Wednesday, April 13, 2016

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- KEE-WAKW

The stew fills the air with its delicious odor.  You dish some into an eating vessel. 

Your eyes flick the person far across the clearing. Sadness and pity are in the eyes as he watches you partake your meal.

He is weak from starvation.  Barely alive.  A smirk turns your lips cruel as he looks to what's left of his wife.  Horror fills his gaze in realization as you continue to eat the stew.

You watch as the the breaths become shallower.  The eyes grow dim as the spirit leaves the body.

You laugh.  The frigid coldness grows in your chest as you contemplate your next meal.


This is one of the ways that a Kee-wakw are created.  They are creatures that were once human that have committed some terrible crime, especially of the taboo act of cannibalism or allowing a person to starve.  Another way to turn into these horrible creatures is to have been possessed.

Their hearts turn to ice and they become cannabilistic ice giants.  These creatures are from the North Eastern tribes like  Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy

They have many names including Giwakwa. Its pronounced gee-wock-wah (in Abenaki-Penobscot) and keh-wah-kwoo (in Maliseet-Passamaquoddy.)

They are related to these others creatures Chenoos (Micmac), Windigos (Anishinabe), Witikos (Cree), Stonecoats (Iroquois) because of their similar characteristics.

10 comments:

  1. Cannibalism or allowing someone to starve. Interesting ways to become a creature of folklore.

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  2. yep. to deliberately let a person starve. that is cold.

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  3. I was just going to day, that sounded like a Wendigo. :) Cool description!

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

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  4. Yikes. That is a creepy monster.

    ~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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    1. Yep. I had the compulsion to write in the creature's pov on this one.

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  5. Ew, yuck, cannibalism. so horrid. But if you're eating the flesh of another? I assumed the man watching wasn't interested in the stew because it was a stew made from humans. :0
    Still to eat and watch others starve. . .

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    1. No, he's the victim along with his wife. Hes been out of it and tied up and beaten and starved. He didn't know until he saw his wife's remains.

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  6. Cannibalistic ice giants - not a creature you want to bump into. I mean the ice giant part is bad enough, but cannibalistic just takes it to a whole new level.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    Replies
    1. I agree. Most windigo type creatures are all cannibalistic.

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