The History of The Peacemaker and Hayehwatha
The prophecy of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) says that one day everyone will hear about this great message of peace
Introduction
Hayehwatha was an Iroquois Indian who lived sometime between 1100 and 1450 AD. He was one of the founders of the Iroquois Confederacy and a great Peacemaker.
There is no written history of Hayehwatha that covers his entire life. And while the history of Hayehwatha varies somewhat (including the spelling of people's names), the following is most frequently written about Hayehwatha:
Hayehwatha resided in the area of Lake Ontario (in present day New York). During his time warfare and feuding were a way of life among the Iroquois people.
Tadodaho (Adadarho)
The most feared warrior, and great sorcerer was Tadodaho (Adadarho), a chief of the Onondaga nation.
At that time Hayehwatha, also a chief, tried to reform Tadodaho, but Tadodaho regarded Hayehwatha’s peacemaking efforts with contempt.
The Three Daughters
Hayehwatha campaigned for peace, friendship and cooperation. After a grand council meeting where Hayehwatha’s proposals were presented, Hayehwatha’s eldest daughter became sick and died. Her death was attributed to Tadodaho’s sorcery.
Hayehwatha called a second council and after that council, the second of Hayehwatha’s daughters died, in the same manner.
Again Hayehwatha called a third council during which time Tadodaho had one of his warriors shoot an eagle. The eagle fell to the ground next to Hayehwatha’s third daughter who was trampled to death when the warriors rushed toward the eagle.
Overcome with grief Hayehwatha went to live in the forest as a recluse.
Deganawidah
Another story developed during this time regarding a man named Deganawidah.
A woman and child escaped the dangers of war by going into the forest to live. In a dream the mother was told that her daughter would have a divine birth and the child would have a special mission to promote peace among men. The child named Deganawidah grew up in the forest and went forth to announce to the people the Good Message, the Power, and the Peace, three concepts that together unified the separate nations of the Iroquois people.
Mohawk Meeting
Some of the history books say that Hayehwatha met Deganawidah while he was in the forest and Hayehwatha became Deganawidah’s most loyal collaborator, traveling with Deganawidah from settlement to settlement to share the Good Message, the Power and the Peace. At the Mohawk settlement Deganawidah confered the title of Hayehwatha for the first time. In other versions Hayehwatha already has this name by the time he meets Deganawidah.
Some books state that Hayehwatha’s three daughters died during the Mohawk settlement meeting.
Broken hearted, Hayehwatha left the settlement to await the arrival of Deganawidah at Standing Stone ( an Oneida village).
Invitation Wampum
During the night Hayehwatha took sumac twigs, cored them, cut them into short lengths and strung them up, producing several short strands. Hayehwatha hung them on a horizontally suspended rod.
Other men saw these string objects. They interpreted the objects to be an invitation to lead the condoler (Hayehwatha) to their settlement. These objects became the origin of the ‘invitation wampum’ in Iroquois history. (See the section on WAMPUM)
Condolence Wampum
In some history books Deganawidah used these string objects to alleviate Hayehwatha’s grief by condoling him with a ritual.
With the first string Deganawidah said:
“When a person has suffered a great loss caused by death and is grieving, the tears blind his eyes so that he cannot see. With these words I wipe away the tears from your eyes so that now you may see clearly.”
With the second string:
“When a person has suffered a great loss caused by death and is grieving, there is an obstruction in his ears and he cannot hear. With these words I remove the obstruction from your ears so that you may once again have perfect hearing.”
With the third string:
“When a person has suffered a great loss caused by death, his throat is stopped and he cannot speak. With these words, I remove the obstruction from your throat so that you may speak and breath freely.”
This ritual was later expanded by Hayehwatha to include fourteen "burdens" or acts performed to bring condolence and healing to the mind and body of those mourning a death. This became the Condolence Council Ceremony and was used for mourning both the loss of a chief and the loss of other persons.
In the Condolence Ceremony there are five basic rituals, most of which include the exchange of Condolence Wampum (consisting of shell bead strings) between the condolers and the mourners and then back again. In the last two rituals, these exchanges occur for each burden, or act, and progress until completion and all the strings are returned to the condolers by the mourners.
These rituals include important spoken acknowledgements of the founding ancestors in addition to the removal of the symptoms of grief. Listeners are reminded of the structure of the Confederacy Council, the ways in which the members are related as participants, and the overriding value of cooperation.
In this way, grief and healing were integrated into Iroquois culture as rituals for recovering back to normal life. At the same time, the Condolence Ceremony allowed many to share in rituals which brought together the moieties (clan groupings). This strengthened the bonds within the Confederacy and revitalized the values of peace, unification and cooperation.
In addition, it was structured that if the Condolece Council had been convened due to the death of a chief, then the ritual mourning and condolence is followed by the Installation Ritual for a new chief.
These traditions continue today among the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) people
Footnotes
Excerpts from the following books were primarily utilized for this section on the History of Hayehwatha:
Gibson, John Arthur. Concerning the League. The Iroquois League Tradition as Dictated in Onondaga. Canada: Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, 1992
Graymont, Barbara. Indians of North America: The Iroquois. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988
Copyright © 2001-2008 Hayehwatha Institute & Andrée Morgana - All Rights Reserved