Talk:Sleeping Giant (Ontario)

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[edit] Deep Water Spirit

The site is incorrect in its description of Nanabozho. Nowhere, ever, have I heard him described as anything even vaguely close to a water spirit. What he is is the Anishinaabe culture hero and trickster figure. He's sometimes identified with a rabbit or hare, but never with a water spirit, as far as I know. Published sources that can confirm this are:

• Benton-Banai, Edward. The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway. Hayward, WI: Indian Country Communications, 1988.
• Johnston, Basil. Ojibway Heritage. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1976.
• ibid. The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001 [1995].

I also have, at home, a book that's a collection of a few Ojibwe stories that includes a version of the story related by the webpage; in the version in the book, the giant is just there, he's not identified with Nanabozho; when a white trader using trickery discovers the location of the silver mine, the giant rises up causing the trader's boat to capsize. I can't recall more specific details of the story, and I won't be able to look at the book for three more weeks, but the book is:

• Schwarz, Herbert T. Windigo and Other Tales of the Ojibways (illustrated by Norval Morrisseau). Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1969.

I think four published sources overrule one internet source, so I'm going to remove the description again, although if anyone can correct me on this, please do. --Miskwito 23:39, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

You should have mentioned that before then. It's usually told here as "God of Deep Water" or "God of the lake" or something similar (it varies depending on the depth, if it is even mentioned at all). You might want to send a letter to that site as well? There are almost 750 sites mentioning that. :S If I ever wind up in a library I'll take a look for those books to see for myself. We can just leave it for now, better to omit a fact than include a lie. Vidioman 23:54, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I will interject. The website that was referenced and was then taken out either left out a word "and", as in "According to Native American Objibway lore, it is protected by Nanabijou[sic] and Spirits of the Deep Sea Water." or alternatively got two names mixed up, even mushed up, with the same sentence may should have said "According to Native American Objibway lore, it is protected by Michibijou, Spirit of the Deep Sea Water." Yes, the Anishinaabeg do say the region of and the Gichigami are protected by Nanabozho but the lake-water itself is protected by both the Nibiinaabeg and Mishibizhiw. Since site says "Nanabijou" instead of "Nanabojou", I suspect the names of "Michibijou" (Mishibizhiw) and "Nanabojou" (Nanabozho) got amalgamated here, resulting in a strange morphing into a Nibiinaabe. CJLippert 14:21, 17 April 2007 (UTC)