Abenaki Literature
Kaosek Abenaki
of the
Koas
|
We are the birds of fire, we fly over the sky. Our light is a voice. We make a road for the spirits, for the spirits to pass over. Among us are three hunters who chase a bear. There never was a time when they were not hunting. We look down on the mountains. This is the song of the stars. --Abenaki-Passamaquoddy Song
This song was collected in Maine by Charles G. Leland around 1882; he gives a phonetic version in the language-dialect of that time, "Glint-wah-gnour, Pes Sausmok," the "Song of the Stars", in Algonquian Legends, Dover reprint (1992) of Leland's 1884 book pubished by Houghton Mifflin. |
Gens of the Abenaki
The Abenaki Tribe was broken down into gens which is similar to a clan.
Very little information is known about these gens or they no longer exist.
They had fourteen gentes:
Mals’-süm – Wolf
Ta-mä’-kwa – Beaver
Pis-suh’ – Black Wildcat
Maguh-le-loo’ – Caribou
Ah-weh’-soos – Bear
Kä-bäh’-seh – Sturgeon
Skooke – Snake
Moos-kwä’-suh’ – Muskrat
Ah-lunk-soo – Spotted Animal
K’-che-gä-gong’-go – Pigeon Hawk
Meh-ko-ä’ – Squirrel
Che-gwä’-lis – Spotted Frog
Koos-koo’ – Crane
Stories
Abenaki Creation Story
Azban the Raccoon
Badger and the Green Giant
Strange Origin of Corn
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