Mudjekeewis

Also known as: Kabeyun / West-Wind / the West-Wind / the ruler of the West-Wind · Family: Four Winds · Role: Father of the Winds of Heaven · First appears: II · The Four Winds · Part 1

In II · The Four Winds, Mudjekeewis stole the Belt of Wampum from Mishe-Mokwa on the mountain summit and slew him with a blow from his war-club. He was chosen Father of the Winds of Heaven, kept the West-Wind for himself, and gave the East, South, and North winds to Wabun, Shawondasee, and Kabibonokka, his children.

In III · Hiawatha’s Childhood, the West-Wind wooed Wenonah at evening on the prairie, and she bore Hiawatha in sorrow. In IV · Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis, he welcomed his son to the kingdom of the West-Wind, saying, “You bring back the days departed, You bring back my youth of passion, And the beautiful Wenonah!” He told Hiawatha that only the fatal Wawbeek could harm him.

Hiawatha charged Mudjekeewis with killing Wenonah; Mudjekeewis bowed his head and assented with a silent nod. Hiawatha hurled rock fragments at him, and they fought among the mountains. Mudjekeewis retreated westward for three days, then revealed that the battle was a trial to prove Hiawatha’s courage and offered him the prize of valor.