The Anishinaabe is a group of native North American people consisting of the Ojibwa and Odawa. The name Anishinaabe stands for people who are on the right path to the creator or the good people or the upright people. Traditional records called the wiigwaasabak which are scrolls indicate that the Anishinaabeg speakers originated from the east coast. The Anishinaabeg says that their original homeland was a place called Turtle Island. The name was from the belief of the people that North America as a continent was the back of a great mysterious turtle. The Anishinaabe believes themselves to be the descendants of the Abenaki people who in turn are descendants of Lenape. It gives the family tree from son to great grandfather. The Anishinaabeg culture has many beliefs to explain certain things. The Anishiaabeg believes that they were created by a supreme being called Gish-Manidoo (the Great Spirit or creator). The Great Spirit created man and gave him a woman. He named the man Nanabzho the reason as to why the Anishinaabeg great each other saying Bozhoo (Edward 2004 p 45). They believe that after time they got divided into three groups. The Ojibwe who was builders, the traders were called Odawak, and the fire keepers called Bodweaadamiinhk. The Anishinaabe people live their lives in an organized manner. They have clans among them. Each clan performs a specific duty assigned to it. The duties of each clan work towards the better good of the whole community. The Anishinabe people hold a belief that the clans did not just come into place but were formed by a superior power. The story goes that supernatural radiant beings appeared to a group of the people living in the east and taught them the kind of lifestyle they should live. The six beings lived among the men and taught them the way of life. The beings created clans among the people. Each clan was assigned a specific duty and was to live by it. The division of the community into clan to some point brought organization and order. The Anishinaabe people have seven clans among them. The crane and moon clans were given the authority to rule over the people. The two clans were to work together to help the people. Second is the fish clan, and they were considered as mediators. They were given wisdom to solve problems among the people and also to solve any argument between the two ruling clans. The fish clan was led by the Anishinaabe mythical turtle. They were divided into many categories, for example, the top eaters, and the migrating ones. The third is the deer clan. The deer clan was made up of artists and poets they were kind people. The bear clansmen were scouts of the nation. Their job was to patrol the woods and inform the people of any danger. They were also given the knowledge to know how to use plants as medicine and administer. The martin clan was given bravery. They were respected for their war skills. It was their job to protect the nation against any harm. The clan would not be complete without spiritual guidance. The bird clan was given the authority to oversee the nation’s spiritual needs. The bird clan was known for predicting the future. The clan ha different birds each having its sub duty to serve towards the nations spiritual welfare. The animals in each clan served as its totem. The totem helped the people know to which clan they belong and what is expected of them. The clan setting defined the hierarchy of power but also defined the social life of the people. The social life of the Anishinaabe people was governed by a set of virtues they termed as the seven grandfather’s teachings. The virtues were respect, bravery, humility, honesty, truth, wisdom and love. A keen look at this virtue one will see that they were meant to make the people live in peace and harmony. The Anishinaabe practiced several ceremonies one of the most important being the transition into adulthood. The rite of transition into adulthood was termed as the vision quest. Dan (p 10) the rite was done by people smoking a sacred pipe. The aim of the quest was to attain a vision of a supreme being through meditation and fasting. The rite was undertaken in a secluded place mostly in the wilderness. The goal of the quest was for one to achieve the help of a supernatural power and spirit that will guard one and protect him from all dangers. The spiritual guide or helper on the visions was mostly represented by animal shapes (Hultkrantz 1987 p 13). The rite was undertaken by girls and boys. Boys around the age of thirteen and fourteen were considered ready for the rite. For girls, they were considered ready immediately after their first menstrual period (Dan 2002 p 150). One was considered an adult after the acquisition of a vision regardless of the age. Death was also considered as a rite of passage. They believe in the power of ancestral spirits and the afterlife. A person dying a normal death was seen as a sign of an easy journey to the afterlife. The dead were respected and covered with clean clothes after being washed. The body was laid to rest with food and water to help the spirit in the journey to the afterlife. A snake-like a thread made from a sacred tree was put at the door to make sure the spirit would not comeback to take a loved one into the afterlife. The Anishinaabe people have since moved and migrated and have integrated with the world's people. Most of them still hold to their traditions up to date. Around the beginning of the 19th century, they began being assimilated as civilization took root. Over time, they have made several agreements with the government and got in sync with the rest of the world.
Works cited
Benton-Banai, Edward. (2004). Creation—From the Ojibwa. The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway. Univ. of Minnesota Pres
Hultkrantz, Åke. Native Religions of North America: The Power of Visions and Fertility. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987. Print.
Merkur, Dan. "The Ojibwa Vision Quest." Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. 4.2 (2002): 149-170. Print.
