Chinook Indian Talk

Re: Religion

From: tenas kumtux
Date: 1/3/2003
Time: 11:51:42 PM
Remote Name: 137.53.105.80

Comments

Trying to sort out the Chinook system of beliefs is a difficult task. To begin with, I would suggest you abandon your search for this information in secondary sources. Primary sources, such as the journals, logbooks and ledgers of the early trappers and traders, provide the clearest information on Chinook beliefs.

The secondary sources you list are excellent works. However, for a variety of reasons, they generally fail to answer some specific questions about religion.

First, let me stress that this information is sacred. It is still practiced in one form or another by a number of people.

And now for the proverbial “can of worms.”

You see… the religion has changed.

In the mid to late nineteenth century the teachings of Smohalla and the Dreamers brought the old system of beliefs to a near halt. Story telling and doctrine gave way to mysticism and dream walking. Furthermore, the policies of the U.S. government toward American Indians amounted to cultural genocide, where ancient traditions were blended or stripped away.

If you read the early journals [pre-1830], some of the mid-19th century documents [notably the ethnological data from the Charles Wilkes expedition], and a bit of the testimony from the turn-of-the-century court hearings [be sure to read Silas Smith’s testimony] you will begin to understand.

The information exists in bits and pieces. There is no one document that will provide a clear answer. If you are truly interested for spiritual reasons, and not just idle curiosity, read these early documents and let your heart guide you.

I will tell you what I believe. I have to caution you in advance that I am frequently way off base.

To begin with, most of the early information on the Chinook religion is flawed. If you understand the nature of the flaw you can begin to reconstruct the religion. The flaw is that the early trappers, traders, and missionaries were Christians. They tried to make the Chinook religion fit a Judeo/ Christian template. They were looking for the lost tribes of Israel, evidence of Noah’s flood, etc.

The Chinook religious model is more closely related to models from Central America and Asia.

There is no one Supreme Being, rather, there are two supreme spirits, Econe and Ecutoch. They function like the Hot and Cold forces of the Mayan cosmos, or the Yin and Yang of the Tao.

Because Econe [in his Etalapus form] created the world the early Christian journalists cast this spirit in the role of the supreme God, and they saw Ecutoch as an evil Being.

While Econe is a creative force and Ecutoch a destructive one, they are neither good nor bad. In nature, birth and death are part of the cycle of life. They exist in balance. Econe and Ecutoch represent opposing natural forces and it is good when they exist in harmony. For this reason the Chinook made offerings and prayers to both.

Because Econe and Ecutoch generally distanced themselves from the wants and needs of mankind, offerings and prayers were relayed through a third party. This third party was the guardian and protector of the Chinook people. He opened their eyes and mouths and gave movement to their hands and feet. He taught them how to build canoes, houses, and tools. He placed rocks and impediments in the rivers and streams so that fish would be plentiful in those places. This powerful spirit’s name is Ekannim, which in Chinook means “The Canoe.”

“The Canoe” is an old one, an Elip Tillicum, a member of the race of spirit beings that first inhabited the world.

The early missionaries caused further confusion on the subject of the Supreme Being. They most often listed “Ekannim” as being the Chinook word for “God.” It is easy to see why they made this transposition. They were attempting to indoctrinate the Chinook in the teachings of Christ and the concept of the holy trinity. The Chinook also had a trinity, and in this trinity it was Ekannim that most closely resembled Christ, having come to earth to save the Chinook. Ekannim was their “savior” and the being they prayed directly to.

In the early portion of the 19th century the Chinook referred to themselves as Ekannim Tillicum, “The Canoe People.” I am convinced that they were referring to more than just a means of transportation.

By mid-century their belief in Ekannim as a protector was seriously shaken. It was at this time that the Dreamer cults arose.

I hope this is useful to you.

Last changed: January 03, 2003