The condolence ceremony or condolence council[1] is a part of the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace. It governs succession to political offices after a leader dies.[2][3]

The ceremony is held in the community whose leader has died.[2][4] Attendees are divided into two moieties: the clear-minded and the downcast or bereaved.[2][5] The ceremony progresses through several stages, including a recitation of the Great Law.[6][7] Through the ceremony, new leaders are appointed to replace those who have died.[6] It was typically the first item on the agenda when a Haudenosaunee council met.[8]

Among other things, the ceremony recalls the Great Peacemaker's condolence of Hiawatha and the "transformation" of Tadodaho from a state of confusion and disorder to a state of peace.[9]

Notes

  1. ^ Snyderman, George S. (1954). "The Functions of Wampum". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 98 (6): 478–479. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 3143870.
  2. ^ a b c Hirschfelder, Arlene B.; Molin, Paulette Fairbanks, eds. (2000). "Condolence ceremony". Encyclopedia of Native American religions : an introduction. Facts on File. pp. 53–54. ISBN 0-8160-3949-6. OCLC 40848662.
  3. ^ Hertzberg 1966, p. 105.
  4. ^ Williams 2018, p. 367.
  5. ^ Hertzberg 1966, p. 104.
  6. ^ a b Snow, Dean R. (1994). The Iroquois. Blackwell. p. 65–66. ISBN 1-55786-225-7. OCLC 30812121.
  7. ^ Wiget 2013, pp. 95–96.
  8. ^ Tooker, Elisabeth (1990). "The United States Constitution and the Iroquois League". In Clifton, James A. (ed.). The Invented Indian : cultural fictions and government policies. Transaction Publishers. pp. 124–125n9. ISBN 0-88738-341-6. OCLC 20853601.
  9. ^ Williams 2018, pp. 85, 255, 367.

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