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own several “ medicine-bundles ” that were sanctified by antiquity, 
accorded the hijj;hest social value, and impressively transferred from 
one individual to another, generation after generation. 
In a sphere like religion, which was largely dominated by 
emotion, the Indians naturally displayed great individual differences. 
Those who were intensely emotional, or endowed with keen imagina- 
tions, easily persuarled themselves that they could commune witli the 
supernatural world and draw upon its resources at wdll. Visions came 
to them in the day as well as by night. Sometimes they fell into 
trances, or induced a condition of hysteria which both they and their 
fellow-countrymen interpreted as possession by a spiritual force. 
Their apparent intimacy with the unseen powers marked them off 
from the rank and file of the natives, who sought their mediation 
in times of trouble. So they became the medicine men or shamans 
of their communities, prophets and seers and healers of diseases, or 
else sorcerers and witch-mongers whenever they used their talents 
for antisocial purposes. Sometimes the medicine-men and the 
sorcerers formed two separate classes, the former working openly for 
the welfare of their tribesmen, the latter secretly, and under penalty 
of sudden death if their machinations became known. Often the 
same man (or woman) stood ready to fulfil either role for a suitable 
reward, although caution generally prevented him from directing his 
sorcery against the members of his own band or village. Youthful 
aspirants commonl}'- apprenticed themselves to older practitioners, and 
frequently developed a professional technique after the fashion of 
doctors in civilized communities. Some even tried to heighten their 
prestige by conscious jugglery, performing several sensational tricks 
that are well known from other countries, such as sword-swallowing 
and walking over red-hot embers. 
Here and tliere in Vanada the medicine-men banded themselves 
into guilds or fraternities, the most notable, perhaps, being the 
niideioiivin or medicine-lodge of the Ojibwa. The higher grade 
members in this lodge exercised great influence in the various bands, 
and the summer initiation ceremonies attracted spectators from far 
and near. Organized priesthoods, especially among primitive peoples, 
tend to develop esoteric doctrines different from those of the laity, 
and there is some evidence that the religious beliefs of the 
ordinary Ojibwa were cruder and more animistic than those officially 
