Wabosso

Third-born of four sons to E-bangishimog (West Wind) by Wiininwaa. Originally named Wau-boozoo ("white tail," in reference to the rabbit) — the rabbit-form etymology aligns him with the broader Anishinaabe rabbit-figure tradition that includes his brother Nanabozho's own occasional rabbit-form. Became Nanabozho's inseparable companion — variously twin, younger, or adopted brother depending on the recension; often takes wolf-form rather than rabbit-form in this companion-aspect. Slain by malevolent underwater manitous (horned serpents and underwater panthers like Mishibizhiw) who dwell in the depths of the lakes and embody chaotic forces disrupting natural balance. The killing is a cosmogonic pivot: the water-spirits flood the Earth in retaliation for Nanabozho's subsequent vengeance, reshaping the post-flood world. After death, renamed Cheeby-aub-oozoo (= Chibiabos), meaning "the ghost of rabbit" (jiibay "ghost" + waabooz "rabbit") — the name-change marking the status-shift from mortal-aligned-rabbit-brother to underworld-spirit-ruler. The chibiabos registry entry encodes the post-death role as the same figure under his post-death name; the two entries together model the pre-and-post-death lifecycle. The 19th-century English transliteration "Chibiabos" (notably in Longfellow's 1855 Song of Hiawatha, drawn from Schoolcraft) romanticized the figure as a "gentle musician and soul guide" — a poetically-accessible distortion of the more complex spirit-figure preserved in Basil Johnston's contemporary Anishinaabe-author retelling.

Parentage

• paternal: E-bangishimog
• maternal: Wiininwaa

Powers

• rabbit form shapeshifting
• wind mastery
• underworld passage mediation
• Flee with rabbit-swiftness

Relations

• sibling: Maudjee-kawissSchoolcraft 1839; Basil Johnston, The Manitous (1995) (primary)
• sibling: PukawissSchoolcraft 1839; with Chibiabos collaborated by adding drums and flute to the Hoop Dance (primary)
• sibling: NanabozhoVariously portrayed as Nanabozho's twin, younger brother, or adopted brother — the inseparable-companion relationship is the structural core of the figure.Anishinaabe oral tradition (primary)
• sibling: ChibiabosThe chibiabos registry entry is the same figure under his post-death name Cheeby-aub-oozoo. The two entries together encode the pre-and-post-death lifecycle structure.Basil Johnston, The Manitous (1995); Anishinaabe oral tradition (primary)
• killed by: the Underwater Manitous (the Mishipeshu-class water-spirit beings of Anishinaabe tradition) · AnishinaabeThe horned-serpent / underwater-panther water-spirits — Mishibizhiw and his retinue — entry pending if needed.Anishinaabe oral tradition; the Mishibizhiw water-spirits cluster (primary)
• sibling: JiibayaaboozReciprocal of jiibayaabooz.sibling (alphabetical family sweep). (auto reciprocal)

Sources

• existence: Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, Algic Researches (1839) (primary); Basil Johnston, The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway (1995) (primary); Anishinaabe oral tradition; the Nanabozho-vengeance-against-water-spirits cycle (primary); Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha (1855) — the romanticized literary reception of the figure (secondary)