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A structure erected by Indians for any purpose whatever, is now
generally designated a lodge, in which sense the term is applied in
connection with the word dzhibai´—ghost, or more appropriately
shadow—in the above caption. This lodge is constructed in a form
similar to that of the Midē´wigân,
but its greatest diameter extends north and south instead of east
and west. Further reference will be made to this in describing
another method of conferring the initiation of the first degree of
the Midē´wiwin. This distinction is attained by first becoming a
member of the so-called “Ghost Society,” in the manner and for the
reason following:
After the birth of a male child it is customary to invite the
friends of the family to a feast, designating at the same time a
Midē´ to serve as godfather and to dedicate the child to some
special pursuit in life. The Midē´ is governed in his decision by
visions, and it thus sometimes happens that the child is dedicated
to the “Grand Medicine,” i.e., he is to be prepared to enter the
society of the Midē´. In such a case the parents prepare him by
procuring a good preceptor, and gather together robes, blankets, and
other gifts to be presented at initiation.
Should this son die before the age of puberty, before which period
it is not customary to admit any one into the society, the father
paints his own face as before described, viz, red, with a green
stripe diagonally across the face from left to right, as in Pl. VI,
No. 4, or red with two short horizontal parallel bars in green upon
the forehead as in Pl. VI, No. 5, and announces to the chief Midē´
priest his intention of becoming himself a member of the “Ghost
Society” and his readiness to receive the first degree of the
Midē´wiwin, as a substitute for his deceased son. Other members of
the mourner’s family blacken the face, as shown on Pl. VII, No. 5.
In due time a council of Midē´ priests is called, who visit the
wig´iwam of the mourner, where they partake of a feast, and the
subject of initiation is discussed. This wig´iwam is situated south
and east of the Midē´wigân, as shown in Fig. 35, which illustration
is a reproduction of a drawing made by Sikas´sige.
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Fig. 35.—Indian diagram of ghost lodge. |
The following is an explanation of the several characters:
No. 1 represents the wig´iwam of the mourner, which has been erected
in the vicinity of the Midē´wigân, until after the
ceremony of initiation.
No. 2 is the path supposed to be taken by the shadow (spirit) of the
deceased; it leads westward to the Dzhibai´
Midē´wigân; literally, shadow-spirit wig´iwam.
No. 3, 4, 5, and 6, designate the places where the spirit plucks the
fruits referred to—respectively the strawberry, the
blueberry, the June cherries, and the plum.
No. 7 designates the form and location of the Dzhihai´ Midē´wigân.
The central spot is the place of the dish of food
for Dzhibai´ Man´idō—the good
spirit—and the smaller spots around the interior of the inclosure
are places
for the deposit of dishes for the other Midē´ spirits who have left
this earth.
No. 8 is the path which is taken by the candidate when going from
his wig´iwam to the Midē´wigân.
No. 9 indicates the place of the sweat-lodge, resorted to at other
periods of initiation.
No. 10 is the Midē´wigân in which the ceremony is conducted at the
proper time.
It is stated that in former times the Ghost Lodge was erected west
of the location of the mourner’s wig´iwam, but for a long time this
practice has been discontinued. The tradition relating to the
Spirit’s progress is communicated orally, while the dramatic
representation is confined to placing the dishes of food in the
Midē´wigân, which is selected as a fitting and appropriate
substitute during the night preceding the initiation.
This custom, as it was practiced, consisted of carrying from the
mourner’s wig´iwam to the Ghost Lodge the dishes of food for the
spirits of departed Midē´ to enjoy a feast, during the time that the
Midē´ priests were partaking of one. A large dish was placed in the
center of the structure by the mourner, from which the supreme Midē´
spirit was to eat. Dishes are now carried to the Midē´wigân, as
stated above.
The chief officiating Midē´ then instructs the father of the
deceased boy the manner in which he is to dress and proceed, as
symbolizing the course pursued by the spirit of the son on the way
to the spirit world. The instructions are carried out, as far as
possible, with the exception of going to an imaginary Ghost Lodge,
as he proceeds only to the Midē´wigân and deposits the articles
enumerated below. He is told to take one pair of bear-skin
moccasins, one pair of wolf-skin, and one pair of birds´ skins, in
addition to those which he wears upon his feet; these are to be
carried to the structure in which the Midē´ spirits are feasting,
walking barefooted, picking a strawberry from a plant on the right
of the path and a blueberry from a bush on the left, plucking June
cherries from a tree on the right and plums on the left. He is then
to hasten toward the Ghost Lodge, which is covered with mī´gis,
and to deposit the fruit and the moccasins; these will be used by
his son’s spirit in traveling the road of the dead after the spirits
have completed their feast and reception of him. While the candidate
is on his mission to the Ghost Lodge (for the time being represented
by the Midē´wigân) the assemblage in the wig´iwam chant the
following for the mourner: Yan´-i-ma-tsha´, yan´-i-ma-tsha´, ha´,
yan´-i-ma-tsha´ yan´-i-ma-tsha´ ha´, yu´-te-no-win´ gē´, hē´
nin-de´-so-ne´—“I am going away, I am going away, I am going away,
to the village I walk”—i.e., the village of the dead.
The person who desires to receive initiation into the Midē´wigân,
under such circumstances, impersonates Minabō´zho, as he is believed
to have penetrated the country of the abode of shadows, or
ne´-ba-gī´-zis—“land of the sleeping sun.” He, it is said, did this
to destroy the “Ghost Gambler” and to liberate the many victims who
had fallen into his power. To be enabled to traverse this dark and
dismal path, he borrowed of Kŏ-ko´-kŏ-ō´—the owl—his eyes, and
received also the services of wē´-we-tē´-si-wŭg—the firefly, both of
which were sent back to the earth upon the completion of his
journey. By referring to Pl. III, A,
the reference to this myth will be observed as pictorially
represented in Nos. 110 to 114. No. 110 is the Midē´wigân from which
the traveler has to visit the Dzhibai´ Midē´wigân (No. 112) in the
west. No. 113, represented as Kŏ-ko´-kŏ-ō´—the owl—whose eyes
enabled Mī´nabō´zho to follow the path of the dead (No. 114); the
owl skin Midē´ sack is also sometimes used by Midē´ priests who have
received their first degree in this wise. The V-shaped characters
within the circle at No. 111 denote the presence of spirits at the
Ghost Lodge, to which reference has been made.
The presents which had been gathered as a gift or fee for the
deceased are now produced and placed in order for transportation to
the Midē´wigân, early on the following morning.
The Midē´ priests then depart, but on the next morning several of
them make their appearance to assist in clearing the Midē´wigân of
the dishes which had been left there over night, and to carry
thither the robes, blankets, and other presents, and suspend them
from the rafters. Upon their return to the candidate’s wig´iwam, the
Midē´ priests gather, and after the candidate starts to lead the
procession toward the Midē´wigân, the priests fall in in single
file, and all move forward, the Midē´ priests chanting the following
words repeatedly, viz: Ki-e´-ne-kwo-tâ´ ki-e´-ne-kwo-tâ´, ha´, ha´,
ha´, nōs e´wi-e´, hē´, ki´-na-ka´-ta-mŭn´ do-nâ´-gan—“I also, I
also, my father, leave you my dish.”
This is sung for the deceased, who is supposed to bequeath to his
father his dish, or other articles the names of which are sometimes
added.
The procession continues toward and into the Midē´wigân, passing
around the interior by the left side toward the west, north, and
east to a point opposite the space usually reserved for the deposit
of goods, where the candidate turns to the right and stands in the
middle of the inclosure, where he now faces the Midē´ post in the
west. The members who had not joined the procession, but who had
been awaiting its arrival, now resume their seats, and those who
accompanied the candidate also locate themselves as they desire,
when the officiating priests begin the ceremony as described in
connection with the initiation for the first degree after the
candidate has been turned over to the chief by the preceptor.
Sometimes the mother of one who had been so dedicated to the
Midē´wiwin is taken into that society, particularly when the father
is absent or dead.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language
of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the
historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in
any way endorse the stereotypes implied. The Midē Wiwin or Grand Medicine Society, 1891
The Midē Wiwin or Grand Medicine Society
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