A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians — John Shaqi
A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American IndiansYarrow, H. C. (Harry Crécy)
History
A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians
Yarrow, H. C. (Harry Crécy)
Indians of North America -- Funeral customs and rites
This was not the grave of the Indian warriors; in those we find pots
made of earth or stone, and all the implements of war, for the
warrior had an idea that after he arose from the dead he would need,
in the “hunting-grounds beyond,” his bow and arrow, war-hatchet, and
scalping-knife.
The facts set forth will doubtless convince every Mason who will
carefully read the account of this remarkable burial that the
American Indians were in possession of at least some of the
mysteries of our order, and that it was evidently the grave of
Masons, and the three highest officers in a Masonic lodge. The grave
was situated due east and west; an altar was erected in the center;
the south, west, and east were occupied--_the north was not_;
implements of authority were near each body. The difference in the
quality of the beads, the tomahawks in one, two, and three pieces,
and the difference in distance that the bodies were placed from the
surface, indicate beyond doubt that these three persons had been
buried by Masons, and those, too, that understood what they were
doing.
Will some learned Mason unravel this mystery and inform the Masonic
world how the Indians obtained so much Masonic information?
The tomahawks, maxillary bones, some of the teeth, beads, and other
bones, have been forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington, D.C., to be placed among the archives of that
institution for exhibition, at which place they may be seen.
Should Dr. Spainhour’s inferences be incorrect, there is still a
remarkable coincidence of circumstances patent to every Mason.
In support of this gentleman’s views, attention is called to the
description of the _Midawan_--a ceremony of initiation for would-be
medicine men--in Schoolcraft’s History of the Indian Tribes of the
United States, 1855, p. 428, relating to the Sioux and Chippewas. In
this account are found certain forms and resemblances which have led
some to believe that the Indians possessed a knowledge of Masonry.
_BURIAL BENEATH, OR IN CABINS, WIGWAMS, OR HOUSES._
While there is a certain degree of similitude between the above-noted
methods and the one to be mentioned subsequently--_lodge_ burial--they
differ, inasmuch as the latter are examples of surface or aerial burial,
and must consequently fall under another caption. The narratives which
are now to be given afford a clear idea of the former kinds of burial.
Bartram[23] relates the following regarding the Muscogulges of the
Carolinas:
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