Underwater panther
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Underwater panthers were creatures of Native American mythology, sometimes called Mishi-bizhiw ("Mishipizhiw", "Mishipizheu"), which translates as "Great Lynx," or Gichi-anami'e-bizhiw ("Gitche-anahmi-bezheu"), which translates as "the fabulous night panther." However, it is also commonly referred as the "Great underground wildcat," "Great under-water wildcat," or "underwater panther." The creature is sometimes known as the "copper cat." The tradition was particularly found among the tribes inhabiting the Great Lakes region.
Water monsters appear in the mythology of most cultures, but in Native American mythology they tended to combine traits of wild cats such as the mountain lion, or in some cases the lynx, with those of snakes. The underwater panther was an amalgam of features from many animals: the horns of deer or bison; snake scales; bird feathers; the body and tail of a mountain lion; and parts from other animals as well, depending on the particular myth. Mishipizheu were said to live in the deepest parts of lakes and rivers. 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.
To the Algonquins, the underwater panther was the most powerful underworld being. The Ojibwa reportedly held them to be masters of all water creatures as well as of snakes. Some versions of the Nanabozho creation legend refer to whole communities of water lynx.
Potawatomi medicine bags sometimes had an image of the underwater panther on one side and the Thunderbird (master of the powers of the air) on the other. As late as the 1950s, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians performed their traditional ceremony to placate the Underworld Panther and maintain balance with the Thunderbird.
Archaeologist Brad Lepper believes that the archaeological site, Alligator Mound in Granville, Ohio, is in reality an effigy of an underwater panther, and not an alligator at all, as the tribes of Ohio were unlikely to have been familiar with alligators. The confusion is thought to be the result of misinterpretation by early European settlers, who upon inquiring of Native Americans regarding the underwater panther, were told that it was a fierce creature that lived in the water and eats people, which they assumed to be alligators.
[edit] References
- Barnes, Michael. Aboriginal artifacts. Final Report - 1997 Archaeological Excavations La Vase Heritage Project. City of North Bay, Ontario. Retrieved on 2006-07-13.
- Bolgiano, Chris (August 1995). “Native Americans and American Lions”, Mountain Lion: An Unnatural History of Pumas and People. Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-1044-0.
- Fox, William A.. Dragon Sideplates from York Factory: A New Twist on an Old Tail.. Adams Heritage. Retrieved on 2006-07-13.
- Lore, David. "Man pounces on panther theory about mound", The Columbus Dispatch, 2001-01-21. copy
