ningaabii'anong | west

Ningaabii’an means West, Ningaabii’inong or bangishmog means ‘to the west’ (the latter is the spelling from the Nichols and Nyholm dictionary). Ningaabii’an, as Larry Aitken explains, is associated with four legged animals like the mashkode-bizhikiwag (‘buffalo’ [plural]), bebezhigooganzhiig (‘horses’), and waawaashkeshiwag (‘deer’). As Larry Aitken explains, it is the place in the Anishinaabe cosmology where the manidoo (‘spirit’) associated with the West is in charge of sadness and sorrow. It is also a place where Anishinabeg change from physical to spiritual, and where animikiig (‘thunderbirds’) reside. It is said that when animikiig open their eyes, lightening flashes, and a small glimpse of the Creator’s power is revealed. [Click here to ask the elders about thunderbirds]