Odziozo, also called Oodzee-hozo, is a

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

(specifically

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

) legend. His name means "He who Created Himself," or "Transformer." He is attributed with the creation of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; french: Lac Champlain) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The New York portion of t ...

, Tuxis Island and

Pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

, Rock Dunder, and Samson Rock, among other landforms, including mountains and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s. The legend states that he grew his arms and head from his body, but his legs grew slowly. He passed the time by forming

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artificia ...

, and

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

. After carving out and flooding Champlain, then known as ''Bitawbágw'', ''Petoubouque'' or ''Petonbowk'', meaning 'lake in between,' he followed a flock of migrating geese south along a glacier. He arrived in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, where he took a handful of earth and flung it to sea. The piece that landed in Long Island Sound became Tuxis Island, and another piece that fell out of his hand became Samson Rock. The hole, Tuxis Pond, was filled in the resulting splash. Odziozo then turned, stepping on the rock (It is assumed his legs were grown in by then), and went back to

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

to get to his home, Rock Dunder, where, exhausted, he turned himself into a stone, so as to be permanently with his favorite creation. Odziozo is often said to have lived before animals evolved legs, and, as such, many of the landforms he created were caused by the dragging of his body by his long arms. Rock Dunder, in Shelburne,

, is supposedly where his spirit and body are kept. The Madison section of the story is most likely a more recent legend. Odziozo has a

boat race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

named after him in Lake Champlain. At least one expert thinks that the glacier mentioned in the legend was added in the 17th century.

Name variants

Odziozo has several name variants, including Wo-ja-ho-sen, Odzihozo, Odzihózo, Bemee-geedzin-pobi-zeed, Odzeez, Odzihodo, and Ojihozo. He is often confused with

Glooscap Glooscap (variant forms and spellings ''Gluskabe'', ''Glooskap'', ''Gluskabi'', ''Kluscap'', ''Kloskomba'', or ''Gluskab'') is a legendary figure of the Wabanaki peoples, native peoples located in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Atlantic Ca ...

References

Abenaki legendary creatures Algonquian legendary creatures {{NorthAm-myth-stub

Name variants

See also

References