Book
The code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca prophet
University of the State of New York • Albany, N.y. • Published In 1913 • Pages: 148 , plates
By: Parker, Arthur C..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document consists mainly of a translation of the record of the teachings of Handsome Lake, the early nineteenth century founder of the contemporary Iroquois longhouse religion. Handsome Lake's code was received in visions and formed the basis of a revitalization movement integrating traditional Iroquois religious beliefs and practices with those of Christians. The record was first set down in the Seneca language in the mid-19th century. It was memorized by Edward Cornplanter who subsequently lost the original text. Cornplanter rewrote the text from memory in 1903. The Code is here translated from the Seneca by William Bluesky, a Seneca lay preacher of the Baptist church. Accounts of Seneca longhouse ceremonies that are part of the new religion and a description of several Seneca medicine societies are also included.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- General character of religion
- Theological systems
- Magicians and diviners
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Iroquois
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1996
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Woodlands
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- William W. Stein ; 1955
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- not specified -- this is a religious tract
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Seneca ; New York State, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Arthur C. Parker
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Iroquois Indians