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THE GREAT WHITE ROOTS OF THE TREE OF PEACE
Roots have spread out from the Tree of Great Peace, one to the north,
one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. These are the Great
White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength.
If any man or any nation outside of the Five Nations shall obey the
laws of the Great Peace (Gayanerekowa) and shall make this known to the statesmen
of the League, they may trace back the roots of the Tree. If their minds
are clean and if they are obedient and promise to obey the wishes of the
Council and of the League, they shall be welcomed to take shelter beneath
the Tree of the Long Leaves.
We place at the top of the Tree of Great Peace an eagle who is able
to see afar. If he sees in the distance any danger threatening, he will at
once warn the people of the League.
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What is the Great Law of Peace?
The Great Law is the founding constitution of the Six Nations Iroquois
Confederacy. It is an oral tradition, codified in a series of wampum belts
now held by the Onondaga Nation. It defines the functions of the Grand Council
and how the native nations can resolve disputes between themselves and maintain
peace.
The Peace Maker travelled among the Iroquois for many years, spreading
his message of peace, unity and the power of the good mind. Oral history
says that it may have taken him forty some years to reach everyone. Born
of a Huron woman who was still a virgin, the Peace Maker, grew rapidly and
one day announced that he had to journey forth to deliver a message from
the Creator. He selected a white stone canoe to carry him to the Iroquois
as proof of the power of his message. But he was met with much skepticism
and the men that he came across refused to listen to him. After Jikohnsaseh
rejuvenated his spirit, he continued and was able to persuade fifty leaders
to receive his message. He gathered them together and recited the passages
of the Great Law of Peace. He assigned duties to each of the leaders. To
honor the role of Jikohnsaseh, he selected women as the Clan Mothers, to
lead the family clans and select the male chiefs.
Women were given the right to the chief's titles and the power to
remove dissident chiefs. Jikohnsaseh, by hearing of her actions, taught me
to respect women and honor their role. Women are the connection to the earth
and have the responsibility for the future of the nation. Men will want to
fight. Women know the true price of war and must encourage the chiefs to
seek a peaceful resolution.
The Peace Maker then established clans among the Haudenosaunee as
a way to unite the Five Nations and as a form of social order. It is said
that after he had assembled the leaders together around the Tree of Peace,
he bestowed Chieftainship and clan affiliation on the fifty men who stood
in a circle. He would assign clans based upon the order of animals that he
saw that day. Some say that he sent each chief out into the woods and would
report back on the first animal that they encountered, and that animal became
their clan. A clan is a group of families that share a common female ancestry.
Members of one clan are considered relatives and intermarriage in the same
clan is forbidden. Clans are named after animals that have special assistance
to the people - water (turtle, eel, beaver); land (bear, deer, wolf), sky
(snipe, heron, hawk) Clanship identity is very important to the
Haudenosaunee.
The Great Law is like a Great White Mat of Law upon which the Chiefs
sit as they deliberate on the affairs of the nations. Burning before the
assembled chiefs is the council fire, called "the great light," that never
dies as long as the people believe in the Great Law. The kindling the council
fire, considered sacred in that it purifies the words of those assembled,
obligates the Chiefs to speak the truth. Also holding a council only in the
daylight is another cultural mechanism to assure clear thinking. Meeting
held at night are considered inappropriate and meant for foster
dissent.
The Chiefs were to use the power of their mind to reason, to figure
out what was best for the welfare of the people. The three main principles
of the Great Law of Peace are: Righteousness (Good News), Civil Authority
(Power), and also Mind (Reason) and the welfare work." We are to view the
chiefs like a circle of standing trees, supporting the Tree of Peace that
grows in the middle. They help to keep it from falling over. With each Chief
was to be a helper, to keep the Chief standing tall.
Take the word Gaihwiyo, which has been translated in this document
to mean righteousness. It's meaning is more like a wholesome doctrine that
is good to be heard, because it teaches ethical behavior and communal values.
But it also denotes the idea of justice, of being right because of the customs,
manners, beliefs and ritualistic summations of the past experiences of the
people. It is putting words into action.
The hardest part of the Great Law is to understand the meaning of
the concept of peace. Peace is not simply the absence of war. In the Iroquoian
mind, peace is a state of mind. Power, which can easily be thought of as
military strength, but more appropriately, it means that one heart, one mind,
one head, and one body allowed the Confederacy to remain united in the face
of many enemies. Certainly, historians have painted a picture of the Iroquois
as cruel expansionists. Iroquois fighting power was legendary. So the question
arises: how can the Great Law promote peace if one of the conditions is to
have power over weaker nations? Power can be the united strength of the
Confederacy, standing together, negotiating together. Unity of action allowed
the Iroquois to enjoy great success in dealing with the warring colonial
powers.
But there is also a different kind of power in the Iroquoian universe.
Each individual has a base spiritual power. As you go through life as
Haudenosaunee, experience different things, learn more, comprehend more and
tap into other forms of spiritual power, your own spirit grows as well. The
old timers called it orenda. Everyone is thought to have it to some degree.
It effects how we do things. Good minds have strong orenda. So the ultimate
power of the Great Law rests in how well the individual person develops their
sense of self, but develops that sense in regard to the well-being of the
others, in the clan, in the village, in the nation and in the Confederacy
of the Six Nations.
There have been several written versions of the Great Law, called
Gawyehnehshehgowa. Today, no one version is preferred over the other and
many traditional leaders feel that none of the written versions have all
of the known oral history included. In examining the written versions the
following common elements of the story of the Great Law of Peace become
evident:
1) The Birth and Growth of the Peacemaker
A boy is born to the virgin daughter of a Huron woman. Ashamed and
depressed, the grandmother tries to destroy the baby three times, until she
is told in a dream that the boy is destined to bring forth a good message
from the Creator. He grows rapidly and is honest, generous and
peaceful.
2) The Journey to the Mohawks
The Peacemaker leaves in a white stone canoe for the land of the
Mohawks where he finds war, killing, destruction and cannibalism. He announces
that he is there to deliver a message from the Creator that war must
cease.
3) Jikonsahseh Accepts the Message
The Mother of Nations takes in the weary Peacemaker and feeds him.
He explains the principles of Peace, Righteousness and Power and the concept
of the longhouse as a metaphor for the Great Law. She accepts the message,
and in doing so, women are given priority in the League as Clan
Mothers.
4) Ayenwatha Converts to Peace
Looking into the smoke hole of a house, the Peacemaker sees a man
carrying a human body to the cooking fire. About to eat the flesh, the man
appears into the pot but sees the face of the Peacemaker and is magically
transformed. The Peacemaker teaches him to bury the body and eat deer meat
instead. The antlers of the deer will be symbols of authority. The former
cannibal, Ayenwatha, accepts the message of peace.
5) Peacemaker proves himself to the Mohawks
To prove his power, the Peacemaker sat in a tall tree that was chopped
down into a deep ravine but emerged unharmed. The Mohawk chiefs accept the
message.
6) The Confrontation with Tododaho
An evil and deadly wizard of the Onondaga with a twisted body and
snakes for hair, blocked the path to peace. Tododaho made it so that the
chiefs could not gather, making the waterways tip over their
canoes.
7) Ayenwatha'''s Daughters are killed
A witch, Osinoh, transformed into an owl and killed the daughters,
casting Ayenwatha into a deep depression.
8) Ayenwatha Leaves Onondaga
He left his home at Onondaga and became lost in his sorrow. He "split
the sky" heading southward.
9) Ayenwatha invents wampum
Using either twigs, bird quills or shell beads, Ayenwatha makes strings
of wampum that he hangs across a suspended wooden pole in an attempt to sooth
himself.
10) Ayenwatha institutes protocols
He visits a Mohawk community and is given a honored seat as a chief.
He teaches them to make a signal fire at the edge of the clearing to announce
the arrival of a peaceful visitor, how to make wampum, and how to use the
wampum strings to deliver messages. He leaves to continue his search for
consolation.
11) The Peacemaker Condoles Ayenwatha
Using 8 of the 13 wampum strings made by Ayenwatha, the Peacemaker
removes the pain and suffering of Ayenwatha and restores his mind so they
can bring forth the message of the Creator. The Peacemaker decides that wampum
will be used to carry that message.
12) Emissaries seek out Tododaho
The Peacemaker sends transformed animals - crows, bears, deer - to
locate Tododaho.
13) The Cayuga, Oneida and Seneca Join
The two messengers visit the various nations as well as several visits
with Tododaho. The other nations accepts the message. Tododaho still
refuses.
14) Hai Hai - The Peace Hymn
With the combined power of all the assembled leaders who had accepted
the message, the two messengers lead a procession, singing a magic song to
soothe Tododaho. The song thanked the League, the Great Peace, the Honored
Ancestors, the warriors, the women, and the families. Tododaho shouted his
objection as the procession approached his encampment.
15) Tododaho is Transformed
With all of the other chiefs assembled, the Peacemaker promised to
give Tododaho a central position in the Confederacy and to make Onondaga
the capital for the Grand Council. He finally accepted the message and the
messengers combed the snakes from his hair, straightened his body and dressed
him properly. Tododaho became a man of peace.
16) The Circle of Chiefs
The messengers established the chieftainships as the protectors of
peace. They were given instruction about what it takes to be a good chief.
They announced the roll call of chiefs by nation and clan. The protocols
for selecting chiefs, operating the council, and the role of the Clan Mothers
was described. Warnings of the future were given. Deer antlers were placed
on the heads of the chiefs, a wing fan to sweep dirt away from the council
fire, and a pole to flick creatures away from the fire. The League was
completed.
17) The Cultural Metaphors
The Peacemaker established the symbols of the Great Law. The longhouse
has five fireplaces but one family. Wampum will record the messages. The
Tree of Peace was planted in the center of the circle of chiefs. An eagle
was placed on top to watch out for enemies. The White Roots of Peace stretched
out across the land. The weapons of war were buried under the Tree. A meal
of beaver tail was shared. Five arrows were bound together. The council fire
was kindled and the smoke pierced the sky. These are all symbols of power
that comes from the unity of peace.
18) The Protection of the League
Laws for adoption, emigration and rights of individuals and nations
were established to allow those who seek peace to join. Warring nations would
be given three warning they would be subdued.
19) The Condolence Ceremony
The same procedure used on Ayenwatha will be used when a chief dies
in order to console the mourners and reaffirm life. This Requickening Address
will maintain the stability and mental health of the Chiefs and the
Confederacy.
20) The Peacemaker Departs
The message delivered and the Confederacy completed, the Peacemaker
leaves but announces that in a future time of strife he will return. He also
asked that his name not be used except in special cases.
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