PASSAMAQUODDY LITERATURE 385 



WITCHCRAFT 



The Passamaquoddies, like all North American Indians, are 

 firm believers in witchcraft. A class of wizards and witches 

 {inedoli)if existed among them who were thought to have ac- 

 quired miraculous powers by means of a special ascetic training. 

 Mitchell relates in his manuscript Passamaquoddy papers in 

 apparently perfectly good faith that it was no uncommon feat 

 for nicdolin to sink up to their knees in hard ground in the 

 presence of a number of people. He states that the magician 

 always took seven long steps, at each of which he sank up to 

 his knees in the hardest earth. This feat, called qiietkeosag, is 

 mentioned by Leland in his *' Algonquin Legends " (Leland, p. 

 341). Mitchell states also that the niedolin had the power to 

 change themselves into any sort of animal, adding " This is no 

 superstition, but is a fact witnessed by many members of the 

 tribe." The following witch-song in six sense-stanzas is an 

 illustration of their belief in the power of magic over nature. 



Passamaquoddy Witch Song, " The Song of the Drum " 



JSFi/ nolbm naga n' tetlitemen fiek- I sit down and beat the drum, ^ 



holagon'. Nitutle-wiqiwtahanwe- and, by the sound of the drum, 



yisesek . . . pehiitenek naga ona I call the animals from the moun- 



pechioo WHchowsenel w' chiksitma- tains. Even the great storms 



gon rC pekholagon. hearken to the sound of my drum. 



Nolbin naga nUetlitemen pekhola- I sit down and beat the drum, 



gon. Pechioo mechkiskak petagik and the storm and thunder an- 



n^ tasiteviagok pekho/a{gon) naga swer the sound of my drum. 



na k^ chi apphissemwesitt chenisoo The great whirlwind ceases its 



w' chiksitmun n^pekholagon. raging to listen to the sound 



of my drum. 



Nolbin fiaga n' begholin. Nitte I sit down and beat the drum, 



Che be la que wpechiyan naga and the spirit-of-the-night-air ^ 



w' chiksitinagonnpekholago7i. El- comes and listens to the sound 



taguak pechite k' chi Wuchowsen of my drum. Even the great 



' Cf. Ojibwe medewin " witchcraft." 



2 Magical drums were generally inscribed with mysterious figures and pictures. 



3 The Chebelaqiie was conceived of as a supernatural monster consisting solely of 

 head and legs, without a body. It was always seen sitting in the crotch of a tree. 



