Kluskap
In short: A cultural hero in Mi’kmaq oral storytelling, whose name is also written Glooscap and Glooskap.
Character
How does it work in the tale?
Gerald Gloade’s telling at the cultural centre connects Kluskap with Cape Blomidon. In MacMillan’s 1922 story, Glooskap makes birds from fallen leaves. These are separate stories. I’m Black Horse. What places do you picture when you listen to one and read the other?
What do the leaves keep when they become birds?
In the account published by MacMillan, red and brown oak leaves become robins and thrushes. The birds return in spring and build nests in the trees. The story ties both the colour of the feathers and the birds’ return to the leaves. The spring return recalls the loss at the beginning of autumn.