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Gitchi Manitou
[< Algonk. "Great Spirit"]
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Spelling variants:Kitchee Manitoo, Keche Manitou, etc.
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
the supreme deity of the Crees, Ojibwas, and related tribes, identified by some whites and Christian Indians with God.
Quotations
1791
At the entrance of this lake is a high rock, somewhat in the shape of a man, which the Chippeway Indians call "Kitchee Manitoo," or the Master of Life.
1792-1807
After examining it for some time, it occurred to the eldest girl that it belonged to the Gitchi Manitou, the Great Spirit, upon which they abandoned the place with precipitation.
1860
It was lit by a spark struck from a piece of flint, and the stem having been presented to the north, to the south, to the east, to the west, and then upwards to Gitche Manito, or the Master of Life, it was passed round to the assembled councillors, beginning with the chiefs.
1910
A certain northern chronicler relates that Kitch Manitou became angry when, one day, all the men married all the women. . . .
1926
Twas in the moon of winter-time / When all the birds had fled, / That mighty Gitchi-Manitou / Sent angel-choirs instead. . . .
1956
The Christ-theme was missing, but Jehovah and the Devil were represented by Keche Munito, the Great Spirit, and Muche Munito, the Evil Spirit.