One of many "stone wall-like" artistically stacked stone cultural features that recall the Great Serpent...
"Abbomocho (Hobbomock,
Chepi) – In English: The Healing Spirit..."
"The Spirit of Death, night, northeast wind, the dark and
the underworld."
Chapter 10: Spirit Names and Religious Vocabulary
by Dr. Frank Waabu O'Brien, Aquidneck Indian Council
“First of all,
Hobbamocke is spelled many ways (Hobamock, Hobbomok, Hobbomock, etc.), and is
also known by different names, like Abbomocho, Chepian, Chepi, and Cheepi. His
multiple names reflect his slippery nature - he's elusive and hard to pin down.
As a deity (or
manitou), he's associated with death, the color black, the northeast (the
direction from which the worst weather reaches New England), swamps, and dense
woodlands. I can see why the Puritans claimed Hobbomok was the Christian Devil
in disguise, but the Algonquians took a more balanced view of this deity. For
example, although he was sometimes harmful, Hobbomok could also heal disease
and convey invulnerability to weapons.
Hobbomok was also the
manitou who helped the most powerful shamans, and the Algonquians of southern
New England often sought visions of him. To see Hobbomok, young men would spend
the night in a desolate place, drinking a mixture of potent herbs including the
hallucinogen white hellebore. The herbal concoction caused vomiting, but the
initiates would drink their own vomit (often mixed with regurgitated blood)
until the mixture remained in their stomachs. (Note: Don't ever try this!)
Receiving a vision of Hobbomok during the ordeal conveyed shamanic power. He
would also appear in dreams of his own accord, an occurrence which would make
the dreamer a shaman from that time forward.
There were two important types of shamans, both having
strong relationships with Hobbomok: the pniese, who was immune to weapons, and
the powwow, who could heal heal his clients or harm his enemies using his
spirit allies. (The word powwow now means an American Indian gathering, but
originally meant shaman). In times of trouble, such as war, shamans would often
lead their people into the swamps, where they could communicate more easily
with Hobbomok or other watery, underworld spirit allies.
Terrifyingly, Hobbomok also sometimes appears as a European, as John Josselyn recorded in 1674:
http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2010/05/hobbomok-and-shamanic-power.html
