The Way of the Heartbeat, part 14: Wenabozho and the Painted Drum

Ode’imini-giizis(Strawberry Moon) / Baashkaabigonii-giizis(Blooming Moon), June 28, 2023

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Maajiikamowin Madwewe ("the Sound of Creation") © 2023 Zhaawano Giizhik. Visit the webshop to view a photo or canvas print of the painting.

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Weshkad - a long time ago when the world was still young – there lived a female creator in Gichi-waawiyekamig - the great round sky lodge. Her name was Giizhigookwe, or “Sky Woman.” She had been born shortly after an omnipresent and all-encompassing power called "GICHI-MANIDOO" had initiated the creation of the Great Round Sky Lodge. This creation had started with the sound of a great multitude of zhiishiigwanan*, or rattles (shakers), which could best be compared with the noise of millions of hissing rattle snakes filling the Universe.

Zhiishiigwanan are the first drums known to the Anishinaabeg! These ancient sound-makers, which our Medicine People use in ceremony, carry seeds inside them; these seeds symbolize life and the first sound that we hear in the early morning when plants "pop" (shoot seeds). This makes it easy to understand that a zhiishiigwan, to us,symbolizes the creation of the cosmos. 

So, the whole sky lodge was filled with this intense sound created by a great multitude of rattles. This all-pervasive. high-frequency sound that traveled throughout space in many spiraling waves, initiated a brand new Order, called Anang Akiiwan, or Galaxy: An intricate system of spirits, stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, and the force that bound it all together was wiikobidoomaagan(gravity). The solar system was born!

Sky woman, as she was very intelligent and endowed with a power akin to that of the GICHI-MANIDOO, looked around her, examining the new Order. Although it seemed almost perfect, she thought by herself that there was still something missing. No being can exist without two inherent aspects, she thought – the world needs duality. The highly dynamic noise of the rattle that had preluded creation needs another, softer and more peaceful, earthly sound to make the Universe complete! But how was she going to find this sound? “Tayaa, aaniin waa ezhichigeyaan? Ahaaw, ninoondebwaajige ji-wiidokaagoyaan: Oh my! What am I going to do? Well, I need to have a dream to help me,” she said to herself.

So, this is when she decided to undergo a vision quest, through which she hoped to gain insight.

After 7 days and nights of fasting she finally had the vision she had been waiting for. A voice addressed her, telling her that it was the steady, healing sound of a heartbeat that would complement the noise of the rattles. And then she was told how to construct an instrument that could make that happen.

It took Sky Woman four days to make this instrument, which was the forerunner of the big community dance drum that, countless generations later, would become the most central and precious instrument in the ceremonial lives of the Anishinaabeg and Očhéthi ŠakówiŋPeoples. To make it, she needed materials that could only be found on the shield of a great turtle that floated through space, orbiting the Sun – and that is nowadays known as “planet earth.”

Wenabozho, who was very fond of his grandmother, did as he was told and without much ado, he left his abode and headed for the turtle planet. After a long journey through space and over land, he found his grandmother on a turtle-shaped island in a great freshwater sea! Sky Woman, smiling, greeted him and showed him the instrument she had made. Amused at her grandson for gazing in great awe at the huge object in front of him, she told him that the reason she had summoned him was that the Universe was in dire need of a heartbeat and that she needed his help to find it. She explained to him that the instrument in front of him, whose shape reflected the shape and paths of the earth, sun, moon, and stars, was nothing short of akikwe dewe’igan: "An instrument that makes the sound of mother earth’s heart." On its deer hide membrane, which was fixed around the instrument’s rim with the aid of a fur hoop, she had painted a yellow stripe that divided two halves, one red, one blue. Red is for the earth and blue is for sky, she told him. The yellow stripe, she told him, symbolizes bimaadiziwin (life), as it represents Giizis’ (the Sun’s) path from east to west. The drum is never to be used at night, she warned him, because the stripe indicates the path of Giizis – the passing of sacred time; therefore, she said, the drum is to be used only when the sun is out. She went on by explaining that “This here dewe’igan is the first of many dewe’iganan to come. He stands symbol for the Universe, and each dewe’igan will be related to every other dewe’igan, as they are linked in countless chains of dewe’iganan that together fill the Universe with their sound. They speak to one another, and they give their songs to all beings and energies that dwell the great sky lodge of the Universe.

Sky woman closed her eye for a moment, then pointed her chin in the direction of the drum and said: “The shape of the dewe’iggan is a reminder that everything in the Universe is round and that everything in nature happens in a circle. The spirits that were used to construct the dewe’igan, wood and hide and feathers, represent the virtues of TRUTH and KINDNESS and SPIRIT. A tree growing straight into the sky stands for truth, while the soft hide used for the drum's membrane is a gift from the deer, who represents kindness. The eagle feathers attached to the drum posts and the drumsticks are gifts from Migizi the eagle, and symbolize spirituality, as wel as the virtues and powers of wisdom, strength, and love.”

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"Wenabozho's Creation Dance"© 2023 Zhaawano Giizhik. Visit the webshop to view a photo or canvas print of the painting.

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Next, Sky Woman blew her sacred breath into the dewe’igan and carefully put four sticks, their ends wrapped in hide, on top of the round instrument that stood in front of her grandson; each time she laid down a stick on the painted membrane Wenabozho heard a deep, resonant note that could be heard throughout the Universe. “These here sticks, called dewe’iganaatigoog or ‘drumsticks,’ she said, “are, like the drum itself, a sacred gift from the female world to the domain of men. They represent the four directions, as do the drummers and singers who take their place around the drum to make it sing.”

Sky Woman leaned toward her grandson, peering at him, frowning. Then she said with a serious tone of voice “Remember, noozis (grandson), that the drum is manidoowi (a spiritual being) like us and has a dual power once its membrane is touched by a dewe’iganaatig: The power to heal and the power to kill. The thoughts and intentions of the owner of a drum is directly felt in the world that surrounds them and influences the energy that exists there, either in a good or a bad way. So, it is important that you, as you are the first man who walks the earth, handle and safeguard the sacred feminine energy that is in these sacred objects with responsibility and care.”

After a brief silence Sky Woman continued, “I have called you here to assign you the task to, through the dewe’igan, use your powers to disperse the sound of mother earth’s heartbeat to all four corners of the earth and far beyond. I need you to gift the dewe’igan that you receive today, and convey the teaching that goes with it, to future mankind, once they start populating the great turtle planet called earth.”

Sky Woman, knowing the dewe’igan was safe with her grandson, ascended back into the sky, but not before she spoke her final words: “The drum is a spirit, a living being, and mankind will always honor and remember him and call him by his name, Gaa-gizhewaadizid, “The Gracious One.” Use the powerful gift that was presented to you today wisely, noozis. I trust that as you walk the earth you travel a spare, true road.”

And up she went, dancing in the calm, erect, and dignified manner of a spirit. Her makizinan moved lightly to the beat of the drum whom she had touched with her fingertips one last time, mingled with the twinkling sound of her dress that reminded Wenabozho of the comforting sound of falling rain. Even after she had disappeared, he could still hear her voice ring throughout the Universe:

Apane mikwendan
Giishpin biminizha’aman onowe
Gichi-dewe'igan gikinaamaagewinan
Giga-mino-bimaadiz wiiji’inenimadwaa
gidinawemaaganag.

(“Always remember

When you live according to

Teachings of the Big Drum

You will live a life of peace and harmony

With All of Your Relatives.")

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"Sky Woman's Dance on the Great Turtle Island"© 2023 Zhaawano Giizhik. Visit the webshop to view a photo or canvas print of the painting.

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Wenabozho, as soon as his grandmother had danced out of view and disappeared behind the moon, pondered her words for a while. “I will take heed of grandmother’s teaching” he said to himself, “and so must the men. The drum and the sticks are a gift to the men, but grandmother was right. Sitting at the drum entails a big responsibility. The men must always seek peace over war and always treat their spouses and children and grandchildren with kindness. They must never forget their roles and responsibilities in their communities and always honor the primacy of women and their role and place in the lives of the People. As soon as grandfather Giizis rises above the eastern horizon I will offer asemaa (tobacco) and wiingashk (sweetgrass) to the dewe’igan, and respectfully address him as Nimishoom Gaa-gizhewaadizid, My Grandfather the Gracious One.” Next, he covered the drum with a rabbit fur blanket and went to sleep. 

Thus, Wenabozho, the grandson of Sky Woman, through his sacred dance, helped his grandmother to fulfill her vision. Through his dance, he empowered the beings of the Earth and the entire Universe with the revitalizing heartbeat it needed to become whole...

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"Turtle Island Drummers"© 2023 Zhaawano Giizhik. Visit the webshop to view details of the painting..

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Now, many strings of lives later, each Berry Moon (the month of July) the rattle of the zhiishiigwan (ceremonial shaker) and the pulsing sound of gichi-dewe’igan, the Big Drum with their unifying and healing powers still reverberate across Anishinaabe Aki, the land of the Anishinaabeg Peoples and Turtle Island at large. Thanks to the teaching of the Sacred Drum Vision that Sky Woman, through Wenabozho, imparted to us, we know and are fully aware that SOUND and MORALITY are the core and essence of our cultural and spiritual life and practice as manifested in our Medicine Lodges.

Geget sa go! Sure enough, thanks to Sky Woman and Wenabozho, the zhiishiigwan and the gichi-dewe’igan, like no other spirit instruments, teach us the value of mutual sharing with one another and with the natural world around us. They remind us as People and as individuals of our oneness with the Universe and of our dependence on nature and the spirit world. Consequently, on an earthly level, they teach us about the important principle of mino-gwayako-bimaadiziwin, living a good and honest life.

And even today we remember and honor first man and first brother Wenabozho for bringing us the teaching of Sky Woman’s Vision Drum and for showing us the importance, through the act of sound-making and dancing, of restoring and perpetuating the sacred balance that exists between the earth and all life forms. Thanks to him, we know that the heartbeat of the land we live on pulses within us all. And thanks to him we know how, by sitting at the great drum and chanting sacred songs, we can travel through all layers of existence and reconnect with the heartbeat of creation, nurturing our relationship with our relatives and with all beings of past, present, and future, seen and unseen, living in all directions. 

NOTE:

*Zhinawinigan, or zhiishiigwan or rattle, is the first drum known to the Ojibweg. Since time immemorial, rattles, or shakers are used in rhythmic accompaniment to singing. The word is derived from zhiishiigwe, rattlesnake. Provided with a wooden handle and filled with small pebbles or shot (seeds), some zhiishiigwanan are traditionally made of birch bark strips shaped into cylinders (see the rattle sitting on top of the drum in the above video) while others are simply fashioned from hide stretched over willow hoops. The seeds inside a rattle, which symbolize life and the first sound that we hear in the early morning when plants pop (shoot seeds), symbolize the creation of the cosmos. A flat hoop, or drum-shaped rattle, sometimes called wiikaan ("brother") is used like a tambourine by a Mide doctor during healing practice. Mideg also use these rattles to “shoot miigis power” into an initiate or patient during initiation or curing rituals. Zhiishiigwanan, like many items used in daily and ceremonial life on earth, have a direct connection with the spirits in the sky world. Among the Ininewak (Cree), who are cousins of the Anishinaabeg and have pretty similar cosmological beliefs, the sound of the rattle heralds the song and the arrival of sikwun (ziigwan in our language), the star constellation that encompasses the star that we call Giiwedin Anang, the North Star (Polaris). The root word of Sisikwun/Zhiishiigwan is Sikwun/Ziigwan...Spring.