MANITOU

 

“We walk the paths of the many worlds.”

 

Cross seas and mountains we came,

In sunrises long ago, to find our homes;

Strangers among friends in the lands of our ancestors,

The ones who feared our gifts, and chided us for reaching

Beyond the boundaries of godhood.

Not cast out, but shunned, and so did we depart,

To find a space where we could be free

To practice our ways in peace.

 

Father Lu, Lucifer, the light-bringer,

Shone on our endeavors.

Mother Luna and Sister Cat blessed our spears and our fangs,

And our transformations, so we thrived in the new world

And found a space where our kind could roam free and wide.

 

Welcome to the land of the Manitou,

The Shamen, the People Taught By the Earth.

Walk the Way of our ancestors,

And know the beast-god within you.

 

 

“Mother I feel you under my feet.

Father I hear your heart beat.

Sister I see you where the raven flies;

Your spirit will take me higher.”

--Manitou chant

 

Notes:

 

“Whether the Manitou are were-creatures, true shape-shifters, or merely quite adept at glamours and hypnosis we can not be certain. They guard their secrets closely and even other karui are reluctant to give an opinion on the subject. What is known is that the “gifts” of the certain sidhe so disturbed their fellows that the gifted ones were moved to ban together and find a territory of their own. ”

--Shannon Avery