Religion and ceremonies of the LenapeHarrington, M. R. (Mark Raymond)
Religion
Religion and ceremonies of the Lenape
Harrington, M. R. (Mark Raymond)
Delaware Indians -- Religion
The attendants then circle about the fires and go out to the cooking
fireplace, where they divide the wampum, taking a yard apiece. At last,
when the shadow of a person is nearly under him, that is, about noon, the
speaker or chief arises, and says, “All of us kinfolk must now go out and
end our meeting, which has been going on for twelve days and nights.”
Thereupon they all file out—men, women, and children—and form a row
extending north and south, facing east, just east of the Big House, the
hunters taking with them the skins of the deer they killed.
FINALE
Here they all pray, or rather cry the prayer word “_Ho-o-o!_” six times
standing, holding up one hand, and six times kneeling, holding up the
other hand. The meeting is then ended. This is shown in the frontispiece.
The deerskins are given to poor old people, who need them to make
moccasins.
One informant stated that instead of crying “_Ho-o-o_” twelve times in
closing the meeting, it was customary to use this word only ten times,
and then cry “_Ha-a-a_” twice, completing the sacred number twelve; but
such discrepancies are probably due to the variation of ritual among the
three phratries before mentioned, the Turkey, the Turtle, and the Wolf.
This kind of prayer was noticed by Zeisberger[45] as early as 1779, for
he writes:
“At a third kind of feast ten or more tanned deerskins are
given to as many old men or women, who wrap themselves in them
and stand before the house with their faces turned toward
the east, praying God with a loud voice to reward their
benefactors. They turn toward the east because they believe
that God dwells beyond the rising of the sun. At the same time
much wampum is given away. This is thrown on the ground and the
young people scramble for it. Afterward it is ascertained who
secured the most. This feast is called _’ngammuin_, the meaning
of which they themselves are unable to give.”
The suspicion that Zeisberger mistook the conclusion of the Annual
Ceremony for a separate rite is strengthened by the fact that he gives
its name as “’_ngammuin_,” which seems to be a form of _Gaʹmuing_, the
modern Lenape name for their Annual Ceremony.
PAYMENT OF OFFICERS
All the officers of the meeting receive pay in wampum for their services,
except, of course, the leader—the man who has caused the meeting to be
held. The speaker receives a yard for every night of the meeting; the
drummers get a yard between them each night; there are also the payments
to the attendants, hunters, and others, already mentioned. The attendants
have other sources of profit, too, for they serve meals three times a day
in the Big House to the leader of the meeting and all his near relatives,
also to the speaker and the drummers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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