Origin from 1799
The Longhouse Religion, or Gaiwiio (the Good Message), is the traditional religion of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, reformed in the early nineteenth century by the Seneca prophet Handsome Lake and carried forward through the longhouse, the ceremonial house of each Haudenosaunee nation. Its ceremonial cycle follows the agricultural year, from the Midwinter Ceremony through Maple, Planting and Green Corn to the Harvest Ceremony, giving thanks to the Creator through set forms of speech, song and dance. Among its offices are the medicine societies that hold the False Face masks, carved wooden masks used in healing rites; the Confederacy, through the Central Fire at Onondaga, asks that these masks not be reproduced, displayed or sold, and museums have withdrawn images of them on that basis. The atlas records what the masks are and who holds them without reproducing one.
Facts
About This Record
Coverage NoteThis page is shorter than many others in the atlas, and that is a record artifact, not a judgment of how much Haudenosaunee Longhouse Religion matters. Much of what Haudenosaunee Longhouse Religion holds is kept in restricted custody, passed on through oral transmission among initiated or authorised practitioners, or both, in the way its restricted tradition note above already sets out, so there is less that outside, publishable sources can responsibly say. A short entry here does not mean Haudenosaunee Longhouse Religion matters less than a tradition with a long one; it means the atlas can currently say only what it has been permitted to say. If you can point toward documented material the community has authorised for outside use, sign in and open a dispute on this page naming the source; it will be reviewed. 4 Belief
TheologyHenotheistic: a supreme being above served lesser divinities 2 Its own record names a Creator addressed in its ceremonial cycle alongside the spirit beings represented by the medicine societies' masks. Practice
Practice StatusClosed ceremonial knowledge, described but not reproduced 3 Sourced to the subject's own accountThe Longhouse Religion, followed within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, holds its core ceremonies closed to outsiders, and Haudenosaunee communities have publicly and repeatedly asked that their ceremonies not be observed, recorded or reproduced by non-members. Its ethical teaching, associated with the Code of Handsome Lake, is more widely discussed in outside scholarship than the ceremonies themselves. Origins
Origin Period Place of OriginHaudenosaunee (Iroquois) territory in present day New York State and Ontario. 2 FounderReformed by the Seneca prophet Handsome Lake in the early nineteenth century. 2 Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 2 Cultural Restriction
Restricted TraditionNo medicine mask is drawn or shown here. The Haudenosaunee ask that the masks not be reproduced, displayed or sold, and museums have withdrawn images on that basis. The atlas neither copies a mask nor invents a substitute for one. What is recorded is what the masks are, who holds them, and the history of the request. 4 Learn More
A Prophet's Reform and a Request Museums Have Honored
The Longhouse Religion, Gaiwiio or the Good Message, is the traditional religion of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and its medicine societies hold ceremonial knowledge, including the False Face healing masks, that this article does not reproduce or describe in appearance. Its public history is well documented. In the early nineteenth century, after decades of upheaval scholars including Daniel K. Richter have traced through the colonial era, the Seneca prophet Handsome Lake reformed Haudenosaunee religious practice around a code of moral teaching that spread through the Six Nations and remains the basis of Longhouse worship today. The religion's ceremonial year, from the Midwinter Ceremony through Maple, Planting and Green Corn to the Harvest Ceremony, gives thanks to the Creator through set forms of speech, song and dance held at the longhouse of each Haudenosaunee nation.
The False Face masks are a separate matter of public record: the Confederacy, through the Central Fire at Onondaga, has formally asked that they not be reproduced, displayed or sold, and major museums have withdrawn images of them from public view on that basis. That is a request the outside world can be seen honoring, and this article honors it too, recording that the masks exist and what kind of institution holds them without showing one.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Objects and Practices of This Tradition
Cayuga, Younger Brothers bench.
Mohawk, Keepers of the Eastern Door, Elder Brothers bench.
Oneida, Younger Brothers bench.
Onondaga, Firekeepers, seat of the Grand Council.
Orenda is a Haudenosaunee concept, named as such in the paper that introduced the word to comparative religion. Its only prior link was to the Native American Religion umbrella.
Seneca, Keepers of the Western Door, Elder Brothers bench, birth nation of Handsome Lake.
Its governance practice is inseparable from Haudenosaunee spiritual cosmology, framing peace, unity and the good mind as religious obligations.
Tuscarora, sixth nation, adopted 1722 under Oneida sponsorship.
Sources
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