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
Among the Minsi the beliefs concerning the Doll Being were similar, but
differed in detail. As to origin, Wolf told the writer that one time a
man lay ill, likely to die, and his family called in a medicine-man, or
“witch-doctor.” The shaman finally announced that the family must make
one of these dolls and care for it, and that the sick man would then get
well. This was done, and the doctor’s prediction being realized, the
Minsi have ever since made and used these dolls, called in their dialect
_naniʹtĭs_, which were transmitted from parents to children. Wolf’s
own mother had one, carved out of wood in the form of a person, with a
woman’s dress and moccasins (for as a rule they represent women); and
she always cared for it religiously, in the belief that if well treated
it would protect the family and give them good health, but if neglected,
someone would surely die. Every year, in the fall, when the deer are in
their best condition, Wolf’s mother held a dance for it, called “Feeding
the Naniʹtĭs;” but she did more than feed it: she put new clothes on it,
three sets, and new moccasins every year. She believed that the image
sometimes went about of its own accord, although she kept it carefully in
a box, for the old dresses always seemed worn at the bottom and soiled,
and she found burrs clinging to them when she went to put new clothes on
“Naniʹtĭs.”
She hired a man especially to hunt a yearling doe for the ceremony,
which took place in her own dwelling. The details are lost, but it is
remembered that a man beat a little drum and sang while she, as owner,
danced around, carrying the doll in her hands, followed by such of the
other women present as wished to participate. Said Wolf, “The Naniʹtĭs
helped the Indians, that’s why they fed it.”
[Illustration: PL. VIII
“NAHNEETIS THE GUARDIAN OF HEALTH”
(E. T. Tefft Collection, American Museum of Natural History)]
_An Old Minsi “Doll.”_—The writer was able to obtain but one old specimen
of this type (pl. VIII), which was procured at the Grand River reserve,
Ontario, for the E. T. Tefft collection, now in the American Museum of
Natural History, and was described in the writer’s article,[55] before
cited, as follows:
“Perhaps the most interesting Delaware specimen of all is
the little wooden image, about eight inches high, bought of
Dr. Jones, which his father, Rev. Peter Jones, described and
illustrated in his book under the name ‘Nahneetis, the Guardian
of Health.’ He says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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