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 ritualaccou ­ 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". Finally, Nanabozho and his brother argued about a policy of cre~ting death. His brother was against this "injury", but Nanabczho

--~--- 450 CHRISTOPIIER VECSEY argued that the world would be overcrowded otherwise. Nan­ abozho gave people 100 years to live, and appointed his brother as ruler of the afterworld, where he would receive gifts of tobacco and food. His brother then died and Nanabozho wept ritually for him. His brother returned to ask Nanabozho what he was doing; Nanabozho explained that mourning would always be a custom. Then he sent his brother onward, saying, "No more will I mourn for you." In another version from the same source, the brothers create death and afterlife, and then :Midewiwin, presumably to ameliorate the existence of death in the world. It is useful to note that Myths B and C were often recited by Mides at Ojibwa funerals. Myth D:

The following myth is our most common text, and also our most elaborate, consisting of six loosely connected stories, each with numerous variants (see Dewdney 1975:40). Like the pre­ vious two myths, this one is placed in sequence to the ·cre­ ation, putting Midewiwin: amidst the primordial world order, with totems, animal-relations, and other crucial aspects of hu­ man life. In the various creations (e.g., Benton-Banai 1979:1-9; Hoffman 1891:172-173) an emphasis is placed on the formation of humans at the hands of an autonomous ~1aker, who also cre­ ated subsidiary beings who aided the creative process. In one version {Landes 1968:90-93) Nanabozho caused the death of a young child of the first man and woman by removing the enamel coating with which the first humans were endowed. In order to prevent the human population from weighing down the earth, he begged the manitos to cause death, thus breaking the original order of the world. In all the versions that contain this part of the myth, the manitos (variously God, Shell-covered Supernatural, Dzhe Man­ ito, Great Spirit, Kitche Manito, and Nanabozho) experience concern for human suffering from disease, death, and other af­ flications (Babcock 1940:2-3; Dewdney 1975:31, 34-35; Coleman et al. 1962:120; Hoffman 1891:166-167; Johnston 1976: 80; Lan- MIDEWIWIN h.iYTBS OF ORIGIN 451 des 1968:96-103). The world was too crowded, too miserable. The people were not oriented to the cardinal directions and thus were helpless to fight against disease. They needed food, plants, clothing, or the knowledge of how to worship the supernatural "in a time ~f trouble and death" during a great "pestilence" in "one great village" when the world was new. "Seeing how help­ less they were, he desired to give them the means of warding off the diseases and afflictions common to mankind," or to "pass my manito strength on to the Indian", otherwise the peop-le might become extinct now that the "original arrangements" had been upset. In one version a deadly disease threatened all Ojibwas. Everyone who caught it died. A boy who died arrived at the afterworld expressing his grief "because the people are dying". The supernaturals returned to boy to life and promised to send Nanabozho to earth with the gift of Midewiwin. In the next sequence Qf the myth, the manitos met as a coun­ cil and appointed an agent to bring Midewiwin to the Indians. Emphasis is placed on the participation_of m.anitos (sometimes four, sometimes sixteen) from the four corners of the universe, the controllers of the winds. The council agreed that the people were pitiful and needed a plan for long life and health, abun­ dance of food and comfort. Therefore they delegated Bear, or Nanabozho, Eagle, or Otter, Sun or the East Manito to travel to earth, and either to deliver the saving medicines or to b~ome incarnate in a little boy born to an old, childless Indian cou­ ple (Babcock 1940:2-3; Densmore 1910:21-23; Hoffman 1891:172- 173; Landes 1968:98-103; Mallery 1972:492). One version places the manito council in Palestine (Dewdney 1975:31-33). Another (Redsky 1972:100-106) notes that Nanabozho was not invited to the council; in a pique he buried his little brother, causing death in the world. It was necessary in the next sequence of the myth for the· agent of the manitos to break through a barrier between the other world and this one, to undergo initiation· of a sort, in order to deliver Midewiwin to the Indians. Mter placing the manitos in their locations, telling them to help the people in whatever 452 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY

they needed, Bear reached up through four layers of earth, build­ ing a Mide lodge at each level. Or, ha turned around, pushing a cedar—the Mide tree—through four leveb of sky. He then came to a great water, perhaps Lake Superior, and wondered how to cross it with his heavy Mide pack, filled with life for the people. Sometimes with the help of the Moon, sometimes by convert­ ing jealous Snake to hb aid, sometimes through his own pow­ ers, sometimes through the intercession of Shell, Megis—Bear crossed the water, either across its surface or along its base. Upon asending an island or a great white shell, Bear's body col­ lected numerous shelb that rattled on him like icicles as he rolled around. One version states, "They tell me it looked as if a white man was loading a great big ship" (Dewdney 1975:33; see Landes 1968:98-104, 108-109). Other versions have Nanabozho seeking a way to reach the Indians. He either had a vbion of Otter, pale and weak with sickness, engulfed in a lake and emerging cured (Johnston 1976:81), or perceived Otter in the waters, at the cardinal points and at the center. Nanabozho gave Otter a rattle, tobacco, a lodge and songs, and shot megb shelb at him, "that he might have immortality" and that he might pass on hb initiation (Hoffman 1891:166-167; Whitewolf 1957:2-3).

After overcoming barriers, the agent delivered Midewiwin to various geographical locations. Otter, Megb, or Bear travelled by water, usually from east to west, carrying a message and making it possible for local manitos to help Indians with their cures, since all local manitos derived their powers from the agent of the manito council. Usually this sequence in the myth ends with the location at which the myth b being narrated (Dewd­ ney 1975:34ff; Landes 1968:96-97, 108-110; Redsky 1972:100-106; Warren 1885:79-81). All that remained was for the Indians to receive the gift of Midewiwin from the gods.

It b difficult to know whether to regard the next sequence as a single piece, since there are numerous variations in it. In addition, it is not clear that the following epbodes are always connected to the previous stories. There b some likelihood that these represent a visionary tradition about face-to-face contacts MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 453 with the manitos, the typical pattern for Ojibwa puberty visions; however, the stories all end in the coming of ~Aidewiwin to the Indians.

A little boy, usually named Cutfoot (Odaemin, or Heart berry, in Johnston 1976:81-84), was living with his parents by the side of a lake. A person approached him asking directions; his par­ ents permitted him to guide the visitor through the forest, but along the way they rose into the air and the stranger taught him everything "about God, God's ways," about herbal remedies. In one version a spirit called the Indian to a medicine lodge in the woods. Inside was a baby, beating a drum. The infant rolled from the east in a counter-sunwise direction around the lodge, completing the round as an old man. The manito instructed the Indian to imitate. the motions of the child in the lodge in order that his people "would always live to be old" (Reagan 1933:516- 517). In other versions, God, Serpent, Otter, Nanabozho, Thun­ der birds, Megis the Shell, or the Mide Manito took the vision­ ary across the ocean and "taught him everything about how to worship God" through Midewiwin (Dewdney 1975:34-35). In the process the boy grew to be a man. He returned after four y~ars to his mourning parents with a water drum, herbs, the Mide lodge, and-in one version--seven gifts: wisdom, respect, bravery, honesty, love; humility, and truth, each represented by a shell symbolizing "the shell that the Creator used to blow his breath on the four sacred elements and give life to Origi­ nal Man" (Benton-Banai 1979:60-66). In short, the visionary returned with the revelation· of spiritual existence, the twin of physical existence. Cutfoot was able to transmit his powers to other Ojibwas, teaching his relatives and his community about Midewiwin, telling his people that the manitos pity them and come to them in dreams. Part of his wisdom was that sickness will always be part of life, although medicine men have the power to mitigate the pain of sickness. The Mides who followed him regarded illness as a "misiortune that represented punishment", and they sought to "discover what constituted integrity in life, and having found it, live it out". They created Midewiwin, thus, 454 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY

as a "good-hearted" society, thanking and offering sacrifices to their manito benefactors (Johnston 1976:81-84). Cutfoot him­ self became a leader in Mide organbation, with powers of solving the problems of sickness and death (see Johnson 1973-1974:63; Landes 1968:110-111; Redsky 1972:80-81; Warren 1885:67).

Since the visionary is usually male, we should note two vari­ ants that feature a girl, either so sick that she stank and had to be isolated, or so abused by her adoptive parents that she ran away from home. In the first case the sick girl received a shooting initiation by Bear, using megb shelb, a bow, and an arrow; she then took his Mide pack for herself (Landes 1968:111- 112). In the second case, a woman took her across the water in a "canoe" that turned out to be the Serpent, Mbhi Ginabig. Old Vermilion Grandmother introduced her to the Mide lodge poles and gave her paints from her skull, with a prophecy that she would marry South Wind. The girl returned on the Serpent, taught Midewiwin to her people, and thus women are permitted into the ranks of Midewiwin (Kidder 1918:77-84). It remained for Midewiwin to prove its powers. In a num­ ber of variants told to patients about to undergo Mide medicinal rites, the focus is placed on a "miraculous" cure of the vision­ ary's relative—a cousin, brother, or apprentice. Sometimes the visionary boy b an incarnate manito: East Wind or Sun. He was a remarkable child, always finding game and providing for hb family. Upon realbing that a close relative was sick, he made a remarkable journey across stormy waters with hb family. Find­ ing his relative already dead, he conducted a cure, using the powers of the manitos—Horned Serpent, Bear, and others—who shot the dead boy with megb shelb and brought him back to life. In one version a boy apprenticed to an old man who had once received Mide knowledge from the manitos became sick unto death. The old man instructed women, symbob of life-giving force of earth, to construct a Mide lodge made of the "nour­ ishment of the plant world". With the help of the water drum and its cosmic and natural symbolbm, the boy was miraculously cured. The story closes: "Thb teaching of the firstMidewiwi n MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 455 ceremony and how the boy was cured of hb sickness establishes the order for the priesthood of the Midewiwin" (Benton-Banai 1979:67-72). Mides have the power of visions and trances; they have control over soub and can travel around the world, even to the afterworld, combatting evil and seeking the "guiding princi­ ples of life" (Benton-Banai 1979:72). One particularly full ver­ sion (Densmore 1910:21-23) describes Midewiwin ritual in detail: the lodge, the tobacco and food, the drums, rattles, songs, face paints, medicine bags, and ritual actions. It ends by saying that "those initiated into the Mfde are instructed how to lead a good life" and "...very sick people are still restored by means of the Mtde." (See Coleman 1937:43-44; Skinner 1912:158-159; Hoff­ man 1891:172-173; Landes 1968:109-110.) Myth E:

Our final myth (Jones 1919:559-609; Johnston 1982:95-100; all references in thb section are from Jones) resembles the other stories only tangentially. After boys were born to the firsthu ­ man couple, Mighty One (said to be a Potawatomi of the Ea­ gle clan, who was blessed by the Underground Manito and who "fetched the unamani Midewiwin" using Nanabozho's powers; 558, fn.2), decided to contest Black Tail of a Fbh or Black Bass (described as a manito of the underworld, but also an Ojibwa of the Bullhead clan, who started the "common form of the midewi­ win"; 559, fn.3). They agreed to bet the lives of their wives and children in testing the "mystic rite of magic paint" (559). Mighty One set up a Mide lodge: wampum, feathers, porcupine quills, rattles, bird skins, owl skins, otter skins, and other magic pouches, a special stone and a post with a bird on it. He put a megb shell on a drum, and the contest began. Mighty One killed his rival's children with a megb and a feather, and hb wife with bear claws, all which he sent by beating his drum. Black Tail of a Fish was unable to cure hb family, and such injuries be­ came part of the human condition. Then Mighty One sent megb beads, bear claws, and two types of owl against hb adversary, but the manito was able to cough them up and neutralize them 456 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY

with his medicines. Then Black Tail of a Fbh set about creating the Midewiwin of magic paint, with the help of Nanabozho in composing songs. Using songs accompanied by a "rattle of black color", Black Tail of a Fbh stole away Mighty One's eight children, making pouches of their skin and tongues. Then he killed Mighty One's wife with stones, saying, "thus shall it be with the mystic rite" (567). The manitos of the four directions, and the people of above and below, whom Nanabozho had set loose at the creation, heard about the contest, and they came to learn the Midewiwin songs and gain Mide medicine. Black Tail of a Fbh gave them Midewiwin, saying, "...exceedingly fond of the mystic rite shall the people be" (569). These six brought Midewiwin throughout the world. Black Tail of a Fish said that whites will exist one day, and they will live by manitos' directions in a way different from the Indians. If they speak ill of Mide, making fun of it, the Thunder­ ers will be angry and destroy towns. All people should "regard the mystic rite as manitou" (571). Black Tail of a Fbh predicted that he would die, and he di­ rected that hb body be painted all red with magic paint: "I shall become medicine" (571). Then he visited Mighty One to make peace, but before leaving he reminded the six visitors to appear to people in dreams and teach them about Midewiwin: "Should they ever wbh the mystic rite,giv e them life..." (571). If they do not conform to Mide, then keep life from them. The six. then departed to their realms in the universe, after which the two rivab met and agreed that death only means going to the af- terworld, where we will all go. People will always compete with one another, putting their families up for wager. Finally, a great council of manitos met under Nanabozho's direction and agreed to help people through vbions, made possible by the exbtence of human soub. "The great manito that abides on the farther side of the underworld" (575) feared that people might dream of him and harm themselves, and so only after people have already lived upright lives will he appear to them. He abo promised a MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 457 200 year life span to those who followed the rules. Thb part of the story ends with the two former rivab reminding each other that they will become magic paint when they die. When Mighty One was old and lame, he proposed to one of his grown granddaughters: "I shall leave with you a boy" (581), "and thb boy shall be a manitou being" (583). Despite her initial resbtance, they had sex, and in the process he "wasted his life away" (583). She followed his advice to cut into hb finger, and there she dbcovered that his whole body was magic medicine paint. Black Tail of a Fbh advised her to keep all the paint for people who would come to her: "enough for the whole earth throughout its length and breadth" (583). People did come, and she bore a boy child, towards whom she showed great affection. Black Tail of a Fish desired to adopt the boy, and the granddaughter offered to have sex with him. He refused to indulge in "sexual defilement" for fear of losing eternal life (585), and instead went to Nanabozho to obtain a boy. When the old man was about to die, he instructed hb boy to cut into hb chest for magic paint, which the boy did, and later distributed it to people seeking success in hunting. The boy himself enjoyed the power of calling animals to hb ledge. But after a while, the boy wanted to learn the songs that accompanied the paint, and so he journeyed to hb grandfather and grew old learning them. Before he himself died, he told people to call on him for Mide rites concerning newborns or children who have died. He b called "Red-looking-One" (609). Then he died and went to hb grandfather. From thence they "harken" (609) when Midewiwin b performed.

HI. Traditional Ojibwa Religion

Despite an essential structural similarity—death, divine in• tervention, reception of Midewiwin—the myths of Midewiwin's origin dbplay a striking surface dbparity. Nevertheless they con­ tain an underlying consbtency, not only in their structure, but in the themes they express, the issues that concern them, the values they hold, and the reflection they make upon Ojibwa existence. 458 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY

In particular, the myths show that Midewiwin was a religious configuration with deep roots in traditional Ojibwa religiosity. Secondarily, they show Midewiwin's relation to the hbtorical changes Ojibwas have faced in the past several centuries. First let us analyze the religious connections.

Ontology

The myths depict humans as spiritual beings: material beings animated and directed by souls that make communication with the supernaturals possible, indeed, that make life possible. Souls are the precondition for vbions, for metamorphosb, and for the reception of religious power, as well as for an afterlife that b promised in the myths. Moreover, the existence of human souls establishes a bond be­ tween humans and the rest of the universal order, since the myths describe a living universe, in which manitos, animab, plants, nat­ ural entities, and humans all share a commonality in that they all possess soub; they are animated by their soub. The myths, then, present a spiritual world view, a world of souled beings. Even more pointedly, it b a consubstantial world view: every individual being is composed essentially of the same spiritual substance, making metamorphosb not only a possiblity but a fact of life. "Behold, this earth in all its length and breadth," a Mide states (Jones 1919:321), "such b what b meant as the mystic manitou." There b sea and sky, both overspread by the Mide Manito, and there are Wind Manitos in all the corners "that shall listen to the people". But to learn Midewiwin is to learn that "thb earth b as one". In this universe, the myths say, every being has a purpose, and all are available to help humans, who are depicted as needy and dependent. As a recent study of Ojibwa mythology shows (Overholt and Callicott 1982:140-152), the humans in Ojibwa myths are able to gain blessings, power, a good life, by tapping the potential powers of their fellow beings, powers that their fellows are willing to share. The Ojibwa medicine man, Edward Benton-Banai (1979:73), writes that through Midewiwin, MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 459 the people were able to develop a rappon with all the other beings of the Earth who shared the same space and time. They were able to communicate with all the other things of the ••• Universe. ••. They understood that they belonged to the Four Levels of the Earth: the Mother Earth, the plant life, the animal life, and the human beings. In this chain, the human beings were the last to come. It was understood that human life could not survive without any of the preceding levels, while the other levels could survive very easily without the human beings. The Midewi win Lodge helped to develop this humility in the people. This human ontology is consistent with what we know of the traditional Ojibwa world view. Also consistent is the myths' value placed on life in this world. Although there is some interest in a reward in the afterlife (a probable influence of Christian eschatology) and a consolation for mourners that when we die we travel to a happy world ruled by Nanabozho's brother, life is clearly more valued than death, as health is clearly desired over disease. .One should not overmourn the dead, these myths say, but one should struggle against it with all the powers (including those of Midewiwin) that one can muster. Theology H the Mide myths portray humans as dependent, life seeking beings in a consubstantial world, they also present the manitos as the ultimate sources of human existence. That is, the Mide myths are religious texts that describe the relationship between human need and divine ultimacy and efficacy. The gods of the myths are by and large the major traditional Ojibwa deities: the Winds, Thunderers, the Underwater Manitos (both Serpent and Lynx), Nanabozho, Turtle, the various Owners of Animals and Fishes, although some of the manitos-Mide Manito, Shell-are not found outside the Midewiwin complex. The debate con­ cerning the ahoriginality of Kitche Manito is unresolved by the myths, since they describe both the ascendancy of this supreme God in the Midewiwin pantheon and the identification of Kitche Manito as either Nanabozho or the Underwater Manito. Hone considers Kitche Manito as a conception introduced or developed by Christians missions (as I do), one can see the over layering of traditional Ojibwa polytheism with nascent monotheistic ten­ dencies. One can also see the undogmatic quality of traditional 460 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY Ojibwa theology; it matters not if Bear or Otter, Nanabozho or Serpent, bring :Midewiwin to the visionary Indian. The point for the Ojibwa.s is not so much which deity delivered the goods, but that the goods were received, and that their source was the manito world. In a visionary religious tradition in which individ­ ual Ojibwa.s received guardianship from individual manitos, the source of :Midewiwin is not as important as its effect, which is to provide the Ojibwas with a supernatural support for life. In the myths the gods respond to human needs; they come from the corners of a multi-layered universe (divided into sky and under­ world realms) to the aid of human life; they put :Midewiwin into motion, and they promise to act through Midewiwin to serve present human needs. Always there is the concern of manitos to alleviate human suffering (see Dewdney 1975:41).

Mythology

The Mide myths serve as two way symbols that reveal charac­ teristic human needs and consistent supernatural responses. In so doing, the myths fit the general pattern of Ojibwa mythol­ ogy: revealing the life and death issues for the Ojibwa.s, reveal­ ing the identity of the gods upon whom all life depends, and revealing the crucial transformations-the differences that have made a difference-that have produced Ojibwa existence as it is presently experienced. The myths describe the origin of Midewi­ win as a necessary ingredient in Ojibwa life, just as other myths describe the origin of hunting, or totemic organization, or the cosmic order itself. Furthermore, the Mide myths reflect the hunting life-for example, through the shooting of the megis as if a weapon propelled by a bow and arrow or gun, or through the revivification of the initiate as like an animal revived through ritual after it has given itself up to be killed-that suffuses all Ojibwa oral tradition. In addition, the myths repeat the central theme of Ojibwa mythology: the necessity of death for the con­ tinuation of life, a common assumption of hunting peoples. It is significant that the Mide myths are attached to other origin stories, since they form a unity of purpose and theme with the MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 461 whole mythological corpus. Ceremonialism Equally, the Mide myths point up the connection between Midewiwin and the major rituals of the Ojibwas: the naming ceremonies, the vision quests, the hunting rites (both calling in animals and propitiating their owners), the cult concerning death and the dead, indeed, all the rites of passage in the Ojibwa life cycle and the ritual rounds in the hunting year. More specifically, however, the inyths depict Midewiwin ritual itself; thereby val­ idating the ceremonial paraphernalia-the drum, rattle, birch- > bark scrolls, songs, lodge, as well as the sacrificial items like to­ bacco and dogs-and choreography. it is informative to observe the nature symbolism in the origin of the Mide drum: Otter, whose skin stretched across the top; Snake, who coiled around the drum, holding Otter's skin tightly; Turtle, who formed the base of the drum; "Loon, who formed a stick from its beak; Rat­ tlesnake, who fashioned the rattles; and the elder Tree, whose body makes the body of the drum (see Landes 1~8: 100-103; Redsky 1972:103-104). When the drum is played, it commu­ nicates with the natural world, and through that the super­ natural world (see Hoffman 1891:274), and to promote human life through that communication. As such, the myths reveal Midewiwin ceremonialism in its essential r~ligiousness that car­ ries through the purpose and hope of traditional Ojibwa ritual. Visions The Mide myths, particularly variants of Myth D, portray re­ ligious relations in keeping with the visionary character of Ojibwa spirituality. Even as Midewiwin tended to supplant visionary revelation as a source of individual power through the institut­ ing of formal ceremonialism and hierarchical priesthood, it con­ tinued to exemplify the face-to-face religious relations achieved in traditional Ojibwa vision quests. Ojibwa visionaries attained personal rapport with manitos who pitied the visionary, who were obligated by conventions of hospitality and kinship to pro­ vide ~he needy with aid, and who promised health, long life, and 462 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY hunting success through a lifetime of guardianship. Thb picture b precisely that of the Mide myths, in the context of a cosmic revelation, in which the depth and breadth of the universe b per­ ceived in its entirety and interconnectedness. The Mide myths are stories about the gods coming to individual Indians with the promise of guardianship through Midewiwin. Unlike traditional vbionary patterns, however, in the Midewiwin myths the vbion­ ary b able to pass on the gift of the vbion (Midewiwin itself) to the immediate community and ultimately to all the Ojibwa people. The myths set into motion a chain of pitying relations, from the manitos to the vbionaries, and from them to the Mide initiates. It b significant, then, that at Midewiwin initiations the candidate walks around the lodge before each of the members, calling them by kinship terms, saying, "Have mercy on me, pity me, be charitable unto me" (Bray and Fertey 1970:204). Thb b precisely the type of relation established by Ojibwa vbionary experiences and continued through Midewiwin myths and orga­ nization.

Promoting Health and Life

Through their traditional religious activity the Ojibwas sought to promote individual health and life in general; thb b the cen­ tral concern of the Midewiwin myths of origin. Father Fred­ eric Baraga said scornfully of Mide participants he interviewed in 1863: they ask the manitos "to give them a long life and good health, for they regard these to be the height of happiness" (Zaplotnik 1917:103). William Jones defined Midewiwin as an organbation designed to "to bring life" (1919:312, fh.4). Midewi­ win prayers and songs asked, above all ebe, for health and old age (Densmore 1910:86-87; Jones 1919:595-607; Josselin de Jong 1912:190). The conception of religious leadership in Midewiwin centered on the role of curing: through herbs, by combatting witches, by ethical improvement, but ultimately by maintaining communication with the sources of human life, the manitos. The essential structure of all the myths, despite their surface diversity, defines health and life itself as a proper relationship MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 463 to the supernatural world. Separation from the manitos, im­ proper orientation in the universe, broken taboos, combat with the gods—all these spell certain death and disease. Intervention of the gods and a rebalancing of relations with them restore the possibility of a long, healthy life, although it should be noted that most of the myths deny the possibility of immortality for contemporary humans. The myths make apparent that ability to gain food, maintain health, and supply physical needs, rest upon a proper—one should say moral—relationship to the supernatu­ ral order. The myths promise that Midewiwin will provide the panacea for all disease and the means for human life to persist.

IV. Midewiwin's Historical Context

For all the myths' connections to traditional Ojibwa religion (as it can be reconstructed), there exists a hbtorical dimension to the myths. The myths point to the changing conditions of Ojibwa life over the past 350 years, during which Midewiwin either arose or developed, and reveal Midewiwin's response to those changing conditions. It is apparent, especially in the 20th century texts like those of Dewdney, Redsky, Benton-Banai, Johnston, etc., but also in the 19th century sources, that Christian elements have comin- gled with traditional Ojibwa elements to produce a syncretis- tic tradition. The presence in the myths of a supreme God, Kitche Manito; the emphasis on heaven as a reward for Midewi­ win membership (see Jones 1919:537-547; Hultkrantz 1981); the repetition of miracle stories reminiscent of those about Jesus in the New Testament; the mention of Palestine as the location for the manito council; the very fact of mnemonic records serving as scriptural texts; the references to priesthood organization; the sexual moralism; the conception of Midewiwin as a type of de­ nomination, membership in which provides a ticket to life—all these suggest the influence of Christianity in the Mide myths. Part of this influence b reactive, however, in that the myths at­ tempt to portray Midewiwin as a religion equal in supernatural sanction and eflicacv tojthe relidon of the Christians. In short, 464 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY

the myths indicate a competition between Midewiwin and Chrb­ tianity for the loyalty of the Ojibwa people; hence,the warnings against mocking or doubting the manito power of Midewiwin.

More generally, the myths reflect the crises experienced by Ojibwas in the hbtorical period—the ravages of European dis­ eases; the societal disequilibrium and resulting factionalism; the depletion of animab through the fur trade; the cultural anomie due to geographical displacement, political powerlessness, and loss of indigenous productivity; the loss of religious confidence due to the aforementioned crises and exacerbated by missionary attacks on traditional religious beliefs. We can see these crbes reflected the situations described in the myths that cause the manitos to bring Midewiwin to a suffering people. The myths describe a people on the verge of extinction from epidemics. They describe the shamanistic rivalriestha t foster witchcraft and witchcraft accusations. They describe people in need of hunting magic. They describe the Indians in terms of their mbery and generalized need. And finally, they describe the most important need that transcends all other needs: the need for contact with the supernaturab with whom correct relations have been upset or lost. The myths describe a people whose life b under at­ tack, and the myths describe a system—Midewiwin—by which they can repube the attack and regain their life force. Myth A provides the most stunning evidence of Midewiwin's response to the crises of the historical period in the five petitions sent by the suffering people to their gods: to overcome dbease, to destroy witchcraft, to restore the lost plentitude of animals, to relieve general distress, and to re-establish communication with the supernatural world.

Given thb evidence, it may be proper to regard Midewiwin as a type of new religion (see Turner 1978) or culturally revi­ talizing movement in the face of cultural decline. The Ojibwa storytellers place Midewiwin at the beginning of time, but the myths suggest the more recent conditions of crbb brought about by contact with non-Indians. On the other hand, Midewiwin b so embedded in traditional Ojibwa religion (as we understand it) MIDEWIWIN MYTHS OF ORIGIN 465 that we should consider it the response of the aboriginal faith to new conditions. Whichever viewpoint we prefer, in the 1980s we should remember that Midewiwin b for many Ojibwas to­ day their traditional religion, even if the crystalization of that religion in Midewiwin b only a few centuries old. REFERENCES Babcock, Willoughby M. 1940 The Grand Medicine Society of the Chippewa Indians. Ms. Minnesota State Historical Society. Bamouw, Victor 1955 A Psychological Interpretation of a Chippewa Origin Legend. Journal of American Folklore 68:73-85, 211-223, 341-355. Benton-Banai, Edward 1979 The Mithomis Book. The Voice of the Ojibway. St. Paul: Indian Country Press. Bray, Martha Coleman, ed. 1970 The Journals of Joseph N. Nicollet. A Scientist on the Mississippi Head­ waters with Notes on Indian Life, 1836-37. Trans, by Andre Fertey. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. Chamberlain, AF. 1891 Naniboshu amongst the Otchipwa, Misissagas, and Other Algonkian Tribes. Journal of American Folklore 4:193-213. Coleman, Bernard, Sr. 1937 The Religion of the Ojibwa of Northern Minnesota. Primitive Man 10:33- 57. Coleman, Bernard, Sr., Ellen Frogner, and Estelle Eich 1962 Ojibwa Myths and Legends. Minneapolis: Ross and Haines.

Copway, George 1850 The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Na­ tion. London: Charles Gilpin. Densmore, Frances 1910 Chippewa Music I. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 45. Washing­ ton: Smithsonian Institution. 1913 Chippewa Music IL Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 53. Wash­ ington: Smithsonian Institution. 1929 Chippewa Customs. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 86. Wash­ ington: Smithsonian Institution. 466 CHRISTOPHER VECSEY

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