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66 THE MENOMINI INDIANS [bth.amk.14 



such a Day you shall go abroad a sporting, and I will be the first Bird, or other Ani- 

 mal you shall meet, and will he your Nagual, and Companii t all Times, whereupon 



such Friendship was contracted between them, that when one of they dy'd the other 

 did not survive, and they faney'd that he who had no Nagual could not be rich. 1 



The Abbe Maurault 2 says of this belief among' tlie Abnaki Indians 

 of Canada, a tribe allied linguistically to the Meuoinini: 



Coinme tontea les autres nations sauvages, ils avaient one idee de la Divinite. 

 Dieu, suivaut eux. etait uu Grand-Esprit, qu'ils appelaient '• Ketsi NiSask"." Ce 

 (jrand-Esprit icsidait sur une ile du grand lac (l'Oce"an Atlantique). lis avaient une 

 graude conlianee eu sa protection. Ils croyaient que le meilleur moyen pour attirer 

 seur eux cette protection etait de s'efforcer a devenir de braves guerriers et de bons 

 chasseurs, etant persuades que plus ils serendaient remarquables en ces deux choses, 

 plus ils devenaient agr. -aides aux yeux du Grand-Esprit. 



Ils croyaient anssi a l'Esprit du Mai, qu'ils appelaient "Matsi NiSask"." Cet 

 Esprit i tait tres-pnissant dans le monde. Ils pe.nsaient que les maladies, les acci- 

 dents, les malheurs et tous les autres inaux de ce genre venaieut de lui. Comme ils 

 craignaient beanooup ces mam, l'Esprit du Mai etait le principal objet de leur 

 devotion, et ils s'adressaient sans cesse a lui, le priantde ne leur fane aucnn mal. 



Ils croyaient, eu outre, qu'il y avait d'autres Esprits, d'nnordresnperieura l'homme; 

 que ces Esprits Ctaient toujnurs portes au bien, et qu'ils protegeaient l'homme contre 

 l'Esprit du Mal; c'est pourquoi, ils leur demandaient protection. 



CULT SOCIETIES 



To present more intelligibly the ritualistic observances and preten- 

 sions of the several classes of shamans, the subject will be arranged 

 under the following' captions: 



I. Mitii'wit, or Grand Medicine society; 

 II. Tshi'saqka, or Juggler; 



III. Wa'beuo, or Men of the Dawn, and 



IV. Dreamers' society. 



MITA'WlT, OR GRAND MEDICINE SOCIETY 



Organization of the Society 



In order to present clearly to the reader the status of the Mitii'wit, 

 or so-called "Grand Medicine society," 3 of the Meuoinini Indians of 

 Wisconsin, it becomes necessary to refer briefly to the corresponding 

 society aud ritualistic ceremonies of the Ojibwa Indians of Minnesota. 

 Among the latter are found four classes of mystery men, viz, (1) mide', 

 or "medicine man," whose profession is incantation, exorcism of demons, 

 and the administration of shamanic or magic remedies; (2) the je'ssak- 

 kld, or juggler, who professes prophecy and antagonizes the evil 

 charms of rivals; (3) the wa'beno, literally " easterner," or " daylight 

 man," whose orgies are continued throughout the night only to cease 



■The Genera] History of that Vast Continent and Islands of America, translated by Capt. John 

 Stevens, London, 1726, vol. iv. pp. lis, 130. 



2 Histoire des Abenakis, Quebec, 180(i, pp. 18-19. It will be observed t hat the alibi- falls into the pre- 

 vailing misapprehension as to the conception of spirituality among the I ndians. 



3 This term originates in the designation " la grande medecjne," applied to this society by the < ana 

 dians and early French explorers. 



