At first Ojibwe's life seemed similar to that of the other boys in the village. However, it became clear to him that he was somewhat different than the rest, first because he was the son of the village shaman, and second, because, like his father, he could connect with the spirits of his ancestors and the jungle. This made his childhood harder than that of the rest of the village boys, if only because his father expected so much more of him.
When he reached the sixteenth anniversary of the day he mother bore him into the world, Ojibwe took part in his coming of age ceremony just like every boy in the tribe does when they reach that age. After a week of fasting, then a night of visions, each boy is required to venture into the jungle for a week on his own, to demonstrate his skills in battle and hunting. If he survives it he becomes a fully qualified man of the tribe.
The night before he was to leave Ojibwe has a dream of water, a land of water so vast it seemed bigger than the jungle itself. He was floating on the water and before him was a huge bank of clouds, roiling and crackling with lightning. In the morning he father took him aside and spoke to him before he was to leave on his walkabout. "Your walkabout is not going to be like the others." he said, "You have been touched by the spirits of the jungle. You will go much further and be away much longer. You will see far lands and many different peoples. You must not return until you find your spirit of the beast. Then you will be brugo, like me."
"How will I know when I find it, Brugo?" Ojibwe asked. "I cannot answer that question," he father told him "all I can say is you must follow your visions, and they will lead you. Only when you have travelled far enough and seen and done enough will you find your spirit of the beast."
With that Objibwe set off on his walkabout with his pet snake Uga. He wandered for weeks, hunting game, gathering what foods he could, and avoiding the dangers of the jungle, trending generally westward, where he felt the great water of his vision lay. When he reached the shore, he found it to be even more impressive than he remembered it in his dream, and of all things he saw, far out on the water, a wooden vessel with tall white things being tugged by the wind, moving across the water heading South. So he set of South along the water's edge trying to follow the giant canoe.
After a couple of days he came upon what seemed to be a village, only it was much bigger than his home village, filled with many more people, and containing giant structures made of wood. But most importantly, he found, at the edge of the big village, floating in the water, the giant canoe he had seen earlier, or one like it. He went to the big canoe and talked to a man. The man told him he needed to pay to board the ship but it would indeed sail to far off lands, and would even pass by a giant storm! Ojibwe knew he must be on that ship, but how could he find a way to pay?...
