KLFM

Wendigo!

America is not a young land: it is old and dirty and evil. Before the settlers, before the Indians… the evil was there… waiting.

/William S. Burroughs/

Wendigo, Windigo, Vindinhoo… ovaj uvjetno kazano šumski duh iz mitologije sjevernoameričkih Indijanaca ima mnoga imena, no sva vuku zajednički korijen što je pomalo čudno s obzirom na lingističku raznolikost plemena na širokom području između južnih močvara i jugozapadnih pustinja sa jedne te hladnih sjevernih šuma sa druge strane, u bespućima Minnesotte, Wisconsina i Ontaria.

Ukratko, Wendigo je svojevrsni ‘kradljivac duša’, monstruozno natprirodno biće sposobno mijenjati oblike te asimilirati svoje žrtve. Antropolozi i etnolozi pokušavaju taj misterij objasniti racionalno, tvreći kako se njegova ljudožderska priroda može pojasniti dugim periodima bez lovine i biljnne hrane, kada su Indijanci pribjegavali kanibalizmu. Mit je dakle trebao biti zaštitini element koji bi spriječio takve pojave, jer onaj tko se hrani mesom pripadnika iste vrste postaje i sam nekakav Wendigo (ili dio nekog od već postojećih), osuđen na vječno lutanje noćnim prerijama i ledenim šumama.

01 Crippled Black Phoenix – Wendigo
02 Cowboy Junkies – Black Eyed Man
03 Firewater – Whistling In The Dark
04 Johnny Dowd – King Of Emptiness
05 Giant Sand – Shadow To You
06 Sixteen Horsepower – Haw
07 Hugo Race & The True Spirit – AM Radio
08 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Gloomy
09 Silver Jews – We Are Real
10 Uncle Tupelo – Whiskey Bottle
11 Hüsker Dü – The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill
12 Creech Holler – Serpent King
13 JUlian Cope – Sqwubbsy
14 Sons Of Perdition – The Party
15 Mark Lanegan – The Gravedigger’s  Song
16 David Bowie – Always Crashing In The Same Car
17 The Long Riders – Looking For Lewis And Clark
18 The Pine Hill Haints – Wrestle With The Angels
19 Calexico – Sonic Wind
20 Green On Red – Hair Of The Dog
21 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jack’s Shadow
22 Dream City Film Club – Perfect Piece Of Trash
23 Jesus & Mary Chain – Darklands
24 Gallon Drunk – Eternal Tide
25 Pixies – Caribou
26 Jim White – A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados
27 Those Poor Bastards – Old Pine Box
28 Woven Hand – Arrowhead
29 Andrea Schroder – Kingdom

Ipak, doba ‘globalnog sela’ iznosi na danje svjetlo neke nove tvrdnje. Ne samo Indijanci već i bijelci izlaze u javnost sa svjedočenjima o bizarnim i jezivim susretima sa ovim sablsanim shapeshifterom. Istražitelji paranormalnog povlače usporednice sa nekim drugim duhovima i kriptidima poput skinwalkera, slendermana, rake-a ili tzv. ‘crnooke djece’ i ostalim srodnim demonima koji su postojali u legendama i novinskim izvješćima mnogo prije nego što ih je popularizirala creepypasta.

Svojevrsnoj je popularizaciji mita (ili istine?) o Wendigu pridonio i britanski književnik Algernon Blackwood u noveli o nekolicini mladih škotskih doseljenika koji potpadaju pod utjecaj takvog bića.. i naravno, sve završava u teroru i kaosu. A nije ga zaobišao ni Stephen King.

Zasad toliko od vašeg skrušenog urednika emisije Soda Fountain. Dobijate dvosatnu glazbenu listu kojoj je cilj evocirati pomalo ne baš ugodan feeling za jedno bistro jutro, a ostalo možete, ako vas zanima, naći diljem svemrežja. Sve u svemu, izgleda kako su vampiri, drekavci i vukojarci tek mlađa slavenska braća velikog Wendiga. A kad spominjemo već Slavene, ne zaboravite da srednjeeuropski Germani imaju lijep naziv za našu etničku skupinu – Wenden! Uostalom, po pitanju nasilja i svojevrsnog kanibalizma smo se ionako već dokazali!

But how real were (or are) these creatures? Could the legend of the Wendigo have been created merely as a “warning” against cannibalism? Or could sightings of Bigfoot-type creatures have created the stories. While this is unknown, it is believed that white settlers to the region took the stories seriously. At times, they even took the sightings and reports quite seriously and made it enough of the local culture that stories like those of Algernon Blackwood were penned. Real-life stories were told as well and according to the settlers’ version of the legend, the Wendigo would often be seen (banshee-like) to signal a death in the community. A Wendigo allegedly made a number of appearances near a town called Rosesu in Northern Minnesota from the late 1800’s through the 1920’s. Each time that it was reported, an unexpected death followed and finally, it was seen no more.

Even into the last century, Native Americans actively believed in, and searched for, the Wendigo. One of the most famous Wendigo hunters was a Cree Indian named Jack Fiddler. He claimed to kill at least 14 of the creatures in his lifetime, although the last murder resulted in his imprisonment at the age of 87. In October 1907, Fiddler and his son, Joseph, were tried for the murder of a Cree Indian woman. They both pleaded guilty to the crime but defended themselves by stating that the woman had been possessed by the spirit of a Wendigo and was on the verge of transforming into one entirely. According to their defense, she had to be killed before she murdered other members of the tribe.

There are still many stories told of Wendigo’s that have been seen in northern Ontario, near the Cave of the Wendigo, and around the town of Kenora, where a creature has been spotted by traders, trackers and trappers for decades. There are many who still believe that the Wendigo roams the woods and the prairies of northern Minnesota and Canada. Whether it seeks human flesh, or acts as a portent of coming doom, is anyone’s guess but before you start to doubt that it exists – remember that the stories and legends of this fearsome creature have been around since before the white man walked on these shores. The legends had to have gotten started somehow, didn’t they?

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