essay

The religion of Handsome Lake: its origin and development

Symposium on local diversity in Iroquois cultureWashington, D.c.Published In 1951 • Pages: 77-107

By: Deardorff, Merle H..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article presents a generalized account of the history and development of the Handsome Lake Religion, also known as the 'Good Word' or the 'Good Message,' at Cornplanter, near Warren, Pennsylvania. Although the article gives very little specific information on the tenets of the religion, it does establish the background for its introduction and growth among the Iroquois, and shows clearly how this new religion was able to flourish, unlike similar nativistic movements. The article clearly shows the effects of missionary doctrines on the Iroquois, and especially that of the Quakers on Handsome Lake.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
General character of religion
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
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Businessperson
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.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1961
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1948
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
ca. 1800
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Cornplanter, Pa., United States
NotesAdditional notes
Merle H. Deardorff
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Iroquois Indians