Underwater panther
Encyclopedia
An Underwater panther is a powerful creature in the mythological traditions of some Native American tribes, particularly Anishinaabe
tribes, the Odawa
, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi
, of the Great Lakes
region of Canada
and the United States
. In addition to the Anishinaabeg, Innu also have Mishibizhiw stories.
To the Algonquins, the underwater panther, or Mishibijiw, was the most powerful underworld
being. The Ojibwe traditionally held them to be masters of all water creatures, including snakes. Some versions of the Nanabozho
creation legend refer to whole communities of water lynx
.
Archaeologists believe that underwater panthers were major components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
of the Mississippian culture
in the prehistoric American Southeast
, this creature is sometimes called "Mishibizhiw", "Mishipizhiw", "Mishipizheu", "Mishupishu", "Mishepishu", "Michipeshu", or "Mishibijiw", which translates as "Great Lynx," or Gichi-anami'e-bizhiw ("Gitche-anahmi-bezheu"), which translates as "the fabulous night panther." However, it is also commonly referred to as the "Great underground wildcat" or "Great under-water wildcat."
s, masters of the powers of the air. Underwater Panthers are seen as an opposing yet complementary force to the Thunderbirds, and they are engaged in eternal conflict.
Underwater panther was an amalgam of features from many animals: the body of a wild feline, often a mountain lion or lynx
; the horns of deer
or bison
; upright scales on its back; occasionally bird feathers; and parts from other animals as well, depending on the particular myth. Underwater panthers are represented with exceptionally long tails, occasionally with serpentine properties. The creatures are thought to roar or hiss in the sounds of storms or rushing rapids.
Mishipizheu were said to live in the deepest parts of lakes and rivers, where they can cause storms. Some traditions believed the underwater panthers to be helpful, protective creatures, but more often they were viewed as malevolent beasts that brought death and misfortune. They often need to be placated for safe passage across a lake. As late as the 1950s, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi
Indians performed a traditional ceremony to placate the Underworld Panther and maintain balance with the Thunderbird.
When ethnographer Johann Kohl visited the United States in the 1850s, he spoke with a Fond du Lac
chief, who showed Kohl a piece of copper kept in his medicine bag
. The chief said it was a strand of hair from the mishibizhiw, and thus considered extremely powerful.
The underwater panther is well represented in pictographs. Historical Anishnaabe twined and quilled
men's bags often feature an underwater panther on one panel and the Thunderbird on the other. Norval Morrisseau
(Ojibwe) painted underwater panthers in his Woodlands style
artworks, contemporary paintings based on Ojibwe oral history and cosmology.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization
includes an underwater panther in its coat of arms.
represents the underwater panther. Lepper suggests that early European settlers, when learning from Native Americans that the mound represented a fierce creature that lived in the water and ate people, mistakenly assumed that the Native Americans were referring to an alligator.
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
tribes, the Odawa
Odawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
, of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In addition to the Anishinaabeg, Innu also have Mishibizhiw stories.
To the Algonquins, the underwater panther, or Mishibijiw, was the most powerful underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
being. The Ojibwe traditionally held them to be masters of all water creatures, including snakes. Some versions of the Nanabozho
Nanabozho
In Anishinaabe mythology, particularly among the Ojibwa, Nanabozho is a spirit, and figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creation. Nanabozho is the Ojibwe trickster figure and culture hero...
creation legend refer to whole communities of water lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
.
Archaeologists believe that underwater panthers were major components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from...
of the Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
in the prehistoric American Southeast
Name
In the Ojibwe languageOjibwe language
Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...
, this creature is sometimes called "Mishibizhiw", "Mishipizhiw", "Mishipizheu", "Mishupishu", "Mishepishu", "Michipeshu", or "Mishibijiw", which translates as "Great Lynx," or Gichi-anami'e-bizhiw ("Gitche-anahmi-bezheu"), which translates as "the fabulous night panther." However, it is also commonly referred to as the "Great underground wildcat" or "Great under-water wildcat."
Description
In Native American mythologies of the Great Lakes, underwater panthers are described as water monsters that live in opposition to the ThunderbirdThunderbird (mythology)
The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a "supernatural" bird of power and strength...
s, masters of the powers of the air. Underwater Panthers are seen as an opposing yet complementary force to the Thunderbirds, and they are engaged in eternal conflict.
Underwater panther was an amalgam of features from many animals: the body of a wild feline, often a mountain lion or lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
; the horns of deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
or bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
; upright scales on its back; occasionally bird feathers; and parts from other animals as well, depending on the particular myth. Underwater panthers are represented with exceptionally long tails, occasionally with serpentine properties. The creatures are thought to roar or hiss in the sounds of storms or rushing rapids.
Mishipizheu were said to live in the deepest parts of lakes and rivers, where they can cause storms. Some traditions believed the underwater panthers to be helpful, protective creatures, but more often they were viewed as malevolent beasts that brought death and misfortune. They often need to be placated for safe passage across a lake. As late as the 1950s, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
Indians performed a traditional ceremony to placate the Underworld Panther and maintain balance with the Thunderbird.
When ethnographer Johann Kohl visited the United States in the 1850s, he spoke with a Fond du Lac
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is an Anishinaabe band located near Cloquet, Minnesota. Their land-base is the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation , located mainly in Carlton and St...
chief, who showed Kohl a piece of copper kept in his medicine bag
Medicine bag
A medicine bag is a traditional North American Indian container for various items of supernatural power. While anyone may have one, usually it would be the medicine man, or shaman, of a tribe who would carry one...
. The chief said it was a strand of hair from the mishibizhiw, and thus considered extremely powerful.
Depictions in art
Quillwork
Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Native Americans that employs the quills of porcupines as a decorative element.-History:...
men's bags often feature an underwater panther on one panel and the Thunderbird on the other. Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau, CM , also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Aboriginal Canadian artist. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential...
(Ojibwe) painted underwater panthers in his Woodlands style
Woodlands Style
The Woodland School Of Art, also named Woodlands style, Woodlands School, or Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among First Nations and Native American artists from the Great Lakes area - including northern Ontario and southwestern Manitoba...
artworks, contemporary paintings based on Ojibwe oral history and cosmology.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
includes an underwater panther in its coat of arms.
"Alligator" mound
In 2003 archaeologist Brad Lepper suggested that the Alligator Effigy Mound in Granville, OhioGranville, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,167 people, 1,309 households, and 888 families residing in the village. The population density was 790.4 people per square mile . There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 345.4 per square mile...
represents the underwater panther. Lepper suggests that early European settlers, when learning from Native Americans that the mound represented a fierce creature that lived in the water and ate people, mistakenly assumed that the Native Americans were referring to an alligator.
See also
- Anishinaabe traditional beliefs
- NguruviluNguruviluThe Nguruvilu "fox snake" is a creature found in the Mapuche mythology of Chile.-Legend:...
- PiasaPiasaThe Piasa or Piasa Bird is a Native American dragon depicted in one of two murals painted by Native Americans on bluffs above the Mississippi River. Its original location was at the end of a chain of limestone bluffs in Madison County, Illinois at present-day Alton, Illinois...
- Horned Serpent
- Southeastern Ceremonial ComplexSoutheastern Ceremonial ComplexThe Southeastern Ceremonial Complex is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from...