Illustrating every legendary creature in Wisconsin folklore: The Magic Horse and the Magic Ox.
These are two legends that I find rather neat, as they were recorded as legends among Wisconsin's Ojibwe, but have clear European influences, and are likely adaptations of legends that the Ojibwe got from the French.
Both the horse and the ox are actually princes who have been cursed (by either a witch or the devil himself), both have a host of magical powers which they use to aid a heroic warrior on a quest. In return for the gifts they offer the hero, they eventually request that the hero decapitate them, which breaks the curse and turns the horse/ox back into a prince.
In essence, they were sort of mythical fusions between the Native American concept of animal spirits and the European concept of a cursed prince.
The horse was capable of disguising itself, of turning a handful of flowers into a garden, and of making a magic sword and armor which a person could use to singlehandedly defeat armies.
The ox had two detachable, magical horns. The left horn could produce a massive feast, and the right horn contained a warhorse and a magical suit of armor. The ox also had the ability to prevent a windigo from reattaching its severed heads, thereby allowing the hero he was helping to permanently slay a windigo to complete his quest.
I really like legends like this where the legends of two very different cultures blend together into something unique.
These are two legends that I find rather neat, as they were recorded as legends among Wisconsin's Ojibwe, but have clear European influences, and are likely adaptations of legends that the Ojibwe got from the French.
Both the horse and the ox are actually princes who have been cursed (by either a witch or the devil himself), both have a host of magical powers which they use to aid a heroic warrior on a quest. In return for the gifts they offer the hero, they eventually request that the hero decapitate them, which breaks the curse and turns the horse/ox back into a prince.
In essence, they were sort of mythical fusions between the Native American concept of animal spirits and the European concept of a cursed prince.
The horse was capable of disguising itself, of turning a handful of flowers into a garden, and of making a magic sword and armor which a person could use to singlehandedly defeat armies.
The ox had two detachable, magical horns. The left horn could produce a massive feast, and the right horn contained a warhorse and a magical suit of armor. The ox also had the ability to prevent a windigo from reattaching its severed heads, thereby allowing the hero he was helping to permanently slay a windigo to complete his quest.
I really like legends like this where the legends of two very different cultures blend together into something unique.