holy fire, as the divine fire is supposed to atone for all their past
crimes, except murder: and the beloved waiter shews his pleasure, by his
cheerful industry in feeding it with dry fresh wood; for they put no
rotten wood on it, any more than the Levites would on their sacred
altars. Although the people without, may well know what is transacting
within, yet, by order, a crier informs them of the good tidings, and
orders an old beloved woman to pull a basket-full of the new-ripened
fruits, and bring them to the beloved square. As she before had been
appointed, and religiously prepared for that solemn occasion, she
readily obeys, and soon lays it down with a cheerful heart, at the
out-corner of the beloved square. By ancient custom, she may either
return home, or stand there, till the expiation of sin hath been made,
which is thus performed—The _Archi-magus_, or fire-maker, rises from his
white seat and walks northward three times round the holy fire, with a
slow pace, and in a very sedate and grave manner, stopping now and then,
and speaking certain old ceremonial words with a low voice and a
rapidity of expression, which none understand but a few of the old
beloved men, who equally secrete their religious mysteries, that they
may not be prophaned. He then takes a little of each sort of the new
harvest, which the old woman had brought to the extremity of the
supposed holy ground, rubs some bear’s oil over it, and offers it up
together with some flesh, to the bountiful holy Spirit of fire, as a
first-fruit offering, and an annual oblation for sin. He likewise
consecrates the button-snake-root, and the cusseena, by pouring a little
of those two strong decoctions into the pretended holy fire. He then
purifies the red and white seats with those bitter liquids, and sits
down. Now, every one of the outlaws who had been catched a tripping, may
safely creep out of their lurking holes, anoint themselves, and dress in
their finest, to pay their grateful thanks at an awful distance, to the
forgiving divine fire. A religious waiter is soon ordered to call to the
women around, to come for the sacred fire: they gladly obey.—When they
come to the outside of the quadrangular holy ground, the _Archi-magus_
addresses the warriors, and gives {106} them all the particular positive
injunctions, and negative precepts they yet retain of the ancient law,
relating to their own manly station. Then he changes his note, and uses
a much sharper language to the women, as suspecting their former virtue.
He first tells them very earnestly, that if there are any of them who
have not extinguished the old evil fire, or have contracted any
impurity, they must forthwith depart, lest the divine fire should spoil
both them and the people; he charges them to be sure not to give the
children a bad example of eating any unsanctified, or impure food,
otherwise they will get full of worms, and be devoured by famine and
diseases, and bring many other dangerous evils both upon themselves, and
all the beloved, or holy people. This seems to allude to the theocratic
government of the Jews, when such daring criminals were afflicted with
immediate and visible divine punishment.
In his female lecture, he is sharp and prolix: he urges them with much
earnestness to an honest observance of the marriage-law, which may be
readily excused, on account of the prevalent passion of self-interest.
Our own Christian orators do not exert themselves with half the
eloquence or eagerness, as when that is at stake which they most value.
And the old wary savage has sense enough to know, that the Indian female
virtue is very brittle, not being guarded so much by inward principle,
as the fear of shame, and of incurring severe punishment; but if every
bush of every thicket was an hundred-eyed Argos, it would not be a
sufficient guard over a wanton heart. So that it is natural they should
speak much on this part of the subject, as they think they have much at
stake. After that, he addresses himself to the whole body of the people,
and tells them, in rapid bold language, with great energy, and
expressive gestures of body, to look at the holy fire, which again has
introduced all those shameful adulterous criminals into social
privileges; he bids them not to be guilty of the like for time to come,
but be sure to remember well, and strongly shake hands with the old
beloved straight speech, otherwise the divine fire, which sees, hears,
and knows them, will spoil them exceedingly, if at any time they
relapse, and commit that detestable crime. Then he numerates all the
supposed lesser crimes, and moves the audience by the great motives of
the hope of temporal good, and the fear of temporal evil, assuring them,
that upon their careful observance of the ancient law, the holy fire
will enable their prophets, the rain-makers, to procure them plentiful
harvests, and give their war-leaders victory over their enemies—and by
the {107} communicative power of their holy things, health and
prosperity are certain: but on failure, they are to expect a great many
extraordinary calamities, such as hunger, uncommon diseases, a
subjection to witchcraft, and captivity and death by the hands of the
hateful enemy in the woods, where the wild fowls will eat their flesh,
and beasts of prey destroy the remaining bones, so as they will not be
gathered to their forefathers—because their ark abroad, and beloved
things at home, would lose their virtual power of averting evil. He
concludes, by advising them to a strict observance of their old rites
and customs, and then every thing shall go well with them. He soon
orders some of the religious attendants to take a sufficient quantity of
the supposed holy fire, and lay it down on the outside of the holy
ground, for all the houses of the various associated towns, which
sometimes lie several miles apart. The women, hating sharp and grave
lessons, speedily take it up, gladly carry it home, and lay it down on
their unpolluted hearths, with the prospect of future joy and peace.
While the women are running about, and getting ready to dress the
sanctified new-fruits on the sacred fire, the _Archi-magus_ sends a
religious attendant to pull some cusseena, or _yopon_, belonging to the
temple; and having parched it brown on the altar, he boils it with clear
running water in a large earthen pot, about half full; it has such a
strong body, as to froth above the top by pouring it up and down with
their consecrated vessels, which are kept only for that use: of this
they drink now and then, till the end of the festival, and on every
other religious occasion from year to year. Some of the old beloved men,
through a religious emulation in sanctifying themselves, often drink
this, and other bitter decoctions, to such excess, as to purge
themselves very severely—when they drink it, they always invoke YO HE
WAH.
If any of the warriors are confined at home by sickness, or wounds, and
are either deemed incapable or unfit to come to the annual expiation,
they are allowed one of the old consecrated conch-shells-full of their
sanctifying bitter cusseena, by their magi. The traders hear them often
dispute for it, as their proper due, by ancient custom: and they often
repeat their old religious ceremonies to one another, especially that
part which they imagine most affects their present welfare; the aged are
sent to instruct the young ones in these particulars. The above
allowance, seems to be derived from the divine precept of mercy, in
allowing a second passover {108} in favour of those who could not go, or
were not admitted to the first; and the latter custom, to be in
obedience to the divine law, which their supposed progenitors were to
write on the posts of the doors, to wear as frontlets before their eyes,
and teach to their children.
Though the Indians do not use salt in their first-fruit-oblation till
the fourth day; it is not to be doubted but they formerly did. They
reckon they cannot observe the annual expiation of sins, without bear’s
oil, both to mix with that yearly offering, and to eat with the new
sanctified fruits; and some years they have a great deal of trouble in
killing a sufficient quantity of bears for the use of this religious
solemnity, and their other sacred rites for the approaching year; for at
such seasons they are hard to be found, and quite lean. The traders
commonly supply themselves with plenty of this oil from winter to
winter; but the Indians are so prepossessed with a notion of the white
people being all impure and accursed, that they deem their oil as
polluting on those sacred occasions, as Josephus tells us the Jews
reckoned that of the Greeks. An Indian warrior will not light his pipe
at a white man’s fire if he suspects any unsanctified food has been
dressed at it in the new year. And in the time of the new-ripened
fruits, their religious men carry a flint, punk, and steel, when they
visit us, for fear of polluting themselves by lighting their pipes at
our supposed _Loak ookproose_, “accursed fire,” and spoiling the power
of their holy things. The polluted would, if known, be infallibly
anathamatized, and expelled from the temple, with the women, who are
suspected of gratifying their vicious taste. During the eight days
festival, they are forbidden even to touch the skin of a female child:
if they are detected, either in cohabiting with, or laying their hand on
any of their own wives, in that sacred interval, they are stripped
naked, and the offender is universally deemed so atrocious a criminal,
that he lives afterwards a miserable life. Some have shot themselves
dead, rather than stand the shame, and the long year’s continual
reproaches cast upon them, for every mischance that befalls any of their
people, or the ensuing harvest,—a necessary effect of the divine anger,
they say, for such a crying sin of pollution. An instance of this kind I
heard happened some years ago in _Talàse_, a town of the Muskohge, seven
miles above the Alebáma garrison.
When we consider how sparingly they eat in their usual way of living, it
is surprising to see what a vast quantity of food they consume {109} on
their festival days. It would equally surprize a stranger to see how
exceedingly they vary their dishes, their dainties consisting only of
dried flesh, fish, oil, corn, beans, pease, pompions, and wild fruit.
During this rejoicing time, the warriors are drest in their wild martial
array, with their heads covered with white down: they carry feathers of
the same colour, either in their hands, or fastened to white scraped
canes, as emblems of purity, and scepters of power, while they are
dancing in three circles, and singing their religious praises around the
sacred arbour, in which stands the holy fire. Their music consists of
two clay-pot drums covered on the top with thin wet deer-skins, drawn
very tight, on which each of the noisy musicians beats with a stick,
accompanying the noise with their voices; at the same time, the dancers
prance it away, with wild and quick sliding steps, and variegated
postures of body, to keep time with the drums, and the rattling
calabashes shaked by some of their religious heroes, each of them
singing their old religious songs, and striking notes _in tympano et
choro_. Such is the graceful dancing, as well as the vocal and
instrumental music of the red Hebrews on religious and martial
occasions, which they must have derived from early antiquity. Toward the
conclusion of the great festival, they paint and dress themselves anew,
and give themselves the most terrible appearance they possibly can. They
take up their war-instruments, and fight a mock-battle in a very exact
manner: after which, the women are called to join in a grand dance, and
if they disobey the invitation they are fined. But as they are extremely
fond of such religious exercise, and deem it productive of temporal
good, all soon appear in their finest apparel, as before suggested,
decorated with silver ear-bobs, or pendants to their ears, several
rounds of white beads about their necks, rings upon their fingers, large
wire or broad plates of silver on their wrists, their heads shining with
oil, and torrepine-shells containing pebbles, fastened to deer-skins,
tied to the outside of their legs. Thus adorned, they join the men in
three circles, and dance a considerable while around the sacred fire,
and then they separate.
At the conclusion of this long and solemn festival, the _Archi-magus_
orders one of the religious men to proclaim to all the people, that
their sacred annual solemnity is now ended, and every kind of evil
averted from the beloved people, according to the old straight beloved
speech; they must therefore paint themselves, and come along with him
according to ancient {110} custom. As they know the stated time, the
joyful sound presently reaches their longing ears: immediately they fly
about to grapple up a kind of chalky clay, to paint themselves white. By
their religious emulation, they soon appear covered with that emblem of
purity, and join at the outside of the holy ground, with all who had
sanctified themselves within it, who are likewise painted, some with
streaks, and others all over, as white as the clay can make them:
recusants would undergo a heavy penalty. They go along in a very orderly
solemn procession, to purify themselves in running water. The
_Archi-magus_ heads the holy train—his waiter next—the beloved men
according to their seniority—and the warriors by their reputed merit.
The women follow them in the same orderly manner, with all the children
that can walk, behind them, ranged commonly according to their height;
the very little ones they carry in their arms. Those, who are known to
have eaten of the unsanctified fruits, bring up the rear. In this manner
the procession moves along, singing ALELUIAH to YO HE WAH, &c. till they
get to the water, which is generally contiguous, when the _Archi-magus_
jumps into it, and all the holy train follow him, in the same order they
observed from the temple. Having purified themselves, or washed away
their sins, they come out with joyful hearts, believing themselves out
of the reach of temporal evil, for their past vicious conduct: and they
return in the same religious cheerful manner, into the middle of the
holy ground, where having made a few circles, singing and dancing around
the altar, they thus finish their annual great festival, and depart in
joy and peace.
Ancient writers inform us, that while the Scythians or Tartars were
heathens, their priests in the time of their sacrifices, took some
blood, and mixing it with milk, horse-dung, and earth, got on a tree,
and having exhorted the people, they sprinkled them with it, in order to
purify them, and defend them from every kind of evil: the heathens also
excluded some from religious communion. The Egyptians excommunicated
those who ate of animals that bore wool, or cut the throat of a
goat[XXV]. And in ancient times, they, and the Phœnicians, Greeks, &c.
adored the serpent, and expelled those who killed it. The East-Indians
likewise, drive those from the {111} supposed benefit of their altars,
who eat of a cow, and drink wine, or that eat with foreigners, or an
inferior cast. Though the heathen world offered sacrifice, had
ablutions, and several other sorts of purifications, and frequently by
fire; yet at the best, their religious observances differed widely from
the divine institutions; whereas the American Aborigines observe strict
purity, in the most essential parts of the divine law. The former
concealed their various worship from the light of the sun; some seeking
thick groves, others descending into the deep valleys, others crawling
to get into caverns, and under their favourite rocks. But we find the
latter, in their state-houses and temples, following the Jerusalem copy
in a surprizing manner. Those of them who yet retain a supposed most
holy place, contrary to the usage of the old heathen world, have it
standing at the west end of the holy quadrangular ground: and they
always appoint those of the meanest rank, to sit on the seats of the
eastern square, so that their backs are to the east, and faces to the
west[XXVI]. The red square looks north; and the second men’s cabbin, as
the traders term the other square, of course looks south, which is a
strong imitation of Solomon’s temple, that was modelled according to the
divine plan of the Israelitish camp in the wilderness. We find them also
sanctifying themselves, according to the emblematical laws of purity,
offering their annual sacrifice in the centre of their quadrangular
temples, under the meridian light of the sun. Their magi are devoted to,
and bear the name of the great holy One; their supposed prophets
likewise that of the divine fire; and each of them bear the emblems of
purity and holiness—while in their religious duties, they sing ALELUIAH,
YO HE WAH, &c. both day and night. Thus different are the various gods,
{112} temples, prophets, and priests of all the idolatrous nations of
antiquity, from the savage Americans; which shews with convincing
clearness, especially by recollecting the former arguments, that the
American Aborigines were never idolaters, nor violated the second
commandment in worshipping the incomprehensible, omnipresent, divine
essence, after the manner described by the popish historians of Peru and
Mexico; but that the greatest part of their civil and religious system,
is a strong old picture of the Israelitish, much less defaced than might
be reasonably expected from the circumstances of time and place.
Footnote XXV:
——Lanatis animalibus abstinet omnis
Mensa; nefas illic fætum jugulare capellæ.
JUVENAL, Sat. xv.
Footnote XXVI:
The Hebrews had two presidents in the great synhedrion. The first was
called _Nashe Yo_, “a prince of God.” They elected him on account of
his wisdom: The second was called _Rosh Ha-Yoshibbah_, “the father of
the assembly:” he was chief in the great council. And _Ab beth din_,
or “the father of the consistory,” sat at his right hand, as the chief
of the seventy-two, of which the great synhedrion consisted, the rest
sitting according to their merit, in a gradual declension from the
prince, to the end of the semicircle. The like order is observed by
the Indians,—and _Jer._ ii. 27, God commanded the Israelites, that
they should not turn their backs to him, but their faces toward the
propitiatory, when they worshipped him. I remember, in Koosah, the
uppermost western town of the Muskohge, which was a place of refuge,
their supposed holiest consisted of a neat house, in the centre of the
western square, and the door of it was in the south gable-end close to
the white cabbin, each on a direct line, north and south.
Every spring season, one town or more of the Missisippi Floridians,[40]
keep a great solemn feast of love, to renew their old friendship. They
call this annual feast, _Hottuk Aimpa, Heettla, Tanáa_, “the people eat,
dance, and walk as twined together”—The short name of their yearly feast
of love, is _Hottuk Impanáa_, “eating by a strong religious, or social
principle;” _Impanáa_ signifies several threads or strands twisted, or
warped together. _Hissoobistarákshe_, and _Yelphòha Panáa_, is “a
twisted horse-rope,” and “warped garter[XXVII].” This is also contrary
to the usage of the old heathen world, whose festivals were in honour to
their chief idols, and very often accompanied with detestable lewdness
and debauchery.
Footnote XXVII:
The name of a horse-rope is derived from _Tarákshe_ “to tie,” and
_Hissooba_ “an elk, or horse that carries a burthen;” which suggests
that they formerly saw elks carry burthens, though perhaps not in the
northern provinces.
They assemble three nights previous to their annual feast of love; on
the fourth night they eat together. During the intermediate space, the
young men and women dance in circles from the evening till morning. The
men masque their faces with large pieces of gourds of different shapes
and hieroglyphic paintings. Some of them fix a pair of young buffalo
horns to their head; others the tail, behind. When the dance and their
time is expired, the men turn out a hunting, and bring in a sufficient
quantity of venison, for the feast of renewing their love, and
confirming their friendship with each other. The women dress it, and
bring the best they have along with it; which a few springs past, was
only a variety of Esau’s small red acorn pottage, as their crops had
failed. When they have eaten together, they fix in the ground a large
pole with a bush tied at the top, over which {113} they throw a ball.
Till the corn is in, they meet there almost every day, and play for
venison and cakes, the men against the women; which the old people say
they have observed for time out of mind.
Before I conclude this argument, I must here observe, that when the
Indians meet at night to gladden and unite their hearts before YOHEWAH,
they sing _Yohèwà-shoo Yohèwà-shoo_, _Yohewàhshee Yohewàhshee_, and
_Yohewàhshai Yohewàhshai_, with much energy. The first word is nearly in
Hebrew characters, יהושע, the name of Joshua, or saviour, _Numb._ xiii.
8. That ע is properly expressed by our double vowel _oo_, let it be
observed, that as בעל is “a ruler,” or “commanding”—so the Indians say
_Boole Hakse_ “strike a person, that is criminal.” In like manner they
sing _Meshi Yo, Meshi Yo, Meshi He, Meshi He, Meshi Wah Meshi Wah_;
likewise, _Meshi Hah Yo_, &c.; and _Meshi Wàh Háh Meshi Wàh Hé_,
transposing and accenting each syllable differently, so as to make them
appear different words. But they commonly make those words end with one
syllable of the divine name, _Yo He Wah_. If we connect this with the
former part of the subject, and consider they are commonly anointed all
over, in the time of their religious songs and circuiting dances, the
words seem to glance at the Hebrew original, and perhaps they are
sometimes synonymous; for ומו signifies oil; the person anointed משח,
_Messiah_, and he who anointed משיחו, which with the Indians is
_Meshiháh Yo_.
That these red savages formerly understood the radical meaning, and
emblematical design, of the important words they use in their religious
dances and sacred hymns, is pretty obvious, if we consider the reverence
they pay to the mysterious divine name YO HE WAH, in pausing during a
long breath on each of the two first syllables; their defining good by
joining _Wah_ to the end of a word, which otherwise expresses moral
evil, as before noticed; and again by making the same word a negative of
good, by separating the first syllable of that divine name into two
syllables, and adding _U_ as a superlative termination, _Y-O-U_: all
their sacred songs seem likewise to illustrate it very clearly;
_Halelu-Yah_, _Shilu Wah_, _Meshi Wah_, _Meshiha Yo_, &c. The words
which they repeat in their divine hymns, while dancing in three circles
around their supposed holy fire, are deemed so sacred, that they have
not been known ever to mention them at any other time: and as they are a
most erect {114} people, their bowing posture during the time of those
religious acclamations and invocations, helps to confirm their Hebrew
origin.
ARGUMENT IX.
The Hebrews offered DAILY SACRIFICE, which the prophet Daniel calls
_Tamid_, “the daily.” It was an offering of a lamb every morning and
evening, at the charges of the common treasury of the temple, and except
the skin and intrails, it was burnt to ashes—upon which account they
called it, _Oolah Kalile_, to ascend and consume. The Indians have a
similar religious service. The Indian women always throw a small piece
of the fattest of the meat into the fire when they are eating, and
frequently before they begin to eat. Sometimes they view it with a
pleasing attention, and pretend to draw omens from it. They firmly
believe such a method to be a great means of producing temporal good
things, and of averting those that are evil: and they are so far from
making this fat-offering through pride or hypocrisy, that they perform
it when they think they are not seen by those of contrary principles,
who might ridicule them without teaching them better.
Instead of blaming their religious conduct, as some have done, I advised
them to persist in their religious duty to _Ishtohoollo Aba_, because he
never failed to be kind to those who firmly shaked hands with the old
beloved speech, particularly the moral precepts, and after they died, he
would bring them to their beloved land; and took occasion to shew them
the innumerable advantages their reputed forefathers were blest with,
while they obeyed the divine law.
The white people, (I had almost said christians) who have become Indian
proselytes of justice, by living according to the Indian religious
system, assure us, that the Indian men observe the daily sacrifice both
at home, and in the woods, with new-killed venison; but that otherwise
they decline it. The difficulty of getting salt for religious uses from
the sea-shore, and likewise its irritating quality when eaten by those
who have green wounds, might in time occasion them to discontinue that
part of the sacrifice. {115} They make salt for domestic use, out of a
saltish kind of grass, which grows on rocks, by burning it to ashes,
making strong lye of it, and boiling it in earthen pots to a proper
consistence. They do not offer any fruits of the field, except at the
first-fruit-offering: so that their neglect of sacrifice, at certain
times, seems not to be the effect of an ignorant or vicious, but of
their intelligent and virtuous disposition, and to be a strong
circumstantial evidence of their Israelitish extraction.