Kicemanito kisemanitoo kisemanitow kishemanito chisamanitu

Gitche Manitou (Gitchi Manitou, Kitchi Manitou, etc.) means " Great Spirit" in several

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...

. Christian missionaries have translated '' God'' as ''Gitche Manitou'' in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian languages. '' Manitou'' is a common Algonquian term for spirit, mystery, or deity. Native American Churches in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

often use this term.

Anishinaabe

In more recent

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawato ...

culture, the

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian la ...

word ''Gichi-manidoo'' means Great Spirit, the Creator of all things and the Giver of Life, and is sometimes translated as the "Great Mystery". Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection. According to Anishinaabeg tradition, ''Michilimackinac'', later named by European settlers as

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...

, in Michigan, was the home of Gitche Manitou, and some Anishinaabeg tribes would make pilgrimages there for rituals devoted to the spirit. In

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tra ...

's ''

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his ...

'', Gitche Manitou is spelled ''Gitche Manito''. Other Anishinaabe names for God incorporated through the process of

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

are ''Gizhe-manidoo'' ("venerable ''Manidoo''"), ''Wenizhishid-manidoo'' ("Fair ''Manidoo''") and ''Gichi-ojichaag'' ("Great Spirit"). While ''Gichi-manidoo'' and ''Gichi-ojichaag'' both mean "Great Spirit", ''Gichi-manidoo'' carried the idea of the greater spiritual connectivity while ''Gichi-ojichaag'' carried the idea of individual soul's connection to the ''Gichi-manidoo''. Consequently, Christian missionaries often used the term ''Gichi-ojichaag'' to refer to the Christian idea of a

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts ...

Other tribes

In addition to the Algonquian Anishinaabeg, many other tribes believed in ''Gitche Manitou''. References to the Great Manitou by the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...

and the

Oglala Sioux The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live ...

(notably in the recollections of Black Elk), indicate that belief in this deity extended into the Great Plains, fully across the wider group of

Algonquian peoples The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes ...

. Cognate terms recorded in other Algonquian languages include: ; Manitou *Sauk Fox: Mannittoo, God *Narragensett: Manitoo, God ; Gitche Manitou *

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

: ''Gichi-manidoo'' *

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

: ''Gchi-mnidoo'' *

Swampy Cree The Swampy Cree people, also known by their autonyms ''Néhinaw'', ''Maskiki Wi Iniwak'', ''Mushkekowuk,'' ''Maškékowak'' or ''Maskekon'' (and therefore also ''Muskegon'' and ''Muskegoes'') or by exonyms including ''West Main Cree,'' ''Lowlan ...

: ''Kihci-manitô'' *Miami: ''Kihci Manetoowa'' *

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

: ** Minsi: Kitschimanitto ** Unami: Ketanëtuwit (<''ket''- 'great'+''(m)anətu'' 'spirit'+-''wi-t'' 'the one who is'; the initial ''m''- in ''manətu'' is elided in this compound) * Nanticoke (spoken in Maryland): Gichtschi Manitto ; Kishe Manitou *

: ''Gizhe-manidoo'' *

: ''Gzhe-mnidoo'' *

: ''Kise-manitô'' * Naskapi: ''Chisa-manitu'' *Illinois: Kisseh Manetou ; Other *

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

: Wishemenetou ''Gitche Manitou'' has been seen as those cultures' analogue to the Christian God. When early Christian (especially French Catholic)

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

preached the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

to the Algonquian peoples, they adopted ''Gitche Manitou'' as a name for God in the Algonquian languages. This can be seen, for example, in the English translation of the " Huron Carol".

Related spirits

Spirits who were either aspects of Gitche Manitou or lesser spirits under Gitche Manitou include: *Hobomok, who was deemed more approachable than Gitche Manitou, and more likely to listen to pleas, but who was also mischievous and interpreted by Englishmen as being the devil, or an evil deity.Philips, David E. (1992) ''Legendary Connecticut: Traditional Tales from the Nutmeg State'' (2nd edition) Curbstone Books, Willimantic, Connecticut, page ?,

Manitou as mystical term

Manitou is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American mythology. Manitou is one aspect of the interconnection and balance of nature and life, similar to the East Asian concept of '' qi.'' In simpler terms it can refer to a spirit. This spirit is seen as a person as well as a concept. Everything has its own manitou—every plant, every stone and, since their invention, even machines. These manitous do not exist in a hierarchy like European gods/goddesses, but are more akin to one part of the body interacting with another and the spirit of everything; the collective is named ''Gitche Manitou''.

Notes

{{Reflist

References

* Densmore, Frances. ''Chippewa Customs''. (1979, Minnesota Historical Press). * Hoffman, Walter James, M.D. ''The Mide'wiwin: Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibway''. (2005, Lightning Source Inc.) * Johnston, Basil. ''Ojibway Ceremonies''. (1990, University of Nebraska Press). * Johnston, Basil. The Manitous: the spiritual world of the Ojibway. (2001, Minnesota Historical Society Press). * Nichols, John D. and Earl Nyholm. ''A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe''. (1995, University of Minnesota Press). * Cuoq, Jean André. ''Lexique de la Langue Algonquine''. (1886, J. Chapleau & Fils). * Rhodes, Richard A. ''Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary''. (1985, Mouton de Gruyter).

External links

Mackinac Island

Wisconsin History

Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Anishinaabe mythology Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America Creator gods Names of God Nature gods