Haudenosaunee mythology, or Iroquois mythology, includes the creation stories and other religious oral literature of the Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca, and Tuscarora people, six nations of Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands which together form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Some of these stories are recorded in wampum, which served as mnemonic devices, although now they can no longer be read. Haudenosaunee authors began writing down their oral histories and cosmologies in the 19th century. David Cusick (Tuscarora, c. 1780–1840) published Sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations in 1826. In the written versions, the spellings of names differ due to diverse orthographies.
In the late 1700s, elements of traditional Haudenosaunee religion were incorporated into the Code of Handsome Lake by Sganyodaiyoʼ, a Seneca Royaner and prophet.
Oral histories The Haudenosaunee have passed down their stories as a centuries-old oral histories. Through these stories, listeners learn values, laws, and acceptable behaviors in their communities. For example, "Girl Who Was Not Satisfied" is a traditional story about a girl who runs off with a man for his looks. The moral of the story is to judge people based on their character, not their looks. The story also teaches people the importance of valuing what they already have.
Haudenosaunee storytelling is also entertainment and a way to preserve culture. The stories reflect the Haudenosaunee perception and understanding of the world. Traditionally, the stories were poetic and delivered in metaphors. However, translations often lose the expressive qualities which existed in the original language. It is also possible that Christianity influenced the written mythologies.
In 1923, historian Arthur C. Parker (Seneca) wrote, "There is an amazing lack of authentic material on Iroquois-folklore, though much of what arrogates this name itself has been written. The writers, however, have in general so glossed the native themes with poetic and literary interpretations that the material has shrunken in value and can scarcely be considered without many reservations."
Each Haudenosaunee village had a Hage'ota or storyteller who was responsible for learning and memorizing the ganondas'hag or stories.Parker, Arthur Caswell (1923). Seneca Myths and Folk Tales. Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society. pp. xxv-xxvi. Retrieved May 26, 2015 via Internet Archive. Traditionally, no stories were told during the summer months in accordance with the law of the (). Violators were said to suffer an omen or great evils, such as a being stung on the lips by a bee or being strangled by a snake while sleeping. The Haudenosaunee believed that telling the stories in summer would make the animals, plants, trees, and humans lazy, as work stops for a good story.
Stories Following are examples of Haudenosaunee myths, as recorded by Harriet Maxwell Converse in 1908, Arthur C. Parker (Seneca) in 1923, and others.
Creation
The Earth was a thought in the mind of (), the ruler of a great island floating above the clouds. The floating island is a place of calm where all needs are provided and there is no pain or death. The island's inhabitants hold council under a great apple tree.
Hawëni:yo’ says, "Let us make a new place where another people can grow. Under our council tree is a great sea of clouds which calls out for light." He orders the uprooting of the council tree and he looks through the hole, down into the depths. He tells () () to look down. Hearing the voice of the sea below calling, Hawëni:yo’ tells Awëöha’i’, who was pregnant, to bring it life. He wraps her in light and drops her down through the hole.
All the birds and animals who live in the great cloud sea are panicked. The Duck asks, "Where can it rest?" The Beaver replies, "Only the oeh-dah () from the bottom of our great sea can hold it. I will get some." The Beaver dives down but never returns. Then, the Duck tries, but its dead body floats to the surface. Many of the other birds and animals try and fail.
Finally, the Muskrat returns with some Oeh-dah in his paws. He says, "It's heavy. Who can support it?" The Turtle volunteers and the oeh-dah is placed on top of his shell. The birds fly up and carry Awëöha’i’ on their wings to the Turtle's back. This is how Hah-nu-nah, the Turtle, came to be the earth bearer. When he moves, the sea gets rough and the earth shakes.
The Do-yo-da-no Once brought to the surface, the oeh-dah from the sea floor grows and forms an island. Atahensic (Sky Woman) goes to the island, knowing her time to give birth is near. She hears two voices under her heart. One voice is calm and quiet, but the other is loud and angry. Her children are the Do-yo-da-no or the Twin Gods. The good twin, Hahgwehdiyu (Sapling, Skyholder, or Good Mind), is born normally; the twin, Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh or Sawiskera (Flint or Bad Mind), forces his way out from under his mother's arm, killing her during childbirth.
After the death of Atahensic, the island is shrouded in gloom. Hahgwehdiyu shapes the sky and creates the Sun from his mother's face saying, "You shall rule here where your face will shine forever." However, Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh sets the great darkness in the west to drive down the Sun. Hahgwehdiyu then takes the Moon and stars, his sisters, from his mother's breast and places them to guard the night sky. He gives his mother's body to the earth, the Great Mother from whom all life came.
Ga-gaah, the Crow, comes from the sun land carrying a grain of corn in his ear. Hahgwehdiyu plants the corn above his mother's body and it becomes the first grain. Ga-gaah hovers over the corn fields, guarding them against harm and claiming his share.
Hahgwehdiyu heals disease, defeats demons, and gives the Haudenosaunee many magical and ceremonial rituals. Another of his gifts is tobacco, a central part of the Haudenosaunee religion. In contrast, Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh brings dangerous and destructive things to the world. Versions differ on whether one or both of the twins create humans. Thus, the Do-yo-da-no creation myth is also about the behaviors and morals of people.
Notes
The Three Sisters
The Haudenosaunee name De-oh-há-ko means Our Life or Our Supporters. Often called the Three Sisters, the De-oh-há-ko are the spirits of the corn, beans, and squash.
In one variant of the myth of Atahensic, the Three Sisters grew from her daughter Tekawerahkwa's dead body. According to this version, Atahensic has a daughter named Tekawerahkwa (), whom the west wind impregnates with Hahgwehdiyu and Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh. As Tekawerahkwa dies by childbirth, either she wishes for her body to sustain the people or Atahensic sows on her grave the seeds she had brought when she fell to Earth, but never planted before. From Tekawerahkwa's body parts grow various crops: the spirits of the corn, beans, and squash come from her breasts, hands, and navel respectively; sunflowers from her legs; strawberries from her heart; tobacco from her head; and purple potatoes or sunchokes from her feet.
The Three Sisters appear as beautiful maidens. They are fond of each other and like to live near each other. This is an analogy to the three plants which are historically interplanted.
One day while O-na-tah, the spirit of the corn, is wandering alone, she is captured by Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh. Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh sends one of his monsters to devastate the fields, and the other sisters run away. Hä-qweh-da-ět-gǎh holds O-na-tah captive in darkness under the earth until a searching ray of sunlight reached the surface. Back on the Earth's surface, she weeps over the devastation to her fields and her abandonment by her sisters. She vows to never again leave her fields, which she guards alone, without her sisters.
It is said that in 1779, the spirits of the Three Sisters visited Seneca Royaner Handsome Lake as he wished to join the Haudenosaunee lives lost to the US military's attacks. Inspired by the Three Sisters' visit, Handsome Lake returned to his community, re-teaching it the traditional Haudenosaunee agricultural practices.
Hé-no
Haudenosaunee mythology tells of Hé-no, the spirit of thunder who brings rain to nourish the crops. The Haudenosaunee address Hé-no as Tisote (, ). He appears as a warrior, wearing on his head a magic feather that makes him invulnerable to the attacks of Hah-gweh-di-yu. On his back, he carries a basket filled with pieces of chert which he throws at dangerous spirits and witches.
Hé-no lives in a cave under Niagara Falls. At that time, a young girl lives above the falls and is engaged to marry a disagreeable old man. Rather than marry, she climbs into a canoe and heads down the river. The girl and the canoe are carried over the falls; the canoe is seen falling to destruction, but the girl disappears. Hé-no and his two assistants catch her in a blanket and take her to his cave. One of the assistants is taken with her beauty and marries her.
Later, Hé-no rescues her village from a huge serpent that was devastating it with diseases. He lures the serpent to a spot on Buffalo Creek where he strikes it with a thunderbolt. Fatally wounded, the serpent tries to escape to the safety of Lake Erie but dies before he gets away. His body floats downstream to the head of Niagara Falls, stretching nearly across the river and arching backward to form a dam. The dammed water breaks the rocks, and the snake's body falls onto the rocks below. This forms Horseshoe Falls but destroys Hé-no's home in the process.
Jogäoh
Haudenosaunee myths tell of the Jogäoh or the Little People. The Jogäoh are invisible nature spirits, similar to the fairies of European myth. They protect and guide the natural world and protect people from unseen hidden enemies. There are three tribes of .
The first tribe is the Ga-hon-ga who inhabit rivers and rocks. They live in rocky caves beside streams and have great strength despite their small stature. The Ga-hon-ga enjoy feats of strength and enjoy inviting people to their habitations to compete in contests. They enjoy playing ball with rocks, tossing the rocks high in the air, so they are often called Stone Throwers.
The second tribe is the Gan-da-yah who protect and advise the fruits and grains. Throughout the growing season, the Gan-da-yah guards crops against disease and other pests. Their special gift is the strawberry plant; in the spring they loosen the earth so it can grow. They turn strawberry leaves toward the sun and guide their runners. When the strawberries ripen, the () hold the spring festival with its nighttime dances of thanksgiving to the . They sometimes visit the people in the form of a robin for good news, an owl for a warning, or a bat for an imminent life-and-death struggle. Believers in the Gan-da-yah say, "The most minute harmless insect or worm may be the bearer of important 'talk' from the 'Little People' and is not destroyed for the 'trail is broad enough for all.
The third tribe of are the Oh-do-was, who inhabit the shadowy places under the earth. In this underworld, there are forests and animals, including a white buffalo. The Oh-do-was guard against poisonous snakes and creatures of death that try to escape from the underworld. Occasionally, the Oh-do-was emerge from the underworld at night and visit the world above where they hold festivals and dance in rings around trees. Afterward, grass will not grow in the ring.
Gǎ-oh
Haudenosaunee myths tell of Gaoh, the personification of the wind. He is a giant and an "instrumentality through whom the Great Spirit moves the elements". His home is in the far northern sky. He controls the four winds: north wind (Bear), west wind (Panther), east wind (Moose), and south wind (Fawn).