Mesingw is the Lenape Mask Spirit, a powerful, sacred medicine spirit who maintains the balance of nature, appears to Lenape men in dreams, and is the focus of certain traditional Lenape religious rituals. Some people (especially non-Natives) have begun associating Mesingw with Bigfoot recently, but this is not a traditional view– many Native American tribes do indeed have sasquatch/hairy man legends but the Lenape Mask Spirit is not one of them. Mising is usually depicted as a supernatural face with one half colored red and the other half colored black. Mising is the protector of all animals of the forest but is most strongly associated with deer. Some Lenape people describe Mising as taking humanoid form and riding through the woods on the back of a deer, helping respectful hunters, and punishing those who despoil the forest.
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