"The Sound of the Mide Drum"
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Welcome to part 1 of my blog series titled The Way Of The Heartbeat, in which I connect my storytelling art - and the work of kindred artists - with the teachings of the Medicine Societies of the Anishinaabeg Peoples. The focus in this blog post will be on the origin of the Midewiwin and the building structure of their Lodge, on drums and how the first Dance Drum was presented to the Ojibweg Peoples, and, specifically, on the meaning and spirit powers of the Midewiwin drum - alternately called Mitigwakik, Midegawikik, and Midewewe'igan. Since time immemorial, the sound of the Mide drum has attuned the heartbeat of the Ojibwe Anishinaabe peoples to the pulse of Aki, the land. Madwewe, or sound, as we will learn, as well as nibi, the water - the Dance Drum ceremony and powwow dancing originated in the context of water - are the core and essence of Midewiwin and its ceremonial and ritual practice - and, therefore, of Anishinaabe experience and our cosmic worldview.
"Drums of My Father"
A hundred thousand years have passed
Yet, I hear the distant beat of my father's drums
I hear his drums throughout the land
His beat I feel within my heart.
The drums shall beat, so my heart shall beat,
And I shall live a hundred thousand years.
Name and origin of Midewiwin
The Mide Lodge
The Midewigaan or Midewiwin Lodge, also known as Midewiigiwaam (pural Midewiigiwaaman) when small or Midewigamig (plural Midewigamigoon) when large, is usually built in an open grove or clearing. The Midewigamig is modelled after the rectangular open-air lodge first built for Ode’imin by the benevolent manidoo (spirit) WENABOZHO.
A long rectangular or oblong structure, the Midewigamig was intended as an allegory to gichi-gami ("The Big Sea"; Lake Superior), sometimes referred to in Midewiwin song texts as "the long, long room." Nowadays, Midewigaanan are domed oval structures sized to accommodate the number of invited participants. They are always oriented east to west, with an entrance at each end, and open at the top so as not to shut out the light and sounds of Aki (the universe). In the Midewigaan there is a symbiosis between humans and the guardian spirits of animals – some of which are represented by effigies -, who share the same space in near identity with one another.
Each order of Midewiwin requires its own type of Midewigaan. One to four posts of giizhik, the northern white cedar, cut alive, and erected as Midewatigoog (Trees of Life), stand within the lodge; in some Midewigaanan, Azaadi, the poplar tree is placed in the center of the lodge. A Midewaatig symbolizes the primacy of the plant beings; the idea behind is that plants can exist alone, but neither animals nor men can survive without plants. The number of Midewatigoog corresponds with the order of the Midewiwin involved. Around the central post or posts is an enclosed space whose symbolic purpose is to keep inside the spirit of the ceremonies.
The walls of the smaller Mide-wiigiwaam consist of poles and saplings wattled with short branches and twigs with leaves.
In communities with large amounts of mideg, the Midewigamig becomes a formal and permanent ceremonial building; some Midewigamigoon are domed structures, others have vaulted ceilings. The high-dome or vaulted ceilings of some Midewigamigoon allow for the rays of the sun and the spirits of the Universe to enter the building and permeate the ceremonial area with light, spirit, and sound.
Midewiwin teaching lodges, oval domed structures made
of bent saplings, are common today to teach the next generations about the
language and ancient ways of the past. These living ceremonies reflect,
practice, and preserve the traditional ways, ideas, and teachings of the
ancient Midewiwin.
A long rectangular or oblong structure, the Midewigamig was intended as an allegory to gichi-gami ("The Big Sea"; Lake Superior), sometimes referred to in Midewiwin song texts as "the long, long room." Nowadays, Midewigaanan are domed oval structures sized to accommodate the number of invited participants. They are always oriented east to west, with an entrance at each end, and open at the top so as not to shut out the light and sounds of Aki (the universe). In the Midewigaan there is a symbiosis between humans and the guardian spirits of animals – some of which are represented by effigies -, who share the same space in near identity with one another.
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The Ojibwe word for drum is Dewe'igan; ᑌᐌᐦᐃᑲᓐ in syllabics. The literal translation of dewe'igan is, "The instrument that makes the sound of the heart." In a ritual context, a drum is referred to as gimishoomisinaan, "Our Grandfather."
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To the Ojibweg, drums are not just objects; they are manidoog, living, dynamic entities that require a respectful, ritual approach and ongoing practical and ceremonial care. It is said that the oldest form of drum was a large piece of rawhide stretched and pegged to the ground. As the principle of circularity is central to our Anishinaabe thinking and living, the drum, to us, its shape and the patterns that are sometimes painted on its body and membrane, are visual metaphors for other similarly shaped phenomena and beings that we can see and sense all around us in nature. The revitalizing sound the drum produces when first struck resembles the first sound of early spring morning when the seeds pop out of the ground, or it reminds us of our mother's heartbeat that surrounded us when we still lived inside her womb, or it imitates the soft and steady heartbeat of the earth or, when the drum membrane is struck real hard and allowed to vibrate freely throughout the Universe, it reminds us of the violent rumbling of a thunderstorm that comes from the mountain or sweeps in from across the big lake to cleanse the earth.
A drum is nothing short of a Mystery; only the manidoog and aadizookanag (spirit grandfathers) that inhabit the four corners of the Universe are able to fully comprehend what the drum imparts once its membrane is struck. Drumming never goes without chanting, and is often accompanied by dancing; when they drum the drummers sing in unison sacred chants, their throaty and high-pitched voices carrying wordless prayers and petitions across the Universe and beyond. Thus the attention of the spirit beings that live above and below and beyond the earth is drawn, and the songs, accompanied and pushed on by the pulse of the drum, are sung in a language that can only be heard and understood by them...in dance, the bodies of the dancers move in deep rhythms that bind their world and those of the ancestors and the spirits beings...
The drum played a role in traditional Ojibwe beliefs about the afterlife as well. Among the objects accompanying the deceased to his/her grave was his/her drum, needed for the four-day journey to jiibay-miikana, the path of Souls. He or she would know that (s)he was approaching the Land of Everlasting Happiness when (s)he heard the drum, for this place behind the stars is supposed to have great singers who provide perpetual music. The Waawaate or Northern Lights (aurora borealis) are conceived of as being the souls of the departed dancing to the beat of the drum.
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Hand drums and a drumstick decorated with personal symbols and stories, acrylic paintings by Simone McLeod (2014/2015)
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The form of a drum and those of other sound producers like drumsticks and disk rattles, but also the Drum
Dance open-air enclosure (or dance hall) itself, reflect the shape and the paths of the earth, sun, moon, and stars, or the shape of a reed stem or a seed that lives deep inside the soil of the earth, or that of the rings of a tree, or the circular imprint of a wiigiwaam frame in the grass...in other words, sound and shape of the drum represent the CIRCLE OF LIFE, and the wood and hide of which it is made symbolize the Sky and the Earth and all life that springs from it. Anishinaabeg know that the tree spirit that provides the wood for the drum body has been nourished by the soil and the water of the Earth, and as it grew tall and strong the tree pointed into the sky world, bringing it near to GICHI-MANIDOO, the Great Mystery. And because we know and understand that the pulsing sound of the drum reflects the sounds that can also be heard in nature and the cosmos, we are fully aware that sound is the core and essence of the ceremonial and ritual practice of our Medicine Lodges. Thus, a drum reminds us as People and as individuals of our dependence on nature and the spirit world and our oneness with the Great Mystery; consequently, it teaches us about important values like gwayako-bimaadiziwin (living an honest life) and mutual sharing with the natural world.
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In the Ojibwe culture, the double-headed drum is
considered to be particularly sacred and powerful. This contemporary Ojibwe ceremonial drum was made by Rohahes Iain Phillips.
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When a drum is made, it is never done without seeking a retreat in a secluded place in nature and performing a number of ceremonies; asemaa (tobacco) and food and other things are offered and the spirits of an animal and a tree are very respectfully and patiently asked to donate their skin and wood for the use of the drum. Like pipes and feathers and various other sacred items, a drum is always kept in a special place, preferably encased in bearskin or buckskin or safely placed on a blanket near an asemaa-onaagan or tobacco box filled with fresh asemaa; the drum is often smudged with wiingashk (sweetgrass) and it is customary that during certain ceremonies and dances food and asemaa are offered to the spirit of the drum. By feasting and nourishing the drum the People are nourished in return, which keeps them balanced and healthy.
Before a drum is taken out to make its voice sound at a spiritual or social gathering, it must be formally made ready by an Elder who ceremonially blesses the spirit of the drum. Because it must be taken special care of, a dewe'iganan debenimaad or Drum Keeper - a ceremonial leader and a spiritual person who follows mino-bimaadiziwin, the good way of life - is placed in charge of taking care of the drum; it is also he, or she, who does any repair work. Out of respect for the spirit of the drum, no one but the owner touches it and no object can ever be placed atop or across the drum head.
Common types of drum
The Ojibweg basically have four types of drum:
- the zhiishiigwan (rattle);
- the dewe'igan (literally: instrument that makes the sound of the heart): hand drum;
- the manidoo-dewe'igan (literally: spirit instrument that makes the sound of the heart): a large, flast bass drum, often called powwow drum or dance drum. Also called gichi-dewe'igan, literally: big instrument that makes the sound of the heart;
- mitigwakik or mide-wewe'igan (literally: wood kettle, respectively sacred instrument that makes the sound of the heart): the Midewiwin water drum.
Among several types of dewe’iganag or drums, the hand
drum, the Mide(wiwin) drum, and the flat pow wow drum are prominent in many an Ojibwe Anishinaabe community. Previous to the introduction of the large ceremonial drum and the big Dance Drum (a flat, elaborately decorated community drum) in the second half of the 19th century, Ojibwe dances as well as healing ceremonies, games, and even warfare had been accompanied with hand drums. Originally, the large community drums were homemade and used for secular as well as sacred/ceremonial events. Increasingly in this day and age they have been replaced with the store-bought bass drums.
The Mide water drum is used exclusively by members of Midewiwin (medicine lodge). Called mitigwakik, meaning "wooden vessel," or mide-wewe'igan, meaning "sacred drum," it traditionally averages sixteen to twenty inches in height and is made from a section of basswood or cedar, hollowed by charring and scraping. A piece of wood—usually pine — is inserted and sealed with pitch to form the bottom of the drum. For a drumhead, a single rectangular piece of tanned deerskin is held in place with a removable hoop wound with cloth. The mitigwakik or mide-wewe'igan is partly filled with water through a bunghole in its side and played with a curved drumstick. These Mide Drums, sometimes called Grandfather Drums and traditionally used by high ranking members of the Midewiwin and decorated by the owner depending upon his doodem/clan and/or rank within the Lodge, can be heard from long distances. Mitigwakikoon are regarded as living entities, aadizookaanag (grandfathers of the nonhuman class), and important messengers in the Mide hierarchy.
Hand drums were used principally on the warpath and later in the bwaanzhii-niimi'idiwin (war dance) but also in accompanying makizin-ataagewinan and the Ogichidaa Niimi'idiwin (Warrior Dance/Sun Dance), a curing ceremony. Some have a piece of rawhide stretched over one side of a hoop and laced or tied together on the reversed side to form its handhold, others have two heads stretched over one hoop with the rawhide handhold stitched on the outer edge of the hoop. The heads of both types of hand-held drums are sometimes decorated
with dream, or vision symbols (see illustrations above and to the left), but only if the owner has had a vision, or if he or she is directed by a spirit to decorate the drum with a certain symbol. Hand drums are used by both men and women.
Baaga'akokwaanan or dewe'iganaatigag, drumsticks used for hand drums, often 5 inches long, sometimes made of bone or wood and
hooked at the striking end, are said to be more important than the drum itself as
they sometimes represent the head and eyes of Gookookoo’oo (the Owl). Traditionally,
before striking the drum, the dayewe’iged (drummer) will raise
the Baaga'akokwaan toward
the west to give the signal that Gookookoo’oo should respond to the drum call. Some Baaga'akokwaanan have padded deer hide on the striking end (see the above black and white pen illustration).
The introduction of the ceremonial Drum Dance
In order to understand the introduction of the ceremony of the Dance Drum, or Vision Drum Dance, it is important to understand what changes in Ojibwe musical practices were effected by reservation life around 1850, for these had a bearing on the receptiveness of the Ojibweg to the Vision Drum Dance and their adoption of the large Dance Drum as their principal musical instrument.
After the mid-nineteenth century, a gradual reduction in the number of contexts requiring music, frequency of performance, variety of song genres, and number of musical instruments occurred. As the Ojibweg were restricted to reservations and reserves, the seasonal pattern of their social life changed, for the annual winter dispersal to isolated hunting areas was discontinued. The Ojibweg were now located in permanent villages, living year around as neighbors; and whereas in the old days summer had been the only season for them to come together in social dances and large ceremonials, the opportunity was now ripe for year-round participation in such events. This helps to explain why the ceremonial Drum Dance came to be organized around four seasonal rites, whereas the older Midewiwin/ medicine lodge had held ceremonials only twice a year when the population was at its densest. See below: "The Vision Drum Dance."
In recent years large flat drums or gichi-dewe'iganan (literally: big drums; Pow Wow or Dance drums) have become common in many Ojibwe communities, and they are either placed directly on the ground or suspended from curved stakes. This type of large bass drum, which is often 3 feet in diameter and can be made by stretching hide over a galvanized metal washtub, is usually decorated with beaded velvet an used during ceremonial events and for pow-wow dances. During jiingotamog and niimi'idimaag (respectively spiritual/ceremonial and social/secular pow-wows), the drum is surrounded by four or more singers and the drumbeat symbolizes a unified heartbeat and oneness with the Great Mystery.
Indicating a spiritual bond between the owner and/or user of the Drum and his manidoo (spirit) protector, the design of a Dance Drum is always dictated by the spirit in a dream or vision, at which time certain songs are taught the recipient to go with the drum.
On the ceremonial Dance Drum, the (often yellow) stripe painted on the drum head symbolizes both bimaadiziwn (Life) and giizis (the Sun), its path from east to west. The drum is never used at night because the stripe indicates the path of Giizis - and is therefore to be used only when the sun is out. The ritual requirements of orienting the path as well as putting the drum up at sunrise and taking it down at sunset reminds the participants in a Drum Dance of passage of "sacred time"; which means that normal everyday secular events are halted.
The rattle and its connection with the stars and the seasons
Zhinawinigan, or zhiishiigwan or rattle, is the first drum known to the Ojibweg. Since time immemorial, rattles are used in
rhythmic accompaniment to singing. The word is derived from zhiishiigwe, rattlesnake. Provided with a wooden handle and filled
with small pebbles or shot (seeds), some zhiishiigwanan are
traditionally made of birch bark strips with a cover of hide shaped into
cylinders (see above illustration), and others are simply fashioned from hide stretched over willow
hoops. The seeds inside the rattle, which symbolize life and the first sound that we hear in the early morning when plants pop (shoot seeds), symbolize the creation of the cosmos. A flat hoop rattle is used like a tambourine by a Mide doctor
during healing practice. Mideg also use these rattles to “shoot miigis power” into an
initiate or patient during initiation or curing rituals.
Zhiishiigwanan, like many items used in daily and ceremonial life on earth, have a direct connection with the spirits in the sky world. Among the Ininewak (Cree), who are cousins of the Anishinaabeg and have pretty similar cosmological beliefs, the sound of the rattle heralds the song and the arrival of sikwun (ziigwan in our language), the star constellation that encompasses the star that we call Giiwedin Anang, the North Star (Polaris). The root word of Sisikwun/Zhiishiigwan is Sikwun/Ziigwan...Spring.
The Ojibwe word for drum is Dewe'igan; ᑌᐌᐦᐃᑲᓐ in syllabics. The literal translation of dewe'igan is, "The instrument that makes the sound of the heart." In a ritual context, a drum is referred to as gimishoomisinaan, "Our Grandfather."
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To the Ojibweg, drums are not just objects; they are manidoog, living, dynamic entities that require a respectful, ritual approach and ongoing practical and ceremonial care. It is said that the oldest form of drum was a large piece of rawhide stretched and pegged to the ground. As the principle of circularity is central to our Anishinaabe thinking and living, the drum, to us, its shape and the patterns that are sometimes painted on its body and membrane, are visual metaphors for other similarly shaped phenomena and beings that we can see and sense all around us in nature. The revitalizing sound the drum produces when first struck resembles the first sound of early spring morning when the seeds pop out of the ground, or it reminds us of our mother's heartbeat that surrounded us when we still lived inside her womb, or it imitates the soft and steady heartbeat of the earth or, when the drum membrane is struck real hard and allowed to vibrate freely throughout the Universe, it reminds us of the violent rumbling of a thunderstorm that comes from the mountain or sweeps in from across the big lake to cleanse the earth.
A drum is nothing short of a Mystery; only the manidoog and aadizookanag (spirit grandfathers) that inhabit the four corners of the Universe are able to fully comprehend what the drum imparts once its membrane is struck. Drumming never goes without chanting, and is often accompanied by dancing; when they drum the drummers sing in unison sacred chants, their throaty and high-pitched voices carrying wordless prayers and petitions across the Universe and beyond. Thus the attention of the spirit beings that live above and below and beyond the earth is drawn, and the songs, accompanied and pushed on by the pulse of the drum, are sung in a language that can only be heard and understood by them...in dance, the bodies of the dancers move in deep rhythms that bind their world and those of the ancestors and the spirits beings...
The drum played a role in traditional Ojibwe beliefs about the afterlife as well. Among the objects accompanying the deceased to his/her grave was his/her drum, needed for the four-day journey to jiibay-miikana, the path of Souls. He or she would know that (s)he was approaching the Land of Everlasting Happiness when (s)he heard the drum, for this place behind the stars is supposed to have great singers who provide perpetual music. The Waawaate or Northern Lights (aurora borealis) are conceived of as being the souls of the departed dancing to the beat of the drum.
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The form of a drum and those of other sound producers like drumsticks and disk rattles, but also the Drum Dance open-air enclosure (or dance hall) itself, reflect the shape and the paths of the earth, sun, moon, and stars, or the shape of a reed stem or a seed that lives deep inside the soil of the earth, or that of the rings of a tree, or the circular imprint of a wiigiwaam frame in the grass...in other words, sound and shape of the drum represent the CIRCLE OF LIFE, and the wood and hide of which it is made symbolize the Sky and the Earth and all life that springs from it. Anishinaabeg know that the tree spirit that provides the wood for the drum body has been nourished by the soil and the water of the Earth, and as it grew tall and strong the tree pointed into the sky world, bringing it near to GICHI-MANIDOO, the Great Mystery. And because we know and understand that the pulsing sound of the drum reflects the sounds that can also be heard in nature and the cosmos, we are fully aware that sound is the core and essence of the ceremonial and ritual practice of our Medicine Lodges. Thus, a drum reminds us as People and as individuals of our dependence on nature and the spirit world and our oneness with the Great Mystery; consequently, it teaches us about important values like gwayako-bimaadiziwin (living an honest life) and mutual sharing with the natural world.
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In the Ojibwe culture, the double-headed drum is
considered to be particularly sacred and powerful. This contemporary Ojibwe ceremonial drum was made by Rohahes Iain Phillips.
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When a drum is made, it is never done without seeking a retreat in a secluded place in nature and performing a number of ceremonies; asemaa (tobacco) and food and other things are offered and the spirits of an animal and a tree are very respectfully and patiently asked to donate their skin and wood for the use of the drum. Like pipes and feathers and various other sacred items, a drum is always kept in a special place, preferably encased in bearskin or buckskin or safely placed on a blanket near an asemaa-onaagan or tobacco box filled with fresh asemaa; the drum is often smudged with wiingashk (sweetgrass) and it is customary that during certain ceremonies and dances food and asemaa are offered to the spirit of the drum. By feasting and nourishing the drum the People are nourished in return, which keeps them balanced and healthy.
Common types of drum
- the zhiishiigwan (rattle);
- the dewe'igan (literally: instrument that makes the sound of the heart): hand drum;
- the manidoo-dewe'igan (literally: spirit instrument that makes the sound of the heart): a large, flast bass drum, often called powwow drum or dance drum. Also called gichi-dewe'igan, literally: big instrument that makes the sound of the heart;
- mitigwakik or mide-wewe'igan (literally: wood kettle, respectively sacred instrument that makes the sound of the heart): the Midewiwin water drum.
Baaga'akokwaanan or dewe'iganaatigag, drumsticks used for hand drums, often 5 inches long, sometimes made of bone or wood and hooked at the striking end, are said to be more important than the drum itself as they sometimes represent the head and eyes of Gookookoo’oo (the Owl). Traditionally, before striking the drum, the dayewe’iged (drummer) will raise the Baaga'akokwaan toward the west to give the signal that Gookookoo’oo should respond to the drum call. Some Baaga'akokwaanan have padded deer hide on the striking end (see the above black and white pen illustration).
The introduction of the ceremonial Drum Dance
Indicating a spiritual bond between the owner and/or user of the Drum and his manidoo (spirit) protector, the design of a Dance Drum is always dictated by the spirit in a dream or vision, at which time certain songs are taught the recipient to go with the drum. On the ceremonial Dance Drum, the (often yellow) stripe painted on the drum head symbolizes both bimaadiziwn (Life) and giizis (the Sun), its path from east to west. The drum is never used at night because the stripe indicates the path of Giizis - and is therefore to be used only when the sun is out. The ritual requirements of orienting the path as well as putting the drum up at sunrise and taking it down at sunset reminds the participants in a Drum Dance of passage of "sacred time"; which means that normal everyday secular events are halted.
The rattle and its connection with the stars and the seasons
Zhiishiigwanan, like many items used in daily and ceremonial life on earth, have a direct connection with the spirits in the sky world. Among the Ininewak (Cree), who are cousins of the Anishinaabeg and have pretty similar cosmological beliefs, the sound of the rattle heralds the song and the arrival of sikwun (ziigwan in our language), the star constellation that encompasses the star that we call Giiwedin Anang, the North Star (Polaris). The root word of Sisikwun/Zhiishiigwan is Sikwun/Ziigwan...Spring.
The Vision Drum Dance
The Pow-wow
An Anishinaabe aadizookaan (traditional Ojibwe story) describes how after a great deluge Wenabozho, the Original Man, was lowered to the Earth and walked carefully trough Creation; his movements would be emulated in the dancers' steps that to this day leave imprints upon the Earth and upon the hearts and souls of our People who gather at annual pow-wows across the land...
Although the term Pow-wow - derived from an Algonquian word for "Curing Ceremony" - is no Ojibwe in origin, it is commonly used, not only in Anishinaabe Aki but all over Turtle Island (North America).
The Drum Presentation
Traditionally, the presentation of a Dance Drum is an important affair to Ojibweg, and involves responsibilities that are never taken lightly. A Dewe'igan may be requested by another tribe or even another band from within the same community. The future Drum owner must have appropriate dreams, and then a council of Elders talks it over. In the old days, as the gift of a Dewe'igan involved the return of gifts supposed to equal in value the Drum and the presents bestowed by the original Drum party, it was customary for the man presenting the Drum to ascertain from the one to whom he wished to present it whether the latter desired to assume the obligations associated with its acceptance. This was typically done several moons before the drum was to be given. It was considered the duty of the recipient to see that a suitable quantity of gifts was presented to the Drum party at the ceremony, that one or more feasts were provided for the guests, and that their camp was supplied with food during their entire stay. At some later date he was supposed to return a full equivalent of gifts to the donor of the Dewe'igan. Sometimes it took him several years before he was able or prepared to do this. When he was ready he sent a messenger to the donor, and shortly afterward visited him with a large party carrying the gifts.
Once gifts were accumulated, the Drum was given away in a special presentation service called dewe'iganan omiigiwen. The ceremony began with four days of dancing either in the hosts' community prior to their departure or enroute to the site of the ceremony. A temporary camp was set up near the site to await the arrival of the runner from the recipient group's ogimaa (chief) informing them they were ready to be received. Ideally, four notification ceremonieas were held on successive nights before a Drum presentation.
The Vision Drum
Traditionally, small home meetings are being held throughout the year for a Dance, or Vision Drum, but the main ceremony is ideally a four-day event held twice a year. These gatherings are generally part of the Midewiwin culture. During these gatherings the drums in the community are assembled for the ceremony, which is held in a special lodge or in an outdoor area surrounded by benches or low fencing, with openings on two sides.
The Woman's Dance Drum
The Thunderbird Drum
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On Manitoulin Island, a common type of Grandfather Spirit, or Vision Drum is the Bineshii Dewe’igan or Thunderbird Drum; the design of this type of drum and certain songs and rituals that go with it are brought to its owner by a Thunderbird Spirit who shows him or her how to make and use it, and the design he or she must paint on it. The colors of the Thunderbird designs, which represent Manidoo Animikii Bineshi Miikana or Spirit Road of the Thunderbird, usually depict some of the revitalizing tasks that the Thunder Grandfathers fulfilled when they brought the rain to the earth so that life on earth would continue, like cleansing the earth, the lakes, and the rivers, and sustaining the plants and the trees by giving them water when they return each spring with the migrating birds…it is the sound of these drums, imitating the thunder rolling through the sky, that reminds the Anishinaabeg that the Thunder Grandfathers represent the linkage between the birds of the sky world and plants of the middle world and underwater creatures, as well as a spiritual connectedness of birds with the physical orders of the cosmos like sun, moon, earth, stars, thunders, lightning, rain, wind, fires, etcetera. This is why Thunderbird designs so often figure on drums, and since the power that they contain flows directly from these avian Grandfathers, both the drum and the Thunderbirds are regarded with awe and reverence. The design, colors, and sound of the drum remind us that as long as we don’t forget about the Thunder Grandfathers, they will always look after our People. Above illustration: a hand-painted hand drum of wood and deer hide, ca. 1840; collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Illustration below: "Birth of Thunder." Depiction of a medicine man (Thunderbird drummer) communing, through his Bineshii Dewe’igan, with the Thunder Grandfathers whose birthplace is Gichi-ogimaa Wasomaad Aki, the planet where there is always lightning and the thunder is never silent (Jupiter). His hand drum depicts a painted image of a Thunderbird lowering itself to earth through the Bagonegizhig ("Hole in the Sky," the Pleiades constellation), thus connecting the star world with the earth (the red paint) and the water (the blue paint). A Mide water drum , a drum stick, and an opwaagan (sacred pipe) are depicted to the Thunderbird drummer's right. The Thunderbird drum was also known outside Manitoulin Island. For example, in 1914, an Ojibwe ikwe (woman) named Maggie Wilson from Emo, which is located along Gojijii-zbii (the Rainy River) in northwestern Ontario, began to dream a great war dance, which, through its performance, was intended to protect the relatives of people in her community who were fighting overseas in World War I. In her dreams she was visited by the Animikiig (Thunder Grandfathers), which taught her eighty songs for the ceremony; they also dictated the special costumes and choreography to be used in the dance. The fifth time the Animikiig appeared to her with a drum and indicated to her how to construct it and how it was to be used in the dance. The drumhead was to be decorated in the manner of the ceremonial dance drum, with red and blue fields divided by a yellow stripe; a white Binesi (Thunderbird) was to be superimposed on the basic design. For the next seven or eight years other people dreamed more songs for the ceremony, which was usually conducted in the spring or fall. |
Origin Story of the Dream Dance Ceremony
The most prevalent story relates of a Dakota woman - her name was Tail Feather Woman - who, hiding in a lake under lily pads after fleeing U.S. soldiers, received a vision over the course of four days instructing her to build a large water drum and teaching her the songs that would restore the traditional world of her People. From the Dakota, the ceremony of the "big drum" spread throughout the Algonquian-speaking Nations to the Ojibweg and, as its message changed throughout the years into a story about peace and harmony, cultural continuity, and solidarity with other Native Nations, the Drum Ceremony eventually became the focal point of our ceremonies.
Another, more traditional, story tells about a woman, the wife of a Dakota chief, who, covered by a large lily pad, hid in a river at the start of a fierce battle between her People and our People; after four days, a voice from the skies bade her to come out, and one night the voice she had heard before summoned her to the Skies. Here, a spirit addressed her, telling her that she must seek peace and everlasting friendship with the Ojibweg through a large drum. And that is how the Drum Ceremony began.
And then there is another, very beautiful story, which is told below.
Video: A beautiful teaching about the big drum from Elder John Rice from Wasauksing First Nation.
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The Grandfather Spirit Drum and the Little Boy Drum of the Midewiwin
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"The pulsating sound of the drums emulating the sound of flowing water reached the Midewiwin Lodges and entered the hearts of the Medicine People - not just their ears. As soon as the flowing water chant was started, all Medicine People in the Lodges would rise and dance during the remainder of the series of chants."
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To view details of this bolo tie, go to the Fisher Star Creations website.
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Miskwaabik Animikii (Copper Thunderbird/Norval Morrisseau) (1932-2007) sounding a contemporary Thunderbird hand drum hand-painted with Thunderbird and turtle designs. |
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Two Midewiwin Origin Stories
19th century Misi-zaaga'iganiing (Mille Lacs) ogimaa (chief) Bayezhig related the story of GWIIWIZENS WEDIZHICHIGEWINID: Deeds of a little boy, a traditional origin story
of the Anishinaabeg and their Midewiwin Society. Below is given a free rendering in zhaaganaashiimowin (English):
"In the
beginning, GICHI-MANIDOO made
the MIDE MANIDOOG (Mide Spirits). It first created two men, and two women; but they had no power of thought or
reason. Then GICHI-MANIDOO made them
rational beings. It took them in its hands so that they should multiply; it paired them, and from this sprung the ANISHINAABEG. When there were ANISHINAABEG (people) it placed them upon the earth, but it soon observed that they were subject to
sickness, misery, and death, and that unless it provided them with the Sacred
Medicine they would soon become extinct.”
“Between the
position occupied by GICHI-MANIDOO and the earth
were four lesser manidoog with
whom GICHI-MANIDOO decided to
commune, and to impart to them the mysteries by which the Anishinaabeg could be benefited.
So GICHI-MANIDOO first spoke to one manidoo and
told him all it had to say, who in turn communicated the same information to
the next, and he in turn to next, who also communed with the next. They all met
in council, and determined to call in the wendaanimag noodinoon (four wind manidoog). After consulting as to what
would be best for the comfort and welfare of the Anishinaabeg, the wendaanimag noodinoon agreed to ask GICHI-MANIDOO to communicate
the Mystery of the Sacred Medicine to the people.”
“GICHI-MANIDOO then went to GIIZIS
the Sun Spirit and asked him to descend to the earth and instruct the people as had
been decided upon by the council. GIIZIS, in the form of a gwiiwizens (little boy), went to the
earth and lived with a woman who had a little boy of her own. This family went
away in the autumn to hunt, and during the winter this woman’s son left for the Spirit World, or the Land of Souls. The
parents were so much distressed that they decided to return to the village and
bury the body there; so they made preparations to return, and as they traveled
along, they would each evening erect several poles upon which the body was
placed to prevent the wild beasts from devouring it. When the boy whose soul had crossed to the other side was thus
hanging upon the poles, the adopted child—who was the Sun Spirit—would play
about the camp and amuse himself, and finally told his adopted father he pitied
him, and his mother, for their sorrow. The adopted son said he could make his brother return to the physical world, whereupon the parents expressed great surprise and
desired to know how that could be accomplished."
“The adopted boy
then had the party hasten to the village, when he said, “Get the women to make
a wiigiwaam (lodge) of bark, put the boy in a covering
of wiigwaas (birch bark) and place the body on the ground in
the middle of the wiigiwaam.”
Two Midewiwin Origin Stories
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“On the next
morning after this had been done, the family and friends went into this lodge
and seated themselves around the corpse. When they had all been sitting quietly
for some time, they saw through the doorway the approach of a bear, which
gradually came towards the wiigiwaam,
entered it, and placed itself before the dead body and said, “ho, ho, ho, ho,”
when he passed around it towards the left side, with a trembling motion, and as
he did so, the body began quivering, and the quivering increased as the bear
continued until he had passed around four times, when the body came to life
again and stood up. Then the bear called to the father, who was sitting in the
distant right-hand corner of the wiigiwaam,
and addressed to him the following words:
Noos gaawiin anishinaabewisii, ayaawiyaan manidoo
ningwizis.
Bi-mayaa-miniik niiji-manidoo mayaa zhigwa ji-gi-aawiyan.
Noose, zhigwa asemaa ji-atooyeg. E-mikondem mii eta
aabiding ji-gashkitood wenji-bimaadizid omaa agaawaa
bimaadizid mii omaa; niijii-manidoo mayaa zhigwa ji-giiweyaan.
(“My father is not
a human. I, a son, am a Spirit.
Just as - my fellow Spirit - you now are.
Father! Now, you shall put out tobacco. Recalling that he could do this
only once in order to barely live here, thus he lived here;
my fellow Spirit, so now, I must go home.”)”**
“The little bear boy was the one who
did this. He then remained among the Anishinaabeg and taught them the mysteries
of the Midewiwin; and, after he had
finished, he told his adopted father that as his mission had been fulfilled he
was to return to his kindred manidoog,
for the Anishinaabeg would have no need to fear sickness as they now possessed
the Midewiwin which would enable them
to live. He also said that his spirit could bring a body to life but once, and
he would now return to GIIZIS (the sun) from which they would feel his
influence.”***
Another aadizookaan (sacred story) about
the origin of Midewiwin relates of Nigig the Otter and how he brought the Ojibweg
Medicine and the Mide drum. Wenabozho, the beloved, benevolent aadizookaan (Spirit Helper)
of the Anishinaabe Peoples, noticed that the Ojibweg were vulnerable and helpless against
famine, sickness, and death, and he decided to help save them from extinction.
“When Nanabozho (as Wenabozho was called
by Nookomis, his grandmother) was pensively drifting across the center of Aki
(the Earth), he heard laughter in the
distance, and as he moved closer he perceived a dark, slender, fast-moving object
on the surface of the Big Lake to the west, and then in all four directions; and
then, within the blink of an eye, the
directions were brought together in what appeared to be a madoodiswan (purification,
or sweat lodge) in the center of Aki. It was in this sacred place, where sky,
water, and land come together, that Nanabozho saw Nigig, the Otter. Nanabozho,
understanding and appreciating the magic phenomenon he had witnessed before his very eyes, instructed the Otter in the mysteries of the
Midewiwin and he gave him a Midewewe’igan (Ceremonial Drum) and the Miigis (cowrie) shell, telling him how they should be used at sacred feasts and during the ceremonial of initiation; he also gave him a Zhiishiigwan (Ceremonial Rattle) to be used when
curing the sick, and Asemaa (tobacco) to be utilized in
invocations of the Spirits and in making peace with enemies.”
Nigig offered these sacred objects and instructions to
the starving Anishinaabeg and thus saved them from extinction, and they gratefully
chose him as symbol of Healing and elected him the patron of their Lodge. Nigig
has various ceremonial roles in the Midewiwin Lodge, and it is said there are
pictorial representations of him inscribed in several origin-migration birch-bark
scrolls and in no fewer than seven scrolls containing mnemonics of Mide songs,
and in at least two locations near a body of water sacred rock paintings of
Otter can be seen with power lines emanating from his body. He gives his skin
for the Midewayaan (Medicine Bag) that carries the medicinal
herbs, charms, and miigisag (cowry shells) used for symbolically "shooting" novices
during their initiation into the Mide Lodge, and in the old days his power
was multiplied by the Anishinaabekweg (women) who portrayed his abstract, patterned
image on various ornaments, costumes, utensils, weapons, and sacred objects…particularly that of the zigzag trail of the otter and its tail-swaying movements when pursued – as it
tries to deceive the predator or hunter by changing its course. Often called a
lightning pattern, this design element, traditionally occurring, often in
doubled or even tripled form, in Anishinaabe
quill and bead work, is said to represent not only Otter’s zigzag stride but
also his extended power, reaching far into the sky, into the realms of the
Thunderbirds who create thunder and lightning (see the zigzag outlines at the
bottom of the cylindrical bolo tie tips
in the photo).
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The people that belonged to Zhaawano’s odoodem (clan),
Waabizheshi or Marten, sometimes depicted Otter as a hunter and warrior/strategist,
and to this day, his characteristics, like his playfulness, craftiness,
adaptability, industriousness, and his
adventurous and autonomous nature, are still core aspects of the teachings and
the leadership of the Midewiwin Lodge. Otter symbolizes new life, and all of
life is seen as an extension of Otter’s magical power. Just as from time immemorial the Anishinaabeg
have drawn on the resources of both land and water to
survive, so too the Otter, being one of their most important mediators between
the physical world and the spirit world, lives in both environments, and the People
have always tried to emulate his talent for moving through both worlds with
ease, playfulness, and humor.
But above all, Nigig, who first and foremost discloses his power through sound, is respected and
revered for having brought the Anishinaabeg the Gift of Medicine and the sacred
drum whose pulsating sound reaches far and corresponds with the voices and the
heartbeat of the cosmos...
Giiwenh. That´s how far this blog story goes. Miigwech for reading and listening!
The next blog story in the series "The Way of the Hearbeat" will feature a metaphorical story about how the disappearance of the blueberries caused the starvation of the bears.
Bi-waabamishinaang miinawaa daga: please come see us again!
> See part 2 in the series The Way of the Heartbeat: Dream of the Spirit Berries> Return to the New Fisher Star Creations blog menu
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Sources:
* Traditional story freely adopted from Young Otter woman Design
** Translation by Charles J. Lippert
***Traditional story freely adapted from the Gutenberg files
Jewelry and jewelry photography by ZhaawanArt Fisher Star Creations
"Powwow Dancer," a digitized pen and ink drawing on paper by Zhaawano Giizhik © Zhaawano Giizhik
Acrylic painting of drummers by Cecil Youngfox"Birth of Thunder," a digitized pen and ink drawing on paper by Zhaawano Giizhik © Zhaawano Giizhik
Acrylic painting of Bear by Simone McLeod © Simone McLeod
Acrylic painting of Otter by Bruce Morrisseau
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About the author/artist:
My name is Zhaawano Giizhik. My clan is waabizheshi, the marten.
As an American artist and jewelry designer currently living in the Netherlands, I like to draw on the oral and pictorial traditions of my Ojibwe Anishinaabe ancestors from the American Great Lakes area. For this I call on my manidoo-minjimandamowin, or "Spirit Memory"; which means I try to remember the knowledge and the lessons of my ancestors.
The mazinaajimowinan or ‘‘pictorial spirit writings’’ - which are rich with symbolism and have been painted throughout history on rocks and etched on other sacred items such as copper and slate, birch bark and animal hide - were a form of spiritual as well as educational communication that gave structure and meaning to the cosmos.
Many of these sacred pictographs or petroforms – some of which are many, many generations old - hide in sacred locations where the manidoog (spirits) reside, particularly in those mystic places near the coastline where the sky, the earth, the water, the underground and the underwater meet. It is these age-old expressions that provide an endless supply of story elements to my work; be it graphically, through my written stories, as well as in the context of my jewelry making.
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Bi-mayaa-miniik niiji-manidoo mayaa zhigwa ji-gi-aawiyan.
Noose, zhigwa asemaa ji-atooyeg. E-mikondem mii eta
aabiding ji-gashkitood wenji-bimaadizid omaa agaawaa
bimaadizid mii omaa; niijii-manidoo mayaa zhigwa ji-giiweyaan.
Just as - my fellow Spirit - you now are.
Father! Now, you shall put out tobacco. Recalling that he could do this
only once in order to barely live here, thus he lived here;
my fellow Spirit, so now, I must go home.”)”**
Another aadizookaan (sacred story) about the origin of Midewiwin relates of Nigig the Otter and how he brought the Ojibweg Medicine and the Mide drum. Wenabozho, the beloved, benevolent aadizookaan (Spirit Helper) of the Anishinaabe Peoples, noticed that the Ojibweg were vulnerable and helpless against famine, sickness, and death, and he decided to help save them from extinction.
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Bi-waabamishinaang miinawaa daga: please come see us again!
> See part 2 in the series The Way of the Heartbeat: Dream of the Spirit Berries
_________________________________________________________________
"Powwow Dancer," a digitized pen and ink drawing on paper by Zhaawano Giizhik © Zhaawano Giizhik
Acrylic painting of Otter by Bruce Morrisseau
About the author/artist:
My name is Zhaawano Giizhik. My clan is waabizheshi, the marten.
As an American artist and jewelry designer currently living in the Netherlands, I like to draw on the oral and pictorial traditions of my Ojibwe Anishinaabe ancestors from the American Great Lakes area. For this I call on my manidoo-minjimandamowin, or "Spirit Memory"; which means I try to remember the knowledge and the lessons of my ancestors.
The mazinaajimowinan or ‘‘pictorial spirit writings’’ - which are rich with symbolism and have been painted throughout history on rocks and etched on other sacred items such as copper and slate, birch bark and animal hide - were a form of spiritual as well as educational communication that gave structure and meaning to the cosmos.
Many of these sacred pictographs or petroforms – some of which are many, many generations old - hide in sacred locations where the manidoog (spirits) reside, particularly in those mystic places near the coastline where the sky, the earth, the water, the underground and the underwater meet. It is these age-old expressions that provide an endless supply of story elements to my work; be it graphically, through my written stories, as well as in the context of my jewelry making.
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My name is Zhaawano Giizhik. My clan is waabizheshi, the marten.
As an American artist and jewelry designer currently living in the Netherlands, I like to draw on the oral and pictorial traditions of my Ojibwe Anishinaabe ancestors from the American Great Lakes area. For this I call on my manidoo-minjimandamowin, or "Spirit Memory"; which means I try to remember the knowledge and the lessons of my ancestors.
The mazinaajimowinan or ‘‘pictorial spirit writings’’ - which are rich with symbolism and have been painted throughout history on rocks and etched on other sacred items such as copper and slate, birch bark and animal hide - were a form of spiritual as well as educational communication that gave structure and meaning to the cosmos.
Many of these sacred pictographs or petroforms – some of which are many, many generations old - hide in sacred locations where the manidoog (spirits) reside, particularly in those mystic places near the coastline where the sky, the earth, the water, the underground and the underwater meet. It is these age-old expressions that provide an endless supply of story elements to my work; be it graphically, through my written stories, as well as in the context of my jewelry making.
Thanks you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Vasil.
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