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
“In another part of the same ceremony wampum was used in the form of
strings and bunches, both of which were represented in my collection from
the Delawares. At least thirteen of the strings were used, each one made
different by different combinations of the white and purple beads. These
thirteen, it is said, represented respectively (1) Earth; (2) Plants;
(3) Streams and Waters; (4) Corn, Beans, and Vegetables; (5) Wild Birds
and Beasts; (6) Winds; (7) Sun; (8) Moon; (9) Sky; (10) Stars; (11)
Thunder and Rain; (12) Spirits; and (13) Great Spirit. At the ceremony
these strings were laid upon a bench before a speaker, who picked them
up one by one as he made his address, each string reminding him of one
part of his speech. He began, my informant told me, by explaining that
the Great Spirit had made all things—the earth, plants, streams, and
waters—everything. Having thus enumerated all the things represented
by the wampum, he proceeded to speak to each of the remaining twelve
directly, holding the appropriate string in his hand. Thus he gave thanks
to the Earth for the benefits it gives to man, and prayed that its
blessings might continue; then thanked in the same way the Plants, the
Streams and Waters, the Winds; the Corn, Beans, and Vegetables—each one
in turn. As he finished each string he handed it to an attendant, who
laid it aside. When his long speech or prayer was finished, he announced,
‘We will now enjoy ourselves,’ and selected a man to distribute little
bunches of wampum, three beads in each, which served as invitations to
join in the dancing that followed. These bunches were delivered only
to a certain number of those known to be ‘sober and honest’ among the
crowd in the long-house. If any person wishing to dance failed to get
invitation wampum, it was his privilege to ask for one of the bunches,
which was given him if he was considered qualified. The first man
receiving wampum arose first; then the others, until the dancers were
all on the floor. It is said that this dance, which sometimes lasted all
night, did not circle around like most of the Iroquois dances, but each
performer remained in about the same spot.
“I was told that in this dance a small rattle without a handle and made
of turtleshell was used, probably like the box-turtle rattle still used
in the annual Planting Dance by the Seneca and Cayuga.”
WAUBUNO’S VERSION
The only extended account in print, known to the writer, of the great
ceremonies of the Minsi, beside his own, quoted above, is that furnished
by John Wampum, known as Chief Waubuno,[51] which reads as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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