--- title: Myths and Folk-lore of the Timagami Ojibwa., part 1 — Myths and Folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin… · full text with trees description: Myths and Folk-lore of the Timagami Ojibwa., part 1, «Myths and Folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin and Timagami Ojibwa» by Frank G. Speck: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: Introduction. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/11/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Myths and Folk-lore of the Timiskaming…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/) / Myths and Folk-lore of the Timagami Oj… # Myths and Folk-lore of the Timagami Ojibwa., part 1 Myths and Folk-lore of the Timagami Ojibwa., part 1 of «Myths and Folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin and Timagami Ojibwa» by Frank G. Speck: the whole text, 174 sentences and 2617 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/11/page/2/) Introduction.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") In the following pages are presented the myths and items of folk-lore related by various informants through Aleck Paul, the second chief of the Timagami band of Ojibwa.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") I present them without any comparisons with other mythologies at this time, as we may expect before long to have more northern Algonkian mythology available for study and analysis.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") (1) Nenebuc, the Transformer.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") (a) The Magic Birth of Nenebuc and his Four Brothers.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") \[10\][6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") There were two people living, a man and his wife, who had an only daughter.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") When she was twelve years old, the age of puberty, she was taken over a hill and was kept there in a camp alone for twelve days, neither eating nor drinking, in order that she might have a dream.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") \[11\] If she should eat or drink, she would have no dream.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") If, while she was dreaming, a panther came alone, she would be very strong.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") So her parents kept her there.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The girl dreamed of the sun, so she could not look at the sun any more, for if she did so, she would have to go away from her parents and live with the sun. When the girl had had this dream, she went back to her parents and her father asked her, “What have you been dreaming?”[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") “I am very sorry, but I have dreamed of the sun, so I cannot ever look at the sun again,” replied his daughter.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") “Well, now it is too bad, but you mustn’t look at the sun,” said her father.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") “You stay here all the time.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") Don’t look at the sun, that’s all.”[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") The girl used to get water at the shore and stay there a long time.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") One day in March, she went to the water hole, broke the ice and looked into the water.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") In so doing, she made a mistake, for there was no cloud in the sky and the sun was shining brightly near the horizon, so that, early in the morning, she looked at the sun. \[12\] She brought the water back in a birch bark pail and placed it inside the wigwam, but she could not sit down.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") “What is the matter?” said her father.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") “Why, I looked at the sun,” answered his daughter.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") “Well, good-bye, you’ve got to live with the sun now,” said her father.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the girl and her parents shook hands and she went away to live with the sun, and is there yet.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") Before she went away she said to her father, “You will see your grandchildren before long.”[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") Then she told him to put his wooden dish upside down before the fire and to leave it there four days and four nights and to look under it every morning.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") Then she went to live with the sun.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") So the old man put the dish upside down before the fire.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") The first morning he lifted the edge of the dish, looked under, and there he saw Nenebuc, the child of the sun, sitting.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") The next morning he did the same thing and he saw Nenebuc’s brother sitting with him.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") He kept doing this the third, fourth, and fifth mornings, until there were Nenebuc and his four brothers all sitting under the dish.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the old man picked up the dish.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") One of the brothers, the second brother, had horns on his head and the old man said to him, “You won’t stay here.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") You go to the west.”[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he sent one brother to the east, one to the south, and one to the north.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") So Nenebuc, the eldest of the five, was left.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") The old man told him to attend to the world and to keep the winds going just right lest the water get stagnant and bad.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") Then Nenebuc stayed, and his four brothers started to the four parts of the earth.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") One day Nenebuc asked his grandfather, “Where have I been born?[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") Had I a mother like other people?”[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") His grandfather would not tell him, but his grandmother told him that he had been found.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") This appeared queer to Nenebuc and he thought to himself, “The other people have mothers, but I have none.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") I must find out.”[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") So he took a whetstone and, scraping it on a rock, he asked it, “Have I any mother?”[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") “Yes, you have a mother,” replied the whetstone and then it told him his story.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") Then Nenebuc told his grandfather, “I have a mother and four brothers besides.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") The whetstone told me so.”[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") Soon Nenebuc began growing larger and he thought it strange that he had not been sent out into the world like his brothers, so he asked his grandfather for what reason he had kept him.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") His grandfather told him that he had kept him at home so that when he became old and feeble Nenebuc would be able to help him, cut wood for him, and hunt for him.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") This satisfied Nenebuc and he used to help his grandfather in many ways, spearing fish for him in calm days, hunting for him, and doing many other things.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") He never got into any mischief and he grew very fast.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") (b) Nenebuc Tempers the Wind.[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") One summer Nenebuc was unable to get fish for the whole summer on account of the high winds.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") The people almost starved, and then Nenebuc became very angry.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") He did not like to see his grandfather starving and his anger was aroused against the West Wind for blowing so much.[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") So he told his grandfather that he was going to kill the West Wind for this, but the old man said to him, “Don’t kill him.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") Make him let the wind blow a while and then stop, so that everything will be all right, but don’t kill him.”[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") “Well, I won’t be long away and I’ll punish my brother”, replied Nenebuc.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") So he went away and finally met his brother, the one with the two horns, who lived in the west.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") Nenebuc hammered him soundly with a club and broke one of his horns.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") This hurt him, but did not kill him.[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") Then Nenebuc said, “Don’t blow so hard any more.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") You don’t care for your grandfather, but I do and I fear he and the people will starve.”[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he arranged things with his brother and went back.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") After this he went fishing and found it calm with only a little puff of wind now and then.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the West Wind told his three brothers not to blow, for if they did Nenebuc would come and kill them.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") The winds became frightened at this and did not blow at all, and because of this the water grew thick and stagnant and Nenebuc was unable to fish.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") Then his grandfather said, “We are going to die.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") There is no wind and the water is bad.[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") Did you kill the West Wind?”[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") “No,” said Nenebuc.[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") “I will go and see him and tell him to send the wind once in a while, not too often but just right.”[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") So Nenebuc went to his brother, the West Wind, and said to him, “I came here to tell you that I want a little wind once in a while, but not too much.”[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") Then everything was arranged satisfactorily.[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") Shortly after this Nenebuc’s grandparents died and were heard of no more.[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") \[13\][75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") (c) Nenebuc Starts Travelling, Anum Suum Castigat for Deceiving Him, Changes the Colour of the Partridge Family, and Originates Rock Tripe from his Scabs for the Benefit of the People.[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") Now Nenebuc grew up and was alone.[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") He was a man and began to travel.[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") He knew all kinds of things concerning the trees, the world, and everything which his grandfather had taught him.[79](79/ "tree and pragmatics") He set out on his first journey and went toward the mountains.[80](80/ "tree and pragmatics") In one day’s walk he climbed over three great mountains, something that no man could do.[81](81/ "tree and pragmatics") When he reached the top of the first mountain he found a goose and killed it.[82](82/ "tree and pragmatics") In like manner he killed a goose on the tops of the second and third mountains.[83](83/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he went down to the lake below.[84](84/ "tree and pragmatics") He was very, very tired from his first day’s journey.[85](85/ "tree and pragmatics") He made a fire with his bow-drill \[14\] and put his geese in the sand, which he had heated to bake them in.[86](86/ "tree and pragmatics") He buried them with their legs sticking out.[87](87/ "tree and pragmatics") He lay down by the fire and ano suo dixit to watch the geese while he slept, so that no one would steal them.[88](88/ "tree and pragmatics") Just as he was dozing off to sleep, anus ejus dixit, “Somebody’s coming for your geese!” and Nenebuc jumped up.[89](89/ "tree and pragmatics") Sed anus ejus eum deci piebat.[90](90/ "tree and pragmatics") It did this three or four times.[91](91/ "tree and pragmatics") At last Nenebuc grew angry.[92](92/ "tree and pragmatics") He took a club and anum suum percussit and told it not to do that again.[93](93/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he went to sleep.[94](94/ "tree and pragmatics") Some people came along and stole the geese, but left the legs sticking in the same place.[95](95/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/11/page/2/) - ← previous: [Timiskaming Folk-lore.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/10/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/11/page/2/) - ↑ back to [Myths and Folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin and Timagami Ojibwa](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66509/)