Glooscap Turns Bad Into Good

Hi dear friends and followers., I welcome you again to another legend of the Native American Abenaki people. Enjoy the story 

VERMONT

This is an outline map of the State of Vermont with notations of the Native American Peoples that once populated the area. They were forced out by the colonial expansion that took place during the 1600s in America. Most went into Canada.

The Abenaki were the dominant People in the region but there was a population of Mahican and Pennacook as well. Today's offerings are from the Legends of Glooscap. The following introduction to those legends is from the book titled

“Glooscap Legends” by Stanley T. Spicer.
INTRODUCTION

The land of the Wabenaki, the land nearest to the sunrise, comprises the area along the Atlantic seaboard inhabited by numerous Indian tribes, including the Micmacs, Malecites, Penobscots, and Passamaquoddies. Through the years one great legendary figures among these peoples has been the god-man, Glooscap.

Glooscap was endowed with supreme powers. He was credited with the creation of many wild creatures and the change in form of others. Even the land was not immune and structures of land and sea were attributed to his handiwork.

The stories of Glooscap and his works often have variances. Claimed by several tribes over a wide geographical area, each tribe passed on legends of its own. If he is known as Glooscap in the Maritime Provinces, elsewhere he bore such names as Glooskap, Gluskap, Kuloskap, and Klotescarp. There were, however, consistencies. Always he was portrayed as kind, benevolent, a warrior against evil, and the possessor of magical powers.

Glooscap Turns Bad Into Good

When Glooscap came in from the sea, he was riding in his canoe, which was made from stone. He ran aground near what we now call St. John. He had been chasing two giant beavers. He was trying to stop them from making any trouble.

He tried to stop them right there, where the Reversing Falls is today. He built a dam so they could not go up the river. But still, the beavers managed to get past Glooscap, and traveled up the Beautiful River, which is now called the St. John River.

Glooscap took two stones and threw them at the two beavers. One stone landed a long way up the river and became Grand Falls.

The other stone hit a beaver and landed in a rocky area, which is now called Plaster Rock. To this day, you can see the red clay on the river bank. They say it comes from the blood of the beaver.

Glooscap often used animals who were bad to make something good. He paddled up and down this Beautiful River (St. John River) many times.

Even near Kingsclear, where Glooscap came up, long before the Mactaquac Dam was built, he used the ledges to hold onto when he fell. Glooscap even left his image on those rocks. And where he left his snowshoes is where they were transformed and turned into the Snowshoe Islands.

These are all sacred places. Even the little people lived near the village of Kingsclear.

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Gluskabe Changes Maple Syrup

Long ago, the Creator made and gave many gifts to man to help him during his life. The Creator made the lives of the Abenaki People very good, with plenty of food to gather, grow, and hunt. The Maple tree at that time was one of these very wonderful and special gifts from the Creator. The sap was as thick and sweet as honey. All you had to do was to break the end off a branch and the syrup would flow out.

In these days Gluskabe would go from native village to village to keep an eye on the People for the Creator. One day Gluskabe came to an abandoned village. The village was in disrepair, the fields were overgrown, and the fires had gone cold. He wondered what had happened to the People.

He looked around and around, until he heard a strange sound. As he went towards the sound he could tell that it was the sound of many people moaning. The moaning did not sound like people in pain, but more like the sound of contentment. As he got closer he saw a large stand of beautiful maple trees. As he got closer still, he saw all the people were lying on their backs under the trees with the end of a branch broken off and dripping maple syrup into their mouths.

The maple syrup had fattened them up so much and made them so lazy that they could barely move. Gluskabe told them to get up and go back to their village to re-kindle their fires and to repair the village. But the people did not listen. They told him that they were content to lie there and to enjoy the maple syrup.

When Gluskabe reported this to the Creator, it was decided that it was again time that man needed another lesson to understand the Creator's ways. The Creator instructed Gluskabe to fill the maple trees with water. So Gluskabe made a large bucket from birch bark and went to the river to get water. 

He added water, and added more water, until the sap was like water. Some say he added a measure of water for each day between moons, or nearly 30 times what it was as thick syrup. After a while the People began to get up because the sap was no longer so thick and sweet.

They asked Gluskabe, “Where has our sweet drink gone?” He told them that this is the way it will be from now on. Gluskabe told them that if they wanted the syrup again, that they would have to work hard to get it. The sap would flow sweet only once a year before the new year of spring.

The People were shown that making syrup would take much work. Birch bark buckets would need to be made to collect the sap. Wood would be needed to be gathered to make fires to heat rocks, and the rocks would be needed to be put into the sap to boil the water out to make the this, sweet syrup that they were once so fond of. He also told them that they could get the sap for only a short time each year so that they would remember the error of their ways.
And so it is still to this day, each spring the Abenaki people remember Gluskabe's lesson in honoring Creator's gifts and work hard to gather the maple syrup that they love so much. Nialach!

Thank you for coming and taking interest in this story. You are also invited to share your thoughts and comments, they are valued and greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

The Lethia

Hi dear friends and followers. Today is Sunday and I wish to invite you to one more of my poems, this one about a young warrior who chose to battle the Lethia. Lethias are a species of dragon. 

The Lethia

Who is this, the creator of shadows,

that flies but in the darkness of night?

The creature of fire makes the darkness flee!

Once known to all as a handsome man,

brave and valiant, of great renown,

but out of grace with humanity he fell.

This warrior's courage caused him to fight,

to protect others in his land.

Until the one day long, long ago,

on his arm he was was bitten by the foe;

it was another creature of the night he stalked.

The wounds on his arm did not cause his death,

not in the sense of the body's decay.

Death came to him all the same

as a living death in another way.

It was almost like rabies, this disease he now had,

and it ran through his veins like the blood of his birth.

It carried a charm, transmutation, for sure.

He who was once handsome and brave,

the essence of the Lethia was now his form;

as through the midnight skies he flew,

Over the Valley of Bethane, where his people once lived.

O creature, as you breathe,

You know that the breath you take

may be your last one!

His love was the princess of the Vale of Bethane,

who bore true faith that he would one day return.

In Alvada she waited, and prayed he would come back.

Surrounded by the people who feared all that flew.

To go back was his quest, his princess to see.

But at what price the prize? It would cost him his life.

Slain by the sword of his own kind!

What a foul deed had befallen him!

As the days passed, each weighed on his heart.

He would be with his beloved

or die by a warriors sword.

Who did this thing

to he who flew the air

And had done no harm,

to be hunted and given no rest?

Even flying to distant lands,

He did not find peace.

For him the only peace would be found

with his beloved princess at his side.

No man-beast had ever gone

to be so slain by the sword so quickly.

Most avoided the footfall of man.

This man-beast was not evil.

But was forced into being both from the bite.

Some were using magic's power to overcome the beast,

but most gave chase with sword, lances. and bow.

Few knew the magic; in the world of man it was forbidden.

Dawn had begun to extend its fingers

of dim light over the misty forest.

Soon it would be time; the reckoning would come.

He could see Alvada's fortress walls,

Morning was bright as he flew over the wall,

and circled the courts and lanes below.

His mind was fixed on but one thing:

to capture the princess of Bethane.

If for no other reason

than to see her once more;

just to see her once more.

A crowd had gathered in the village square

In robes and gowns in a sea of colors;

He saw but one, like there were no others.

A turn, a swoop, and it would be done!

In his talons his love would be!

Screaming and kicking his love took flight,

Ascending as fast as his leathery wings could go.

The arrows flew and some tore into his side,

as others glanced off his scales and returned to the earth.

With his side bleeding, he continued to fly,

Disregarding the pain, he continued on,

to the Arch of the Rocks and the Labyrinthine Place.

When they arrived he gently set the princess free,

on the floor, then he landed a few feet away.

She bolted; he spoke, in a thunderous voice!

His flame lit-up the surrounding tunnels!

The princess froze, stock-still on the spot.

In a lower growl she heard the words,

“Please, do not go. I will do you no harm.”

There was something familiar in that voice.

She turned, and looked, and then she asked,

"What do you want from me, beast?”

“I was not always this beast, my princess.

Once not long ago, I was a man.

You and I, we were lovers.

we were promised to each other.”

The Princess took a deep breath

and prepared herself to speak.

The Lethia put a talon to his snout for a hush.

In the distance the many footsteps

and faint clattering of armed men was heard.

"We do not have long” he said.

“But I must tell you something before the end.

Do you remember, that special night?

We sat by the lake beneath the silver moon;

the loons sang, and nature's night sounds serenaded us.

“I asked you to be my love in union.

and we promised to be side by side;

until eternity comes, we are one.”

The princess' mind and heart were in shock!

She thought and moved as a woman possessed.

She believed what she heard and approached the beast.

As they touched it was like a lightning stroke!

A brilliance shone throughout the cavern,

So bright it filled the labyrinth with a glow

of iridescent hues of purple and gold!

The brilliance faded and all became plain.

He was no longer the beast of Bethane.

In his nakedness he caressed the princess.

When the armed men arrived,

they found nothing more

than a naked man

on the cold, stone floor;

with the princess locked in his loving embrace.

The captain of the guard knew the man at sight.

They welcomed from the dead

One of their own.

And in soldiers' cloaks to Alvada they returned.

The only fire left in the lovers' hearts burned.

So back to Alvada the troop, they went,

To celebrate an overdue, happy event.
Composed by 

Cynthia©.

Thank you for coming. I hope you have enjoyed poem on the Lethia. You are also invited to share your thoughts and comments, they are valued and greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Frizzy Lizzy time

“
HI dear friends and followers, welcome again to Frizzy Lizzy time. Take a few minutes and relax and enjoy a smile or two

Oh, hi! Sure, come on in! Pour a coffee and pull up a chair! I'm glad you're here. You can help me.

“It's time I did some stuff around the house. I can't decide if I want to sit around it, walk around it, or lie around it. What's that? Hang around it?

“I hung around the house last night. I went without a bra from the time I came home until I went to bed! Now that's a good one, don't you think? No, I mean, don't you think that was a good joke, not that you don't think.

“My boyfriend, Charley, and his best friend Louie, used to sit on the front porch all day long and I used to get all dressed up, and parade in front of them just to try to get a rise out of Charley. One day, I decided to surprise them both and I wore absolutely nothing. Louie turned to Charley and said, 

'Hey, what's Lizzy got on today?' 'I don't know," said Charley, 'but it sure needs ironing!' 

Then there was the time when Charley was suffering from silent gas emissions. I sent him to the doctor. He said 'Doc, you have to help me, I'm suffering from silent gas emissions. Last night at the movies I had 10 silent gas emissions, this morning at breakfast I had 2 silent gas emissions, and sitting here in this office with you I've had 5 silent gas emissions.

What the hell am I going to do?' 'Well,' said the doctor, 'the first thing we need to do is check your hearing.' 

“I won't say that Charley is a tightwad but we were out last night and we got robbed on the way to the car. The robber put a gun in Charley's back and said, 'Your money or your life!' Charley didn't move a muscle and just said, 'Give me a minute to think that over.' 

“This Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. I wish all of my friends in Canada a great weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving Day! I appreciate your friendship very much! “And for everyone celebrating Columbus Day in America, all I can say is that maybe the name of that day needs to be changed. What did Columbus really discover? The Bahamas were there long before he arrived and did just fine without him.

“Women are not MOODY! We simply have days when we are less inclined to PUT UP WITH SHIT!

“Vampires sleep all day. Fly where ever they want for free, and can't see themselves in a mirror. Where do I sign?

“What's that? You want to sign, too? Great! I'll have a friend 
to fly with!


Thank you for coming, I hope you have enjoyed Frizzy Lizzy. You are also invited to share your thoughts and comments, they are greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

The Swan Maidens

Hi dear friends and followers.
Today we take a break from Native American legends to look at a what one might call a classic “bedtime story.” By that I mean that the story deals with magical beings and magical things, fortuitous happenings, and a compact form that takes about 10 minutes to read or relate. You might have heard a story of this kind when you were 3 or 4 years old. Please take a few minutes to enjoy this story that appeared in a book of European fairy tales, published in 1916, that is now in the public domain.

The Swan Maidens
Joseph Jacobs

There was once a hunter who used often to spend the whole night stalking the deer or setting traps for game. 

Now it happened one night that he was watching in a clump of bushes near the lake for some wild ducks that he wished to trap. Suddenly he heard, high up in the air, a whirring of wings and thought the ducks were coming; and he strung his bow and got ready his arrows.

But instead of ducks there appeared seven maidens all clad in robes made of feathers, and they alighted on the banks of the lake, and taking off their robes plunged into the waters and bathed and sported in the lake. They were all beautiful, but of them all the youngest and smallest pleased most the hunter's eye, and he crept forward from the bushes and seized her dress of plumage and took it back with him into the bushes.

After the swan maidens had bathed and sported to their heart's delight, they came back to the bank wishing to put on their feather robes again; and the six eldest found theirs, but the youngest could not find hers.


They searched and they searched until at last the dawn began to appear, and the six sisters called out to her, "We must be away; it is the dawn; you meet your fate, whatever it be." And with that they donned their robes and flew away, and away, and away.

When the hunter saw them fly away he came forward with the feather robe in his hand; and the swan maiden begged and begged that he would give her back her robe. He gave her his cloak but would not give her her robe, feeling that she would fly away. And he made her promise to marry him, and took her home, and hid her feather robe where she could not find it. So they were married and lived happily together and had two fine children, a boy and a girl, who grew up strong and beautiful; and their mother loved them with all her heart.

One day her little daughter was playing at hide-and-seek with her brother, and she went behind the wainscoting to hide herself, and found there a robe all made of feathers, and took it to her mother. As soon as she saw it she put it on and said to her daughter, "Tell father that if he wishes to see me again he must find me in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon;" and with that she flew away.

When the hunter came home next morning his little daughter told him what had happened and what her mother said. So he set out to find his wife in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon. And he wandered for many days until he came across an old man who had fallen on the ground, and he lifted him up and helped him to a seat and tended him until he felt better.

Then the old man asked him what he was doing and where he was going. And he told him all about the swan maidens and his wife, and he asked the old man if he had heard of the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon.
And the old man said, "No, but I can ask."

Then he uttered a shrill whistle and soon all the plain in front of them was filled with all of the beasts of the world, for the old man was no less than the King of the Beasts.
And he called out to them, "Who is

 there here that knows where the Land is East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon?" But none of the beasts knew.

Then the old man said to the hunter, "You must go seek my brother who is the King of the Birds," and told him how to find his brother.

And after a time he found the King of the Birds, and told him what he wanted. So the King of the Birds whistled loud and shrill, and soon the sky was darkened with all the birds of the air, who came around him. Then he asked, "Which of you knows where is the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon?"
And none answered, and the King of the Birds said, "Then you must consult my brother the King of the Fishes," and he told him how to find him.

And the hunter went on, and he went on, and he went on, until he came to the King of the Fishes, and he told him what he wanted. And the King of the Fishes went to the shore of the sea and summoned all the fishes of the sea. And when they came around him he called out, "Which of you knows where is the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon?"

And none of them answered, until at last a dolphin that had come late called out, "I have heard that at the top of the Crystal Mountain lies the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon; but how to get there I know not save that it is near the Wild Forest."

So the hunter thanked the King of the Fishes and went to the Wild Forest. And as he got near there he found two men quarreling, and as he came near they came towards him and asked him to settle their dispute.

"Now what is it?" said the hunter."Our father has just died and he has left but two things, this cap which, whenever you wear it, nobody can see you, and these shoes, which will carry you through the air to whatever place you will. Now I being the elder claim the right of choice, which of these two I shall have; and he declares that, as the younger, he has the right to the shoes. Which do you think is right?"

So the hunter thought and thought, and at last he said, "It is difficult to decide, but the best thing I can think of is for you to race from here to that tree yonder, and whoever gets back to me first I will hand him either the shoes or the cap, whichever he wishes."

So he took the shoes in one hand and the cap in the other, and waited until they had started off running towards the tree. And as soon as they had started running towards the tree he put on the shoes of swiftness and placed the invisible cap on his head and wished himself in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon.

And he flew, and he flew, and he flew, over seven Bends, and seven Glens, and seven Mountain Moors, until at last he came to the Crystal Mountain. And on the top of that, as the dolphin had said, there was the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon.

Now when he got there he took off his invisible cap and shoes of swiftness and asked who ruled over the Land; and he was told that there was a king who had seven daughters who dressed in swans' feathers and flew wherever they wished.

Then the hunter knew that he had come to the Land of his wife. And he went boldly to the king and said, "Hail, oh king, I have come to seek my wife."

And the king said, "Who is she?"

And the hunter said, "Your youngest daughter." Then he told him how he had won her.

Then the king said, "If you can tell her from her sisters then I know that what you say is true." And he summoned his seven daughters to him, and there they all were, dressed in their robes of feathers and looking each like all the rest.

So the hunter said, "If I may take each of them by the hand I will surely know my wife"; for when she had dwelt with him she had sewn the little shifts and dresses of her children, and the forefinger of her right hand had the marks of the needle.

And when he had taken the hand of each of the swan maidens he soon found which was his wife and claimed her for his own. Then the king gave them great gifts and sent them by a sure way down the Crystal Mountain.

And after a while they reached home, and lived happily together ever afterwards.

Thank you for coming, I hope you have enjoyed the story. You are also invited to share your thoughts and comments, they are greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Moshup The Giant

Hi dear friends and followers today's offering is the Wampanoag legend of   Moshup the Giant. I hope you all find it to be interesting

Pennacook women

At this time a reminder about the relationship between the Native American Peoples and boundaries and maps seems in order. The original citizens of America did not live in individual states or rigidly marked territories as we do today. They did not believe in the private ownership of land. It was their position that the land owned them, and not the other way around. This made the boundaries between peoples and tribes rather fuzzy by comparison to state lines and national borders. Most tribes shared the land unless they were at war, which did not happen all that often and was not undertaken lightly. (The subject of Native Americans at war with one another can easily be the subject of a thesis paper or dissertation!)

This outline map of the State of New Hampshire shows the presence of two Native Peoples. The dominant People of the region were the Abenaki, whose home area went from New England into the Canadian Provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. This does not rule out their presence in Ontario but the were not likely a dominant culture there.

The Pennacook People were a tribe within the Wampanoag Nation that was once the dominant People of Massachusetts. Did you know the name "Massachusetts" is an Algonquian People word? It comes from the Wampanoag word Massachuset, which means "by the range of hills." The Wampanoag People were not the only native people of this region, however.

It was the Wampanoag who greeted and befriended the English pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620. The gifted the pilgrims with corn and turkeys and helped them to survive the first winter, for which the pilgrims gave thanks. Then the relationship went sour as the English desired to own the land upon which they were settling and did their best to swindle it from the Wampanoags, with the assistance of much alcohol. Eventually a war ensued and the Wampanoags were decisively beaten and many sold into slavery. Those who remained free hid. There are about 2,000 of their descendants living in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.

I have not been able to find anything about Wampanoag mythology on the Internet. However, I did find this Wampanoag legend that has been retold by one Deborah Champlain.
Moshup the Giant

Before the first European settlers came to this land, there lived on the coast of Massachusetts a giant named Moshup. Moshup lived among the Wampanoag People both on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. There are many tales and variations to this story about Moshup, but the one that we like the best goes something like this:

Moshup, a Wampanoag giant who once lived on the mainland of Massachusetts, decided one day to settle down on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard.

Moshup loved to sit on the top of the hill on the Vineyard near a town now called Gay Head. There is still evidence of his grand seat there in the crater above the cliffs.

Moshup loved whale meat, which he would catch with his hands, then cook over a fire he made by ripping the trees that surrounded him out of the ground. He did so much of this that there are barely any trees left today in the town of Gay Head.

To catch the whales, Moshup threw stoned into the water to step on, and that is how the rocks between Cuttyhunk and the mainland called Devil's Bridge came to be.

Moshup also loved the People who lived nearby him, and he would share his whale meat with them. He fed them so well that one year they gathered all of the tobacco they had harvested and gave it to Moshup to show their appreciation.

In his great pipe, Moshup smoked the tobacco, which was barely enough for a man his size; then he emptied the ashes into the water, and that is how the island of Nantucket came to be.

One day Moshup told the People that a new breed of man, with fairer skin than theirs, would soon be coming to their land. He warned the People not to let them on their shore, for if they did, the Wampanoag People would live no more.

Then Moshup quietly slipped away into the choppy waters off the bay. Soon after, pale faced men came ashore, and landed near the place where Moshup once lay. The Wampanoag People greeted them with friendship and let them stay, and Moshup has not been seen since that day.

You are also invited to share your thoughts and comments, they are greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿