Tabaldak is the androgynous creator among the
Abenaki and Algonquian people of northeastern
North America. Their name means "The Owner"
[Johnson, Charles W. The nature of Vermont: introduction and guide to a New England environment. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1998, pp. 23,24. .] who "created all living things but one".
Tabaldak created people out of stones, but thought these people's hearts were too cold. They broke up these stones and left them scattered over the Abenaki land.
Next they tried wood, and out of these came the Abenaki people.
The only creature Tabaldak did not create was Odziozo, whose name means "He Makes Himself from Something."
To do this, he piled dirt to make mountains, and dug lines for rivers. He took great care in forming Lake Champlain, and happy with his work, turned into a stone.
