From ancient Indians,
Celts, and Christians – Boo! Six Weeks of Weird Halloween Words ~ Introduction
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| Painting by Richard Hook |
Halloween’s witching season is just around the next dark corner, as we peruse the discounted, mondo bags of candy in the stores, trying to ignore their enchanting aroma.
Much
of Halloween’s mystique is fueled by folklore
– which brings me to one of my Words With Friends entries to lead off the ghostly
season.
MANITOU (manʹɘ tōōʹ; also manitu or manito):
n. Folklore among the Algonquin
Indians, any of various spirits or supernatural forces variously conceived of
as nature spirits of both
good and evil influence.
Spirits have influenced
our cultures since the beginning of societies. The advent of storytelling
fueled mesmerizing tales of life after death and exploration of the
supernatural – and we still don’t know what, if any, is “real.” What should we believe?
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| Early 20th C. Irish Halloween mask** |
Halloween capitalizes on stories
that have flowed through the blood of our ancestors to thrill, excite, revere, bewilder,
and scare, for centuries. So for the next six weeks, let’s don our masks and
lurk behind the door to learn what Halloween is … beyond
gaining five pounds in chocolate,
and images of Freddy Krueger.
Whether
you have young children and still celebrate this convoluted holiday with
ghoulish costumes and pillowcases full of candy, or enjoy adult-style
masquerade partying, we can’t ignore Halloween’s historical and spiritual significance.
Manitou is a light introduction
to the spirit world, as some Algonquin traditions define it as a Great Spirit
or Supreme Being – in Christian terms, god or gods. Yet, there are stories of
evil spirits in their midst, as well.
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| Do ghosts exist? |
With
many Algonquians in Quebec, the balance
of more than eight thousand are spread from Virginia to the Rocky Mountains,
venturing north to the Hudson Bay. In their society the shaman is a powerful
force and practices a form of tribal witchcraft.
Doesn’t
sound so far removed from many of the tales that surround Halloween, does it?
Referring
to my earlier comment, Halloween is,
as are many holidays, convoluted in its origins and celebrated or denigrated in
many different ways.
Numerous
countries and cultures integrate spirits, either religiously or menacingly in
various forms, during this alternately reverent and malevolent time of year.
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| Irish Samhain Blessing |
Popular belief steeps
its beginnings in a desire to convert the Irish / Celtic traditions honored in Samhain harvest festivals, to acceptable
Christian Church* practices. Spiritual observances and celebrations, known as
Allhallowtide, runs from sunset on October 31st to sunset November 1st.
More
history next week as we celebrate the weird words of Halloween and its spirit world. May the Manitou tread lightly on your soul.
*
Interestingly, in a search of “Christian Church” and Halloween, I found only
warnings not to participate in its celebrations or festivities, “… Halloween has
strong roots in paganism and is closely connected with worship of the Enemy of
this world, Satan.” Hmmmmm, yet supposedly, Halloween was created in the modern
world to conform to Christianity ….
** Image attribution: "‘Traditional-irish-halloween-mask’"
by Rannpháirtí anaithnid at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via
Commons”
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