Chapter VIII: Part 8

Immediately below each knee is tied a necessary item of an Ojibwa’s dress, a garter, which consists of a band of beads varying in different specimens from 2 to 4 inches in width, and from 18 to 20 inches in length, to each end of which strands of colored wool yarn, 2 feet long, are attached so as to admit of being passed around the leg and tied in a bow-knot in front. These garters are made by the women in such patterns as they may be able to design or elaborate. On Pl. XXIII are reproductions of parts of two patterns which are of more than ordinary interest, because of the symbolic signification of the colors and the primitive art design in one, and the substitution of colors and the introduction of modern designs in the other. The upper one consists of green, red, and white beads, the first two colors being in accord with those of one of the degree posts, while the white is symbolical of the mī´gis shell. In the lower illustration is found a substitution of color for the preceding, accounted for by the Midē´ informants, who explained that neither of the varieties of beads of the particular color desired could be obtained when wanted. The yellow beads are substituted for white, the blue for green, and the orange and pink for red. The design retains the lozenge form, though in a different arrangement, and the introduction of the blue border is adapted after patterns observed among their white neighbors. In the former is presented also what the Ojibwa term the groundwork or type of their original style of ornamentation, i.e., wavy or gently zigzag lines. Later art work consists chiefly of curved lines, and this has gradually become modified through instruction from the Catholic sisters at various early mission establishments until now, when there has been brought about a common system of working upon cloth or velvet, in patterns, consisting of vines, leaves, and flowers, often exceedingly attractive though not aboriginal in the true sense of the word.

Bands of flannel or buckskin, handsomely beaded, are sometimes attached to the sides of the pantaloons, in imitation of an officer’s stripes, and around the bottom. Collars are also used, in addition to necklaces of claws, shells, or other objects.

Armlets and bracelets are sometimes made of bands of beadwork, though brass wire or pieces of metal are preferred.

Bags made of cloth, beautifully ornamented or entirely covered with beads, are worn, supported at the side by means of a broad band or baldric passing over the opposite shoulder. The head is decorated with disks of metal and tufts of colored horse hair or moose hair and with eagle feathers to designate the particular exploits performed by the wearer.

Few emblems of personal valor or exploits are now worn, as many of the representatives of the present generation have never been actively engaged in war, so that there is generally found only among the older members the practice of wearing upon the head eagle feathers bearing indications of significant markings or cuttings. A feather which has been split from the tip toward the middle denotes that the wearer was wounded by an arrow. A red spot as large as a silver dime painted upon a feather shows the wearer to have been wounded by a bullet. The privilege of wearing a feather tipped with red flannel or horse hair dyed red is recognized only when the wearer has killed an enemy, and when a great number have been killed in war the so-called war bonnet is worn, and may consist of a number of feathers exceeding the number of persons killed, the idea to be expressed being “a great number,” rather than a specific enumeration.

Although the Ojibwa admit that in former times they had many other specific ways of indicating various kinds of personal exploits, they now have little opportunity of gaining such distinction, and consequently the practice has fallen into desuetude.

FUTURE OF THE SOCIETY.

According to a treaty now being made between the United States Government and the Ojibwa Indians, the latter are to relinquish the several areas of land at present occupied by them and to remove to portions of the Red Lake and White Earth Reservations and take lands in severalty. By this treaty about 4,000,000 acres of land will be ceded to the Government, and the members of the various bands will become citizens of the United States, and thus their tribal ties will be broken and their primitive customs and rites be abandoned.

The chief Midē´ priests, being aware of the momentous consequences of such a change in their habits, and foreseeing the impracticability of much longer continuing the ceremonies of so-called “pagan rites,” became willing to impart them to me, in order that a complete description might be made and preserved for the future information of their descendants.

There is scarcely any doubt that these ceremonies will still be secretly held at irregular intervals; but under the watchful care of the national authorities it is doubtful whether they will be performed with any degree of completeness, and it will be but a comparatively short time before the Midē´wiwin will be only a tradition.

INDEX.

Birch-bark records and songs of the Midē´wiwin 286-289

Calumet, ceremonial use of, among Algonkian tribes 153 Cross, use of, in Indian ceremonials 155 Cuchan population 188

Dress and ornaments used in Ojibwa dances 298, 299 Dzhe Manido, the guardian spirit of the Midewiwin 163, 166 Dzhibai midewigân or “Ghost Lodge” 278-281

Gatschet, A. S., acknowledgments to 143 Ghost Lodge ceremonies 278-281 Ginseng, Mide tradition relating to origin of 241, 242 Grand Medicine Society. See Midewiwin.

Hawk-leg fetish, description and figure 220, 221 Hennepin, Louis, cited on practices of Algonkian medicine men 152, 154 Hennepin, Louis, cited on ceremonial use of Calumet by Algonkian tribes 153 “Hunter’s medicine” of Midewiwin 221-223 Hunting, Mide “medicine” practiced in 221-223

Jessakid class of Shamans, relative importance of 156
practices of 157-158, 251-255
Jones, Peter, cited on medicine men of the Ojibwa 162
cited on witchcraft beliefs of Ojibwa Indians 237
cited on Ojibwa love charm or powder 258
Jugglery among Ojibwa Indians 276-277

Kitshi Manido, the principal Ojibwa deity 163

La Hontan, A. L. de D., cited on practices of Algonkian medicine men 151-152 Leech Lake record, how obtained 171 Love powder of Ojibwa Indians 258

Magical practices of Midewiwin 205-206
Mallery, Garrick, cited on Schoolcraft’s
account of the Ojibwa hieroglyphs 156
cited on Indian jugglery 276-277
cited on character and use of Algonkian pictographs 287-288
Marquette, Jaques, cited on practices of
Algonkian medicine men 152-153
cited on use of the cross in Indian ceremonials 155
Medical prescriptions of the Midewiwin 197-201, 226, 241-242
Medicine men, practices of,
among Algonkian tribes 151, 152, 154, 159
Midē class of Shamans, relative importance of 156
how elected 160, 163-164
charts of, described 165, 174-183, 185-187
therapeutics of 197-202
Midē Society. See Midewiwin.
Midewigân, or Grand Medicine Lodge,
described 187-189, 224, 240, 255-257
Midewiwin or Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibwa
purposes of 151
origin of 160
degrees in 164
records of 164-165
ceremonies of first degree 189-224
songs of 193-196, 202-203, 207-214, 216,
218-219, 227-230, 232-233, 239-240,
243-244, 246-251, 253-254, 259-261,
263-264, 266-273, 282-286, 289-297
ceremony of initiation into 187-196, 202-286
magical practices of 204-206
ceremonies of second degree 224-240
payments made to priests of 225
use of tobacco in ceremonials of 231, 248-249
drums used in ceremonies of 238
ceremonies of third degree 240-255
ceremonies of fourth degree 255-278
initiation into, by substitution 281-286
pictography of 286-289
dress and ornaments used in dances of 298-299
future of 299-300
Migis (Indian charm or token),
forms and uses of 191, 192, 215, 217-218, 220, 236, 251, 265
Minabozho, an Ojibwa deity 166
Music of Midewiwin described 289-290

Ojibwa
area inhabited by 149-150
belief of, respecting spirits 163
mythology of 163

Pictography of Midewiwin 286-289 Plants used for medical purposes by the Midewiwin 197-201, 226, 241, 242

Red Lake Midē Chart described 165

Schoolcraft, H. R., cited on Wabeno 156
initiation into Midēwiwin 161
Shamans, classes of 156-159
Sikassige (Ojibwa Indian) furnishes account
of origin of the Indians 172-173
Sikassige’s explanation of Mille Lacs chart 174-181
Songs used in ceremonies of the Midewiwin 193-196, 203-203,
207-214, 216, 218-219, 227-230, 232-233,
239-240, 243-244, 246-251, 253-254,
259-261, 263-264, 266-273, 282-286, 289-297
mode of writing 286-289
mode of singing described 289-290
Sorcerers, practice of, among Algonkian tribes 151, 152, 154
Sweat lodge of Midewiwin, use of 204, 258

Therapeutics of the Midéwiwin 197-201, 226, 241-242 Tobacco, use of, in ceremonies of the Midéwiwin 231, 260, 262

Wabeno class of Shamans, relative importance of 156 practices of 156-157 Warren, W. W., cited on Society of the Midē 160-161, 162 cited on Indian traditions 183-184 Weather imploration of Midewiwin 207-209

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Errors and Anomalies noted by transcriber:

Variant spellings (unchanged):

Ojibwa : Ojibway
_throughout text_
Man´ido(s) : Man´idō(s)
_throughout text_
INDEX:
_all spellings unchanged_
sacred objects which Minabō´zho had deposited
_word is usually spelled “Mi´nabō´zho”_
Before proceeding further with the explanation of the Mide´
_word is usually spelled “Midē´”_
The bear going to the Midē´wigan
_word is usually spelled “Midē´wigân”_
The chief priest then says to him, “Ō´mishga‘n”--“get up”--which he does
_the backward apostrophe in “Ō´mishga‘n” occurs nowhere else in the
text; it may be phonetic (glottal stop?) or an error_
The boy then narrated ... man´-i-dō´ ‘n-gi-gĭn´-o-a-mâk
_the apostrophe in “‘n-gi-gĭn´-o-a-mâk” occurs nowhere else in the
text; it may be phonetic (elision?) or an error_

Corrections:

[Footnote 11] History of the Ojebway Indians, London [1843(?)] _question mark and brackets in original_ the Midē´wiwin was at that time held annually _text reads “Midê´wiwin” (circumflex for macron)_ shall guard it during the night _text reads “shal”_ calling upon the other Man´idōs to join him _text reads “to to” at line break_ This wig´iwam is dome-shaped measures about 10 feet in diameter _so in original: “and measures”, “measuring”?_ shooting the mī´gis (see Fig. 15) is explained on page 215 _text reads “page 192” (page number of Fig. 15)_ at the time during which the investigations were made _text reads “investiga/gations” at line break_ The short zigzag lines signifying magic influence _text reads “sigzag”_ The lines extending downward from the eye signifies weeping _so in original_ in this place he shall be Raised again _text (two-line gloss) reads “in this he shall / be place”_ (the second-degree mī´gis) _text reads “mì´gis”_ the illustration in Pl. XIV, A, is a reproduction of the original _text reads “Pl. XVII, A”_ the following Midē´ song, represented pictorially, also on Pl. XIV, B _text reads “Pl. XVII, B”_ a three-lobed apex, as shown in Fig. 4 _text reads “Fig. 3”_ south and east of the Midē´wigân, as shown in Fig. 35 _text reads “Fig. 30”_ These mnemonic songs were exhibited _text reads “menmonic”_

Punctuation:

All brackets, except those used for and similar tags,
are in the original.
principles of magic and incantations.”
_close quote missing_
(or, as we have learned to term it, “Grand Medicine,”)
_close parenthesis missing_
place the body on the ground in the middle of the wig´iwam.”
_close quote missing_
Long-sand-bar-beneath-the-surface (No. 15)
_printed “beneath/ the” (no hyphen at line break)_
“Our forefathers were living
_open quote missing (passage is quote within block quote)_
We´-gi-kwō´ Kĕ-mī´-nĭ-nan´?
_text ends “.?”_
“He, the chief spirit of the Midē´ Society
_open quote missing (passage is quote within block quote)_