacred instrument circular like life itself, and believed to have been a living soul long before first man walked the earth.

The Midewiwin Lodge is presided over by the Spirit of the Midewiwin called Mide Manidoo, in the form of Gimishoomisinaan, the Grandfather Water Drum. The Grandfather is supported by Oshkaabewis, his ceremonial helper, called the Little Boy Water drum in reference to an origin story of the Midewiwin, about a little bear boy who descended from the Sun and remained for some time among the Anishinaabeg to teach them the Mysteries of the Midewiwin. It is said that ‘‘the Little Boy points the way to the Grandfather, but when the Grandfather comes, darkness flees before him, and the whole world, indeed the whole sky is enlightened...’’

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According to Midewiwin belief the sound of the Mide drum causes the sky to brighten up and the water to be calm for the person who carries the drum. Both midewe'igan and baagaakokwaan are considered to be gifts from Gichi-manidoo; the latter is held even more sacred than the drum itself. 

The stylized heartbeat and drumstick designs in the ring symbolize the heartbeat of our mother the Earth, and at the same time the heartbeats of two individuals in love with one another, joined with those of all living creatures that surround them.

Listen closely. You might be able to hear the combined sound of countless hearts filling the Universe, each pulsing at their own speed, yet each a part of the whole...

 

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DRUMS OF MY FATHER

A hundred thousand years have passed

Yet, I hear the distant beat of my father's drums

I hear his drums throughout the land

His beat I feel within my heart.

The drums shall beat, so my heart shall beat,

And I shall live a hundred thousand years.

- Shirley Daniels (Ojibwe author)

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Midewiwin Grandfather drum photographed inside a Midewigaan (Mide lodge) structure (1932)

Click here to read more about the topic of the Mide drum

Read the next episode in the Teaching Storie series: Footprints of the Wolf.

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Jewelry photography by Zhaawano Giizhik (© 2011). From the Mother Earth series: GOOKOMISINAAN-BAPANGADE'EWIN ('Heartbeat Of Mother Earth'). "Woodland" pictographic style overlay storytelling rings of 14 K white gold and red gold with an interior of sterling silver. The ring set serves as a storytelling tool and is not available for purchase.

Acrylic painting of Bear by Simone McLeod (© 2014).

About the authors/artists:

Simone McLeod (her traditional name is Aki’-egwaniizid, which is an Ojibwe name meaning "Earth Blanket") is an Anishinaabe painter and poet, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1962. She belongs to he Name doodem (Sturgeon clan). She feels a special kinship with her mother's people, the Azaadiwi-ziibi Nitam-Anishinaabeg (Poplar River "#16" First Nation) of Manitoba. Simone descends from a long line of Midewiwin seers and healers and artists. Her artwork has been appreciated by several art collectors and educational and health care institutions from Canada, as well as by art lovers from all over the world.

Zhaawano Giizhik, an American residing in the Netherlands, was born in 1959 in North Carolina, USA. He has Anishinaabe heritage, with the doodem of his ancestors from Baawiting (Sault Ste. Marie, Upper Michigan) being Waabizheshi, or Marten. As a writer and a non-commercial artist and jewelry designer, Zhaawano draws inspiration from the oral and pictorial traditions of his ancestors. In this pursuit, he sometimes collaborates with fellow artists. He worked on several art projects with Simone between 2012 and 2017.

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Teachings of the Eagle Feather, Part 2

"A Prayer to the North"

- Updated Sptember 8, 2024
 

ZAGASWEWIN GIIWEDINONG (Prayer to the North): 14K white gold storytelling rings; the ring in the foreground is mounted with a 0.06 ct white brilliant-cut diamond. 

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Boozhoo! Biindigen miinawaa nindaadizooke wigamigong; enji-zaagi'iding miinawaa gikendaasong. Ningad-aawechige noongom giizhigad! (Greetings! Welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge where legends and teaching stories are told. Let's tell a teaching story today!)

Today's story is the second episode of a series named "Teachings of the Eagle Feather."

It's a collection of teaching stories provided with jewelry images and illustrations of artwork by myself as well as by kindred artists. The stories are based on aadizookaanan (traditional stories) of our People, the Ojibwe Anishinaabeg of Gaa-zaaga'eganikaag, the land of many lakes - the Great Lakes area of North America.

These narratives are of a sacred, healing nature and often told within a romantic context, their allegorical themes provided with a personal touch.

Today's story, which I wove around a set of wedding rings designed and handcrafted by myself, features two images of acrylic canvases, one by Leland Bell and the other by Chris Angeconeb.

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A living prayer

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I am pleased to share with you the sacred story of these white gold eagle feather rings. The rings srrve as teaching tools and are not for sale.

The story of the rings has been told throughout history. Its meaning is deeply rooted in the collective memory and cultural consciousness of the Ojibwe Anishinaabe People. I also believe it to be a universal story since it touches our everyday lives and relationships.

The color and the shape of the white gold eagle feather wedding rings symbolize a special prayer to Giiwedin, the North Wind - and a petition to aya'aabitameg giiwedinong, the benevolent spirits that dwell to the North.

MIGIZI, the bald eagle, has always been regarded by the Ojibwe Anishinaabe People as a mediator between Earth and Sky and a living Prayer to the Great Mystery. Migizi is therefore the ultimate embodiment, and his feathers a powerful reminder, of our responsibility to live in balance with natural law and in cooperation with all life forms.

Winter time

GIIWEDIN, the North, represents many things. Giiwedin literally means "Coming Home Wind." BIIBOON (Winter), when plants rest and the ground is covered in snow, lives in the North. Traditionally, during the winter months, the people engage in hunting and spear fishing and during the long, cold nights the parents and grandparents share their stories and teachings with the young, recounting the history of the People and providing the children with lessons about their spiritual heritage and about bimaadiziwin (a good way of life). 
Biboonishiwing is a time of going home, of remembrance and rest, of self-reflection and honoring the Elders, the pipe carriers, the lodge keepers, and the storytellers of the Nation. It is a time of looking back and passing on one's life experience onto the younger generations in a good way.

Giiwedinong ("In the North") by Nishnawbe Aski Medicine Painter Chris Angeconeb. Grandfather Bear, who  sits in the North,  represents the medicinal powers of Creation.

A place of wisdom

The literal meaning of giiwedin is "Coming Home Wind." It is a place that reminds us to be mindful of the physical body; when it is tired we put it to rest - just as in the winter the Earth rests from her labors. So, the North is really a place of Homecoming and Healing Powers and Wisdom, telling us to let go of ourselves and the past, to let go of our enemies and our fears, and to get in touch with our ancestors. In the North we make peace with ourselves and we experience and explore our love for family and friends - and for that special person with whom we decide to walk the Road Of Life.

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A Midewiwin prayer to the North:*

Giinawaa aya'aabitameg giiwedinoong ineninimishinaang noongom giizhigak ji mino-bawaajigeyaang.

Naazikaawizhinaang, abi-izhaamizhinaang noongom dibikak endaso-dibikak gaye; abi gaatwendamoog en-daayaang abi-mooshkineshiwik n’jiichaaginaanin ji gezhendamaang w’onizhishiwing.
Waabandashinaang gwayakawaadizin ji gikendamaang ge izhi gayekaadiziyaang.

Zhaagoojidamowizhinaang mayanadag ji bawaadizinaang.
Gego inenimizhkaangenji bawaadimaangiban zaagiziwin, gemaa maanaadenjigiwin, gemaa wiyezhingewin, gemaa naniinawendamowin, ji boodaginigiyaangiban maanaadendamowin.

Ganawenimizhinaang niibaadibik megwaa memeidige gaagetaawizisiwaang.
Dibishkoo giiwedin ezhi mashkowaanimag zhaagoodinamowizhinaang mayaanaadag; dibishkoo goon ezhi-bidagoonayang aki ganawenimizhinaang en-dachiyaang.
Gego gaye webinashkaangen; baamaa w’gii aabiziishinaang, ninawind dibinawe ji naanaagadawendiziyaang.

“To you, spirit beings who dwell to the North: today we ask you to grant us good dreams.
Approach us this night and every night; enter our homes and our spirits and fill us with the yearning for beauty.
Show us the good that we may follow and observe it.”

“Banish evil dreams from our sleep and from our lives.
Let neither deceit nor remorse, neither selfishness nor ill will toward our brothers, disturb our sleep”

“Guard us at night when we are helpless.
Come like the north winds; dispel the evil. Watch over us, blanket our spirits as the snow covers the earth.
And do not abandon us until we are awake and restored.”

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Leland Bebaminojmat Bell: "Being Together" 

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Sweetgrass, hair of Mother Earth

The stylized feathers of Migizi that are draped over the white gold ring shanks symbolize spirit, and prayer.

The twisted wire of white gold adorning the feathers represent braids of WIINGASHK (northern sweetgrass), which the Anishinaabeg regard as a sacred plant that symbolizes the hair of Mother Earth and the northern direction; it is used in prayer and for smudging in purifying ceremonies.

A clean heart and a clear mind 

The brilliance and fire of the diamond - mounted slightly off-center on the ladies’ ring, in a 14k yellow gold setting -, stands for biinide'ewin: cleanliness of heart and waaseyaawendamowin: clarity of mind. 

The stone reminds us of our ability to get in touch with the benevolent spirits of the North - and thus with the great wisdom within ourselves.

Mii sa ekoozid. Onjida gibizindaw noongom mii dash gidibaajimotoon wa’aw aawechigan. And that is the end of the story. Thank you for listening today, for allowing me to relate to you this teaching story. Giga-waabamin wayiiba, I hope to see you again soon.

> Read the next episode in the blog series Teachings of the Eagle Feather: "My Good Enemy."

* Source: Basil Johnston, Ojibway Ceremonies, p. 179, Bison Book University of Nebraska Press, Bison Book Printing 1990.

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About the author/artist:

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.
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