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| Figure 1: Wendigo |
The Wendigo mythos has a long history. While it is a popular myth depicted in
American pop culture it originates among Native American groups of the Atlantic
Coast and Great Lakes region. The
Americanized versions of the Wendigo are not what it originally represented,
which is the topic of today’s blog post.
This blog post will address what the Wendigo is, the original purposed
of the myth, and how it transformed and why.
The Wendigo is a creature popular among North American
Algonquian groups. They believed that
the Wendigo was one of several Manitous, creatures responsible for creating the
world and teaching man how to live and worship the gods. The Wendigo was the most horrible of the
Manitous, representing the vilest characteristics of humanity. He was described as a gigantic, gaunt,
withered creature that feasted on human flesh and was never able to satiate his
hunger (Figure 1).
The Wendigo embodied all things that the Algonquian Native
Americans despised and found taboo (immoral).
The Wendigo tale was one that represented greed and selfishness, which
were qualities that were discouraged among these Native American groups. Some scholars believe that the Wendigo mythos
was born out of harsh times when cannibalistic tendencies were viewed as
acceptable among some despite the taboo, and the Algonquians prided themselves
on not resembling the Wendigo in any way.
With contact with white, European settlers came an evolution
of the Wendigo mythos. The white,
European settlers represented all aspects of the Wendigo, and Native Americans
transformed the myth accordingly. This
was the first time that the Wendigo was identified as being able to take human
form. Humans could become a Wendigo by
one of three ways: 1) eating human flesh; 2) becoming possessed by Wendigo
spirit; or 3) being unknowingly cursed by another due to one’s wicked
ways. White, European settlers latched
onto the myth and used it against Native Americans, using it as a tool to
demonize Native Americans.
Today, the Wendigo myth hardly resembles what it originally
was. The only original part of the myth
that remains is the cannibalism, which continues to remain a taboo in all
cultures that have used and appropriated the myth. The original purpose of the myth was to be a
cautionary tale, but today it remains a scary tale without the advisory notes. Much like the other posts over the past month
the purpose of the myth changes to meet the needs of the people, and the tale
of the Wendigo is no different.
References
DHWTY. 2016. “Be Wary of the Wendigo: A Terrifying Beast
of Native American Legend with an Insatiable Hunger to Devour Mankind.” Ancient Origins.net. http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/be-wary-wendigo-terrifying-beast-native-american-legend-insatiable-hunger
Jusiak, K. 2015. “The Embodiment of the Taboo: The Images of
Wendigo in Literature and Their Rendition in Modern Media.” Bachelor Thesis. Academia.edu
Lietz, M. 2016. “Cannibalism in Contact Narratives and the
Evolution of the Wendigo.” MA Thesis. Eastern Michigan University.
Ritzenthaler, R.E. and Ritzenthaler,
P. 1983. The Woodland Indians of the Western Great Lakes, Prospect
Heights IL: Waveland Press.
