Chibiabos

Family: Ojibways · Role: musician · First appears: VI · Hiawatha’s Friends

In VI · Hiawatha’s Friends, Chibiabos is the musician and one of Hiawatha’s two close friends; he and Kwasind share counsel and talk openly about how the tribes might prosper. At Hiawatha’s wedding feast in XI · Hiawatha’s Wedding-Feast, he sings of love and longing while looking at Hiawatha and Minnehaha. Iagoo is jealous of the applause Chibiabos receives. At the end of the feast, in XII · The Son of the Evening Star, Part 3, Chibiabos sings of a maiden parted from her Algonquin lover.

In XV · Hiawatha’s Lamentation, the Evil Spirits make a league against Chibiabos and Hiawatha. At the lake of Gitche Gumee, Unktahee drowns him beneath the waters. Chibiabos is made ruler over the dead in the Land of Spirits, and, four days later, journeys in a stone canoe to the Islands of the Blessed, the land of ghosts and shadows.

Relationship record

Life events

• Chibiabos sang a song of love and longing while looking at Hiawatha and Laughing Water.(XI · Hiawatha’s Wedding-Feast)
  • With: Hiawatha Minnehaha
  • “Looking still at Hiawatha, Looking at fair Laughing Water, Sang he softly, sang in this wise:”
• At the end of the feast Chibiabos sang again: in his song a maiden laments her lover, her Algonquin, who hung the snow-white wampum round her neck when they parted.(XII · The Son of the Evening Star · Part 3)
  • “Ah me! when I parted from him, Round my neck he hung the wampum, As a pledge, the snow-white wampum, O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!”
• The Evil Spirits made a league against Hiawatha and Chibiabos.(XV · Hiawatha’s Lamentation)
  • With: Evil Spirits Hiawatha
  • “Made at length a league against them, To molest them and destroy them.”
• Unktahee drowned Chibiabos beneath the waters.(XV · Hiawatha’s Lamentation · 📍 the lake of Gitche Gumee)
  • With: Unktahee
  • “Unktahee, the god of water, He the god of the Dacotahs, Drowned him in the deep abysses Of the lake of Gitche Gumee.”
• Chibiabos was made ruler over the dead.(XV · Hiawatha’s Lamentation · 📍 the Land of Spirits)
  • “Ruler in the Land of Spirits, Ruler o’er the dead, they made him,”
• Chibiabos journeyed to the land of ghosts and shadows.(XV · Hiawatha’s Lamentation · 📍 the Islands of the Blessed)
  • “Came unto the Lake of Silver, In the Stone Canoe was carried To the Islands of the Blessed, To the land of ghosts and shadows.”

VI · Hiawatha’s Friends

• friends with Hiawatha “Two good friends had Hiawatha, Singled out from all the others, Bound to him in closest union, And to whom he gave the right hand Of his heart, in joy and sorrow; Chibiabos, the musician, And the very strong man, Kwasind.”
• friends with Kwasind “For they kept each other’s counsel, Spake with naked hearts together, Pondering much and much contriving How the tribes of men might prosper.”

X · Hiawatha’s Wooing · Part 2

• friends with Hiawatha “As he told of his companions, Chibiabos, the musician,”

XI · Hiawatha’s Wedding-Feast

• friends with Hiawatha “Then they said to Chibiabos, To the friend of Hiawatha, To the sweetest of all singers,”
• rivals with Iagoo “Jealous of the sweet musician, Jealous of the applause they gave him,”

XV · Hiawatha’s Lamentation

• friends with Hiawatha “Jealous of their faithful friendship,”
• enemies with Unktahee “Unktahee, the god of water, He the god of the Dacotahs, Drowned him in the deep abysses Of the lake of Gitche Gumee.”

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Extracted from the original text of The Song of Hiawatha. Made with Rho MD.