Gaoh

Accounts vary by tradition. In some tellings Gaoh lives in a house in the sky and governs winds and seasons from there; alternate narratives place him in a mountain cave known as the 'House of Winds.' In versions emphasizing hierarchical cosmology he holds the winds locked in his dwelling to be released only by command of the Great Spirit or Adekagagwaa. A Seneca variant depicts Gaoh chained to a rock; his struggles to break free generate winds until he tires and rests, at which point the winds quiet. These variants are reported as alternative motifs rather than a single harmonized origin.

Traditional descriptions present Gaoh as a solitary old man and a giant, physically powerful enough to uproot trees. Some sources additionally describe him as a cannibal. Together these portrayals produce an image of an aged but enormous humanoid wind-being: solitary, fearsome in aspect, and capable of great physical violence tied to meteorological phenomena.

Gaoh controls the winds of the four cardinal directions (named Ya-o-gah, Bear of the north wind; Da-jo-ji, Panther of the west wind; O-yan-do-ne, Moose of the east wind; and Ne-o-gah, Fawn of the south wind) and more broadly governs seasonal change. He can produce storms and violent winds when restless; in some traditions his physical exertions (for example, attempts to break chains in the Seneca account) directly cause winds, while quiet follows when he rests. He is described as mostly benevolent in function—ordering seasons—but capable of destructive, stormmaking violence and is attributed predatory traits (cannibalism) in some tellings. In certain accounts the winds act as guardians of his home, while in others they are winds kept locked inside to be released by higher authority.