essay

Windigo, a Chipewyan story

american indian life, by several of its studentsNew York • Published In 1925 • Pages: 325-336

By: Lowie, Robert Harry.

Abstract
This is Lowie's retelling of a Chipewyan tale about the Windigo, a fearsome bush spirit. It is a tale about how a Métis summons the courage to defeat and kill a trader who won his wife in a wrestling competition. The trader is depicted as a paragon among men--big, strong, and savvy--except for a debilitating fear of the Windigo. When the two are alone at a remote campsite, the Métis exploits this one weakness of the trader by telling him a haunting tale about a local Windigo . The trader is incapacitated with fear. The Métis becomes possessed by a Windigo and attacks and kills the trader.
Subjects
Verbal arts
Spirits and gods
culture
Chipewyans
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
North America
Sub Region
Arctic and Subarctic
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard ; 1999
Field Date
Not Specified
Coverage Date
not Specified
Coverage Place
north-central Canada
Notes
Robert H. Lowie
LCSH
Chipewyan Indians