Kichichaxkal (the Great Toad, Keeper of the Waters)
Lenape · deity · Lenape traditional religion; continuing · deity
Kichichaxkal, the Great Toad, is the guardian of the waters in the Lenape creation narrative. The Creator placed him upon the newly formed earth and gave him authority over all its waters, together with the power to make rain fall at his will, so that he is also called Bikanaki'hàt, 'the Water Keeper.' When the horned serpent Maxa'xâk sought to seize this dominion, the Toad tried to swallow him; the two destroyed one another, and the wound the serpent tore in the Toad's side let loose the waters in a world-flood. He is thus a benevolent ordering power of the waters, set in contrast to the chaotic serpent.
Domains
- rain and waters
Powers
- to rule over the earth's waters and send rain at will
Epithets
- Bikanaki'hàt
Relations
- subordinate to: Kishelemukong (the Great Creator)
- enemy: Maxa'xâk (the Great Horned Serpent)
Sources
- Robert Red Hawk Ruth (Chief), The Lenape Creation Story, Delaware Tribe of Indians (recorded oral narrative)
- John Bierhorst, Mythology of the Lenape: Guide and Texts, University of Arizona Press, 1995