Baykok

The baykok (or pau'guk, paguk, baguck; "bakaak" in the Ojibwe language and "pakàk" in the Algonquin language) is a malevolent spirit from the mythology of the Ojibway nation.

In traditional culture

The Baykok is a character from the Anishinaabe "aadizookaan", which is said to fly though the forests of the Great Lakes region. The cries of Baykok are also described as being shrill. Described as "Death" in The Song of Hiawatha, it is said to appear as an extremely emaciated skeleton-like figure, with thin translucent skin and glowing red points for eyes. The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible arrows or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim.

The word "bakaak" in the Anishinaabe language means "skeleton" in the sense of "bones draped in skin" rather than "bare-bones", such that it lends itself to words like "bakaakadozo", meaning "to be thin/skinny/poor", and "bakaakadwengwe", meaning "to have a lean/thin face". The name "Bakaak" occasionally appears as "Bekaak" (reflected in English as "Baykok"), which may be a shortening of "bekaakadwaabewizid", meaning "an extremely thin being".

In telling of the "aadizookaan", the description of "Bakaak"'s shrill cries ("bagakwewewin", literally meaning "clear/distinct cries") is a pun of its name. The method the "Bakaak" uses to subdue its victim is another pun of its name; the word for "to beat using a club" is "baagaakwaa'ige". A similar construct is found in the name for the basketry splints called "baagaako'igan", prepared by pounding black ash. Yet another pun on the name is the way the "Bakaak" "flings its victim's chest open" ("baakaakwaakiganezh") to devour the victim's liver.

In popular culture

First introduced to the non-Anishinaabe public through The Song of Hiawatha, the baykok in recent years has become a cultural pop-icon in death-themed entertainment. Fact|date=February 2008

ee also

*The Song of Hiawatha

External links

* [http://www.native-languages.org/hiawatha.htm list of words found in "The Song of Hiawatha"]
* [http://www.macula.tv/gallery/Illustration/gallery/baykok/main.htm Macula] modern portrayal

References

* Cuoq, Jean André. 1886. "Lexique de la Langue Algonquine". Montréal: J. Chapleau & Fils.
* Johnston, Basil. 2001. "The Manitous: the spiritual world of the Ojibway". St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
* Nichols, John D. and Earl Nyholm. 1995. "A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe". Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.