Gaoh

Gaoh is the "Spirit of the Winds" in the Algonquian language.

Ga-oh is the Spirit of the Winds. He moves the winds, but he is chained to a rock. The winds trouble him, and he tries very hard to get free. When he struggles the winds are forced away from him, and they blow upon the earth. Sometimes he suffers terrible pain, and then his struggles are violent. This makes the winds wild, and they do damage on the earth. Then he feels better and goes to sleep, and the winds become quiet also.^[1]

Native Americans, including the Massachusett, Nipmuc, Wampanoag and other Algonquian peoples, maintained a different relationship to nature. A common perception of indigenous peoples throughout the world is that nature (in its many forms, including the wind, climate and weather) is imbued with power over the human world, higher power, mysterious in origin, and deserving of worship.

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