Spirits in Anishnabe culture. Manitous can be either good or evil. Boyden references Gitchi Manitou, the primary spiritual force in Anishnabe culture, several times in Three Day Road. The windigo, on the other hand, serves as an example of an evil manitou. Manitous are fundamental to Anishnabe spirituality and culture.
Get the entire Three Day Road LitChart as a printable PDF.
Manitous Term Timeline in Three Day Road
The timeline below shows where the term Manitous appears in Three Day Road. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Noohtaawiy: My Father
Micah’s flesh was removed from the pack and placed “high in a tree for the manitous to watch over.” In the passing days, Niska listened as Micah’s wife “fell into madness.”...
(full context)
Kiskinohanaasowin: Learning
...rain falls relentlessly for five days in the trenches, and it makes Xavier “wonder if manitous are unhappy with [him].” Elijah, however, “is happy.” He wears an old German helmet he...
(full context)
Ishinakwahitisiw: Turning
...and recovery. They work in threes and “die in threes,” and pray to their three manitous, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
(full context)
