MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN CHRISTOPHER VECSEY Colgate University L Description of Midewiwin Midewiwin is a semi-secret Ojibwa religious organization con­ ducted by a hierarchical priesthood and composed of numerous leveb, or degrees, of membership. Its cult activity features the symbolic death and rebirth of initiates, although other ceremo­ nialism surrounds cures and burials. It employs specially con­ structed lodges with cosmic symbolism as well as ritual accou­ trements such as seashelb (megis), animal-skin medicine bags, drums, rattles, and pictographic records (see Vecsey 1983:174- 100; rather than repeating my references therein, see the bibli­ ography, 206-228; see Turner 1978:123-129 for additional refer­ ences). Contemporary Ojibwas regard Midewiwin as their aboriginal religion; however, most non-Indian scholars, following the lead of Harold Hickerson, have concluded that the organization de­ veloped in the 18th century in response to various crises brought on by contact with whites and the concomitant dbeases, cul­ tural anomie, societal dborganization, environmental disequilib­ rium, and the undermining of religious faith. Although some major scholars (e.g., William Fenton, personal communication, 1977, and Ake Hultkrantz, personal communication, 19S2) prefer to emphasize Midewiwin's continuity with Northeast Woodland traditional religiosity, current opinion considers it a relatively new movement, an indigenous Ojibwa development that took 446 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY root among neighboring Algonquian and Siouian peoples before falling into decline and almost disappearing in some Ojibwa lo­ cales in the 20th century. In the past decade, however, !vfidewi­ win has resurfaced in most Ojibwa areas as a revitalizing move­ ment. In the words of Minnesota Ojibn:a medicine man, Edward Benton-Banai (1979:89): "The Midewiwin Lodge will serve as a. rallying point for the people and its traditional ways will be the source of much strength." For at least three centuries Ojibwas have expressed their desire to promote their individual lives and to persist as a people through the structure of Midewiwin. IT. Midewiwin Myths of Origin My _goal in the following paper is to understand Midewiwin more fu1!y by examining the myths Ojibwas have told about the circumstances through which :M:idewiwin came into existence, and the purposes which Midewiwin was intended to serve. By an­ alyzing the mythic statements Ojibwas have made about Midewi­ win, I hope to learn what Midewiwin has meant to them. Selwyn Dewdney {1975:23) wrote that "the central concern of the ~fide oral tradition was with origins: the creation of the world and of man, the origin of death, the introduction of the M.1dewiwin, and the ancestral origins of the Ojibwa people." ~ly concern is with the myths of Midewiwin 's origin, although obvi­ ously these myths must be seen in the context of other mythic material. More broadly, the context for the myths under study is the ritual life of Midewiwin organization. Mide participants acted out and recited versions of the myths at funerals, cur­ ing rites, initiations, and when discussing Midewiwin amongst themselves, often following ritual events. The form the myths take indicates their ritual context, since the narratives are often encumbered by ceremonial detail that eclipses the potential drama of the stories. Since the end result of the stories is always the same-Midewiwin comes into ~xis­ tcnce for the Ojibwas-there is little suspense regarding the out­ come of the story. Instead, the narrative focuses on the process through which Midewiwin arose rather than enhancing the ten- MIDEWIWIN t.-IYTBS OF ORIGIN 447 si on of dramatic action; hence, much of what is told in the stories is taken up with litanies of manitos (the supernaturals, or gods), natural symbols, ritual paraphernalia, and suggested choreogra­ phy. Despite the ritual details, and despite some circumlocutions and other cryptic devices in the more esoteric versions (see Dens­ more 1929:174-175; LaFleur 1940:707; Landes 1968:93-94), the form of these myths is a story which is readily apprehended, at least on a surface level. The myths' most apparent function is to validate and explain the purpose of :Midewiwin, although its psychological, societal, cognitive, and other mechanisms are potentially infinite. Most significantly, Mide priests have told these stories to initiates in order to explain to them the nature of the organization they were entering; or to patients, to explain to them the nature of the cure they were about to receive; or to mourners, to explain to them the nature of the ritual of bereavement they were experiencing. The didactic function of the myths helps render them accessible to the non-Ojibwa observer. Hindering an easy analysis of these myths, hov;ever, is the v-vide variance in their content. Despite the method of teaching myths by rote to Mide priests in training (see Dewdney 1975:81- 82); despite the use of mnemonic devices, recognizable from area to area; despite the tradition of public recitals before knowledge­ able· audiences; despite their function as teaching mechanisms, we find not only variants of particular stories but apparently contradictory explanations of how Midewiwin came to be. These variations can be attributed to Ojibwa visionary individualism, or to a lack of a central Midewiwin organization, or to the appro­ priation of local folkloric elements, or to the use of archaic lan­ guage no longer understood, or to the dearth of Ojibwa concep­ tual dogmatism. Whatever the reasons, variations exist among the twenty-sLx sources from which I have drawn my texts and which will be cited in what follows. Myth A: George Copway (1850:169-175), the 19th century OjibwaMethodif 448 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY clergyman, provides us with a story of " ... the origin of disease and death, and the foundation of the Medicine Worship." Mter the creation there was no disease or death in the world. Humans 'Yere larger, more dexterous, and faster than they are today. The forest abounded with game, the fields with fruit, the waters with large fish. Supernaturals visited the earth periodically by means of a vine, to maintain the Indians' happy condition. One young man received special blessings from a tutelar spirit, causing jeal­ ousy among his peers. The young man escaped with his guardian spirit up the vine into the sky. ffis grandmother followed, mourn­ ing for him, hoping to bring him back. The people called after her: "You old witch, you." As she climbed, "the vine broke and down she came, with the broken vine, which had before been the ladder of communication between heaven and earth." The result was disease (notably people became lame and dumb) and death. Her people cursed her. Various spirits tried to overcome the dif­ ficulty. The people made petitions to them: to replace the vine, to remove disease, to kill the old witch, to bring quantities of game, to "calm and relieve them in distress". Finally, the Great Spirit agreed to send cures for disease, although death was to remain and the vine was to remain severed. Mide herbs, dance, and the medicine lodge thus came to the Indians. Myth B: Our second myth attributes Midewiwin to the work of Nan­ abozho, the Ojibwa culture hero and trickster, often in connec­ tion with his Wolf Brother and often following the re-creation of the world following a great flood (Fisher and Vecsey 1975, and Vecsey 1983:84-100). Mter Nana.bozho created the world, he be­ came angry about how the manitos had killed his Wolf Brother; he vowed revenge on the mani tos of the four underworlds and four overworlds. The manitos met in council and decided to appease him with a gift of parents (to replace his old parents who had been killed) and Midew~win (Barnouw 1955:220-223). Some versions have it that the Great Lynx, :Misshipeshu (Tanner 1830:185), Kitche Manito (Hoffman 1891:155), or a mysterious MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 449 deity named Cumpa (Smith 1932:342-343) initiated the peace­ making gesture. Nanabozho would not listen to the offer, so the gods sent Otter, a relative of his, to bring him to their coun­ cil. The Underwater Manito fashioned a new mother and Kitche Manito made a new father for Nanbozho, both of whom would have lived, had not an afterworld already existed, with the Wolf Brother in charge. As a result, everyone must die. At the same time, the manitos said that if Nanabozho behaved, they would give him a drum, rattle, and megis shells ··to put in the rattle. These were for thanking the gods and curing ailments. Macci­ manito, an evil deity, tried to prevent :M:idewiwin, but failed, says one version, which adds: "Midewiwin is thanksgiving for pa!3t health-the borrowing of life from the gods" (Kinietz 1947:179, 183-187). Myth C: Related to this myth is a separate tradition recorded by William Jones (1919:547-559; cf. 531-547). Nanabozho said to his brother, let us create- everything in the world. He made Bird-Hawk, Owl, Otter (whose skins make some of the Mide medicine bags), and others who will help humans when they are created. Nanabozho created a series of humans ("who shall perform the miracles of a manitou") out of earth, but they disappeared when he left them overnight. He then created Thunderers and other birds who would strike against the mountains and scare "evil manitous" ("Matcimanitog" or "serpents") who stole the first humans. Be­ cause Nanabozho realized that the5e evil manitos would appear to humans in unlucky dreams, he created Midewiwin of various types: magic paint, ghost, serpent, and the attendants, to over­ come " ... my having erred when I made the mistake of creating the_evil manitous". He then exhorted the Thunderers to "ren­ der sustenance to the people", and explained to the man and woman he created that m.anitos provide not only the soul of a child, but also "the power to live the right kind of life".