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
Such were the ceremonies surviving until recent times among the Lenape,
from which have been omitted only the observances connected with the
dead, shamanism, witchcraft, and war, all of which will be discussed in
later papers.
CHAPTER IX
SUMMARY
RELIGION
A study of the material presented shows that the Lenape believed in a
Great Spirit, or Creator, whose goodness is acknowledged, who is thanked
for past blessings and petitioned for their continuance, but who is not
their only god. He is, however, the great chief of all, and dwells in the
twelfth, or highest heaven. He created everything, either with his own
hands or through agents sent by him, and all the powers of nature were
assigned to their duties by his word. That these concepts are not new
among the Lenape may be seen from the fact that most of the early writers
who treat of this people have noticed such beliefs among them, which can
be traced back as far as 1679.
This Great Spirit gave the four quarters of the earth and the winds that
come from them to four powerful beings, or _manĭʹtowŭk_, namely, Our
Grandfather where daylight begins, Our Grandmother where it is warm, Our
Grandfather where the sun goes down, and Our Grandfather where it is
winter. To the Sun and the Moon, regarded as persons and addressed as
Elder Brothers by the Indians, he gave the duty of providing light, and
to our Elder Brothers the Thunders, man-like beings with wings, the task
of watering the crops, and of protecting the people against the Great
Horned Serpents and other water monsters. To the Living Solid Face, or
Mask Being, was given charge of all the wild animals; to the Corn Spirit,
control over all vegetation, while Our Mother, the Earth, received the
task of carrying and feeding the people.
Besides these powerful personages were many lesser ones, such as the
Small People, the Doll Being, the Snow Boy, and the Great Bear. Certain
localities, moreover, were the abode of supernatural beings, while
animals and plants were thought to have spirits of their own. Besides
these there were, of course, the countless spirits of the human dead who
were still supposed to retain some influence in earthly affairs.
This, then, was the supernatural world which, to the mind of the Lenape,
controlled all things—on which they must depend for health, for success
in all their undertakings, even the daily task of deer-hunting or
corn-raising. Benevolent beings must be pleased, and bad spirits combated
and overcome, or at least placated.
There was, however, until very lately, no conception of a “devil” in the
modern sense of the word.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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