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of them claimed to derive their power from thunder, but during the winter 
months, when thunder had retreated far to the southward (thunderstorms 
are exceedingly rare in Parry Sound during the winter) they summoned 
other manidos to aid them in their rites, principally perhaps a small owl 
( kokoko ) and the whip-poor-will ( waholi ). Instead of a tambourine, 
they used a disk-like rattle ( shishigwan ) of parchment 6 to 9 inches in 
diameter, handleless, but with a loose flap of skin pierced with a hole 
for suspension. This instrument, and some hollow bone tubes, formed 
their entire stock-in-trade; for, unlike the wabeno, the kusabindugeyu 
never employed herbal remedies in his profession, although he might use 
them as a layman, or if he happened to be a member of the Grand 
Medicine Society. 
The kusabindugeyu claimed to pry into the future, to behold what 
was far away, and to discern what was hidden inside a man’s body. 
Others might dream about these things, but the real seer professed to 
behold them with his own eyes even in broad daylight. Some Parry 
Islanders believe that he could discover the secret thoughts of distant 
people and evoke an enemy’s shadow ( udjibbom ), causing insanity and 
perhaps death: but that he never used this power to the detriment of his 
own people. His procedure was simple in the extreme. Kneeling on the 
ground he sang his medicine-song and shook his rattle. A manido entered 
it with a dull thud audible to all around; sometimes three or four manidos , 
if he continued to shake the rattle. They gave no other sign of their 
presence, but merely opened the seer’s eyes so that he might behold the 
object of his quest. 
“ In my boyhood I had a swelling on the neck which emitted much pus when 
lanced. My mother called in an old blind kusabindugeyu to discover whether I 
would die. He said to her ' I will tell you to-morrow.’ On the morrow he came 
again and said 'Your boy will recover when the snow lies half an inch thick on 
the ground. He will not die, for I have seen him living far down the years.’ The 
seer spoke truly. The swelling disappeared in the early winter and I am now an 
old man” (James Walker). 
Hollow bone tubes made from bird’s leg-bones formed part of the 
kusabindugeyu’ s equipment and took the place of the wabeno’ s herbal 
remedies. By means of his rattle the seer first sought the stick or other 
object implanted in the sick man’s body. If the case were hopeless and 
death impending the rattle emitted a strange smell; but if the object 
became visible it was possible for the medicine-man to extract it with 
his tubes. He swallowed from one to six of them, allowing the last one 
to protrude slightly from his mouth. Through this he sucked against the 
infected spot, drew out the object, and vomited all the tubes at once into 
a basin of clean water. No one might speak or make a noise while the 
operation lasted lest a sudden sound should cause the medicine-man to 
choke and kill himself. 
“ My brother once suffered from a constant pain between the shoulders, and my 
mother sent me to bring a kusabindugeyu. The seer came, and after drinking some 
whisky and smoking his pipe, laid his rattle on the ground beside the fire. There 
it emitted two loud cracks as a manido entered it. He took it up again, and danced 
and sang around the fire. Then he drew out two bone tubes, one much longer than 
the other, and swallowed them; but the short tube protruded a little from his mouth. 
