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the Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet . ^^f^^ducation Department Bulletin Published fortnightly by the University of the State of New York Entered as second-class matter June 24, 1908. at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., under the act of July 16, 1894 No. 530 ALBANY, N. Y. November 1,1912 New York State Museum John M, Clarke, Director Museum Bulletin 163 THE CODE OF HANDSOME LAKE, THE SENECA PROPHET Bt i»iM J 2 b. la lJ ARTHUR C. PARKER j LIBRARY PAGE PAGE Introduction 5 The death feast no Handsome Lake 9 Medicine societies 113 Effects of Handsome Lake's Dark dance or pygmy ceremony . 119 teaching 14 Society of otters 121 How the white race came to Society of mystic animals 122 America 16 The eagle society 124 The Gaiwiio code 20 The bear society 125 Sections I to 130: The Great The Buffalo society 125 Message 27 Chanters for the dead 126 Part 2. !^eld notes on rites and Woman's society 126 ceremonies 81 Sisters of the Dio''he'ko 126 White dog sacrifice 85 False face company 127 Ganeowo 94 Husk faces 129 Cornplanting and maple thanks- Iroquois sun myths 131 giving lOI Anecdotes of Cornplanter 136 Legend of the coming of Death. 105 Key to pronunciation 139 The funeral address 107 Index 145 ALBANY UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 1913 M27r-Oi2-20oo ^ono, 'Sr^ph Qass. Book.i aH 2>A- d-c. q %. New York State Education Department Science Diz'ision, September ii, iqi3 Hon. Andrew S. Draper LL.D. Commissioner of Education Sir: I transmit to you herewith and recommend for publication as a bulletin of the State Museum, a manuscript entitled The Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet, prepared by Arthur C. Parker, Archeologist. Very respectfully John M. Clarke Director STATE OF NEW YORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT commissioner's room Approved for puhUcation this i6th day of September iqij i Education Department Bulletin Published fortnightly by the University of the State of New York Entered as second-class matter June 24, 1908. at the Post OfGce at Albany, N. Y., under the act of July 16, 1894 No. 530 ALBANY, N. Y. November i. 1912 New York State Museum Juiix M. Clarke, Director Museum Bulletin 163 THE CODE OF HANDSOME LAKE, THE SENECA PROPHET BY ARTHUR C. PARKER INTRODUCTION HANDSOME lake's RELIGION The (lai'wiio' is the reeord of the teachings of Handsome Lake, the Seneca prophet, and purports to be an exact exposition of the precepts that he taught during a term of sixteen years, ending with his death in 1815. It is the basis of the so-called "new religion" of the Six Nations and is preached or recited at all the annual mid- winter festivals on the various Iroquois reservations in New York and Ontario that have adherents. These reservations are Onon- daga, Tonawanda, Cattaraugus and Allegany in New York and Grand River and Muncytown in Ontario. There are six authorized " holders "' of the Gai'wiio'^ among whom are John Gibson (Ganio'dai'io') and Edward Cornplanter ( Soson'dowa), Senecas, and Frank Logan (Adodar'ho), Onon- daga. Chief Cornplanter is by far the most conservative though Chief Gibson seems to have the greater store of explanatory mat- ter, often interpolating it during his exposition. Chief Logan is a devout adherent of his religion and watches the waning of his prophet's teachings with grave concern. His grief is like that of Hiawatha (Haiyo"'wentha) and inclines him to leave Onondaga for a region where the prophet will not be jeered. 'Key to pronunciation of Indian words on page 139. See also Glossary, page 140. 6 NEW YORJv STATE MUSEUM The slalttl times for the proclaiming of the Gai'wiio' are at the Six Nations' meeting in September and at the midwinter thanks- giving in the moon Nisko'wuknl, between January 15th and Febrn- " ar)^ 15th. At such times the Ongwe"onweka or faithful In- dians " send for an expounder paying his traveling expenses and '' entertaining him during his stay. Usually reservations "exchange preachers, Cornplanter going to Grand River or Onondaga and Chief Gibson to Cattaraugus or Allegany. The time consumed in reciting the Gai'wiio' is always three days. At noon each day the expositor stops, for the sun is in midheaven and readv to descend. All sacred things must be done sede'tcifi, early in the morniug. Before sunrise each morning of the preach- ing the preacher stands at the fireplace in the long house and sings a song known as the Sun Song. This is an obedience to a command of the prophet who promised that it should insure good weather for the day. " The wind always dies down when I sing that song," affirms Chief Cornplanter. During the recital of the Gai'wiio' the preacher stands at the fireplace which serves as the altar. Sitting beside him is an assist- ant or some officer of the rites who holds a white wampum strand.^ A select congregation sits on benches placed across the long house but the majority use the double row of seats around the walls. The w^omen wear shawls over their heads and during afifecting parts of the story hide their faces to conceal the tears. Some of the men, stirred to emotion, likewise are moved to tears but are unable to hide them. Such emotion once detected by the auditors sometimes l)ecomes contagious and serves as the means of scores repledging their allegiance to the old religion. In 1909, for example, 136 Allegany Senecas promised Chief Cornplanter that they would stop drinking licj[Uor and obey the commands of Handsome Lake. \'isit- ing Canadian Oneida Indians at the Grand River ceremonies, as a result of such a " revival," petitioned for a visit of the Gai'wiio' preachers several years ago, saying that a portion of the Oneida of the Thames wished to return to the " old way." This some of them have done but they comj^lain of the persecution of their Christian tribesmen who threatened to burn their council house. In other places the case seems dififerent and the " prophet's cause " is not espoused with nmch enthusiasm h\ the younger element to whom the white man's world and thought present a greater appeal. 'The original Handsome Lake belt is still displaved at the religious council at Tonawanda. (See plate 15.) THE CODE OF HANDSOME LAKE 7 Those who Hve in communities in which the prophet's word is still strong are drawn to the ceremonies and to the recitals hecause it is a part of their social system. Its great appeal to the older people is that it presents in their own language a system of moral precepts and exhortations that they can " readily understand. The prophet, who is called oitr great a man of their own l:)lood, and the teacher" ( sedwa'gowa'ne'), was ground that he traversed was their ancestral domain. Patriotism " and religious emotion mingle, and, when the story of the great " wrongs is remembered, spur on a ready acceptance. The fraudu- lent treaty of Buffalo of 1838, for example, caused many of the Buffalo Senecas to move to the Cattaraugus reservation. Here they settled at Ganun'dase' or Newtown, then a desolate wilderness. Their bitter wrongs made them hate white men and to resist all missionary eft'orts. Today there is no mission chapel at Newtown. All attempts have failed.^ Whether future ones will readily succeed is conjectural. The Indian there clings to his prophet and heeds the word of his teacher. At Cold Spring on the Allegany is an- other center of the " old time people." On the Tonawanda reserva- " " tion this element is chiefly centered down below at the long house. On the Onondaga reservation the long house stands in the middle of the Onondaga village and the Ganung'sisne'ha ( long house people) are distributed all over the reservation but perhaps chiefly on Hemlock road. It is an odd sight, provoking strange thoughts, to stand at the tomb of the prophet near the council house and watch each day the hundreds of automobiles that fly by over the State road. The Tuscarora and St Regis Indians are all nomin- ally Christians and they have no long houses. The present form of the Gai'wiio' was determined by a council of its preachers some fifty years ago. They met at Cold Spring, the old home of Handsome Lake, and compared their versions. Several differences were found and each preacher thought his ver- sion the correct one. At length Chief John Jacket, a Cattaraugus Seneca, and a man well versed in the lore of his people, was chosen to settle forever the words and the form of the Gai'wiio'. This he did by writing it out in the Seneca language by the method taught by Rev. Asher Wright, the Presbyterian missionary. The preachers assembled again, this time, according to Cornplanter, at Cattaraugus where they memorized the parts in which they were faulty. The original text was written on letter paper and now is entirely de- See Caswell, Our Life Aiikmis the Troquois. Bpstoii. i8<)S. 8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM stroyed. Chief Jacket gave it to Henry Stevens and Chief Stevens passed it on to Chief Cornplanter who after he had memorized the teachings became careless and lost the papers sheet by sheet. Fear- ing that the true form might become lost Chief Cornplanter in 1903 began to rewrite the Gai'wiio' in an old minute book of the Seneca Lacrosse Club. He had finished the historical introduction when the writer discovered what he had done.
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