What did the Iroquois believe in?
What was the Iroquois Nation religion?
Finding: The Iroquois united all the six tribes by professing faith to The Great Spirit. The Iroquois people's religion would actually power the Nation.
The Iroquois
From: http://www.britannica.com/related-places/294660/related-places-to-Iroquois-Confederacy
- The most advanced of all the Northern American tribes, the Iroquois is often referred too as the Iroquois Nation, as six tribes gathered to form the Iroquois Confederacy.
- The tribes were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and the Tuscarora was the last to join.
Belief
- The Iroquois were untied through their similar ideas of peace and on the afterlife.
- The Great Spirit also had smaller spirits who lived in the real world and not the Spirit Word- Invisible Agents.
- Just like the European beliefs of judgement after life- the Evil-Minded.
- This idea of one major god like being and a painful afterlife actually helped the Iroquois to unite.
Ceremonies
- Religious ceremonies were held for The Great Spirit or depending on the time, an Invisible Agent.
- All religious ceremonies were led by The Keepers of the Faith.
- Keepers of the Faith was actually just a council of people who were in charge of keeping the faith. Iroquois applied to be in the council.
- Ceremonies are passed down from parent to child and have not been changed.
- Stories were told to explain The Great Spirit.
http://are.as.wvu.edu/ruvolo.htm
The Oral Tradition
The Iroquois: The Oral Tradition