Condolence ceremony

The condolence ceremony or condolence council is a part of the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace. It governs succession to political offices after a leader dies, including the succession of the rotiyanehson. Leaders appointed to in this manner are known as condoled chiefs.

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

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.

Notes

  1. ↑

References

  1. ↑ Woodbury, Hanni (2003). Onondaga-English/English-Onondaga dictionary. Toronto ; Buffalo : University of Toronto Press. p. 1054. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Chafe, Wallace. "English-Seneca Dictionary" (PDF). p. 35. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Rudes, Blair A. (2015). "Condolence Ceremony". Tuscarora–English/English–Tuscarora Dictionary. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 567. ISBN 9781442628809.
  4. ↑ Snyderman, George S. (1954). "The Functions of Wampum". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 98 (6): 478–479. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 3143870.
  5. 1 2 3 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.
  6. ↑ Hertzberg 1966, p. 105.
  7. ↑ Williams 2018, p. 367.
  8. ↑ Hertzberg 1966, p. 104.
  9. 1 2 Snow, Dean R. (1994). The Iroquois. Blackwell. p. 65–66. ISBN 1-55786-225-7. OCLC 30812121.
  10. ↑ Wiget 2013, pp. 95–96.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ Williams 2018, pp. 85, 255, 367.

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Further reading