Anyone from southern Illinois will tell you their share of
local ghost stories and monster mythos.
One of the most pervasive would probably be the legend of the Piasa Bird,
which is the topic of today’s blog. This
post will briefly discuss the history of the Piasa Bird painting, as well as
the legend associated with the painting.
Very little is known about the Piasa Bird due to the lost history of
many indigenous groups of the region, but what is known will be addressed
herein.
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| Artistic Depiction of the Piasa Bird (Google Images) |
The Piasa Bird is a mythical creature, described as a
conglomeration of bird, reptile, mammal, and fish (Figure 1), which is
memorialized as a large painting along the bluffs of the Mississippi River
outside of the city of Alton and Pierre Marquette State Park. This great creature was first reported by
Father Jacques Marquette, who stumbled upon a large, carved, and painted motif
of the creature along the Mississippi River.
He later reported that it was a legendary creature associated with the
Illini indigenous group. The current
illustration is one of several reproductions that have been created over the
years as the original, believed to have been created by the Illini, was
destroyed through quarrying efforts.
The term Piasa Bird is believed to mean “the bird that devours men" or
"bird of the evil spirit". It
received this name based on the legend connected to it. According to a legend that is associated with
author John Russel, the Piasa Bird was a creature that terrorized the Illini
suddenly and without warning. The chief
of the Illini, Ouatoga, had survived many hardships over his lifetime, but all
of his efforts failed against the Piasa Bird, which was systematically killing
off the young men of the village. He
prayed and fasted under a full moon, and he received guidance from the Great
Spirit. The Great Spirit informed
Ouatoga that the Piasa Bird had a weakness under its wing that could be pierced
with an arrow. Ouatoga turned to Tera-hi-on-a-wa-ka,
a great craftsman known for his skill in creating great weaponry, to fashion
several sharp arrows, and Ouatoga commissioned six of the best warriors to lay
a trap for the Piasa Bird. Ouatoga
provided himself as bait, and the creature happily fell for the ruse. While it was distracted from its attack on
Ouatoga the six warriors slew it, saving the Illini from the terror of the
Piasa Bird forever. Ouatoga, however,
was mortally wounded, and it took him several months of constant care to be
nursed back to health.
Tera-hi-on-a-wa-ka commemorated the victory by carving and painting an
image of the Piasa Bird into the cliffs.
This painting, which is the one that Father Marquette happened upon
years later, included vibrant colors of red, black, and green, representing war
& vengeance, death & despair, and triumph respectively.
References
Bauser, B. No
Date. “The Piasa Bird.” The Madison County ILGenWeb. http://madison.illinoisgenweb.org/piasabird.html
Brewster, PG. "The Piasa Bird: A Legend of the Illini." Hoosier Folklore Vol. 8, No. 4 (Dec., 1949), pp. 83-86
No Author. 2015. “The Legend of the Piasa Bird.” Illinois Department of Natural
Resources. https://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/r4/prm/piabrd.htm
No Author. No Date. “Indigenous
Peoples’ Literature: Legend of the Piasa.”
Indians.org. http://www.indians.org/welker/piasa.htm
No Author. No Date. “Piasa Bird.” Alton Web: The River Bend. http://www.altonweb.com/history/piasabird/
Peithmann, I."Pictographs and Petroglyphs in Southern Illinois." Journal of the Illinois State Archaeological Society NEW SERIES, Vol. 2, No. 4 (APRIL 1952), pp. 91-94
Temple, WC. "The Piasa Bird: Fact or Fiction?" Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984) Vol. 49, No. 3 (Autumn, 1956), pp. 308-327
Voelke, FE. "The Piasa." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984)
Vol. 7, No. 1 (Apr., 1914), pp. 82-91
30 comments:
I am so sad the original carving no longer exists. We lost so much history and knowledge when the Native Americans were decimated after the Europeans came. It is such a terrible tragedy.
I am guessing the panel was long gone before anyone ever had a chance to attempt to date it or its pigments? Have no other images of the Piasa Bird been found? It seems with such a myth as this there would be other artifacts found with an image of this creature.
There is so much to learn!
I'm not aware of any other depictions of the Piasa Bird, but my knowledge is limited. I know much archaeogical knowledge has been lost due to erosion and other factors. It may also be that it was taboo to draw or craft any similar image, which is why none are known. But, yes, a lot of knowledge has been lost throughout the world. :(
I always love reading about old myths and legends, especially old Irish tales. As a child, my grandmother would tell me stories about St. Patrick and how he drove out all the snakes in Ireland, an unlikely myth, but it didn't stop me from listening to her stories. While much is known about this, it does make me wonder about all the other stories and myths around the world that have been lost or destroyed.
Native American legends are very interestingly told to us in the modern era, often believed as folk tale and so on. I remember somewhere reading about how stories can often change through time, some true in origin while others meant only to be a story for the ages. With the Piasa Bird I am curious to know if it was pure wise tale or something of truth. If the latter what was the beast actually, a monster or a mistaken bird. Even so its tragic how these tales fall to the side and evidence of such destroyed without care. Native American history is still history.
The Piasa Bird does not sound like a realistic creature, I know this is based of mythos from southern Illinois but is there any proof other than a few paintings and a myth of this creature. A bird reptile mammal fish is a pretty unrealistic description of this creature. That being said this is a very entertaining myth; the Illini captured all the aspects of a great story. The chief of the village waits as bait for the Piasa bird, and his best warriors jump in and slay the beast to save the village. This seems like a great story to tell children and build pride and respect for their heritage.
Shannon Carroll
Anth 101
Very interesting story. It's strange that many cultures have stories about dangerous beast, even though they do not exist. It reminds me of when men tell stories about fights, they are always greatly exaggerated. It reminded me of the Hobbit, when they slew the dragon. I think that maybe alot of theses stories where a way for people to entertain themselves back before movies.
I enjoyed reading this mythical legend, it is interesting to understand how people perceived some situations long ago. This legend has survived generations, I wonder if the version was modified as it was passed down to the next generation.
I truly appreciate a good story and I definitely appreciate mythology. It seems likely to me that this story was created to keep children from leaving the village at night or perhaps nothing more than a terrifying bedtime/campfire story. This legend reminds me of dragons or even vampires, instilling fear of the unknown or rather fear of things that are uncommon or difficult to explain. Thank you for the share!
Jeremy Murphy
Anth 101
This was an eerie read! This legend reminds me of the
loch ness monster with an evil twist. I liked how this creature was a combination of almost every type of animal, it reminds me of the animal board game we played a couple weeks ago in class.
-Sam
Anth 102
It is always interesting to here myths.I always wonder where the thought process for creating these myths come from. I do not have a creative mind so whenever I come across one I haven't heard about before it makes me appreciate them that much more. It says the bird attacked Illini out of know where. I wonder why? I learned in my chore humanities class about children stories such as the original Arial, where all stories I would not want to have my nieces read. I was unaware that every time Arial took a step she left a feeling of be stabbed in the foot. Makes me want to understand the true meaning behind such myths or stories.
Leslie Milton
Anthropology 101
Course 3001
I enjoyed learning about a type of monster that can devour every living thing in its path, but it has a weakness. It's just like the Death Star, a giant round space station that could destroy a planet. The rebels found a way to destroy it and the enemy was oblivious to the fact that two protons are able to sneak through an exhaust vent.
One of the first things that attracted me to anthropology was the creation stories and myths of past and present cultures including the artifacts attached to them. The stories and objects do an amazing job in showing how human kind has evolved, and how some ideas and beliefs endure. It is very sad when things that are so important to history disappear. Conservation of our past is vital to help us understand where we came from and aids us in knowing where we will go.
After reading this post I have added the seeing the painting of the Piasa bird to my list of things to do/places to visit. After reading this post I am going to have to look up the legend as author John Russel writes it. When I was reading the post the first thought that came to mind, was that the Piasa was in some ways similar to a dragon. I had this thought before reading how it had a single weakness under its wing that could be pierced by a sharp object thus killing the creature. I really am looking forward to reading more on the Piasa and also the Illini. Sky
I was thinking the same thing about the dragon from the Hobbit while reading this! I believe many myths like the Piasa Bird have been integrated into the stories we read today. For instance, the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is a representation of Homer's "The Odyssey." I love reading about myths and legends from earlier times.
Mythical creatures have always fascinated me, they are fun tales to pass on and share to little one to scare them haha. While reading this article It reminded me of the mythical creature I was often told about, the "Chupa Cabra." It was known to drink the blood of a goat and only appeared at night. I would have never imagined that there mythical creature tale from Illinois, its awesome!
I think legends such as this are such interesting aspects of culture. The way they promote certain values, in this case bravery and sacrifice, can show what was important to certain peoples.
It is such a shame that so much of ancient Native American culture has been lost due to environmental degradation. It seems that too much of American culture is focused on "progress" and not enough on the preservation and respect of our past.
Claire Jennings-Bledsoe
Mythical Legend is interesting, i away like to read or listen to the stories. To me it seems like a folk tale or moonlight stories that don't away have proof. And i think it has some cultural back ground which has to do with stain believes in an environment.
I've never heard of this until reading this article. Reading things like this is very interesting and exciting to learned about the past history. Sometimes I wonder what if the bird was real? Then what would of happen? Same as Big Foot and any other Myths.
Aaliyah Caldwell
Aaliyah Caldwell
I love these kinds of stories where a monster is slain though the determination of a hero and his wits I didn’t know that the Native Americans had these with monsters since we hardly learn about them in school.
I love reading about mythological creatures but i ad never heard of this one. But I now have a new one to read about thank you for introducing me to another one that I can read more about.
You're welcome, Delmar. If you get a chance there was (and may still be there) a large artistic rendition of the Piasa Bird is on the bluffs outside of Grafton, IL. You may want to check it out.
This was a different type of read from what you usually find here. I actually found it interesting none the less. I frequent folklore especially those that I have heard being an Illinois resident and native.
Mythological creatures bring me excitement. It is the fact that these have been drawn and in my opinion all drawings come from some type of inspiration they saw. The story sounds like the inside of the wing is equivalent to the story of the Achilles Tendon and his weak spot.
okay when I first looked at this article im like what the heck is that bird. Very fascinating article and im gladi chose to read it. The paisa bird was interesting because it kind of reminded me of the bird off of harry potter.
Piasa Bird has a horrible meaning but it makes lost of sense when you look at the picture. This is pretty interesting and I'm glad I chose this blog post to read.
Good article! Native American legends are very interestingly.
Jovie Black
The myth of this bird could be believable, however the pictures lost me at half fish. Weird looking fella, I like old myths though .
I wouldnt be suprised if there was a massive bird at some point,(the thunderbird mytho comes to mind) I could only begin to imagine how much history has been destroyed or lost. Were there any native american mytho religions that were known at all?
Judging by the picture alone, I can see why its called "the bird of the evil spirit". I liked learning about this mythical creature and how he terrorized the Illini. This reminds me of stories my dad use to tell me as a kid to scare me.
-Jasmine Busby
Mythical creatures have always been interesting to me for the simple fact they all have unique origin. The piasa bird is intriguing due to the meaning of its name in my opinion which means "the bird that devours men".
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