A structure erected by Indians for any purpose whatever, is now
generally designated a lodge, in which sense the term is applied in
connection with the word dzhibai´--ghost, or more appropriately
shadow--in the above caption. This lodge is constructed in a form
similar to that of the Midē´wigân, but its greatest diameter extends
north and south instead of east and west. Further reference will be made
to this in describing another method of conferring the initiation of the
first degree of the Midē´wiwin. This distinction is attained by first
becoming a member of the so-called “Ghost Society,” in the manner and
for the reason following:
After the birth of a male child it is customary to invite the friends of
the family to a feast, designating at the same time a Midē´ to serve as
godfather and to dedicate the child to some special pursuit in life. The
Midē´ is governed in his decision by visions, and it thus sometimes
happens that the child is dedicated to the “Grand Medicine,” i.e., he is
to be prepared to enter the society of the Midē´. In such a case the
parents prepare him by procuring a good preceptor, and gather together
robes, blankets, and other gifts to be presented at initiation.
Should this son die before the age of puberty, before which period it is
not customary to admit any one into the society, the father paints his
own face as before described, viz, red, with a green stripe diagonally
across the face from left to right, as in Pl. VI, No. 4, or red with two
short horizontal parallel bars in green upon the forehead as in Pl. VI,
No. 5, and announces to the chief Midē´ priest his intention of becoming
himself a member of the “Ghost Society” and his readiness to receive the
first degree of the Midē´wiwin, as a substitute for his deceased son.
Other members of the mourner’s family blacken the face, as shown on Pl.
VII, No. 5.
In due time a council of Midē´ priests is called, who visit the wig´iwam
of the mourner, where they partake of a feast, and the subject of
initiation is discussed. This wig´iwam is situated south and east of the
Midē´wigân, as shown in Fig. 35, which illustration is a reproduction of
a drawing made by Sikas´sigĕ.
[Illustration: Fig. 35.--Indian diagram of ghost lodge.]
The following is an explanation of the several characters:
No. 1 represents the wig´iwam of the mourner, which has been erected
in the vicinity of the Midē´wigân, until after the ceremony of
initiation.
No. 2 is the path supposed to be taken by the shadow (spirit) of the
deceased; it leads westward to the Dzhibai´ Midē´wigân; literally,
shadow-spirit wig´iwam.
No. 3, 4, 5, and 6, designate the places where the spirit plucks the
fruits referred to--respectively the strawberry, the blueberry, the
June cherries, and the plum.
No. 7 designates the form and location of the Dzhihai´ Midē´wigân. The
central spot is the place of the dish of food for Dzhibai´
Man´idō--the good spirit--and the smaller spots around the interior
of the inclosure are places for the deposit of dishes for the other
Midē´ spirits who have left this earth.
No. 8 is the path which is taken by the candidate when going from his
wig´iwam to the Midē´wigân.
No. 9 indicates the place of the sweat-lodge, resorted to at other
periods of initiation.
No. 10 is the Midē´wigân in which the ceremony is conducted at the
proper time.
It is stated that in former times the Ghost Lodge was erected west of
the location of the mourner’s wig´iwam, but for a long time this
practice has been discontinued. The tradition relating to the Spirit’s
progress is communicated orally, while the dramatic representation is
confined to placing the dishes of food in the Midē´wigân, which is
selected as a fitting and appropriate substitute during the night
preceding the initiation.
This custom, as it was practiced, consisted of carrying from the
mourner’s wig´iwam to the Ghost Lodge the dishes of food for the spirits
of departed Midē´ to enjoy a feast, during the time that the Midē´
priests were partaking of one. A large dish was placed in the center of
the structure by the mourner, from which the supreme Midē´ spirit was to
eat. Dishes are now carried to the Midē´wigân, as stated above.
The chief officiating Midē´ then instructs the father of the deceased
boy the manner in which he is to dress and proceed, as symbolizing the
course pursued by the spirit of the son on the way to the spirit world.
The instructions are carried out, as far as possible, with the exception
of going to an imaginary Ghost Lodge, as he proceeds only to the
Midē´wigân and deposits the articles enumerated below. He is told to
take one pair of bear-skin moccasins, one pair of wolf-skin, and one
pair of birds’ skins, in addition to those which he wears upon his feet;
these are to be carried to the structure in which the Midē´ spirits are
feasting, walking barefooted, picking a strawberry from a plant on the
right of the path and a blueberry from a bush on the left, plucking June
cherries from a tree on the right and plums on the left. He is then to
hasten toward the Ghost Lodge, which is covered with mī´gis, and to
deposit the fruit and the moccasins; these will be used by his son’s
spirit in traveling the road of the dead after the spirits have
completed their feast and reception of him. While the candidate is on
his mission to the Ghost Lodge (for the time being represented by the
Midē´wigân) the assemblage in the wig´iwam chant the following for the
mourner: Yan´-i-ma-tsha´, yan´-i-ma-tsha´, ha´, yan´-i-ma-tsha´
yan´-i-ma-tsha´ ha´, yu´-te-no-win´ gē´, hē´ nin-de´-so-ne´--“I am going
away, I am going away, I am going away, to the village I walk”--i.e.,
the village of the dead.
The person who desires to receive initiation into the Midē´wigân, under
such circumstances, impersonates Minabō´zho, as he is believed to have
penetrated the country of the abode of shadows, or ne´-ba-gī´-zis--“land
of the sleeping sun.” He, it is said, did this to destroy the “Ghost
Gambler” and to liberate the many victims who had fallen into his power.
To be enabled to traverse this dark and dismal path, he borrowed of
Kŏ-ko´-kŏ-ō´--the owl--his eyes, and received also the services of
wâ´-wa-tē´-si-wŭg--the firefly, both of which were sent back to the
earth upon the completion of his journey. By referring to Pl. III, A,
the reference to this myth will be observed as pictorially represented
in Nos. 110 to 114. No. 110 is the Midē´wigân from which the traveler
has to visit the Dzhibai´ Midē´wigân (No. 112) in the west. No. 113,
represented as Kŏ-ko´-kŏ-ō´--the owl--whose eyes enabled Mī´nabō´zho to
follow the path of the dead (No. 114); the owl skin Midē´ sack is also
sometimes used by Midē´ priests who have received their first degree in
this wise. The V-shaped characters within the circle at No. 111 denote
the presence of spirits at the Ghost Lodge, to which reference has been
made.
The presents which had been gathered as a gift or fee for the deceased
are now produced and placed in order for transportation to the
Midē´wigân, early on the following morning.
The Midē´ priests then depart, but on the next morning several of them
make their appearance to assist in clearing the Midē´wigân of the dishes
which had been left there over night, and to carry thither the robes,
blankets, and other presents, and suspend them from the rafters. Upon
their return to the candidate’s wig´iwam, the Midē´ priests gather, and
after the candidate starts to lead the procession toward the Midē´wigân,
the priests fall in in single file, and all move forward, the Midē´
priests chanting the following words repeatedly, viz: Ki-e´-ne-kwo-tâ´
ki-e´-ne-kwo-tâ´, ha´, ha´, ha´, nōs e´wi-e´, hē´, ki´-na-ka´-ta-mŭn´
do-nâ´-gan--“I also, I also, my father, leave you my dish.”
This is sung for the deceased, who is supposed to bequeath to his father
his dish, or other articles the names of which are sometimes added.
The procession continues toward and into the Midē´wigân, passing around
the interior by the left side toward the west, north, and east to a
point opposite the space usually reserved for the deposit of goods,
where the candidate turns to the right and stands in the middle of the
inclosure, where he now faces the Midē´ post in the west. The members
who had not joined the procession, but who had been awaiting its
arrival, now resume their seats, and those who accompanied the candidate
also locate themselves as they desire, when the officiating priests
begin the ceremony as described in connection with the initiation for
the first degree after the candidate has been turned over to the chief
by the preceptor.
Sometimes the mother of one who had been so dedicated to the Midē´wiwin
is taken into that society, particularly when the father is absent or
dead.