Myths & Legends of the Algonquian Peoples

In addition to their common language, Algonquian-speaking tribes shared many commonalities in their religious beliefs, stories of creation, and culture. All Algonquian peoples of the Eastern Woodlands subscribed to cycles of legend and myth regarding tricksters and transformers: powerful beings of creation responsible for the shaping of the Earthly landscape. [p.67, 1]

All Algonquian-speaking peoples believed in a great spirit or supreme creator. A supreme creator above and beyond the individual gods, tricksters, heroes, good and evil spirits that populated their universe. They had a hero figures who taught the people skills they needed for survival, shaped the world, and protected them from evil. A host of lesser spirits were in charge of natural elements and aspects of nature. Evil spirits caused mischief, disease, and misfortune. Good spirits benefited and aided the worthy, while they punished those who committed wrong acts.

Dreams were important to all Algonquian peoples — an important concept within the diverse cultural array of Native American people in general. In addition to being guides and healers, the shamans of the Algonquian people were the interpreters of dreams. In this way they assisted in discerning the omens and wisdom given to the people by the Great Spirit through dreams, and acted as a bridge between the mortal world and spirit world.

The Algonquian people as a whole feared witchcraft. Many were reluctant to reveal their real names in fear of a spell being cast upon them. Each Algonquian person had a true name (known only to themselves, their parents who gave it to them, and the people closest to them whom they entrusted with its protection) and an outward name they went by in their communities at large. This was true of the Algonkin tribe too. These beliefs were quite common among Native American peoples, and among many ancient peoples, such as the Ancient Egyptian people across the Atlantic.

The Algonkin believed that when a person died their soul lived on. The spirit of the deceased did just what they did in this world, for eternity in the afterlife. The spirit of a dead hunter would hunt the spirit of the prey, as above so below. In their spiritual conception of the world, there was no such thing as hell or eternal damnation.

The cultural and religious differences between the various tribes of Algonquian peoples (Algonquin/Algonkin, Abenaki, Mi’kmaq, and so on) were slight. For example, the Central Algonquian speaking peoples merged the roles of trickster and transformer with a single powerful being called Menabosho, Nanabozo, Nanabush, or Wiske. The Eastern Abenaki, Malecite, and Mi’kmaq tribes on the other hand endowed their hero Gluscap primarily with transformer traits — while Gluscap and Menabosho share many of the same traits between.

Gluscap was a lone and clever leader. In times of crisis, it was Gluscap who assisted the people, and protected them from the evil beings believed to prevent the Algonquians from obtaining the resources they needed, which they viewed as rightfully theirs. [1] The perpetual enemy of Gluscap was the Half-stone Man. The trickster role was played by lesser characters like Snowshoe Hare and Racoon. [p.68, 1]

The Algonquian Peoples had an interesting superstition, that certain of their legends and myths could only be spoken aloud during the winter months. For during these months, the powerful spiritual forces they spoke of were asleep (or underground), and would therefore not be able to hear them, and perhaps respond to their stories being told… [p.67-68, 1]

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