The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-08-23
INDIAN MYTHS.
A Taagle of Animism and Polytheism

j. Henry Gest, in his article on "In-
dian Mythology in the Popular SCI
ence Monthly for August says:
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 the
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 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, i. 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 ere
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 Gherokees, "The Oldest Of the
Winds" of the Choctaws, simply
"Storm-wind.
Like the Aryans, the Indians believe in
Immortality, and perform elaborate GER
emonles 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 ar.imism, but,
though principal spirit is at times
found, yet there IS no idea of a single
all-powertui 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:
"Whcl the world still lay in darkness,
say the Mixecas, there appeared 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 named
Wind of the Nine Serpants,' and the
ether Wind of the Nine Caves When
the elder of these wanted amusement,
he assumed the form of an eagle and
flew about in the world; but the other
changed himself TO winged serpent, in
which shape he could fly not only
through the air, but also through rocks
and mountains" How nearly is this
play of fancy like that which in dark
Europe created dragons for the tabled
knights.
The Algonquins have a hero-god,
Menabuscho, whose remarkable adven-
lures Mr. Knortz recounts at some
length. Among others, is an incident
of the mysterious value of dragon-oil,
which we have learned in the Siegfried
myth: "Then he (Menabuscho) set out
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 beast
CREASED his boat, so that without stop
ping it ran through the fatal sea of mis-
fortune" After death it became the
privilege of Menabuscho to lead the
souls of Indians into paradise.
There are numerous myths of the Gre
alton Of the world and of man; others
of a deluge from which only a single
pair, man and woman, ESCAPED.
These few examples give ba. an in
complete and very inadequate presenta-
ton of Indian mythology, But they
are sufficient to show the presence of
animism, and add another straw to the
already accumulated evidence that ami
mism is the first definite shape which
religious feeling takes.