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Wendigo
Wendigo (/ˈwɛndɪɡoʊ/) is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from Algonquian folklore. The concept of the wendigo has been widely used in literature and other works of art, such as social commentary and horror fiction.
The wendigo is often said to be a malevolent spirit, sometimes depicted as a creature with human-like characteristics, who may possess human beings. It is said to cause its victims a feeling of insatiable hunger, the desire to eat other humans, and the propensity to commit murder. In some representations, the wendigo is described as a giant humanoid with a heart of ice, whose approach is signaled by a foul stench or sudden unseasonable chill.
In modern psychiatry, the disorder known as "Wendigo psychosis" is characterized by symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and fear of becoming a cannibal. Wendigo psychosis is described as a culture-bound syndrome. In some First Nations communities, symptoms such as insatiable greed and destruction of the environment are also thought to be symptoms of wendigo psychosis.
The wechuge is a similar being that appears in the legends of the Athabaskan people of the Northwest Pacific Coast. It too is cannibalistic; however, it is characterized as enlightened with ancestral insights.
The contemporary English word wendigo is a loanword from multiple origins: It is partially a borrowing from Cree (wīhtikōw) and partially a borrowing from Ojibwe (wiindigoo), both Algonquian languages. Comparable forms are found in English as early as 1714 (Whitego). The form wendigo was popularized in the English language by Algernon Blackwood, who in 1910 published a novella with this name.
The word has been reconstructed in Proto-Algonquian as *wi·nteko·wa, with the potential meaning 'owl'.
The wendigo is part of the traditional belief system of a number of Algonquian-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwe, the Saulteaux, the Cree, the Naskapi, and the Innu. Although descriptions can vary somewhat, common to all these cultures is the view that the wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being. They were strongly associated with the north, winter, cold, famine, and starvation.
Basil H. Johnston, an Ojibwe teacher and scholar from Ontario, describes a wendigo:
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Wendigo
Wendigo (/ˈwɛndɪɡoʊ/) is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from Algonquian folklore. The concept of the wendigo has been widely used in literature and other works of art, such as social commentary and horror fiction.
The wendigo is often said to be a malevolent spirit, sometimes depicted as a creature with human-like characteristics, who may possess human beings. It is said to cause its victims a feeling of insatiable hunger, the desire to eat other humans, and the propensity to commit murder. In some representations, the wendigo is described as a giant humanoid with a heart of ice, whose approach is signaled by a foul stench or sudden unseasonable chill.
In modern psychiatry, the disorder known as "Wendigo psychosis" is characterized by symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and fear of becoming a cannibal. Wendigo psychosis is described as a culture-bound syndrome. In some First Nations communities, symptoms such as insatiable greed and destruction of the environment are also thought to be symptoms of wendigo psychosis.
The wechuge is a similar being that appears in the legends of the Athabaskan people of the Northwest Pacific Coast. It too is cannibalistic; however, it is characterized as enlightened with ancestral insights.
The contemporary English word wendigo is a loanword from multiple origins: It is partially a borrowing from Cree (wīhtikōw) and partially a borrowing from Ojibwe (wiindigoo), both Algonquian languages. Comparable forms are found in English as early as 1714 (Whitego). The form wendigo was popularized in the English language by Algernon Blackwood, who in 1910 published a novella with this name.
The word has been reconstructed in Proto-Algonquian as *wi·nteko·wa, with the potential meaning 'owl'.
The wendigo is part of the traditional belief system of a number of Algonquian-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwe, the Saulteaux, the Cree, the Naskapi, and the Innu. Although descriptions can vary somewhat, common to all these cultures is the view that the wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being. They were strongly associated with the north, winter, cold, famine, and starvation.
Basil H. Johnston, an Ojibwe teacher and scholar from Ontario, describes a wendigo: