Kwasind

Role: strong man · First appears: Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man

In the old man’s tale in “Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man,” Kwasind’s mother ordered him to wring out her net, and his supernatural strength became clear. One day he threw a great rock into the river with ease; after this, he joined his father on a hunting excursion and cleared fallen trees from their path. He pursued and captured the king of beavers underwater, and later helped Manabozho clear streams and valleys.

On a summer afternoon, as Kwasind floated down the river in his canoe, fairies attacked him with white-pine burrs. Their blows eventually struck his vulnerable head, and he sank, never to rise again.

Relationship record

Life events

• In the old man's tale, Kwasind's mother ordered him to wring out her net, revealing his supernatural strength.(Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man)
  • “Go, I bid you, and wring out that net, which I have just taken from the water.' Kwasind saw that there was a determination to make him obey. He did not, therefore, make any excuses, but went out and took up the net. He carefully folded it, doubled and redoubled it, forming it into a roll, and then with an easy twist of his hands wrung it short off, with as much ease as if every twine had been a thin brittle fibre. Here they at once saw the secret of his reluctance. He possessed supernatural strength.”
• In the old man's tale, Kwasind threw a large rock into the river with ease.(Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man · 📍 the river)
  • “Kwasind took it up with much ease, and threw it into the river.”
• In the old man's tale, Kwasind cleared fallen trees from a pass while accompanying his father on a hunting excursion.(Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man · 📍 a remote forest)
  • With: Kwasind's father
  • “When he had finished, Kwasind had lifted away the largest pine trees, and pulled them out of the path.”
• In the old man's tale, Kwasind pursued and captured the king of beavers underwater.(Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man)
  • With: the king of beavers (Kwasind legend)
  • “He often dove down and remained a long time under water, pursuing the animal from island to island; and at last returned with the kingly prize.”
• In the old man's tale, Kwasind helped Manabozho clear obstructions from streams and remove fallen trees.(Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man)
  • With: Manabozho
  • “He helped Manabozho to clear away the obstructions in the streams, and to remove the great wind-falls of trees from the valleys, the better to fit them for the residence of man.”
• In the old man's tale, the fairies attacked Kwasind with white-pine burrs, striking his vulnerable head and killing him.(Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man · 📍 the river)
  • With: the tallest and stoutest fairy (Kwasind legend)
  • “At last the wished-for object appeared; Kwasind came floating calmly down the stream, on the afternoon of a summer's day, languid with the heat of the weather, and almost asleep. When his canoe came directly beneath the cliff, the tallest and stoutest fairy began the attack. Others followed his example. It was a long time before they could hit the vulnerable part, but success at length crowned their efforts, and Kwasind sunk, never to rise more.”

Kwasind; or, the Fearfully Strong Man

• parent: Kwasind's mother “'Ah,' said his mother to him one day, 'is there any young man of your age, in all the village, who does so little for his parents?”
• parent: Kwasind's father “After this, the young men were playing one day on the plain, where there was lying one of those large, heavy, black pieces of rock, which Manabozho is said to have cast at his father. Kwasind took it up with much ease, and threw it into the river. After this, he accompanied his father on a hunting excursion into a remote forest.”
• recipient: Manabozho “He helped Manabozho to clear away the obstructions in the streams, and to remove the great wind-falls of trees from the valleys, the better to fit them for the residence of man.”
• enemies with the tallest and stoutest fairy (Kwasind legend) “When his canoe came directly beneath the cliff, the tallest and stoutest fairy began the attack. Others followed his example.”
• enemies with the king of beavers (Kwasind legend) “He plunged into the water in pursuit of it.”

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Extracted from the original text of The Myth of Hiawatha, and Other Oral Legends. Made with Rho MD.