RECOMMEND
 ADD COMMENT  READ COMMENTS (0)  PRINT  EMAIL  SHARE  THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
0 people recommend this
Nanabozo (Nanabozho or Nanabush) is a mythological culture hero found in the cosmological traditions of the Algonquian tribes of central and eastern Canada. Nanabozo is the impersonation of life, with the power to create life in others. His gender is undefined and changeable. She also appears as diverse personalities and forms - including a raven, a coyote, a hare - which represent the various phases and conditions of the life cycle. In some myths Nanabozo creates animals and causes plants and roots to grow so men can eat. He also features in many comic, bawdy tales that emphasize his immense earthly appetites for food and sex. She plays a dual role in mythology, both as benefactor to the native people and as a prankish and obscene fool. He is both a powerful creator, and a ridiculous clown.


Keywords
Folklore

Nanabozo, also known as the Trickster, appears as a character in a number of late 20th-century literary works. He is the main character in Thomas KING's short story "The One About Coyote Going West" and also appears as a coyote in King's novel Green Grass Running Water. Nanabush is a seagull, a nighthawk, and a bingo master in Tomson HIGHWAY's play The Rez Sisters. In the foreword to this play, Highway describes Nanabush as being "as pivotal and important a figure in the Native world as Christ is in the realm of Christian mythology."

Nanabush
Depiction of Nanabozo (Nanabush) from the Peterborough Pictograph Site in Southern Ontario (courtesy Serge Lemaître).

Author RENÉ R. GADACZ


Links to Other Sites
Four Directions Teachings
Elders and traditional teachers representing the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and Mi’kmaq share teachings about their culture. Animated graphics visualize each of the oral teachings. This website also provides biographies of participants, transcripts, and extensive learning resources for students and their teachers. In English with French subtitles.

Feature Articles
David Thompson: The Greatest Geographer the World has Known
David Thompson was an outsider, struggling to find a foothold in the empire that had consumed his country...
MOST READ ARTICLES
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ...
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Riel, Louis
Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ...
MOST RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Disciples of Christ)
Evangelical Christian Church, often called the Christian Church (Christian Disciples), is a denomination stemming from ...
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ...
MOST COMMENTED ON ARTICLES
Sears Canada Inc
Sears Canada Inc, headquartered in Toronto, is a Canadian retailer incorporated in 1952. In 1953 operating under the ...
Ware, John
John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ...
Land Claims
Land claims are dealt with by a process established by the federal government to enable INDIANS, INUIT and ...
newsletter subscription
* E-mail:
join us on facebook twitter
WIRE BLOG
Survival Kit
by ANNE SEIGNOT
WIRE BLOG
Love Stories
by JENNIFER GIVOGUE
ARTICLE
Pierre Trudeau: Politics and Personality
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
ARTICLE
How to Reverse the Decline of Parliament
by NELSON WISEMAN
WIRE BLOG
Prorogation Protest
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
INSIDE TCE
Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA
Gabora, Taras
Taras (Daniel) Gabora. Violinist, teacher, b Yellow Creek, Sask, 23 Apr 1932; AMM 1952, Reifeprüfung (Vienna Academy) 1956. He studied at the University of Manitoba with Richard Seaborn, at the Paris Cons 1952-3 with ...


Who's Who at TCE    |    Our Partners The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2010 Historica-Dominion Copyright Information