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Native American Legends: Moskim (Moshking)
Name: Moskim
Tribal affiliation: Lenape,
Munsee,
Mohican
Alternate spellings: Mooshkiingw, Mooskim, Moshkim, Moshking, Mo'skem
Pronunciation: Varies by dialect: usually moh-skeem, moh-shkeeng, or moo-shkeeng
Also known as: Tschimammus (pronounced chuh-mah-muss), Hare
Type: Hero,
rabbit
Related figures in other tribes: Glooskap (Wabanaki),
Nanabozho (Anishinabe),
Wesakaychak (Cree)
Moskim (also known as Tchimammus) is Rabbit, the benevolent culture hero of the Lenape tribes
(sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.)
Not many stories about Moskim are still told today, but he seems to have shared some similarities with
other Algonquian heroes such as Nanabozho and
Glooskap. In some legends Moskim is even referred to by the Ojibwe name "Nanapush," although this
may have been a case of the white folklorist
confusing different tribal traditions rather than an actual cultural borrowing. Like other culture heroes
of the Northeast Woodlands, Moskim was sometimes
said to have had a deadly younger brother named
Flint
who killed their mother in childbirth and remained
adversarial to Moskim thereafter.
Legends of the Delawares:
Collection of Delaware Indian folktales including four in Lenape (with English translation.)
Mythology of the Lenape:
An overview of the Lenape worldview and belief system including several legends and traditional stories.
Spirit of the New England Tribes:
Collection of Mohican and other Algonquian legends and traditional stories.
Algonquian Spirit:
Excellent anthology of stories, songs, and oral history from the Delaware and other Algonquian tribes.
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