Encyclopedia

manito

manito (măn'itō) [key], name used among Native Americans of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock to describe the supernatural power that permeates all things (see animism). The idea of a supreme and personified manito, Kitchi Manito, may have been learned from missionaries. Manito is also spelled manitoa, manitua, manitou, and manetto.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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