The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-12-20
Dow Indians Give Cbanks
Strange and Interesting Thanksgiving Customs Tb., g.
Survive Among the roquois in Their Ancient Form.

tNOpg SEAtGds 1|oof " II W I'm 49,
Thanksgiving is generally regarded
as a peculiarly American festival The
great nation that dominates the CONT
nent of North America holds this feast
day as being of its own invention. But
centuries before the Pilgrim fathers
touched land at Plymouth Rock there
were thanksgiving feasts ond cere-
monies in the land, celebrated by the
first Americans, the once great req
race that is now dying out SO rapidly;
and today the rites are reliSiously OBJ
served by the survivors, just as they
We're before the pale faces came and
when the tomahawk and the swift ar
row ruled the land. Wherever tribal
customs hold and the old pagan rellg-
ion StirS in the blood, there the IeaSts
are given in praise of the Great Spirit
who made and controls the land and
water and all things that live.
The red man had no need of creed
nor book to recite his continual thanks
to the Great Spirit. The strong winds
and gentle breezes hymned his ritual.
The lakes, rivers and brooks intoned
his chants. The sun, moon and stars
were the lights of his altar and the
whole of nature his psalm OF praise
and thanksgiving. The one Eternal
Spirit ruled his heaven and his earth.
He-no, the Thunderer, gathered the
ClOuUS III HIS udfiQS anu Sl4LCu NOtf II
the vivifying rains. Ga-Oh. the West
Wind, controlled the tempests. Jos-ke-
ka ruled the seasons and Weakened the
day, and Ag-re-skoon inspired the war
rior to victory as he sent his great
war-cry from the mountain peak TO the
valley.
In no tribes did the religious rites
reach d higher degree of development
than among the great federation of the
Five Nations. The life of the Iroquois
Indian was a continual thanksgiving.
There were annual feasts whereby all
nature was sung and praised. Begin
ming with the New Year Jubilee in
February, these feasts followed in sue
cession, each resurrection OF nature.
In April the flow of the sap was cele-
brated in the Maple Feast and the
Thunderer who had softened the win
ter's chain of ice and set the sweet
water" flowing was gIorified. IN May
the Planting Festival announced the
coming of the crops. Then the fields
were cOnsecrated to the guardian
spirits of the grain. For this dedica-
ton young virgins-primitiVe Lady Co
divaS-Were sent to the fields at mid
night Unclad, and with their long hair
hanging loose, to scatter the first seed
and invoke prolific harVestS- There
were no ''peeping Toms; the red man
held inviolate the purity of his women,
and death would have followed the
footsteps of the intruder upon the
sanctity of this rite whereby the vir-
gins were cOnsecrated to the harvests.
Thanks For Good Things of Earth.
In June came the First Fruit or
Strawberry Feast the very gala of
thanksgiving. The Great Spirit had
shown" them his gifts, the luscious
fruit had blushed in the sun, and the
festivities of dance and song must cell
citrate it's vine and blossom. This berry
feast included the WhortleberTy and
raspberry, and certain wild herb ber-
ries which contained remedial proper
ties and we're defense against disease
and other vague evils. Homage was
rendered to every growth of the vine
under, or above, the ground; grapes,
squash, beans, potatoes and all sus-
tanning foods that climb up to the
sun for the red man. were enumerat-
ed and acknowledged in this eveTlast-
ing ritual of thanks. The Green
Corn thanksgiving, usually in Au-
gust, was the Big Thanks. The wo-
men named the feast day and gathered
a few of the first ears that ripened
that the Thanksgiving fire should first
receive this gift of the Great Spirit,
and as the smoke of the saVOry grain
assembled the ancient chant of COnSe-
Grafton was intOned by the medicine
men and women to the accompaniment
of the drum and turtle-shell rattles.
Following this chant the fire was eX-
tinguiShed and a new one kindled over
which, suspended from oak sticks, large
iron kettles were swung. Within the
kettles the corn soup dubbed and sput-
tered, forming a dull accompaniment
to the weird songs of the dancArs. who
were. wreathed with twists of the silk
en- tasSels of corn, the veIvety pods of
beans and the gold trumpet blossoms
of the squash, enblemss which symbol
lied the gifts of the Great Earth Moth
er arrayed in all her glOTies.
AS the neiGhbOrs of the primitive red
man the animals of the forest and the
birds of the air were included in the
ritual of praise. From the Wolf, Bear,
Beaver, Deer, Turtle, Heron, Hawk,
Snipe and Eagle the heraldry of the
IroquOis was devised which deter
mined the clan and family system of
tribal division in the enduring bond Of
the IroduOis.
To every creature whereby good came
to him the early IrOquOis made his ac-
acknowledgement. He must thank the bee
and beaver for teaching him cOnstTuc-
ton. The fish, which could live in
water which was death to man, must
be thanked for some mysteriOusIy su-
preme power of life denied to human
hind. The bird had a means of loco
motion which was unknown to man.
Even the unerring arrow would refuse
to follow the swift bird II the Great
Spirit was unwilling It should die,
therefore the bird must be thanked for
its Superior fight, which, to the red
man, indicated the protection of the
supreme spirits governing the air as
well as the earth.
Marrying the Fish.
There was a Thanksgiving ceremony
in the olden time by which an Indian
maiden was married to the fish and
by this ceremonial she must remain
forever the wife of the game-fish, that
they should be loyal to her and pro
duce large numbers of their kind for
her people. Great birds, as the eagle
and hawk, were especially praised as
having the wings of the clouds and
being able to fly to the Hottest noun
tain top and talk to the sun. The eie-
ments were religiously sacred to the
IrOquoiS. The fire shielded them from
the winters cold. cooked their game,
lighted the council fame, and talked
with their tobacco. The water pro-
tected their fish: the air held the sun
moon and stars the earth was their
Great Mother, and these elements
must be named with supreme rever-
ence-
At each thanksgiving dance the her
aldic totem must be thanked for
building the family clan The wolves
of the Wolf totem must thank the wolf
and thus also each totem of bird ~.