The main difference between the Mothman descriptions and the Thunderbird artifact is that the artifact is crafted with a head, while the Mothman is typically described as having no head. The general body shape - other then the head discrepancy - is identical. The most striking similarity is the "eye" placement. The Thunderbird artifact has two holes placed on the upper chest, same as Mothman descriptions. Presently, these "eyes" on the Thunderbird artifact are being used as string holes to lace the figure to a museum stand. I inquired of the Museum Staff if the holes were meant as "eyes", or were lacing holes. They did not know, but gave their opinion that as "eyes", they were very compelling. I also asked if the holes were part of the original creation or were added later as lacing holes, but the staff was unable to provide information on this.
A New England Koasek Abenaki who is familiar with both this item and with Thunderbird lore states that, "the two holes bored into the copper at the 'chest' would have had a braintan lace knotted through them to suspend the ornament/talisman from the wearer's neck." He goes on to state that, "We have our own theories as to the significance...."
Interestingly, the Fruitlands item I examined is only a reproduction - the original is in the collection of the Peabody Museum at Harvard, catalog number 88-45-10/46959. A Native American version of its acquisition by Harvard's Peabody Museum is that it was obtained from a robber of a Pennacook Abenaki gravesite in New Hampshire.
Comparison:
Loren Coleman, in his recent book Mothman & Other Curious Encounters, created a composite sketch of the Mothman based on the various reports and eyewitness testimony. A written composite of the Mothman was first published in 1970 in The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings by John Keel - and an artists rendering of a sketch drawn by Roger Scarberry who saw the the creature on November 15, 1966 first appeared in Janet and Colin Bord's 1981 book Alien Animals.
The Loren Coleman sketch is below left. To the right is a scan of the Thunderbird artifact from the book The New England Indians by C. Keith Wilbur. It may also be found in The Western Abenaki by Colin Calloway.
Thunderbird Lore:
Although primarily associated with the Plains Indians, the Thunderbird was known to the Algonquin speaking peoples of New England. However, like most Native American culture in New England, little is now known of their beliefs. In regards to the Thunderbird, this much is known: it was a fearsome being and resembled a winged man or an immense bird, it caused fear and dread, and was said to actually kill and eat humans from time to time. (Jim Brandon - The Rebirth Of Pan)
Pmola
According to a New England Koasek Abenaki about the Pmola (puh-MOH-lah): "Our legends tell us of a being who appeared as a giant bird-like creature, with glowing red eyes and claws, who would swoop down on unsuspecting animals and people and carry them off ... never to be seen again. The Indian peoples of the Eastern Seaboard and Woodlands all share similar stories. Grandmothers and Mothers would caution their children to behave, lest Pmola find them unawares and carry them away."
Piasa
Jacques Marquette, a French explorer relates a petroglyph of the Piasa near Alton Illinois in 1673: "On the flat face of a high rock were painted, in red, black, and green, a pair of monsters, each as large as a calf, with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger, and a frightful expression of countenance. The face is something like that of a man, the body covered with scales, and the tail so long that it passes entirely round the body, over the head, and between the legs, ending like that of a fish." It was supposed to live high in a cave on the bluff.
An Alton, Illinois scholar named McAdmas observed during the mid 1800s, that the name Piasa "signifies, in Illini, 'The bird that devours men.'" And indeed, it was Illini legend that children and adults were carried away and eaten.
Tlanuwa
The Cherokee legend of the Tlanuwa is similar of the Piasa. The Tlanuwa were a pair of immense birds said to live in a cave on the north bank of the Little Tennessee River in Blount County Tennessee. They would fly up an down the river, even coming into the villages to carry off and eat dogs and small children.
Bad8gi
According to a New England Koasek Abenaki about the Bad8gi (BAH-dohn-KEE): "I personally believe that the Thunderbird here in the East is based upon an ancient species of raptor, one that possessed a wingspan in excess of twenty feet. These gigantic preying birds were the antecedents of the Eagles that are so important to our culture and traditions today. Ancient oral traditions among the Algonquin/Abenaki tell us that these raptors rode the lightning and the thunderheads, coming up from the South, in a corridor that extends from Mexico right on up the Appalachians into New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. I believe that the copper representation you refer to is this Thunder Being, and was made to harness the spiritual powers to benefit the wearer. Our word for this Being is Bad8gi."
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