Ojibwe (people)

Ojibwe language belongs to the Algonkin language group. Related languages ​​are black-footed and Cheyenne. The name "soto" was used by the French, the Ojibwe are called in Canada, while in the USA they use the name Chippewa. The ethnonyms of Chippewa and Ojibwe come from the same word with different pronunciation, which means "wrinkled." The self-designation of this people is anishinapa. The word received a number of simplifications in different languages, therefore, for example, in Ukrainian sources you can find the names anishinabek, anishshinap, anishninaab. The Anishshinap language has been used in northeastern America as an intertribal language of trade, since the Ojibwe have been trading intensively with the French for a long time. Ojibwe gave world culture a large number of borrowings from their language (wigwam words, totem). In 1855, G.W. Longfellow wrote The Song of Hiawath , using myths, toponyms, and the original words of the Ojibwe people. As in all the works of Europeans about Indians, there are incidents in it. For example, the name of the hero should have been Nanabozho, because Hiawatha is a name from the Iroquois language.

Ojibwe are divided into northern (5 communities), northwestern (12 communities), eastern (18 communities in Canada, including 5 Mississauga communities, and 1 in the USA), southwestern (15 communities in the USA), Ojibwe River Severn (oji-kri - eastern (14 communities) and western (5 communities)), ojibwe of the northern lakeside (region north of Lake Superior) (15 communities in Canada and 1 in the USA) and soto (actually soto (36 communities in Canada and 2 in the US) and soto Ontario (23 communities in Canada and 1 in the United States)) and Ojibwe-speaking western dialect of Algonquin (6 communities), and Ojibwa speak a dialect of odava ( Ottawa ) (11 are common ); In addition, in Canada there are 7 more Odawa (Ottawa) communities with a mixed population of Odaw and Ojibwe, as well as Potawatomi.

Before the Europeans arrived on the continent, the Ojibwe passed their story from generation to generation mainly orally. There is unconfirmed information that there are secret birch bark records that were made by shamans for taking notes of their knowledge. From mythical stories, it is known that the Ojibwe came from Turtle Island. Their journey was triggered by the appearance of seven demiurges , who ordered the tribe to move west along the St. Lawrence River to the Ottawa River and further to the Great Lakes . Since the Ojibwe are sedentary, they made stops on the way until they split into numerous groups, which the Europeans would then take as separate tribes. One of them crossed the Great Prairies and reached almost the Pacific Ocean . During the migration, the Ojibwe ousted hostile tribes from their territories. By the time the Europeans arrived, the Ojibwe were in a long-standing alliance with the Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes, which was called the Council of the Three Lights, and which fought against the Confederation of Iroquois and Sioux . After their conquests, they controlled the largest territory and, obviously, were one of the most powerful Indian peoples of North America. Since their territory was located north of the main stream of settlers, and their land was unsuitable for farming, for a long time almost no one bothered Ojibwe. They independently waged wars to seize new territories.

The French, who arrived in Canada, used the Ojibwe as their allies in wars. They engaged in intensive trade with the Ottawa tribe, who were allied with the Ojibwe, and then with themselves, which provided the Indians with firearms. Thanks to their guns, the Ojibwe finally drove the Sioux (in particular, the Dakota tribe) from their territories on the prairie, although some skirmishes with the Dakota took place for a long time. There is evidence that the Ojibwe were at a very primitive level before meeting the Europeans, with almost no social organization. And only thanks to trade with the French and subsequent wars did they develop their social institutions, arrange common religious holidays, and so on.

The US government tried to relocate the Ojibwe from their lands, resulting in a series of armed conflicts. Then the governments of the United States and Canada signed treaties with the Indians, in which they transferred land to them. The Ojibwe have signed the largest number of such treaties compared to all other indigenous peoples of America. However, these agreements were of dubious value because of the difference in worldview: for Europeans, land was a commodity that could be easily bought and sold at a certain price for it, while for Ojibwe land could not belong to anyone, it could only be used along with fire, air and water. A modern analysis of these treaties, taking into account the worldview of the Ojibwe, shows a completely different meaning of the obligations of the parties. From time to time, the Ojibwe people spoke in joint Native American uprisings against the Americans and the British.

According to the type of culture, the Ojibwe belong to the Indians of the Subarctic and the North-East of the North. America. The main traditional activities are hunting, fishing, gathering (seasonal collection of wild rice and maple juice). In the XVII century they traded fur with Europeans.

Ojibwe live in groups of 20-50 people (at the time of meeting with Europeans - 200-300 people), in the English tradition called bands (bands). Most of the representatives, with the exception of the part that left on the prairie, lived a settled life. They were engaged in fishing, hunting, growing corn and vegetables, and collecting wild rice, which plays an important role in their mythology. Typical Ojibwe accommodations are wiigiwaam of various designs. In the summer, the main holidays are held: jingotamog (jiingotamog) for communication with the spirits and niimi'idimaa for social communication. The last holiday is an analogue of the Pow-Wow holiday, which is celebrated by other Indians.

Ojibwe bury their dead in burial mounds. A spiritual house (jiibegamig) is built on each of them. Instead of inscriptions on the graves, they draw a totem sign of the person who is buried there. Ojibwe’s graves were periodically robbed, which led to the emergence of special police to protect the mounds.

Ojibwe divide the world into living and nonliving. The division into feminine and masculine gender is not so important. The roles of women and men are not defined, as in other ethnic groups. A member of the community benefits in relation to his capabilities, not status. Some Ojibwe were transvestites - for example, the Yellow Head warrior, or Ozaavindib, known in the 19th century for negotiating with the authorities, wore women's clothing, and was married to several men. Cannibalism was common among Ojibwe.

Currently, they are engaged in farming, are employed in logging, in mines, in the service sector, and migrate to cities. Most traditional occupations are preserved in southwestern ojibwe, oji-kri, northern and northwestern ojibwe.

A group of families of 20-50 people is led by a leader. Marriage is patrilocal . Now there is a neolocal marriage. For the bride relies mining. Before there was a division into patrilineal totemic births , there were polygyny , litter , levirate , cross-marriage. Now in the cities the custom of mutual assistance is preserved.

Currently, there is a united Minnesota Chippewa tribe with an elected council (6 communities with a population of about 45 thousand people), which is a member of the Great Lakes Intertribal Council.

Ojibwe have common totemism , hunting cults , cults of patron spirits. The supreme deity is Gitchi-Manitu (Kichchi-Manito). Cultural heroes - Nanabozho ("Rabbit"), cannibal Wendigo . Healers exist such as midevivin .

According to legend, when the Ojibwe lived on Turtle Island, seven sparkling miigis shells rose from the sea to them. One of them was very strong and deadly for people, so it plunged back into the water. The six seashells that remained founded the totems (the word from which the modern term "totemism" derives). These were Bykogolov (Wawaazisii), Ehorob (Baswenaazhi), Duck Tail (Aan'aawenh), Bear (Nooke) and Tail of the Elk (Moozwaanowe). If the seventh conch remained, it would have to establish a Thunderbird totem. They sent people on a journey west. Interestingly, these demiurges then appeared all the time in the dreams and meditations of the Ojibwe shamans. In one of these visions, the sink said that the further west they go, the longer they will be able to follow traditions, as new people come from the east who will settle here. This vision could be the prophecy of the coming of Europeans. In oral existence, there are several epic complexes that tell about the invention of various crafts, tobacco and other things useful to the people. The most famous of them are about the cannibal Wendigo and the trickster Nanabogio (Rabbit).

Developed folk dances , crafts , art . There are myths and legends .

Midevivin is an organization of Ojibwe shamans. According to legend, the supreme god Manitu sent his messenger to the Ojibwe people in order to teach them how to cure diseases. He chose one person and transferred to him the knowledge that he passed on. Subsequently, the organization of shamans was established, retaining secret knowledge. When a candidate entered Midevivin, his shell was symbolically killed and they were already resurrected as another person. Midevivin has a stepped structure. For example, the first-stage shaman had the right to wear a line on his face and serve the funeral processions. The shaman of the third step, called the Community of the Rising Sun, possessed the forces of the elements and painted the top of his face green and the bottom red. At this level, he became a full-fledged shaman. There is evidence of six levels of organization. To move from one step to another, complex rites of initiation take place. In addition to healing functions, shamans were also the main propagandists of the right way of life, the complex of religious and ethical rules of Ojibwe. They understood that human health does not depend on drugs, but on lifestyle. They propagandized to thank Manita for everything, to be honest, friendly, brave, restrained and kind.

At the ceremony of Midevivin, birch bark scrolls of Ojibwe are used (Wiigwaasabak) with complex geometric patterns and shapes called mide-wiigwaas .

In Ojibwe, the concept of family is much broader than that of European nations. This can be seen in the language: for example, for brothers and cousins ​​in the Ojibwe language, there is one name. For Ojibwe, all ancestors and all those born in a tribe are considered to be relatives. This community of the dead, the living, and the unborn is called the word aanikoobijigan.

The Ojibwe people are divided into totem groups, named after the totem animals. These are Wawaazisii (Bogkogolov), Baswenaazhi (Crane), Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck), Nooke (Bear) and Moozwaanowe (Elk Tail). Bears - the largest clan, it is divided into subclans according to the name of the bear - Head, Ribs or Paw. When meeting the Ojibwe, they say “Aaniin odoodemaayan?”, Which means: “What is your totem?” This allows you to immediately identify family and other relationships with each other. Now the greeting has been reduced to Aaniin!

• Popular in the USSR and Russia, the Anglo-Canadian writer and publicist Gray Owl (Archibald Stansfeld Beeline), posing as a “purebred Indian”, lived for 7 years (1907–1915) in the neighborhood of Ojibwe, serving as a forester in Ontario. The material and spiritual culture of this people, to one degree or another, was reflected in his books “People of the Last Frontier” (1931), “Sajjo and her Beavers” (1935), “Tales of the Empty Hut” (1936), etc.
• The famous Indian rights activist Leonard Peltier , who spent most of his life (before his arrest and imprisonment) among the Sioux tribe from which his mother came, is an Ojibwe by his father.

• Gavin MacLeod (American actor) - Ojibwe's father.
• Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner accused of killing two FBI agents in 1975.
• Edmonia Lewis (sculptor) - Ojibwe by mother.
• Jean Baptiste Wilkie (mestizo leader) - Ojibwe by mother.
• Chris Simon (hockey player) - Ojibwe's father.
• Arron Ashem (hockey player).
• John Smith (centenarian).
• Banks, Dennis - Founder of the American Indian Movement in 1968.
• Bellecort, Clyde is the founder of the American Indian Movement in 1968.
• Bellecort, Vernon - activist of the American Indian Movement .

• Gray Owl (Vesha Kuonnesin). Stories of an Empty Cabin / Transl. from English A. Makarova. - M.: Young Guard, 1974. - 160 p. - Series "Brigantine."
• Gray Owl (Vesha Kuonnesin). Saggio and her beavers / Per. from English A. Makarova. - M .: Children's literature, 1984. - 160 p .: ill.
• Tanner John. Thirty years among the Indians / Per. Yu. Y. Reteyuma. - M.: Publishing house of foreign literature, 1963. - 360 p.: Ill.
• Roger Spielman “You're So Fat”
• Encyclopedia " Peoples and Religions of the World ", M.-1998.
• Mentioned by Leo Losev in a 1996 poem:

And when they knock on my door with my fist, when they shout: at the gates of the Sarmatians! Ojibway Lezgins! goy

I say: leave me alone.

• History of Ojibwe , Lee Salzman; translation by S. Pedchenko
  • Ojibwe History by Lee Sultzman
• Anishinabek / Turtle Island website
• Treaty between the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandotte, and Potawatomi Indians / World Digital Library
• Ojibwe History / Indian Country Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Museum