Indigenous presentation the great laws

GAI’WIIO (THE CODE OF HANDSOME LAKE)

THE PEACEMAKER, THE GREAT LAWS AND THE CONDOLENCE CEREMONY

THE ONHENTON KARIWAHTEKWEN (THE THANKSGIVING ADDRESS)

GAI’WIIO’ THE CODE OF HANDSOME LAKE

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GAI’WIIO’ – HANDSOME LAKE

Recited on various Haudenosaunne reservations in Ontario & New York Ontario – Grand River & Muncytown New York – Onondaga, Tonawanda, Cattaraugus

& Allegany Recited at all annual midwinter

thanksgiving in the moon Nîsko’wûkni (between January 15th & February 15th)

Recited at the Six Nations meeting in September

Six “holder’s” of the Gai’wiio’

“New Religion” of the Six Nations

RECITING THE GAI’WIIO’

• Takes 3 days

Before sunrise each morning, the preacher stands at the fireplace in the longhouse and sings the Sun Song

an assistant or an officer of the rites sits beside the preacher and holds a white wampum strand

First morning a speech is delivered on how the meeting came to be established as an annual affair

http://www.andytheflyguy.ca/pages/images/sunrise/sunrise001.jpg

RECITING THE GAI’WIIO’ The next few mornings are devoted to

hearing “The Good Message”, the Code of Handsome Lake

Everyday at noon the expositor stops because the sun is in midheaven and is ready to descend

The concluding afternoon thanks are given to the Longhouse for fulfilling its obligation

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MESSAGE OF THE FOUR BEINGS

Sent to Handsome Lake by the Creator

Message that the Creator has given four Rituals that are to be performed: Feather Dance - Thanksgiving Dance Personal Chant - Bowl Game

With teachings for the Haudenausonee people

These instructions are the basis of the “New Religion”

FIRST 4 TEACHINGS

Stop Drinking

Withes should confess and cease their practices

Stop the use of Charms

Women should stop aborting

TEACHINGS

Children should be treated kindly & listened to

Old people unable to work should be helped by their grandchildren

Visitors & children playing near the house should be invited to eat when those in the house are eating

People should not gossip or spread evil

People should help each other and not steal

TEACHINGS FOR HUSBANDS & WIVES Should not desert each other Love each other & their children Should not commit adultery Childless couples should adopt children of

the wife’s sister

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CODE OF HANDSOME LAKE

Combines traditional Haudenosaunne religion with white Christian values

Stressed survival without sacrifice of Haudenosaunne identity

Recognized the realistic need to make adjustment to survive their changing world

If the Code was not followed a fire would destroy the world by 2100

Has Played a significant role in the preservation of the Haudenosaunne Nations

THE PEACEMAKER, HIS MESSAGE OF PEACE, & THE GREAT LAWS

Resources:

Haudenosaunee Development Institute. Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Retrieved from http://http://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.ca/contactus.html

Mitchell, M. K., & Buck R. (1984). Traditional teachings. B. K. Barnes (Ed.). Cornwall Island, Ontario: North American Indian Travelling College.

Parker, A. C. (1916). The Constitution of the Five Nations or The Iroquois Book of The Great Law. Albany, NY: Univeristy of the State of New York.

Porter, T. (2008). And Grandma said … Iroquois teachings as passed down through the oral tradition. U.S.A.: Xlibris Corporation.

Wallace, P. (1994). The Iroquois book of life: White roots of peace. Santa Fe, Mexico: Clear Light Publishers.

http://http:/www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.ca/contactus.html

http://http:/www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.ca/contactus.html

THE PEACEMAKER AND HIS JOURNEY

Legends vary in specific details, but all have the same general messages

THE SETTING

At the time the Peacemaker was born, life was said to be very dark

All Nations were fighting with one another and war was constant, even among Indigenous Nations

Some men began to develop dark minds and enjoyed the violence and suffering

People had forgotten their faith, culture, and ceremonies

THE PEACEMAKER: DEGANAWIDAH Born in the Huron

Nation to a virgin mother

(Grand)mother tried to kill him, but he could not be killed

When he became a man he built a canoe out of white marble and started to ‘sail towards the sunrise’ to spread his message of Peace

THE PEACEMAKER’S JOURNEY

Crossed the lake and met Mohawk Hunters; sent message back to Chief

Continued to the lodge of an (evil) woman As the first person to

accept his message, he names her “Jigonahsasee”, and proclaims women will pass down chiefship and name their chiefs


Continues to the house of Tekarihoken, the cannibal Leads him to change his mind and actions Appoints him the first ‘Sachem’ (Chief) of

the Mohawks


Returns to the Mohawk people Passes their ‘test’

and the Mohawk nation becomes the first to accept his message of peace

They are thus the founders of the League of Nations


Two other key players: Hiawatha & Atotarhoh of the Onondaga

Nation Legends vary in the story of

Hiawatha

HIAWATHA/AYONWATHA

Worked with village people to overcome evil Atotarhoh

Dreamer had vision of Hiawatha & Peacemaker together transforming Atotarhoh Hiawatha = He who combs

Daughters (& wife) die one by one Overcome with grief,

leaves the Onondaga people

Some say Tekarihoken was Hiawatha, driven mad by grief

WAMPUMS AND WORDS OF CONDOLENCE

Will be further covered by Katie in a minute … Basically, Peacemaker helped Hiawatha

overcome his grief and return his healthy mind Used Hiawatha’s idea of wampum strings to

‘transcribe’ the Great Laws of Peace with him

THE PEACEMAKER’S JOURNEY CONTINUED Together the Peacemaker and

Hiawatha travelled to the other 3 nations and convinced them to join the League and accept the words of peace

Finally, journeyed back to Atotarho

ATOTARHO / TADODAHO

So evil he had 7 crooks in his body and snakes in his hair

Used powerful Dark Magic Strength of 5 Nations &

the Song of Peace were stronger than him

The Peacemaker healed his body & mind, and named him the head Chief of the 5 Nations

THE 5-NATIONS CLAN SYSTEM

Each of the 5 Nations named Chiefs

Peacemaker divided each Nation into Clans - represented by animals that came to powerful female elders

Clans are like families across Nations

THE TREE OF PEACE

Peacemaker planted a tree of peace to symbolize the union of the Nations

A Great White Pine 4 roots extending in

all directions Eagle to keep watch

for anyone threatening the Nations

Buried all weapons in a stream under tree

THE GREAT LAWS

Transcribed through 113 wampum strings

Based on 3 main ideas: Righteousness, justice Health of mind & body; peace Power, authority; based on law, customs, &

religion

THE GREAT LAWS

Other important points: keep in mind future generations act in the best interest of the

whole share resources and trades have thick skin don’t hold grudges

OTHER IMPORTANT SYMBOLS FROM THE PEACEMAKER

Bound Arrows: stronger than each individual arrow

Longhouse: where Chiefs hold council meetings; symbolizes one big family

Antlers: worn by chiefs Wampums: signal

truth, carry messages

HIAWATHA’S GRIEF AND WANDERING

-Grief at loss of daughters-Wanders woodlands

image source: fanpop.com/spots/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/images/28220143/title/mountain-forest-path-screencap

-Comes to place with jointed rushes-Makes three strings-Words of condolence

image source: cs.man.ac.uk/~david/orkney/flora.html

Jointed Rush (juncus articulatus)


- Lake filled with ducks- Shells on the lake bed- Used shells in strings with words of condolence

image source: imagekind.com/Quahog-Shell-in-Sand-art?IMID=9e3db7ef-4eef-4b2a-a1aa-e3fa4fb97ee9


-Invited to Oneida Council-Nobody speaks to him, leaves in grief

Image source: ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/EoL/chp6.html


-Eventually reaches the Peacemaker-Peacemaker performs first Condolence Ceremony-Hiawatha’s grief is lifted


CONDOLENCE CEREMONY

- Primarily performed on two occasions (although other uses have been documented historically)-For anyone mourning a death, a small condolence performed-For the death of leaders/chiefs and to raise a successor, a large condolence is performed.-Historically, also for atonement purposes and at openings of diplomatic meetings.

CONDOLENCE CEREMONY

•Series of rituals performed for (approximately) 6-8 hours over a 2 day period

•Occurs partly in the long house and partly outside

•Purpose of the ceremony is to soothe the mind and relieve/reduce pain and confusion that can come with mourning

•We have accounts of the Condolence ceremony from Morgan, who stated that “it was not uncommon to spend several days in these festivities; devoting the days in succession to athletic games, and the evenings to the feast, and to the social dance” (Morgan, 122).

CONDOLENCE CEREMONY

Some of the metaphors expressed for healing functions during the ceremony (as recorded by William Beauchamp) were:

“The forest paths were symbolically cleared, thorns taken out of the feet, tears were wiped away, the throat and ears were cleansed that all might speak and hear, the heart was restored to its right place, and clouds were removed from the sun in the sky. Blood was washed from the seat, [and] if anyone had died, graves were leveled or covered, the bones of the slain were gathered and hidden under the roots of some great tree. (Beauchamp, 393)

Image source: rgbstock.com/cache1olBFB/users/t/ta/tacluda/300/msIvzTo.jpg

CONDOLENCE CEREMONY

-First component: “Journeying on the Trail” (or “Eulogy of the Roll Call of the Chiefs”)-Second Component: “Welcome at the Wood’s Edge”-Third component: “The Requickening Address”

-Part of the Requickening address which was cited is as follows:

“Now then, we say, we wipe awayThe falling tears, so that peacefullyYou might look around.” (Dennis, 102)

CONDOLENCE CEREMONY

Image source: fanpop.com/spots/eyes/images/16143904/title/tears-photo

THANKSGIVING ADDRESS

The Thanksgiving Address is formally known as Ohenton Karihawatehkwen which in Mohawk means " the words before all else"

These words come from the Haudenosaunee or Longhouse people which includes Mohawk, Oneida, Onodaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora

These words date back to at least several thousand years to the formation of the Great Law of Peace by a man called the Peacemaker


The traditional Native American words of Thanksgiving come from the people of the Six Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora, also known as the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee, who live in upstate New York, Wisconsin and Canada.

When performing the ceremony a speaker is chosen to give thanks on behalf of the people.

Each speaker chooses his own words, for we are all unique and have our own style of prayer, but the general form is traditional


The Great address is based on the belief that the world cannot be taken for granted, that a spiritual communication of thankfulness and acknowledgment of all living things must be given to align the minds and hearts of the people with the natural world that has been created by a loving Creator.

This forms the guiding principle of our culture, as aboriginals.

They believe that all people at one time in their history, has similar words to acknowledge the words of the Creator: Sonkwiatison . Which means " he who created all things".


The Thanksgiving Address teaches mutual respect, conservation, love, generosity, and the responsibility to understand that what is done to one part of the Web of Life, we do to ourselves.

The Great Law of Peace and the Thanksgiving Address are based on natural law, and they are the backbone of the Haudenosaunee traditional law and ecological knowledge.

The Great Law of Peace and the Thanksgiving Address are composed of policies, principles, moral duties, laws, ceremonies, and other religious and political aspects that the Haudenosaunee were given on how to live in harmony with each other and with the Natural World

OPENING A CEREMONY

We are gathered here in this assembly and we thank the Creator that we, who have gathered here are all well and that we have arrived here safely. And now we would ask that we allow our minds to come together to focus on the reasons for us gathering here…The Creator has planned it this way that every time we meet, whether day or night, no matter how many or how few we are, we give thanks to him for what he has given us.

THE WORDS THAT COME BEFORE ALL ELSE

Ohen:ton Karihwatehkw

en

THE PEOPLE

BALANCE AND RESPECT

Reminder of the place we as human beings were meant to occupy in relation to the other

elements of creation

HUMILITY, HONOUR, RESPECT

FOR THE EARTH MOTHER

PROTECTING THE EARTH FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS

THE WATERS

RESPONSIBILTIES OF THE WATERS

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

THE FISH

OVERFISHING

FISH STOCKING: THE ANSWER?

THE SMALL PLANTS AND GRASSES

WHAT THE PLANTS KNOW

CHALLENGES FOR THE SMALL PLANTS

BERRY PLANTS

BERRIES: A GIFT TO CHILDREN AND WOMEN

THE THREE SISTERS

THREE SISTERS AS MEDICINE

THE MEDICINE PLANTS

GATHERERS INFLUENCE MEDICINES

THE ANIMALS

ANIMALS AS TEACHERS

THE TREES

JAKE SWAMP

THE BIRDS

THE CLAN SYSTEM

THE FOUR WINDS

THE THUNDERERS

THE THUNDER CEREMONY

GRAND MOTHER MOON

BIRTH

THE SUN

BROTHER OF MOTHER EARTH

THE STARS

PATH TO THE CREATOR

THE FOUR BEINGS/ENLIGHTENED TEACHERS

HOW THE CREATOR WISHES US TO LIVE To listen to all when good advice is

given To be kind to old people To feed the poor and to share To not boast and give thanks To help each other

THE PROPHECIES

Objects will move about the earth without anything pulling them

There will be diseases appearing that were not known before and many will die

Children will go outside and not return The creator will remove our life sustainers because

we fail to give thanks Crops will be destroyed Trees will die Rivers and streams will become polluted Nature… will stop.

THE CREATOR

And now our minds, hearts and spirits have been united for the purpose at hand. We realize that we have been called to take care of this creation, to be the caretakers. We would ask for the strength, honesty, wisdom, and sincerity to accomplish the task that we have been create for. With that we now declare this gathering open, May we continue to dwell in peace with each other, with this land, and with the creator, Da nay no

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Indigenous presentation the great laws