Mazinibaganjigan

Mazinibaganjigan (plural: mazinibaganjiganan) or birch bark biting is an ancient folk art made by the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe), Odawa, Cree, and other Algonquian peoples who use birch bark, by biting down on small pieces of folded birch bark to form intricate designs.^[1]

Name

It is also known as mazinashkwemaganjigan(-an) (by Northwestern Ontario Ojibwe) and ozhibaganjigan(-an) (by Wisconsin Ojibwe). In English, this has been described either as "birch bark bitings" or "birch bark transparencies."

Process

Using the eyeteeth to bite, the bite pressures can either pierce the bark pieces into a lace or just make certain areas thinner to allow for light to pass through.^[2] If the bark piece is carefully folded, symmetrical designs can also be made onto it.^[3]

Uses

Many of the designs that are used contain symbological and religious significance to the Ojibwa. Though the practice almost died out, there are an estimated dozen practitioners left in Canada and the United States, some of whom display the craft in contexts outside of their original intentions to show evidence of this ancient practice. Birch bark bitings can be used in storytelling, as patterns for quillwork and beadwork, as well as finished pieces of art.

See also

• Kelly Church, contemporary Odawa-Ojibwe birch bark biter
• Wiigwaasabak: birch bark scrolls
• jiimaan: Canoe typically made using birch bark
• maniwiigwaasekomaan: Knife for harvesting birch bark
• wiigiwaam: Wigwam, typically made using birch bark
• wiigwaasi-makak: boxes and other containers made of birch bark
• wiigwaas-onaagan: dishes and trays made of birch bark

Notes

References

• Frances Densmore, Chippewa Customs (1929, repr. 1979) ISBN 0-87351-142-5
• The Canadian Encyclopedia: Birch Bark Biting

External links

• National Anthropological Archives: Birch bark transparency
• Birch Bark Biting
• The First Nations art of birch bark biting