47). Directly below the earth is the realm of underwater and underground creatures. Below this is the “mirror world,” a place where night comes when it is day on earth. This place, described as “peaceful and abundant” (Smith 1995, p. 46), is the destination of souls of the dead. Below this is a place of constant darkness.
The gods and the spirits of the Ojibwa are of many kinds. One kind is similar to the fairies and brownies of Celtic mythology. They are called invisible people, and they are of two types—one with no name and the other called bagudzinishinabe, little wild people. Whoever sees either kind gets the blessing of a long life. The no-names hunt with foxes instead of dogs. “We see the tracks of the foxes, but not of their masters, except those they made on the rocks before the Indians came to this country,” says Jenness (1935). “At that time the sun drew so close to the earth that it softened the rocks, and the feet of these invisible people left marks on them. When the sun withdrew the rocks hardened again and the footprints remained petrified on their surfaces.” The little wild people are the size of children. Although mischievous they are not truly harmful. They are responsible for poltergeistlike effects, such as throwing pebbles onto the roofs of wigwams (Jenness 1935).
Above these are the manitous. They can be male or female, and display human attributes. Usually, they are invisible to humans of our kind, but they may become visible in any form they choose. The manitous possess different degrees of power (Jenness 1935, p. 29). “Highest in the scale of these supernatural beings,” says Jenness (1935, p. 29), “is KitchiManido, the Great Spirit, who is . . . the source of all the power inherent to a greater or less extent in everything that exists.”
According to W. Vernon Kinietz (1947, pp. 152–153), the Great Spirit, Kitchi-Manitou (or Kijai Manitou), creates heaven, earth, and the lands from which the white people came. In these areas, he creates humans, animals and other things appropriate to each place. He rewards the virtuous and punishes the wicked. Kinietz (1947, p. 153) says, “Wiskendijac is next in power: he is said to be the Creator of all the Indian tribes, the country they inhabit and all it contains . . . The last of the deities is called Matchi Manitou, or the ‘Bad Spirit.’ He is the author of all evil, but subject to the control of Kijai Manitou.”
Some modern researchers have tried to depersonalize the manitou concept, but even their accounts cannot avoid personality. Johnston (1995, p. 2), for example, says Kitchi-Manitou refers to “the Great Mystery of the supernatural order” and that it “cannot be known or described in human corporeal terms.” Yet he goes on to say (1995, pp. 2–3), “According to the creation story, Kitchi-Manitou had a vision, seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, sensing, and knowing the universe, the world, the manitous, plants, animals, and human beings, and brought them into existence. The story represents a belief in God and in creation, an explanation of the origin of things; it also serves as an example for men and women to emulate. Following the example set by Kitchi-Manitou, every person is to seek a dream or vision within the expanse of his or her soulspirit being and, having attained it, bring it into fulfillment and reality.” Each person must therefore go on a quest to discover his or her own dream or vision, along with the talent or ability to fulfill it. Stressing the personalistic nature of Ojibwa cosmology, Smith (1995, p.48) says: “The
. . . [Ojibwa] . . . experience of the world, whether awake or in a dream, is an experience of a world controlled by the actions of persons, human and otherwise. The levels and directions are not ‘animated’ or ‘anthropomorphized’ by humans who, in a purely cognitive exercise, posit souls and spirits and ascribe them to things in the world. Rather, the cosmos is experienced as a place literally crowded with ‘people.’”
Besides the manitous mentioned above, there are other manitous who control various natural powers. For example, there is a chief manitou, who, assisted by various subordinate manitous, controls the winds and breezes (Jenness 1935, p. 34). Another group of manitous controls the thunder. After the Great Spirit, the thunder manitous are considered the strongest. The subordinate manitous have souls, like human beings and other living things (Vecesey 1983, p. 61).
Some Indians have supernatural powers obtained from the manitous. An Ojibwa named Pegahmagabow said: “Long ago the manidos or supernatural powers gathered somewhere and summoned a few Indians through dreams, giving them power to fly through the air to the meetingplace. The Indians (i.e., their souls) travelled thither, and the manidos taught them about the supernatural world and the powers they had received from the Great Spirit. Then they sent the Indians to their homes again” (Jenness 1935, p. 29). One type of especially empowered human is the wabeno, a kind of medicine man who specializes in curing diseases with plant medicines. According to the Ojibwa, the first wabeno, Bidabbans (Day-dawn), got his curing powers from the moon god (Jenness
1935, p. 62).
Human beings and manitous are sometimes threatened by supernatural water serpents, whose boss is called Nzagima. The Ojibwa Pegahmagabow said that Nzagima has seven heads (Jenness 1935, p. 39). Vedic histories describe how a many headed water serpent called Kaliya entered a sacred river, the Yamuna, and was driven away by the Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who danced on the serpent’s heads (Shrimad Bhagavatam 10.16). The water serpents led by Nzagima can travel beneath the surface of the earth and sometimes take away the souls of humans. “So if lightning strikes a tree near an Indian’s wigwam it is the thunder-manido driving away some water serpent that is stealing through the ground to attack the man or his family,” says Jenness (1935, p. 35). According to the Ojibwa elder John Manatuwaba, the serpent manitous live under the earth and jointly control the lives of plants and trees (Jenness 1935, p. 40). This resembles the Vedic accounts of a race of serpents (nagas) who live in subterranean heavenly planets (Shrimad Bhagavatam 1.11.11).
Another malevolent being is the windigo. A human who in the hard times of winter resorts to cannibalism to avoid starvation becomes a windigo. Windigos are gigantic in size and possess supernatural powers. In winter, the windigos roam about seeking victims to eat. They are indestructible by ordinary means. Sometimes an Ojibwa will cut off a windigo’s head but it will grow back. A good medicine man using the right methods can, however, actually destroy a windigo (Jenness 1935, pp.
40–41). The wolf is considered to be the dog of the windigo (Jenness 1935, p. 25). The world of the Hopi is full of spirits, including a sun god, moon god, and star gods. Atmospheric gods control the rain, wind, lightning, thunder, and rainbows. In certain springs live serpent gods, who control the supply of water (Talayesva 1942, p. 17). But in the beginning, there was only Taoiwa, the creator, who existed in Tokpela, a realm of endless, timeless space. In order to bring about the finite creation, Taiowa manifested Sotuknang, unto whom he said, “I have created you, the first power and instrument as a person, to carry out my plan for life in endless space. I am your Uncle. You are my Nephew. Go now and lay out these universes in proper order so they may work harmoniously with one another according to my plan” (Sproul 1979, p. 271). Sotuknang manifested seven universes for habitation by the living entities he would generate. In addition to these seven worlds, he manifested his own realm, and, of course, Taiowa had his realm. Then from Sotuknang came Kokyangwuti, the Spider Woman, who from the earth created humans of different colors. Sotuknang then gave them the powers of speech and wisdom, along with the power to generate offspring. He said to the humans, “With all these I have given you this world to live on and to be happy. There is only one thing I ask of you. To respect the Creator at all times. Wisdom, harmony, and respect for the love of the Creator who made you. May it grow and never be forgotten among you as long as you live” (Sproul 1979, p. 272).