Mudjekewis

Also known as: Kabeyun / Ningabiun · Role: the West Wind; father of the winds and of Manabozho · First appears: Hiawatha; or, Manabozho · Part 2

In Hiawatha; or, Manabozho · Part 2, Mudjekewis, the West, took Manabozho’s mother without her parents’ consent. When Manabozho met him on a high mountain in the West, Mudjekewis revealed that a black stone was the only earthly thing he feared. Manabozho struck him with it, and their furious combat carried on for several days, ending with Mudjekewis driven to the brink of the world. He offered Manabozho power and a mission to help people, telling him, “Go and do good. You have the power now to do so, and your fame with the beings of this earth will last forever.”

In Shawondasee, Mudjekewis and his nine brothers conquered Mishemokwa, the Mammoth Bear, and won the Sacred Belt of Wampum. Mudjekewis received the government of the West Winds; he gave the East to Wabun, the south to Shawondasee, and the north to Kabibonokka. When Manabozho learned the secret of his birth, he went to war against his father and brought him to terms, receiving the Northwest Winds jointly with Kabibonokka. In Hiawatha; or, Manabozho · Part 7, Mudjekewis also aided Manabozho in wolf form as he ran across the plain.

In Mishemokwa; or, the War with the Gigantic Bear · Part 1, Mudjekewis joined his brothers in the youngest brother’s war excursion. He revealed the plan to his wife, and in Part 3 struck Mishemokwa on the head at the leader’s direction. In Part 4, Mudjekewis and the others killed the bear and scattered his remains, from which small black bears sprang. In Part 5, Iamoqua raised Mudjekewis and his brothers from the dead; Mudjekewis received the female magician as his wife and was assigned to direct the west wind forever, “hence generally called Kabeyun, the father of Manabozho.”