Thunderbird (mythology)

The thunderbird is a mythological bird-like spirit in North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength.

It is frequently depicted in the art, songs, and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, but is also found in various forms among some peoples of the American Southwest, US East Coast, Great Lakes,

By people

Stories about the struggle between the Thunderbird and Whale (q.v.) have been traditionally told by various Pacific coast tribal groups. Studies have scrutinized the possible connection with Cascadia subduction zone earthquake in the year 1700 that sent a tsunami to Japan.

Menominee

In Menominee (Northern Wisconsin) folklore, thunderbirds live on a floating far-western mountain that floats. The thunderbirds control the rain and hail, and delight in fighting. They continually fight the great horned snakes (the Misikinubik) keep them from overrunning the earth and devouring humankind. They are messengers of the Great Sun himself.

Siouan

thumb|right| alt= Painting of a thunderbird on an animal hide, originally from the Great Lakes region |Painting of a thunderbird from the Great Lakes region, likely pre-1800

The thunderbird motif is also seen in Siouan-speaking peoples, which include tribes traditionally occupying areas around the Great Lakes.

Ho-Chunk

Ho-Chunk tradition states that a man who has a vision of a thunderbird during a solitary fast will become a war chief of the people.

Arikara

Ethnographer George Amos Dorsey transcribed a tale from the Arikaras with the title The Boy who befriended the Thunderbirds and the Serpent: a boy named Antelope-Carrier finds a nest with four young thunderbirds; their mother comes and tells the human boy that a two-headed Serpent comes out of the lake to eat the young.

Iconography

X-shapes

In Algonquian images, an X-shaped thunderbird is often used to depict the thunderbird with its wings alongside its body and the head facing forwards instead of in profile.

The depiction may be stylized and simplified. A headless X-shaped thunderbird was found on an Ojibwe midewiwin disc dating to 1250–1400 CE. In an 18th-century manuscript (a "daybook" ledger) written by the namesake grandson of Governor Matthew Mayhew, the thunderbird pictograms varies from "recognizable birds to simply an incised X".

Scientific interpretations

thumb|Thunderbirds carved in [[sandstone wall at Twin Bluff, Juneau County, Wisconsin, by prehistoric artist(s)]]

American science historian and folklorist Adrienne Mayor and British historian Tom Holland have both suggested that indigenous thunderbird stories are based on discoveries of pterosaur fossils by Native Americans.

Outside North America

Similar beings appear in mythologies the world over. Examples include the Chinese thunder-god Leigong, the Hindu Garuda and the African lightning bird.

In popular culture

The shoulder sleeve insignia for the 45th Infantry Division (Oklahoma Army National Guard) was a thunderbird patch after 1939, replacing the swastika as its symbol.
Several X-Men characters go by the name Thunderbird, the first appearing in 1975.
The Ford Thunderbird is an American car.
A WWII-era airfield for pilot training in Arizona was called Thunderbird Field, which in turn was the inspiration for other names, including:
The Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.
The 1960s TV show Thunderbirds created by Gerry Anderson.
In 1925, Aleuts were recorded as using the term to describe the Douglas World Cruiser aircraft, which passed through Atka on the first aerial circumnavigation by a US Army team the previous year.
The Pokémon Zapdos is based on First Nations folklore surrounding the Thunderbird.
Thunderbird is a roller coaster at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana.
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open-source cross-platform email client.
The Thunderbird is the cap badge and symbol of the Canadian Forces Military Police since 1968.
Various sports teams are called the Thunderbirds or have Thunderbird mascots, including:
The Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
The teams of Southern Utah University, in Cedar City, UT.
The teams of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus.
The Connetquot School District in Long Island, which was the subject of a lawsuit in 2023.

Thunderbirds can be recruited as units in 1999 Heroes of Might and Magic III and 2002 Heroes of Might and Magic IV.

in Power Rangers Mystic Force the Yellow Ranger Chip Thorne's helmet design and motif is based on the Thunderbird.
In the Horizon series, the Stormbird is a giant machine that resembles a thunderbird and can create thunderstorms.
The Gibson Thunderbird is the bass counterpart to the Firebird guitar.

References