Kicemanito kisemanitoo kisemanitow kishemanito chisamanitu

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

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 ...

. Christian missionaries have translated ''

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

'' as ''Gitche Manitou'' in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian languages. ''

Manitou Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo ...

'' is a common Algonquian term for spirit, mystery, or

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

. Native American Churches in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

often use this term.

Anishinaabe

In more recent

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 ...

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 Algon ...

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 ( , ; ; ; ) 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 and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

, 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 the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

's '' The Song of Hiawatha'', 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 school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...

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 The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

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. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

and the Oglala Sioux (notably in the recollections of

Black Elk Heȟáka Sápa, commonly known as Black Elk (baptized Nicholas; December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950), was a ''wičháša wakȟáŋ'' (" medicine man, holy man") and '' heyoka'' of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war lea ...

), indicate that belief in this deity extended into the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

, fully across the wider group 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 ...

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

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 ...

: ''Gichi-manidoo'' *

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

: ''Gchi-mnidoo'' *

Swampy Cree The Swampy Cree people, also known by their Exonym and endonym, autonyms ''Néhinaw'', ''Maskiki Wi Iniwak'', ''Mushkekowuk,'' ''Maškékowak, Maskegon'' or ''Maskekon'' (and therefore also ''Muskegon'' and ''Muskegoes'') or by exonyms includin ...

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

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

: **

Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...

: Kitschimanitto * Nanticoke (spoken in Maryland): Gichtschi Manitto ; Kishe Manitou *

: ''Gizhe-manidoo'' *

: ''Gzhe-mnidoo'' *

: ''Kise-manitô'' * Plains Cree: ''kisê-manitow'' *

Naskapi The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical region St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our Clusivity, nclusiveland'), which was located in present day northern Qu ...

: ''Chisa-manitu'' *Illinois: Kisseh Manetou ; Other *

: ** Unami: Ketanëtuwit (<''ket''- 'great'+''(m)anətu'' 'spirit'+-''wi-t'' 'the one who is'; the initial ''m''- in ''manətu'' is elided in this compound) * Narragansett: Cautantowwit; also known as Kytan *

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

: Wishemenetou *

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

: Wakan Tanka (Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka); Wakan Tanka literally means “Great Mystery” ''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 who 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 Miss ...

preached the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

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

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 Anishinaabe mythology Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America Creator gods Names of God Nature gods