The oral traditions of the Algonquian-speaking First Nations in North America tell us about magical and supernatural beings. As in all cultures, these creatures are part of their worldview, although they are not always beings who give faith and hope. The legend of the wendigo tells the existence of a supernatural being that may well have been part of North American traditions as a means to internalize order and respect for the community.
The origin of the wendigo
According to most Algonquian oral traditions, the wendigo is a creature that feeds on human beings and has a preference for those weak-minded who fall into selfishness. Most of the legends of the different North American peoples narrate that humans can become a wendigo after their spirit succumbs to greed, is isolated from their community or loses their values due to the desperation caused by hunger and poverty. cold.
Depending on the different Algonquian peoples that include the Abenaki, Siksika, Mi’kmaq, Algonquin, Ojibwe, Cree, Kikapú and even the Innu, it is the name given to the creature. The word ‘wendigo’ or ‘windigo’ is believed to come from the Proto-Algonquian ‘wi-nteko-wa’ meaning ‘owl’. But you can also find other variations such as ‘windigoo’ in Ojibwa, ‘wìdjigò’ in Algonquin and ‘wīhtikōw’ in the Cree language.
What is the wendigo like?
Although the appearance of the wendigo is not very clear, since according to legends only those who have seen it could detail it, the creature has been described as having a humanoid appearance of great stature and bony. It has long limbs with thin, elongated claw-like fingers and its face is terrifying, as it shows its sharp teeth.
It has also been described as having pointed ears and sharp elk-like antlers sprouting from its head. His eyes are milky and seem to be out of their sockets, but above all, he is accompanied by an unpleasant odor that covers his ash-colored skin.
*Credits: Andrés Ríos
In the legends of traditional peoples, wendigos are as tall as a person, however, they become proportionally larger the more beings they devour. They are attributed powers such as superhuman strength and endurance, which allow them to stalk their victims.
Egoism and cannibalism: the formula to create a windigo
The legend of the windigo reveals much more about the identity, idiosyncrasies and ways of life of traditional North American peoples than it might seem. For some anthropologists, these creatures reinforce values and help maintain a taboo on attitudes that people see as unacceptable.
Situations that were very common in the ways of life of the people are reflected in the legend. Being isolated from the group and succumbing to extreme hunger and cold were latent events that constantly threatened the communities.
In fact, most of the stories in which the windigos appear begin with a group isolated from their community that faces the greatest state of survival and that in some cases, hunger led them to cannibalism. Windigo were believed to devour lone travelers or a selfish member of the group, then temporarily take on their personality and begin devouring other humans.
In nature, human survival often depended on team cooperation and the sharing of resources, otherwise only the greediest would survive. In times of scarcity in regions with extreme conditions, it was highly frowned upon for an individual to keep the few resources for himself.
It is for this reason that the windigo may have served as a mythological creature that helped internalize the values of community cooperation and served as a reminder that the practice of cannibalism had no place even in the most extreme situations.