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Urban Legend of the Thunder Bird
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Legend of the Thunderbird
Told in Two Different views
- The singular thunderbird (as the Nuu-chah-nulth thought of it) was said to reside on the top of a mountain, and was the servant of the Great Spirit. It was also told that the thunderbird controlled rainfall.
- The plural thunderbirds (as the Kwakwaka'wakw and Cowichan tribes believed) could shapeshift into human form by tilting back their beaks like 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.
A legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural bird of power and strength. Name comes from the common belief that the beating of its enormous wings causes thunder and stirs the wind. Thunderbird carries many of the same characteristics. It is described as a large bird, capable of creating storms and thundering while it flies. Clouds are pulled together by its wingbeats, the sound of thunder made by its wings clapping, sheet lightning the light flashing from its eyes when it blinks, and individual lightning bolts made by the glowing snakes that it carries around with it. In masks, it is depicted as multi-colored, with two curling horns, and, often, teeth within its beak.
The meaning of the Thunderbird as a Native American symbol varies according to the tribe
Thunderbird as a Native American symbol conveys concepts such as... Power, Provision, Expansiveness, Transformation, Divine, Dominion, Indomitable, Spirit, Unquestioned, Authority, and Messages from the Otherworlds
Examples are: Native tale indicates lightning jetting out of the eyes of the Thunderbird when angered (during storms), and deafening cracks of thunder were produced when it flapped its mighty wings.
The Thunderbird marks the separation between the heavens and the earth. Moreover, in Northwestern tribes the Thunderbird is known as the Skyamsen, and is the dominating force of all natural activity.