Wearable Balanced Woman Symbol: Raccoon Bacula

In an earlier post I’m too lazy to dig for at the moment, I suggested the Papa Legba eleke patterns as good symbols of the men’s rights movement that both men and supportive women could wear.  Now, I’m going to suggest one specifically for the women: raccoon bacula, also called oosik.  The term oosik comes from an Inuit dialect, and may refer to any type of bacula, but unless it’s otherwise specified, in normal conversation, when folks say someone gave someone an oosik, they mean a raccoon baculum.

A baculum, to put it bluntly, is a penis bone.  Most mammals have them, though humans do not.  Raccoon bacula are special and symbolic of faithful and supportive women though.  There is an old custom in North America of young men giving these as gifts to women they loved.  It is both a symbolic gift and a magical charm, and accepting it meant that the woman would reserve herself for the one who gave it to her.

Female raccoons are monogamous.  After they’ve had sex with a male, they will not only repel others’ advances, but will go psycho if another even gets close to them or their nest.

Raccoon bacula are, aside of a nice love gift, a reputedly powerful good luck charm.  Much like the mano figa, it seems to gain more power from being given as a gift though.  So you can buy them for yourself, and that’s cool, but one you get from another is even stronger.  People give them to each other not only because of romantic love, but family love and friendship as well.  When given by a friend or colleague, it is a protection charm.  So if you know someone going into combat or who works a dangerous job, this is an excellent birthday or going away present.

If you’re making a necklace of one, the safest bet not to break it is to avoid drilling it unless you are very adept at bone carving.  They are very strong, but can crack or split from mishandling.  If you carve runes or symbols into it, do so with a light hand.

You can buy bacula and just about everything else critter, fur, and bone related from Bridger Fur Company.  It’s best to call them because their online catalogue is still incomplete.