E-Book Content
This Ojibwuy logo by Del Ashkewe, from Cape Croker symbolizes the content of the book. The large circle at the top with four projections represents Kitche Manitou, the Creator. A circle symbolizes spirit; to denote Great Spirit, a larger circle was circumscribed around a smaller. The four projections indicate universal presence. The inverted semi-circle below the symbol for Kitche Manitou represents sky and universe. Immediately below is the symbol of the Sun; it represents life and time,
linear and cyclic. Under the Sun is the image of man within a sphere. Together they represent human life and existence and being. Conjoining the symbol for life to the symbol for Kitche Manitou is the line of life and power: with the two branches on either side sweeping upward and outward denoting the Tree of Life, plantkind upon which all beings are sustained. The base for the Life-line and the Tree of Life formed by a straight line represents the earth and rock, the substance of Mother Earth. The teepees in different styles image tribes, communities, societies and families and mean different styles and modes of living. On either side of the figure of the encircled man are other men and women. Those nearest to the central image with wavy lines emanating from their lips reflect speech, history, languages and stories. Next to the speakers are women, symbols of the primacy and constancy of womankind. The figures most remote from the centre mirror sustenance and patterns of life. The four orders of animals, Tree of Life, earth, and men and women represent being, and existence and time.
Copyright © 1976 by McClelland & Stewart Emblem is an imprint of McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Emblem and colophon are registered trademarks of McClelland & Stewart Ltd. All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher – or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency – is an infringement of the copyright law. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Johnston, Basil, 1929Ojibway heritage eISBN: 978-1-55199-590-8 1. Chippewa Indians – Religion and mythology. 2. Indians of North America – Religion and Mythology. 3. Chippewa Indians – Legends. 4. Indians of North America – legends. I. Title. E 99. C6J62
299’.7
C76-7343-0
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporations Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. Illustrations courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum McClelland & Stewart Ltd. 75 Sherbourne Street Toronto, Ontario M5A 2P 9 www.mcclelland.com
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Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Preface
1 The Vision of Kitche Manitou 2 Father Sun and Mother Earth 3 The Nature of Plants 4 The Nature of Animals 5 Man’s World 6 The Midewewin 7 The Path Without End 8 The Path of Souls 9 The Four Hills of Life 10 The Vision 11 Ceremonies, Songs, Dances 12 The Incorporeal World
Turtle, reproduced by permission of Del Ashkewe.
Preface If the Native Peoples and their heritage are to be understood, it is their beliefs, insights, concepts, ideals, values, attitudes, and codes that must be studied. And there is, I submit, no better way of gaining that understanding than by examining native ceremonies, rituals, songs, dances, prayers, and stories. For it is in ceremony, ritual, song, dance, and prayer that the sum total of what people believe about life, being, exi