Wendigo

From TinWiki.org

Artist rendition of the Wendigo

The Wendigo (or Windigo, Wiindigoo, Windiga, Winidigo, Windago, Witiko, Wihtikow, and other variants in Native American languages and dialects) is a spirit or animal in Anishinaabe and Algonquin mythology. The Windigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic spirit/creature into which humans could transform or which could possess humans. Those indulging in cannibalism were at great risk, and the legend of the Wendigo appears to have reinforced this practice as being taboo.

The legend of the Wendigo is native to Canada and the United States in the Great Lakes region. It is associated with severe wind and cold and usually claims its victims in the night, typically stalking hunters and travelers in the woods. Many of its behaviors and attributes suggest that it is the personification of harsh conditions in dangerous, freezing winters.

The Wendigo has become a staple in modern horror literature and films, like the vampire, werewolf, and zombie. The fictional depictions, though, bear little resemblance to the original entity.

Wendigo Psychosis refers to a culture bound disorder involving the intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. At one time, this occurred frequently among Algonquian Indian cultures, but declined with Native American urbanization.

1 Native American Mythology
2 Wendigo Psychosis
3 Also On tinWiki
4 ATS Discussion Threads
5 External Links

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Native American Mythology

In the mythology of the Algonquian-speaking tribes of Native Americans, the Wendigo is a malevolent supernatural creature, a giant with a heart of ice, sometimes believed to be made entirely of ice. Its body is skeletal and deformed, missing the lips and toes. According to the mythology, it can be killed by shattering its heart of ice.

The Wendigo is said to be a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being of great spiritual power. They were strongly associated with the Winter, the North, and coldness, with famine and starvation.

The Wendigo is usually thought to have once been human. A hunter may become a Wendigo when coming upon it in a forest at night or when possessed by its spirit in a dream. When the cannibalistic element of the myth is stressed, anyone can become a Wendigo if they eat corpses in famine times.

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Hunting Practices

A Wendigo will follow a lone wanderer for a long time, hiding behind a tree when the prey becomes suspicious and turns around to spot it. After a while, the prey becomes hysterical and runs until he makes an error. The Wendigo then strikes.

If one actually survives a Wendigo attach, they get Wendigo Fever. After a night of nightmares and pain in their legs, they strip naked and run into the forest screaming, becoming violent and obsessed with eating human flesh.

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Personifications

The myth could have been a deterrent among northern tribes where winters were long and bitter and hunting parties often were trapped in storms with no choice but to consume members of their own party when food supplies ran out. It could also be indicative of starvation, as the Wendigo eats moss and other unpalatable food when human flesh in unavailable. The physical deformities of the Wendigo suggest starvation and frostbite, so the Wendigo myth may be based on a personification of the hardships of winter and the taboo of cannibalism.

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Modern Day

Wendigo murder trials took place in Canada around the beginning of the 20th century. The people on trial described themselves as Wendigos, believing themselves to be the mythical creature.

Among the Assiniboine, Cree, and Ojibwa, a satirical ceremonial dance was performed during times of famine to stress the seriousness of the Wendigo taboo. Known as a wiindigookaanzhimowin, it is performed today as part of the last day activities of the Sun dance, involving wearing a mask and banging about the drum backwards.

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Wendigo Psychosis

Wendigo Psychosis is the medical term given to those people presumed "wendigo"(cannibalistic). The term applies to the Algonquin Ojibwa, as well as Cree (Witigo).

Hunger seems to be the only biological cause, so it is more likely that wendigo psychosis was a cultural disease, especially given to the sufferers developing an insatiable desire for human flesh when other sources of food were available.

The most commonly known cure for Wendigo Psychosis is bear fat or bear grease. If the sufferer believed that they were becoming a full fledged Wendigo, they would often request to be executed.

The occurrence of Wendigo psychosis decreased sharply in the 20th century as the Algonquin people came in to greater contact with Western ideologies and less rural lifestyles.

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