Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora IndiansJohnson, Elias
History
Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians
Johnson, Elias
Iroquois Indians; Tuscarora Indians
They raged at each other with such violence that their tongues and eyes
ran out so far they could neither see nor speak. This, said they, is the
punishment of quarrelsome and disputing husbands and wives. Let such also
take warning, and lie together in peace and harmony. Next he called up a
woman who had been a witch. First he plunged her into a caldron of
boiling liquid. In her cries of distress she begged the evil-minded to
give her some cooler place. He then immersed her into one containing
liquid at the point of freezing. Her cries were then that she was too
cold. This woman, said the four messengers, shall always be tormented in
this manner. He proceeded to mention the punishment which awaits all
those who cruelly ill-treat their wives. The evil-minded next called up a
man who had been accustomed to beat his wife. Having led him up to a red-
hot statue of a woman, he directed him to do that which he was fond of
while upon earth. He obeyed, and struck the figure. The sparks flew in
every direction, and by the contact his arm was consumed. Such is the
punishment, they said, awaiting those who ill-treat their wives. From
this take seasonable warning. He looked again and saw a woman, whose arms
and hands were nothing but bones. She had sold firewater to the Indians,
and the flesh was eaten from her hands and arms. This, they said, would
be the fate of rum-sellers. Again he looked, and in one apartment saw and
recognized Ho-ne-ya-wus (farmer's brother), his former friend. He was
engaged in removing a heap of sand, grain by grain, and although he
labored continually, yet the heap was not diminished. This, they said,
was the punishment of those who sold land. Adjacent to the house of
torment was a field of corn filled with weeds. He saw a woman in the
act of cutting them down, but as fast as this was done they grew up
again. This, they said, was the punishment of lazy women. It would be
proper and right, had we time, to tell more of this place of punishment,
but my time is limited and must pass to other things.
"The Creator made men dependent upon each other. He made them sociable
beings: therefore, when your neighbors visit you set food before them. If
it be your next door neighbor, you must give him to eat. He will partake
and thank you."
"Again they said, 'You must not steal.' Should you want for anything
necessary, you have only to tell your wants and they will be supplied.
This is right. Let none ever steal anything. Children are often tempted
to take things home which do not belong to them. Let parents instruct
their children in this rule.
"Many of our people live to a very old age. Your Creator says that your
deportment toward them must be that of reverence and affection. They
have seen and felt much of the miseries and pains of earth. Be always
kind to them when old and helpless. Wash their hands and face and nurse
them with care. This is the will of the Great Spirit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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