The
Iroquois Great Law of Peace
THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE IROQUOIS NATIONS:
THE GREAT BINDING LAW, GAYANASHAGOWA
The Tree of Great Peace
I
am Dekanawidah and with the Five Nations�
Confederate Lords I plant the Tree of Great Peace. I plant it in your
territory, Adodarhoh, and the Onondaga Nation, in the territory of you who are
Firekeepers.
I name the tree the Tree of the Great Long Leaves. Under the shade of
this Tree of the Great Peace we spread the soft white feathery down of the
globe thistle as seats for you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords.
We place you upon those seats, spread soft with the feathery down of the globe
thistle, there beneath the shade of the spreading branches of the Tree of
Peace. There shall you sit and watch the Council Fire of the Confederacy
of the Five Nations, and all the affairs of the Five Nations shall be
transacted at this place before you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords, by the
Confederate Lords of the Five Nations.
2. Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north,
one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these
roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength.
If any man or any nation outside the Five Nations shall obey the laws of the
Great Peace and make known their disposition
to the Lords of the Confederacy, they may trace the Roots to the Tree and if
their minds are clean and they are obedient and promise to obey the wishes of
the Confederate Council, they shall be welcomed to take shelter beneath the
Tree of the Long Leaves.
We place at the top of the Tree of the Long Leaves an Eagle who is able to see
afar. If he sees in the distance any evil approaching or any danger
threatening he will at once warn the people of the Confederacy.
3. To you Adodarhoh, the Onondaga cousin Lords, I and the other Confederate
Lords have entrusted the caretaking and the watching of the Five Nations
Council Fire.
When there is any business to be transacted and the Confederate Council is not
in session, a messenger shall be dispatched either to Adodarhoh, Hononwirehtonh
or Skanawatih, Fire Keepers, or to their War Chiefs with a full statement of
the case desired to be considered. Then shall Adodarhoh call his cousin
(associate) Lords together and consider whether or not the case is of
sufficient importance to demand the attention of the Confederate Council.
If so, Adodarhoh shall dispatch messengers to summon all the Confederate Lords
to assemble beneath the Tree of the Long Leaves.
When the Lords are assembled the Council Fire shall be kindled, but not with
chestnut wood, and Adodarhoh shall formally open the Council.
[note: chestnut wood throws out sparks in burning, thereby creating a
disturbance in the council ]
Then shall Adodarhoh and his cousin Lords, the Fire Keepers, announce the
subject for discussion.
The Smoke of the Confederate Council Fire shall ever ascend and pierce the sky
so that other nations who may be allies may see the Council Fire of the Great
Peace.
Adodarhoh and his cousin Lords are entrusted with the Keeping of the Council
Fire.
4. You, Adodarhoh, and your thirteen cousin Lords, shall faithfully keep the
space about the Council Fire clean and you shall allow neither dust nor dirt to
accumulate. I lay a Long Wing before you as a broom. As a weapon
against a crawling creature I lay a staff with you so that you may thrust it
away from the Council Fire. If you fail to cast it out then call the rest
of the United Lords to your aid.
5. The Council of the Mohawk shall be divided into three parties as follows:
Tekarihoken, Ayonhwhathah and Shadekariwade are the first party; Sharenhowaneh,
Deyoenhegwenh and Oghrenghrehgowah are the second party, and Dehennakrineh,
Aghstawenserenthah and Shoskoharowaneh are the third party. The third
party is to listen only to the discussion of the first and second parties and
if an error is made or the proceeding is irregular they are to call attention
to it, and when the case is right and properly decided by the two parties they
shall confirm the decision of the two parties and refer the case to the Seneca
Lords for their decision. When the Seneca Lords have decided in accord
with the Mohawk Lords, the case or question shall be referred to the Cayuga and
Oneida Lords on the opposite side of the house.
6. I, Dekanawidah, appoint the Mohawk Lords the heads and the leaders of the Five
Nations Confederacy. The Mohawk Lords are the foundation of the Great
Peace and it shall, therefore, be against the Great Binding Law to pass
measures in the Confederate Council after the Mohawk Lords have protested
against them.
No council of the Confederate Lords shall be legal unless all the Mohawk Lords
are present.
7. Whenever the Confederate Lords shall assemble for the purpose of holding a
council, the Onondaga Lords shall open it by expressing their gratitude to
their cousin Lords and greeting them, and they shall make an address and offer
thanks to the earth where men dwell, to the streams of water, the pools, the
springs and the lakes, to the maize and the fruits, to the medicinal herbs and
trees, to the forest trees for their usefulness, to the animals that serve as
food and give their pelts for clothing, to the great winds and the lesser
winds, to the Thunderers, to the Sun, the mighty warrior, to the moon, to the
messengers of the Creator who reveal his wishes and to the Great Creator who
dwells in the heavens above, who gives all the things useful to men, and who is
the source and the ruler of health and life.
Then shall the Onondaga Lords declare the council open.
The council shall not sit after darkness has set in.
8. The Firekeepers shall formally open and close all councils of the
Confederate Lords, and they shall pass upon all matters deliberated upon by the
two sides and render their decision.
Every Onondaga Lord (or his deputy) must be present at every Confederate
Council and must agree with the majority without unwarrantable dissent, so that
a unanimous decision may be rendered.
If Adodarhoh or any of his cousin Lords are absent from a Confederate Council,
any other Firekeeper may open and close the Council, but the Firekeepers
present may not give any decisions, unless the matter is of small importance.
9. All the business of the Five Nations Confederate Council shall be conducted
by the two combined bodies of Confederate Lords. First the question shall
be passed upon by the Mohawk and Seneca Lords, then it shall be discussed and
passed by the Oneida and Cayuga Lords. Their decisions shall then be
referred to the Onondaga Lords, (Fire Keepers) for final judgement.
The same process shall obtain when a question is brought before the council by
an individual or a War Chief.
10. In all cases the procedure must be as follows: when the Mohawk and Seneca
Lords have unanimously agreed upon a question, they shall report their decision
to the Cayuga and Oneida Lords who shall deliberate upon the question and
report a unanimous decision to the Mohawk Lords. The Mohawk Lords will
then report the standing of the case to the Firekeepers, who shall render a
decision as they see fit in case of a disagreement by the two bodies, or confirm
the decisions of the two bodies if they are identical. The Fire Keepers
shall then report their decision to the Mohawk Lords who shall announce it to
the open council.
11. If through any misunderstanding or obstinacy on the part of the Fire
Keepers, they render a decision at variance with that of the Two Sides, the Two
Sides shall reconsider the matter and if their decisions are jointly the same
as before they shall report to the Fire Keepers who are then compelled to
confirm their joint decision.
12. When a case comes before the Onondaga Lords (Fire Keepers) for discussion
and decision, Adodarho shall introduce the matter to his comrade Lords who
shall then discuss it in their two bodies. Every Onondaga Lord except
Hononwiretonh shall deliberate and he shall listen only. When a unanimous
decision shall have been reached by the two bodies of Fire Keepers, Adodarho
shall notify Hononwiretonh of the fact when he shall confirm it. He shall
refuse to confirm a decision if it is not unanimously agreed upon by both sides
of the Fire Keepers.
13. No Lord shall ask a question of the body of Confederate
Lords when they are discussing a case, question or proposition. He may
only deliberate in a low tone with the separate body of which he is a member.
14. When the Council of the Five Nation Lords shall convene they shall appoint
a speaker for the day. He shall be a Lord of either the Mohawk, Onondaga
or Seneca Nation.
The next day the Council shall appoint another speaker, but the first speaker
may be reappointed if there is no objection, but a speaker�s term shall not be regarded more than for the day.
15. No individual or
foreign nation interested in a case, question or proposition shall have any
voice in the Confederate Council except to answer a question put to him or them
by the speaker for the Lords.
16. If the conditions which shall arise at any future time call for an addition
to or change of this law, the case shall be carefully considered and if a new
beam seems necessary or beneficial, the proposed change shall be voted upon and
if adopted it shall be called, �Added to the
Rafters�.
Rights, Duties and Qualifications of Lords
17. A bunch of a certain number of shell (wampum) strings each two spans in
length shall be given to each of the female families in which the Lordship
titles are vested. The right of bestowing the title shall be hereditary
in the family of the females legally possessing the bunch of shell strings and
the strings shall be the token that the females of the family have the
proprietary right to the Lordship title for all time to come, subject to
certain restrictions hereinafter mentioned.
18. If any Confederate Lord neglects or refuses to attend the Confederate
Council, the other Lords of the Nation of which he is a member shall require
their War Chief to request the female sponsors of the Lord so guilty of
defection to demand his attendance of the Council. If he refuses, the
women holding the title shall immediately select another candidate for the
title.
No Lord shall be asked more than once to attend the Confederate Council.
19. If at any time it shall be manifest that a Confederate Lord has not in mind
the welfare of the people or disobeys the rules of this Great Law, the men or
women of the Confederacy, or both jointly, shall come to the Council and
upbraid the erring Lord through his War Chief. If the complaint of the
people through the War Chief is not heeded the first time it shall be uttered
again and then if no attention is given a third complaint and warning shall be
given. If the Lord is contumacious the matter shall go to the council of
War Chiefs. The War Chiefs shall then divest the erring Lord of his title
by order of the women in whom the titleship is vested. When the Lord is
deposed the women shall notify the Confederate Lords through their War Chief,
and the Confederate Lords shall sanction the act. The women will then
select another of their sons as a candidate and the Lords shall elect
him. Then shall the chosen one be installed by the Installation Ceremony.
When a Lord is to be
deposed, his War Chief shall address him as follows:
�So you, __________, disregard and
set at naught the warnings of your women relatives. So you fling the
warnings over your shoulder to cast them behind you.
�Behold the brightness of the Sun and
in the brightness of the Sun�s light I
depose you of your title and remove the sacred emblem of your Lordship
title. I remove from your brow the deer�s antlers, which was the emblem of your position and token of your
nobility. I now depose you and return the antlers to the women whose
heritage they are.�
The War Chief shall now
address the women of the deposed
Lord and say:
�Mothers, as I have now deposed your
Lord, I now return to you the emblem and the title of Lordship, therefore
repossess them.�
Again addressing
himself to the deposed Lord he shall say:
�As I have now deposed and discharged
you so you are now no longer Lord. You shall now go your way alone, the
rest of the people of the Confederacy will not go with you, for we know not the
kind of mind that possesses you. As the Creator has nothing to do with
wrong so he will not come to rescue you from the precipice of destruction in
which you have cast yourself. You shall never be restored to the position
which you once occupied.�
Then shall the War
Chief address himself to the Lords of the Nation to which the deposed Lord
belongs and say:
�Know you, my Lords, that I have
taken the deer�s antlers from the brow of
___________, the emblem of his position and token of his greatness.�
The Lords of the
Confederacy shall then have no other alternative than to sanction the discharge
of the offending Lord.
20. If a Lord of the Confederacy of the Five Nations should commit murder the
other Lords of the Nation shall assemble at the place where the corpse lies and
prepare to depose the criminal Lord. If it is impossible to meet at the
scene of the crime the Lords shall discuss the matter at the next Council of
their Nation and request their War Chief to depose the Lord guilty of crime, to
�bury� his women relatives and to transfer the Lordship title to a sister
family.
The War Chief shall
address the Lord guilty of murder and say:
�So you, __________ (giving his name)
did kill __________ (naming the slain man), with your own hands! You have
committed a grave sin in the eyes of the Creator. Behold the bright light
of the Sun, and in the brightness of the Sun�s
light I depose you of your title and remove the horns, the sacred emblems of
your Lordship title. I remove from your brow the deer�s antlers, which was the emblem of your position and
token of your nobility. I now depose you and expel you and you shall
depart at once from the territory of the Five Nations Confederacy and nevermore
return again. We, the Five Nations Confederacy, moreover, bury your women
relatives because the ancient Lordship title was never intended to have any
union with bloodshed. Henceforth it shall not be their heritage. By
the evil deed that you have done they have forfeited it forever..�
The War Chief shall
then hand the title to a sister family and he shall address it and say:
�Our mothers, ____________, listen
attentively while I address you on a solemn and important subject. I
hereby transfer to you an ancient Lordship title for a great calamity has befallen
it in the hands of the family of a former Lord. We trust that you, our
mothers, will always guard it, and that you will warn your Lord always to be
dutiful and to advise his people to ever live in love, peace and harmony that a
great calamity may never happen again.�
21. Certain physical
defects in a Confederate Lord make him ineligible to sit in the Confederate
Council. Such defects are infancy, idiocy, blindness, deafness, dumbness
and impotency. When a Confederate Lord is restricted by any of these condition,
a deputy shall be appointed by his sponsors to act for him, but in case of
extreme necessity the restricted Lord may exercise his rights.
22. If a Confederate Lord
desires to resign his title he shall notify the Lords of the Nation of which he
is a member of his intention. If his coactive Lords refuse to accept his
resignation he may not resign his title. A Lord in proposing to resign may
recommend any proper candidate which recommendation shall be received by the
Lords, but unless confirmed and nominated by the women who hold the title the
candidate so named shall not be considered.
23. Any Lord of the Five
Nations Confederacy may construct shell strings (or wampum belts) of any size
or length as pledges or records of matters of national or international
importance.
When it is necessary to dispatch a shell string by a War Chief or other
messenger as the token of a summons, the messenger shall recite the contents of
the string to the party to whom it is sent. That party shall repeat the
message and return the shell string and if there has been a summons he shall
make ready for the journey.
Any of the people of the Five Nations may use shells (or wampum) as the record
of a pledge, contract or an agreement entered into and the same shall be
binding as soon as shell strings shall have been exchanged by both parties.
24. The Lords of the Confederacy of the Five Nations shall be mentors
of the people for all time. The thickness of their skin shall be seven
spans�which is to say that they shall be
proof against anger, offensive actions and criticism. Their hearts shall
be full of peace and good will and their minds filled with a yearning for the
welfare of the people of the Confederacy. With endless patience they
shall carry out their duty and their firmness shall be tempered with a
tenderness for their people. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodgment
in their minds and all their words and actions shall be marked by calm
deliberation.
25. If a Lord of the
Confederacy should seek to establish any authority independent of the jurisdiction
of the Confederacy of the Great Peace, which is the Five Nations, he shall be
warned three times in open council, first by the women relatives, second by the
men relatives and finally by the Lords of the Confederacy of the Nation to
which he belongs. If the offending Lord is still obdurate he shall be
dismissed by the War Chief of his nation for refusing to conform to the laws of
the Great Peace. His nation shall then install the candidate nominated by
the female name holders of his family.
26. It shall be the duty of
all of the Five Nations
Confederate Lords, from time to time as occasion demands, to act as mentors and
spiritual guides of their people and remind them of their Creator�s will and words. They shall say:
�Hearken, that peace may continue
unto future days!
�Always listen to the words of the
Great Creator, for he
has spoken.
�United people, let not evil find
lodging in your minds.
�For the Great Creator has spoken and
the cause of Peace
shall not become old.
�The cause of peace shall not die if
you remember the Great Creator.�
Every Confederate Lord
shall speak words such as these to promote peace.
27. All Lords of the
Five Nations Confederacy must be honest in all things. They must not idle
or gossip, but be men possessing those honorable qualities that make true royaneh.
It shall be a serious wrong for anyone to lead a Lord into trivial affairs, for
the people must ever hold their Lords high in estimation out of respect to
their honorable positions.
28. When a candidate Lord is to be installed he shall furnish four strings of
shells (or wampum) one span in length bound together at one end. Such
will constitute the evidence of his pledge to the Confederate Lords that he
will live according to the constitution of the Great Peace and exercise justice
in all affairs.
When the pledge is furnished the Speaker of the Council must hold the shell
strings in his hand and address the opposite side of the Council Fire and he
shall commence his address saying: �Now
behold him. He has now become a Confederate Lord. See how splendid
he looks.� An address may then
follow. At the end of it he shall send the bunch of shell strings to the
opposite side and they shall be received as evidence of the pledge. Then
shall the opposite side say:
�We now do crown you with the sacred
emblem of the deer�s antlers, the emblem of your
Lordship. You shall now become a mentor of the people of the Five
Nations. The thickness of your skin shall be seven spans�which is to say that you shall be proof against
anger, offensive actions and criticism. Your heart shall be filled with
peace and good will and your mind filled with a yearning for the welfare of the
people of the Confederacy. With endless patience you shall carry out your
duty and your firmness shall be tempered with tenderness for your people.
Neither anger nor fury shall find lodgment in your mind and all your words and
actions shall be marked with calm deliberation. In all of your
deliberations in the Confederate Council, in your efforts at law making, in all
your official acts, self interest shall be cast into oblivion. Cast not
over your shoulder behind you the warnings of the nephews and nieces should
they chide you for any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the
Great Law which is just and right. Look and listen for the welfare of the
whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming
generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground�the unborn of the future Nation.�
29. When a Lordship
title is to be conferred, the candidate Lord shall furnish the cooked venison,
the corn bread and the corn soup, together with other necessary things and the
labor for the Conferring of Titles Festival.
30. The Lords of the Confederacy may confer the Lordship title upon a candidate
whenever the Great Law is recited, if there be a candidate, for the Great Law
speaks all the rules.
31. If a Lord of the Confederacy should become seriously ill and be thought
near death, the women who are heirs of his title shall go to his house and lift
his crown of deer antlers, the emblem of his Lordship, and place them at one
side. If the Creator spares him and he rises from his bed of sickness he
may rise with the antlers on his brow.
The following words
shall be used to temporarily remove the antlers:
�Now our comrade Lord (or our
relative Lord) the time has come when we must approach you in your
illness. We remove for a time the deer�s
antlers from your brow, we remove the emblem of your Lordship title. The
Great Law has decreed that no Lord should end his life with the antlers on his
brow. We therefore lay them aside in the room. If the Creator
spares you and you recover from your illness you shall rise from your bed with
the antlers on your brow as before and you shall resume your duties as Lord of
the Confederacy and you may labor again for the Confederate people.�
32. If a Lord of the
Confederacy should die while the Council of the Five Nations is in session the
Council shall adjourn for ten days. No Confederate Council shall sit
within ten days of the death of a Lord of the Confederacy.
If the Three Brothers (the Mohawk, the Onondaga and the Seneca) should lose one
of their Lords by death, the Younger Brothers (the Oneida and the Cayuga) shall come to the
surviving Lords of the Three Brothers on the tenth day and console them.
If the Younger Brothers lose one of their Lords then the Three Brothers shall
come to them and console them. And the consolation shall be the reading
of the contents of the thirteen shell (wampum) strings of Ayonhwhathah.
At the termination of this rite
a successor shall be appointed, to be appointed by the women heirs of the
Lordship title. If the women are not yet ready to place their nominee
before the Lords the Speaker shall say, �Come
let us go out.� All shall leave the Council
or the place of gathering. The installation shall then wait until such a
time as the women are ready. The Speaker shall lead the way from the
house by saying, �Let us depart to the edge of the
woods and lie in waiting on our bellies.�
When the women title
holders shall have chosen one of their sons the Confederate Lords will assemble
in two places, the Younger Brothers in one place and the Three Older Brothers
in another. The Lords who are to console the mourning Lords shall choose
one of their number to sing the Pacification Hymn as they journey to the
sorrowing Lords. The singer shall lead the way and the Lords and the
people shall follow. When they reach the sorrowing Lords they shall hail
the candidate Lord and perform the rite of Conferring the Lordship Title.
33. When a Confederate Lord dies, the surviving relatives shall immediately
dispatch a messenger, a member of another clan, to the Lords in another
locality. When the runner comes within hailing distance of the locality
he shall utter a sad wail, thus: �Kwa-ah,
Kwa-ah, Kwa-ah!� The sound shall be repeated
three times and then again and again at intervals as many times as the distance
may require. When the runner arrives at the settlement the people shall
assemble and one must ask him the nature of his sad message. He shall
then say, �Let us consider.� Then he shall tell them of the death of the
Lord. He shall deliver to them a string of shells (wampum) and say �Here is the testimony, you have heard the message.� He may then return home.
It now becomes the duty
of the Lords of the locality to send runners to other localities and each
locality shall send other messengers until all Lords are notified.
Runners shall travel day and night.
34. If a Lord dies and
there is no candidate qualified for the office in the family of the women title
holders, the Lords of the Nation shall give the title into the hands of a
sister family in the clan until such a time as the original family produces a
candidate, when the title shall be restored to the rightful owners.
No Lordship title may be carried into the grave. The Lords of the
Confederacy may dispossess a dead Lord of his title even at the grave.
Election of Pine Tree Chiefs
35. Should any man of the Nation assist with special ability or show great
interest in the affairs of the Nation, if he proves himself wise, honest and
worthy of confidence, the Confederate Lords may elect him to a seat with them
and he may sit in the Confederate Council. He shall be proclaimed a �Pine Tree sprung up for the Nation� and shall be installed as such at the next assembly
for the installation of Lords. Should he ever do anything contrary to the
rules of the Great Peace, he may not be deposed from office�no one shall cut him down� but thereafter everyone shall be deaf to his voice
and his advice. Should he resign his seat and title no one shall prevent
him. A Pine Tree chief has no authority to name a successor nor is his
title hereditary.
Names, Duties and Rights of War Chiefs
36. The title names of the Chief Confederate Lords� War Chiefs shall be:
Ayonwaehs, War Chief under
Lord Takarihoken (Mohawk)
Kahonwahdironh, War Chief under Lord Odatshedeh (Oneida)
Ayendes, War Chief under Lord Adodarhoh (Onondaga)
Wenenhs, War Chief under Lord Dekaenyonh (Cayuga)
Shoneradowaneh, War Chief under Lord Skanyadariyo (Seneca)
The women heirs of each head Lord�s
title shall be the heirs of the War Chief�s
title of their respective Lord.
The War Chiefs shall be
selected from the eligible sons of the female families holding the head Lordship
titles.
37. There shall be one War Chief for each Nation and their duties shall be to
carry messages for their Lords and to take up the arms of war in case of
emergency. They shall not participate in the proceedings of the
Confederate Council but shall watch its progress and in case of an erroneous
action by a Lord they shall receive the complaints of the people and convey the
warnings of the women to him. The people who wish to convey messages to
the Lords in the Confederate Council shall do so through the War Chief of their
Nation. It shall ever be his duty to lay the cases, questions and
propositions of the people before the Confederate Council.
38. When a War Chief dies another shall be installed by the same rite as that
by which a Lord is installed.
39. If a War Chief acts contrary to instructions or against the provisions of
the Laws of the Great Peace, doing so in the capacity of his office, he shall
be deposed by his women relatives and by his men relatives. Either the
women or the men alone or jointly may act in such a case. The women title
holders shall then choose another candidate.
40. When the Lords of the Confederacy take occasion to dispatch a messenger in
behalf of the Confederate Council, they shall wrap up any matter they may send
and instruct the messenger to remember his errand, to turn not aside but to
proceed faithfully to his destination and deliver his message according to
every instruction.
41. If a message borne by a runner is the warning of an invasion he shall whoop,
�Kwa-ah, Kwa-ah,� twice and repeat at short intervals; then again at a
longer interval.
If a human being is
found dead, the finder shall not touch the body but return home immediately
shouting at short intervals, �Koo-weh!�
Clans and Consanguinity
42. Among the Five Nations
and their posterity there shall be the following original clans: Great Name
Bearer, Ancient Name Bearer, Great Bear, Ancient Bear, Turtle, Painted Turtle,
Standing Rock, Large Plover, Deer, Pigeon Hawk, Eel, Ball, Opposite-Side-of-the-Hand,
and Wild Potatoes. These clans distributed through their respective
Nations, shall be the sole owners and holders of the soil of the country and in
them is it vested as a birthright.
43. People of the Five Nations members of a certain clan shall recognize every
other member of that clan, irrespective of the Nation, as relatives. Men
and women, therefore, members of the same clan are forbidden to marry.
44. The lineal descent of the people of the Five Nations shall run in the
female line. Women shall be considered the progenitors of the
Nation. They shall own the land and the soil. Men and women shall
follow the status of the mother.
45. The women heirs of the Confederated Lordship titles shall be called Royaneh
(Noble) for all time to come.
46. The women of the Forty Eight (now fifty) Royaneh families shall be the
heirs of the Authorized Names for all time to come.
When an infant of the Five Nations is given an Authorized Name at the Midwinter
Festival or at the Ripe Corn Festival, one in the cousinhood of which the
infant is a member shall be appointed a speaker. He shall then announce
to the opposite cousinhood the names of the father and the mother of the child
together with the clan of the mother. Then the speaker shall announce the
child�s name twice. The uncle of the
child shall then take the child in his arms and walking up and down the room
shall sing: �My head is firm, I am of the
Confederacy.� As he sings the opposite cousinhood
shall respond by chanting, �Hyenh, Hyenh,
Hyenh, Hyenh,� until the song is ended.
47. If the female heirs of a Confederate Lord�s title become extinct, the title right shall be given by the Lords of
the Confederacy to the sister family whom they shall elect and that family
shall hold the name and transmit it to their (female) heirs, but they shall not
appoint any of their sons as a candidate for a title until all the eligible men
of the former family shall have died or otherwise have become ineligible.
48. If all the heirs of a Lordship title become extinct, and all the families
in the clan, then the title shall be given by the Lords of the Confederacy to
the family in a sister clan whom they shall elect.
49. If any of the Royaneh women, heirs of a titleship, shall willfully withhold
a Lordship or other title and refuse to bestow it, or if such heirs abandon,
forsake or despise their heritage, then shall such women be deemed buried and
their family extinct. The titleship shall then revert to a sister family
or clan upon application and complaint. The Lords of the Confederacy
shall elect the family or clan which shall in future hold the title.
50. The Royaneh women of the Confederacy heirs of the Lordship titles shall
elect two women of their family as cooks for the Lord when the people shall assemble
at his house for business or other purposes.
It is not good nor honorable for a Confederate Lord to allow his people whom he
has called to go hungry.
51. When a Lord holds a conference in his home, his wife, if she wishes, may
prepare the food for the Union Lords who assemble with him. This is an
honorable right which she may exercise and an expression of her esteem.
52. The Royaneh women, heirs of the Lordship titles, shall, should it be
necessary, correct and admonish the holders of their titles. Those only
who attend the Council may do this and those who do not shall not object to
what has been said nor strive to undo the action.
53. When the Royaneh women, holders of a Lordship title, select one of their
sons as a candidate, they shall select one who is trustworthy, of good
character, of honest disposition, one who manages his own affairs, supports his
own family, if any, and who has proven a faithful man to his Nation.
54. When a Lordship title becomes vacant through death or other cause, the
Royaneh women of the clan in which the title is hereditary shall hold a council
and shall choose one from among their sons to fill the office made
vacant. Such a candidate shall not be the father of any Confederate
Lord. If the choice is unanimous the name is referred to the men
relatives of the clan. If they should disapprove it shall be their duty
to select a candidate from among their own number. If then the men and
women are unable to decide which of the two candidates shall be named, then the
matter shall be referred to the Confederate Lords in the Clan. They shall
decide which candidate shall be named. If the men and the women agree to
a candidate his name shall be referred to the sister clans for
confirmation. If the sister clans confirm the choice, they shall refer
their action to their Confederate Lords who shall ratify the choice and present
it to their cousin Lords, and if the cousin Lords confirm the name then the
candidate shall be installed by the proper ceremony for the conferring of
Lordship titles.
Official Symbolism
55. A large bunch of shell
strings, in the making of which the Five Nations Confederate Lords have equally contributed, shall symbolize the
completeness of the union and certify the pledge of the nations represented by
the Confederate Lords of the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga and
the Senecca, that all are united and formed into one body or union called the
Union of the Great Law, which they have established.
A bunch of shell strings is to be the symbol of the council fire of the Five
Nations Confederacy. And the Lord whom the council of Fire Keepers shall
appoint to speak for them in opening the council shall hold the strands of
shells in his hands when speaking. When he finishes speaking he shall deposit
the strings on an elevated place (or pole) so that all the assembled Lords and
the people may see it and know that the council is open and in progress.
When the council adjourns the Lord who has been appointed by his comrade Lords
to close it shall take the strands of shells in his hands and address the
assembled Lords. Thus will the council adjourn until such time and place
as appointed by the council. Then shall the shell strings be placed in a
place for safekeeping.
Every five years the Five Nations Confederate Lords and the people shall
assemble together and shall ask one another if their minds are still in the
same spirit of unity for the Great Binding Law and if any of the Five Nations
shall not pledge continuance and steadfastness to the pledge of unity then the
Great Binding Law shall dissolve.
56. Five strings of shell tied together as one shall represent the Five
Nations. Each string shall represent one territory and the whole a
completely united territory known as the Five Nations Confederate territory.
57. Five arrows shall be bound together very strong and each arrow shall
represent one nation. As the five arrows are strongly bound this shall
symbolize the complete union of the nations. Thus are the Five Nations
united completely and enfolded together, united into one head, one body and one
mind. Therefore they shall labor, legislate and council together
for the interest of future generations.
The Lords of the Confederacy shall eat together from one bowl the feast of
cooked beaver�s tail. While they are eating
they are to use no sharp utensils for if they should they might accidentally
cut one another and bloodshed would follow. All measures must be taken to
prevent the spilling of blood in any way.
58. There are now the Five Nations Confederate Lords standing with joined hands
in a circle. This signifies and provides that should any one of the
Confederate Lords leave the council and this Confederacy his crown of deer�s horns, the emblem of his Lordship title, together
with his birthright, shall lodge on the arms of the Union Lords whose hands are
so joined. He forfeits his title and the crown falls from his brow but it
shall remain in the Confederacy.
A further meaning of this is that if any time any one of the Confederate Lords
choose to submit to the law of a foreign people he is no longer in but out of
the Confederacy, and persons of this class shall be called �They have alienated themselves.� Likewise such persons who submit to laws of
foreign nations shall forfeit all birthrights and claims on the Five Nations
Confederacy and territory.
You, the Five Nations Confederate Lords, be firm so that if a tree falls on
your joined arms it shall not separate or weaken your hold. So shall the
strength of the union be preserved.
59. A bunch of wampum shells on strings, three spans of the hand in length, the
upper half of the bunch being white and the lower half black, and formed from
equal contributions of the men of the Five Nations, shall be a token that the
men have combined themselves into one head, one body and one thought, and it
shall also symbolize their ratification of the peace pact of the Confederacy,
whereby the Lords of the Five Nations have established the Great Peace.
The white portion of the shell strings represent the women and the black
portion the men. The black portion, furthermore, is a token of power and
authority vested in the men of the Five Nations.
This string of wampum vests the people with the right to correct their erring
Lords. In case a part or all the Lords pursue a course not vouched for by
the people and heed not the third warning of their women relatives, then the
matter shall be taken to the General Council of the women of the Five
Nations. If the Lords notified and warned three times fail to heed, then
the case falls into the hands of the men of the Five Nations. The War
Chiefs shall then, by right of such power and authority, enter the open council
to warn the Lord or Lords to return from the wrong course. If the Lords
heed the warning they shall say, �we
will reply tomorrow.� If then an answer is returned
in favor of justice and in accord with this Great Law, then the Lords shall
individually pledge themselves again by again furnishing the necessary shells
for the pledge. Then shall the War Chief or Chiefs exhort the Lords
urging them to be just and true.
Should it happen that the Lords refuse to heed the third warning, then two
courses are open: either the men may decide in their council to depose the Lord
or Lords or to club them to death with war clubs. Should they in their
council decide to take the first course the War Chief shall address the Lord or
Lords, saying: �Since you the Lords of the Five
Nations have refused to return to the procedure of the Constitution, we now
declare your seats vacant, we take off your horns, the token of your Lordship,
and others shall be chosen and installed in your seats, therefore vacate your
seats.�
Should the men in their
council adopt the second course, the War Chief shall order his men to enter the
council, to take positions beside the Lords, sitting between them wherever
possible. When this is accomplished the War Chief holding in his
outstretched hand a bunch of black wampum strings shall say to the erring
Lords: �So now, Lords of the Five United
Nations, harken to these last words from your men. You have not heeded
the warnings of the women relatives, you have not heeded the warnings of the
General Council of women and you have not heeded the warnings of the men of the
nations, all urging you to return to the right course of action. Since
you are determined to resist and to withhold justice from your people there is
only one course for us to adopt.�
At this point the War Chief shall let drop the bunch of black wampum and the
men shall spring to their feet and club the erring Lords to death. Any
erring Lord may submit before the War Chief lets fall the black wampum.
Then his execution is withheld.
The black wampum here used symbolizes that the power to execute is buried but
that it may be raised up again by the men. It is buried but when occasion
arises they may pull it up and derive their power and authority to act as here
described.
60. A broad dark belt of wampum of thirty-eight rows, having a white heart in
the center, on either side of which are two white squares all connected with
the heart by white rows of beads shall be the emblem of the unity of the Five
Nations.
This is the Hiawatha Belt, now in the Congressional Library.
The first of the squares on the left represents the Mohawk nation and its
territory; the second square on the left and the one near the heart, represents
the Oneida nation and its territory; the white heart in the middle represents
the Onondaga nation and its territory, and it also means that the heart of the
Five Nations is single in its loyalty to the Great Peace, that the Great Peace
is lodged in the heart (meaning the Onondaga Lords), and that the Council Fire
is to burn there for the Five Nations, and further, it means that the authority
is given to advance the cause of peace whereby hostile nations out of the
Confederacy shall cease warfare; the white square to the right of the heart
represents the Cayuga nation and its territory and the fourth and last white
square represents the Seneca nation and its territory.
White shall here symbolize that no evil or jealous thoughts shall creep into
the minds of the Lords while in Council under the Great Peace. White, the
emblem of peace, love, charity and equity surrounds and guards the Five
Nations.
61. Should a great calamity threaten the generations rising and living of the
Five United Nations, then he who is able to climb to the top of the Tree of the
Great Long Leaves may do so. When, then, he reaches the top of the tree
he shall look about in all directions, and, should he see that evil things
indeed are approaching, then he shall call to the people of the Five United
Nations assembled beneath the Tree of the Great Long Leaves and say: �A calamity threatens your happiness.�
Then shall the Lords
convene in council and discuss the impending evil.
When all the truths
relating to the trouble shall be fully known and found to be truths, then shall
the people seek out a Tree of Ka-hon-ka-ah-go-nah, [ a great swamp Elm ], and
when they shall find it they shall assemble their heads together and lodge for
a time between its roots. Then, their labors being finished, they may
hope for happiness for many days after.
62. When the Confederate Council of the Five Nations declares for a reading of
the belts of shell calling to mind these laws, they shall provide for the
reader a specially made mat woven of the fibres of wild hemp. The mat
shall not be used again, for such formality is called the honouring of the
importance of the law.
63. Should two sons of opposite sides of the council fire agree in a desire to
hear the reciting of the laws of the Great Peace and so refresh their memories
in the way ordained by the founder of the Confederacy, they shall notify
Adodarho. He then shall consult with five of his coactive Lords and they
in turn shall consult with their eight brethren. Then should they decide
to accede to the request of the two sons from opposite sides of the Council
Fire, Adodarho shall send messengers to notify the Chief Lords of each of the
Five Nations. Then they shall dispatch their War Chiefs to notify their
brother and cousin Lords of the meeting and its time and place.
When all have come and have assembled, Adodarhoh, in conjunction with his
cousin Lords, shall appoint one Lord who shall repeat the laws of the Great
Peace. Then shall they announce who they have chosen to repeat the laws
of the Great Peace to the two sons. Then shall the chosen one repeat the
laws of the Great Peace.
64. At the ceremony of the installation of Lords if there is only one expert
speaker and singer of the law and the Pacification Hymn to stand at the council
fire, then when this speaker and singer has finished addressing one side of the
fire he shall go to the opposite side and reply to his own speech and
song. He shall thus act for both sides of the fire until the entire
ceremony has been completed. Such a speaker and singer shall be termed
the �Two Faced� because he speaks and sings for both sides of the
fire.
65. I, Dekanawida, and the Union Lords, now uproot the tallest pine tree and
into the cavity thereby made we cast all weapons of war. Into the depths
of the earth, down into the deep underearth currents of water flowing to
unknown regions we cast all the weapons of strife. We bury them from
sight and we plant again the tree. Thus shall the Great Peace be
established and hostilities shall no longer be known between the Five Nations
but peace to the United People.
Laws of Adoption
66. The father of a child of great comeliness, learning, ability or specially
loved because of some circumstance may, at the will of the child�s clan, select a name from his own (the father�s) clan and bestow it by ceremony, such as is
provided. This naming shall be only temporary and shall be called, �A name hung about the neck.�
67. Should any person,
a member of the Five Nations�
Confederacy, specially
esteem a man or woman of another clan or of a foreign nation, he may choose a
name and bestow it upon that person so esteemed. The naming shall be in
accord with the ceremony of bestowing names. Such a name is only a
temporary one and shall be called �A
name hung about the neck.� A short string of shells
shall be delivered with the name as a record and a pledge.
68. Should any member
of the Five Nations, a family or person belonging to a foreign nation submit a
proposal for adoption into a clan of one of the Five Nations, he or they shall
furnish a string of shells, a span in length, as a pledge to the clan into
which he or they wish to be adopted. The Lords of the nation shall then
consider the proposal and submit a decision.
69. Any member of the Five Nations who through esteem or other feeling wishes
to adopt an individual, a family or number of families may offer adoption to
him or them and if accepted the matter shall be brought to the attention of the
Lords for confirmation and the Lords must confirm adoption.
70. When the adoption of anyone shall have been confirmed by the Lords of the
Nation, the Lords shall address the people of their nation and say: �Now you of our nation, be informed that such a
person, such a family or such families have ceased forever to bear their birth
nation�s name and have buried it in the
depths of the earth. Henceforth let no one of our nation ever mention the
original name or nation of their birth. To do so will be to hasten the
end of our peace.
Laws of Emigration
71. When any person or family belonging to the Five Nations desires to abandon
their birth nation and the territory of the Five Nations, they shall inform the
Lords of their nation and the Confederate Council of the Five Nations shall
take cognizance of it.
72. When any person or any of the people of the Five Nations emigrate and
reside in a region distant from the territory of the Five Nations Confederacy,
the Lords of the Five Nations at will may send a messenger carrying a broad
belt of black shells and when the messenger arrives he shall call the people
together or address them personally displaying the belt of shells and they
shall know that this is an order for them to return to their original homes and
to their council fires.
Rights of Foreign Nations
73. The soil of the earth from one end of the land to the other is the property
of the people who inhabit it. By birthright the Ongwehonweh (Original
beings) are the owners of the soil which they own and occupy and none other may
hold it. The same law has been held from the oldest times.
The Great Creator has made us of the one blood and of the same soil he made us
and as only different tongues constitute different nations he established
different hunting grounds and territories and made boundary lines between them.
74. When any alien nation or individual is admitted into the
Five Nations the admission shall be understood only to be a temporary
one. Should the person or nation create loss, do wrong or cause suffering
of any kind to endanger the peace of the Confederacy, the Confederate Lords
shall order one of their war chiefs to reprimand him or them and if a similar
offense is again committed the offending party or parties shall be expelled
from the territory of the Five United Nations.
75. When a member of an alien nation comes to the territory of the Five Nations
and seeks refuge and permanent residence, the Lords of the Nation to which he
comes shall extend hospitality and make him a member of the nation. Then
shall he be accorded equal rights and privileges in all matters except as after
mentioned.
76. No body of alien people who have been adopted temporarily shall have a vote
in the council of the Lords of the Confederacy, for only they who have been
invested with Lordship titles may vote in the Council. Aliens have
nothing by blood to make claim to a vote and should they have it, not knowing
all the traditions of the Confederacy, might go against its Great Peace.
In this manner the Great Peace would be endangered and perhaps be destroyed.
77. When the Lords of the Confederacy decide to admit a foreign nation and an
adoption is made, the Lords shall inform the adopted nation that its admission
is only temporary. They shall also say to the nation that it must never
try to control, to interfere with or to injure the Five Nations nor disregard
the Great Peace or any of its rules or customs. That in no way should
they cause disturbance or injury. Then should the adopted nation
disregard these
injunctions, their adoption shall be annulled and they shall be expelled.
The expulsion shall be in the following manner: The council shall appoint
one of their War Chiefs to convey the message of annulment
and he shall say, �You (naming the nation) listen to me
while I speak. I am here to inform you again of the will of the Five
Nations� Council. It was clearly made
known to you at a former time. Now the Lords of the Five Nations have
decided to expel you and cast you out. We disown you now and annul your
adoption. Therefore you must look for a path in which to go and lead away
all your people. It was you, not we, who committed wrong and caused this
sentence of annulment. So then go your way and depart from the territory
of the Five Nations and from the Confederacy.�
78. Whenever a foreign
nation enters the Confederacy or accepts the Great Peace, the Five Nations and
the foreign nation shall enter into an agreement and compact by which the
foreign nation shall endeavor to persuade other nations to accept the Great Peace.
Rights and Powers of War
79. Skanawatih shall be vested with a double office, duty and with double
authority. One-half of his being shall hold the Lordship title and the
other half shall hold the title of War Chief. In the event of war he shall
notify the five War Chiefs of the Confederacy and command them to prepare for
war and have their men ready at the appointed time and place for engagement
with the enemy of the Great Peace.
80. When the Confederate Council of the Five Nations has for its object the
establishment of the Great Peace among the people of an outside nation and that
nation refuses to accept the Great Peace, then by such refusal they bring a
declaration of war upon themselves from the Five Nations. Then shall the
Five Nations seek to establish the Great Peace by a conquest of the rebellious
nation.
81. When the men of the Five Nations, now called forth to become warriors, are
ready for battle with an obstinate opposing nation that has refused to accept
the Great Peace, then one of the five War Chiefs shall be chosen by the
warriors of the Five Nations to lead the army into battle. It shall be
the duty of the War Chief so chosen to come before his warriors and address
them. His aim shall be to impress upon them the necessity of good
behavior and strict obedience to all the commands of the War Chiefs. He
shall deliver an oration exhorting them with great zeal to be brave and
courageous and never to be guilty of cowardice. At the conclusion of his
oration he shall march forward and commence the War Song and he shall sing:
Now I am greatly surprised
And, therefore I shall use it� The power of
my War Song.
I am of the Five
Nations
And I shall make supplication
To the Almighty Creator.
He has furnished this army.
My warriors shall be mighty
In the strength of the Creator.
Between him and my song they are
For it was he who gave the song
This war song that I sing!
82. When the warriors of
the Five Nations are on an expedition against an enemy, the War Chief shall
sing the War Song as he approaches the country of the enemy and not cease until
his scouts have reported that the army is near the enemies� lines when the War Chief shall approach with great
caution and prepare for the attack.
83. When peace shall have been established by the termination of the war
against a foreign nation, then the War Chief shall cause all the weapons of war
to be taken from the nation. Then shall the Great Peace be established
and that nation shall observe all the rules of the Great Peace for all time to
come.
84. Whenever a foreign nation is conquered or has by their own will accepted
the Great Peace their own system of internal government may continue, but they
must cease all warfare against other nations.
85. Whenever a war against a foreign nation is pushed until that nation is
about exterminated because of its refusal to accept the Great Peace and if that
nation shall by its obstinacy become exterminated, all their rights, property
and territory shall become the property of the Five Nations.
86. Whenever a foreign nation is conquered and the survivors are brought into
the territory of the Five Nations�
Confederacy and placed under the Great Peace the two shall be known as the
Conqueror and the Conquered. A symbolic relationship shall be devised and
be placed in some symbolic position. The conquered nation shall have no
voice in the councils of the Confederacy in the body of the Lords.
87. When the War of the Five Nations on a foreign rebellious nation is ended,
peace shall be restored to that nation by a withdrawal of all their weapons of
war by the War Chief of the Five Nations. When all the terms of peace
shall have been agreed upon a state of friendship shall be established.
88. When the proposition to establish the Great Peace is made to a foreign
nation it shall be done in mutual council. The foreign nation is to be
persuaded by reason and urged to come into the Great Peace. If the Five
Nations fail to obtain the consent of the nation at the first council a second
council shall be held and upon a second failure a third council shall be held
and this third council shall end the peaceful methods of persuasion. At
the third council the War Chief of the Five nations shall address the Chief of
the foreign nation and request him three times to accept the Great Peace.
If refusal steadfastly follows the War Chief shall let the bunch of white lake
shells drop from his outstretched hand to the ground and shall bound quickly
forward and club the offending chief to death. War shall thereby be
declared and the War Chief shall have his warriors at his back to meet any
emergency. War must continue until the contest is won by the Five
Nations.
89. When the Lords of the Five Nations propose to meet in conference with a
foreign nation with proposals for an acceptance of the Great Peace, a large
band of warriors shall conceal themselves in a secure place safe from the espionage
of the foreign nation but as near at hand as possible. Two warriors shall
accompany the Union Lord who carries the proposals and these warriors shall be
especially cunning. Should the Lord be attacked, these warriors shall
hasten back to the army of warriors with the news of the calamity which fell
through the treachery of the foreign nation.
90. When the Five Nations� Council declares war any Lord of
the Confederacy may enlist with the warriors by temporarily renouncing his
sacred Lordship title which he holds through the election of his women
relatives. The title then reverts to them and they may bestow it upon
another temporarily until the war is over when the Lord, if living, may resume
his title and seat in the Council.
91. A certain wampum belt of black beads shall be the emblem of the authority
of the Five War Chiefs to take up the weapons of war and with their men to
resist invasion. This shall be called a war in defense of the territory.
Treason or Secession of a Nation
92. If a nation, part of a nation, or more than one nation within the Five
Nations should in any way endeavor to destroy the Great Peace by neglect or
violating its laws and resolve to dissolve the Confederacy, such a nation or
such nations shall be deemed guilty of treason and called enemies of the
Confederacy and the Great Peace.
It shall then be the duty of the Lords of the Confederacy who remain faithful
to resolve to warn the offending people. They shall be warned once and if
a second warning is necessary they shall be driven from the territory of the
Confederacy by the War Chiefs and his men.
Rights of the People of the Five Nations
93. Whenever a specially important matter or a great emergency is presented
before the Confederate Council and the nature of the matter affects the entire
body of the Five Nations, threatening their utter ruin, then the Lords of the
Confederacy must submit the matter to the decision of their people and the
decision of the people shall affect the decision of the Confederate
Council. This decision shall be a confirmation of the voice of the
people.
94. The men of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a
Council Fire ever burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When it
seems necessary for a council to be held to discuss the welfare of the clans,
then the men may gather about the fire. This council shall have the same
rights as the council of the women.
95. The women of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a Council Fire ever
burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When in their opinion it
seems necessary for the interest of the people they shall hold a council and
their decisions and recommendations shall be introduced before the Council of
the Lords by the War Chief for its consideration.
96. All the Clan council fires of a nation or of the Five Nations may unite into one general council fire, or delegates from all the
council fires may be appointed to unite in a general council for discussing the
interests of the people. The people shall have the right to make
appointments and to delegate
their power to others of their number. When their council shall have come
to a conclusion on any matter, their decision shall be reported to the Council
of the Nation or to the Confederate Council (as the case may require) by the
War Chief or the War Chiefs.
97. Before the real people united their nations, each nation had its council
fires. Before the Great Peace their councils were held. The five
Council Fires shall continue to burn as before and they are not quenched.
The Lords of each nation in future shall settle their nation�s affairs at this council fire governed always by the
laws and rules of the council of the Confederacy and by the Great Peace.
98. If either a nephew or a niece see an irregularity in the performance of the
functions of the Great Peace and its laws, in the Confederate Council or in the
conferring of Lordship titles in an improper way, through their War Chief they
may demand that such actions become subject to correction and that the matter
conform to the ways prescribed by the laws of the Great Peace.
Religious Ceremonies Protected
99. The rites and festivals of each nation shall remain undisturbed and shall
continue as before because they were given by the people of old times as useful
and necessary for the good of men.
100. It shall be the duty of the Lords of each brotherhood to confer at the
approach of the time of the Midwinter Thanksgiving and to notify their people
of the approaching festival. They shall hold a council over the matter
and arrange its details and begin the Thanksgiving five days after the moon of
Dis-ko-nah is new. The people shall assemble at the appointed place and
the nephews shall notify the people of the time and place. From the
beginning to the end the Lords shall preside over the Thanksgiving and address
the people from time to time.
101. It shall be the duty of the appointed managers of the
Thanksgiving festivals to do all that is needed for carrying out the duties of
the occasions.
The recognized festivals of Thanksgiving shall be the Midwinter Thanksgiving,
the Maple or Sugar-making Thanksgiving, the Raspberry Thanksgiving, the
Strawberry Thanksgiving, the Cornplanting Thanksgiving, the Corn Hoeing
Thanksgiving, the Little Festival of Green Corn, the Great Festival of Ripe
Corn and the complete Thanksgiving for the Harvest.
Each nation�s festivals shall be held in their
Long Houses.
102. When the Thanksgiving for the Green Corn comes the special managers, both
the men and women, shall give it careful attention and do their duties
properly.
103. When the Ripe Corn Thanksgiving is celebrated the Lords of the Nation must
give it the same attention as they give to the Midwinter Thanksgiving.
104. Whenever any man proves himself by his good life and his knowledge of good
things, naturally fitted as a teacher of good things, he shall be recognized by
the Lords as a teacher of peace and religion and the people shall hear him.
The Installation Song
105. The song used in installing the new Lord of the Confederacy shall be sung
by Adodarhoh and it shall be:
�Haii, haii Agwah wi-yoh
� � A-kon-he-watha
�
� Ska-we-ye-se-go-wah
� � Yon-gwa-wih
� � Ya-kon-he-wa-tha
Haii, haii It is good
indeed
�
� (That) a broom, --
� � A great wing,
� � It is given me
�
� For a sweeping
instrument.�
106. Whenever a person
properly entitled desires to learn the
pacification Song he is privileged to do so but he must prepare a feast at
which his teachers may sit with him and sing. The feast is provided that
no misfortune may befall them for singing the song on an occasion when no chief
is installed.
Protection of the House
Protection of the House
107. A certain sign shall be known to all the people of the Five Nations which shall denote that the owner or occupant of a house is
absent. A stick or pole in a slanting or leaning position shall indicate
this and be the sign. Every person not entitled to enter the house by
right of living within it upon seeing such a sign shall not approach the house
either by day or by night but shall keep as far away as his business will
permit.
Funeral Addresses
108. At the funeral of a Lord of the Confederacy, say: Now we become
reconciled as you start away. You were once a Lord of the Five Nations� Confederacy and the United People trusted you. Now
we release you for it is true that it is no longer possible for us to walk
about together on the earth. Now, therefore, we lay it (the body)
here. Here we lay it away. Now then we say to you, �Persevere onward to the place where the Creator
dwells in peace. Let not the things of the earth hinder you. Let
nothing that transpired while yet you lived hinder you. In hunting you
once took delight; in the game of Lacrosse you once took delight and in the
feasts and pleasant occasions your mind was amused, but now do not allow
thoughts of these things to give you trouble. Let not your relatives
hinder you and also let not your friends and associates trouble your
mind. Regard none of these things.�
�Now then, in turn, you here present
who were related to this man and you who were his friends and associates,
behold the path that is yours also! Soon we ourselves will be left in
that place. For this reason hold yourselves in restraint as you go from
place to place. In your actions and in your conversation do no idle
thing. Speak not idle talk neither gossip. Be careful of this and
speak not and do not give way to evil behavior. One year is the time that
you must abstain from unseemly levity but if you can not do this for ceremony,
ten days is the time to regard these things for respect.�
109. At the funeral of
a War Chief, say:
�Now we become reconciled as you
start away. You were once a War Chief of the Five Nations� Confederacy and the United People trusted you as
their guard from the enemy.� (The
remainder is the same as the address at the funeral of a Lord).
110. At the funeral of
a Warrior, say:
�Now we become reconciled as you
start away. Once you were a devoted provider and protector of your family
and you were ever ready to take part in battles for the Five Nations� Confederacy. The United People trusted you.� (The remainder is the same as the address at
the funeral of a Lord).
111. At the funeral of a young man, say:
�Now we become reconciled as you
start away. In the beginning of your career you are taken away and the
flower of your life is withered away.�
(The remainder is the same as the address at the funeral of a Lord).
112. At the funeral of a chief woman, say:
�Now we become reconciled as you
start away. You were once a chief woman in the Five Nations� Confederacy. You once were a mother of the
nations. Now we release you for it is true that it is no longer possible
for us to walk about together on the earth. Now, therefore, we lay it
(the body) here. Here we lay it away. Now then we say to you, �Persevere onward to the place where the Creator
dwells in peace. Let not the things of the earth hinder you. Let
nothing that transpired while you lived hinder you. Looking after your
family was a sacred duty and you were faithful. You were one of the many joint
heirs of the Lordship titles. Feastings were yours and you had pleasant
occasions. . .� (The remainder is the same as
the address at the funeral of a Lord).
113. At the funeral of a woman of the people, say:
�Now we become reconciled as you
start away. You were once a woman in the flower of life and the bloom is
now withered away. You once held a sacred position as a mother of the
nation. (Etc.) Looking after your family was a sacred duty and you were
faithful. Feastings . . . (etc.)�
(The remainder is the same as the address at the funeral of a Lord).
114. At the funeral of
an infant or young woman, say:
�Now we become reconciled as you
start away. You were a tender bud and gladdened our hearts for only a few
days. Now the bloom has withered away . . . (etc.) Let none of the
things that transpired on earth hinder you. Let nothing that happened
while you lived hinder you.� (The
remainder is the same as the address at the funeral of a Lord).
[ Editors note:
the above ellipsis and �etc.� remarks are
transcribed directly
from the text I copied. ]
115. When an infant dies within three days, mourning shall continue only five
days. Then shall you gather the little boys and girls at the house of
mourning and at the funeral feast a speaker shall address the children and bid
them be happy once more, though by a death, gloom has been cast over
them. Then shall the black clouds roll away and the sky shall show blue
once more. Then shall the children be again in sunshine.
116. When a dead person is brought to the burial place, the speaker on the
opposite side of the Council Fire shall bid the bereaved family cheer their
minds once again and rekindle their hearth fires in peace, to put their house
in order and once again be in brightness for darkness has covered them.
He shall say that the black clouds shall roll away and that the bright blue sky
is visible once more. Therefore shall they be in peace in the sunshine
again.
117. Three strings of shell one span in length shall be employed in addressing
the assemblage at the burial of the dead. The speaker shall say:
�Hearken you who are here, this body
is to be covered.
Assemble in this place
again ten days hence for it is the decree of the Creator that mourning shall
cease when ten days have expired. Then shall a feast be made.�
Then at the expiration
of ten days the speaker shall say:
�Continue to listen you who are
here. The ten days of mourning have expired and your minds must now be
freed of sorrow as before the loss of a relative. The relatives have
decided to make a little compensation to those who have assisted at the
funeral. It is a mere expression of thanks. This is to the one who
did the cooking while the body was lying in the house. Let her come
forward and receive this gift and be dismissed from the task.� In substance this shall be repeated for every
one who assisted in any way until all have been remembered.
------------------------------------
Prepared by
Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland Free-Net - aa300) Distributed by the Cybercasting
Services Division of the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN).
Permission is hereby granted to download, reprint, and/or otherwise
redistribute this file, provided appropriate point of origin credit is given to
the preparer(s) and the National Public Telecomputing Network.
© 1 October 2001, Portland
State University
