The Iroquois Ceremonial of Midwinter

Download or read book The Iroquois Ceremonial of Midwinter written by Elisabeth Tooker and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 2000-04-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Midwinter ceremonial—the longest and most complex of the rituals of the Longhouse religion—is examined here in three parts. Following a short cultural history of the Iroquois and a description of the present geographical location of the various longhouses and tribes, Elisabeth Tooker discusses the principles of Iroquois ritualism. The second part of the book is devoted to detailed accounts of the Midwinter ceremonial as it is performed today at six Iroquois longhouses. The third part presents the historical perspective of the ceremony through excerpts from writings of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries, captives, travelers, local residents, and anthropologists.