Chapter VI: Minsi Big House Ceremonies

The following account of the great ceremonies of the Minsi, which correspond to the annual ceremony of the Unami, was obtained from Chief James Wolf, now deceased, and his nephew, Chief Nellis Timothy.

MYTH OF ORIGIN

At first, it appears, the Indians did not know how to worship, so Kĕ‛tanĭtoʹwĕt, the Great Manĭʹto or God, now called Pa‛ʹtŭmawas, came down and told them what to do. After following his instructions, they watched him when he ascended. He carried twelve sumach sticks in his hand, and they could see them shine far up in the air. Every now and then he dropped one, and when he dropped the twelfth he disappeared, while they heard the heavens crack like thunder behind him as he went in. After this the Lenape began to hold these meetings according to the instructions he had given them.

NUMBER OF CEREMONIES

There were two of these ceremonies every year, both held in the Minsi Big House (_W‛aʹtekan_), which was quite similar to that of the Unami. One of these, performed about June when the wild strawberries were ripe, lasted only a single night; the other, early in winter, covered twelve days and nights. This latter corresponds to the Annual Ceremony of the Unami.

At the June ceremony fresh strawberries were made into a drink for the people, which reminds one of the Iroquois Strawberry Dance, or Dance of First Fruits, as it is sometimes called. Strawberries were dried at this time to make a drink for the Winter Ceremony.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE BIG HOUSE

Like the Unami Big House, that of the Minsi had a large central post bearing carved faces; but, unlike that of the Unami, there was a second short post, near the central one, upon which was hung, for each ceremony, a raw fresh deerskin with the head and horns at the top. This feature, however, corresponds with the second form of the Annual Ceremony noted among the Lenape in Oklahoma and also recorded by Zeisberger in Pennsylvania. Near this central post the singers sat, and beat with four carved sticks upon a dry deerhide folded into a square, in lieu of a drum (fig. 14), differing from the Unami form, which is a rolled dry deerskin upon which are tied several slats of wood (fig. 8). The drumsticks are flat, resembling those of the Unami, as each bears a face carved upon one side, but differ from them in the form of the forked end, and in width. Some, it is said, represented women, the breasts being indicated as among the Unami, but this feature does not appear in the set collected by the writer at Grand River reserve (fig. 15, _a_), which the Indians said were representative of the Minsi type.

There were two poles laid along on each side from end to end of the Big House to divide the dancing place in the center from the sitting places on the side, which were covered with a special kind of leaves. Along these poles twelve little sumach sticks (fig. 15, _b_), peeled and painted, were laid for twelve people to hold in their hands, and tap on the poles in time to the music. There were also provided a turtle rattle, which was placed at the foot of the central pole; a fire-drill which Nellis Timothy thinks was worked on the “pump-drill” principle, like that of the Unami, and a lot of entirely new and unused bowls and spoons of bark. Unlike the Unami custom, both doors of the Big House were used, the people always going in at the east door and coming out at the west, and here also (like the Unami) the ashes were carried out. “The Sun and everything else goes toward the west,” say the Minsi, in explanation, “even the dead when they die.”

PRELIMINARIES

The first act remembered by the informants preparatory to holding a meeting was to send to each man in the tribe who had been blessed by a “vision of power,” a little stick which represented an invitation to the ceremony, the time of which the messenger gave out, before which date the people leaving their scattered homes gathered and camped about the Big House. Meanwhile hunters were sent out, appointed before, not during the meeting as among the Unami, to bring in for the Winter Ceremony, if possible, exactly twelve deer, which were cooked by four young men who served as attendants in a small separate house, built for the purpose.

_Fire._—The fire was made with a fire-drill by a group of old men for use in the Big House, but, as among the Unami, none of it could be taken outside during the ceremony.

_Purification._—When the two fires had been built, but before the crowd had gathered, the house was purified by the smoke of hemlock boughs thrown on the flames, and by sweeping the floor with turkey-wing fans, which cleared away both dirt and evil influences.

OPENING OF THE CEREMONY

_Chief’s Speech._—The next step was for the attendants to call in all the people from their camps except the women in their menses who were not allowed to enter. When all were seated, the speaker rose and addressed those assembled in terms like the following:

“We are now gathered here, our house is purified and clean, and Pa‛ʹtŭmawas is with us, ready to hear our worship. We must thank Him for all the things that we enjoy, for He made them every one.” Then he proceeded to tell the people not to drink liquor, nor to do anything wrong in the Big House or in the camp about it, and advised them to be always honest and kind and hospitable. He held virtue as something to be followed, at the same time condemning evil, every vice that he could think of being mentioned.

The chief then gave thanks for everything he could remember, from the heavenly bodies to the animals, trees, and herbs of the earth, not forgetting corn, beans, and squashes; and prayer for successful hunting and good health for all the people. At the summer meeting he prayed for good crops also. When he had finished, bear’s fat was thrown on the two fires, and the smoke rose and filled the place with its odor.

CEREMONIAL DRINK

At this point it was customary to pass around a vessel of drink made of crushed wild strawberries, from which each person present swallowed about a spoonful, a drink made at the Summer Ceremony of fresh fruit, but in winter necessarily of berries dried for the purpose.

RECITAL OF VISIONS

The first man to relate his vision (my informant did not remember whether he was the one who “brought in” the meeting or not) took up the turtle rattle from its place at the foot of the post and began to shake it rapidly, while the singers struck the drum of dry hide. He then recited the story of his vision of power, still keeping the rattle shaking, following this with his dance song, at the same time dancing and rattling the turtleshell.

Any one who wished to dance was supposed to give wampum to the vision-teller for the privilege. Some who were well off would give him an entire string, others merely a few beads. These the vision-teller would take, when he had quite a handful, to two officers who sat in a corner of the building, whose duty it was to count the wampum, after which it was kept by the chief or leader. Sometimes if a poor person who had no wampum wished to dance, they would give him some to pay the vision-teller.

A translated example of a Minsi vision chant and dance song has already been given. When the dream-teller finished the first verse of his dance song, he exclaimed, “_E-ye-he-ye-ĕ!_” whereupon the singers took up the strain and sang the verse several times, for the benefit of those who wished to dance, omitting, however, the final exclamation, but those who had bought the privilege rose and danced where they stood, instead of circling around, as among the Unami. Each “set” ended with a whoop, “_kwi!_”.

When the vision-teller finished dancing, he went around the house and shook hands with everyone; then the turtle rattle was passed to another man who had been blessed with a vision, and so on, until all those qualified, who wished to recite their visions, had done so.

OTHER FEATURES

_The Prayer Cry._—From time to time during the night the prayer cry “_Ho-o-o!_” was repeated twelve times, and the twelfth cry, they say, was heard by the Great Manĭʹto.

_Feast._—The people were accustomed to eat a light supper before going into the meeting; then about midnight the four attendants carried around baskets with boiled meat and corn bread, and in the morning, before leaving the Big House, a regular feast of venison was served in new bark bowls and eaten with new bark spoons especially made for the purpose.

_Final Address._—Before the meeting closed, the speaker again addressed the people, telling them to do right, and prayed that the hunters about to leave for the winter hunt might be successful, and that all might live to meet again.