Chapter XV: Conclusion: Of Rites

In the morning after the ceremonies in the Big House were finished, the people filed out through the west door, circled about the building, and lined up, facing eastward, to the east of it. Then they raised their hands and cried “_Ho-o-o!_” twelve times, and the twelfth time, it is said, their cry reached Heaven.

In comparing this form of the Annual Ceremony with that of the Oklahoma Lenape the most noticeable difference is that here no masked impersonator of Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn was seen in or about the Big House, the Masks among the Minsi, as with the Iroquois, constituting a society with its own separate rites.

GRAND RIVER VERSION

Such was the version of the great ceremonies given the writer by the Minsi of Munceytown, Ontario, which is similar to, but more detailed in parts than, the account previously obtained from the Delawares of Grand River reserve, published by the writer in the _American Anthropologist_[50] which we will reproduce here. It will be noticed that this description gives fuller information in some places where the first is deficient; so that between this and the preceding account, a good general idea of the Minsi form of the ceremony can be reconstructed. It reads:

“In the old religious ceremonies of the Delawares at Grand River a very peculiar drum was used, a dry skin folded in rectangular form and beaten with four sticks, each bearing a tiny human head carved in relief (fig. 15, _a_). I secured the set of four original sticks from Michael Anthony (_Na‛nkŭmaʹoxa_), and employed him to make me a reproduction of the drum (fig. 14) as the original had been destroyed. This he did, and in addition made six painted sticks (fig. 15, _b_) also used in the ceremony. The description of how these articles were used, pieced together from several Indian accounts, may prove of interest here.

“It appears that the Delawares of Six Nations Reserve formerly held what was known as a ‘General Thanksgiving’ ceremony called in Lenape _Gitctlaʹkan_, twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. At these times it was customary to meet in the Cayuga long-house, borrowed for the occasion. At a certain point in the proceedings (I shall not attempt a consecutive description from hearsay testimony) a man stood up and recited, in a rythmical sing-song tone, his dream—the vision of power seen by him in his youth. Na‛nkŭmaʹoxa remembered how one old man was accustomed to tell about a duck, half black and half white, which had appeared to him. Between the verses of the dream four musicians kneeling at the drum (_pw‛awaheʹgŭn_) began a plaintive song, beating time with the carved sticks (_pw‛awaheʹgŭnŭk_). As they sang, the reciter swayed his body to and fro, while a group of dancers gathered on the floor behind him danced with a sidewise step. Before the ceremony, poles were laid lengthwise along both sides of the council house, and against these, at intervals, three on a side, the painted sticks, called _mkäähiʹgŭn_, were laid. If anyone in the crowd felt ‘especially happy’ he was privileged to strike with one of these sticks upon one of the poles in time to the music. The carved heads on the drumsticks meant that human beings were giving thanks; the lengthwise painting of the sticks, half black and half red, implied that men and women were together in thanksgiving, the black representing the warriors, the red the women. The fork at the striking end of the sticks was to give a sharper sound. The dyes for producing the colors were made by boiling bark, the black being soft maple (_sexiʹkiminsi_), and the red, red alder bark (_witoʹ‛pi_).

“In another part of the same ceremony wampum was used in the form of strings and bunches, both of which were represented in my collection from the Delawares. At least thirteen of the strings were used, each one made different by different combinations of the white and purple beads. These thirteen, it is said, represented respectively (1) Earth; (2) Plants; (3) Streams and Waters; (4) Corn, Beans, and Vegetables; (5) Wild Birds and Beasts; (6) Winds; (7) Sun; (8) Moon; (9) Sky; (10) Stars; (11) Thunder and Rain; (12) Spirits; and (13) Great Spirit. At the ceremony these strings were laid upon a bench before a speaker, who picked them up one by one as he made his address, each string reminding him of one part of his speech. He began, my informant told me, by explaining that the Great Spirit had made all things—the earth, plants, streams, and waters—everything. Having thus enumerated all the things represented by the wampum, he proceeded to speak to each of the remaining twelve directly, holding the appropriate string in his hand. Thus he gave thanks to the Earth for the benefits it gives to man, and prayed that its blessings might continue; then thanked in the same way the Plants, the Streams and Waters, the Winds; the Corn, Beans, and Vegetables—each one in turn. As he finished each string he handed it to an attendant, who laid it aside. When his long speech or prayer was finished, he announced, ‘We will now enjoy ourselves,’ and selected a man to distribute little bunches of wampum, three beads in each, which served as invitations to join in the dancing that followed. These bunches were delivered only to a certain number of those known to be ‘sober and honest’ among the crowd in the long-house. If any person wishing to dance failed to get invitation wampum, it was his privilege to ask for one of the bunches, which was given him if he was considered qualified. The first man receiving wampum arose first; then the others, until the dancers were all on the floor. It is said that this dance, which sometimes lasted all night, did not circle around like most of the Iroquois dances, but each performer remained in about the same spot.

“I was told that in this dance a small rattle without a handle and made of turtleshell was used, probably like the box-turtle rattle still used in the annual Planting Dance by the Seneca and Cayuga.”

WAUBUNO’S VERSION

The only extended account in print, known to the writer, of the great ceremonies of the Minsi, beside his own, quoted above, is that furnished by John Wampum, known as Chief Waubuno,[51] which reads as follows:

“They kept annual feasts:—... a feast of first fruits which
they do not permit themselves to taste until they have made
an offering of them to the manitu-oo-al, or gods; ... There
is one of the greatest sacrifice offerings of our forefathers
every six months for cleansing themselves from sin; they will
have twelve deers to be consumed in one day and night. At
the great feast of the offerings of the first fruits of the
earth, which feast the Delawares or Munceys hold annually,
they brought a little of all that they raised, such as Indian
corn, or hweisk-queem, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, squashes,
together with the deer. The Indian women were busily engaged
in cooking their provisions, previous to the commencement of
their exercises. They invited all strangers into a long pagan
temple prepared for such purposes, there is a door at each
end—one opening to the east, and one opening to the west. On
entering, they with all the Indians were seated on the ground
around two fires; in the center of the temple was a large
post, around which was suspended a number of deer skins, and
wampum is kept buried at the foot of this post. Near the post
sat two Indian singers, each with a large bundle of undressed
deer skins which served as drums. There were two young men
appointed to watch the doors and keep the fires burning, the
doors being closed. Each of the young men brought an armful of
hemlock boughs, which being thrown on the fires smothered them
and caused a great smoke. In order that the smoke might fill
every corner of the temple, each man waved his blanket over the
fire; this was done with the idea of purifying the temple and
driving out the evil spirits. After the smoke had subsided, the
master of ceremonies, an old chief, rose and began to rattle
a turtle shell he had in his hand. He delivered a speech to
the people telling them the object of the meeting was to thank
the great spirit for the growth and ripening of the corn. When
he finished his speech he began to dance, sing and rattle the
shell, the two singers joining in, beating on their skins. When
he took his seat he handed the shell to the next person, who
performed in the same way, thus it went from one to the other
all night. The purport of their speeches was to recount the
mercies of the Great Spirit to them during the past year, and
telling any remarkable dreams that they had had. In the course
of the night a number of them went out the west door, making a
wailing noise to the moon, and came in again the east door. In
the morning the meat and soup were divided amongst the people.

“These feasts often lasted twelve days and twelve nights, and
the Indians call it nee-shaw-neechk-togho-quanoo-maun, or
ween-da-much-teen. No drinking or improper conduct is allowed.
The utmost solemnity prevails.”