Stories from
the Six Worlds
Mi’kmaw Legends
Copyright © 1988, 2013, Ruth Holmes Whitehead
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission from the publisher, or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, permission from Access Copyright, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E5.
Nimbus Publishing Limited
3731 Mackintosh St, Halifax, NS B3K 5A5
(902) 455-4286 nimbus.ca
Printed and bound in Canada
Illustrations: Kathy Kaulbach
Author photo: Sandra Kipis, 2011
Design: Jenn Embree
NB1075
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Whitehead, Ruth Holmes
Stories from the Six Worlds : Mi’kmaw legends / Ruth Holmes Whitehead ; illustrated by Kathy Kaulbach.
Includes bibliographical references.
Issued also in electronic formats.
Includes some text in Micmac.
eISBN 978-1-55109-984-2
1. Micmac Indians—Folklore. 2. Legends—Atlantic Provinces. 3. Indians of North America—Atlantic Provinces—Folklore. 4. Micmac mythology. 5. Indians of North America—New England--Folklore. 6. Legends—New England. I. Title.
E99.M6W47 2013 398.2089’97343 C2012-907395-4
Nimbus Publishing acknowledges the financial support for its publishing activities from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) and the Canada Council for the Arts, and from the Province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage.
In memory of, and in dedication to,
a thousand years of storytellers;
a thousand more to come.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Note on Barred “I”
Introduction: The World of the People
Notes
THE WORLD BENEATH THE EARTH THE WORLD BENEATH THE WATER
Wsitplaju
The Man who Married Jipijka’mi’skw
The Woman who Marrjed Jipijka’m
EARTH WORLD
The Child from Beneath the Earth
Lamkisn
Mimktawo’qu’sk
The Coming of Plants
Bringing Back Animals
Fetching Summer
Kopit Feeds The Hunter
Skun
Saklo’pi’k
Nuji-Kesi-Kno’tasit
Medicine Bag
Mi’kmwesu
Kluskap and Mi’kmwesu
Kwimu
Tia’m and Tia’mi’skw
Plawej
Kitpusiaqnaw
Miskwekepu’j
The Thunders and Mosquito
Muini’skw and Pkmk
The Names of Stars
THE WORLD ABOVE THE EARTH THE WORLD ABOVE THE SKY
Kluskap
Ki’kwa’ju and Skusi’skwe’jk
Kulu
GHOST WORLD
Papkutparut
Kluskap Tells the People About Death
Acknowledgements
Appendix: Mi’kmaw Alphabet and Orthography
Sources and Notes
Wisitplaju
The Man who Married Jipijka’mi’skw
The Woman who Married Jipijka’m
The Child from Beneath the Earth
Lamkisn
Mimktawo’qu’sk
The Coming of Plants
Bringing Back Animals
Fetching Summer
Kopit Feeds The Hunter
Skun
Saklo’pi’k
Nuji-Kesi-Kno’tasit
Medicine Bag
Mi’kmwesu
Kluskap and Mi’kmwesu
Kwimu
Tia’m and Tia’mi’skw
Plawej
Kitpusiaqnaw
Miskwekepu’j
The Thunders and Mosquito
Muini’skw and Pkmk
The Names of Stars
Kluskap
Ki’kwa’ju and Skusi’skwe’jk
Kulu
Papkutparut
Kluskap Tells the People About Death
Bibliography
Author Bio
Note on Barred "i"
For this edition, the 'barred i' character, which is given a schwa sound, is represented by an i slightly smaller than the surround text, as follows:
Wisitplaju
For more information on the Mi'kmaw alphabet, please see the appendix.