The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway

by Basil Johnston

Manitous lived in human form among the Ojibway in the early days, after Kitchi-Manitou (the Great Mystery) created all things and Muzzu-Kummik-Quae (Mother Earth) revealed the natural order of the world. With depth and humor, Johnston tells how lasting tradition was brought to the Ojibway by four half-human brothers, including Nana'b'oozoo, the beloved archetypal being who means well but often blunders. He also relates how people are helped and hindered by other entities, such as the manitous of the forests and meadows, personal manitous and totems, mermen and merwomen, Pauguk (the cursed Flying Skeleton), and the Weendigoes, famed and terrifying giant cannibals.

Genres: Indigenous, Native American, Nonfiction, Mythology, Religion, Spirituality, Folklore

271 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Basil H. Johnston (13 July 1929 to 8 September 2015) was a Canadian writer, storyteller, language teacher and scholar.

For his work in preserving Ojibwa language and culture, he received the Order of Ontario and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Toronto and Laurentian University. Basil also received the Aboriginal Achievement Award for Heritage and Spirituality.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jalilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of Ojebwe, also written as Ojebway, legends and spiritual teachings is a must read for anyone interested in First Nations culture, religion and mythology. It reads like a story book. I read it at the same time as I was reading a novel by Louise Erdrich, who is also part Ojebwe, and found it helped me get into the story and better able to relate to some of the legends and mythological beings that were mentioned. Basil Johnston should be required reading!

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone interested in the divine world of the Ojibwa nations. A fine source for the stories told to make sense of life. A great place to learn about wendigo. I wrote more about this book on my blog: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

[Freya Abbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like the stories in this book captured every possible human emotion. I really really enjoyed this. Some of them seem like cautionary tales, or teach you how to live a good life. Johnston is such a talented storyteller. I loved the one about the mermaid and Johnston's analysis of her character (how she seemed attentive to others but was really only trying to meet her own needs). I loved his interpretation of Weendigos and how they embody greed. I'll definitely be reading more of his work.

[averrie v · Rating 5 out of 5]

if i could rate this book more than 5 stars, i would. this is definitely one of my favourite books. basil johnston is a terrific writer with an unbelievable vocabulary. almost every page contained a word i was unfamiliar with. he truly has a very special way with words. i learned a lot about Ojibway peoples, culture, and oral history. each chapter was equally entertaining while remaining wildly different. i read this for an indigenous spirituality class i took in my undergrad, but i have read it twice more since then. this book is near and dear to my heart!

[Cindy Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of Ojibway stories and legends about all of the manitous. Helped me learn a lot about the Ojibway conception of spirituality and different connections with symbolism I might have been exposed to. Also the flaws of humans reflected in one of the main manitous that has a lot of stories about him, as a way to teach morality in some sense. The story of the muscrat will always be my favorite.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been meaning to read this book for years, and have finally done so. Should have done it sooner. It's excellent and lays out a great many of the most important wisdom stories of the Ojibwe people in a clear and beautiful manner.

[Kat h. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories pertaining to the Ojibway. Good background on their spiritual ways of life, perspective on how and why things came to be, and explanations for different spiritual aspects of their culture.

[Henry DeForest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic collection of stories. I never fully appreciated (due largely to never having been exposed to it) the scope and depth of mythology that has come from the North American continent. This is a very enlightening read, well worth the time.

[Janice]

Diss

[olivia]

read for school / no rating but i liked it

[Benita V. Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened up my eyes to the different mythical spirits of the Native Americans. To have the author relate the stories to modern times made it even better.

[Merit Floerke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting. I had a hard time following some of the stories, but the overall exposure was beneficial and engaging.

[Mark Bourdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many stories shared about the manitous. As a descendant of the Fond du Lac band of the Chippewa, these stories hold a special significance to me.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written and fascinating look into indigenous story-telling and cosmology.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a textbook in an Indigenous Spirituality course. Johnston has thoughtfully captured creation stories. Interesting glimpse into the past.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing. Great stories. This is a nice look into what the book promises--the manitous.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up "The Manitous" by Basil Johnston on a road trip to Red Lake, Minnesota in a souvenir store - and while awkwardly standing in the middle of an aisle reading it for far longer than any decent shopper would, I decided I should definitely buy it. "The Manitous" is collection of legends from the Anishinaabe/Ojibway/Chippewa Native American culture - which spans all the way from the east coast of North America to the mid-west, mostly around the Great Lakes. The word "manitou" roughly translates from the Anishinaabe language as "mystery" or "spirit". Each story reads like a short story, and you can read each story in one sitting, which makes it easy to start and stop reading the book. I read this book quickly as I thought it was fascinating. The Anishinaabe people's religion is based on the idea that every natural thing has a spirit, some evil and some good, but some spirits are more important than others, and "The Manitous" focuses on the most important ones, especially the half-human half-manitou sons of Ae-pungishimook - the manitou of the west. There was a little bit of cultural context provided that was fascinating. I thought it was a little strange that the author Basil Johnston would use English words pertaining to the myths of other cultures, when an Anishinaabe word would do just fine. I suppose he did this to make it more palatable to anyone who is unfamiliar with the Anishinaabe language (which would be almost everyone), but there are so many Anishinaabe words used anyways, that the inclusion of these other vocabularies seemed strange and inconsistent. I didn't personally have a problem remembering the Anishinaabe words used despite being only cursorily familiar with the language - so I think it's probable for another person to not have an issue either. I was a little disappointed that the author didn't always specify which specific Anishinaabe groups these legends came from. The author did sometimes state particular groups, but not often enough I felt. There a quite a lot of Anishinaabe groups who haven't historically been in consistent contact with each other - resulting in a lot of different versions of these stories, so a little more information on this would have been welcome. Basil Johnston is a good storyteller, and even though these stories were drawn from the Anishinaabe culture at large, he seemed to have added plenty of his own flourishes to them. I could only imagine what it would have been like to have had to pick from dozens of versions of each story and try to pick out which one to publish, and which parts of each seemed like they were important enough to keep.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his book The Manitous: The Spiritual World Of The Ojibway, Ojibwa scholar Basil Johnson draws from his own culture’s oral histories and tales, including those of the windigo. The Manitous is a fascinating exploration of stories expressing the Ojibwa point of view. Johnson writes in an engaging style, making his retellings accessible and full of detail. In particular, he expresses what role these stories, from creation myths to relationships with animals and the environment, to mythological beings like merpeople, little people, and windigos play in Ojibwa life.
It is a particularly relevant collection to read during the cold winter months in the Ojibway homeland, part of which is the territory now known as Minnesota, where storytellers traditionally engage in their oral literary techniques in order to impress upon their listeners the morals and ideals of their society. Oral tales are, as Johnson writes, the foremost teaching aid of the Ojibwa, and whether being told for entertainment or education, folklore always serves multiple purposes reflecting the cultural ideals of their creators.

Like any mythology, there are things that seem a little disturbing to contemporary eyes (what is it with mythological creator beings and rape?) but Johnson makes these tales feel tied to their culture with the importance of imparting ideas, as part of a long-standing tradition of oral teaching. I feel that these tales express a lot of insights into the lived society of the Ojibway, not a viewpoint non-indigenous people often think about. It is interesting to see just how different their values are from what contemporary “Western” society stresses, even as it is evident how much human cultures have in common as well.

The book ends with a glossary of Ojibwe names, terms, and idioms used throughout the collection, which is a very useful reference.

I discuss this and other works discussing the windigo legend in this entry of Harris' Tome Corner.

[Ollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boyfriend gave me this book because of my interest in Native American myths, in particular the Weendigo (a tall, eternally hungry monster that I first read about in an essay by Margaret Atwood.)

The Ojibway (also known as the Anishinaubae) have a rich storytelling tradition from which all their teachings on morality, ethics and the creation of the world come from. Like many other cultures, they believe in supreme beings (the Manitous) who live side by side with them and wield immense power. Some of these Manitous grant wishes and protection; others like the Weendigo cause only destruction and death.

Interestingly, the Ojibway tell stories of a great flood in their past, much like the one told in the Bible, which nearly destroyed all creatures. They also have a prophecy in which the arrival of the white man in America was foretold, bringing with him the Ojibway's destruction. Only the Ojibway who stay true to their ancient ways will survive the era of the white man and live to prosper again in North America. At the rate we are destroying our planet, it may be the best thing for humanity to survive through a people who always respected man's dependence on nature.

[English Education]

This book contains stories and legends of the Ojibway people, as told by Basil Johnston, a prominent storyteller versed in the oral tradition. The manitous are spirits, both good and evil, that inhabit the spiritual world and interact with humans and animals. The tales surrounding them include creation and flood legends, as well as stories of warriors, tricksters, and heroes. Lessons and spiritual guidance emerge from the fabric of storytelling.

The book is comprised of diverse stories of different lengths so it offers variety to students, both in subject matter and form. The stories are rooted in the oral tradition so they read smoothly, pulsing with rhythm and poetic language. The book could be used to study storytelling, oral stories in particular and their tie to native peoples. Students could choose a story from the book and orally perform it or record an audio version.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy enough read, all interesting stories that have been passed down through the oral tradition of the Ojibwe. It touches on the creation stories but mostly tells stories of famous personas in the Ojibwe past and their doings and travels, often with some kind of implied lesson / explanation of phenomenon / reason for telling the story. The book was a little repetitive or slow at times, but overall interesting.

[Ann Klefstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnston tells these stories in somewhat stiffened academic form, but the material is fantastic. His respect is likely a good thing, but when you read the stories, limber them up in your mind a little. This tradition has an incredible genius for stories. There are none better, more emotionally and formally complex, more witty, more willing to turn you inside out and upside down.

[Chloe Machula · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is amazing that these stories have been written down. It is a treasure to hear these stories and have them recorded before they are lost. Good to be read aloud. Not always the best written, but the stories are amazing nevertheless.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A research book - and a good one. A collection of Ojibwa stories that would've taken too long too hunt down and collate from elsewhere. Johnston's writing is incisive and, at times, very funny. The Weendigo chapter in particular turns the mirror onto us.

[Moorhead Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Manitous is a collection of legends and stories about the spirits who inhabit the world of the Ojibway. The collection explores tricksters, fearsome giants, tree spirits, seductive women, wise grandmothers, powerful warriors, and heroes masquerading as cowards.

Reviewed by: Jody

[Palo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written current views on Ojibway tales (creation,trickster, and the like).

[SD Mittelsteadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories of the manitous....the spiritual force of the Anishinabe people (Ojibwe, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Algonquin). I particularly liked the stories about the Weendigos.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

a decent introduction.

[Bettina Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ojibway really have a gift for tragedy.