[Illustration: CONCLUSION OF THE LENAPE ANNUAL CEREMONY IN OKLAHOMA
Native Painting by Earnest Spybuck, a Shawnee]
INDIAN NOTES
AND MONOGRAPHS
EDITED BY F. W. HODGE
[Illustration]
A SERIES OF PUBLICATIONS
RELATING TO THE
AMERICAN ABORIGINES
RELIGION AND CEREMONIES
OF THE LENAPE
BY
M. R. HARRINGTON
NEW YORK
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
1921
RELIGION AND CEREMONIES
OF THE LENAPE
BY
M. R. HARRINGTON
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface 13
CHAPTER I
Pantheon 17
Supreme Being 18
Evil Spirit 24
Manĭʹtowŭk of the Four Directions 25
The Sun 27
The Moon 28
The Earth 28
Thunder Beings 29
Keepers of the Heavens 31
Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn, or Living Solid Face 32
Mother Corn 43
CHAPTER II
Minor Deities 45
Doll Being 45
Tornado 47
Snow Boy 48
Comet 48
Evil Manĭʹtowŭk 49
Animal Spirits 49
Plant Spirits 51
Local Genii 51
CHAPTER III
Survival of the Soul 52
The Soul 52
The Land of Spirits 52
Ghosts and Mediumship 54
Early Accounts 56
Penn 56
Brainerd 56
Zeisberger 57
CHAPTER IV
Visions and Guardian Spirits 61
Initiation of Boys 63
Other Visions 64
The Guardian Spirit 65
Favored Individuals 66
Unami Examples 67
Minsi Examples 72
Historical References 77
Brainerd 77
Zeisberger 77
Loskiel 78
Heckewelder 78
Adams 80
CHAPTER V
Unami Annual Ceremony 81
The Leader 81
Officers 84
Preparations 85
Ceremony Commenced 87
Chief’s Speech 87
Recital of Visions 92
Conclusion of Rites 96
Departure of the Hunters 97
Prayer for the Hunters 99
Return of the Hunters 100
New Fire 101
Use of Carved Drumsticks 101
Turtle Rattles 103
Phratry Prayers 104
Women’s Night 105
Conclusion of Ceremony 106
Payment of Attendants 107
Finale 108
Payment of Officers 110
Valuation of Wampum 111
Indian Comments on the Ceremony 111
Penn’s Account 115
Zeisberger’s Account 116
Adams’ Account 118
Another Form of the Annual Ceremony 122
CHAPTER VI
Minsi Big House Ceremonies 127
Myth of Origin 127
Number of Ceremonies 128
Arrangement of the Big House 129
Preliminaries 132
Fire 132
Purification 133
Opening of the Ceremony 133
Chief’s Speech 133
Ceremonial Drink 134
Recital of Visions 135
Other Features 136
The Prayer Cry 136
Feast 137
Final Address 137
Conclusion of Rites 137
Grand River Version 138
Waunbuno’s Version 143
CHAPTER VII
The Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ or Mask 146
Origin of the Mask and of the Big House 147
Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ Dance 152
Notification 152
Preparations 153
The Ceremony 153
Adams’ Account 154
Other Functions of Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ 156
Masks of the Minsi 158
The Mask Society 159
Ceremonies 159
CHAPTER VIII
Minor Ceremonies 162
The Doll Being 162
Myth of Origin 162
Preparations for the Ceremony 163
The Doll Dance 164
Minsi Doll Ceremony 166
An Old Minsi Doll 168
An Early Account of Naniʹtĭs 169
Bear Ceremony 171
Traditional Origin 172
Preparations 172
The Rites 174
Otter Ceremony 176
Myth of Origin 176
The Ceremony 179
Buffalo Dance 182
Imported Ceremonies 183
Skeleton Dance 183
Peyote Rite 185
Paraphernalia 186
Officers 188
Conduct of the Ceremony 188
Ghost Dance 190
CHAPTER IX
Summary 192
Religion 192
Ceremonies 196
Minor Ceremonies 198
Notes 201
Index 206
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
PAGE
Conclusion of Lenape Annual Ceremony in Oklahoma.
Native Painting by Ernest Spybuck, a Shawnee _Frontispiece_
I. Lenape Man and Woman of Oklahoma in Ceremonial Costume 22
II. Costume worn by Impersonator of Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn 34
III. Masks of the Minsi (After Peter Jones) 38
IV. Stone Head or Mĭsiʹngʷ‛, from Staten Island, N. Y. 42
V. Lenape Ceremonial House near Dewey, Oklahoma 82
VI. Lenape Annual Ceremony in Progress. Native Painting by
Ernest Spybuck, a Shawnee 86
VII. Plan of Lenape Ceremonial House and Grounds 94
VIII. “Nahneetis, the Guardian of Health.” 168
IX. The Peyote Rite among the Lenape. Native Painting by
Ernest Spybuck, a Shawnee 186
FIGURES
1. Mask of the Oklahoma Lenape 32
2. Rattle of Turtleshell used by Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ 33
3. Charm representing Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn 37
4. Mask from the Canadian Lenape 39
5. Stone Head or Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ 40
6. Central Post of Ceremonial House showing Carved Face 83
7. Side Posts of Ceremonial House showing Carved Faces 84
8. Ceremonial Fire-drill used at the Annual Ceremony 86
9. Rattle of Land-tortoise Shell, used by Celebrants at the
Annual Ceremony 93
10. Drum made of Dried Deerskin, used at the Annual Ceremony 94
11. Sacred Drumsticks, used at the Annual Ceremony 102
12. _a_, Plain Drumstick used at the Annual Ceremony. _b_,
Prayerstick 102
13. Paint-dish of Bark, used at the Annual Ceremony 105
14. Drum of Dried Deerskin. Minsi type 129
15. _a_, Drumstick, Minsi type. _b_, Prayerstick 130
16. _a_, Regalia of Otter-skin used in the Otter Rite. _b_,
Regalia as worn 178
17. Flint and Steel used in the Otter Rite 180
18. Rattle or Land-tortoise Shell used in the Otter Rite 181
19. Peyote “Button” 185
PREFACE
The following paper is intended to be the first of a series concerning
different phases of the culture of the Lenape or Delaware Indians, once
a numerous people forming a confederacy of three closely related tribes,
the Unami, the Minsi or Muncey, and the Unala‛ʹtko or Unalachtigo, first
encountered by the whites in what is now New Jersey, Delaware, eastern
Pennsylvania, and southeastern New York, but at last accounts[1] reduced
to some 1900 souls scattered in Oklahoma and the Province of Ontario,
Canada, with a few in Wisconsin and Kansas. Of these the Lenape of
Oklahoma seem to be mainly of Unami extraction, the rest largely Minsi,
while the Unala‛ʹtko appear to have merged with the others and to have
lost their identity.
The writer has gathered most of his data for the whole series from
the Oklahoma bands, with such informants as Chief Charley Elkhair
(Kokŭlŭpoʹw‛ʹe), Julius Fox, or Fouts (Petaʹnĭhink), Minnie Fox
(Wemĕĕleʹxkwĕ) his wife, and William Brown; but much valuable information
came from Canada where his principal informants were Chief James Wolf
(‛Tayenoʹxwan), Chief Nellis F. Timothy, (Tomapemihiʹlat), Isaac Monture
(Kaʹpyŭ‛hŭm), Chief Nellis Monture, Michael Anthony (Na‛nkŭmaʹoxa), and
Monroe Pheasant. Of these especial credit is due to Julius Fox and Chief
Timothy, both of whom manifested great interest in the work and exerted
every effort to make it complete, and to Ernest Spybuck, a Shawnee, whose
paintings, carefully made of Delaware ceremonies at the writer’s request,
form a valuable adjunct to the text.
The works of previous writers have been utilized where available, and
much has been learned from archeological discoveries in the ancient
territory of the Lenape, not so much, of course, with regard to the
subject matter of the present paper, as of others in preparation.
Most of the information was gathered while the writer was collecting
ethnological specimens for the Heye Museum of New York, now the Museum of
the American Indian, Heye Foundation, during the years 1907 to 1910; but
some of the Canadian data were procured earlier while in the field for Mr
E. T. Tefft of New York, whose collection is now in the American Museum
of Natural History.
Without knowledge of the Delaware language in its divergent dialects, and
without any pretension of being a philologist, the writer has endeavored
to record the Lenape words as he heard them, depending for translation
on his interpreter _pro tem._ Hence some inaccuracies at least are
inevitable. The alphabet used is as follows:
VOWELS CONSONANTS
_a_ as in arch. _c_ like English sh.
_ä_ as in cat. ‛ a slight aspirate.
_â_ as in fall. _ⁿ_ gives the preceding vowel a nasal sound.
_ai_ as in aisle.
_e_ like a in fate. _ʷ_ faintly whispered.
_ĕ_ as in met. L a surd l.
_i_ as in machine. _x_ like German ch.
_ĭ_ as in hit. Other consonants approximately as in English.
_o_ as in note.
_u_ as in flute.
_ŭ_ as in but.
_û_ as in full.
It was intended at first to publish the mass of material thus obtained
in the form of a monograph on the ethnology of the Lenape; but later it
was seen that while some phases of their culture could be described in
considerable detail, there were others not so well represented in our
notes. It was therefore finally decided to publish at once such parts as
were ready, in the form of separate papers, and to leave the others until
more detailed information could be obtained.
No extended comparisons of the religion and ceremonies of the Lenape
with those of other tribes will be attempted in this paper, these being
reserved for a projected article to embody the results of a comparative
study of Lenape culture.
M. R. HARRINGTON
RELIGION AND CEREMONIES OF THE LENAPE
BY M. R. HARRINGTON
CHAPTER I
PANTHEON
To the mind of the Lenape, all the phenomena of nature, all the affairs
of mankind, in fact the entire world as we know it, is under the control
of invisible beings. Some are great and powerful, others of somewhat
lesser influence, and so on down to the humble spirits of plants and
stones. In some, good seems to predominate, in others, evil; but most
of the _manĭʹtowŭk_, or spirits, seem to be, like mortals, a mixture of
desirable and undesirable qualities.
SUPREME BEING
All the Lenape so far questioned, whether followers of the native or of
the Christian religion, unite in saying that their people have always
believed in a chief _Manĭʹto_, a leader of all the gods, in short, in a
Great Spirit or Supreme Being, the other _manĭʹtowŭk_ for the greater
part being merely agents appointed by him. His name, according to
present Unami usage, is _Gicelĕmû‛ʹkaong‛_, usually translated, “great
spirit,” but meaning literally, “creator.” Directly, or through the
_manĭʹtowŭk_ his agents, he created the earth and everything in it, and
gave to the Lenape all they possessed, “the trees, the waters, the fire
that springs from flint,—everything.” To him the people pray in their
greatest ceremonies, and give thanks for the benefits he has given them.
Most of their direct worship, however, is addressed to the _manĭʹtowŭk_
his agents, to whom he has given charge of the elements, and with whom
the people feel they have a closer personal relation, as their actions
are seen in every sunrise and thunderstorm, and felt in every wind that
blows across woodland and prairie. Moreover, as the Creator lives in the
twelfth or highest heaven above the earth, it takes twelve shouts or
cries to reach his ear. An account of the worship of the Creator will be
given later in connection with the description of the Annual Ceremony.
The Minsi had similar beliefs, but the current name for the Great
Spirit in that dialect today is _Pa‛ʹtŭmawas_, interpreted “He who is
petitioned,” or _Kĕ‛ʹtanĭtoʹwĕt_, “Great Spirit.”
It has been frequently stated that the concept of a supreme being or
chief of the gods was not known among the American tribes in precolonial
times, and that the “Great Spirit” concept, now widely distributed
among the Indians, is entirely the result of missionary teaching. This
seems to have been the case in some instances, but it is a mistake to
assume such a broad statement as a general rule, on _a priori_ grounds.
To the Indian mind, the spirits or gods partook largely of the nature
of mankind—Why could not a chief of gods be as natural a concept as a
chief of men? In the case of the Shawnee, the Creator or Great Spirit is
usually spoken of as a woman, “Our Grandmother Pabothʹkwe”—surely not a
missionary idea!
Let us trace back the Great Spirit concept among the Lenape, and find
what the early writers say about it. Perhaps the earliest is in Danker
and Sluyter’s Journal[2] of about 1679, in which an old Indian living
near Bergen, New Jersey, is quoted as saying: “The first and great
beginning of all things, was Kickeron or Kickerom, who is the origin of
all, who has not only once produced or made all things, but produces
every day.... He governs all things.”
William Penn,[3] in a letter dated Philadelphia, August 16, 1683, says:
“They believe a God and Immortality; for they say, There is a King that
made them, who dwells in a glorious country to the Southward of them,
and that the Souls of the Good shall go thither, where they shall live
again.” Further confirmation is given by Holm[4] in his book first
published in 1702, where he says, “They acknowledge a Supreme Being, a
Great Spirit, who made the heavens and the earth.”
Zeisberger[5] makes it even stronger, for he wrote, about 1779: “They
believe and have from time immemorial believed that there is an Almighty
Being who has created heaven and earth and man and all things else. This
they have learned from their ancestors.” Heckewelder[6] (p. 205) adds
more details in his book, originally published in 1818: “Their Almighty
Creator is always before their eyes on all important occasions. They feel
and acknowledge his supreme power.... It is a part of their religious
belief that there are inferior _Mannittōs_, to whom the great and good
Being has given command over the elements.”
Finally, in the little work ostensibly dictated by the Minsi John
Wampum,[7] known as Chief Waubuno, undated, but probably printed in the
last quarter of the nineteenth century, we have “The Great Spirit, whom
we call in Munsee or Delaware Kaunzhe Pah-tum-owans or Kacheh Munitto
(Great Spirit or Benevolent Spirit), created the Indians.”
Thus we have a practically unbroken chain of authorities, including
most of the best ones since 1679, all speaking of the “Great Spirit” as
a well-developed concept. But Brainerd,[8] writing in 1745, is not so
positive in his statements, for he speaks of their notions being “so dark
and confused, that they seemed not to know what they thought themselves.”
He also says: “Before the coming of the white people, some supposed there
were _four_ invisible powers, who presided over the four corners of the
earth. Others imagined the _sun_ to be the _only_ deity, and that all
things were made by him. Others at the same time have a confused notion
of a certain _body_ or _fountain_ of _deity_, something like the _anima
mundi_.” Later (p. 349) he quotes a converted Indian conjurer, who, in
describing the source of his former power, tells how it came from “a
great man” who lived in a “world above at a vast distance from this. The
great man was clothed with the day; yea, with the brightest day he ever
saw ... this whole world ... was drawn upon him, so that _in_ him, the
earth, and all things on it, might be seen.”
[Illustration: PL. I
LENAPE MAN AND WOMAN OF OKLAHOMA IN CEREMONIAL COSTUME
_a_, John Anderson (Witanaxkóxw‛ĕ); _b_, Mrs Elkhair (Kicilungonĕʹxkwĕ)]
Perhaps, as Brinton[9] suggests, the original Great Spirit of the Lenape
might really be called the God of Light. Brinton, however, does not think
that this Spirit of Light was of necessity a _good_ spirit; still, the
Lenape today who follow the native religion, acknowledging his goodness
in their ceremonies, think that “the Creator wants them to do right,”
and there is evidence[10] that the idea of goodness has been associated
with that of the Great Spirit for a long time. Assuming that the Creator
of the Lenape is the God of Light, what is it that leads men to worship
the source of light? Is it not the self-evident benefits connected with
light? It seems to the writer that goodness necessarily follows as an
attribute of such a deity.
EVIL SPIRIT
The case is different with the Evil Spirit. The modern Lenape in Oklahoma
make little mention of an Evil One, and James Wolf, my principal Minsi
informant, did not speak of such a being at all, but there is some
evidence, however, to show this belief to exist among the Lenape in more
recent years.
Some writers do indeed make frequent mention of “the Devil” as figuring
in early Lenape belief, but they translate the word “manĭʹto” as having
that meaning, whereas it really signifies a supernatural being, good
or bad. These writers evidently regarded as “the Devil” any deity not
fitting into Christian doctrine.
But the real truth seems to be that, while in ancient times certain
_manĭʹtowŭk_, or spirits, were supposed to work evil, the Devil (along
with whiskey and other blessings) was introduced by the whites. The
whole matter is well summed up by Loskiel[11] where he says: “Besides the
Supreme Being, they believe in good and evil spirits, considering them
as subordinate deities.... They seem to have had no idea of the _Devil_,
as the Prince of Darkness, before the Europeans came into the country.”
This idea is also supported by Zeisberger[12] and Brainerd,[13] although
Holm[14] seems to give contrary evidence.
MANĬʹTOWŬK OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS
The Lenape now in Oklahoma believe that when the earth was created, and
everything finished, the Creator gave the four quarters of the earth to
four powerful beings, or _manĭʹtowŭk_, whose duty it was to take care of
these regions. These personages are the cause of the winds which blow
from the different directions, with the exception of the tornado, which
is thought to have a different origin. In the winter, it is said that the
_manĭʹtowŭk_ of the north and the south are playing the game of bowl and
dice, with alternating fortunes. When the north wind is successful it is
cold for a long time, until the south wind wins again. These _manĭʹtowŭk_
are called _Moxhomsaʹ Wähänjioʹpŭng‛_, Grandfather at the East; _No‛ʹoma
Cawaneʹyŭng‛_, Grandmother at the South; _Moxhomsaʹ Eliosiʹgak_,
Grandfather at the West; and _Moxhomsaʹ Lowaneʹyŭng‛_, Grandfather at the
North, the expression _endalŭn towiʹyŭn_, said to mean “who has charge of
it” being frequently added after the name.
These are mentioned in the ritual of the Annual Ceremony, and the people
often pray to them when gathering herbs or preparing medicines, at the
same time offering tobacco.
The earliest record of this belief thus far found dates from 1616, and
while it does not concern the Lenape proper, it illustrates a similar
notion among a cognate people in Virginia. This is in Strachey’s
work,[15] in which he states, “The other four [gods] have no visible
shape, but are indeed the four winds, which keep the four corners of the
earth.” Brainerd[16] mentions the same belief as being an old one among
the Indians he knew, who were mainly Lenape, and as this was in 1745 we
have at least a respectable antiquity established for “Our Grandparents
at the Four Directions.” Loskiel also mentions them.[17]
THE SUN
To the Sun the Creator gave the duty of providing light for the people.
The Unami say that he is a very powerful _manĭʹto_, and call him
_Gĭckokwiʹta_. They speak of him as always clothed in the finest of
deerskin garments, with his face handsomely painted, and wearing red
feathers in his hair. Every day he travels across the heavens from east
to west, stopping for a little while at mid-day, then going on. At night
he comes back under the earth. The Minsi, according to James Wolf, called
him _Kiʹzho_ or _Kiʹzhox_, and _Gickonĭkiʹzho_ is another Unami form of
the name. When praying to the Sun, the Lenape usually addressed him as
“Elder Brother.”
Little is found in early writings concerning the worship of the Sun, a
mere mention in Brainerd,[18] and Loskiel,[19] by whom he is called “the
sun or the god of the day.”
THE MOON
None of my Lenape informants had much to say of the Moon, except that it
was regarded as the _manĭʹto_ charged with the duty of supplying light by
night, and that it was addressed, like the Sun, as Elder Brother. It is
mentioned as a god, and called the “night sun” by Loskiel.[20] This is
expressed by the Unami name _Piskeʹwenikiʹzho_.
THE EARTH
Some Lenape speak of the earth itself as a _manĭʹto_, and call it “Our
Mother” because it carries and nurtures the people, having been assigned
that duty by the Creator. Others, instead of the earth itself, mention a
spirit beneath or within the earth, but apparently separate from it. The
earth is mentioned in a list of gods by Loskiel.[21] In some localities,
at least, it was addressed in the Annual Ceremony, and thanks were
offered to it for the benefits it gives to man.
THUNDER BEINGS
Perhaps the most important of all the subordinate _manĭʹtowŭk_, excepting
only the Sun and possibly the Keepers of the Four Directions, were the
Thunder Beings, to whom the Great Spirit gave the duty of watering the
earth and protecting the people against Great Horned Water-serpents and
other monsters. The Unami told me that they are called _Pethakoweʹyuk_,
and are addressed as Elder Brother. They are man-like beings with wings,
and always carry a bow and arrows with which they can shatter trees. When
the first thunder is heard in spring, the people say, “The Spring Flying
Things are coming” and it makes them feel glad to think that winter is
nearly over. Some burn tobacco and pray to the Thunders at this and other
times, and for this reason they claim that the lightning never used to
strike an Indian or to destroy Indian property.
The late James Wolf related an interesting Thunder myth, which will be
found in the paper on Lenape Mythology to appear later, stating that the
Minsi called the Thunders _Pileʹswak_, or _Pileʹsoak_, and believed them
to exist in the form of gigantic partridges, although really persons,
or rather _manĭʹtowŭk_. They used to live in Niagara gorge beneath the
cataract, and could sometimes be seen coming out, in the form of a
cloud, in which, as it rose, a play of lightning was visible. There were
said to be three bands or parties of these mysterious beings, each band
consisting of three Thunders.
Zeisberger[22] says, “Thunder is a mighty spirit dwelling in the
mountains,” and Heckewelder,[23] “Indians, at the approach of a storm or
thunder gust, address the Mannitto of the air, to avert all danger from
them.” As a rule, however, the early writers do not seem to have noticed
this belief, or have included it loosely under the worship of “gods”
representing the elements.
KEEPERS OF THE HEAVENS
The Lenape now in Oklahoma believe that each of the twelve heavens,
in the highest of which lives the Great Spirit, is presided over by a
_manĭʹto_ who serves as a messenger to repeat the prayers of men until
they reach the ear of the Creator. They are represented by the carved
faces upon the posts inside the temple, and are mentioned in the ritual
of the Annual Ceremony. I can find no mention of them in early accounts
of the Lenape, however, unless the twelve gods mentioned by Loskiel,[24]
most of whom have already been spoken of in this chapter, may represent
the same concept. The Lenape today speak of these as being related to the
Living Solid Face, who will now claim our attention.
MĬSINGHÂLIʹKŬN, OR LIVING SOLID FACE
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—Mask of the Oklahoma Lenape. (Height, 14.5 in.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.—Rattle of turtleshell used by Mĭsiʹngʷ‛. (Length,
16.7 in.)]
The most remarkable deity of the Lenape is the Mask Being, called by
the Unami _Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn_, which was interpreted as “Living Mask,”
or “Living Solid Face.” According to the Unami, this being was made
guardian by the Creator of all the wild animals of the forest, and is
sometimes seen riding about on the back of a buck, herding the deer;
but he lives in a range of rocky mountains above the earth. His face is
large and round, the right half being painted red, the left black, while
his body is covered with long dark hair like that of a bear. Unlike most
of the deities in the Lenape pantheon, he is represented by a “graven
image,” a huge wooden mask, painted half red and half black (fig. 1);
which is left in charge of some family who will take good care of it,
and burn Indian tobacco for it from time to time. With the mask is kept
a coat and leggings of bearskin to represent the being’s hairy body,
a peculiar rattle of turtleshell (fig. 2), a stick, and a bag made of
bearskin, all used by the man selected to impersonate Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn at
the various ceremonies when he is supposed to appear, and which will
be described later. To the back of the mask is fastened the skin of
the bear’s head, which effectually conceals the head and neck of the
impersonator (pl. II), while the bear’s ears, projecting, add to the
uncanny effect.
[Illustration: PL. II
COSTUME WORN BY IMPERSONATOR OF MĬSINGHÂLIʹKŬN]
If any Lenape had a child who was weak, sickly, or disobedient, he would
send word to the keeper of the mask that he wanted Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn to
“attend his child.” It is said that it did not take the impersonator long
to frighten the weakness, sickness, or laziness out of the child, so that
thenceforth it would be strong and well, and would obey on the instant
when asked to do anything. This effect was probably strengthened by the
mother saying, “If you don’t behave, Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ will carry you off in a
bag full of snakes!” This seems to be the only trace of the doctoring
function of the mask among the Unami. They also say that when the keeper
burns tobacco for Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn and asks for good luck in hunting, “it
turns out that way every time;” and if anyone has lost either horses
or cattle, whether by straying away or through theft, he can go to the
keeper of the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ with some tobacco and recover them. All he
has to do is to explain his errand to the keeper, who in turn informs
Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn that they want him to look for these particular animals.
The loser then goes home, and in a few days the missing stock return,
driven back by this mysterious being. If they were tied or hobbled, it
is said that the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ appears to them and so frightens them that
they break loose and come home. Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn has a special ceremony,
held in the spring, and also participates in the Annual Ceremony at the
Big House. This Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ is also called _Weopĕʹlakis_, to distinguish
it from another, kept by a different family, which was not so important,
and about which little was known by my informants except that, within
their memories, it had never appeared at the Annual Ceremony, but that it
probably had a spring dance of its own. There is an indistinct tradition,
however, that in former times several masks were seen at the Annual
Ceremony, and that half a day was given up to them.
Miniature masks (fig. 3) were often worn on the person as health or
good-luck charms, in former days usually suspended from a string about
the neck, but in later times carried in the pocket. The two large Unami
masks in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, are shown in
pl. II and fig. 1.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.—Charm representing Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn. (Height, 1.9
in.)]
Among the Minsi there are considerable differences in belief and
in practice, their masks resembling those of the Iroquois in many
particulars. The late James Wolf said that “Mizinkhâliʹkŭn” was supposed
to live among the rocks on a hill, where he was first seen, and told the
people how to obtain his power. The mask owners formed a society, which
had a special meeting-house and ceremonies, and whose chief function it
was to expell disease. This will be discussed further in another paper.
Peter Jones[25] illustrates two Minsi masks in use in the first part
of the nineteenth century, and these are here reproduced (pl. III). The
first he calls a “Muncey idol,” and says that it was “delivered up by
Joe Nicholas on his Conversion to Christianity,” and that “Me Zeengk is
the name of this God”; while the second, which he names “a Muncey devil
idol,” “formerly belonging to the Logan family,” was “delivered up on the
26th of Jan. 1842.” Jones does not refer to these “idols” in the text.
The second mask illustrated seems to have a turtleshell rattle tied on
its back, the handle projecting downward. Another mask, found by the
writer among the Lenape at Grand river, Ontario, and apparently of Minsi
type, is shown in fig. 4. It was collected for Mr. E. T. Tefft, of New
York, but is now in the American Museum of Natural History.
[Illustration: PL. III
MASKS OF THE MINSI (AFTER PETER JONES)]
Some of our best evidence indicating the early existence of belief in
this Mask Being among the Lenape is furnished by archeology—by the
finding of a number of heads or masks of stone (pl. IV) within the
boundaries of their former domain in New Jersey and the vicinity,[26]
which, when the rarity of such objects in the surrounding regions is also
considered, seems quite significant. Such stone heads even mark the trail
of the Lenape withdrawal westward through Pennsylvania,[27] and have even
been found in Ohio, where they lingered for a time (fig. 5).
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—Mask from the Canadian Lenape. E. T. Tefft
collection, American Museum of Natural History. (Height of head, 14 in.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—Stone head or Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ from Ohio. (Height, 13.9
in.)]
The best early description is given by Brainerd,[28] who, in May 1745,
while on the Susquehanna above the English settlements, saw a masked
Indian who must have been an impersonator of Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn. It runs:
“But of all the sights I saw among them, or indeed anywhere
else, none appeared so frightful ... as the appearance of one
who was a devout and zealous Reformer, or rather, restorer of
what he supposed was the ancient religion of the Indians. He
made his appearance in his _pontifical garb_, which was a coat
of _bear skins_, dressed with the hair on, and hanging down to
his toes; a pair of bear skin stockings; and a great _wooden_
face painted, the one half black, the other half tawny, about
the color of an Indian’s skin, with an extravagant mouth, cut
very much awry; the face fastened to a bear skin cap, which was
drawn over his head. He advanced toward me with the instrument
in his hand, which he used for music, in his idolatrous
worship, which was a dry _tortoise shell_ with some corn in it,
and the neck of it drawn on to a piece of wood, which made a
very convenient handle. As he came forward, he beat his tune
with the rattle, and danced with all his might, but he did not
suffer any part of his body, not so much as his fingers, to be
seen.”
With the exception of one minor point, the “wry mouth,” this would be
a good description of the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ outfit used until recently by the
Lenape in Oklahoma (pl. II). On the following page, Brainerd mentions
“images” which seem to be the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ faces carved on the posts of the
Big House.
[Illustration: PL. IV
STONE HEAD OR MĬSIʹNGʷ‛, FROM STATEN ISLAND, N. Y.
(Staten Island Institute of Art and Science)]
Zeisberger[29] also refers to the masks in these words:
“The only idol which the Indians have, and which may properly
be called an idol, is their _Wsinkhoalican_, that is image.
It is an image cut in wood, representing a human head in
miniature, which they always carry about them either on
a string around their neck or in a bag. They often bring
offerings to it. In their houses of sacrifice they have a head
of this idol as large as life put upon a pole in the middle of
the room.”
In his Dictionary, Zeisberger gives the word for “idol” as _mĕsinkʹ_, so
it seems probable that the _W_ in “Wsinkhoalikan” is a misprint for _M_.
MOTHER CORN
One of the important _manĭʹtowŭk_ of the old days was the Corn Goddess,
known as “Mother Corn” of whom one of the Unami legends collected by
the writer relates that “It was God’s will that the Corn Spirit abide
in the far heavenly region in the image of an aged woman, with dominion
over all vegetation.” Although little remembrance of the details of her
worship can now be found among the Oklahoma Lenape, she is mentioned as
a Guardian Spirit; while at the Minsi ceremonies at Grand River Reserve
in Ontario, she was one of the twelve benefactors of mankind to whom the
thanks of the people were offered, and Minsi women mentioned “Sister
Corn” in praying for good crops in the corn fields; while Zeisberger[30]
says that the presiding _Manĭʹto_ of Indian Corn or maize was spoken of
as the “wife” of the Indian, and was offered bear’s flesh.