The Midewiwin or Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibwa | Page 5

upon the God of the Chief of the Company, who gave the Ball; for every one has his peculiar God, whom they call Manitoa. It is sometime a Stone, a Bird, a Serpent, or anything else that they dream of in their Sleep; for they think this Manitoa will prosper their Wants, as Fishing, Hunting, and other Enterprizes. To the Right of their Manitoa they place the Calumet, their Great Deity, making round about it a Kind of Trophy with their Arms, viz. their Clubs, Axes, Bows, Quivers, and Arrows. * * * Every Body sits down afterwards, round about, as they come, having first of all saluted the Manitoa, which they do in blowing the Smoak of their Tobacco upon it, which is as much as offering to it Frankincense. * * * This Preludium being over, he who is to begin the Dance appears in the middle of the Assembly, and having taken the Calumet, presents it to the Sun, as if he woua�?d invite him to smoke. Then he moves it into an infinite Number of Postures sometimes laying it near the Ground, then stretching its Wings, as if he woua�?d make it fly, and then presents it to the Spectators, who smoke with it one after another, dancing all the while. This is the first Scene of this famous Ball.
The infinite number of postures assumed in offering the pipe appear as significant as the a�?smoke ceremoniesa� mentioned in connection with the preparatory instruction of the candidate previous to his initiation into the Mid?��?��wiwin.
In his remarks on the religion of the Indians and the practices of the sorcerers, Hennepin says:
As for their Opinion concerning the Earth, they make use of a Name of a certain Genius, whom they call Micaboche, who has covera�?d the whole Earth with water (as they imagine) and relate innumerable fabulous Tales, some of which have a kind of Analogy with the Universal Deluge. These Barbarians believe that there are certain Spirits in the Air, between Heaven and Earth, who have a power to foretell future Events, and others who play the part of Physicians, curing all sorts of Distempers. Upon which account, it happens, that these Savages are very Superstitious, and consult their Oracles with a great deal of exactness. One of these Masters-Jugglers who pass for Sorcerers among them, one day causa�?d a Hut to be erected with ten thick Stakes, which he fixa�?d very deep in the Ground, and then made a horrible noise to Consult the Spirits, to know whether abundance of Snow woua�?d fall ere long, that they might have good game in the Hunting of Elks and Beavers: Afterward he bawla�?d out aloud from the bottom of the Hut, that he saw many Herds of Elks, which were as yet at a very great distance, but that they drew near within seven or eight Leagues of their Huts, which causa�?d a great deal of joy among those poor deluded Wretches.
That this statement refers to one or more tribes of the Algonkian linguistic stock is evident, not only because of the reference to the sorcerers and their peculiar methods of procedure, but also that the name of Micaboche, an Algonkian divinity, appears. This Spirit, who acted as an intercessor between Ki?��tshi Man?��id? (Great Spirit) and the Indians, is known among the Ojibwa as Mi?��nab??��zho; but to this full reference will be made further on in connection with the Myth of the origin of the Mid?��?��wiwin. The tradition of Nokomis (the earth) and the birth of Manabush (the Mi?��nab??��zho of the Menomoni) and his brother, the Wolf, that pertaining to the re-creation of the world, and fragments of other myths, are thrown together and in a mangled form presented by Hennepin in the following words:
Some Salvages which live at the upper end of the River St. Lawrence, do relate a pretty diverting Story. They hold almost the same opinion with the former [the Iroquois], that a Woman came down from Heaven, and remained for some while fluttering in the Air, not finding Ground whereupon to put her Foot. But that the Fishes moved with Compassion for her, immediately held a Consultation to deliberate which of them should receive her. The Tortoise very officiously offered its Back on the Surface of the Water. The Woman came to rest upon it, and fixed herself there. Afterwards the Filthiness and Dirt of the Sea gathering together about the Tortoise, there was formed by little and little that vast Tract of Land, which we now call America.
They add that this Woman grew weary of her Solitude, wanting some body for to keep her Company, that so she might spend her time more pleasantly. Melancholy and Sadness having seiza�?d upon her Spirits, she fell asleep, and a Spirit descended from above, and finding her