The Iroquois Book Of Rites Part 9

15. Now the Hymn,

CALLED "HAIL."

I come again to greet and thank the League; I come again to greet and thank the kindred; I come again to greet and thank the warriors; I come again to greet and thank the women.

My forefathers,--what they established,-- My forefathers,--hearken to them!

16. The last verse is sung yet again, while he walks to and fro in the house, and says:

17. "Hail, my grandsires! Now hearken while your grandchildren cry mournfully to you,--because the Great League which you established has grown old. We hope that they may hear."

18. "Hail, my grandsires! You have said that sad will be the fate of those who come in the latter times."

19. "Oh, my grandsires! Even now I may have failed to perform this ceremony in the order in which they were wont to perform it." "Oh, my grandsires! Even now that has become old which you established,--the Great League. You have it as a pillow under your heads in the ground where you are lying,--this Great League which you established; although you said that far away in the future the Great League would endure."

So much is to be said here, and the Hymn is to be sung again, and then he is to go on and walk about in the house again, saying as follows:

"Hail, my grandsires! Now hear, therefore, what they did--all the rules they decided on, which they thought would strengthen the House. Hail, my grandsires! this they said: 'Now we have finished; we have performed the rites; we have put on the horns.'

"Now again another thing they considered, and this they said: 'Perhaps this will happen. Scarcely shall we have arrived at home when a loss will occur again.' They said, 'This, then, shall be done. As soon as he is dead, even then the horns shall be taken off. For if invested with horns he should be borne into the grave,' oh, my grandsires, they said, 'we should perhaps all perish if invested with horns he is conveyed to the grave.'

"Then again another thing they determined, oh my grandsires! 'This,'

they said, 'will strengthen the House.' They said, if any one should be murdered and [the body] be hidden away among fallen trees by reason of the neck being white, then you have said, this shall be done. We will place it by the wall in the shade."

25. "Now again you considered and you said: 'It is perhaps not well that we leave this here, lest it should be seen by our grandchildren; for they are troublesome, prying into every crevice. People will be startled at their returning in consternation, and will ask what has happened that this (corpse) is lying here; because they will keep on asking until they find it out. And they will at once be disturbed in mind, and that again will cause us trouble.'"

26. "Now again they decided, and said: 'This shall be done. We will pull up a pine tree--a lofty tree--and will make a hole through the earth-crust, and will drop this thing into a swift current which will carry it out of sight, and then never will our grandchildren see it again.'"

27. "Now again another thing they decided, and thought, this will strengthen the House. They said: 'Now we have finished; we have performed the rites. Perhaps presently it will happen that a loss will occur amongst us. Then this shall be done. We will suspend a pouch upon a pole, and will place in it some mourning wampum--some short strings--to be taken to the place where the loss was suffered. The bearer will enter, and will stand by the hearth, and will speak a few words to comfort those who will be mourning; and then they will be comforted, and will conform to the great law.'"

28. "Now, then, thou wert the princ.i.p.al of this Confederacy, Dekanawidah, with the joint princ.i.p.al, his son, Odadsheghte; and then again _his_ uncle, Wathadodarho; and also again _his_ son, Akahenyonh; and again _his_ uncle, Kanyadariyu; and then again _his_ cousin, Shadekaronyes; and then in later times additions were made to the great edifice."

29. Now listen, ye who established the Great League. Now it has become old. Now there is nothing but wilderness. Ye are in your graves who established it. Ye have taken it with you, and have placed it under you, and there is nothing left but a desert. There ye have taken your intellects with you. What ye established ye have taken with you. Ye have placed under your heads what ye established--the Great League.

30. Now, then, hearken, ye who were rulers and founders: [Footnote: The names in this version are in the orthography of John Buck's MS.]

TEHKARIHHOKEN!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

HAYENWATHA!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

SHADEKARIHWADE!

That was the roll of you, You who were joined in the work, You who completed the work, The Great League.

31. Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

SHARENHHOWANE!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

TEHYONHEGHKWEN!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

OWENHEGHKOHNA!

That was the roll of you, You who were joined in the work, You who completed the work, The Great League.

32. Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

TEHHENNAGHKARIHNE!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

AGHSTAWENSERONTTHA!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

s.h.a.gHSKOHAROWANE!

That was the roll of you, You who were joined in the work, You who completed the work, The Great League.

33. Ye two were princ.i.p.als, Father and son, Ye two completed the work, The Great League.

Ye two aided each other, Ye two founded the House.

Now, therefore, hearken!

Thou who wert ruler,

ODATSEGHDEH!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

KAHNONKWENYAH!

Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

TEHYOHHAKWENDEH!

That was the roll of you, You who were joined in the work, You who completed the work, The Great League.

34. Continue to listen!

Thou who wert ruler,

SHONONGHSESEH!