Manitou

Manitou is the spiritual and fundamental life force understood by Algonquian groups of Native Americans. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc.Aashaa monetoo = “good spirit”, otshee monetoo = “bad spirit”. The Great Spirit, Aasha Monetoo, gave the land, when the world was created, to the Natives (in particular, the Shawnee).

The term was already widespread at the time of early European contact. In 1585 when Thomas Harriot recorded the first glossary of an Algonquian language, Roanoke (Pamlico), he included the word mantóac, meaning “gods” (plural). Similar terms are found in nearly all of the Algonquian languages.

In some Algonquian traditions, the term gitche manitou is used to refer to a “great spirit” or supreme being. The term was similarly adopted by some Anishnaabe Christian groups, such as the Ojibwe, to refer to the monotheistic God of Abrahamic tradition by extension, often due to missionary syncretism. However, the term has analogues dating back before European contact, and the word uses of gitche and manitou would have been precontact.

In the shamanistic traditions, the manitous (or manidoog or manidoowag) are connected to achieve a desired effect, like plant manitous for healing or the buffalo manitou for a good hunt. In the Anishinaabeg tradition, manidoowag are one aspect of the Great Connection. Related terms used by the Anishinaabeg are manidoowish for small animal manidoowag and manidoons for insects; both terms mean "little spirit". In some Algonquian languages such as Iynu (Montagnais) the word manituw refers to underwater creatures to whom hunters offered tobacco in order to appease them when traveling through their territories.

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