Pamola (also known as Pamolai, P-mol-a, Pomola, and Bmola) is a legendary bird spirit that appears in

Abenaki mythology The Abenaki people are an indigenous peoples of the Americas located in the Northeastern Woodlands region. Their religious beliefs are part of the ''Midewiwin'' tradition, with ceremonies led by medicine keepers, called ''Medeoulin'' or ''Mdawi ...

. This spirit causes cold weather. Specifically, according to the

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

tribal nation, Pamola inhabited Katahdin, the tallest mountain in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Pamola is said to be the

thunder god Polytheistic peoples from many cultures have postulated a thunder god, the personification or source of the forces of thunder and lightning; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction, and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European c ...

and protector of the mountain. The Penobscot people describe him as having the head of a

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

, the body of a man and the wings and feet of an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

. Pamola was both feared and respected by the Penobscot nation, and his presence was one of the main reasons that climbing the mountain was considered taboo. The spirit resented mortals intruding from down below. Because of this, the mountain was closed off limits to all below.

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

, of his August, 1846 exploration of the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's We ...

and Katahdin wrote, "Pomola is always angry with those who climb to the summit of Ktaadn." It was also widely believed that Pamola had took and held prisoners on his mountain forever. The name is now preserved on ''Pamola Peak'', a summit on Katahdin at the eastern edge of the Knife Edge ridge. The

Pamola Lodge Scouting in Maine dates back to the creation of the Katahdin Area Council in 1920 and has continued prominently to the present day. Boy Scouts of America History Boy Scouting started early in Maine, with two local councils in operation by Fe ...

of the

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner G ...

is an honor camping society of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

; Pamola's image is commonly used on several of the society's insignia. Roy Dudley, probably the most notable of the early guides on Katahdin, was known for his campfire yarns about Pamola.

References

Further reading