Seventh Annual Report Part 44

Having in 1823 been myself admitted to the cla.s.s of a Meda by the Chippewas, and taken the initiatory step of a _Sagima_ and _Jesukaid_ in each of the other fraternities, and studied their pictographic system with great care and good helps, I may speak with the more decision on the subject.

[Footnote 9: Op. cit., vol. 5, p, 71.]

Mr. Schoolcraft presents a superficial outline of the initiatory ceremonies as conducted during his time, but as the description is meager, notwithstanding that there is every evidence that the ceremonies were conducted with more completeness and elaborate dramatization nearly three-quarters of a century ago than at the present day, I shall not burden this paper with useless repet.i.tion, but present the subject as conducted within the last three years.

Mr. Warren truly says:

In the Me-da-we rite is incorporated most that is ancient amongst them--songs and traditions that have descended not orally, but in hieroglyphs, for at least a long time of generations. In this rite is also perpetuated the purest and most ancient idioms of their language, which differs somewhat from that of the common everyday use.

As the ritual of the Midewiwin is based to a considerable extent upon traditions pertaining to the cosmogony and genesis and to the thoughtful consideration by the Good Spirit for the Indian, it is looked upon by them as their religion, as they themselves designate it.

In referring to the rapid changes occurring among many of the Western tribes of Indians, and the gradual discontinuance of aboriginal ceremonies and customs, Mr. Warren remarks[10] in reference to the Ojibwa:

Even among these a change is so rapidly taking place, caused by a close contact with the white race, that ten years hence it will be too late to save the traditions of their forefathers from total oblivion.

And even now it is with great difficulty that genuine information can be obtained of them. Their aged men are fast falling into their graves, and they carry with them the records of the past history of their people; they are the initiators of the grand rite of religious belief which they believe the Great Spirit has granted to his red children to secure them long life on earth and life hereafter; and in the bosoms of these old men are locked up the original secrets of this their most ancient belief. * * *

They fully believe, and it forms part of their religion, that the world has once been covered by a deluge, and that we are now living on what they term the new earth. This idea is fully accounted for by their vague traditions; and in their Me-da-we-win or religion, hieroglyphs are used to denote this second earth.

[Footnote 10: Op. cit., p. 25.]

Furthermore,

They fully believe that the red man mortally angered the Great Spirit which caused the deluge, and at the commencement of the new earth it was only through the medium and intercession of a powerful being, whom they denominate Manab-o-sho, that they were allowed to exist, and means were given them whereby to subsist and support life; and a code of religion was more lately bestowed on them, whereby they could commune with the offended Great Spirit, and ward off the approach and ravages of death.

It may be appropriate in this connection to present the description given by Rev. Peter Jones of the Mide priests and priestesses. Mr.

Jones was an educated Ojibwa Episcopal clergyman, and a member of the Missasauga--i.e., the Eagle totemic division of that tribe of Indians living in Canada. In his work[11] he states:

Each tribe has its medicine men and women--an order of priesthood consulted and employed in all times of sickness. These powwows are persons who are believed to have performed extraordinary cures, either by the application of roots and herbs or by incantations. When an Indian wishes to be initiated into the order of a powwow, in the first place he pays a large fee to the faculty. He is then taken into the woods, where he is taught the names and virtues of the various useful plants; next he is instructed how to chant the medicine song, and how to pray, which prayer is a vain repet.i.tion offered up to the Master of Life, or to some munedoo whom the afflicted imagine they have offended.

The powwows are held in high veneration by their deluded brethren; not so much for their knowledge of medicine as for the magical power which they are supposed to possess. It is for their interest to lead these credulous people to believe that they can at pleasure hold intercourse with the munedoos, who are ever ready to give them whatever information they require.

[Footnote 11: History of the Ojebway Indians, London [1843(?)], pp. 143,144.]

The Ojibwa believe in a multiplicity of spirits, or manidos, which inhabit all s.p.a.ce and every conspicuous object in nature. These manidos, in turn, are subservient to superior ones, either of a charitable and benevolent character or those which are malignant and aggressive. The chief or superior manido is termed Kitshi Manido--Great Spirit--approaching to a great extent the idea of the G.o.d of the Christian religion; the second in their estimation is Dzhe Manido, a benign being upon whom they look as the guardian spirit of the Midewiwin and through whose divine provision the sacred rites of the Midewiwin were granted to man. The Animiki or Thunder G.o.d is, if not the supreme, at least one of the greatest of the malignant manidos, and it is from him that the Jessakkid are believed to obtain their powers of evil doing. There is one other, to whom special reference will be made, who abides in and rules the place of shadows, the hereafter; he is known as Dzhibai Manido--Shadow Spirit, or more commonly Ghost Spirit. The name of Kitshi Manido is never mentioned but with reverence, and thus only in connection with the rite of Midewiwin, or a sacred feast, and always after making an offering of tobacco.

The first important event in the life of an Ojibwa youth is his first fast. For this purpose he will leave his home for some secluded spot in the forest where he will continue to fast for an indefinite number of days; when reduced by abstinence from food he enters a hysterical or ecstatic state in which he may have visions and hallucinations. The spirits which the Ojibwa most desire to see in these dreams are those of mammals and birds, though any object, whether animate or inanimate, is considered a good omen. The object which first appears is adopted as the personal mystery, guardian spirit, or tutelary daimon of the entranced, and is never mentioned by him without first making a sacrifice. A small effigy of this manido is made, or its outline drawn upon a small piece of birch bark, which is carried suspended by a string around the neck, or if the wearer be a Mide he carries it in his medicine bag or pinjigosn. The future course of life of the faster is governed by his dream; and it sometimes occurs that because of giving an imaginary importance to the occurrence, such as beholding, during the trance some powerful manido or other object held in great reverence by the members of the Mide Society, the faster first becomes impressed with the idea of becoming a Mide. Thereupon he makes application to a prominent Mide priest, and seeks his advice as to the necessary course to be pursued to attain his desire. If the Mide priest considers with favor the application, he consults with his confrres and action is taken, and the questions of the requisite preliminary instructions, fees, and presents, etc., are formally discussed. If the Mide priests are in accord with the desires of the applicant an instructor or preceptor is designated, to whom he must present himself and make an agreement as to the amount of preparatory information to be acquired and the fees and other presents to be given in return. These fees have nothing whatever to do with the presents which must be presented to the Mide priests previous to his initiation as a member of the society, the latter being collected during the time that is devoted to preliminary instruction, which period usually extends over several years. Thus ample time is found for hunting, as skins and peltries, of which those not required as presents may be exchanged for blankets, tobacco, kettles, guns, etc., obtainable from the trader. Sometimes a number of years are spent in preparation for the first degree of the Midewiwin, and there are many who have impoverished themselves in the payment of fees and the preparation for the feast to which all visiting priests are also invited.

Should an Indian who is not prompted by a dream wish to join the society he expresses to the four chief officiating priests a desire to purchase a migis, which is the sacred symbol of the society and consists of a small white sh.e.l.l, to which reference will be made further on. His application follows the same course as in the preceding instance, and the same course is pursued also when a Jessakkid or a Wbeno wishes to become a Mide.

MIDEWIWIN.

The Midewiwin--Society of the Mide or Shamans--consists of an indefinite number of Mide of both s.e.xes. The society is graded into four separate and distinct degrees, although there is a general impression prevailing even among certain members that any degree beyond the first is practically a mere repet.i.tion. The greater power attained by one in making advancement depends upon the fact of his having submitted to being shot at with the medicine sacks in the hands of the officiating priests. This may be the case at this late day in certain localities, but from personal experience it has been learned that there is considerable variation in the dramatization of the ritual. One circ.u.mstance presents itself forcibly to the careful observer, and that is that the greater number of repet.i.tions of the phrases chanted by the Mide the greater is felt to be the amount of inspiration and power of the performance. This is true also of some of the lectures in which reiteration and prolongation in time of delivery aids very much in forcibly impressing the candidate and other observers with the importance and sacredness of the ceremony.

It has always been customary for the Mide priests to preserve birch-bark records, bearing delicate incised lines to represent pictorially the ground plan of the number of degrees to which the owner is ent.i.tled. Such records or charts are sacred and are never exposed to the public view, being brought forward for inspection only when an accepted candidate has paid his fee, and then only after necessary preparation by fasting and offerings of tobacco.

During the year 1887, while at Red Lake, Minnesota, I had the good fortune to discover the existence of an old birch-bark chart, which, according to the a.s.surances of the chief and a.s.sistant Mide priests, had never before been exhibited to a white man, nor even to an Indian unless he had become a regular candidate. This chart measures 7 feet 1 inches in length and 18 inches in width, and is made of five pieces of birch bark neatly and securely st.i.tched together by means of thin, flat strands of ba.s.s wood. At each end are two thin strips of wood, secured transversely by wrapping and st.i.tching with thin strands of bark, so as to prevent splitting and fraying of the ends of the record. Pl. III A, is a reproduction of the design referred to.

It had been in the keeping of Skwekomik, to whom it was intrusted at the death of his father-in-law, the latter, in turn, having received it in 1825 from Badsan, the Grand Shaman and chief of the Winnibegoshish Ojibwa.

It is affirmed that Badsan had received the original from the Grand Mide priest at La Pointe, Wisconsin, where, it is said, the Midewiwin was at that time held annually and the ceremonies conducted in strict accordance with ancient and traditional usage.

The present owner of this record has for many years used it in the preliminary instruction of candidates. Its value in this respect is very great, as it presents to the Indian a pictorial rsum of the traditional history of the origin of the Midewiwin, the positions occupied by the various guardian manidos in the several degrees, and the order of procedure in study and progress of the candidate. On account of the isolation of the Red Lake Indians and their long continued, independent ceremonial observances, changes have gradually occurred so that there is considerable variation, both in the pictorial representation and the initiation, as compared with the records and ceremonials preserved at other reservations. The reason of this has already been given.

A detailed description of the above mentioned record, will be presented further on in connection with two interesting variants which were subsequently obtained at White Earth, Minnesota. On account of the widely separated location of many of the different bands of the Ojibwa, and the establishment of independent Mide societies, portions of the ritual which have been forgotten by one set may be found to survive at some other locality, though at the expense of some other fragments of tradition or ceremonial. No satisfactory account of the tradition of the origin of the Indians has been obtained, but such information as it was possible to procure will be submitted.

In all of their traditions pertaining to the early history of the tribe these people are termed A-nish-in--beg--original people--a term surviving also among the Ottawa, Patawatomi, and Menomoni, indicating that the tradition of their westward migration was extant prior to the final separation of these tribes, which is supposed to have occurred at Sault Ste. Marie.

Minabozho (Great Rabbit), whose name occurs in connection with most of the sacred rites, was the servant of Dzhe Manido, the Good Spirit, and acted in the capacity of intercessor and mediator. It is generally supposed that it was to his good offices that the Indian owes life and the good things necessary to his health and subsistence.

The tradition of Minabozho and the origin of the Midewiwin, as given in connection with the birch-bark record obtained at Red Lake (Pl. III A), is as follows:

When Minabozho, the servant of Dzhe Manido, looked down upon the earth he beheld human beings, the Anishinbeg, the ancestors of the Ojibwa. They occupied the four quarters of the earth--the northeast, the southeast, the southwest, and the northwest. He saw how helpless they were, and desiring to give them the means of warding off the diseases with which they were constantly afflicted, and to provide them with animals and plants to serve as food and with other comforts, Minabozho remained thoughtfully hovering over the center of the earth, endeavoring to devise some means of communicating with them, when he heard something laugh, and perceived a dark object appear upon the surface of the water to the west (No. 2). He could not recognize its form, and while watching it closely it slowly disappeared from view. It next appeared in the north (No. 3), and after a short lapse of time again disappeared.

Minabozho hoped it would again show itself upon the surface of the water, which it did in the east (No. 4). Then Minabozho wished that it might approach him, so as to permit him to communicate with it. When it disappeared from view in the east and made its reappearance in the south (No. 1), Minabozho asked it to come to the center of the earth that he might behold it. Again it disappeared from view, and after reappearing in the west Minabozho observed it slowly approaching the center of the earth (i.e., the centre of the circle), when he descended and saw it was the Otter, now one of the sacred manidos of the Midewiwin. Then Minabozho instructed the Otter in the mysteries of the Midewiwin, and gave him at the same time the sacred rattle to be used at the side of the sick; the sacred Mide drum to be used during the ceremonial of initiation and at sacred feasts, and tobacco, to be employed in invocations and in making peace.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate III.

Red Lake and Leech Lake Records.]

The place where Minabozho descended was an island in the middle of a large body of water, and the Mide who is feared by all the others is called Minisinoshkwe (He-who-lives-on-the-island). Then Minabozho built a Midewign (sacred Mide lodge), and taking his drum he beat upon it and sang a Mide song, telling the Otter that Dzhe Manido had decided to help the Anshinbog, that they might always have life and an abundance of food and other things necessary for their comfort.

Minabozho then took the Otter into the Midewign and conferred upon him the secrets of the Midewiwin, and with his Mide bag shot the sacred migis into his body that he might have immortality and be able to confer these secrets to his kinsmen, the Anshinbeg.

The migis is considered the sacred symbol of the Midewign, and may consist of any small white sh.e.l.l, though the one believed to be similar to the one mentioned in the above tradition resembles the cowrie, and the ceremonies of initiation as carried out in the Midewiwin at this day are believed to be similar to those enacted by Minabozho and the Otter. It is admitted by all the Mide priests whom I have consulted that much of the information has been lost through the death of their aged predecessors, and they feel convinced that ultimately all of the sacred character of the work will be forgotten or lost through the adoption of new religions by the young people and the death of the Mide priests, who, by the way, decline to accept Christian teachings, and are in consequence termed pagans.

My instructor and interpreter of the Red Lake chart added other information in explanation of the various characters represented thereon, which I present herewith. The large circle at the right side of the chart denotes the earth as beheld by Minabozho, while the Otter appeared at the square projections at Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4; the semicircular appendages between these are the four quarters of the earth, which are inhabited by the Anishinbeg, Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Nos. 9 and 10 represent two of the numerous malignant manidos, who endeavor to prevent entrance into the sacred structure and mysteries of the Midewiwin. The oblong squares, Nos. 11 and 12, represent the outline of the first degree of the society, the inner corresponding lines being the course traversed during initiation. The entrance to the lodge is directed toward the east, the western exit indicating the course toward the next higher degree. The four human forms at Nos. 13, 14, 15, and 16 are the four officiating Mide priests whose services are always demanded at an initiation. Each is represented as having a rattle. Nos. 17, 18, and 19 indicate the cedar trees, one of each of this species being planted near the outer angles of a Mide lodge. No.

20 represents the ground. The outline of the bear at No. 21 represents the Makwa Manido, or Bear Spirit, one of the sacred Mide manidos, to which the candidate must pray and make offerings of tobacco, that he may compel the malevolent spirits to draw away from the entrance to the Midewign, which is shown in No. 28. Nos 23 and 24 represent the sacred drum which the candidate must use when chanting the prayers, and two offerings must be made, as indicated by the number two.

After the candidate has been admitted to one degree, and is prepared to advance to the second, he offers three feasts, and chants three prayers to the Makwa Manido, or Bear Spirit (No. 22), that the entrance (No.

29) to that degree may be opened to him. The feasts and chants are indicated by the three drums shown at Nos. 25, 26, and 27.

Nos. 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34 are five Serpent Spirits, evil manidos who oppose a Mides progress, though after the feasting and prayers directed to the Makwa Manido have by him been deemed sufficient the four smaller Serpent Spirits move to either side of the path between the two degrees, while the larger serpent (No. 32) raises its body in the middle so as to form an arch, beneath which pa.s.ses the candidate on his way to the second degree.

Nos. 35, 36, 46, and 47 are four malignant Bear Spirits, who guard the entrance and exit to the second degree, the doors of which are at Nos.

37 and 49. The form of this lodge (No. 38) is like the preceding; but while the seven Mide priests at Nos. 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 simply indicate that the number of Mide a.s.sisting at this second initiation are of a higher and more sacred cla.s.s of personages than in the first degree, the number designated having reference to quality and intensity rather than to the actual number of a.s.sistants, as specifically shown at the top of the first degree structure.

When the Mide is of the second degree, he receives from Dzhe Manido supernatural powers as shown in No. 48. The lines extending upward from the eyes signify that he can look into futurity; from the ears, that he can hear what is transpiring at a great distance; from the hands, that he can touch for good or for evil friends and enemies at a distance, however remote; while the lines extending from the feet denote his ability to traverse all s.p.a.ce in the accomplishment of his desires or duties. The small disk upon the breast of the figure denotes that a Mide of this degree has several times had the migis--life--shot into his body, the increased size of the spot signifying amount or quant.i.ty of influence obtained thereby.

No. 50 represents a Mitsha Mide or Bad Mide, one who employs his powers for evil purposes. He has the power of a.s.suming the form of any animal, in which guise he may destroy the life of his victim, immediately after which he resumes his human form and appears innocent of any crime. His services are sought by people who wish to encompa.s.s the destruction of enemies or rivals, at however remote a locality the intended victim may be at the time. An ill.u.s.tration representing the modus operandi of his performance is reproduced and explained in Fig.

24, page 238.

Persons possessed of this power are sometimes termed witches, special reference to whom is made elsewhere. The ill.u.s.tration, No. 50, represents such an individual in his disguise of a bear, the characters at Nos. 51 and 52 denoting footprints of a bear made by him, impressions of which are sometimes found in the vicinity of lodges occupied by his intended victims. The trees shown upon either side of No. 50 signify a forest, the location usually sought by bad Mide and witches.

If a second degree Mide succeeds in his desire to become a member of the third degree, he proceeds in a manner similar to that before described; he gives feasts to the instructing and four officiating Mide, and offers prayers to Dzhe Manido for favor and success. No. 53 denotes that the candidate now personates the bear--not one of the malignant manidos, but one of the sacred manidos who are believed to be present during the ceremonials of initiation of the second degree. He is seated before his sacred drum, and when the proper time arrives the Serpent Manido (No. 54)--who has until this opposed his advancement--now arches its body, and beneath it he crawls and advances toward the door (No. 55) of the third degree (No. 56) of the Midewiwin, where he encounters two (Nos. 57 and 58) of the four Panther Spirits, the guardians of this degree.

Nos. 61 to 76 indicate mide spirits who inhabit the structure of this degree, and the number of human forms in excess of those shown in connection with the second degree indicates a correspondingly higher and more sacred character. When an Indian has pa.s.sed this, initiation he becomes very skillful in his profession of a Mide. The powers which he possessed in the second degree may become augmented. He is represented in No. 77 with arms extended, and with lines crossing his body and arms denoting darkness and obscurity, which signifies his ability to grasp from the invisible world the knowledge and means to accomplish extraordinary deeds. He feels more confident of prompt response and a.s.sistance from the sacred manidos and his knowledge of them becomes more widely extended.

Nos. 59 and 60 are two of the four Panther Spirits who are the special guardians of the third degree lodge.