Dictionary

bear walker en · NOUN

Etymology

Calque of Ojibwe me'coubmoosa (“bear walker”).

Meanings

1. (qualifier:Native American) An evil sorcerer, specifically one who walks by night in the form of a bear.
   • These bear-walkers owed their powers to their personal manito, the bear, and traveled in disguise at night, causing disease among their victims. 1983, Christopher Vecsey, Traditional Ojibwa Religion and its Historical Changes, →ISBN, page 148:
   • The hair ornament was worn by the Bear-Walker before and during the casting of spells. 1901, Charles Edward Brown, The Wisconsin Archeologist, page 116:
   • He told Jim he saw a Bear-walker approaching the house then and there. 1953, Inland Seas, Great Lakes Historical Society, page 13

Forms

Relateds

bear walk

Synonyms

werebear