Book

A study of the Delaware Indian Big House Ceremony: in native text dictated by Witapano'xwe

[Pennsylvania historical commission]Harrisburg • Published In 1931 • Pages:

By: Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), Pennsylvania. Historical Commission, Witapano'xwe.

Abstract
This source presents an intensive study of the Big House Ceremony, one of the Paramount ceremonies of the Delaware Indians for the fulfillment of obligations to the host of spiritual beings comprising their cosmography. The author, a noted ethnologist, gives a historical resume of the Big House Ceremony as it existed in the 17th and 18th centuries, and its distribution among neighboring tribes, where it appeared in various attenuated forms. A good part of this source consists of the original native text supplied by the author's primary informant Wi-tapano'xwe (War Eagle), which is then given a free translation by the author with the thought in mind of preserving the order, emphasis, terms of thought, and wording characteristic of native speech. Abundant explanatory footnotes augment the English translation.
Subjects
Religious and educational structures
Literary texts
Spirits and gods
Sacred objects and places
Organized ceremonial
Ethnometeorology
culture
Delaware
HRAF PubDate
2003
Region
North America
Sub Region
Eastern Woodlands
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1962
Field Date
ca. 1925
Coverage Date
1800-1920s
Coverage Place
Oklahoma, United States
Notes
By Frank G. Speck
Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-182) and index
LCCN
32027390
LCSH
Delaware Indians