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Show 166 THE MIDE'WIWIN OF THE 0JIBWA. In all of their traditions pertaining to the early history of the tribe these people are termed A- nish'- in-&'- bSg- original people- a term surviving also among the Ottawa, Patawatomi, and Menomoni, indicating that the tradition of their westward migration was extant prior to the final separation of these tribes, which is supposed to have occurred at Sault Ste. Marie. Mi'nabo'zho ( Great Rabbit), whose name occurs in connection with most of the sacred rites, was the servant of Dzhe Man'ido, the Good Spirit, and acted in the capacity of intercessor and mediator. It is generally supposed that it was to his good offices that the Indian owes life and the good things necessary to his health and subsistence. The tradition of Mi'nabo'zho and the origin of the Mide'wiwin, as given in connection with the birch- bark record obtained at Red Lake ( PI. in A), is as follows: When Mi'nabo'zho, the servant of Dzhe Man'ido, looked down upon the earth he beheld human beings, the Ani'shin&' beg, the ancestors of the Ojibwa. They occupied the four quarters of the earth- the northeast, the southeast, the southwest, and the northwest. He saw how helpless they were, and desiring to give them the means of warding off the diseases with which they were constantly afflicted, and to provide them with animals and plants to serve as food and with other comforts, Mi'nabo'zho remained thoughtfully hovering over the center of the earth, endeavoring to devise some means of communicating with them, when he heard something laugh, and perceived a dark object appear upon the surface of the water to the west ( No. 2). He could not recognize its form, and while watching it closely it slowly disappeared from view. It next appeared in the north ( No. 3), and after a short lapse of time again disappeared. Mi'nabo'zho hoped it would again show itself upon the surface of the water, which it did in the east ( No. 4). Then Mi'nabo'zho wished that it might approach him, so as to permit him to communicate with it. When it disappeared from view in the east and made its reappearance in the south ( No. 1), Mi'nab6' zho asked it to come to the center of the earth that he might behold it. Again it disappeared from view, and after reappearing in the west Mi'nabo'zho observed it slowly approaching the center of the earth ( i. e., the centre of the circle), when he descended and saw it was the Otter, now one of the sacred man'id5s of the Mide'wiwin. Then Mi'nabo'zho instructed the Otter in the mysteries of the Mide'wiwin, and gave him at the same time the sacred rattle to be used at the side of the sick; the sacred Mide' drum to be used during the ceremonial of initiation and at sacred feasts, and tobacco, to be employed in invocations and in making peace. The place where Mi'nabo'zho descended was an island in the middle of a large body of water, and the Mide' who is feared by all the others is called Mini'sino'shkwe ( He- who- lives- on- the- island). Then |