Oni: The Life Force

During class, we discussed the importance of wind to the Taiga culture. Throughout the novel, Omishto describes the wind as powerful, as "the spirit, the breath" of the earth and of herself (4). The description of the wind as both powerful, terrifying and beautiful seems to give the Taiga faith even more power. The fact that the wind is an invisible force with the ability to take down the oldest tree on their land, Methuselah. But, the passage that struck me the most begins on page 235 and ends with the closing of the book. The wind breathed the Taiga's earth into existence. As stated "the wind stirs in the trees" while Omishto dances. I believe that the wind stands for their very culture, more so than the panther (235). It is where their world began and where, as shown from the storm, it will end. I feel as though most people take wind for granted as a force. Before I read this story, I thought of the wind as a light breeze or a rustling through the trees, when, in reality, it has so much more power then that. This book opened my eyes to the life wind has within it. Although it is invisible, it has the power to knock down an enormous tree, to lift animals from the ground, and, and for the Taiga people, create the world we live in. Perhaps the wind is nature itself, for with its invisibility, strength and limitlessness (it can touch the far reaches of the sky unimaginable to us) it touches everything: from me, to a deer, to the water, to Omishto.