Iroquois mythology
[5] In 1923, historian Arthur C. Parker wrote, "There is an amazing lack of authentic material on Iroquois-folklore, though much of what arrogates this name itself has been written.
The writers, however, have in general so glossed the native themes with poetic and literary interpretations that the material has shrunken in value and can scarcely be considered without many reservations.
"[6] Each Haudenosaunee village had a Hage'ota or storyteller who was responsible for learning and memorizing the ganondas'hag or stories.
[7] Traditionally, no stories were told during the summer months in accordance with the law of the dzögä́:ö’ (transl.
[7] Violators were said to suffer an omen or great evils, such as a being stung on the lips by a bee or being strangled by a snake while sleeping.
[7] Following are examples of Iroquois myths, as recorded by Harriet Maxwell Converse in 1908, Arthur C. Parker in 1923, and others.
Hearing the voice of the sea below calling, Hawëni:yo’ tells Awëöha’i’, who was pregnant, to bring it life.
Hah-gweh-di-yu then takes the Moon and stars, his sisters, from his mother's breast and places them to guard the night sky.
As Tekawerahkwa dies by childbirth, either she wishes for her body to sustain the people[12] or Ata-en-sic sows on her grave the seeds she had brought when she fell to Earth, but never planted before.
[13] From Tekawerahkwa's body parts grow various crops: the spirits of the corn, beans, and squash come from her breasts, hands, and navel respectively; sunflowers from her legs; strawberries from her heart; tobacco from her head; and purple potatoes or sunchokes from her feet.
Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh holds O-na-tah captive in darkness under the earth until a searching ray of sunlight reached the surface.
[15] It is said that in 1779, the spirits of the Three Sisters visited Seneca Chief Handsome Lake as he wished to join the Iroquois lives lost to the US military's attacks.
Inspired by the Three Sisters' visit, Handsome Lake returned to his community, re-teaching it the traditional Iroquois agricultural practices.
[16] Iroquois mythology tells of Hé-no, the spirit of thunder who brings rain to nourish the crops.
He appears as a warrior, wearing on his head a magic feather that makes him invulnerable to the attacks of Hah-gweh-di-yu.
On his back, he carries a basket filled with pieces of chert which he throws at evil spirits and witches.
At that time, a young girl lives above the falls and is engaged to marry a disagreeable old man.
His body floats downstream to the head of Niagara Falls, stretching nearly across the river and arching backward to form a dam.
Company of Faith Keepers) hold the spring festival with its nighttime dances of thanksgiving to the dzögä́:ö’.
They sometimes visit the people in the form of a robin for good news, an owl for a warning, or a bat for an imminent life-and-death struggle.
Believers in the Gan-da-yah say, "The most minute harmless insect or worm may be the bearer of important 'talk' from the 'Little People' and is not destroyed for the 'trail is broad enough for all'"..[4][page needed] The third tribe of dzögä́:ö’ are the Oh-do-was, who inhabit the shadowy places under the earth.
Occasionally, the Oh-do-was emerge from the underworld at night and visit the world above where they hold festivals and dance in rings around trees.
[4][page needed] The North Wind is personified by a bear spirit named Ya-o-gah.
O-yan-do-ne, the east wind, blows his breath "to chill the young clouds as they float through the sky".
At night, the Flying Head comes to the homes of widows and orphans, beating its wings on the walls of the houses and issuing terrifying cries in an unknown language.
[17] The Seneca name for the Flying Head is Takwánö'ë:yët, meaning whirlwind.According to Iroquois mythology, Djodi'kwado' is a horned serpent who inhabits the depths of rivers and lakes.
[19]: 223–227 William Byrd II recorded a tradition of a former religious leader from the Tuscarora tribe, in his History of the Dividing Line Betwixt North Carolina and Virginia (1728), The Tuscarora are an Iroquoian-speaking tribe, historically settled in North Carolina, that migrated to the Iroquois Confederacy in New York because of warfare.
According to Byrd: [H]owever, their God, being unwilling to root them out for their crimes, did them the honour to send a Messenger from Heaven to instruct them, and set Them a perfect Example of Integrity and kind Behavior towards one another.
At last, taking upon him to reprove some Young Rakes of the Conechta Clan very sharply for their impiety, they were so provok'd at the Freedom of his Rebukes, that they tied him to a Tree, and shot him with Arrows through the Heart.
But their God took instant vengeance on all who had a hand in that Monstrous Act, by lightning from Heaven, & has ever since visited their Nation with a continued Train of Calamities, nor will he ever leave off punishing, and wasting their people, till he shall have blotted every living Soul of them out of the World.
