Midewiwin
The Midewiwin (also spelled "Midewin" and "Medewiwin") or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of some of the indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called "Midew", and the practices of "Midewiwin" are referred to as "Mide". Occasionally, male "Midew" are called "Midewinini", which is sometimes translated into English as "medicine man". Name. The preverb "mide" can be translated as "mystery," "mysterious," "spiritual," "sanctified," "sacred," or "ceremonial", depending on the context of its use. The derived verb "midewi", thus means "be in/of "mide"." The derived noun  midewiwin then means "state of being in "midewi"." Often "mide" is translated into English as "medicine" (thus the term "midewinini" "medicine-man") though "mide" conveys the idea of a spiritual medicine, opposed to "mashkiki" that conveys the idea of a physical medicine. A practitioner of Midewiwin is called a "midew", which can also be rendered as "mide'o"... both forms of the word derived from the verb "midewi", or as a "medewid", a gerund form of "midewi". Specifically, a male practitioner is called a "midewinini" (""midew" man") and a female practitioner a "midewikwe" (""midew" woman"). Due to the body-part medial  de' meaning "heart" in the Anishinaabe language, "Midewiwin" is sometimes translated as "The Way of the Heart." Blessing shares a definition he received from Thomas Shingobe, a "Mida" (a Midewiwin person) of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation in 1969, who told him that "the only thing that would be acceptable in any way as an interpretation of 'Mide' would be 'Spiritual Mystery'." However, fluent speakers of Anishinaabemowin often caution that there are many words and concepts that have no direct translation to English. Origins. According to historian Michael Angel, the Midewin is a "flexible, tenacious tradition that provided an institutional  setting for the teaching of the world view (religious beliefs) of the Ojibwa people". Commonly among the Anishinaabeg, Midewin is ascribed to Wenaboozho (Onaniboozh) as its founder. However, among the Abenakis, Midewiwin is ascribed to Mateguas, who upon his death and needing to comfort his brother who is still alive, bestowed the Midewiwin to his grieving brother Gluskab. However, Hoffman records that according to the Mille Lacs Indians chief "Bayezhig" ("Lone One"), Midewiwin has its origin as: This event is called "Gwiiwizens wedizhichigewinid"—Deeds of a Little-boy. Associations. Tribal groups who have such societies include the Abenaki, Quiripi, Nipmuc, Wampanoag , Anishinaabe (Algonquin, Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi), Miami, Meskwaki, Sauk, Sioux and the Ho-Chunk. These indigenous peoples of Turtle Island pass along wiigwaasabak (birch bark scrolls), teachings, and have degrees of initiations and ceremonies. They are often associated with the Seven Fires Society, and other aboriginal groups or organizations. The Miigis shell, or cowry shell, is used in some ceremonies, along with bundles, sacred items, etc. There are many oral teachings, symbols, stories, history, and wisdom passed along and preserved from one generation to the next by these groups. Whiteshell Provincial Park (Manitoba) is named after the whiteshell (cowry) used  in Midewiwin ceremonies. This park contains some petroforms that are over 1000 years old, or possibly older, and therefore may predate some aboriginal groups that came later to the area. The Midew society is commemorated in the name of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Illinois). Degrees. The Mide practitioners are initiated and ranked by "degrees." Much like the apprentice system, masonic degrees, or an academic degree program, a practitioner cannot advance to the next higher degree until completing the required tasks and gain the full knowledge of that degree's requirements. Only after successful completion may a candidate be  considered for advancement into the next higher degree. Extended Fourth. The accounts regarding the extended Fourth Degrees vary from region to region. All Midewiwin groups claim the extended Fourth Degrees are specialized forms of the Fourth Degree. Depending on the region, these extended Fourth Degree Midew can be called "Fifth Degree" up to "Ninth Degree." In parallel, if the Fourth Degree Midew is to a doctorate degree, the Extended Fourth Degree Midew is to a post-doctorate degree. The Jiisakiwinini is widely referred to by Elders as the "highest" degree of all the medicine practitioners in the Mide, as it  is Spiritual medicine as opposed to physical/plant based medicine. Medicine lodge. Section::::"Midewigaan". The "midewigaan" (""mide" lodge"), also known as "mide-wiigiwaam" (""mide" wigwam") when small or "midewigamig" (""mide" structure") when large, is known in English as the "Grand Medicine Lodge" and is usually built in an open grove or clearing. A "midewigaan" is a domed structure with the proportion of 1 unit in width by 4 units in length. Though Hoffman records these domed oval structures measuring about 20 feet in width by 80 feet in length, the structures are sized to accommodate the number of invited participants, thus  many "midewigaan" for small "mide" communities in the early 21st century are as small as 6 feet in width and 24 feet in length and larger in those communities with more "mide" participants. The walls of the smaller "mide-wiigiwaam" consist of poles and saplings from 8 to 10 feet high, firmly planted in the ground, wattled with short branches and twigs with leaves. In communities with significantly large "mide" participants (usually of 100 people or more participants), the "midewigamig" becomes a formal and permanent ceremonial building that retains the dimensions of the smaller "mide-wiigiwaam"; a "midewigamig" might not  necessarily be a domed structure, but typically may have vaulted ceilings. Section::::"Jiisakiiwigaan". Design of the "jiisakiiwigaan" ("'juggler's lodge" or "Shaking Tent" or traditionally "shaking wigwam") is similar in construction as that of the "mide-wiigiwaam". Unlike a "mide-wiigiwaam" that is an oval domed structure, the "jiisakiiwigaan" is a round high-domed structure of typically 3 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height, and large enough to hold two to four people. Teaching objects. Teaching scrolls. Called "wiigwaasabakoon" in the Ojibwe language, birch bark scrolls were used to pass on knowledge between generations. When used specifically for Midewiwin  ceremonial use, these "wiigwaasabakoon" used as teaching scrolls were called "Mide-wiigwaas" ("Medicine birch [bark scroll]"). Early accounts of the Mide from books written in the 1800s describe a group of elders that protected the birch bark scrolls in hidden locations. They recopied the scrolls if any were badly damaged, and they preserved them underground. These scrolls were described as very sacred and the interpretations of the scrolls were not easily given away. The historical areas of the Ojibwe were recorded, and stretched from the east coast all the way to the prairies by way of lake and river routes . Some of the first maps of rivers and lakes were made by the Ojibwe and written on birch bark. "The Teachings of the Midewiwin were scratched on birch bark scrolls and were shown to the young men upon entrance into the society. Although these were crude pictographs representing the ceremonies, they show us that the Ojibwa were advanced in the development of picture 'writing.' Some of them were painted on bark. One large birch bark roll was 'known to have been used in the Midewiwin at Mille Lacs for five generations and perhaps many generations before', and two others, found  in a seemingly deliberate hiding place in the Head-of-the-Lakes region of Ontario, were carbon-dated to about 1560 CE +/-70. The author of the original report on these hidden scrolls advised: "Indians of this region occasionally deposited such artifacts in out-of-the-way places in the woods, either by burying them or by secreting them in caves. The period or periods at which this was done is far from clear. But in any event, archaeologists should be aware of the custom and not overlook the possibility of their discovery." Teaching stones. Teaching stones known in  Ojibwe as either "Gikinoo'amaagewaabik" or "Gikinoo'amaage-asin" can be either petroglyphs or petroform. Seven prophetical ages. The seven fires prophecy was originally taught among the practitioners of "Midewiwin". Each fire represents a prophetical age, marking phases or epochs of Turtle Island. It represents key spiritual teachings for North America, and suggests that the different colors and traditions of humans can come together on a basis of respect. The Algonquins are the keepers of the seven fires prophecy "wampum".