[Algonquiana] Legend

[Michael Sullivan Sr]

Memegwesiwag in SW Ojibwe, especially fond of younger children who are the
only ones who can see them.  Big doings are usually held after the reported
sight of them.  Offerings including children's clothing and sweets are made
to the Memegwesiwag following their sighting as a show of thanks for
watching over our little ones.  Great stories about this come out of the
Ponemah community at Red Lake.

On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 10:26 AM, McCafferty, Michael Lee <
mmccaffe at indiana.edu> wrote:

> David saved me a lot of typing. I was about to tell a similar story,yet
> not as detailed, about páyiihsaki. One thing. I think there's an Ottawa
> cognate as well if I'm not mistaken.
>
> Best,
>
> Michael
> ________________________________________
> De : Algonquiana [algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org] de la
> part de David Costa [pankihtamwa at earthlink.net]
> Envoyé : 3 juin 2016 11:15
> À : Bousquet Marie-Pierre
> Cc : ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> Objet : Re: [Algonquiana] Legend
>
> Probably every Algonquian group had its little people legends — in
> Miami-Illinois, their word for little people is which has cognates in
> Meskwaki and Potawatomi. They’re a kind of malevolent dwarf who live by
> rivers and terrorize travelers. They definipáyiihsa, tely have mouths, tho,
> since they speak normally. Jacob Dunn described them as a “small
> supernatural who is supposed to guide departed spirits to the ‘happy
> hunting ground’”. Albert Gatschet went into more detail and said of them,
> “walk on top of water. could be tracked on a rock. Live on the ground, in
> the air; there are only two of them and they are twins (tchikamwáki). They
> are ½ men, ½ bears, being the product mother human [sic], father a bear.”
> Gatschet also said “there are only two dwarfs, and they have many stories
> about them. Swim around in water, rivers, timber – are naked, and of the
> male sex only. They always stay together. Story how they came into
> existence. There was a woman whose husband was away for a whole day
> whenever he was hunting. She then went to a cave or hollow tree slanting up
> where a bear lived. From this union originated two babies, and these were
> the pá-issa or dwarfs.”
>
> If you’re interested, the main Peoria story that was recorded about
> páyiihsaki is included in the “New Voices for Old Words” volume I edited
> for the University of Nebraska Press and which came out last year.
>
> best,
>
> Dave Costa
>
>
> On Jun 3, 2016, at 6:36 AM, Bousquet Marie-Pierre <
> marie-pierre.bousquet at umontreal.ca<mailto:
> marie-pierre.bousquet at umontreal.ca>> wrote:
>
> Kwe kakina, hi everyone,
>
> I am looking for documentation about specific little people. There are
> different kind of little people among the Algonquins: memegweshik,
> Anishinabeshishak, Nadoweshishak. I am looking for stories about little
> people who smell the food to get fed. They come during the night and you
> know they came because the food has no flavour. One of my informants told
> me they have no bums and apparently no mouth. I would like to know if
> someone has heard of that legend.
>
> Kitci mikwetc, many thanks,
> ———————————
> Marie-Pierre Bousquet PhD
> Directrice du Programme en études autochtones<
> https://www.facebook.com/pea.udem>
> Professeure titulaire/Full professor
> Département d'anthropologie
> Université de Montréal
> C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville
> Montréal (Qc) H3C 3J7
> CANADA
> Tel: 514-343-2152<tel://Tel:%20514-343-2152>
> marie-pierre.bousquet at umontreal.ca<mailto:
> marie-pierre.bousquet at umontreal.ca><mailto:
> marie-pierre.bousquet at umontreal.ca>
> www.graaq.ca<http://www.graaq.ca><http://www.graaq.ca/>
>
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-- 
Dr. Michael Sullivan, PhD
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe
2016 UMN Alum
University of Minnesota
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