The Mide'wiwin or "Grand Medicine Society" of the Ojibwa Part 17

Gi'-a-wingk, gi-man'-i-do'-a-ni-min', Your body, I believe it is a spirit.

Gi-a-wingk.

your body.

[The first line is sung, but the last word could not be satisfactorily explained. The first word, as now p.r.o.nounced, is Ki'ts.h.i.+ Man'ido, and the song is addressed to him. The curved line, from which the arm protrudes, is the Mide'wigan and the arm itself is that of the speaker in the att.i.tude of adoration: reaching upward in wors.h.i.+p and supplication.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pi-ne'-si ne'-pi-mi'-a nin'-ge-ge'-kwe-an The bird as I promise the falcon mi-we'-ts.h.i.+-man'-i-do'-wid.

the reason he is a spirit.

[The second word is of archaic form and no agreement concerning its correct signification could be reached by the Mide'. The meaning of the phrase appears to be that Ki'ts.h.i.+ Man'ido promised to create the Thunder-bird, one of the man'idos. The falcon is here taken as a representative of that deity, the entire group of Thunderers being termed a-ni'-mi-ki'.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Zhin'-gwe mi'-s.h.i.+-ma-kwa'

Makes a great noise the bear.

wen'-dzhi-wa-ba-mok-kwed' kun-net'.

the reason I am of flame.

[The character of the bear represents the great bear spirit of the malevolent type, a band about his body indicating his spirit form.

By means of his power and influence the singer has become endowed with the ability of changing his form into that of the bear, and in this guise accomplis.h.i.+ng good or evil. The reference to flame (fire) denotes the cla.s.s of conjurers or Shamans to which this power is granted, i.e., the Wabeno', and in the second degree this power is reached as will be referred to further on.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Ni'-a-wen'-din-da-sa', ha', sa', man'-i-do'-wid.

Gi'-a-wingk in'-do-sa man'-i-do'-wid.

In your body I put it the spirit.

[The first line is sung, and is not of the modern style of spoken language. The second line signifies that the arm of Ki'ts.h.i.+ Man'ido, through the intermediary of the Mide' priest, will put the spirit, i.e., the mi'gis, into the body of the candidate.]

The singer accompanies his song either by using a short baton of wood, termed "singing stick" or the Mide' drum. After the song is completed another present of tobacco is given to the preceptor, and after making an offering of smoke both persons return to their respective wig'iwams.

Later in the evening the preceptor calls upon the candidate, when both, with the a.s.sistance of friends, carry the presents to the Mide'wigan, where they are suspended from the rafters, to be ready for distribution after the initiation on the following day. Several friends of the candidate, who are Mide', are stationed at the doors of the Mide'wigan to guard against the intrusion of the uninitiated, or the possible abstraction of the gifts by strangers.

INITIATION OF CANDIDATE.

The candidate proceeds early on the morning of the day of initiation to take possession of the sweat-lodge, where he awaits the coming of his preceptor and the eight officiating priests. He has an abundance of tobacco with which to supply all the active partic.i.p.ants, so that they may appease any feeling of opposition of the man'idos toward the admission of a new candidate, and to make offerings of tobacco to the guardian spirit of the second degree of the Mide'wiwin. After the usual ceremony of smoking individual songs are indulged in by the Mide'

priests until such time as they may deem it necessary to proceed to the Mide'wigan, where the members of the society have long since gathered and around which is scattered the usual crowd of spectators. The candidate leads the procession from the sweat-lodge to the eastern entrance of the Mide'wigan, carrying an ample supply of tobacco and followed by the priests who chant. When the head of the procession arrives at the door of the sacred inclosure a halt is made, the priests going forward and entering. The drummer, stationed within, begins to drum and sing, while the preceptor and chief officiating priest continue their line of march around the inclosure, going by way of the south or left hand. Eight circuits are made, the last terminating at the main or eastern entrance. The drumming then ceases and the candidate is taken to the inner side of the door, when all the members rise and stand in their places. The officiating priests approach and stand near the middle of the inclosure, facing the candidate, when one of them says to the Mide'

priest beside the latter: O-da'-pin a-se'-ma--"Take it, the tobacco,"

whereupon the Mide' spoken to relieves the candidate of the tobacco and carries it to the middle of the inclosure, where it is laid upon a blanket spread upon the ground. The preceptor then takes from the cross-poles some of the blankets or robes and gives them to the candidate to hold. One of the malevolent spirits which oppose the entrance of a stranger is still supposed to remain with the Mide'wigan, its body being that of a serpent, like flames of fire, reaching from the earth to the sky. He is called I'-s.h.i.+-ga-ne'-bi-gog--"Big-Snake." To appease his anger the candidate must make a present; so the preceptor says for the candidate:

Ka-wi'n-ni-na-ga' wa'-ba-ma'-si-ba'-s.h.i.+-gi'-ne-get'?

Do you not see how he carries the goods?

This being a.s.sented to by the Mide' priests the preceptor takes the blankets and deposits them near the tobacco upon the ground. Slight taps upon the Mide' drum are heard and the candidate is led toward the left on his march round the interior of the Mide'wigan, the officiating priests following and being followed in succession by all others present. The march continues until the eighth pa.s.sage round, when the members begin to step back into their respective places, while the officiating Mide' finally station themselves with their backs toward the westernmost degree post, and face the door at the end of the structure.

The candidate continues round to the western end, faces the Mide'

priests, and all sit down. The following song is then sung, which may be the individual production of the candidate (Pl. XIII, C). A song is part of the ritual, though it is not necessary that the candidate should sing it, as the preceptor may do so for him. In the instance under my observation the song was an old one (which had been taught the candidate), as the archaic form of p.r.o.nunciation indicates. Each of the lines is repeated as often as the singer may desire, the prolongation of the song being governed by his inspired condition. The same peculiarity governs the insertion, between words and at the end of lines, of apparently meaningless vowel sounds, to reproduce and prolong the last notes sounded. This may be done ad libitum, rythmical accentuation being maintained by gently tapping upon the Mide' drum.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Hia'-ni-de hen'-da man'-i-do, ho', ni'-sha-bon'-de man'-i-do'-en-dat.

Where is the spirit lodge? I go through it.

[The oblong structure represents the Mide'wigan, the arm upon the left indicating the course of the path leading through it, the latter being shown by a zigzag line.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Nin-go'-sa mi-de'-kwe ni-ka' na'-ska-wa'.

I am afraid of the "grand medicine" woman; I go to her.

[A leg is shown to signify locomotion. The singer fears the opposition of a Mide' priestess and will conciliate her.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Ka-ni-sa' hi'-a-ts.h.i.+'-min-de' man'-ski-ki', de', he', he'.

Kinsmen who speak of me, they see the striped sky.

[A person of superior power, as designated by the horns attached to the head. The lines from the mouth signify voice or speech, while the horizontal lines denote the stratus clouds, the height above the earth of which ill.u.s.trates the direction of the abode of the spirit whose conversation, referring to the singer, is observed crossing them as short vertical zigzag lines; i.e., voice lines.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Ke'-na-nan'-do-me' ko-no'-ne-nak ka-ne-he' nin-ko'-ts.h.i.+ nan'-no-me'.

The cloud looks to me for medicine.

[The speaker has become so endowed with the power of magic influence that he has preference with the superior Man'idos. The magic influence is shown descending to the hand which reaches beyond the cloud indicated by the oblong square upon the forearm.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Rest, after which dancing begins.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Wa-tshu'-a-ne' ke'-ba-bing'-e-on', wa-dzhu.

Going into the mountains.

[The singer's thoughts go to the summit to commune with Ki'ts.h.i.+ Man'ido. He is shown upon the summit.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Hi'-me-de'-wa hen'-de-a he'-na.

The grand medicine affects me.

[In his condition he appeals to Ki'ts.h.i.+ Man'ido for aid. The arms represent the act of supplication.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Hai'-an-go ho'-ya o'-ge-ma, ha'.

The chief goes out.

[The arms grasp a bear--the Bear Man'ido--and the singer intimates that he desires the aid of that powerful spirit, who is one of the guardians of the Mide'wigan.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Nish'-o-we' ni-me'-hi-go', he', ni-go'-ts.h.i.+-mi'-go-we, he'.

Have pity on me wherever I have medicine.

[The speaker is filled with magic influence, upon the strength of which he asks the Bear to pity and to aid him.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Wi'-so-mi'-ko-we' he-a-za-we'-ne-ne-go', ho'.

I am the beaver; have pity on me.

[This is said to indicate that the original maker of the mnemonic song was of the Beaver totem or gens.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Hen'-ta-no-wik'-ko-we' de-wen'-da en-da-a'-dan.

I wish to know what is the matter with me.

[The singer feels peculiarly impressed by his surroundings in the Mide'wigan, because the sacred man'idos have filled his body with magic powers. These are shown by the zigzag or waving lines descending to the earth.]

As each of the preceding lines or verses is sung in such a protracted manner as to appear like a distinct song, the dancers, during the intervals of rest, always retire to their places and sit down. The dancing is not so energetic as many of those commonly indulged in for amus.e.m.e.nt only. The steps consist of two treading movements made by each foot in succession. Keeping time with the drum-beats, at the same time there is a shuffling movement made by the dancer forward, around and among his companions, but getting back toward his place before the verse is ended. The att.i.tude during these movements consists in bending the body forward, while the knees are bent, giving one the appearance of searching for a lost object. Those who do not sing give utterance to short, deep grunts, in accordance with the alternate heavier strokes upon the drum.

As the dancing ceases, and all are in their proper seats, the preceptor, acting for the candidate, approaches the pile of tobacco and distributes a small quant.i.ty to each one present, when smoking is indulged in, preceded by the usual offering to the east, the south, the west, the north, the sky and the earth.

After the completion of this ceremonial an attendant carries the Mide'

drum to the southeast angle of the inclosure, where it is delivered to the drummer; then the officiating priests rise and approach within two or three paces of the candidate as he gets upon his knees. The preceptor and the a.s.sistant who is called upon by him take their places immediately behind and to either side of the candidate, and the Mide'