February 03, 2007

Native Groundhog Day

Groundhog lore began with Native AmericansThe Lenni Lenape counted groundhogs among their ancestors, believing that each member of the tribe began life as an animal that eventually turned human in another life later on, according to About.com

“According to (their) original creation beliefs, their forebears began life as animals in ‘Mother Earth’ and emerged centuries later to hunt and live as men,” according to Stormfax.

The Lenni Lenape used the word, “wojak,” for groundhog, and that is where the word “woodchuck” comes from.

1 comment:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
If true, then that would compare to the Kiowan belief that you are reincarnated one time. You are born as a bear, die, and then are born human, or vice-versa. writerfella was asked about his people's thoughts concerning reincarnation in a science fiction course at the University of Miami. When writerfella told the bear legend, the instructor replied, "Interesting. But with someone your size, it's rather hard to tell!"
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'