Other Tribes
In addition to the Algonquian Anishinaabeg, many other tribes believed in Gitche Manitou. References to the Great Manitou by the Cheyenne and the Oglala Sioux (notably in the recollections of Black Elk), indicate that belief in this deity extended into the Great Plains, fully across the wider group of Algonquian peoples.
Cognate terms recorded in other Algonquian languages include:
- Nanticoke (spoken in Maryland): Gichtschi Manitto
- Lenape:
- Minsi: Kitschimanitto
- Unami: Ketanetuwit (<ket- 'great'+(m)anətu 'spirit'+-wi-t 'the one who is'; the initial m- in manətu is elided in this compound)
- Shawnee: Wishemenetou
- Illinois: Kisseh Manetou
- Miami: Kihci Manetoowa
- Ottawa: Gchi-mnidoo
- Sauk Fox: Mannittoo, God
- Narragensett: Manitoo, God
Gitche Manitou has been seen as those cultures' analogue to the Christian God. When early Christian (especially French Catholic) missionaries preached the Gospel to the Algonquian peoples, they adopted Gitche Manitou as a name for God in the Algonquian languages. This can be seen, for example, in the words of the "Huron Carol".
Read more about this topic: Gitche Manitou
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