The Iroquois Book Of Rites Part 14

"They chose for their envoy," continues the historian, "Scandawati, a man of renown, sixty years of age, joining with him two colleagues.

[Footnote: _Scandawali_ is the Huron--and probably the original Onondaga--p.r.o.nunciation of the name.] The old Onondaga entered on his mission with a troubled mind. His anxiety was not so much for his life as for his honor and dignity; for, while the Oneidas and the Cayugas were acting in concurrence with the Onondagas, the Senecas had refused any part in the emba.s.sy, and still breathed nothing but war. Would they, or still more, the Mohawks, so far forget the consideration due to one whose name had been great in the Councils of the League, as to a.s.sault the Hurons while he was among them in the character of an amba.s.sador of his nation, whereby his honor would be compromised and his life endangered? 'I am not a dead dog,' he said, 'to be despised and forgotten. I am worthy that all men should turn their eyes on me while I am among enemies, and do nothing that may involve me in danger.' Soon there came dire tidings. The prophetic heart of the old chief had not deceived him. The Senecas and Mohawks, disregarding negotiations in which they had no part, and resolved to bring them to an end, were invading the country in force. It might be thought that the Hurons would take their revenge on the Onondaga envoys, now hostages among them; but they did not do so, for the character of an amba.s.sador was, for the most part, held in respect. One morning, however, Scandawati had disappeared.

They were full of excitement; for they thought that he had escaped to the enemy. They ranged the woods in search of him, and at length found him in a thicket near the town. He lay dead, on a bed of spruce boughs which he had made, his throat deeply gashed with a knife. He had died by his own hand, a victim of mortified pride. 'See,' writes Father Ragueneau, 'how much our Indians stand on the point of honor!'"

It is worthy of note that the same apt.i.tude for affairs and the same keen sense of honor which distinguished this highspirited chief survives in the member of his family who, on the Canadian Reservation, now bears the same t.i.tle,--Chief John Buck,--whom his white neighbors all admit to be both a capable ruler and an able and trustworthy negotiator.

In Canada _Skanawati_ is of the Tortoise clan. At Onondaga, where the original family has probably died out, the t.i.tle now belongs to the Ball clan.

41. _Yeshohawak_, "then his next son,"--or rather, perhaps, "then, next, his son." The Cayuga nation was politically the son of the Onondaga nation. _Tekahenyonk_ (Onon., _Hakaenyonk_), "he looks both ways," or, "he examines warily." In section 28 (_ante_ p. 126) this name is spelt _Akahenyonh_. The prefixed _te_ is the duplicative particle, and gives the meaning of "spying on both sides." This and the following chief belong, in Canada, to the Deer clan, and const.i.tute the first Cayuga cla.s.s. _Jinontaweraon_ (Onon., _Jinontaweyon_), "coming on its knees."

42. _Katakwarasonh_ (Onon., _Ketagwajik_), "it was bruised." This name, it will be seen, is very similar to that of an Onondaga chief,--_ante_, Note to Section 39. The chief now named and the one who follows are of the Bear clan. _Shoyonwese_ (Onon., _Soyonwes_), "he has a long wampumbelt." The root-word of this name is _oyonwa_, wampum-belt, the same that appears in _Hayonwatha_. _Atyaseronne_ (Onon., _Halyasenne_), "he puts one on another," or "he piles on." This chief is of the Tortoise clan, and completes, with the two preceding councillors, the second Cayuga cla.s.s.

43. _Yeshonadadekenah_, "then they who are brothers." The three chiefs who follow are all of the Wolf clan, and make the third cla.s.s of the Cayuga councillors. _Teyoronghyonkeh_ (Onon., _Thowenyongo_), "it touches the sky." _Teyodh.o.r.eghkonh_ (Onon., _Tyotowegwi_), "doubly cold." _Wathyawenhehetken_ (Onon., _Thaowethon_), "mossy place."

44. The two following chiefs are of the Snipe clan, and const.i.tute the fourth and last Cayuga cla.s.s. _Atontaraheha_ (Onon., _Hatontaheha_) "crowding himself in." _Teskahe_ (Onon., _Heskahe_) "resting on it."

45. _Yeshotonnih_, "and then his uncle." The Seneca nation, being the brother of the Onondaga, is, of course, the uncle of the Cayuga nation.

_Skanyadariyo_ (Onon., _Kanyataiyo_), "beautiful lake;" originally, perhaps, "great lake." (See Appendix, Note B.) This name is spelt in Section 28 (_ante_, p. 128) _Kanyadariyu_. The prefixed _s_ is the sign of the reiterative form, and when joined to proper names is regarded as a token of n.o.bility,--like the French _de_, or the German _von_.

[Footnote: See J. A. Cuoq: _Jugement Errone_, etc., p. 57. "Le reiteratif est comme un signe de n.o.blesse dans les noms propres."]

_Kanyadariyo_, was one of the two leading chiefs of the Senecas at the formation of the confederacy. The t.i.tle belongs to the Wolf clan.

_Yeshonaraseshen_, lit., "they were cousins." In the present instance, and according to the Indian idiom, we must read "Skanyadariyo, with his cousin, Shadekaronyes." _Shadekaronyes_ (Onon., _Shatekaenyes_), "skies of equal length." This chief (whose successor now belongs to the Snipe clan) was in ancient times the head of the second great division of the Senecas. These two potentates were made a "cla.s.s" in the Council by themselves, and were thus required to deliberate together and come to an agreement on any question that was brought up, before expressing an opinion in the council. This ingenious device for preventing differences between the two sections of the Seneca nation is one of the many evidences of statesmanship exhibited in the formation of the League.

46. _Satyenawat_, "withheld." This chief, in the Canadian list, is of the Snipe clan; in Mr. Morgan's Seneca list, he is of the Bear clan. His comrade in the cla.s.s, Shakenjowane, is, in both lists, of the Hawk clan.

_Shakenjowane_ (Onon., _Shakenjona_), "large forehead."

There has apparently been some derangement here in the order of the cla.s.ses. In Mr. Morgan's list, and also in one furnished to me at Onondaga Castle, the two chiefs just named belong to different cla.s.ses.

The variance of the lists may be thus shown:--

_The Book of Rites_. _The Seneca and Onondaga Lists_.

Second Seneca Cla.s.s.

_Satyenawat_ _Kanokarih_ _Shakenjowane_ _Shakenjowane_.

Third Seneca Cla.s.s.

_Kanokarih_ _Satyenawat_ _Nisharyenen_ _Nisharyenen_.

Satyenawat and Kanokarih have changed places. As the Book of Rites is the earlier authority, it is probable that the change was made among the New York Senecas after a part of their nation had removed to Canada.

47. _Kanokarih_ (Onon., _Kanokaehe_), "threatened."

_Nisharyenen_ (Onon., _Onishayenenha_), "the day fell down."

One of the interpreters rendered the latter name, "the handle drops."

The meaning of the word must be considered doubtful. The first of these chiefs is of the Tortoise clan, and the second is, in Canada, of the Bear clan. In Mr. Morgan's list he is of the Snipe clan. The disruption of the Seneca nation, and the introduction of new clans, have thrown this part of the list into confusion.

48. _Onghwakeghaghshonah_, etc. The verses which follow are repeated here from the pa.s.sage of the Book which precedes the chanted litany.

(See _ante_, Section 28.) Their repet.i.tion is intended to introduce the names of the two chiefs who composed the fourth and last cla.s.s of the Seneca councillors. _Yatehhotinhohhataghkwen_, "they were at the doorway," or, according to another version, "they made the doorway." The chiefs are represented as keeping the doorway of the "extended mansion,"

which imaged the confederacy. _Kanonghkeridawyh_, (Onon., _Kanonkeitawi_,) "entangled hair given." This chief, in Canada, is of the Bear clan; in New York, according to Morgan's list, he is of the Snipe clan. _Teyoninhokarawenh_, (Onon., _Teyoninhokawenh_,) "open door." In both lists he is of the Wolf clan.

Mr. Morgan (in his "League of the Iroquois," page 68,) states that to the last-named chief, or "sachem," the duty of watching the door was a.s.signed, and that "they gave him a sub-sachem, or a.s.sistant, to enable him to execute this trust." In fact, however, every high chief, or _royaner_ (lord), had an a.s.sistant, or war chief (_roskenrakehte-kowa_, great warrior), to execute his instructions. The Book of Rites shows clearly that the two chiefs to whom the duty of "guarding the doorway"

was a.s.signed were both n.o.bles of the first rank. Their office also appears not to have been warlike. From the words of the Book it would seem that when new tribes were received into the confederacy, these two councillors had the formal office of "opening the doorway" to the new-comers--that is (as we may suppose), of receiving and introducing their chiefs into the federal council.

In another sense the whole Seneca nation was deemed, and was styled in council, the Doorkeeper (_Ronhohonti_, pl., _Roninhohonti_) of the confederacy. The duty of guarding the common country against the invasions of the hostile tribes of the west was specially committed to them. Their leaders, or public representatives, in this duty would naturally be the two great chiefs of the nation, Kanyateriyo and Shadekaronyes. The rules of the League, however, seem to have forbidden the actual a.s.sumption by the councillors of any executive or warlike command. At least, if they undertook such duties, it must be as private men, and not in their capacity of n.o.bles--just as an English peer might serve as an officer in the army or as an amba.s.sador. The only exceptions recognized by the Iroquois const.i.tution seem to have been in the cases of Tekarihoken and Skanawati, who were at once n.o.bles and war-chiefs.

(See _ante_, pages 78 and 159.) The two great Seneca chiefs would therefore find it necessary to make over their military functions to their a.s.sistants or war-chiefs. This may explain the statement made by Morgan ("League of the Iroquois," p. 74) that there were two special "war-chiefships" created among the Senecas, to which these commands were a.s.signed.

49. _Onenh watyonkwentendane kanikonrakeh_. The condoling chant concludes abruptly with the doleful exclamation, "Now we are dejected in spirit." _Enkitenlane_, "I am becoming poor," or "wretched," is apparently a derivative of _kitenre_, to pity, and might be rendered, "I am in a pitiable state." "We are miserable in mind," would probably be a literal version of this closing e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n. Whether it is a lament for the past glories of the confederacy, or for the chief who is mourned, is a question which those who sing the words at the present day would probably have a difficulty in answering. It is likely, however, that the latter cause of grief was in the minds of those who first composed the chant.

It is an interesting fact, as showing the antiquity of the names of the chiefs in the foregoing list, that at least a fourth of them are of doubtful etymology. That their meaning was well understood when they were borne by the founders of the League cannot be questioned. The changes of language or the uncertainties of oral transmission, in the lapse of four centuries, have made this large proportion of them either obsolete or so corrupt as to be no longer intelligible. Of all the names it may probably be affirmed with truth that the Indians who hear them recited think of their primitive meaning as little as we ourselves think of the meaning of the family names or the English t.i.tles of n.o.bility which we hear or read. To the Iroquois of the present day the hereditary t.i.tles of their councillors are--to use their own expression--"just names," and nothing more. It must not be supposed, however, that the language itself has altered in the same degree. Proper names, as is well known, when they become mere appellatives, discharged of significance, are much more likely to vary than the words of ordinary speech.

NOTES ON THE ONONDAGA BOOK

1 _a. Yo onen onen wen ni sr te,_ "oh now--now this day." It will be noticed that this address of the "younger brothers" commences in nearly the same words which begin the speeches of the Canienga book. This similarity of language exists in other parts of the two books, though disguised by the difference of dialect, and also by the very irregular and corrupt spelling of the Onondaga book. To give some idea of this irregularity, and of the manner in which the words of this book are to be p.r.o.nounced, several of these words are subjoined, with the p.r.o.nunciation of the interpreter, represented in the orthography of the Canienga book:

_Words as written._ _As p.r.o.nounced by La Fort._

wen ni sr te wennisaate ho gar a nyat hogaenyat son tar yen sontahien na ya ne nayeneh o shon ta gon gonar osontagongona gar weear har tye gawehehatie on gwr non sen shen tar qua ongwanonsenshentakwa ga nen ar ta (or, ga nen ar ti) ganenhate kon hon wi sats konthonwitsas o wen gr ge ohwengage nar ya he yr genh nayehiyaken.

The letter _r,_ it will be seen, is not a consonant. In fact, it is never heard as such in the modern Onondaga dialect. As used by La Fort, its office is either to give to the preceding vowel _a_ the sound which it has in _father,_ or by itself to represent that sound. The _a,_ when not followed by _r,_ is usually sounded like _a_ in _fate_, but sometimes keeps the sound of _a_ in _far._ The _e_ usually represents the English _e_ in _be,_ or, when followed by _n,_ the _e_ in _pen._ The _i_ and _y_ are commonly sounded as in the word _city._ The _g_ is always hard, and is interchangeable with _k._ The _t_ and _d_ are also interchangeable.

While the syllables in the original are written separately, the words are not always distinguished; and it is doubtful if, in printing, they have in all cases been properly divided. The translation of the interpreter, though tolerably exact, was not always literal; and in the brief time at our command the precise meaning of some of the words was not ascertained. No attempt, therefore, has been made to form a glossary of this portion of the text.

In the original the addresses of the "younger brothers" are divided into sections, which are numbered from one to seven, and each of which, in the ceremony, is called to mind by its special wampum-string, which is produced when the section is recited. As the first of these sections is of much greater length than the others, it has been divided in this work, for the purpose of ready reference, into sub-sections, which are numbered 1_a_, 1_b_, and so on.

1 _b_. _Nenthaotagenhetak_, "by the ashes," or "near the hearth." The root-word is here _agenhe_, the Onondaga form of the Canienga word _akenra_, ashes, which is comprised in the compound form, _jiudakenrokde_, in Section 27 of the Canienga book. It will be seen that the spokesman of the younger nations is here complying strictly with the law laid down in that section. He "stands by the hearth and speaks a few words to comfort those who are mourning."

1 _c_. "_It was valued at twenty._" The interpreters explained that by "twenty" was understood the whole of their wampum, which const.i.tuted all their treasure. A human life was worth the whole of this, and they freely gave it, merely to recall the memory of the chief who was gone.

Among the Hurons, when a man had been killed, and his kindred were willing to renounce their claim to vengeance on receiving due satisfaction, the number of presents of wampum and other valuables which were to be given was rigidly prescribed by their customary law.

[Footnote: _Relation_ of 1648, p. 80.] From this custom would easily follow the usage of making similar gifts, in token of sympathy, to all persons who were mourning the loss of a near relative,

1 _d_. "_Because with her the line is lost._" The same sentiment prevailed among the Hurons. "For a Huron killed by a Huron," writes Father Ragueneau in the letter just quoted, "thirty gifts are commonly deemed a sufficient satisfaction. For a woman forty are required, because, as they say, the women are less able to defend themselves; and, moreover, they being the source whence the land is peopled, their lives should be deemed of more value to the commonwealth, and their weakness should have a stronger support in public justice." Such was the reasoning of these heathen barbarians. Enlightened Christendom has hardly yet advanced to the mark of these opinions.

I _e. "Where the grave has been made,"_ &c. The recital of Father Ragueneau also ill.u.s.trates this pa.s.sage. "Then followed," he writes, "nine other presents, for the purpose, as it were, of erecting a sepulchre for the deceased. Four of them were for the four pillars which should support this sepulchre, and four others for the four cross-pieces on which the bier of the dead was to rest. The ninth was to serve as his pillow."

2. "I will make the sky clear to you." In this paragraph the speaker reminds the mourners, in the style of bold imagery which the Iroquois orators affected, that continued grief for the dead would not be consonant with the course of nature. Though all might seem dark to them now, the sky would be as clear, and the sun would shine as brightly for them, as if their friend had not died. Their loss had been inevitable, and equally sure would be the return of the "pleasant days." This reminder, which may seem to us needless, was evidently designed as a reproof, at once gentle and forcible, of those customs of excessive and protracted mourning which were anciently common among the Huron-Iroquois tribes.

3. _"You must converse with your nephews,"_ &c. The "nephews" are, of course, the chiefs of the younger nations, who are here the condolers.

The mourners are urged to seek for comfort in the sympathy of their friends, and not to reject the consolations offered by their visitors and by their own people.

4. _"And now you can go out before the people, and go on with your duties,"_ &c. This, it will be seen, corresponds with the injunctions of the Canienga book. (See Section 27, _ante,_ p. 127): "And then they will be comforted, and will conform to the great law."

6. _"Then the horns shall be left on the grave,"_ &c. The same figure is here used as in the Canienga book, Section 23 (_ante,_ p. 125). It is evident that the importance of keeping up the succession of their councillors was constantly impressed on the minds of the Iroquois people by the founders of their League.

7. _"And the next death will receive the pouch."_ The "mourning wampum,"

in modern days, is left, or supposed to be left, with the kindred of the late chief until another death shall occur among the members of the Council, when it is to be pa.s.sed on to the family of the deceased. This economy is made necessary by the fact that only one store of such wampum now exists, as the article is no longer made. It is probable that in ancient times the wampum was left permanently with the family of the deceased, as a memorial of the departed chief.