Wendigo, the Canadian Myth

I’ll admit to never even having heard of the term wendigo until an episode of the now defunct hit television series “Charmed.” Even then, I just automatically assumed that it was just another name for the mythological creature – the werewolf. I was, of course, wrong!

The wendigo is apparently unique to North America. Algonquian tribes like the Ojibwa, Innu, and Cree had many legends about the creature. However, I also discovered through some of the paperwork of my great-grandmother (who was Cherokee) that many North American tribes believed in these creatures or something very similar in nature.

In most instances, wendigos were believed to have began their lives as human beings. How they became wendigos, however, seems to be open to several different theories.

Some tribes believed that innately evil humans could willingly turned themselves in the malevolent beings. They did so specifically for the purpose of preying upon mankind. Other tribes associated the creatures with witch doctors because of the great supernatural and spiritual power that the creatures could supposedly wield. Still others believed that humans only became wendigos after taking part in any form of cannibalism.

One thing that seemed constant in all tales of these creatures is that they embodied all the worst sins of mankind such as gluttony, greed, pride, vanity, and excess. They also considered themselves steps above the rest of mankind on the evolutionary scale, which is why they felt justified in cannibalizing their own.

Many also believed that wendigos took on the strength and power of those they consumed. Some also thought that they grew both in height and weight with each successive meal. What their feeding habits did not do, however, is satiate their appetites. The more they consumed, the more they wanted.

Wendigos were often described as ugly giants or ogres with yellow-orange skin and amber to deep brown hairy bodies. They also reportedly had overly large, talon like clawed hands, glowing eyes, sharp fangs, and long tongues.

Although it was believed that wendigos generally gave into their baser instincts, others insisted that the change from human to wendigo wasn’t always a matter of choice. Those who were forced to indulge in cannibalistic acts during famine often refused to repeat those acts when other food was readily available.

However, once transformed into a wendigo, their cravings remained constant, forcing them to live far from civilization, within the deep woods, in order to avoid putting other humans at risk. Those who could not resist their instincts sometimes committed suicide.

This interpretation of the wendigo myth leads some to make a case for the existence of Sasquatch or Big Foot. If wendigo legend is true, perhaps these creatures are wendigos hiding out in the woods in order to keep humanity safe.

Many North American tribes so feared the wendigo that they held special ceremonies meant to keep them away. Particularly during times of famine, when it was believed that more people turned to cannibalistic acts, ceremonies were held regularly in hopes of keeping the creatures at bay while also discouraging tribal members from turning to the dark side.

Much in the same way that America practiced witch-hunts in the early days of our country, Canada participated in wendigo trials. Many accounts of such trials are available through study of Canadian history.

One such story involved a young Indian boy who turned himself over to authorities stating he had an overwhelming desire to eat his sister. He willingly submitted to the court’s sentence of death. He allowed himself to be hung. Afterwards, his body was burned and his ashes dispersed; the only method that supposedly led to a wendigo’s permanent death.

Modern science had long since come up with a diagnosis for the wendigo phenomenon. Called the “Wendigo Psychosis”, it is believed to be the direct psychiatric response to famine cannibalism. Physicians believe that humans become so disgusted by their actions that they invent the disease as a means to justify what they have done.

While I would love to believe that neither wendigos or the attached psychosis exists, the more research I do into subjects like human sacrifice and cannibalism, the more I am forced to accept that virtually anything is possible. It has become increasingly clear that there are “more things under heaven and earth than we have dreamt of” and for every miracle there is often a matching horror. I guess that is just the balance of life.