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Mi'kmaw Petroglyphs
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site of Canada
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Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site shows significant archaeological evidence of inhabitation by the ancestors of the Mi'kmaq, the Maritime Archaic Indians some 4,500 years ago. The history of the Mi'kmaq in the area is over 2,000 years old, as shown by the petroglyphs in the Park. These petroglyphs are what the Mi’kmaw expressed about themselves. Although not all have survived, the remaining petroglyphs offer an incredible glimpse into the world and way of life of the Mi’kmaw. Most depict solitary figures, several depict a hunt, ritual dances, and some of their beliefs of the natural world around them. Many of the petroglyphs were etched at Fairy Rocks, which lie at the entrance to Fairy Lake, and are believed to be the oldest etchings. Those carved long before the oldest Mi’kmaq can remember are believed to have been carved by hamajalu, or fairies. Hamajalu were no more than two finger joints in height and lived in the rocks and sand chewing and pecking designs in the rock. The Hamajalu were discovered by a Mi’kmaq who had lain down on a rocky shore to smoke his pipe and saw them, hard at work. Surrounded by a natural world that they didn’t fully understand, Mi’kmaq invented supernatural beings to help to explain unexplainable. Beings like Pine Chopper, Kaktoogwak (Thunder), Earthquake, and Glooscap, their cultural hero, figure largely in the petroglyphs. One petroglyph depicts Star Wife and Crane (who is a particularly delightful bird with grace, yet imbued with humour). According to legend, two girls wanted to marry two stars in the sky if those stars were Mi’kmaq. On awakening, the stars were beside them and they entered their wigwams as their wives. Later the girls discovered they were in the sky, and attempted to escape. In the course of fleeing, Crane ferries them on his neck across the river, where they reach the village of Widgeon and marry two Widgeon chiefs. Hunting scenes convey that moose meat was a favourite dish among the Mi’kmaq. Deer, caribou, and moose were shot with arrows and sometimes from horseback. Although fish were caught in a number of ways: nets, weirs, hooks and lines, harpoons, spears, lancing by firelight; the petroglyphs only depict the Mi’kmaw fishing from canoes. Glooscap is believed to have taught the Mi’kmaq to built birchbark canoes, and a variety of types were etched into the rocks. In the winter, Mi’kmaq lived in circular wigwams made of poles drawn together at the peak and covered with barks and skins. In summer the shape was made broader and longer and covered with watertight mats of woven reeds. Women often painted birds, moose, beavers, and other animals on the wigwams. One etching depicts a human figure floating above a lodge, illustrating the ancient Mi’kmaq belief that the soul leaves through the smoke hole in the wigwam after death. Reproductive organs are drawn indicating a desire to ensure fertility and the continuation of the race. "As children of the mingled light of the Sun and the Moon which the Sun used to impregnate the Earth, they believed they sprang from the earth as blades of grass where the sun’s rays stroked the earth and drew life from it."¹ Later etchings depict a variety of carefully drawn "tall ships" that may in fact have been drawn by the newcomers explaining themselves to the Mi’kmaq. In addition, sketches of chapels and crosses also indicate the adoption of their new faith after contact with the French. Fortunately these petroglyphs were copied in 1888 and later photographed. Some have disappeared under water, been vandalized, or have eroded with snow and ice. The petroglyphs that remain are to be studied and treasured. Hours: From June 19 to September 7 the Visitor Reception Centre and Campground Kiosk are open from 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM From September 8 to June 17, they are open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM For more information: See: ¹ Robertson, Marion. Rock drawings of the Micmac Indians. George Creed's tracings of the petroglyphs reproduced by Lynda Peverill. Halifax: Nova Scotia Museum, 1973, [n.p.] |
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