![Underwater panther NMAI GGH](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Underwater_panther_NMAI_GGH.jpg)
An underwater panther, called ' (in
Ojibwe syllabics
Ojibwe is an indigenous language of North America from the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is one of the largest Native American languages north of Mexico in terms of number of speakers and is characterized by a series of dialects, some of ...
: ) or ' (in syllabics: ) in
Ojibwe
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 ...
(), is one of the most important of several mythical water beings among many
Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands
Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part ...
and
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, particularly among 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, ...
.
' translates into "the Great Lynx". It has the head and paws of a giant cat but is covered in scales and has dagger-like spikes running along its back and tail. Mishipeshu calls
Michipicoten Island
Michipicoten Island is an island in Ontario, Canada, in the northeastern part of Lake Superior, about northwest of Sault Ste. Marie and southwest of Wawa, Ontario. At its closest point to mainland Ontario, the island is located about from t ...
in
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
his home and is a powerful creature in the mythological traditions of some Indigenous North American tribes, particularly
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, ...
, the
Odawa
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
,
Ojibwe
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 ...
, and
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
, 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 of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
In addition to the Anishinaabeg,
Innu
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
also have ''Mishibizhiw'' stories.
To the
Algonquins
The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
, the underwater panther was the most powerful
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
being. The
Ojibwe
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 ...
traditionally held them to be masters of all water creatures, including snakes. Some versions of the
Nanabozho
In Anishinaabe ''aadizookaan'' (traditional storytelling), particularly among the Ojibwe, Nanabozho (in syllabics: , ), also known as Nanabush, is a spirit, and figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creat ...
creation legend refers to whole communities of water
lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
.
Some archaeologists believe that underwater panthers were major components of the
Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (formerly the Southern Cult), aka S.E.C.C., is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture. It coincided with their ado ...
of the
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...
in the prehistoric American Southeast.
Name
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 ...
, this creature is sometimes called ', ', ', ', ', ',
or ', which translates as "Great Lynx", or ' ("Gitche-anahmi-bezheu"), which translates as "the fabulous night panther".
However, it is also commonly referred to as the "Great underground wildcat" or "Great under-water wildcat."
It is the most important of the underwater animals for the Ojibwa.
Description
![Agawa Rock, panel VIII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Agawa_Rock%2C_panel_VIII.jpg)
In
mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes, underwater panthers are described as water monsters that live in opposition to the
Thunderbirds,
masters of the powers of the air. Underwater Panthers are seen as an opposing yet complementary force to the Thunderbirds, and they are engaged in eternal conflict.
The underwater panther was an amalgam of parts from many animals: the body of a wild feline, often a
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
or
lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
; the horns of
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
or
bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
; upright scales on its back;
occasionally
feather
Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...
s; and parts from other animals as well, depending on the particular myth. Underwater panthers are represented with exceptionally long tails,
occasionally with serpentine properties.
The creatures are thought to roar or hiss in the sounds of storms or rushing rapids.
' were said to live in the deepest parts of lakes and rivers, where they can cause storms.
Some traditions believed the underwater panthers to be helpful, protective creatures, but more often they were viewed as malevolent beasts that brought death and misfortune. They often need to be placated for safe passage across a lake.
As late as the 1950s, the Prairie Band of
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
Indians performed a traditional ceremony to placate the Underwater Panther and maintain balance with the Thunderbird.
When ethnographer
Johann Georg Kohl
Johann Georg Kohl (28 April 1808, in Bremen – 28 October 1878) was a German travel writer, historian, and geographer.
Life
Son of a wine merchant, he attended a gymnasium in Bremen, and then studied law at the universities of Göttingen, Hei ...
visited the United States in the 1850s, he spoke with a
Fond du Lac chief, who showed Kohl a piece of copper kept in his
medicine bag
A medicine bag is usually a small pouch, worn by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas, that contains sacred items. A personal medicine bag may contain objects that symbolize personal well-being and tribal identity. Traditionally, medicine bags ...
. The chief said it was a strand of hair from the ', and thus considered extremely powerful.
Copper
' is known for guarding the vast amounts of copper in Lake Superior and 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. Indigenous people mined copper long before the arrival of Europeans to the area. Later, during the 17th century, missionaries of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
arrived in the Great Lakes Region. By that time, swiping copper from the region was extremely taboo and forbidden by the Ojibwe tribe. It was even worse to take it from the Great Lynx's home,
Michipicoten Island
Michipicoten Island is an island in Ontario, Canada, in the northeastern part of Lake Superior, about northwest of Sault Ste. Marie and southwest of Wawa, Ontario. At its closest point to mainland Ontario, the island is located about from t ...
; this was considered to be stealing from Mishipeshu himself.
Purported encounters
There are a few stories of encounters with this great beast. A Jesuit missionary named
Claude Dablon
Claude Dablon (February 1618 – May 3, 1697) was a Jesuit missionary, born in Dieppe, France.
At the age of twenty-one he entered the Society of Jesus, and after his course of studies and teaching in France, arrived in Canada in 1655. He was at ...
told a story about four Ojibwe people who embarked on a journey to the home of ' to take some copper back to their home, and use it to heat water. The very second they pushed off and backed into the water with their canoe, the eerie voice of the water panther surrounded them. The water panther came growling after them, vigorously accusing them of stealing the playthings of his children. All four of the people died on the way back to their village, the last one surviving just long enough to tell the tale of what had happened in his final moments before he died.
Depictions in art
![So-called-alligator-mound-ohio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/So-called-alligator-mound-ohio.png)
The underwater panther is well represented in
pictogram
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...
s. Historical Anishnaabe twined and
quilled men's bags often feature an underwater panther on one panel and the Thunderbird on the other.
Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau (March 14, 1932 – December 4, 2007), also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depi ...
(Ojibwe) painted underwater panthers in his
Woodlands style
Woodlands style, also called the Woodlands school, Legend painting, Medicine painting,
''Native Am ...
artworks, contemporary paintings based on Ojibwe oral history and cosmology.
The emblem has been embellished, and appears as a decorative
motif on
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
s.
The
Canadian Museum of History
The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...
includes an underwater panther in its coat of arms.
In 2003, archaeologist
Brad Lepper
Bradley Thomas Lepper (born November 19, 1955) is an American archaeologist best known for his work on ancient earthworks and ice age peoples in Ohio. Lepper is the Curator of Archaeology and Manager of Archaeology and Natural History at the Ohi ...
suggested that the
Alligator Effigy Mound
The Alligator Effigy Mound is an effigy mound in Granville, Ohio, United States. The mound is believed to have been built between AD 800 and 1200 by people of the Fort Ancient culture. The mound was likely a ceremonial site, as it was not use ...
in
Granville, Ohio
Granville is a Village (United States)#Ohio, village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is e ...
, represents the underwater panther. Lepper posits that early European settlers, when learning from Native Americans that the mound represented a fierce creature that lived in the water and ate people, mistakenly assumed that the Native Americans were referring to an alligator.
In popular culture
The ''
Grimm
Grimm may refer to:
People
* Grimm (surname)
* Brothers Grimm, German linguists
** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist
** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm
* Christia ...
'' episode "
Mishipeshu" involves the possession of a young
Native American by an underwater panther.
See also
*
Anishinaabe traditional beliefs
Anishinaabe traditional beliefs cover the traditional belief system of the Anishinaabeg peoples, consisting of the Algonquin/ Nipissing, Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa, Potawatomi and Oji-Cree, located primarily in the Great Lake ...
*
Nguruvilu
The Nguruvilu (from Mapuche language, Mapudungun ''ngürü'', "fox" and ''filu'', "snake"; also known as: ''Guirivilo'', ''Guruvilu'', ''Ñuruvilu'', ''Ñirivilu'', ''Ñivivilu'', ''Ñirivilo'' and ''Nirivilo'') is a creature originating from the ...
*
Piasa
The Piasa ( ) or Piasa Bird is a creature from Native American mythology depicted in one of two murals painted by Native Americans on cliffsides above the Mississippi River. Its original location was at the end of a chain of limestone bluffs in ...
*
Horned Serpent
*
Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (formerly the Southern Cult), aka S.E.C.C., is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture. It coincided with their ado ...
*
Bunyip
The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Name
The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
American Museum of Natural History on MishepishuOdawa twined bag with images of the Underwater Panther, NMAI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwater Panther
Anishinaabe mythology
Ojibwe legendary creatures
Algonquian legendary creatures
Lake Superior
Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America
Mythological felines
Mythological hybrids
Great Lakes tribal culture
Native American religion
Supernatural legends
Water deities