Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 28, 2025
Hence the necessity for some one having the power to expel this evil spirit that afflicts man in such various ways; and the "ongootkoot," rising to the emergency of the occasion by pretending to have the desired power, early became the important man of the tribe.
It looks around, then selects some young woman about ready to enter womanhood, one that is noted for her virtue and other good qualities, to become its mother. Having made the selection, it awaits the opportunity and uses her as the medium for gaining its desire. In due course of time a child is born, which on maturity becomes an "Ongootkoot" of the first grade.
Under the growing enlightenment of the people, his supposed power is diminishing, and the "karookto" is becoming a thing of the past. The "Ongootkoot" is the sorcerer, prophet and historian.
The claims for "Ungmana," another "Ongootkoot" of the first grade, were that he could lay his abdomen open, then, placing fuel inside, set the mass on fire, the people being allowed to witness the blaze and smoke. He would then remove the charred mass, and on closing the wound there would be no sign left of an injury having been inflicted.
This, however, did not relieve the widow of her obligation to pay the "Ongootkoot" for his valuable services, and as she was very poor and had nothing with which to meet it, Puneunau took the widow herself for his fee. The Inupash believe there are spirits wandering through space. Occasionally one of them, becoming discontented, desires to enter the world as a human being.
The thing seemed wonderful in the eyes of the villagers, gaining for him the reputation of being an "Ongootkoot." One thing troubled Puneunau, however: he was still a widower, much against his will, not for any lack of perseverance in offering himself to all the neighboring widows, but because none of them would accept his offer. At last that slight difficulty was removed.
He claims to have the power of expelling "Toongna" by his enchantments, and can do such marvelous things as change the wind, drive off eclipses, avert or drive off misfortunes and expel the evil one from the sick. There are two ways of becoming an "Ongootkoot" one is by inheritance, the other by claiming to have performed some marvelous act.
The "Ongootkoot," however, has had his day and is now on the decline. One often hears the older people say, as they shake their heads, that he is not the wonderful man he was in the days of old. The young people, through their growing enlightenment, are also losing confidence in the man and his claims.
The thing seemed incredible; it even surpassed the doings of the wonderful "Ongootkoot" who was very successful in driving off eclipses, thereby saving the villagers from some terrible catastrophes. At the appointed time the people gathered, filling "Nanoona's" iglo; even the roof was packed.
Even to-day, superstition seems to exist among the older people, although there is scarcely any one who would care to assert that he had seen such a thing at a very recent date. In 1892 a young woman came to me with the information that the previous evening an "Ongootkoot" had seen a black man and boy walk slowly across the land, then out upon the ocean, where they disappeared.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking