The Thunderbird lived high in the
mountains and was the most powerful of the spirits. Lightning snakes lived under his
wings, and when he was hungry, he would throw them down into a surfacing whale, killing
it. Then he would swoop down and take the whale back to the mountains to devour it. In
this design, the supernatural, whale-eating bird is depicted with outstretched wings and
lightning snakes ready. Within his body is the abstract form of a whale.
|