ANST-601 Lessons

Many surprised faces were seen in the Great Hall this morning, as owls swooped down to deliver letters to all Sixth Year Ancient Studies students. Despite sharing some bewildered looks, they followed the instructions in their professor’s notes nonetheless. At the sound of the clock tolling, they left the confines of the castle, walking in the opposite direction of the classroom, and headed out to the school grounds close to the Quidditch pitch for their lesson. Travelling down the hill, they spied the professor waving enthusiastically and gesturing towards a large structure. As the class neared the structure, they saw that it had been created with long poles and covered by bark. The professor smiled warmly at their approach and ushered them into the structure.

Welcome, dear students, to a Mi’kmaq wigwam! This is the traditional dwelling of these people, who may also be called the Mi’gmaq, Mi’kmaw, Mi’gmaw, Micmac, or L’nu. This traditionally hunter-gatherer civilization consisted of seven territories over the Eastern Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Québec, as well as in parts of the United States, specifically the state of Maine. The Mi’kmaq people refer to this area of land, their homeland, as Mi’gma’gi.

Archaeological evidence shows that the Mi’kmaq people arrived in these territories shortly after the end of the Wisconsin Glaciation - the most recent glaciation period where much of North America stretching down to the modern state of Wisconsin was covered in ice - about 10,000 years ago. 

Let’s let that sink in. Ten thousand years ago. Yes, that means this civilization - which still exists - was founded before both the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. Only archaeological sites such as the foundation of the city of Jericho predate the Mi’kmaq civilization. They have been here since the dawn of humanity. Quite the thing to think about, no? 

The Mi’kmaq lived in structures such as this wigwam, as they suited their semi-nomadic lifestyle. You see, the poles and materials used to construct them can be easily disassembled and either stored or moved to be reassembled at another place or time. In spring and summer they would live along the shores, hunting fish and other marine life. However, come fall and winter, the people would move inland and hunt the forest creatures.

The Mi’kmaq  lived in relative peace for the vast majority of their existence, until the arrival of the Europeans. Now, this tale of first contact is not the same war-like experience as the civilizations we’ve already discussed this year. In truth, the Mi’kmaq were actually expecting the Europeans to arrive (more on that later), and welcomed them with open arms. It was the conflict between the English and the French over the lands of this “New World” that resulted in the end of the Mi’kmaq people’s period of peace, as they were caught in the middle of the fighting. Coupled with diseases such as smallpox that were brought to the Americas by the Europeans, it is estimated that the Mi’kmaq population was cut in half between 1500 and 1600 C.E. If the Mi’kmaq had known exactly what the Europeans’ arrival would bring, perhaps they would not have been so welcoming, or at the very least, exercised more caution. But, as always, hindsight is 20/20. 

Thankfully, this historically rich civilization survived its near-decimation and not only continues to exist to this day, but is actually a nation with an increasing population once again!

Mi’kmaq Culture

The Mi’kmaq were governed by their grand council, led by the grand chief. Traditionally, the chief was selected not by birthright, but by their reputation. Additionally, while the grand chief was male, the Mi’kmaq civilization was traditionally matriarchal. Women were highly revered for their ability to bear children and bring life into the world, and as such, high value was placed on both their abilities and their wisdom. The advice of female elders was held in very high regard, and when a couple married, the man joined the clan of the woman.

The Mi’kmaq people traditionally believed that everything had a spirit; not just living things such as trees and animals, but also inanimate items such as rocks and dirt. Everything had an aspect of life to it, and that was to be respected. This does not mean to say that the Mi’kmaq worshiped animals or trees or rocks. They simply respected that they were all a part of the creator’s works and, as such, were part of a whole. This respect toward nature meant that they wasted nothing: no part of an animal they killed, no part of a tree they cut down. 

The Mi’kmaq also had a strong respect for storytelling, an aspect of their culture that still exists today. While some petroglyphs and ideograms have been found, their language and stories were passed down through the generations almost entirely by oral tradition. So ingrained was the importance and value of the oral tradition to these people that historians believe their myths have not significantly altered in their telling over time, which, as your Mythology professor will surely tell you, is quite the feat.

The arrival of the Europeans introduced a kind of written language - a sort of hieroglyphic hybrid if you will - that was heavily influenced by the values and traditions of the Catholic church. In some respects, the ability to record the Mi’kmaq histories became advantageous. However the strength of their oral tradition made the need - at least from the viewpoint of the Mi’kmaq - a bit superfluous.

Magic Use

Before we delve into the types of magic that the Mi’kmaq practiced, let’s have a look at the basis for their magical practices, namely, the concept of the four directions. The four directions denote not only the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west, but also a colour, spirit animal, medicinal ingredient, element, season, and stage of life. This concept was central to all aspects of both their rituals and their magic. Have a look at the chart below to see the full set of associations with each of the directions.

When practicing a ritual - whether it was a welcoming ritual or the sun dance, which was designed to heal the sick - it began with the four directions and followed the sun’s path through the sky. First, the east was thanked for the eagle, who gave guidance to the people. then the South for the grandmothers and mothers who created life. West was next, which was acknowledged for the spirit world from which we all come and to which we all return, and finally there was north, thanked for the white bear who gave people strength and courage.

Now, let’s have a closer look at the spirit animals of these directions: the eagle, the white bear, the black bear, and the thunderbird. Which of these things is not like the other? That’s correct - the thunderbird! As was mentioned in the previous lesson, the rhunderbird is found in various places throughout North America, and the Mi’kmaq were very much aware of their existence. Thunder also features prominently in their creation mythology, which is being covered at this very moment with our sister class, Mythology. Suffice to say, thunder and lightning played a pivotal role in the creation of Glooscap - the first human and central character in the vast majority of Mi’kmaq myths.

The main practitioners of magic in the Mi’kmaq community were the medicine men, sometimes called shamans, who focused primarily on the healing arts found in herbology. They wore a ceremonial robe, along with a beaded, triangular medicine bag around their neck. It was the medicine men who treated the sick, but who also engaged in divinatory practices, usually focused on predicting the future. Specifically, they would use their skills to forecast whether a certain battle plan would work, where the most advantageous hunting grounds would be, and what impact natural disasters or other seasonal factors might have on the tribe.  

Now, the medicine men were not the only diviners within the Mi’kmaq culture. Obviously, both men and women had magical ability, and all were free to practice it. Indeed, perhaps some of the most famous examples of divination in Mi’kmaq were made by women. The first of these was the very same prophecy I alluded to earlier -- the one which foretold the Europeans’ arrival. In this prophecy it was said that people would arrive in Mi’gma’gi on floating islands… and arrive they did. The second divinatory achievement requires a bit of explanation, as most people who do not active practice divination don’t consider this as “fitting under the same umbrella.” But divinitory ability can provide glimpses into the past (your past or that of others) as well as glimpses into the present in faraway places. In this case, we are talking about the former. Mi’kmaq tradition holds that a legendary spirit crossed the seas for them and they travelled across the ocean looking through its eyes, through which they were able to discover a population of blue-eyed people living across the vast ocean. Armed with this information, the Mi’kmaq were not surprised in the least at the arrival of the Europeans, and were prepared to embrace them, not fear them, during their initial encounters.

Herbology and divination were not the only magical practices of the people, although they were the most advanced. Some charms work was woven into the rituals for battle, for example. These charms would increase the accuracy of a warrior’s weapon, or perhaps allow them to be more aware of the sounds of their prey in the forest. Most fascinating is actually the manner in which these spells were cast. There was no wand or foci to direct the magic, there were simply the words that were used. But the words were not spoken, they were sung. The notes themselves seemed to be the foci for the magic, similar to the lyre used to focus magic by some ancient Greco-Roman practitioners. This is not a magic that is well understood, but fascinating nonetheless.

You may be wondering if there were any dark magic practitioners within this culture that so greatly respected nature and their place within it. The answer is most likely yes. While no dark magic practitioners are known to have existed since contact with the Europeans, there are some Mi’kmaq myths that include reference to Winpe, an evil wizard that Glooscap had to rehabilitate, but not destroy. 

Conclusion

And that brings us to the end of our time today. During our next class we will discuss our final civilization for this year - the Salish people of the Canadian west coast. For today you will have only a quiz to complete in order to give you time to begin reviewing for your finals.

Image credits here, here, and here
Original lesson written by Professor Liria Morgan