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Monuments and Landscape in Atlantic Europe, Scarre

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<< Text Pages >> The Manitou Idol - Sculptured Stone in United States in Great Lakes Midwest

Submitted by TheDruid-3X3 on Friday, 22 May 2020  Page Views: 2250

Multi-periodSite Name: The Manitou Idol
Country: United States
NOTE: This site is 6.854 km away from the location you searched for.

Region: Great Lakes Midwest Type: Sculptured Stone
Nearest Town: Detroit, Michigan
Latitude: 42.360000N  Longitude: 82.981389W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
Destroyed Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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There used to be a native venerated Idol in this approximate area of Detroit that was destroyed by the first French Christian Missionaries in 1670. It was reputed to have been called the 'Manitou' Idol by the Natives. The Idol was reputed to have been in Humanoid Shape and was said to have been Painted and Decorated by the local Erie Native Band.

It was reputed to have been broken up by an Axe that had been first Blessed & Consecrated by the Missionary Priests Francois Dollier de Casson and Rene de Brehant de Galinee.

This happened in the days when Christian Missionaries cared little for other people's beliefs or cultures.
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"The Manitou Idol" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Re: The Manitou Idol by Anonymous on Friday, 03 February 2023
Born and raised in Michigan, and have had friends and co-workers who were Anishnaabe. I''m aware of this story, and habe tried researching it several times before for a book. My - somewhat educated - take on this is that the story is a fabrication, or at least an exaggeration.



First, there is only one source for this. All other later sources cite that. This is why there is never information beyond the 5 "facts" - 1670, stone idol, Eire tribe, destroyed with a consecrated axe, French missionaries.



Second, I was never able to locate a a source for this idol earlier than the book Legends of Le Detroit in 1883. So, this story was never recorded until 2 centuries after it took place. So recorded from local oral storytelling, after 200 years of corruption. Unlikely that such an inconsequential story would survive centuries of oral tradition when it led to nothing of importance to the settlement as it changed hands from French, to British, to American, to British again, to American again.



Third, none of the Anishnaabe (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi) were known to build idols. And the religious artifacts they did build (soul houses, scrolls) were all made of wood.



Fourth, the French were able to maintain overall amiable relations with the Anishnaabe at Detroit and Michigan in general. Seems unlikely if the French were out smashing objects of religious reverence as soon as they set foot there.



Fifth, manitou (or Manidoo) is the name for "spirit" in Anishnaabewomin. That is an Algonquin language spoken by the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi. It is not a word in the Iroquoisan languages, which the Eire people spoke.



Sixth, the Eire were not in the Detroit area. In 1670, the Eire would have been hundreds of miles east, in Pennsylvania and New York. The Erie wouldn''t live anywhere near Detroit until 1817, after the Anishnaabe left the area. This also points to the story being an invention of the 1800s, when many Detroiters probably just assumed the Eire in the area had always lived there.



Seventh, Michigan has many place names with "manitou" in them, but they are never associated with constructed things. Only with naturally occurring features. (This is just how the Anishnaabe religion works.)



Eighth, smashing a large stone idol with a 17th century axe seems unlikely. No matter how many blessings you toss on it. This just doesn''t pass the smell test for me. (Though I am no expert in metallurgy.)



Everything I''ve managed to piece together about this story leads me to believe it is a piece of local Detroit "fakelore" from the 1800s.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Manitou Idol by Andy B on Thursday, 11 June 2020
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Some similar stone structures are shown here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14762178351/
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Manitou Idol by Andy B on Friday, 22 May 2020
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TheDruid-3X3 writes: the articles indicate that the Venerated Idol had a Grove of 12 Peach Trees planted around it in Water Works Park called the 12 Apostles.

That could be the Grove of Trees that is planted just South of Hurlbut Memorial Gate.

Found this Link:
https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/water-works-park-tower

According to this article, the Site of the 12 Apostle Trees were replaced by a Water Works Tower 1876 and in that Link, there is a pointer that shows that this Tower was located at Geothe Street between Cadillac and Hurlbut Streets. But this Link says it was located at East Jefferson and Cadillac right where the Hurlbut Memorial Gate is now located.

So with the Best Information I can get at the moment, the Manitou Idol Site must have been the Grove of Trees that is just South of Hurlbut Memorial Gate.

And according to descriptions that I have been able to get, the Idol was made in a Humanoid Shape that was Painted and Decorated by the Natives who lived there at the time. But there is not even any Drawings of what the Idol may have looked like.

3X3
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Re: The Manitou Idol by Andy B on Friday, 22 May 2020
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TheDruid-3X3 writes: I am looking into this story of a Destroyed Stone Idol in the City of Detroit:
https://www.geni.com/projects/Founding-of-Detroit/27467

"The first recorded mention of the site was in 1670s, when French missionaries found a stone idol venerated by the Indians there and destroyed it with an axe. Early settlers planted twelve missionary pear trees "named for the twelve Apostles" on the grounds of what is now Waterworks Park."

I also found this:
https://books.google.ca/books?id=u0WR6JeTHvQC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=Detroit+Venerated+Idol&source=bl&ots=nR1x1OsYEV&sig=ACfU3U1bAjzpKm_JZmKnC8mRFiXPKGyLfg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiek-WPssXpAhUYvJ4KHazmDmAQ6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Detroit%20Venerated%20Idol&f=false

It looks like the Idol was Broken Up and thrown into the River. Looks like the Idol stood in what is now Water Works Park in Detroit.

Here is another mention of the Destroyed Stone Idol:
https://books.google.ca/books?id=MGJnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT655&lpg=PT655&dq=Detroit+Venerated+Idol&source=bl&ots=jALB9bT2kq&sig=ACfU3U1tCXYBRyPfjCDr_DZBBbsqpRmJRA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiek-WPssXpAhUYvJ4KHazmDmAQ6AEwCXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Detroit%20Venerated%20Idol&f=false

This Link takes you to the Story of how the Detroit Idol as well as several others in the Region being Destroyed by Chritian Missionaries:

https://books.google.ca/books?id=495EDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=Detroit+Venerated+Idol&source=bl&ots=_VwkCg4nOV&sig=ACfU3U0RjDg3t_UOGgpw_7nTUFVbgFhn6A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiek-WPssXpAhUYvJ4KHazmDmAQ6AEwC3oECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=Detroit%20Venerated%20Idol&f=false

Groan!

3X3
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