lifetime. During the ceremony the sponsors pledged to help the couple.
Myself, I had taken on the responsibility of organizing the collection of food. I would have to send hunters out for wìyàs and kìgònz.
The first thing that I built was another fish weir. I built it at the mouth of the small river that emptied into the Kitchi-Sìbì. I placed a row of stakes in the riverbed, and then cut new growth reeds and weaved them together, leaving enough space between the weaves for the small fish to escape. We always made sure that we took only the mature, larger fish and left the young to grow and restock. This weir would catch enough fish in two or three days of the pickerel run to feed all the guests. Our women would be kept busy cleaning and smoking the catch.
The hunters would need to bring back at least twenty deer and lots of nika (geese) and shìshìb (duck) for the feast. For this job I asked Kàg and Mònz to look after obtaining the game. Since they would have to go far afield for the deer, Mitigomij would not be able to go with them. Instead he watched over the well-being of the village and took Esiban and Agwingos to the Kitchi-Sìbì to hunt geese and ducks.
Young men usually looked to their uncles for direction on how to be trained on the art of hunting and warriorhood. Fathers also led their sons toward what they had to become skilled at, but with an uncle there was more of an understanding and urgency about the skills that had to be acquired. Algonquin children were very rarely disciplined; it would have had to be a serious offense for them to be punished. The environment that they were raised in was harsh enough without their parents handing out punishment. From the time that they began to walk, males were versed in the art of hunting and girls in the chores of a woman. Young males were always playing games that tested their endurance. Boys were given a bow and arrow at a very young age. They used these weapons to play games of accuracy and to hunt small game. Young girls were given tasks in the village such as getting water, gathering wood, and picking berries. When there were skins to be made into clothes, they helped with that task also. They were taught to clean game and smoke the meat. Men were responsible for supplying meat and defending the village. Women fed the family, raised the children, made clothing, and packed up the camp when it had to be moved. Therefore it was very important that the children learned their jobs at a very young age. They were also taught to share their food, clothing, and spoils of the hunt. From the time they were born, every day was a learning experience for all Algonquin children.
Weddings were always a time of feasting, dancing, and renewing acquaintances with other family units. It was also a joyous occasion for the village because they would be acquiring another warrior and hunter. The wedding took place under an arbour or in a ceremonial lodge. The couple committed themselves to the Creator, Kitchi Manitou. There was no breaking the commitment. The person who married them was known as the pipe carrier. They had to show total commitment before he would perform the ceremony.
Then the couple made a declaration that they wanted to be known as husband and wife. The pipe was lit and they smoked from it. Nasemà (tobacco) was then offered to and accepted by the pipe carrier.
With the day of the wedding only a couple of suns away, the Algonquin family units of the Kitcisìpiriniwak were starting to come to our village to erect their lodges. Wàgosh and Kwìngwìshì were busy making their clothing for the ceremony. With the help of friends and family, they were also engrossed in making gifts for the giveaway.
Once the ceremony was completed, the guests would all be invited to eat. First to eat would be the elders, then the pipe carrier, then the bride, groom, sponsors, and other guests. Any food that was not eaten would be given to the elders.
All the guests that came would be given a gift. The gifts were laid out on hides and the people starting with the elders down to the children would come forward to receive a gift of their choosing.
The joyful day commenced with the rising of the sun. Kwìngwìshì went down to the river to wash herself in order to be blessed by the spirit of the Earth. As the sun arrived at the top of the sky, the pipe carrier started the ceremony. Within minutes it was over and the drummers started. The guests started singing and dancing in honour of the married couple. The food was brought out and the festivities carried on. That night Wàgosh and Kwìngwìshì slept in a specially prepared lodge.
With my wife Wàbananang at my side, we feasted and danced throughout the night. The fires were kept burning brightly and the guests told stories of past heroic deeds and ancestors forever gone. The weshki-
nibawidjig (newlyweds) had long since retired to their wedding lodge.
I was overcome with happiness that my brother had married and was lost in my thoughts as I watched the children play by the fires and the people drum and sing.
Wàbananang then held me close and whispered in my ear, “I am àndjig-o (pregnant).”
I turned and looked at her in the glow of the fire and kissed her on the forehead. “My wife, I am very happy. Life is very good!” I then started to feel the warmth of the fire and fell asleep in my wife’s arms.
I awoke in the morning under the sky with a fur robe over me and my wife beside me. Standing over me was my brother Mitigomij with my wolf pup Ishkodewan licking my face.
Mitigomij said, “Mahingan, we have company coming down the river. They are not Omàmiwinini, but they have shown no aggressive tactics. They camped on the small island across from our village last night. I observed at least fifty chìmàn (canoes) and of what I could see in the diminishing light of the evening they were mostly warriors. I think they are Nippissing!”
16
The Challenge
“I DID NOT WAKE you Mahingan because they went right to the island and camped. I put all the other sentries on alert and told them to sound the alarm if they saw any movement from the island during the night. Because of the wàwìyeyano (full moon) and the cloudless sky, the island and waters in-between were well lit. If they had made any move during the night, the village would’ve been warned in ample time.”
After Mitigomij’s warning, I proceeded to wake the camp. The wedding had drawn eleven family units to our village, totalling about four hundred and fifty men, women, and children, of which there were probably about one hundred and sixty warriors. The families were staying together all summer for protection and to hunt and fish. Since we had wintered here, we would not stay another winter because the fish and game would be stressed by this many people hunting here. My group would transfer to another spot during the winter. The next spring we would travel to a site that another family unit had wintered.
Calling all the other family heads together, I told them that Mitigomij had observed a large party of Nippissing that had camped on the small island. I also told them about the small encounter that we had in the winter with the Nippissing warriors over the killing of the moose in their territory.
“Fellow family heads and chiefs, I do not think that our enemies from the north have come to wage war on us, because if that was their plan, they wouldn’t be so obvious about their presence. I would imagine that they would send someone to talk to us soon. We will have to wait.”
The other family units agreed with me that we should wait. The women brought us food. They had boiled us a meal of roots, kìgònz, and deer.
Soon after we had eaten, one of the sentries came to the village and approached where we were eating.
“Mahingan, Mitigomij says to come to the shore. Three chìmàn (canoes) have left the island and are approaching the shore.”
With that, the group of leaders
