The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1883-09-06
INDIAN MYTHS.
A Tangle of Animism and Polytheism

~ AolJ oA0iSAs
j. Henry Gest, in his article on I'm.
dian Mythology" in the Popa.lar Sci
ence Monthly for August saws:
Little by little. as man becomes more
self-appreciating, more confident in his
superiority in the midst of surrounding
nature, he gives to each great and
small spirit personality more or less
like his own. Some of these will be
merely exaggerated men, others COM
bination OF man and animal. But tn
result of the whole will be that out of
animism has grown polytheism, Of
which all know the congruous ernormi.
ties in European mythology.
The Indian myths are a tangle of an
imism and polytheism, and only when
we approach them with the information
granted from the study of early Aryan
religious worship do the hitherto sense
less crudities open their hidden mean.
ings. A few instances will show the
animist of spiritual character. When
the Algonquin Indian meets something
he cannot understand, there he fancies
a manito present The word has the
several meanings of spirit. soul and the
first. The mysterious steel of the
white man is manitobiwabwik, l. e.,
spirit-stone. The strange woven cloth
is manito-wegin, spirit skin. Among
the Chippewas manitowis designates
the magician. For this same idea Of
magic, my stery, spirit, soul. the Dakota
has the word wakan. Wakan-tauka is
the great spirit; wakan-hdi the lightning
literally the thing of spirit origin, hdi
meaning come. Thus, every mystery
Is wakan. "He looks at sun, moon, and
stars. but knows not who made them,
or of what they are composed; he hears
the winds, but, as their nature and
source are to him unknown, they are
wakan."
To the Indian, wind and his own
breath are of all nature most like his
conception of the spirit force, and so
these are regarded as symbols, even as
embodiments of the spirit. The princi-
pal Greek god is 1.-The Lord of Breath;'
of the Cherokees, 1.-The Oldest of the
Winds;'' of the Choctaws, simply
''Storm-wind.
Like the Aryans, the Indians believe in
Immortality, and perform elaborate GER
emonies for the benefit of departed
| souls.
Not content with souls and spirits in
themselves and in the forces of nature,
they give them to animals; so that in
the dog companion is often the guard
ian spirit of the Indian.
| AS you have already noticed, there
are spirits of unequal rank and unequal
powers in the Indian animism, but
though principal spirit is at times
found, yet there is no idea of a single
all-powerful spirit from which all Others
| come.
Now for some examples of the Indian
polytheism. Compare the following
story with some myths of early Europe
1t is given in the words of Mr.. Knortx
when the world still lay in darkness
say the MiXecas, there appeared a god
'lion-serpent' by name, and a goddess
'tiger-serpent' They went to live on &
high mountain, where two sons were
born to them, one of whom they nance
Wind of the Nine Serpants, and the
other Wind of the Nino Caves Wher
the elder of these wanted amusement
he assumed the form of an eagle anc
flew about in the world; but the othel
changed himself to q winged serpent, il
which shape he could fly not only
through the air, but also through rock
and mountains" How nearly is thi.
play of fancy like that which in darl
Europe created dragons for the fablec
knights.
The Algonquins have a hero-god
Menabuscho, whose remarkable adven
lures MIR. Knortz recounts at somt
length. Among others, is an inciden
of the mysterious value of dragon-oil
which we have learned in the Siegfrieo
myth: Then he (Menabuscho) set ou
to war against the great chief Pearl
father, who had slain his grandfather
He shot the serpent standing guard
and with the oil of the royal beas
creased his boat, so that without stop
! ping it ran through the fatal sea of mis-
tortuIe." After death it became tn
privilege of Menabuscho to lead tn
souls of Indians into paradise.
Thore are numerous myths of the Gre
alton of the world and of man; other
of a delugc from wlich only a sing
pair. man and woman, escaped
These few examples give but an il
complete and very inadequate present;
ton of Indian mythology, But the
are sufficient to show the presence {
animism, and add another straw to tn
already accumulated evidence that an
mism Is the first definite shape whic
religious feeling takes.