Please read the feature article on "Indians in Pennsylvania" and Tonya Boston Sagar's The Haudenosaunee and The Great Law of Peace.before continuing.
LIFEWAYS OF THE HAUDENOSAUNEE
AN OVERVIEW
We can say that all cultures develop in some very basic ways, but by no means can we say that they develop in a strictly linear fashion. Societal structure is often a reflection of its natural surroundings plus its maturity at the time of various culture-shaping events. And, cultures arise and develop differently as a result of the importance their creators place on certain aspects of life. This is determined in part by ever-changing circumstances. So one society may be advanced technologically, another sociologically. There are many variations. As we study differing cultures we can see certain attributes in one that are needful in another. This is why diverse societies have been borrowing ideas from one another for centuries.
Before European immigration to "The New World," some scholars speculate over a million people lived here. These inhabitants had been here for thousands of years and had evolved varied and highly sophisticated societies (although many immigrants from Europe termed them "uncivilized" for reasons that will be addressed in a later writing).
As discussed in previous articles, the eastern deciduous forest of what is now New York and Pennsylvania was considered home territory to several of these nations including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca, who came together to form the union known as the Haudenosaunee (people of the longhouse), League of the Iroquois or Five Nations.
Early colonists learned much from and about the Haudenosaunee, but as years went by and relations grew tense between Indian Nations and European immigrants, a good portion of that knowledge was lost. In learning about intact Haudenosaunee lifeways as they existed before European encroachment and as early Europeans encountered them, we can get a better picture of the true nature of their society and their culture as they constructed it, as they carried it forward and as they shared it with many of our European forbearers.
VILLAGE AND FAMILY STRUCTURE
The nations of the Haudenosaunee shared common lifeways. A lifeway is simply the way people live. Like many groups of people all over the world in those times, they lived in villages. Haudenosaunee villages were usually built on high ground and surrounded by a stockade made of logs. The village itself consisted mostly of homes known as longhouses. Longhouses could be from between 50 to 150 feet in length (sometimes longer). They were made of logs and poles. Saplings were used to form a curved roof. The roof was then covered with elm bark, leaving smoke holes at intervals in the center of the structure from one end to the other to let out the smoke from cooking fires.
On entering the longhouse one might see immediately on both sides of the doorway, woodpiles and food storage containers. They would also be evident at the far end of the long center aisle. On either side of the center aisle were compartments twelve to thirteen feet long and about six feet wide. These were family apartments. They were separated from one another by skin or bark, sometimes made into closets. Wooden platforms for storage and sleeping lined the walls of each living space. Cornhusk mats were used for sleeping and sitting and deer and bear skins were used for coverings. Each family had its own shared and personal items, including those for cooking. Fires were lit in pits beneath the smoke holes in the center aisle and families across the aisle from one another shared the same fire. The design of these homes was very effective at helping to keep people warm, protected and community oriented and probably, in that way, not unlike the clustered and sometimes connected "beehive" structures common to Europe. Some of our European ancestors lived in such beehive houses before coming to their "New World." The Haudenosaunee dwellings were probably much more comfortable than the "black houses" of Scotland, so called because they had no smoke holes.
Every member of a longhouse belonged to their own "fireside" family--parents, brothers and sisters. But they also belonged to a longhouse family and a clan family. Children would call their mother and their mother's sisters all mother and their mother's sisters would consider them as their children. So everyone had lots of siblings--the ones form the fireside family, from the mother's sisters' children and from the father's brothers' children. In European society these relationships were separated (both by name and role), into aunts, uncles and cousins.
The longhouse family was extremely important. A woman, usually the oldest, was head of the longhouse and everyone in the longhouse family was related to her. No matter where one would move, that person always belonged to the mother's longhouse family. Girls usually stayed in the longhouse of their birth and boys later moved into the longhouses of their wives.
Two or more longhouse families made up a clan. It was believed that everyone in the clan was descended from the same female ancestor. Each clan was named after an animal, like wolf, turtle or bear. Whenever the separate nations came together for meetings, festivals or other pressing matters, the clans performed important work. The head of each clan was the oldest and most respected woman. She gave out names to everyone, decided who were to be the Haudenosaunee council leaders (usually men), removed them if necessary, and set the dates for the festivals.
AGRICULTURE, HUNTING AND GATHERING
Farm fields surrounded the outside of the village stockade and women farmed them. Each family had its own small piece of land but the women shared the work. Corn, beans and squash the "Three Sisters"(our supporters), were planted together in small hills. Beans supplied nitrogen to the corn and as the corn grew, it provided a stalk on which the beans could climb. Squash was planted underneath the corn and its large leaves kept the corn roots cool, the ground moist in the heat of the summer and suppressed weeds. This was a system of agriculture that mimicked the relationships of native plants found in natural plant communities. We also now understand that combining corn and beans in the same meal produces high quality protein and that squash supplies a generous amount of vitamin A. The "Three Sisters" were also symbolic of human community.
Corn was the main crop and some women had over 100 corn recipes. The whole corn plant was used--for beads and decoration, sleeping and sitting mats, moccasins, kindling, baskets, medicines and medicine tubes, for smoking and for doll making. Corn is really a European term meaning grain. The "grain" Indian people raised was "maize" (corn). There were many varieties of maize used for different purposes. The Haudenosaunee were (are), excellent farmers and still maintain some of their superior agricultural techniques in order to perpetuate heritage crops. Europeans knew nothing of maize until they came to this land but it quickly became one of their staple crops and remains so to this day.
People also cultivated/gathered and ate other vegetables, fruits and nuts and many different kinds of meat and fish which were plentiful in those days. Nut milk, which is made by grinding nuts and adding water to make a "milk" is highly nutritious (and quite good). In the early years of European immigration, Indian people helped to save colonists, particularly babies, from staving by giving them nut milk.
Plants that today we consider weeds of no account played a large role in the diet of Indian people and in the general health of the land. This was also true for village people in Europe. Lately, scientific research has proven that many of these plants are high in essential vitamins and minerals and are much better for maintaining over-all health than the highly processed foods and conventional field crops now consumed by most of us.
Most Haudenosaunee hunters were men. They did not hunt for sport. Everyone led active and vigorous lives and they needed to hunt in order to add protein and other nutrients to their diet. They also hunted to provide clothing and raw materials to make tools of daily living. Most Indian people, including the Haudenosaunee, showed their respect for other species by offering a prayer to the spirit of each animal that gave its life so that they, in turn, might live. Fireside families usually ate breakfast together and then the "mother" would have a pot of food simmering all day long so that anytime someone was hungry they could come and get something to eat. Succotash would have been served, but as a main dish, probably with more vegetables and maybe with meat added, whatever was at hand.
Neighbors and strangers were always welcome to share food at the fireside. There were no starving people or people begging for food in a Haudenosaunee village. As long as some people had food, no one was ever allowed to go hungry. When Europeans later established their own villages here, Indian people did not understand why there were "people of their own" (referring to Europeans), living without food or shelter beside the wealthy.
PHILOSOPHY, ETHICS, EDUCATION AND MEDICINE
Like most Native Americans, the Haudenosaunee did not believe one could own, buy or sell land. The earth to them was a gift from the Creator to be passed on to their children. Sometimes the people spoke of caring for the earth to the “seventh generation,” which was their way of saying for all time. Women, worked the land and men hunted in the forests but they did not claim ownership, though they did have loose boundaries of control, especially when it came to other nations who warred against them.
Since Indian people did not “divide up” the earth, the Haudenosaunee did not measure a person’s worth by how much property they owned, as did Europeans, but rather how wise and generous they were. Wisdom was their power. When leaders received gifts they were expected to give them away. This was very different from the way Europeans thought about land and property at the time of contact. In Europe the more wealth you accumulated, the more things you owned, the more powerful you were, and land was a valuable commodity. This was an ongoing point of contention as, over the decades, the meeting of these differing views took place.
Children were never spanked if they did something bad (in fact most Indian people were appalled that Europeans hit their children). Instead, children might be punished by having water thrown on them or by being dunked in a stream (which was extreme). But often children were shamed by the sadness they produced in their elders at their lack of good sense. If they were really bad they would get a visit from “Longnose,” a masked adult sent to scare them. The person was usually a disguised relative, who would threaten to carry the child off unless she/he promised to be good. The embarrassment of the first lesser punishments and/or the frightening aspect of the second were often sufficient to curb even the most unruly the behavior.
Not many adults committed crimes. There were no police and no prisons. There were no locks on the doors because there was very little stealing. Stealing was considered so shameful that the idea alone was deterrent enough. A stick leaned up against a door was a sign that no one was home and others respected that as a sign to stay out. Murder was however, at one time, punishable by death. Often the murder’s family would send a peace offering of white wampum (beads cut from seashells and sometimes used for condolence ceremonies), to the victim’s family as a sign of confession and repentance. If the victim’s family accepted it everything would return to normal. If not, they were allowed to punish the murderer.
Wampum was very important to the Haudenosaunee, but it was not, as some early European immigrants thought, used as money. It was used make strings and belts that had special purposes such as to record information and memorable events. On special occasions the belts were read aloud, sometimes taking days to recite. The Onondagas kept these “books” and were called the “Wampum Keepers.” Some individuals were trained from childhood up to be record keepers and storytellers. This required great intellectual skill and mental training. The Haudenosaunee were noted for their great thinkers and orators.
Just outside the stockade surrounding the village there would usually be a round structure used as a sauna or sweat house. Stones were heated on a fire and then water was poured over them, creating steam. One would sit inside until well steamed, rub sand all over themselves and then jump in a nearby lake, stream or other water source (older European cultures had this same tradition). The Haudenosaunee bathed like this sometimes once a day. They knew that this purification would help them to stay well and strong. Europeans of the day bathed much less frequently. It was a common belief in parts of Europe that bathing was unhealthy. This may have been due to the fact that much of the water was grossly polluted and therefore caused sickness and horrible diseases. One of the astounding things to the newly arriving Europeans was that “the Indians not only bathe in the water but freely drink of it” which, of course, they could no longer do in their own countries. Sadly, this is again becoming a persistent problem--this time in the New World.
Europeans also remarked on how robust and healthy the Indian people were. This too, was an oddity for them. If a Haudenosaunee person did become ill, an herbalist would often treat them. The herbalist was usually an older woman who knew which plants could be used for healing. In the 1600’s Jesuit Priests wrote in their diaries that Haudenosaunee were also excellent surgeons who not only set broken bones but also understood the importance of keeping wounds clean. This was something that most European practitioners had yet to learn at that time.
The Haudenosaunee knew and relied on constellations to guide them and tell seasons of the year. They told constellation stories but just as with Europeans, the stories and meanings reflected their own culture. The moon cycles were very important to them. The April - May moon is Oneratoka--or promise of nature. The September-October moon is Saskekowa--last warning for the harvest. And the December-January moon is Tsotorha--starting to freeze.
The Haudenosaunee believed the Creator or Great Spirit made the world and they have their own creation story. They also believed that almost all natural things were under the care of spirits. These spirits were not worshiped as gods; they were assistants to the Great Spirit.
There was no specialized hierarchy of priests or ministers but each nation had "Keepers of the Faith." They were ordinary men and women with no special privileges, costumes or rewards. They did have the responsibility of organizing festivals and performing some of the rituals. As stated earlier, some ceremonies, like the Thanksgiving Address, could last for hours or even days.
Spirituality played a large part in the lives of the Haudenosaunee people but they also respected other religions. They did not try to force their beliefs on anyone. In fact, their constitution, The Great Law of Peace, granted freedom of religion. Most people did share the same beliefs, but if someone had been captured or adopted by a Haudenosaunee family, they could continue to worship in their own way.
Children were educated by their elders in the ways of the Haudenosaunee.
They were taught to seek balance between individual freedom and community responsibility.
They learned of their heritage at festivals and ceremonies. They also learned
through stories that were meant to make them think. They were considered equal
members of Haudenosaunee society. Girls and boys were schooled in different
kinds of work but often cooperated in their tasks. Work was something everyone
did. It was necessary to make things for yourself and your community. There
was no such thing as job that was looked down on.
Every job was respected. As teenagers, both boys and girls went into the forest
alone. They stayed in a small hut and didn't eat anything for days. If they
had a vision or dream, whatever they dreamed about became their guardian spirit.
It was believed the spirit would watch over and protect them.
SUMMARY
The Haudenosaunee rejoiced in life. They played games, attended festivals and helped one another. They conceived and put into practice an intricate and reliable code of ethics often expressed in art, music and dance as well as in everyday life. Their society was not perfect. As in all societies, philosophy of life is not always born out in the living of it. And, just like all people, their lives were sometimes difficult, but they had created a stable society that was vibrant, full of meaning and honorable. The Haudenosaunee found ways to co-exist with and learn from other species. They were careful about overpopulation and settlement patterns and they held themselves responsible for and accountable to each other and the earth. These were attributes to which many Europeans, especially once they were settled and secure in this New World, would give little thought. But, there were segments of the Haudenosaunee worldview that did grab and hold their attention. The ideas of religious freedom, individual equality and independence would form the basis, in large part, for shaping "The Great Experiment" that would later become the United States of America.
Books referenced and for further reading: If You Lived with the Iroquois by Ellen Levine and Shelly Hehenberger. Profiles in Wisdom: Native Elders Speak About The Earth by Steven McFadden. A Woodland Feast by Carolyn Raine. Iroquois Medical Botany by James W. Herrick, author of The Anthropology of Medicine. The applicable website for the Haudenosaunee is http://tuscaroras.com/graydeer .