20 
tive and needs the most careful consideration. It may easily be distressed 
by carelessness in swinging the hammock; and it suffers if the father 
tortures an animal, the Indians say, though they also state that it gives 
pain to the soul of the baby, or to the father’s own soul. As soon as a 
child is born its shadow winders over the earth observing many things. 
That is why the child appears to lie dormant at this period and to learn 
nothing. Actually it learns a great deal, for often you will observe it 
smile or laugh at something that is invisible to you yourself; its shadow, 
becoming aware of something, has enlightened the soul. So the Indian 
mother solicitously protects the shadow and soul of her baby by tying 
various objects to its cradle, as will appear in a later chapter. 1 
Generally the shadow is invisible, but sometimes it allows itself to 
be seen under the same appearance as the body. That is why you often 
think you see some one who is actually miles away. 
“ My two boys met me at the wharf yesterday evening and accompanied me to 
my house. Some time before our arrival my sister-in-law looked out of the window 
and saw the elder boy pass iby. It was really his shadow that she saw, not the boy 
himself, for we must have been nearly a mile away at the time” (Pegahmagabow). 
The shadow, again, like the soul, must work in harmony with the 
other two parts of a man’s being if the man is to enjoy perfect health. 
Certain methods of witchcraft aim at breaking down this harmony by 
keeping the soul or the shadow apart from its coadjutors. Occasionally 
the shadow may divide or become double; one part may wish to co-operate 
with the soul and body, the other seek to travel or go hunting. The man 
then becomes a centre of conflicting desires. His two shadows contend 
for the mastery, his struggling soul remains aloof from the body awaiting 
the issue, and the body itself falls sick . 2 There is generally no cure for 
this condition and the man dies. His shadow lingers forever near his 
grave, like the shadows of all the dead; it becomes what Europeans call 
a ghost, harmless generally and unseen, but capable of making its resent- 
ment felt should any one rashly provoke it. 
Thus, then, the Parry Island Ojibwa interprets his own being; and 
exactly the same interpretation he applies to everything around him. Not 
only men, but animals, trees, even rocks and water are tripartite, possess- 
ing bodies, souls, and shadows. They all have a life like the life in human 
beings, even if they have all been gifted with different powers and attributes. 
Consider the animals, which most closely resemble human beings; they see 
and hear as we do, and clearly they reason about what they observe. The 
tree must have a life somewhat like our own, although it lacks the power 
of locomotion. 
“ When its leaves shake and murmur surely they are talking to one another. It 
is true that we cannot understand them today, but Nanibush, the great hero of old, 
conversed with them; and once when a man was walking along a flower cried to him 
'Do not step on me/ for flowers are like little children” (Jonas King). 
Water runs; it too must possess life, it too must have a soul and a 
shadow. Then observe how certain minerals cause the neighbouring rocks 
‘ Seep. 91. 
2 In the terminology of our psychopaths, he is the victim of neurosis. This is one of many indications that the 
Ojibwa, like other Indian tribes, recognized the tremendous influence of psychological factors on the health of the 
individual. 
