The Legend of Moshup

The Legend of Moshup. . , The Legend of Moshup , To the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, Moshup is a benevolent giant, believed to have created the present shapes of Martha’s Vineyard and the surrounding Islands. Moshup live in a den on the Cliffs of Aquinnah, and would wade into the waters to catch whales. He would fling them against the Cliffs to kill them and then cook them over his fire, providing the Wampanoag with food. Blood from the whales stained the Cliffs red, and coals from Moshup’s fire account for the black., The Wampanoag Tribal logo shows Moshup, bigger than life, holding a whale near his den on the Cliffs. The Aquinnah Wampanoag consider the frequent fog in the area to be smoke from Moshup’s pipe, a sign of Moshup’s happiness with his People., Sidebar , The Gay Head Cliffs mark part of the approximate maximum extent of the Laurentide ice sheet during the last ice age, roughly 18,000 years ago. The strata of white, gray, red, and black clay were deposited 75 million years ago, and then were thrust up into their present position by the glacier as part of the terminal moraine - the accumulation of rock and soil deposited by a glacier at its maximum extent. The Cliffs provide a cross-section of pre-glacial, coastal plain sediments, and are the most extensive and scenic exposure of Cretaceous and Tertiary formations on the New England islands and Cape Cod., Caption , The colorful Cliffs have been a tourist attraction since the mid-1800s, and passenger ships landed at the Cliffs until the 1950s. Natural erosion constantly changes the shapes and colors of the Cliffs. , Photo courtesy of Martha’s Vineyard Museum.