[T]he Iliniouek . . . hold that there is a great and excellent genius, master of all the rest, who made Heaven and Earth; and who dwells, they say, in the East, toward the country of the French. (Claude Allouez, 1667) Painted deer hide: detail of thunderbird motif. Attributed to the Illinois Indians (pre-1796)

The Illinois worshiped one god above all others--Kitchesmanetoa (kitch•es•man•e•TO•a), the "spirit master of life"--which they considered the maker of all things. They also honored the sun and the thunder, both of which were manifestations of Kitchesmanetoa that helped maintain life on earth. This belief in a supreme deity attracted the attention of Jacques Marquette and other French missionaries. In the singularity of Kitchesmanetoa the priests saw a parallel between their own religious beliefs and those of the Illinois, and they hoped that this similarity would make the Illinois receptive to Christianity.