214 BULLETIN, PUBLIC MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE [Vol. 19 



Sympathetic magic is not foreign to the Chippewa, but ordinarily it is 

 a secret individual undertaking by a shaman. The destruction of the straw 

 man is the only instance I know where it was employed as a community 

 venture. 



The Offering Tree 



Another group attempt to ward off impending sickness is through the 

 technique of the Offering Tree (bagi'jigana't/g). Here, too, an individual is 

 warned by his guardian spirit that a sickness is about to visit the community. 

 The person sends invitational tobacco to a number of people by a runner 

 who tells the people to come to a certain place at a certain time "to make 

 an offering" of clothes. At the appointed time the people assemble with 

 tobacco, food, and articles of clothing. The food is laid out, and tobacco 

 passed, both of which are offered to the ma'nidog of the air, particularly the 

 thunder-birds (bine'siwag) by the dreamer, or someone he has asked to 

 speak for him. The dreamer relates his dream to the people, tells the 

 ma'nidog that this offering of clothing is being made to them imploring 

 their intercession to keep that sickness away. After the feast the clothmg 

 brought by the participants is assembled and hung on a tree or pole along 

 with tobacco. In the one case I saw the clothing was tied in bunches and 

 hung about two-thirds of the way up a slender, eighteen-foot tall pine tree 

 from which all the branches had been trimmed except for a few at the top 

 (Fig. 12). In other instances a slender pine tree is cut down, peeled, and 

 trimmed just leaving a tuft of branches at the top. The clothing and tobacco 

 are tied near the top and the pole either leaned up against the house, or set 

 upright in the ground. It is said that the clothing should be articles worn 

 close to the body, not overcoats or the like. The usual articles hung on the 

 pole or tree include underwear, pants, shirts, dresses, and aprons. They must 

 be left hanging for at least four days, and during that time they are accepted 

 by the ma'nidog. In some instances they may be left up until they disinte- 

 grate; in other cases they are taken down on the fifth day and used for 

 dish-rags. The former seems to be the older practice. Occasionally a Chief 

 Dance will follow the ceremony of clothes hanging. 



A variant of this practice is a case reported to have occurred some years 

 ago at a settlement about fifty miles from the Reservation known as Sand 

 Lake. A person was warned by his guardian spirit of a coming plague. He 

 assembled some people, and after the feast the bundle of clothing was put 



