Home Page
  • Home
  • Biographical Note
  • Quick Links Wall
    • Only Podcasts . . .
  • Events / Appearances
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Academic Publications
    • Community Publications
    • Book Review Publications
  • Witness Canada's Algonquin Genocide
  • IWagWid: Indigenous Women & Girls with Disabilities
  • Gehl Blogging
    • Gehl Blog Index
    • Subscribe
  • Community Resources
    • Cultural Appropriation Detector
    • Indigenous Knowledge Protection Act
    • Follow the Turtle
    • Ally Bill of Responsibilities
    • My Wampum Bundle
    • Truth that Wampum Tells
    • Genocide: A Personal Manifesto
    • Anishinaabeg Thinking
    • Canadians Need to Know
    • Cupcake Feminism
    • Knowledge is Wholistic
    • The Metaphoric Turtle
    • Oh Canada
    • Treaty Federal Order
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Biographical Note
  • Quick Links Wall
    • Only Podcasts . . .
  • Events / Appearances
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Academic Publications
    • Community Publications
    • Book Review Publications
  • Witness Canada's Algonquin Genocide
  • IWagWid: Indigenous Women & Girls with Disabilities
  • Gehl Blogging
    • Gehl Blog Index
    • Subscribe
  • Community Resources
    • Cultural Appropriation Detector
    • Indigenous Knowledge Protection Act
    • Follow the Turtle
    • Ally Bill of Responsibilities
    • My Wampum Bundle
    • Truth that Wampum Tells
    • Genocide: A Personal Manifesto
    • Anishinaabeg Thinking
    • Canadians Need to Know
    • Cupcake Feminism
    • Knowledge is Wholistic
    • The Metaphoric Turtle
    • Oh Canada
    • Treaty Federal Order
  • Contact
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

1/3/2012 5 Comments

Black Face Blogging

Mshkoziwin and Mkadengwe

PictureA Petroglyph Recreation © Lynn Gehl
In the Anishinaabe tradition a speaker’s face is an important element of learning the intended knowledge.  When someone tells a story the process of listening involves watching the facial expressions of the speaker as they convey if the speaker is happy or sad or in a state of wonder.  If the speaker is sad the listener not only hears it in the stated words but also reads it on the speaker’s face.  The same goes for joy and wonder. Through watching the emotions on the speaker’s face listeners feel what the speaker feels through a process of physiological synchronization.  It is because of this process that it is stressed that listening in the Anishinaabe sense involves good eyes and a good heart rather than merely good ears.  Many people skilled at the oral tradition rely on facial expressions when conveying knowledge.

Further, in the Anishinaabe tradition there is a teaching that encourages people to show the good side of their face.  Mshkoziwin is an Anishinaabemowin concept that references “the Art of Being Brave” and the process of finding one’s true face, or alternatively the need to get to know our core selves.  It is often said that at times our greatest enemy is our self.  To help remedy this there is the need to get to know our core being.  Anishinaabe wisdom informs us that our essence is made up of two parts.  While one part is positive, the second part is negative.  Given this, there is the need for individuals to travel deep within themselves and get to know both their positive and negative sides.  This requires bravery as the negative side is indeed difficult to befriend.  Regardless, if we fail to befriend our negative side it could very well take over who we are.  Alternatively, although our true face is the positive side of who we are, we must befriend our negative side and manage it in a way that allows our true face to manifest in the way we walk through the world.

In the Anishinaabe tradition people also expressed times of bereavement through the practice of Mkadengwe which translates to Black Face.  This tradition involved painting one’s face with black ash or paint to signify one’s state of being.  In reading the person’s face members of the community were better able to affirm the mourner’s feelings and accommodate their needs when required.

In following this later tradition of Mkadengwe over the next few months I will offer Black Face blogging as my way of expressing matters that I feel require thought.

5 Comments
Kai Kai Kons link
1/3/2012 11:20:12 pm

Brilliant! Chi Miigwetch Lynn, it is very powerful medicine when we invoke who we really are and any reemergence of who we are is very much needed in this time of our part in “her story”.

I have been chewing on this concept and advice for a while to see what approach I need to take to help wake up/mshkooziwiin our people.

My dreams have painted me as a “windigokaan” though, the people who dream and act and represent the thunder beings, who “mshkooziwiin” the people by what not to do, shocking them from their complacency. To help the people “real lies” there are many ways, to look at things. When we fast, we paint it black, when we go to dream, we still fast a sleep.

Some like me are done with the dream and paint the face both of dark and light, fire and ice because there is no wrong or right, everything is day and night. Lets speak with our faces working together.

Chi Miigwetch for speaking

Reply
Mrs. Anna General
1/30/2013 11:46:27 am

Lynn, Now I remember you. i am very happy we connected again. And away we go. I am so proud to meet you again. I just know our words, ideas, plans of the current and future is based from where we came from. It is not who has the best, this world is all about sharing, loving and constantly learning and understanding. Meegwetch.

Reply
Lynn Gehl
4/2/2014 03:44:02 am

Thank you Anna

Reply
elizabeth link
4/1/2014 10:02:22 am

So interesting...this is why I nver got any help in the white man's community for so many ,many,many years because they weren't reading my face.I even wore brown clothes and cut my hair and they still didn't SEE. I felt so ,so alone.Now I have a Voice and This is healing.White culture seems to want everything nice and smiling all the time that no one SEES the truth of what others are going through.thanks you Lynn. I ought to have painted my face black for the years of deep mourning...I used to wonder why no one could See.

Reply
Colleen Fleury
7/29/2016 03:07:26 pm

chi-miigwetch Lynn for sharing your debwewin journey

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

To subscribe to Lynn's Blog: click here
To subscribe to Lynn's Newsletter:  click here
To follow Lynn on her Public Facebook Page: click here
To subscribe to Lynn's YouTube channel:  click here
To book Lynn as a speaker: click here
To contact Lynn: click here
Copyright Dr. Lynn Gehl,  All Rights Reserved

Picture