The baykok (or pau'guk, paguk, baguck; ''bakaak'' in the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...

and ''pakàk'' in the

Algonquin language Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by th ...

) is a

malevolent spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...

from the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

of the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

y nation.

In traditional culture

The Baykok is a character from the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

''aadizookaan'' (traditional stories). It is said to fly through the forests of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region. The cries of Baykok are also described as being shrill. Described as "Death" in ''

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his l ...

'', it is said to appear as an extremely emaciated

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

-like figure, with thin translucent skin and glowing red points for eyes. The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim. Baykok was also said to approach a sleeping hunter, gently cut an opening in the chest and remove a piece of the stomach, without waking the victim. The word ''bakaak'' in the

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...

means "skeleton" in the sense of "bones draped in skin" rather than "bare-bones", such that it lends itself to words like ''bakaakadozo'', meaning "to be thin/skinny/poor", and ''bakaakadwengwe'', meaning "to have a lean/thin face". The name ''Bakaak'' occasionally appears as ''Bekaak'' (reflected in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as "Baykok"), which may be a shortening of ''bekaakadwaabewizid'', meaning "an extremely thin being". The description of ''Bakaaks shrill cries (''bagakwewewin'', literally meaning "clear/distinct cries") is a pun of its name. The method the ''Bakaak'' uses to subdue its victim is another pun of its name: the word for "to beat using a club" is ''baagaakwaa'ige''. A similar construct is found in the name for the basketry splints called ''baagaako'igan'', prepared by pounding

black ash Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Acer negundo'', native to North America * ''Fraxinus nigra'', native to North America * ''Eucalyptus sieberi ''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or bl ...

. Yet another pun on the name is the way the ''Bakaak'' "flings its victim's chest open" (''baakaakwaakiganezh'') to devour the victim's liver.

In popular culture

First introduced to the non-Anishinaabe public through ''

'', the baykok is occasionally referenced in modern fiction. Elliot James' novel ''Daring'' features a bakaak which hunts werewolves. The Bakaak is depicted as a race of primordial homonins that preyed upon early humans in Gemma Files's short story ''Grave Goods''. The Baykok also appears in the Japanese franchise of role-playing games ''

Megami Tensei ''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...

'', in the first two installments of the Shin Megami Tensei series as a demon enemy.

External links

List of words found in ''The Song of Hiawatha''

References

{{Reflist * Cuoq, Jean André. 1886. ''Lexique de la Langue Algonquine''. Montréal: J. Chapleau & Fils. * Johnston, Basil. 2001. ''The Manitous: the spiritual world of the Ojibway''. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. * Nichols, John D. and Earl Nyholm. 1995. ''A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Ojibwe legendary creatures Native American demons Undead

In traditional culture

In popular culture

See also

External links

References