Wizhep'ueja

Wizhep'ueja ('rising sun' in the Hocak language) is a supporting character in 'Merganser,' one of the junior shamans at Panther Eyes Shrine alongside Naawij.

ethnicity
Wizhep'ueja is one of the first characters to demonstrate to Kishkatoa'soanuk the ethnic diversity of Owashtanang. He is a young Hocak (Winnebago) man, the traditional enemy of the Potawatomi.

main article: woven string technique
Wizhep'ueja's main fighting style depends on the weaving or braiding of strings with various small enchanted objects, such as beads, flowers, copper or dye. Once he properly enchants a "banner" of strings, he can release its spell. Most of the banners he weaves are capable of expanding to much greater than their normal size, as a result of the enchanted string he uses and the talismanic bond he has with it.

abacus principle
The "abacus principle" refers to the fact that a shaman can simply braid beads into a string "banner" in the proper order and activate a particular spell, so long as the bundle they have on their person contains this spell and associates it with this pattern of beads. Wizhep'ueja's medicine bundle has several abacus principles programmed into it, and he has most of them perfectly memorized, even under pressure.