Paul Radin

“ Ojibwa-Menominee.—The simplicity of the organization of the Ojibwa-Menominee Midewiwin impresses one at a glance. Only a small number of individuals take active part. It is similarly impossible to discern any elaborate ritual. A few ritualistic myths are told, some songs sung, speeches delivered, and then preparations are made for the shooting of the novice. The ceremony practically ends as soon as the shooting terminates. In this semi-public performance there is practically only one ritualistic complex, that of the shooting-initiation. ”

“ It is utterly impossible now to discover the origin of the differences in the individual component elements; but it is quite clear that the forces tending to develop the larger ceremonial complexes have been, not those of a dissociation, but distinctly those of an association, of elements.
These associations may be of the most diverse kind. Certain features may always have been associated with certain other elements, such as medicinal herbs and medicines with the water-spirit, as in the case of the Omaha and Winnebago. This, then, is for all practical purposes an ultimate unit. ”

“ But is this not precisely what takes place at the initiation into the Midewiwin? There, a person is presented with the “migis” and otter-skin bag, which is symbolical of the powers of a certain type of shaman, the mide.
The Midewiwin, from this point of view, is hardly a society at all. It does, nevertheless, possess some of the essential characteristics of a society: a number of individuals form a rather definite unit, owing to their possessing in common a number of ritualistic myths, a symbol and common status, in the eyes of outsiders. ”

“ The purpose of the Medicine Dance is in part the desire to attain a long life, a safe journey to the next world, and the possibility of a return to this life again, preferably in human shape. All these benefits may be obtained by taking an active part in the ceremony, and by performing to the best of one’s ability all the duties of a member. Although it is essential to participate in the entire ritual in order to obtain these benefits to the fullest extent, nevertheless the phenomena of shooting and being shot at play an especially important rôle in this connection. ”

“ To explain the factors that have caused this differentiation we must call to our aid two phenomena,—first, that of sexual solidarity; and, secondly, that of the instinct for association.
Sexual solidarity has its roots in the nature of man and woman, and is possessed by them in equal intensity. The instinct for association is, however, a specifically masculine trait. It is found among women only in a minimal degree. An important corollary follows from this fact: If women societies are found anywhere, they are to be considered merely as imitations of men’s societies. ”

“ At the same time, the oldest members always have specific functions to perform. In this way two groups are formed. Those who do not belong to these two groups belong to the third group. All that can be said here is, that a society has utilized a rough age factor for specific purposes. That in reality the entire tribe is divided into three divisions, is due to the fact that all the members of the tribe are members of the society. This is therefore not a phenomenon that has any general significance in the evolution of society, but is purely and simply a phenomenon of certain secret societies. ”

“ To judge from parallels in other parts of the world, it is extremely likely that women will form societies wherever men show a strong tendency to do so. A number of factors may, however, interfere with a development of such societies. For instance, it is quite plausible that where, as among the Melanesians, a strong society-forming tendency existed, and women did not participate in it, some strong reason existed which might perhaps be ascribed to the fact that women do not there participate in those rites that are almost universally associated with societies. ”

“ The development of the age-group has followed a very definite sequence—definite, because it has been determined by certain inherent tendencies of the human mind. These tendencies are “the instinct for association” [15] (Geselligkeitstrieb) and “the sexual instinct” (Geschlechtstrieb) . Granting the existence of these two tendencies, we have then to inquire how they have conditioned the essential similarities in the evolution of our social life, and the forms in which that social life has expressed itself. ”

“ If we wished to describe the Medicine Dance in terms of Winnebago society norms, we might call it a “society of those who shoot one another.” The shooting forms an integral part of the ritualistic complex, much in the same way as do the set songs and the set speeches. In the basic ritual of the day ceremony, the shooting occurs in two combinations,—on the one hand, as an initiation-shooting-complex, set off more or less from the general ceremony ”

“ Exclusion of Women.—The admission of women into a society is, according to Schurtz, a secondary feature. This followed directly from his negative position with regard to women’s Geselligkeitstrieb, and from his assumption that societies were merely transformed men’s associations, which in turn were transformed age groups. The question of the Geselligkeitstrieb of women hardly lends itself to any accurate discussion, as, generally speaking, women have not been surrounded by those conditions which played an important part in developing that trait among men. ”

“ If we now proceed to Schurtz’s contention, that women societies are merely imitations of men’s societies, we shall see that, as a general statement, this is as unjustified as is his interpretation that the admission of women into societies is a secondary feature. ”

“ As every leader is likely to be a prominent shaman as well as a member of the Medicine Dance, it would be quite impossible to draw a hard and fast line between what belongs specifically to him as a shaman, and what belongs to him as a member of the Medicine Dance. However, it is generally understood that a leader is initiating an individual into those powers that are the special property of the society.
As among the Ojibwa-Menominee, initiation is accompanied by a formal transfer of a “shell” and of an otter-skin bag. ”

“ No association of shooting of any kind occurs with initiation into a society.
The Kwakiutl example brings up the real question involved in the shooting. To what extent is the shooting ritual of the Medicine Dance of the Winnebago merely one of the forms of disease-throwing which is so common a practice of sympathetic magic? The Central Algonkin Midewiwin are really loose associations of men and women, whose powers are obtained more from individual revelations obtained outside of the Midewiwin than from the benefits of membership in that society. ”

“ If, when he enters the society, he is initiated into all that pertains to it, gradations will not be likely to arise. Generally, however, there is certainly a marked tendency for some sort of gradation, be it due to length of membership, insistence upon separate payments, unwillingness of the older members to impart all to a new member who may withal be quite young, a desire to impart piecemeal in order to enhance the value of the teachings, etc. Whether these possible lines of cleavage will associate themselves with definite markings or rites, is a question of individual cultural development. ”

“ The justification for equating the processes which have played a large part in historical and biological evolution seemed, indeed, apparent. In the cultural history of any people, we find elements splitting up and giving rise to innumerable variations. In this divergence we meet again and again with two phenomena,—first, that of the general decay of cultural elements, of their total disappearance in some cases and of their persistence as vestigial remains in others ”

“ In the Buffalo, Grizzly Bear, Ghost, and Night Societies, there is a basic ritual of essentially the same functions and significance. In all these societies, likewise, objects of specific value to the members are passed from one individual to another; and this “passing” is accompanied by songs, speeches, and ritualistic details. Although the complex differs for each society, it nevertheless presents a definite ritualistic unit, which must be repeated by each person, or each band belonging to the society, as the case may be. ”

“ We should most naturally expect that certain conceptions, certain cultural possessions, belong to a large body of Omaha. If, then, we find them in a certain society, it is most natural to assume that they have not been obtained by reason of membership therein, but that this society will reflect general Omaha ideas. This or that society may emphasize certain ideas, and may develop them along certain lines, but it certainly does not originate them. They have no relation of cause and effect to any particular society. ”

“ In North America there are numerous examples of women belonging to men’s societies. A cursory examination will bring out what were the possible factors at work there. In the Objibwa-Menominee Midewiwin, women are admitted. Now, in the Ojibwa-Menominee culture, women may become shamans as well as men, and the society based on shamans will naturally include both sexes. If there are fewer women than men, this is because fewer women become shamans. In the Winnebago Medicine Dance, wealth and certain requirements possessed by both men and women are the only essentials for admission ”

“ Among us, this admission of women is due to the fact that they are now in the same industries that men are. However, there are manifold factors which can and do bring about the admission of women into men’s societies or their exclusion therefrom. The nature of some societies may exclude men, just as it may exclude women. A soldiers’ society will exclude women, because women are not soldiers. Similarly a sewing society will probably exclude men. The exclusion of women will therefore depend upon the specific functions of a society ”

“ Long life means essentially the life consisting of a normal length of years, with all the possessions of wealth, social and intellectual distinction, that would naturally be included. Among the Winnebago, this concept of years is very definite, because they believe that to each individual has been assigned a life containing a certain number of years, a certain amount of wealth, a certain number of enemies killed on the warpath, etc. If a man, therefore, dies before he has reached the end of his “predestined” life, the residue, it is hoped, will be distributed among his relatives. ”

“ The privileges of women differ from those of the men, in that the women do not have to partake of the sweat-bath, may never become assistants, and are privileged to dance in a certain way. In other respects they have equal privileges with men. In practice, there are certain privileges that women never have, but this is due to the fact that either they do not care or they are not in a position to buy them. ”

“ The common interests that drew men together into groups have thus far been those conditioned largely by age. In the development of society, however, interests became more and more diversified, and resulted, first, in the disappearance of the age factor as the essential element for associations, and, secondly, in the necessity for more closely organized units with specific characteristics. To obtain this close organization, one of the essential elements was secrecy, and thus developed out of the “men’s174 house” those innumerable clubs and secret societies which we find so common to-day. ”

“ However, when, as in Africa, we see a very strong tendency for the formation of societies, and see at the same time a very large number of women societies, it seems far more justifiable to assume that the women societies are formed in response to the same tendencies as those of men. ”

“ The bond of such a society is generally expressed outwardly, by the possession of some “gift” which is intimately connected with the animal, be it a head-dress, a tail, facial decorations, or the right to the use of a certain drum, etc. The only society among the Winnebago where no revelation is required for admission is the Medicine Dance. There are, however, a number of elements which connect the Medicine Dance with the other type of society so common among the Winnebago. For instance, there is an outward mark of membership ”