One day many moons ago, a young Chippewa warrior named Wa Hoohega, got lost in the woods of Wolf Valley and couldn’t find his way out before nightfall. As the sun sank behind the wooded hills and the woods became dark, the Great Spirit hung the moon and stars in the sky to provide a light for those animals who needed to travel in the dark.
The young man, not wanting to become even more lost in the dark, sat down among the trees and wrapped himself in his blanket to ward off the chill of the evening and await the morning light when he could find his way out of the woods and back to his home.
That evening, as he lay on the forest floor, he heard a sound he had never heard before. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. For several hours he listened to what sounded like the wind blowing across the branches of the trees and making wonderful music. He thought he would never get to sleep, but as he listened to the peaceful music, sleep finally overcame him and he drifted off to the dream world. In his dreams, Wakunka, the woodpecker, came flying through the trees and landed on his shoulder. “Follow me in the morning and I will show you where the beautiful music is coming from,” Wakunka whispered in his ear. The woodpecker then flew away and disappeared into the dark shadows of the evening.
In the morning as Wa Hoohega awoke, the sun was shining brightly just above the crest of the eastern hills. The young man heard a tapping sound in a tree near him and there sat Wakunka, the woodpecker, drilling a hole in the branch of a tree. He remembered his dream and stood up. As he did so, Wakunka flew off into the woods. Wa Hoohega followed the flitting woodpecker deep into the woods where they finally came to a Cedar swamp. There drilled in the branch of a tree were a series of holes that gave a whistling sound as the wind passed through them. It made such beautiful music that Wa Hoohega knew he must have that branch to take back to his village. However, the branch was out of his reach and there was no way to climb up the trunk to break it off.
Just then there was a crackling of leaves and sticks as Bjørnka, the bear, came through the brush and stood next to the tree. “I know your problem,” he said, “but I can help you. I will climb up the tree and break off the branch so that you may take it back to your village. I only ask that you remember me each time you make music on the stick, for only with my assistance will you be able to make the stick come alive with beautiful music.” With that, the bear climbed high into the tree, broke the branch free and it fell to the ground at Wa Hoohega’s feet.
Native American flute created and carved by Bob McCurdy of Door County.
He picked up the branch and told Wakunka, “I will take this home, for you can make another.” Without another word he left and climbed to the top of a high hill where he sat down on Sunshine Prairie to make the stick come alive with the beautiful music he had heard during the evening. He blew and blew but nothing he did would produce any sounds from the stick. Frustrated, he finally asked the Great Spirit for help. The Great Spirit heard his cries for help and sent Wakunka and Bjørnka to help him. Wakunka flew down from a tree and Bjørnka came lumbering up the hill. When they came to where Wa Hoohega sat, Wakunka said, “You were very selfish in taking the only branch that sang and not leaving another to replace it. Not only that, but you left without so much as a thank you and you didn’t remember the assistance that Bjørnka gave you either, as you tried to make the branch come alive with sound.”
With the woodpecker’s words Wa Hoohega realized the error of his selfish ways and asked them to forgive him and show him how to make the beautiful music he had heard the night before. Seeing that the young man was truly sorry for his actions they agreed to help him.
Wakunka, the woodpecker, turned into a man and Bjørnka, the bear, became very small and climbed atop the branch now lying at the young man’s feet. Wakunka then picked up the branch and it turned into a finely crafted flute. “Watch me and I will show you how to make this flute come alive.”
He moved Bjørnka away from a hole in the flute where he had been sitting and placed the flute to his lips. As he blew into it, the wonderful sounds Wa Hoohega had heard in the evening now filled the air once again. And so with Bjørnka sitting atop the flute, Wakunka taught the young man how to make the music. When the lesson was finished he also taught him how to make a flute. Bjørnka tore off another branch and Wakunka drilled the holes with his beak. Then with their assistance, Wa Hoohega made his own flute to take back to his village, and left the original flute in the woods so there would always be music for people to hear as the wind whistled through the branches of the trees.
This time he thanked his new friends for their help before leaving to return to his village. He practiced making music on the flute as he made his way home. That afternoon as he entered the village playing beautiful music on his flute, all the people came running to see what was making the wonderful sounds they heard.
Kiana, a beautiful young woman and daughter of the village chief, who was very shy and seldom talked to the young men of the village, listened to him play the lovely melodies on the flute. The young men of the village had tried for years to gain her attention but none had succeeded. Now as Kiana listened to the music, she was drawn to Wa Hoohega. Her brain told her, “Go slow, go slow.” But her heart was touched by the music and she found herself walking toward Wa Hoohega as if transported on a cloud of air. Her brain again told her, “Keep your mouth shut, keep your mouth shut.” But again her heart won out and spoke for her. She said, “Send your father to my father, and offer a gift, no matter how small, whatever you can afford, for I wish to be your wife.”
Wa Hoohega, who had always loved Kiana, quickly left to tell his father that he had found his bride. His family, who was quite poor, had little to give that would be fitting for a chief’s daughter. They finally decided to offer the flute Wa Hoohega had made, to Kiana’s father in hopes it would be worthy of her. The gift was accepted and a short time later, the wedding took place. After the ceremony, all the people of the village celebrated and danced far into the night to the beautiful music of the new flute. From deep in the forest they could also hear the same sounds dancing among the branches in the wind. As Wa Hoohega and his new bride sat together enjoying the music, a woodpecker flew overhead and dipped it’s wings as if in greeting. Wa Hoohega smiled and waved as the woodpecker circled over them before flying back toward the forest.
It wasn’t long before all the young men in the village were making flutes, and with Wa Hoohega as their teacher, they soon were able to talk to the woman of their choice, through the magic music of the flute. For where there is music, the notes will always reach the hearts of those who listen.
Many flutes were given as gifts during the Winter Solstice that year. From that time forward, there has always been beautiful, haunting, music coming from Wolf Valley in the Kingdom of Driftless Beauty.
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