The Veiled Being at the Beginning of the Anishinabe Clans: Holy Order of the Son of God

There is a tradition of a powerful being that covered his face in the birth of the Anishinabe clans that has caught my attention for a while now. Here are a few versions and interpretations of it:

• From History of the Ojibway People, by William Whipple Warren:

"When the Earth was new, the An-ish-in-aub-ag lived, congregated on the shores of a great salt water. From the bosom of the great deep there suddenly appeared six beings in human form, who entered their wigwams.

“One of these six strangers kept a covering over his eyes, and he dared not look on the An-ish-in-aub-ag, though he showed the greatest anxiety to do so. At last he could no longer restrain his curiosity, and on one occasion he partially lifted his veil, and his eye fell on the form of a human being, who instantly fell dead as if struck by one of the thunderers. Though the intentions of this dread being were friendly to the An-ish-in-aub-ag, yet the glance of his eye was too strong, and inflicted certain death. His fellows, therefore, caused him to return into the bosom of the great water from which they had apparently emerged.

“The others, who now numbered five, remained with the An-ish-in-aub-ag, and became a blessing to them; from them originate the five great clans or Totems, which are known among the Ojibways by the general terms of A-waus-e, Bus-in-aus-e, Ah-ah-wauk, Noka, and Monsone, or Waub-ish-ash-e. These are cognomens, which are used only in connection with the Totemic system.” History of the Ojibway People, by William Whipple Warren, P.18-19 https://books.google.com/books?id=0rF97YMYzhQC&q=clans#v=onepage&q&f=false

• From The Mishomis Book, by Edward Benton-Banai:

“After the Clan System was given to the people, the Seven Grandfathers sent seven spiritual being to Earth to clarify how the Clan System was to be used and to amplify the meaning of many gifts often taken for granted in life. The beings came to the people out of the water. They brought many teachings meant to sharpen the senses of the people. It is said that the first five being brought messages pertaining to the five senses of man: touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight. The sixth being brought teachings about ah-mun’-ni-soo-win’ (intuition) -- a special sense that goes beyond the ordinary senses. It was a special sense that few people recognize in their lives.

“When the people looked to the seventh being to see what gift it was that he brought to them, they saw that his eyes were covered by a blind. The people asked the seventh being, “Why do you hide your eyes from us! What have you brought us?

“The being answered, ‘What I have to give, you may not be ready for!’

“The people insisted that the seventh being uncover his eyes. When he lifted the blind from his face there were shrieks and screams from the people. All those who saw his eyes fell over dead.

“The seventh being turned and walked back into the water but he shouted to the people that he would return when the proper time came, if it ever came.

“Many people have speculated as to what gift it was that the seventh being brought. Most agree that it was the ability to see into the future (nee-goni-wa’-bun-gi-gay-win’). The people may yet see the seventh being return with this gift for everybody if the time is made right.” p.78

• http://www.coppercountry.com/article_112.php

“According to Ojibwe tradition, the way the Ojibwe people organized themselves into grand families, called dodem or clans, is very important. In the History of the Ojibwe Nation, William Warren explains the beginning of the Ojibwe clan system. According to Ojibwe tradition, there were originally six human beings that came out of the sea to live among Ojibwe. These six beings, which were Wawaazisii (Bullhead), Ajejauk (Crane), Makwa (Bear), Moosance (Little Moose), Waabizheshi (Marten), and Bineshii (Thunderbird), created the original clans. One of the original beings, the Thunderbird, always covered his eyes, because when he looked at the Anishinabeg, they died. The other five beings urged Thunderbird to return to the sea because his powers were so strong. That is why the Anishinabeg do not have a Thunderbird clan today.”

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe

“A number of complementary origin concepts exist within the oral traditions of the Anishinaabe. According to the oral history, seven great miigis (radiant/iridescent beings in human form) appeared to the Anishinaabe peoples in the Waabanakiing (Land of the Dawn, i.e., Eastern Land) to teach the people about the midewiwin life-style. One great miigis was too spiritually powerful and would kill people in the Waabanakiing whenever they were in its presence. This being later returned to the depths of the ocean, leaving the six great miigis to teach the people...

“...Each of the six miigis established separate doodem (clans) for the people. Of these doodem, six clan systems appeared:

Awaazisii (Bullhead),
Baswenaazhi (Echo-maker, i.e., Crane),
Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck),
Nooke (Tender, i.e., Bear), and
Moozoonii (Little Moose). Later a sixth was added.
Waabizheshi (Marten).

“After founding the doodem, the six miigis returned to the depths of the ocean as well. Some oral histories surmise that if the seventh miigis had stayed, it would have established the Animikii Thunderbird doodem.”

This tradition seems significant to me. The idea that a being similar to Moses, when he had to cover his face, was also known to the ancestors of the Anishinabe follows a pattern that would indicate they were taught by beings that had ascended to the Creator’s presence, and who had been physically changed by it.

Examining the pattern, it became necessary for Moses to wear the veil after speaking to God on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and nights. Similarly, a physical change is described in Christ when He was transfigured on the mountain where the voice of the Father was heard. It seems that a person must be changed in order to be in God’s presence, transfigured, and that the physical body that is not prepared in this way would suffer the fate described in this Anishinabe tradition when coming in contact with something as intensely holy.

I am very curious what manner of gifts and teachings this being would have given the Anishinabe then. I believe whatever it is a being like that offers to the people he teaches is very important and very worth listening to. It makes me wonder what manner of people he would be able to deliver his teachings to. If they were not physically prepared then. What will make them physically prepared now or on the future?

If I look at the pattern in Anishinabe tradition of a good people, who are pleasing to their maker, then I am led to the assumption that these people are those who know how to live in harmony with the Creator’s purpose for them, along with the rest of creation, those whose sacred fires are lit within themselves, and who succeed in keeping them alight.

Whether in the garden of Eden or upon the turtle’s back, the beginning of man has an important pattern mankind has yet to reclaim as far as I understand. Being recognized as “good” because they knew how to live in harmony with their creator and His creations, fulfilling the measure of their creation was, in the Bible, a state of being that allowed Adam and Eve to live within the presence of their creator. Reclaiming this state of being would be a return to something very ancient, that hearkens far back along the path of mankind. Will the people who are prepared for the last veiled being, and the last clan be those who have regained this state of living? Or I wonder, will that instead be the result of that being’s return?

There is something I have heard of that seems strikingly similar to me. It’s called the “Holy Order of the Son of God.”

I wonder… are they similar enough that they confirm each other? Regardless, it seems that both witness that there is something greater coming at some point in the world that some willing people, somewhere need to be sufficiently prepared for.