A book by Ojibwa author Basil Johnston, explaining Ojibwa history and traditional culture in mythological terms. Chapters include: Preface To The Bison Book Edition --- Preface --- The Vision Of Kitche Manitou --- Father Sun & Mother Earth --- The Nature Of Plants --- The Nature Of Animals --- Man's World --- The Midewewin --- The Path Without End --- The Path Of Souls (Of Death & Afterlife) --- The Four Hills Of Life --- The Vision (Self Understanding & Fulfilment) --- Ceremonies, Songs, Dances --- The Incorporeal World

Learning about Ojibwa culture and traditional beliefs from an insider's perspective, and placing their beliefs in a mythological context which may make them easier to understand.

The author's use of fictional people in his narratives, including with traditional Ojibwa names (and their meanings), to give the stories a more immediate, personal feel. The listing of different manitous at the end was helpful too.

The typographical errors and some misspellings, which could have been corrected in a line edit. The book is also very repetitive at times, saying the same thing in successive paragraphs, but I've read that this was the traditional Ojibwa style of telling stories, so perhaps that was intentional.

Read its companion volume, "Ojibway Ceremonies," as well as some of Johnston's other works, "The Manitous" and later "Honour Earth Mother" (see my reviews).

More educated about traditional Ojibwa culture and how closely their mythology and beliefs tied in with more mundane things. In traditional Ojibwa belief, there was no real separation between natural and supernatural, and that shows in these stories where people change shape and interact with spirits as if it's an everyday thing.

Is Basil Johnston, an Ojibwa author of numerous books including "Ojibway Ceremonies," "The Manitous," "Honour Earth Mother," and others. Please see my other reviews for more information on him.

It and its companion volumes provide a good general understanding of the basics of Ojibwa belief and traditional culture from someone who knows what he's talking about.

On re-reading it after I had read the much-later book "Honour Earth Mother," I realized that the two of them are quite similar in theme and format, so it's somewhat like walking the same ground again. However, the stories told ARE different, and it was good to revisit some things I'd forgotten about. If you dislike too much repetition, though, it might not be a good read for you.

Several years ago I purchased this, "The Manitous," and "Ojibway Ceremonies" to get a better understanding of Ojibwa mythology, which I had begun writing about without my knowledge. These three books alone were a very good starting point to understanding this belief system and they helped a great deal to clear up some of my confusion regarding individual manitous. It was only later on that I began to incorporate other details into my writing, so I decided to re-read the book, and it was almost like reading a new book with a better understanding of what was within it. "Ojibway Heritage" and "Ojibway Ceremonies" were written decades ago, but fit right along with the more recent "Honour Earth Mother" in providing an introduction to Ojibwa belief; "The Manitous" is a lengthier book, somewhat more indepth, and better written, though I would recommend all of them for a beginner to this subject.

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Created Jun 15, 2006 at 8:31am • Submit your own review...