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.
- 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