Seventh Annual Report Part 47

_Third degree._--The upper half of the face is painted green and the lower half red.

_Fourth degree._--The forehead and left side of the face, from the outer canthus of the eye downward, is painted green; four spots of vermilion are made with the tip of the finger upon the forehead and four upon the green surface of the left cheek. In addition to this, the plumes of the golden eagle, painted red, are worn upon the head and down the back.

This form of decoration is not absolutely necessary, as the expense of the war bonnet places it beyond the reach of the greater number of persons.

Before proceeding further with the explanation of the Mide records it may be of interest to quote the traditions relative to the migration of the Anis.h.i.+nbeg, as obtained by Mr. Warren previous to 1853. In his reference to observing the rites of initiation he heard one of the officiating priests deliver a loud and spirited harangue, of which the following words[12] caught his attention:

Our forefathers were living on the great salt water toward the rising sun, the great Megis (seash.e.l.l) showed itself above the surface of the great water and the rays of the sun for a long time period were reflected from its glossy back. It gave warmth and light to the An-ish-in-aub-ag (red race). All at once it sank into the deep, and for a time our ancestors were not blessed with its light. It rose to the surface and appeared again on the great river which drains the waters of the Great Lakes, and again for a long time it gave life to our forefathers and reflected back the rays of the sun. Again it disappeared from sight and it rose not till it appeared to the eyes of the An-ish-in-aub-ag on the sh.o.r.es of the first great lake. Again it sank from sight, and death daily visited the wigiwams of our forefathers till it showed its back and reflected the rays of the sun once more at Bow-e-ting (Sault Ste. Marie). Here it remained for a long time, but once more, and for the last time, it disappeared, and the An-ish-in-aub-ag was left in darkness and misery, till it floated and once more showed its bright back at Mo-ning-wun-a-kaun-ing (La Pointe Island), where it has ever since reflected back the rays of the sun and blessed our ancestors with life, light, and wisdom. Its rays reach the remotest village of the widespread Ojibways. As the old man delivered this talk he continued to display the sh.e.l.l, which he represented as an emblem of the great megis of which he was speaking.

A few days after, anxious to learn the true meaning of this allegory, * * * I requested him to explain to me the meaning of his Me-da-we harangue.

After filling his pipe and smoking of the tobacco I had presented he proceeded to give me the desired information, as follows:

My grandson, said he, the megis I spoke of means the Me-da-we religion. Our forefathers, many string of lives ago, lived on the sh.o.r.es of the great salt water in the east. Here, while they were suffering the ravages of sickness and death, the Great Spirit, at the intercession of Man-a-bo-sho, the great common uncle of the An-ish-in-aub-ag, granted them this rite, wherewith life is restored and prolonged. Our forefathers moved from the sh.o.r.es of the great water and proceeded westward.

The Me-da-we lodge was pulled down, and it was not again erected till our forefathers again took a stand on the sh.o.r.es of the great river where Mo-ne-aung (Montreal) now stands.

In the course of time this town was again deserted, and our forefathers, still proceeding westward, lit not their fires till they reached the sh.o.r.es of Lake Huron, where again the rites of the Me-da-we were practiced.

Again these rites were forgotten, and the Me-da-we lodge was not built till the Ojibways found themselves congregated at Bow-e-ting (outlet of Lake Superior), where it remained for many winters. Still the Ojibways moved westward, and for the last time the Me-da-we lodge was erected on the island of La Pointe, and here, long before the pale face appeared among them, it was practiced in its purest and most original form. Many of our fathers lived the full term of life granted to mankind by the Great Spirit, and the forms of many old people were mingled with each rising generation. This, my grandson, is the meaning of the words you did not understand; they have been repeated to us by our fathers for many generations.

[Footnote 12: Op. cit., p. 78 et seq.]

In the explanation of the chart obtained at Red Lake, together with the tradition, reference to the otter, as being the most sacred emblem of society, is also verified in a brief notice of a tradition by Mr.

Warren,[13] as follows:

There is another tradition told by the old men of the Ojibway village of Fond du Lac, Lake Superior, which tells of their former residence on the sh.o.r.es of the great salt water. It is, however, so similar in character to the one I have related that its introduction here would only occupy unnecessary s.p.a.ce. The only difference between the two traditions is that the otter, which is emblematical of one of the four Medicine Spirits who are believed to preside over the Midawe rites, is used in one in the same figurative manner as the seash.e.l.l is used in the other, first appearing to the ancient An-ish-in-aub-ag from the depths of the great salt water, again on the river St. Lawrence, then on Lake Huron at Sault Ste. Marie, again at La Pointe, but lastly at Fond du Lac, or end of Lake Superior, where it is said to have forced the sand bank at the mouth of the St. Louis River. The place is still pointed out by the Indians where they believe the great otter broke through.

[Footnote 13: Op. cit., p. 81.]

It is affirmed by the Indians that at Sault Ste. Marie some of the Ojibwa separated from the main body of that tribe and traversed the country along the northern sh.o.r.e of Lake Superior toward the west. These have since been known of as the Bois Forts (hardwood people or timber people), other bands being located at Pigeon River, Rainy Lake, etc.

Another separation occurred at La Pointe, one party going toward Fond du Lac and westward to Red Lake, where they claim to have resided for more than three hundred years, while the remainder scattered from La Pointe westward and southwestward, locating at favorable places throughout the timbered country. This early dismemberment and long-continued separation of the Ojibwa nation accounts, to a considerable extent, for the several versions of the migration and the sacred emblems connected with the Midewiwin, the northern bands generally maintaining their faith in favor of the Otter as the guide, while the southern bodies are almost entirely supporters of the belief in the great migis.

On account of the independent operations of the Mide priests in the various settlements of the Ojibwa, and especially because of the slight intercourse between those of the northern and southern divisions of the nation, there has arisen a difference in the pictographic representation of the same general ideas, variants which are frequently not recognized by Mide priests who are not members of the Midewiwin in which these mnemonic charts had their origin. As there are variants in the pictographic delineation of originally similar ideas, there are also corresponding variations in the traditions pertaining to them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 6.--Birch-bark record, from White Earth.]

The tradition relating to Minabozho and the sacred objects received from Kits.h.i.+ Manido for the Anis.h.i.+nbeg is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 6, which is a reproduction of a chart preserved at White Earth. The record is read from left to right. No. 1 represents Minabozho, who says of the adjoining characters representing the members of the Midewiwin: They are the ones, they are the ones, who put into my heart the life.

Minabozho holds in his left hand the sacred Mide sack, or pin-ji-gu-sn. Nos. 2 and 3 represent the drummers. At the sound of the drum all the Mide rise and become inspired, because Kits.h.i.+ Manido is then present in the wigiwam. No. 4 denotes that women also have the privilege of becoming members of the Midewiwin. The figure holds in the left hand the Mide sack, made of a snake skin. No. 5 represents the Tortoise, the guardian spirit who was the giver of some of the sacred objects used in the rite. No. 6, the Bear, also a benevolent Manido, but not held in so great veneration as the Tortoise. His tracks are visible in the Midewiwin. No. 7, the sacred Mide sack or pin-ji-gu-sn, which contains life, and can be used by the Mide to prolong the life of a sick person. No. 8 represents a Dog, given by the Mide Manidos to Minabozho as a companion.

Such was the interpretation given by the owner of the chart, but the informant was unconsciously in error, as has been ascertained not only from other Mide priests consulted with regard to the true meaning, but also in the light of later information and research in the exemplification of the ritual of the Midewiwin.

Minabozho did not receive the rite from any Mide priests (Nos. 2 and 5), but from Kits.h.i.+ Manido. Women are not mentioned in any of the earlier traditions of the origin of the society, neither was the dog given to Minabozho, but Minabozho gave it to the Anis.h.i.+nbeg.

The chart, therefore, turns out to be a mnemonic song similar to others to be noted hereafter, and the owner probably copied it from a chart in the possession of a stranger Mide, and failed to learn its true signification, simply desiring it to add to his collection of sacred objects and to gain additional respect from his confrres and admirers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 7.--Birch-bark record, from Red Lake.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 8.--Birch-bark record, from Red Lake.]

Two similar and extremely old birch-bark mnemonic songs were found in the possession of a Mide at Red Lake. The characters upon these are almost identical, one appearing to be a copy of the other. These are reproduced in Figs. 7 and 8. By some of the Mide Eshgiboga takes the place of Minabozho as having originally received the Midewiwin from Kits.h.i.+ Manido, but it is believed that the word is a synonym or a subst.i.tute based upon some reason to them inexplicable. These figures were obtained in 1887, and a brief explanation of them given in the American Anthropologist.[14] At that time I could obtain but little direct information from the owners of the records, but it has since been ascertained that both are mnemonic songs pertaining to Minabozho, or rather Eshgiboga, and do not form a part of the sacred records of the Midewiwin, but simply the pictographic representation of the possibilities and powers of the alleged religion. The following explanation of Figs. 7 and 8 is reproduced from the work just cited. A few annotations and corrections are added. The numbers apply equally to both ill.u.s.trations:

No. 1, represents Eshgiboga, the great uncle of the Anis.h.i.+nbeg, and receiver of the Midewiwin.

No. 2, the drum and drumsticks used by Eshgiboga.

No. 3, a bar or rest, denoting an interval of time before the song is resumed.

No. 4, the pin-ji-gu-sn or sacred Mide sack. It consists of an otter skin, and is the migis or sacred symbol of the Midewign.

No. 5. a Mide priest, the one who holds the migis while chanting the Mide song in the Midewign. He is inspired, as indicated by the line extending from the heart to the mouth.

No. 6, denotes that No. 5 is a member of the Midewiwin. This character, with the slight addition of lines extending upward from the straight top line, is usually employed by the more southern Ojibwa to denote the wigiwam of a Jessakkid, or jugglery.

No. 7, is a woman, and signifies that women may also be admitted to the Midewiwin.

No. 8, a pause or rest.

No. 9, a snake-skin pin-ji-gu-sn possessing the power of giving life. This power is indicated by the lines radiating from the head, and the back of the skin.

No. 10, represents a woman.

No. 11, is another ill.u.s.tration of the migis, or otter.

No. 12, denotes a priestess who is inspired, as shown by the line extending from the heart to the mouth in Fig. 7, and simply showing the heart in Fig. 6. In the latter she is also empowered to cure with magic plants.

No. 13, in Fig. 7, although representing a Mide priest, no explanation was given.

[Footnote 14: Vol. 1, No. 3, 1888, p. 216, Figs. 2 and 3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 9.--Eshgiboga.]

Fig. 9 is presented as a variant of the characters shown in No. 1 of Figs. 7 and 8. The fact that this denotes the power of curing by the use of magic plants would appear to indicate an older and more appropriate form than the delineation of the bow and arrows, as well as being more in keeping with the general rendering of the tradition.

MIDEWIGN.

Initiation into the Midewiwin or Mide Society is, at this time, performed during the latter part of summer. The ceremonies are performed in public, as the structure in which they are conducted is often loosely constructed of poles with intertwined branches and leaves, leaving the top almost entirely exposed, so that there is no difficulty in observing what may transpire within. Furthermore, the ritual is unintelligible to the uninitiated, and the important part of the necessary information is given to the candidate in a preceptors wigiwam.

To present intelligibly a description of the ceremonial of initiation as it occurred at White Earth, Minnesota, it will be necessary to first describe the structure in which it occurs, as well as the sweat lodge with which the candidate has also to do.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 10.--Diagram of Midewign of the first degree.]

The Midewign, i.e., Midewigiwam, or, as it is generally designated Grand Medicine Lodge, is usually built in an open grove or clearing; it is a structure measuring about 80 feet in length by 20 in width, extending east and west with the main entrance toward that point of the compa.s.s at which the sun rises. The walls consist of poles and saplings from 8 to 10 feet high, firmly planted in the ground, wattled with short branches and twigs with leaves. In the east and west walls are left open s.p.a.ces, each about 4 feet wide, used as entrances to the inclosure. From each side of the opening the wall-like structure extends at right angles to the end wall, appearing like a short hallway leading to the inclosure, and resembles double doors opened outward. Fig. 10 represents a ground plan of the Midewign, while Fig. 11 shows an interior view.

Saplings thrown across the top of the structure serve as rafters, upon which are laid branches with leaves, and pieces of bark, to sufficiently shade the occupants from the rays of the sun. Several saplings extend across the inclosure near the top, while a few are attached to these so as to extend longitudinally, from either side of which presents of blankets, etc., may be suspended. About 10 feet from the main entrance a large flattened stone, measuring more than a foot in diameter, is placed upon the ground. This is used when subjecting to treatment a patient; and at a corresponding distance from the western door is planted the sacred Mide post of cedar, that for the first degree being about 7 feet in height and 6 or 8 inches in diameter. It is painted red, with a band of green 4 inches wide around the top. Upon the post is fixed the stuffed body of an owl. Upon that part of the floor midway between the stone and the Mide post is spread a blanket, upon which the gifts and presents to the society are afterward deposited. A short distance from each of the outer angles of the structure are planted cedar or pine trees, each about 10 feet in height.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 11.--Interior of Midewign.]

About a hundred yards east of the main entrance is constructed a wigiwam or sweat lodge, to be used by the candidate, both to take his vapor baths and to receive final instructions from his preceptor.