Book

From the earth to beyond the sky: an ethnographic approach to four Longhouse Iroquois speech events

National Museums of Canada, National Museum of Man • (20) • Published In 1974 • Pages: xi, 448

By: Foster, Michael K..

Abstract

The Longhouse Iroquois of New York State and southern Ontario are carriers of the ancient tradition of political and religious oratory of which part is devoted to speeches, chants, and songs associated with the calendrical round of ceremonies (e.g., the Midwinter Festival and Green Corn Ceremony). The first part of this study presents an analysis of four structurally related rituals which are performed in conjunction with the ceremonies, these being the Thanksgiving Address, the Great Feather Dance, the Skin Dance, and the Tobacco Invocation. The rituals are divided into sections devoted to one or more of the cosmological spirit forces -- the terrestrial (earth, plants, animals); the celestrial (sun, moon, stars); and the forces beyond the sky (the Creator and other spirits). Each of the rituals is accompanied by a prescribed formal speech which may vary somewhat between speakers. The second part of this work presents a detailed structural analysis of the contents of these speeches as well as a description of the background and qualifications of the speakers themselves. The transcribed and translated texts of these speeches appear in the appendices.

HRAF PubDate

1996

Region

North America

Sub Region

Eastern Woodlands

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Linguist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle ; 1994

Field Date

1970 (p. ix-x)

Coverage Date

variable

Coverage Place

Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada

Notes

Michael K. Foster

Includes bibliographical references (p. 421-432) and index

LCSH

Iroquois Indians