Among the Minsi the beliefs concerning the Doll Being were similar, but differed in detail. As to origin, Wolf told the writer that one time a man lay ill, likely to die, and his family called in a medicine-man, or “witch-doctor.” The shaman finally announced that the family must make one of these dolls and care for it, and that the sick man would then get well. This was done, and the doctor’s prediction being realized, the Minsi have ever since made and used these dolls, called in their dialect naniʹtĭs, which were transmitted from parents to children. Wolf’s own mother had one, carved out of wood in the form of a person, with a woman’s dress and moccasins (for as a rule they represent women); and she always cared for it religiously, in the belief that if well treated it would protect the family and give them good health, but if neglected, someone would surely die. Every year, in the fall, when the deer are in their best condition, Wolf’s mother held a dance for it, called “Feeding the Naniʹtĭs;” but she did more than feed it: she put new clothes on it, three sets, and new moccasins every year. She believed that the image sometimes went about of its own accord, although she kept it carefully in a box, for the old dresses always seemed worn at the bottom and soiled, and she found burrs clinging to them when she went to put new clothes on “Naniʹtĭs.”
She hired a man especially to hunt a yearling doe for the ceremony, which took place in her own dwelling. The details are lost, but it is remembered that a man beat a little drum and sang while she, as owner, danced around, carrying the doll in her hands, followed by such of the other women present as wished to participate. Said Wolf, “The Naniʹtĭs helped the Indians, that’s why they fed it.”
PL. VIII
“NAHNEETIS THE GUARDIAN OF HEALTH”
(E. T. Tefft Collection, American Museum of Natural History)
An Old Minsi “Doll.”—The writer was able to obtain but one old specimen of this type ([pl. VIII]), which was procured at the Grand River reserve, Ontario, for the E. T. Tefft collection, now in the American Museum of Natural History, and was described in the writer’s article,[55] before cited, as follows:
“Perhaps the most interesting Delaware specimen of all is the little wooden image, about eight inches high, bought of Dr. Jones, which his father, Rev. Peter Jones, described and illustrated in his book under the name ‘Nahneetis, the Guardian of Health.’ He says:
“‘I have in my possession two family gods. One is called Pabookowaih—the god that crushes or breaks down diseases. The other is a goddess named Nahneetis, the guardian of health. This goddess was delivered up to me by Eunice Hank, a Muncey Indian woman, who with her friends used to worship it in their sacred dances, making a feast to it every year, when a fat doe was sacrificed as an offering, and many presents were given by the friends assembled. She told me she was now restored to worship the Christian’s God, and therefore had no further use for it.’