Week 9: Reading Diary -- The Song of Hiawatha

The Song of Hiawatha

The Four Winds [p1, p2]

This part of the tale is interesting. It shows how things began -- how Mudjekeewis kills the Great Bear, destroying the largest and most fearsome of all beasts. And because of that victory, he not only gains more support from his followers, but also is able to hold dominion over the winds of heaven. Since he does, he decides to keep his hold over the west wind and give dominion over the other three winds to his progeny. He gives Wabun the east wind, Shawondasee the south wind, and Kabibonnoka the north wind. The first kid falls in love with a girl, the second kid gets into a fight with someone, and the third kid falls in love with a dandelion (on accident).


Hiawatha's Sailing

In this part of the epic poem, Hiawatha decides to build a boat. And unlike the typical person building a boat, he proceeds to ask the things in the forest to give him part of themselves to build this boat. He first asks the birch tree for its bark, and the list goes on after that. He asks the Cedar for its boughs, the Larch for its roots, and the Fir for its balsam and resin. He also ends up asking a hedgehog for its quills. They all give it to him without outward resistance, though some of them internally are afraid. This boat that the makes with all of his supplies is pretty cool as well, since he can steer it with his mind. But then an another problem occurs: the lake is filled with sticks and other deterrents that will not allow him to swim. So he asks one of his friends that he sees to clear out the river for him, which the friend does without question. And that's the end of that story.


Hiawatha's Fishing

Now, when Hiawatha goes fishing, he does it in his usual style: grandiose. His purpose on this fishing trip is not to catch a few fish and call it a day; instead, he decides to go, with his squirrel on his boat, to catch the King of Fishes, Nahma. And boy, does his fishing trip last awhile. Hiawatha's problem is that the King of Fishes doesn't want to bother with the kid, and sends a couple of fishes in his stead, all of which are defeated by Hiawatha (they can't break his bow). Finally, Nahma fights Hiawatha for real, and things get ugly -- but only for Nahma. His corpse ends up being washed ashore, and he dies within a handful of minutes, unable to breathe. And then his corpse is eaten at the very end, where Hiawatha gives his big speech.