THE THUNDER BIRD

Apache Knife Fighting & Battle Tactic 4

By Snake Blocker, Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

The Thunder Bird

Of all the great birds that The Creator formed, one bird was the largest and most feared of them all.  This bird was larger than the great eagles, but the great eagles still ruled all the flying creatures.  The great eagles were respected, but always left these neighboring birds alone in the mighty cliffs of the center of Turtle Island.  This great bird had such a massive wing span that it would sound like thunder when it flew.  The Apaches called this flying creature by the name Thunder Bird.  The Thunder Birds would live in the tallest of cliffs, which were impossible to climb up or descend down from. Time after time, the Thunder Birds would fly down and grab an Apache by their shoulders, arms, or legs and smash him or her into the walls of the precipice.  The Thunder Birds would then feed the dead Apaches to their young.  Before a Thunder Bird would fly off its perch to hunt, it would move both its wings up and down quickly before pushing off their perch.  This was done as a pre flight ceremony before takeoff. 

The Apache warrior would often carry one weapon on each hip.  When there was an opponent on each side of an Apache, the Apache warrior would unsheathe their weapon and come up on each side to strike both opponents.  The Apache would strike with an Upward Wind Lightning strike (slash) or Upward Wind Piercing Buffalo strike (stab) at the same time.  After the opponent was cut, they usually would slump down and the Apache warrior would follow up with a Downward Wind Lightning strike or Downward Wind Piercing Buffalo strike. The Apache warrior would call this application, the Thunder Bird tactic, as it would emulate the flapping of the wings. 

Today when a storm is approaching, many Apaches say, “The Thunders Birds are coming.” 

It is said that the last of the Thunder Birds were killed by a great Apache warrior and the bones of those Thunder Birds still lie at the bottom of the great precipice in the central desert.