Gitche Manitou

Christian missionaries have translated God as Gitche Manitou in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian languages.

Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection.

Cognate terms recorded in other Algonquian languages include: Gitche Manitou has been seen as those cultures' analogue to the Christian God.

Manitou is one aspect of the interconnection and balance of nature and life, similar to the East Asian concept of qi.

These manitous do not exist in a hierarchy like European gods/goddesses, but are more akin to one part of the body interacting with another and the spirit of everything; the collective is named Gitche Manitou.