Nourish the Word

I ended  Part 1  of the Seven Fires Prophecies topic with a note that there was more I hadn't addressed and that I had yet to understand how to explain. I think I am ready to do this now. This post also is Part 4 of my Re-creation and Rebirth series that I began with. It was originally going to be titled Turtle Island. Both these topics run together here, though, so they have been combined. The complete combined seven prophecies can be found in the video link in part 1, in Edward Benton Banai's The Mishomis Book , or found on different internet sites, including  this wikipedia page . One important part I have noticed in the prophecies begins in the very first prophecy. "In the time of the First Fire, the Anishinabe nation will rise up and follow the sacred shell of the Midewiwin Lodge. The Midewiwin Lodge will serve as a rallying point for the people and its traditional ways will be the source of much strength. The Sacred Megis will lead the way to the chosen ground...

Continuing with the Anishinaabe tradition of a global flood , there are some versions that tell of Sky Woman, and others that replace the role of Sky Woman with Nanabush. In Basil Johnston's The Manitous , he combines the two different tellings by linking them together. In his telling, the Sky Woman's flood occured first. Later on, culture hero Nana'b'oozoo (also Nanabush) experiences his own catastrophic flood and remembers what Geezhigo-Quae (or Sky Woman ) did to re-create the Earth. This he repeats, and again it is the muskrat who succeeds where all others fail in bringing a bit of earth to the surface through which life can begin again. This bears similarity to different scriptural books, where a people have forgotten their way, and stand in need of a reminder. Each divine teacher or prophet who provides that way for others shares a similar role as Nana'b'oozoo's in his version of the flood. A good scriptural comparison can be made to John the Bapti...