The Legend of the Horned Head

Mathieu O’Bomsawin
August 14, 2018
Odanak

"He always had the people of his community at heart."

Mathieu O’Bomsawin, Waban-Aki

He was born with horns on his forehead and was nicknamed Odasquine — Horned head, in Abenaki. People were afraid of him and stayed away from him. Because he also feared them, he took refuge in the surrounding forest, where he built his wigwam near a spring. He lived along, ate game and learned the secret of plants. Sometimes, members of his community would come and ask him for cures, which he gave them, with no hard feelings. One day, they didn't find him there. He had disappeared, leaving behind a garden of medicinal plants and a legend.