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Micmaq - Legends Surrounding the Bay of Fundy
The native Mi'kmaq, who first knew these shores better than any, acknowledged the uniqueness of the Bay of Fundy and honored this special place by passing on colorful legends to explain its existence. Their simple, but vivid, stories show that the unusual formations and high waters have made the Hopewell Rocks a place of profound significance since man first discovered these waters, and they have drawn visitors like a magnet ever since.
The Tide
Glooscap, the great native god, wanted to take a bath. He commanded Beaver to build a dam across the mouth of the bay to trap the high water so that he could bathe. Beaver did as he commanded, but this made Whale unhappy.
Whale demanded to know what caused the flow of water to cease. Glooscap, not wishing to anger Whale, instructed Beaver to break the dam, but Whale was impatient and began to break the dam apart with his great tale.
This caused the water to slosh back and forth with such power that it continues today.
The Rock Formations
One legend states that...
In ancient times, there were unfortunate Mi'kmaq who were enslaved by angry Whales who lived in the Bay. There came a time when some tried to escape their captors. They managed to flee as far as the beach, but there, captured by the angry Whales, they were turned to stone.
Their images remain today, encased in stone.
Another tells the tale of...
A fearful monster that lived within the waters of the bay. He liked to feed on white porpoises, and frequently captured natives, making them into his slaves.
One day, he was hungry and he ordered the slaves to go fishing for the white porpoise. As soon as the slaves were out of his sight, they made their escape. In his fury, once discovering they were gone, the monster lashed out his tail and churned up the cliffs, carving them into the strange shapes we see in the cliffs today.
The Chocolate Waters of the Petitcodiac River
In the beginning, the waters of Pet-koat-kwee-ak were clear and sparkling. But one day Eel swam down from the headwaters, his great body pushing everything before him into the cold of the great bay. Turtle told Glooscap that something had to be done about Eel. So Glooscap instructed Lobster to fight Eel. Lobster drove Eel out into the bay, but so great was the struggle that the once-clear water was disturbed and muddied forever.
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