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The Windigo Spirit The dreaded Windigo is the most horrible creature in the lands of the Cree and Ojibway Indians. Nothing strikes more terror in the hearts of the Anishinabek than the thoughts of Windigo. The cannibalistic Windigos strike from the north during the first moons of the winter and will restlessly haunt out lands searching for food as far to the south as the snow belt extends. Windigos’ have been known to attack during the summer but this is very rare. The Windigo was once a normal human being but having been being possessed by a savage cannibalistic spirit. When a human is possessed by Windigo, ice forms inside the human body, hair grows profusely from the face, arms and legs and an insatiable craving for human flesh develops. When the ugly creature attacks it shows men no mercy whatsoever. This monster will kill and devour its own family to try and satisfy its lust for human flesh. The Windigo is inhuman because of the powerful spirit of cannibalism and destruction residing in its own body. When a Windigo has destroyed its own people, it will travel in a straight line across the forest until it finds the next group of victims. Usually high winds and blizzards accompany the Windigo in its travels. It is said that the scream of a Windigo will paralyze a man, preventing him from protecting himself. Sometimes an attack by a Windigo can be turned away by a powerful medicine man and this has occurred. There is a place at Sandy Lake Ghost Point that was marauded and destroyed by a Windigo in the old days. Those remains of the village are still there today. Sacred Legends of the Sandy Lake Cree Told by: Carl Ray and James Stevens. |