Bigfoot: Of Lunar Cycles, Clan Meetings and Horse Mane Braiding



In this book The Braided Horses Are Coming, Don Monroe wrote about his decades of research into horse mane braiding done by the silent denizens of the forest, the Bigfoot People.


Photo by Don Monroe

One thing Don has noted over the years of study is that the braiding is done exclusively on full moons and solstices. It had me wondering about this practice. 

In my recent post on Wednesday "Is Bigfoot Autistic?" I talked about the possible way their mind works with right brain dominance. I also recalled what was told to me by several respected researchers, that the clans meet at confluences of waterways at certain times to have the youth meet up and perhaps continue a breeding population. But, for a people from different areas, how do they know when to meet? 

When I think about the full moon and solstices, I am aware of the ancient giants knowledge and understanding of the sky. This was important for circumnavigation of the globe, but also important in setting a universal message board.

Let's look at the Batman symbol above. When Gotham needed their hero, the easiest way to reach this nighttime bat-person was to put a light in the sky. 

If you were living a feral existence but wanted to continue an open custom of meeting with others at a certain location, what would be the one calendar all Bigfoot could adhere to? The stars and moon! 

Don also mentioned that with braiding they often weave in sticks, thread, ribbon and other found objects. It would seem rather symbolic. Braiding a horse's mane with specific features indicative to a particular Bigfoot and doing so on a full moon or solstice could be a repetitive way of honoring those all-important sky features and traditions. It could also indicate to other wandering Bigfoot where a clan might reside in rural areas. 

And, if their minds think in symbols instead of the linear way our minds do, then a braided mane might show what month of the year it is, switching sides of the mane every other month as Don has noted is done. In fact, it could be a form of calendar easily seen by others without us catching on. A kind of walking note, if you will. 

As someone who is synesthetic for time, days and months, information is spatial around me. If I were to represent it, I might put out a marker on the ground of where to stand and an item in a tree that represents the space and distance I see the month of October (for me it's about 6 feet out slightly left of me about 6 feet off the ground). If I were stand at the ground marker, look at the tree in the spot I placed an item at 6 feet up, slightly left of me, I would remember October and its meaning for me. 

This is the symbolic way in which Bigfoot's mind might also work, synesthetically. So we cannot take symbols to be straightforward such as "they braid horse manes because they like practicing braiding." The meaning could be quite elusive to us, but specific to each Bigfoot. If someone were to find the rock on the ground and the one in the tree that I left behind, they would never think "October." 

It would seem Bigfoot are very aware of these cycles in the sky and utilize it for honoring changes or perhaps honoring timing.

And so it goes, the luminous night sky might be the universal wrist watch for a Sasquatch.

As to what braiding horse manes mean, alas, we may ever truly understand unless we could ask one.

*I would like to thank Don Monroe for sharing his insights on horse mane braiding. This collective study he has put together is quite impressive, spanning distances and time. This is devotion to knowledge and greatly appreciated!* 


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