Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of

Algonquian peoples The Algonquians are one of the most populous and widespread North American indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous American groups, consisting of the peoples who speak Algonquian languages. They historically were prominent along the East ...

. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere:

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

s, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo'' means "bad spirit". When

Turtle Island Turtle Island is a name for Earth or North America, used by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American Indigenous peoples, as well as by some Indigenous rights, Indigenous rights activists. The name is based on a creation myth common to se ...

was created, the

Great Spirit The Great Spirit is an omnipresent supreme life force, generally conceptualized as a supreme being or god, in the traditional religious beliefs of many, but not all, indigenous cultures in Canada and the United States. Interpretations of it v ...

, ''Aasha Monetoo'', gave the land to the

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

Overview

Manitou was widely used during early European contact. In 1585, when

Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his con ...

recorded the first glossary of an Algonquian language, Roanoke (Pamlico), he included the word ''mantóac'', meaning "gods and goddesses". Similar terms are found in nearly all

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...

. In some Algonquian traditions, ''

Gitche Manitou Gitche Manitou (Gitchi Manitou, Kitchi Manitou, etc.) means " Great Spirit" in several Algonquian languages. Christian missionaries have translated ''God'' as ''Gitche Manitou'' in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian languages. ''Manito ...

'' refers to a

supreme being {{broad-concept article A supreme deity, supreme god or supreme being is the conception of the sole deity of monotheistic religions or, in polytheistic or henotheistic religions, the paramount deity or supernatural entity which is above all other ...

. The term has analogues dating to before European contact, and the word uses of ''gitche'' and ''manitou'' existed before contact. After contact, however, Gitche Manitou was adopted by some

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

, such as the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, to refer to the supreme being. Algonquian

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

acknowledges medicine healers, who used manitou to see the future, change the weather, and heal illness. Ojibwe medicine healers were primarily healers who used their spiritual connection to cure patients since illness was then believed to be caused by magic and spirits. To communicate with spirits and manipulate manitou, a healer would enter a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

, induced by singing, dancing, drumbeats, or the use of

hallucinogen Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mo ...

s. Non-healers could also interact with spirits by embarking upon a "vision quest", using

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

, hallucinogens, and removing themselves from the society of others. A person who underwent vision quests would be visited by an "animal, voice, or object", which would become their guardian spirit.

Place names

Manitou has entered the names of several places in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The name of

Lake Manitoba Lake Manitoba () is the 14th largest lake in Canada and the 33rd largest lake in the world with a total area of . It is located within the Canadian province of Manitoba about northwest of the province's capital, Winnipeg, at . History The la ...

(for which the Canadian province of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

is named) derives from the area called ''manitou-wapow'', or "strait of the Manitou" in

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

, referring to the strange sound of waves crashing against rocks near the Narrows of the lake. Manitoba is also home to

Whiteshell Provincial Park Whiteshell Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeast Manitoba, approximately east of the city of Winnipeg. The park is considered to be a IUCN protected area categories#Category II — National Park, Class II protected area under the IU ...

petroforms Petroforms, also known as boulder outlines or boulder mosaics, are human-made shapes and patterns made by lining up large rocks on the open ground, often on quite level areas. Petroforms in North America were originally made by various Native A ...

, symbols made from rocks, which serve as reminders of the instructions given to the Anishinaabe by the Creator. The Anishinaabe

Midewiwin The Midewiwin (in Ojibwe syllabics, syllabics: , also spelled ''Midewin'' and ''Medewiwin'') or the Grand Medicine Society is a religious society of some of the Indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North A ...

, or Grand Medicine Society, considers the area containing the petroforms to be Manito Ahbee, where the Creator sits. It is the site where the Creator lowered the original Anishinaabe from the sky to the ground.

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island ( ) is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia (bioregion), Laurentia. With an area of , it is the Lake ...

, called ''mnidoo mnis'', or "

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of the Great Spirit", by the

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

, is very important to the

, or Anishinaabe, because of its many sacred sites and sounding rocks. Native peoples continue to dwell on the island, which hosts several reserves.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. national lakeshore in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Located within Benzie and Leelanau counties, the park extends along a stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well ...

, on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

's eastern coastline in the state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, includes two sites known as

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Manitou Island South Manitou Island ( ) is located in Lake Michigan, approximately west of Leland, Michigan. It is part of Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The uninhabited island is in land area and can be accessed by a fer ...

s. File:2007 Josephprymak Joseph Prymak Petroform 2 IMGP2124.JPG, Petroforms in

File:Manitoulin Island.jpg,

References

{{Authority control Anishinaabe mythology Energy (esotericism) First Nations culture in Canada Spirits Indigenous spirituality Vitalism

Overview

Place names

See also

References