Seneca Myths and Folk Tales by Arthur C Parker

249 Pages·2021·1.8 MB·English

Project Gutenberg's Seneca myths and folk tales, by Arthur C. Parker

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.

Title: Seneca myths and folk tales

Author: Arthur C. Parker

Release Date: February 22, 2020 [EBook #61477]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SENECA MYTHS AND FOLK TALES ***

Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)

BUFFALO

Historical Society
PUBLICATIONS

VOLUME TWENTY-SEVEN

EDITED BY FRANK H. SEVERANCE

THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH LEGENDS WERE TOLD.

From a Painting Showing the Interior of a Bark Long house, by

Richard J. Tucker.

SENECA MYTHS AND FOLK TALES

BY

ARTHUR C. PARKER, M.S.

Archæologist, New York State Museum

Life Member, The Buffalo Historical Society

BUFFALO, NEW YORK:

Published by the

BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

1923

THE TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY

PRINTERS AND BINDERS

MEADVILLE, PA.

TO

FRANK H. SEVERANCE, L.H.D., LL.D.

Secretary, The Buffalo Historical Society

President, The New York State Historical Association

WHOSE NUMEROUS ESSAYS AND HISTORICAL WRITINGS HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF
INSPIRATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT, AND WHOSE INTEREST IN THE SENECA
INDIANS AND THEIR HISTORY HAS NEVER WANED, THIS VOLUME OF

SENECA FOLK TALES

IS DEDICATED IN TESTIMONY OF THE AUTHOR’S SINCERE ADMIRATION AND
ESTEEM.

SENECA MYTHS AND FOLK TALES

FOREWORD

The author of this collection of Seneca folk-tales cannot remember when he first

began to hear the wonder stories of the ancient days. His earliest recollections are of
hearing the wise old men relate these tales of the mysterious past. They were called
Kă´kāā, or Gă´kāā, and when this word was uttered, as a signal that the marvels of old
were about to be unfolded, all the children grew silent,—and listened. In those days,
back on the Cattaraugus reservation, it was a part of a child’s initial training to learn
why the bear lost its tail, why the chipmunk has a striped back and why meteors flash
in the sky.

Many years later,—it was in 1903,—the writer of this manuscript returned to the

Cattaraugus reservation bringing with him his friend Mr. Raymond Harrington, for the
purpose of making an archæological survey of the Cattaraugus valley for the Peabody
Museum of Archæology, of Harvard University. Our base camp was on the old
Silverheels farm, which occupies the site of one of the early Seneca villages of the
period after the Erie war of 1654. Here also is the site of the original Lower
Cattaraugus of pre-Revolutionary days.

To our camp came many Indian friends who sought to instruct Mr. Harrington and

myself in the lore of the ancients. We were regaled with stories of the false faces, of
the whirl-winds, of the creation of man, of the death panther, and of the legends of the
great bear, but in particular we were blessed with an ample store of tales of vampire
skeletons, of witches and of folk-beasts, all of whom had a special appetite for young
men who dug in the ground for the buried relics of the “old-time folks.”

To us came Tahadondeh (whom the Christian people called George Jimerson), Bill

Snyder, Gahweh Seneca, a lame man from Tonawanda, Frank Pierce and several
others versed in folk-lore. I filled my note-books with sketches and outlines of folk-
fiction, and after our return to New York, I began to transcribe some of the stories.

The following winter was spent on the reservation among the non-Christian element

in a serious attempt to record folk tales, ceremonial prayers, rituals, songs and
customs. A large amount of information and many stories were collected. Some of this
material was published by the State Museum, the rest perished in the Capitol fire at
Albany, in 1911.

Later I was able to go over my original notes with Edward Cornplanter, the local

authority on Seneca religion, rites and folk-ways, and to write out the material here
presented. Cornplanter’s son Jesse assisted by way of making drawings under his
father’s direction. I also had the help of Skidmore Lay, Ward B. Snow, Delos B. Kittle,
Mrs. John Kittle, James Crow and others. My informants from the lower reservation,
the Christian district, were Aurelia Jones Miller, Fred Kennedy, George D. Jimerson,
Julia Crouse, Moses Shongo, Mrs. Moses Shongo, David George, William Parker, Job
King, and Chester C. Lay; and Laura Doctor and Otto Parker of the Tonawanda
Reservation.

In the preparation of these versions of old Seneca tales the writer used no other

texts for comparative purposes. It was thought best to rest content with the version
given by the Indian informant, and to wait until a time of greater leisure came before
attempting to annotate the collection. Leisure has never seemed to be the privilege of
the writer, and one busy year has crowded upon another, until eighteen have passed
since the tales were written down. It may be best, after all, to present the text just as
it was prepared, and merely correct the spelling of a name or two. It was not until
after this text was in the hands of the Buffalo Historical Society that the Curtin-Hewitt
collection of Seneca folk tales appeared, and though differences will be found between
our texts and those of Curtin, it must be remembered that variations are bound to
occur. All versions of folk tales recorded by different individuals at different or even
identical times will vary in certain particulars, as is explained hereinafter.

In the preparation of this volume the writer wishes to record his indebtedness to

Mr. George Kelley Staples, Senator Henry W. Hill, Mr. George L. Tucker and Dr. Frank
H. Severance, all members of the Buffalo Historical Society, for the advice and
encouragement given.

Arthur C. Parker.

Buffalo Consistory,

A. A. S. R.

Nov. 26, 1922.

ix

x

xi

CONTENTS

Page

Foreword
ix

Introduction
xvii

I.
FUNDAMENTAL FACTORS IN SENECA FOLK LORE
1

Basic Premises
3

Gods, Major Spirits and Folk-Beasts
5

Nature Beings
10

Magic Beasts and Birds
16

Magical Man-like Beings
18

II.
THEMES AND MATERIALS
23

Stereotyped Objects and Incidents
27

Components of the Cosmological Myth
33

III.
THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH THE LEGENDS WERE TOLD
37

IV.
WHEN THE WORLD WAS NEW
57

1.
How the World Began
59

2.
The Brothers who Climbed into the Sky
74

3.
The Death Panther
78

4.
The Great Bear Constellation
81

5.
The Seven Brothers of the Star Cluster
83

6.
The Seven Star Dancers
86

7.
The Coming of Spring
88

8.
The Coming of Death
92

V.
BOYS WHO DEFIED MAGIC AND OVERCAME IT
95

9.
Origin of Folk Stories
97

10.
The Forbidden Arrow and the Quilt of Men’s Eyes
101

11.
Corn Grinder, the Grandson
108

12.
He-Goes-to-Listen
116

13.
Hatondas, the Listener, Finds a Wife
122

14.
The Origin of the Chestnut Tree
128

xiii

15.
Divided Body Rescues a Girl
133

16.
The Origin of the Buffalo Society
137

17.
The Boy who could not Understand
142

18.
The Boy who Lived with the Bears
147

19.
The Seventh Son
154

20.
The Boy who Overcame all Magic by Laughter
159

VI.
TALES OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE
171

21.
Two Feathers and Turkey Brother
173

22.
Two Feathers and Woodchuck Leggings
184

23.
Turkey Boy Squeezed the Hearts of Sorcerers
200

24.
Corn Rains into Empty Barrels
205

25.
Twentgowa and the Mischief Maker
208

26.
The Horned Serpent Runs Away with a Girl
218

27.
The Great Serpent and the Young Wife
223

28.
Bushy Head the Bewitched Warrior
228

29.
The Flint Chip Thrower
235

VII.
HORROR TALES OF CANNIBALS AND SORCERERS:
239

30.
The Duel of the Dream Test
241

31.
The Vampire Sirens
253

32.
Younger Brother Eludes His Sister-in-Law
262

33.
The Island of the Cannibal
269

34.
The Twelve Brothers and the Wraith
278

35.
The Cannibal and His Nephew
284

36.
A Youth’s Double Abuses His Sister
290

37.
Murdered Double Speaks Through Fire
293

38.
The Vampire Corpse
298

VIII.
TALES OF TALKING ANIMALS:
301

39.
The Man who Exhaled Fire
303

40.
The Turtle’s War Party
305

41.
The Race of the Turtle and the Beaver
309

42.
The Wolf and the Raccoon
312

xiv

43.
The Chipmunk’s Stripes
314

44.
The Rabbit Song
315

45.
The Rabbit Gambler
317

46.
The Raccoon and the Crabs
319

47.
The Crab’s Eyes
321

48.
How the Squirrel Gave a Blanket, etc.
322

49.
The Chickadee’s Song
325

50.
The Bird Woman
326

51.
The Partridge’s Song
328

IX.
TALES OF GIANTS, PYGMIES AND MONSTER BEARS:
329

52.
A Tale of the Djogeon or Pygmies
331

53.
Beyond-the-Rapids and the Stone Giant
334

54.
The Animated Finger
337

55.
The Stone Giant’s Battle
340

56.
The Boy and the False Face
342

57.
How a Boy Outwitted a Nia’´gwahe
344

58.
Nia’´gwahe, the Mammoth Bear
349

59.
The Boy and the Nia’´gwahe
358

X.
TRADITIONS:
363

Seneca Belief in Witchcraft
365

60.
Contents of a Charm Holder’s Bundle
368

61.
Contents of a Witch Bundle
369

62.
Overcoming a Witch
370

63.
The Scorned Witch Woman
372

64.
Catching a Witch Bundle
376

65.
Witch with a Dog Transformation
378

66.
Witch Steals Children’s Hearts
380

67.
Hotciwaho (Hammer in His Belt)
382

68.
How America was Discovered
383

69.
Origin of the Charm Holder’s Medicine Society
386

70.
Origin of the False Face Company
394

xv

71.
Origin of the Long House
403

72.
Dead Timber, a Tradition of Albany
407

XI.
APPENDIX:
409

A.
Origin of the World
411

B.
The Wyandot Creation Myth
417

C.
An Interview with “Esq.” Johnson by Mrs. Asher Wright
421

D.
Emblematic Trees in Iroquoian Mythology
431

E.
The Society that Guards the Mystic Potence
445

ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES:

The Atmosphere in which Legends were Told.—From painting by R. J. Tucker
Front.

Edward Cornplanter—Sosondowa
Op. p. 4

Delos Big Kittle—Sainowa
〃 〃 58

The Seven Dancing Brothers—From painting by R. J. Tucker
〃 〃 82

Mrs. John Big Kittle.—Photo by E. C. Winnegar
〃 〃 172

Hadui Mask of the False Face Company
〃 〃 240

Emily Tallchief.—Photo by E. C. Winnegar
〃 〃 364

DRAWINGS BY JESSE CORNPLANTER:

The Thunder Serpent
7

The Spirit of Dionhekon
11

The Flying Head of the Wind
13

The Spirit of the Frost
14

The Snow Snake Game
39

A Bark Communal House
47

The Bear Dance
151

The Horned Serpent
Op. p. 218

Magic Whistle
255

Figure of Dancing Warrior
273

Restoration of Red Hand
386

ILLUSTRATING EMBLEMATIC TREES:

Pictograph of the Sky-Dome
432

A False Face Leader
435

Symbolism of Legging Strips
437

Sky-Dome Symbols
438

Embroidered Borders
441

Embroidered Pouch: Seneca Work before 1850
Op. p. 442

Forms of the Celestial Tree
443

“Big Tree in Middle of the Earth”
444

Arrangement of the Little Water Lodge
451

xvi

Bibliography
459

Index
461

INTRODUCTION

In presenting this collection of Seneca myths and legends, the collator feels that he

should explain to the general reader that he does not offer a series of tales that can
be judged by present day literary standards. These Indian stories are not published
for the mere entertainment of general readers, though there is much that is
entertaining in them, neither are they designed as children’s fables, or for
supplementary reading in schools, though it is true that some of the material may be
suited for the child mind. It must be understood that if readings from this book are to
be made for children, a wise selection must be made.

This collection is presented as an exposition of the unwritten literature of the

Seneca Indians who still live in their ancestral domain in western New York. It is
primarily a collection of folk-lore and is to be looked at in no other light. The
professional anthropologist and historian will not need to be reminded of this. He will
study these tales for their ethnological significance, and use them in making
comparisons with similar collections from other tribes and stocks. In this manner he
will determine the similarities or differences in theme, in episode and character. He
will trace myth diffusion thereby and be able to chart the elements of the Seneca
story.

There is an amazing lack of authentic material on Iroquois folk-lore, though much

that arrogates this name to 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.

We do not pretend to have made a complete collection of all available material, but

we have given a fairly representative series of myths, legends, fiction and traditions.
One may examine this collection and find representative types of nearly every class of
Seneca folk-lore. Multiplication is scarcely necessary.

The value of this collection is not a literary one but a scientific one. It reveals the

type of tale that held the interest and attention of the Seneca; it reveals certain
mental traits and tendencies; it reveals many customs and incidents in native life, and
finally, it serves as an index of native psychology.

The enlightened mind will not be arrogant in its judgment of this material, but will

see in it the attempts of a race still in mental childhood to give play to imagination and
to explain by symbols what it otherwise could not express.

While there is much value in this collection explaining indirectly the folk-ways and

the folk-thought of the Seneca and their allied kinsmen, the whole life of the people
may not be judged from these legends. Much more must be presented before such a
judgment is formed. Just as we gain some knowledge of present day religions,
governmental methods, social organization and political economy from the general
literature of the day, but only a portion, and this unsystematized, so do we catch only
a glimpse of the life story of the Seneca from their folk-tales.

To complete our knowledge we must have before us works on Seneca history,

ethnology, archæology, religion, government and language. Finally, we must
personally know the descendents of the mighty Seneca nation of old. We must enter
into the life of the people in a sympathetic way, for only then can we get at the soul of
the race.

While all this is true, these folk-tales are not to be despised, for they conserve many

references to themes and things that otherwise would be forgotten. Folk-lore is one of
the most important mines of information that the ethnologist and historian may tap.
We can never understand a race until we understand what it is thinking about, and we
can never know this until we know its literature, written or unwritten. The folk-tale
therefore has a special value and significance, if honestly recorded.

xvii

xviii

xix