Information about Thunderbird (mythology)

The Thunderbird is a mythological creature common to Indigenous peoples of North America. It is a popular concept in northwestern coastal artwork of indigenous origin, often appearing on totem poles.

Indigenous peoples history

The thunderbird's name comes from that common supposition that the beating of its enormous wings causes thunder and stirs the wind. The Lakota name for the Thunderbird is "Wakinyan," a word formed from "kinyan," meaning "winged," and "wakan," "sacred." The Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) called him "Jojo," and the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) called him "Kw-Uhnx-Wa." The Ojibwa word for a thunderbird that is closely associated with thunder is "animikii", while large thunderous birds are "binesi." It is described as being two canoe-lengths from wingtip to wingtip, and it creates storms as it flies. Clouds are pulled together by its wingbeats, the sound of thunder is its wings clapping, sheet lightning is the light flashing from its eyes when it blinks, and individual lightning bolts are glowing snakes that it carries with it. In masks, it is depicted as many-colored, with two curling horns, and sometimes with teeth within its beak.

Depending on the people telling the story, the Thunderbird is either a singular entity or a species. In both cases, it is intelligent, powerful, and wrathful. All agree that one should go out of one's way to keep from getting thunderbirds angry.

The singular Thunderbird (as the Nuu-chah-nulth believed) was said to reside on the top of a mountain, and was the servant of the Great Spirit. The Thunderbird only flew about to carry messages from one spirit to another. It was also told that the thunderbird controlled rainfall.

The plural thunderbirds (as the Kwakwaka'wakw and Cowichan tribes believed) could shapeshift to human form by tilting back their beak as if it were only a mask, and by removing their feathers as if it were a feather-covered blanket. There are stories of thunderbirds in human form marrying into human families; some families may trace their lineage to such an event. Families of thunderbirds who kept to themselves but wore human form were said to have lived along the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The story goes that other tribes soon forgot the nature of one of these thunderbird families, and when one tribe tried to take them as slaves the thunderbirds put on their feather blankets and transformed to take vengeance upon their foolish captors.

The Sioux believed that in "old times" the thunderbirds destroyed dangerous reptilian monsters called the Unktehila.

A famous story of the Thunderbird is "Thunderbird and Whale." The Thunderbird mythology parallels tales of the Roc from around the Indian Ocean; as the roc, it is generally assumed to be based on real (though mythically altered) species of birds, specifically the Bald Eagle, which is very common on the Northwest Coast and can grow to immense size.

Contemporary cryptozoological sightings

Main article: Thunderbird (cryptozoology)

There is a story that in April 1890, two cowboys in Arizona killed a giant birdlike creature with an enormous wingspan. It was said it had smooth skin, and featherless wings like a bat. Its face resembled an alligator. This description has more than a cursory similarity to the prehistoric pterodactyl. They dragged the carcass back to town, and it was pinned, wings outstretched across the entire length of a barn. There is supposed to be a picture of this event, that may or may not have been published in the local newspaper, the Tombstone Epitaph. Despite numerous people who have claimed to have seen this photograph recently, no one has ever been able to produce a copy of the picture nor make historic corroboration that this event ever occurred, and it is most likely an urban legend. Ivan Sanderson is perhaps the best-known person who claimed to have seen this Thunderbird Photograph.

There have also been thunderbird sightings more recently. In the 1960s and 1970s, sightings of a large bird the size of a Piper Cub airplane were made in Washington, Utah, and Idaho. On occasion, such reports were accompanied by large footprints or other purported evidence.

Among the most controversial reports is a July 25, 1977 account from Lawndale, Illinois. About 9 p.m. a group of three boys were at play in a residential back yard. Two large birds approached, and chased the boys. Two escaped unharmed, but the third boy, ten-year-old Marlon Lowe, did not. One of the birds reportedly clamped his shoulder with its claws, then lifted Lowe about two feet off the ground, carrying him some distance. Lowe fought against the bird, which released him.[1]

Viewed by some as a tall tale, the descriptions given by the witnesses of these birds match that of a California condor: a large black bird with a wingspan up to 10 feet. In South America, some Andean condors are purported to attack and carry away newborns when very hungry or otherwise starved, but it is unknown whether this is based in fact as condors do not hunt live prey.

In 2002, a new sighting in Alaska was announced; the most probable explanation was a stray Steller's Sea Eagle.

Merriam's teratorn

Some cryptozoologists first theorized that the thunderbird myth is based on sightings of a real animal. Regarding the question whether such a large bird could have flown at all, the prehistoric vulture-like Aiolornis incredibilis (previously known as Teratornis) which was described in 1909 had a wingspan of around 5 m (16 ft) and was capable of flight, but probably would have favored heavy winds to facilitate takeoff. This bird, however, was almost certainly never seen alive by human beings, but a slightly smaller relative, Teratornis merriami must have been frequently encountered by early Amerindians.

It is generally believed that Merriam's Teratorn was a dynamic soarer, riding upcurrents of heated air. Their finger bones have adapted to bear the load of huge primaries, allowing them to maneuver expertly in strong updrafts, as typically found associated with storms (Campbell & Tonni, 1983).

Paleontologists reject the continuing existence of a large and conspicuous bird like Aiolornis or Teratornis in modern times, and anthropologists point out that American Indian thunderbirds were not especially similar to this creature (and usually not very similar to birds at all). The changes of "thunderbird" records over the years - from pterodactyl-like beings in the late 19th and early 20th century to teratorn-like birds becoming prominent from the middle 20th century onwards, as reconstructions of teratorns were reaching a wider audience - suggest that most records are considerably shaped by underlying expectations. In a similar vein, cryptozoologist John Keel states that his mapping of Thunderbird sightings corresponded chronologically and geographically with storms moving across the United States, but this is only to be expected in either case.

It is furthermore telling that thunderbirds are commonly described as condor-like; while an old vernacular name of Aiolornis is "Giant Condor", this is erroneous since the two birds are not very closely related, and while many early reconstructions of teratorns show condor-like birds, it is far from certain that the birds looked very alike, and indeed even considered not likely at all today.

However, it is generally accepted that the first people that settled North America did in fact encounter Teratornis merriami, making it the largest flying bird ever seen alive by modern humans. American Indian tales of mammoth-like animals suggest that it is possible for oral tradition of an incredible creature to survive 10,000 years. Thus, the most likely explanation for the Thunderbird legends is that they are mythologically expanded narratives based on the Teratornis encounters 12 millennia ago. Midden remains prove that Merriam's Teratorns were hunted and eaten by Amerindian settlers. There is also some sort of picture of the Thunderbird in El Paso, Texas on the Franklin Mountains.

See also

• Raven (mythology)
• Roc (mythology)
• Thunder god

References

External links