For the Marvel Comics character, see Wendigo . For the 2001 horror film, see Wendigo The Wendigo (also Windigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, and numerous other variants)The name is Wiindigoo in the Ojibwe language (the source of the English word [LINK: Brightman] 1988:344), Wìdjigò in the Algonquin language, and W?htik?w in the Cree language; the Proto-Algonquian term was *wi·nteko·wa, which probably originally meant "owl" (Goddard 1969, cited in Brightman 1988:340). is a figure appearing in Algonquian mythology. In these legends, it is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Humans who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to reinforce this practice as taboo.