Argument VIII.
Their Festivals, Fasts, and Religious Rites, have also a great resemblance to those of the Hebrews. It will be necessary here to take a short view of the principal Jewish feasts, &c. They kept every year, a sacred feast called the Passover, in memory of their deliverance from Egyptian {94} bondage. Seven days were appointed, Lev. xxiii.—To these they added an eighth, through a religious principle, as preparatory, to clear their houses of all leaven, and to fix their minds before they entered on that religious duty. The name of this festival is derived from a word which signifies to “pass over;” because, when the destroying angel flew through the Egyptian houses, and killed their first-born, he passed over those of the Israelites, the tops of whose doors were stained with the blood of the lamb, which they were ordered to kill. This solemnity was instituted with the strongest injunctions, to let their children know the cause of that observance, and to mark that night through all their generations.
Three days before this sacred festival, they chose a lamb, without spot or blemish, and killed it on the evening of the fourteenth day of Abib, which was the first moon of the ecclesiastical, and the seventh of the civil year; and they ate it with bitter herbs, without breaking any of the bones of it, thus prefiguring the death of Messiah. This was the reason that this was the chief of the days of unleavened bread, and they were strictly forbidden all manner of work on that day; besides, no uncircumcised, or unclean persons ate of the paschal lamb. Those of the people, whom diseases or long journies prevented from observing the passover on that day, were obliged to keep it in the next moon.
On the fifteenth day, which was the second of the passover, they offered up to God a sheaf of the new barley-harvest, because it was the earliest grain. The priest carried it into the temple, and having cleaned and parched it, he grinded or pounded it into flower, dipt it in oil, and then waved it before the Lord, throwing some into the fire. The Jews were forbidden to eat any of their new harvest, till they had offered up a sheaf, the grain of which filled an omer, a small measure of about five pints. All was impure and unholy till this oblation was made, but afterwards it became hallowed, and every one was at liberty to reap and get in his harvest.
On the tenth day of the moon Ethanim, the first day of the civil year, they celebrated the great fast, or feast of expiation, afflicted their souls, and ate nothing the whole day. The high-priest offered several sacrifices, and having carried the blood of the victims into the temple, he sprinkled it upon the altar of incense, and the veil that was before the holiest; and went {95} into that most sacred place, where the divine Shekinah resided, carrying a censer smoking in his hand with incense, which hindered him from having a clear sight of the ark. But he was not allowed to enter that holy place, only once a year, on this great day of expiation, to offer the general sacrifice both for the sins of the people and of himself. Nor did he ever mention the divine four-lettered name, YO He WaH, except on this great day, when he blessed the people.
Because the Israelites lived in tabernacles, or booths, while they were in the wilderness; as a memorial therefore of the divine bounty to them, they were commanded to keep the feast of tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, which they called Rosh Hosanah, or Hoshianah, it lasted eight days; during which time, they lived in arbours, (covered with green boughs of trees) unless when they went to worship at the temple, or sung Hoshaniyo around the altar. When they were on this religious duty, they were obliged each to carry in their hands a bundle of the branches of willows, palm-trees, myrtles, and others of different sorts, laden with fruit, and tied together with ribbons; and thus rejoice together with the appointed singers, and vocal and instrumental music, in the divine presence before the altar. On the eighth day of the feast, one of the priests brought some water in a golden vessel, from the pool of Siloam, mixed it with wine, and poured it on the morning-sacrifice, and the first fruits of their latter crops which were then presented, as an emblem of the divine graces that should flow to them, when Shilo came, who was to be their anointed king, prophet, and high-priest—The people in the mean time singing out of Isaiah “with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
Let us now turn to the copper colour American Hebrews.—While their sanctified new fruits are dressing, a religious attendant is ordered to call six of their old beloved women to come to the temple, and dance the beloved dance with joyful hearts, according to the old beloved speech. They cheerfully obey, and enter the supposed holy ground in solemn procession, each carrying in her hand a bundle of small branches of various green trees; and they join the same number of old magi, or priests, who carry a cane in one hand adorned with white feathers, having likewise green boughs in their other hand, which they pulled from their holy arbour, and carefully place there, encircling it with several rounds. Those beloved men have their heads {96} dressed with white plumes; but the women are decked in their finest, and anointed with bear’s-grease, having small tortoise-shells, and white pebbles, fastened to a piece of white-drest deer-skin, which is tied to each of their legs.
The eldest of the priests leads the sacred dance, a-head of the innermost row, which of course is next to the holy fire.[[37]] He begins the dance round the supposed holy fire, by invoking Yah, after their usual manner, on a bass key, and with a short accent; then he sings YO YO, which is repeated by the rest of the religious procession; and he continues his sacred invocations and praises, repeating the divine word, or notes, till they return to the same point of the circular course, where they began: then He He in like manner, and Wah Wah. While dancing they never fail to repeat those notes; and frequently the holy train strike up Halelu, Halelu; then Haleluiah, Halelu-Yah, and Aleluiah and Alelu-Yah, “Irradiation to the divine essence,” with great earnestness and fervor, till they encircle the altar, while each strikes the ground with right and left feet alternately, very quick, but well-timed. Then the awful drums join the sacred choir, which incite the old female singers to chant forth their pious notes, and grateful praises before the divine essence, and to redouble their former quick joyful steps, in imitation of the leader of the sacred dance, and the religious men a-head of them. What with the manly strong notes of the one, and the shrill voices of the other, in concert with the bead-shells, and the two sounding, drum-like earthen vessels, with the voices of the musicians who beat them, the reputed holy ground echoes with the praises of YO He Wah. Their singing and dancing in three circles around their sacred fire, appears to have a reference to a like religious custom of the Hebrews. And may we not reasonably suppose, that they formerly understood the psalms, or divine hymns? at least those that begin with Halelu-Yah; otherwise, how came all the inhabitants of the extensive regions of North and South-America, to have, and retain those very expressive Hebrew words? or how repeat them so distinctly, and apply them after the manner of the Hebrews, in their religious acclamations? The like cannot be found in any other countries.
In like manner, they sing on other religious occasions, and at their feasts of love, Ale-Yo Ale-Yo; which is אל, the divine name, by his attribute of omnipotence; and י, alluding to יהוה. They sing likewise Hewah Hewah, which is הוה “the immortal soul;” drawn from the divine essential name, {97} as deriving its rational faculties from Yohewah. Those words that they sing in their religious dances, they never repeat at any other time; which seems to have greatly occasioned the loss of the meaning of their divine hymns; for I believe they are now so corrupt, as not to understand either the spiritual or literal meaning of what they sing, any further than by allusion.
In their circuiting dances, they frequently sing on a bass key, Alué Alué, Aluhé, Aluhé, and Aluwàh Aluwàh, which is the Hebrew אלוה. They likewise sing Shilù-Yó, Shilù-Yó, Shilù-Hé Shilù-Hé, Shilù-Wàh, Shilù-Wàh, and Shilù-Hàh Shilù-Hàh. They transpose them also several ways, but with the very same notes. The three terminations make up in their order the four-lettered divine name. Hah is a note of gladness—the word preceding it, Shilù, seems to express the predicted human and divine שילוה, Shiloh, who was to be the purifier, and peace-maker.
They continue their grateful divine hymns for the space of fifteen minutes, when the dance breaks up. As they degenerate, they lengthen their dances, and shorten the time of their fasts and purifications; insomuch, that they have so exceedingly corrupted their primitive rites and customs, within the space of the last thirty years, that, at the same rate of declension, there will not be long a possibility of tracing their origin, but by their dialects, and war-customs.
At the end of this notable religious dance, the old beloved, or holy women[[38]] return home to hasten the feast of the new sanctified fruits. In the mean while, every one at the temple drinks very plentifully of the Cusseena and other bitter liquids, to cleanse their sinful bodies; after which, they go to some convenient deep water, and there, according to the ceremonial law of the Hebrews, they wash away their sins with water. Thus sanctified, they return with joyful hearts in solemn procession, singing their notes of praise, till they enter into the holy ground to eat of the new delicious fruits of wild Canaan[[XXIII]]. The women now with the utmost cheerfulness, bring to {98} the outside of the sacred square, a plentiful variety of all those good things, with which the divine fire has blessed them in the new year; and the religious attendants lay it before them, according to their stated order and reputed merit. Every seat is served in a gradual succession, from the white and red imperial long broad seats, and the whole square is soon covered: frequently they have a change of courses of fifty or sixty different sorts, and thus they continue to regale themselves, till the end of the festival; for they reckon they are now to feast themselves with joy and gladness, as the divine fire is appeased for past crimes, and has propitiously sanctified their weighty harvest. They all behave so modestly, and are possessed of such an extraordinary constancy and equanimity, in the pursuit of their religious mysteries, that they do not shew the least outward emotion of pleasure, at the first sight of the sanctified new fruits; nor the least uneasiness to be tasting those tempting delicious fat things of Canaan. If one of them acted in a contrary manner, they would say to him, Che-Hakset Kaneha, “You resemble such as were beat in Canaan.” This unconcern, doubtless proceeded originally from a virtuous principle; but now, it may be the mere effect of habit: for, jealousy and revenge excepted, they seem to be divested of every mental passion, and entirely incapable of any lasting affection.
[XXIII]. They are so strictly prohibited from eating salt, or flesh-meat, till the fourth day, that during the interval, the very touch of either is accounted a great pollution: after that period, they are deemed lawful to be eaten. All the hunters, and able-bodied men, kill and barbecue wild game in the woods, at least ten days before this great festival, and religiously keep it for that sacred use.
I shall give an instance of this.—If the husband has been a year absent on a visit to another nation, and should by chance overtake his wife near home, with one of his children skipping along side of her; instead of those sudden and strong emotions of joy that naturally arise in two generous breasts at such an unexpected meeting, the self-interested pair go along as utter strangers, without seeming to take the least notice of one another, till a considerable time after they get home.
The Indians formerly observed the grand festival[[39]] of the annual expiation of sin, at the beginning of the first new moon, in which their corn became full-eared; but for many years past they are regulated by the season of their harvest. And on that head, they shew more religious patience than the Hebrews formerly did; who, instead of waiting till their grain was ripe, forced their barley, which ripened before any other sort they planted. And they are perhaps as skilful in observing the revolutions of the moon, as ever the Israelites were, at least till the end of the first temple; for during that period, instead of measuring time by astronomical calculations, they {99} knew it only by the phases of the moon. In like manner, the supposed red Hebrews of the American desarts, annually observed their festivals, and Neetak Yáh-àh, “days of afflicting themselves before the Deity,” at a prefixed time of a certain moon. To this day, a war-leader, who, by the number of his martial exploits is entitled to a drum, always sanctifies himself, and his out-standing company, at the end of the old moon, so as to go off at the appearance of the new one by day-light; whereas, he who has not sufficiently distinguished himself, must set out in the night.
As the first of the Neetak Hoollo, precedes a long strict fast of two nights and a day, they gormandize such a prodigious quantity of strong food, as to enable them to keep inviolate the succeeding fast, the sabbath of sabbaths, the Neetak Yah-ah: the feast lasts only from morning till sun-set. Being great lovers of the ripened fruits, and only tantalized as yet, with a near view of them; and having lived at this season, but meanly on the wild products of nature—such a fast as this may be truly said to afflict their souls, and to prove a sufficient trial of their religious principles. During the festival, some of their people are closely employed in putting their temple in proper order for the annual expiation; and others are painting the white cabbin, and the supposed holiest, with white clay; for it is a sacred, peaceable place, and white is its emblem. Some, at the same time are likewise painting the war-cabbin with red clay, or their emblematical red root, as occasion requires; while others of an inferior order, are covering all the seats of the beloved square with new mattresses, made out of the fine splinters of long canes, tied together with flags. In the mean time, several of them are busy in sweeping the temple, clearing it of every supposed polluting thing, and carrying out the ashes from the hearth which perhaps had not been cleaned six times since the last year’s general offering. Several towns join together to make the annual sacrifice; and, if the whole nation lies in a narrow compass, they make but one annual offering: by which means, either through a sensual or religious principle, they strike off the work with joyful hearts. Every thing being thus prepared, the Archi-magus orders some of his religious attendants to dig up the old hearth, or altar, and to sweep out the remains that by chance might either be left, or drop down. Then he puts a few roots of the button-snake-root, with some green leaves of an uncommon small sort of tobacco, and a little of the new fruits, at the bottom of the fire-place, which he {100} orders to be covered up with white marley clay, and wetted over with clean water[[XXIV]].
[XXIV]. Under the palladium of Troy, were placed things of the like nature, as a preservative from evil; but the above practice seems to be pretty much tempered with the Mosaic institution; for God commanded them to make an altar of earth, to sacrifice thereon. Exod. xx. 24.
Immediately, the magi order them to make a thick arbour over the altar, with green branches of the various young trees, which the warriors had designedly chosen, and laid down on the outside of the supposed holy ground: the women, in the interim are busy at home in cleaning out their houses, renewing the old hearths, and cleansing all their culinary vessels, that they may be fit to receive the pretended holy fire, and the sanctified new fruits, according to the purity of the law; lest by a contrary conduct, they should incur damage in life, health, future crops, &c. It is fresh in the memory of the old traders, that formerly none of these numerous nations of Indians would eat, or even handle any part of the new harvest, till some of it had been offered up at the yearly festival by the Archi-magus, or those of his appointment, at their plantations, though the light harvest of the past year had forced them to give their women and children of the ripening fruits, to sustain life. Notwithstanding they are visibly degenerating, both in this, and every other religious observance, except what concerns war; yet their magi and old warriors live contentedly on such harsh food as nature affords them in the woods, rather than transgress that divine precept given to their forefathers.
Having every thing in order for the sacred solemnity, the religious waiters carry off the remains of the feast, and lay them on the outside of the square; others of an inferior order carefully sweep out the smallest crumbs, for fear of polluting the first-fruit offering; and before sun-set, the temple must be cleared, even of every kind of vessel or utensil, that had contained, or been used about any food in that expiring year. The women carry all off, but none of that sex, except half a dozen of old beloved women, are allowed in that interval to tread on the holy ground, till the fourth day. Now, one of the waiters proclaims with a loud voice, for all the warriors and beloved men, whom the purity of the law admits, to come and enter the beloved square, and observe the fast; he likewise exhorts all {101} the women and children, and those who have not initiated themselves in war, to keep apart from them, according to law. Should any of them prove disobedient, the young ones would be dry-scratched, and the others stript of every thing they had on them. They observe the same strict law of purity, in their method of sanctifying themselves for war, in order to obtain the divine protection, assistance, and success. But a few weeks since, when a large company of these warlike savages were on the point of setting off to commence war against the Muskohge, some of the wags decoyed a heedless trader into their holy ground, and they stript him, so as to oblige him to redeem his clothes with vermilion. And, on account of the like trespass, they detained two Indian children two nights and a day, till their obstinate parents paid the like ransom.
Their great beloved man, or Archi-magus, now places four centinels, one at each corner of the holy square, to keep out every living creature as impure, except the religious order, and the warriors who are not known to have violated the law of the first-fruit-offering, and that of marriage, since the last year’s expiation. Those centinels are regularly relieved, and firm to their sacred trust; if they discerned a dog or cat on the out-limits of the holy square, before the first-fruit-offering was made, they would kill it with their arrows on the spot.
They observe the fast till the rising of the second sun; and be they ever so hungry in that sacred interval, the healthy warriors deem the duty so awful, and the violation so inexpressibly vicious, that no temptation would induce them to violate it; for, like the Hebrews, they fancy temporal evils are the necessary effect of their immoral conduct, and they would for ever ridicule and reproach the criminal for every bad occurrence that befel him in the new year, as the sinful author of his evils; and would sooner shoot themselves, than suffer such long-continued sharp disgrace. The religious attendants boil a sufficient quantity of button-snake-root, highly imbittered, and give it round pretty warm, in order to vomit and purge their sinful bodies. Thus they continue to mortify and purify themselves, till the end of the fast. When we consider their earnest invocations of the divine essence, in this solemnity—their great knowledge of specific virtues in simples—that they never apply the aforesaid root, only on religious occasions—that they frequently drink it to such excess as to impair their health, {102} and sometimes so as to poison themselves by its acrid quality—and take into the account, its well-known medicinal property of curing the bite of the most dangerous sort of the serpentine generation; must not one think, that the Aboriginal Americans chose it, as a strong emblem of the certain cure of the bite of the old serpent in Eden.
That the women and children, and those worthless fellows who have not hazarded their lives in defence of their holy places and holy things, and for the beloved people, may not be entirely godless, one of the old beloved men lays down a large quantity of the small-leafed green tobacco, on the outside of a corner of the sacred square; and an old beloved woman, carries it off, and distributes it to the sinners without, in large pieces, which they chew heartily, and swallow, in order to afflict their souls. She commends those who perform the duty with cheerfulness, and chides those who seem to do it unwillingly, by their wry faces on account of the bitterness of the supposed sanctifying herb. She distributes it in such quantities, as she thinks are equal to their capacity of sinning, giving to the reputed, worthless old He-hen-pickers, the proportion only of a child, because she thinks such spiritless pictures of men cannot sin with married women; as all the females love only the virtuous manly warrior, who has often successfully accompanied the beloved ark.
In the time of this general fast, the women, children, and men of weak constitutions, are allowed to eat, as soon as they are certain the sun has begun to decline from his meridian altitude; but not before that period. Their indulgence to the sick and weak, seems to be derived from divine precept, which forbad the offering of sacrifice at the cost of mercy; and the snake-root joined with their sanctifying bitter green tobacco, seem to be as strong expressive emblems as they could have possibly chosen, according to their situation in life, to represent the sacred institution of eating the paschal lamb, with bitter herbs; and to shew, that though the old serpent bit us in Eden, yet there is a branch from the root of Jesse, to be hoped for by those who deny themselves their present sweet taste, which will be a sufficient purifier, and effect the cure.
The whole time of this fast may with truth be called a fast, and to the Archi-magus, to all the magi, and pretended prophets, in particular; for, by {103} ancient custom, the former is obliged to eat of the sanctifying small-leafed tobacco, and drink the snake-root, in a separate hut for the space of three days and nights without any other subsistence, before the solemnity begins; besides his full portion along with the rest of the religious order, and the old war-chieftains, till the end of the general fast, which he pretends to observe with the strictest religion. After the first-fruits are sanctified, he lives most abstemiously till the end of the annual expiation, only sucking water-melons now and then to quench thirst, and support life, spitting out the more substantial part.
By the Levitical law, the priests were obliged to observe a stricter sanctity of life than the laity; all the time they were performing the sacerdotal offices, both women and wine were strictly forbidden to them. Thus the Indian religious are retentive of their sacred mysteries to death, and the Archi-magus is visibly thin and meagre at the end of the solemnity. That rigid self-denial, seems to have been designed to initiate the Levite, and give the rest an example of leading an innocent simple life, that thereby they might be able to subdue their unruly passions; and that by mortifying and purifying himself so excessively, the sacrifice by passing through his pure hands, may be accepted, and the holy Spirit of fire atoned, according to the divine law. The superannuated religious are also emulous in the highest degree, of excelling one another in their long fasting; for they firmly believe, that such an annual self-denying method is so highly virtuous, when joined to an obedience of the rest of their laws, as to be the infallible means of averting evil, and producing good things, through the new year. They declare that a steady virtue, through the divine co-operating favour, will infallibly insure them a lasting round of happiness.
At the end of this solemn fast, the women by the voice of a crier, bring to the outside of the holy square, a plentiful variety of the old year’s food newly drest, which they lay down, and immediately return home; for every one of them know their several duties, with regard both to time and place. The centinels report the affair, and soon afterward the waiters by order go, and reaching their hands over the holy ground, they bring in the provisions, and set them down before the famished multitude. Though most of the people may have seen them, they reckon it vicious and mean to shew a gladness for the end of their religious duties; and shameful {104} to hasten the holy attendants, as they are all capable of their sacred offices. They are as strict observers of all their set forms, as the Israelites were of those they had from divine appointment.
Before noon, the temple is so cleared of every thing the women brought to the square, that the festival after that period, resembles a magical entertainment that had no reality in it, consisting only in a delusion of the senses. The women then carry the vessels from the temple to the water, and wash them clean for fear of pollution. As soon as the sun is visibly declining from his meridian, this third day of the fast, the Archi-magus orders a religious attendant to cry aloud to the crowded town, that the holy fire is to be brought out for the sacred altar—commanding every one of them to stay within their own houses, as becomes the beloved people, without doing the least bad thing—and to be sure to extinguish, and throw away every spark of the old fire; otherwise, the divine fire will bite them severely with bad diseases, sickness, and a great many other evils, which he sententiously enumerates, and finishes his monitory caution, by laying life and death before them.
Now every thing is hushed.—Nothing but silence all around: the Archi-magus, and his beloved waiter, rising up with a reverend carriage, steady countenance, and composed behaviour, go into the beloved place, or holiest, to bring them out the beloved fire. The former takes a piece of dry poplar, willow, or white oak, and having cut a hole, so as not to reach through it, he then sharpens another piece, and placing that with the hole between his knees, he drills it briskly for several minutes, till it begins to smoke—or, by rubbing two pieces together, for about a quarter of an hour, by friction he collects the hidden fire; which all of them reckon to immediately issue from the holy Spirit of fire. The Muskohge call the fire their grandfather—and the supreme Father of mankind, Esakàta-Emishe, “the breath master,” as it is commonly explained. When the fire appears, the beloved waiter cherishes it with fine chips, or shaved splinters of pitch-pine, which had been deposited in the holiest; then he takes the unsullied wing of a swan, fans it gently, and cherishes it to a flame. On this, the Archi-magus brings it out in an old earthen vessel, whereon he had placed it, and lays it on the sacred altar, which is under an arbour, thick-weaved a-top with green boughs. It is observable, that when the Levites laid wood on the sacred fire, it was unlawful {105} for them either to blow it with bellows, or their breath. The Magians, or followers of Zoroaster, poured oil on their supposed holy fire, and left it to the open air to kindle it into flame. Is not this religious ceremony of these desolate Indians a strong imitation, or near resemblance of the Jewish customs?
Their hearts are enlivened with joy at the appearance of the reputed holy fire, as the divine fire is supposed to atone for all their past crimes, except murder: and the beloved waiter shews his pleasure, by his cheerful industry in feeding it with dry fresh wood; for they put no rotten wood on it, any more than the Levites would on their sacred altars. Although the people without, may well know what is transacting within, yet, by order, a crier informs them of the good tidings, and orders an old beloved woman to pull a basket-full of the new-ripened fruits, and bring them to the beloved square. As she before had been appointed, and religiously prepared for that solemn occasion, she readily obeys, and soon lays it down with a cheerful heart, at the out-corner of the beloved square. By ancient custom, she may either return home, or stand there, till the expiation of sin hath been made, which is thus performed—The Archi-magus, or fire-maker, rises from his white seat and walks northward three times round the holy fire, with a slow pace, and in a very sedate and grave manner, stopping now and then, and speaking certain old ceremonial words with a low voice and a rapidity of expression, which none understand but a few of the old beloved men, who equally secrete their religious mysteries, that they may not be prophaned. He then takes a little of each sort of the new harvest, which the old woman had brought to the extremity of the supposed holy ground, rubs some bear’s oil over it, and offers it up together with some flesh, to the bountiful holy Spirit of fire, as a first-fruit offering, and an annual oblation for sin. He likewise consecrates the button-snake-root, and the cusseena, by pouring a little of those two strong decoctions into the pretended holy fire. He then purifies the red and white seats with those bitter liquids, and sits down. Now, every one of the outlaws who had been catched a tripping, may safely creep out of their lurking holes, anoint themselves, and dress in their finest, to pay their grateful thanks at an awful distance, to the forgiving divine fire. A religious waiter is soon ordered to call to the women around, to come for the sacred fire: they gladly obey.—When they come to the outside of the quadrangular holy ground, the Archi-magus addresses the warriors, and gives {106} them all the particular positive injunctions, and negative precepts they yet retain of the ancient law, relating to their own manly station. Then he changes his note, and uses a much sharper language to the women, as suspecting their former virtue. He first tells them very earnestly, that if there are any of them who have not extinguished the old evil fire, or have contracted any impurity, they must forthwith depart, lest the divine fire should spoil both them and the people; he charges them to be sure not to give the children a bad example of eating any unsanctified, or impure food, otherwise they will get full of worms, and be devoured by famine and diseases, and bring many other dangerous evils both upon themselves, and all the beloved, or holy people. This seems to allude to the theocratic government of the Jews, when such daring criminals were afflicted with immediate and visible divine punishment.
In his female lecture, he is sharp and prolix: he urges them with much earnestness to an honest observance of the marriage-law, which may be readily excused, on account of the prevalent passion of self-interest. Our own Christian orators do not exert themselves with half the eloquence or eagerness, as when that is at stake which they most value. And the old wary savage has sense enough to know, that the Indian female virtue is very brittle, not being guarded so much by inward principle, as the fear of shame, and of incurring severe punishment; but if every bush of every thicket was an hundred-eyed Argos, it would not be a sufficient guard over a wanton heart. So that it is natural they should speak much on this part of the subject, as they think they have much at stake. After that, he addresses himself to the whole body of the people, and tells them, in rapid bold language, with great energy, and expressive gestures of body, to look at the holy fire, which again has introduced all those shameful adulterous criminals into social privileges; he bids them not to be guilty of the like for time to come, but be sure to remember well, and strongly shake hands with the old beloved straight speech, otherwise the divine fire, which sees, hears, and knows them, will spoil them exceedingly, if at any time they relapse, and commit that detestable crime. Then he numerates all the supposed lesser crimes, and moves the audience by the great motives of the hope of temporal good, and the fear of temporal evil, assuring them, that upon their careful observance of the ancient law, the holy fire will enable their prophets, the rain-makers, to procure them plentiful harvests, and give their war-leaders victory over their enemies—and by the {107} communicative power of their holy things, health and prosperity are certain: but on failure, they are to expect a great many extraordinary calamities, such as hunger, uncommon diseases, a subjection to witchcraft, and captivity and death by the hands of the hateful enemy in the woods, where the wild fowls will eat their flesh, and beasts of prey destroy the remaining bones, so as they will not be gathered to their forefathers—because their ark abroad, and beloved things at home, would lose their virtual power of averting evil. He concludes, by advising them to a strict observance of their old rites and customs, and then every thing shall go well with them. He soon orders some of the religious attendants to take a sufficient quantity of the supposed holy fire, and lay it down on the outside of the holy ground, for all the houses of the various associated towns, which sometimes lie several miles apart. The women, hating sharp and grave lessons, speedily take it up, gladly carry it home, and lay it down on their unpolluted hearths, with the prospect of future joy and peace.
While the women are running about, and getting ready to dress the sanctified new-fruits on the sacred fire, the Archi-magus sends a religious attendant to pull some cusseena, or yopon, belonging to the temple; and having parched it brown on the altar, he boils it with clear running water in a large earthen pot, about half full; it has such a strong body, as to froth above the top by pouring it up and down with their consecrated vessels, which are kept only for that use: of this they drink now and then, till the end of the festival, and on every other religious occasion from year to year. Some of the old beloved men, through a religious emulation in sanctifying themselves, often drink this, and other bitter decoctions[decoctions], to such excess, as to purge themselves very severely—when they drink it, they always invoke YO He Wah.
If any of the warriors are confined at home by sickness, or wounds, and are either deemed incapable or unfit to come to the annual expiation, they are allowed one of the old consecrated conch-shells-full of their sanctifying bitter cusseena, by their magi. The traders hear them often dispute for it, as their proper due, by ancient custom: and they often repeat their old religious ceremonies to one another, especially that part which they imagine most affects their present welfare; the aged are sent to instruct the young ones in these particulars. The above allowance, seems to be derived from the divine precept of mercy, in allowing a second passover {108} in favour of those who could not go, or were not admitted to the first; and the latter custom, to be in obedience to the divine law, which their supposed progenitors were to write on the posts of the doors, to wear as frontlets before their eyes, and teach to their children.
Though the Indians do not use salt in their first-fruit-oblation till the fourth day; it is not to be doubted but they formerly did. They reckon they cannot observe the annual expiation of sins, without bear’s oil, both to mix with that yearly offering, and to eat with the new sanctified fruits; and some years they have a great deal of trouble in killing a sufficient quantity of bears for the use of this religious solemnity, and their other sacred rites for the approaching year; for at such seasons they are hard to be found, and quite lean. The traders commonly supply themselves with plenty of this oil from winter to winter; but the Indians are so prepossessed with a notion of the white people being all impure and accursed, that they deem their oil as polluting on those sacred occasions, as Josephus tells us the Jews reckoned that of the Greeks. An Indian warrior will not light his pipe at a white man’s fire if he suspects any unsanctified food has been dressed at it in the new year. And in the time of the new-ripened fruits, their religious men carry a flint, punk, and steel, when they visit us, for fear of polluting themselves by lighting their pipes at our supposed Loak ookproose, “accursed fire,” and spoiling the power of their holy things. The polluted would, if known, be infallibly anathamatized, and expelled from the temple, with the women, who are suspected of gratifying their vicious taste. During the eight days festival, they are forbidden even to touch the skin of a female child: if they are detected, either in cohabiting with, or laying their hand on any of their own wives, in that sacred interval, they are stripped naked, and the offender is universally deemed so atrocious a criminal, that he lives afterwards a miserable life. Some have shot themselves dead, rather than stand the shame, and the long year’s continual reproaches cast upon them, for every mischance that befalls any of their people, or the ensuing harvest,—a necessary effect of the divine anger, they say, for such a crying sin of pollution. An instance of this kind I heard happened some years ago in Talàse, a town of the Muskohge, seven miles above the Alebáma garrison.
When we consider how sparingly they eat in their usual way of living, it is surprising to see what a vast quantity of food they consume {109} on their festival days. It would equally surprize a stranger to see how exceedingly they vary their dishes, their dainties consisting only of dried flesh, fish, oil, corn, beans, pease, pompions, and wild fruit. During this rejoicing time, the warriors are drest in their wild martial array, with their heads covered with white down: they carry feathers of the same colour, either in their hands, or fastened to white scraped canes, as emblems of purity, and scepters of power, while they are dancing in three circles, and singing their religious praises around the sacred arbour, in which stands the holy fire. Their music consists of two clay-pot drums covered on the top with thin wet deer-skins, drawn very tight, on which each of the noisy musicians beats with a stick, accompanying the noise with their voices; at the same time, the dancers prance it away, with wild and quick sliding steps, and variegated postures of body, to keep time with the drums, and the rattling calabashes shaked by some of their religious heroes, each of them singing their old religious songs, and striking notes in tympano et choro. Such is the graceful dancing, as well as the vocal and instrumental music of the red Hebrews on religious and martial occasions, which they must have derived from early antiquity. Toward the conclusion of the great festival, they paint and dress themselves anew, and give themselves the most terrible appearance they possibly can. They take up their war-instruments, and fight a mock-battle in a very exact manner: after which, the women are called to join in a grand dance, and if they disobey the invitation they are fined. But as they are extremely fond of such religious exercise, and deem it productive of temporal good, all soon appear in their finest apparel, as before suggested, decorated with silver ear-bobs, or pendants to their ears, several rounds of white beads about their necks, rings upon their fingers, large wire or broad plates of silver on their wrists, their heads shining with oil, and torrepine-shells containing pebbles, fastened to deer-skins, tied to the outside of their legs. Thus adorned, they join the men in three circles, and dance a considerable while around the sacred fire, and then they separate.
At the conclusion of this long and solemn festival, the Archi-magus orders one of the religious men to proclaim to all the people, that their sacred annual solemnity is now ended, and every kind of evil averted from the beloved people, according to the old straight beloved speech; they must therefore paint themselves, and come along with him according to ancient {110} custom. As they know the stated time, the joyful sound presently reaches their longing ears: immediately they fly about to grapple up a kind of chalky clay, to paint themselves white. By their religious emulation, they soon appear covered with that emblem of purity, and join at the outside of the holy ground, with all who had sanctified themselves within it, who are likewise painted, some with streaks, and others all over, as white as the clay can make them: recusants would undergo a heavy penalty. They go along in a very orderly solemn procession, to purify themselves in running water. The Archi-magus heads the holy train—his waiter next—the beloved men according to their seniority—and the warriors by their reputed merit. The women follow them in the same orderly manner, with all the children that can walk, behind them, ranged commonly according to their height; the very little ones they carry in their arms. Those, who are known to have eaten of the unsanctified fruits, bring up the rear. In this manner the procession moves along, singing Aleluiah to YO He Wah, &c. till they get to the water, which is generally contiguous, when the Archi-magus jumps into it, and all the holy train follow him, in the same order they observed from the temple. Having purified themselves, or washed away their sins, they come out with joyful hearts, believing themselves out of the reach of temporal evil, for their past vicious conduct: and they return in the same religious cheerful manner, into the middle of the holy ground, where having made a few circles, singing and dancing around the altar, they thus finish their annual great festival, and depart in joy and peace.
Ancient writers inform us, that while the Scythians or Tartars were heathens, their priests in the time of their sacrifices, took some blood, and mixing it with milk, horse-dung, and earth, got on a tree, and having exhorted the people, they sprinkled them with it, in order to purify them, and defend them from every kind of evil: the heathens also excluded some from religious communion. The Egyptians excommunicated those who ate of animals that bore wool, or cut the throat of a goat[[XXV]]. And in ancient times, they, and the Phœnicians, Greeks, &c. adored the serpent, and expelled those who killed it. The East-Indians likewise, drive those from the {111} supposed benefit of their altars, who eat of a cow, and drink wine, or that eat with foreigners, or an inferior cast. Though the heathen world offered sacrifice, had ablutions, and several other sorts of purifications, and frequently by fire; yet at the best, their religious observances differed widely from the divine institutions; whereas the American Aborigines observe strict purity, in the most essential parts of the divine law. The former concealed their various worship from the light of the sun; some seeking thick groves, others descending into the deep valleys, others crawling to get into caverns, and under their favourite rocks. But we find the latter, in their state-houses and temples, following the Jerusalem copy in a surprizing manner. Those of them who yet retain a supposed most holy place, contrary to the usage of the old heathen world, have it standing at the west end of the holy quadrangular ground: and they always appoint those of the meanest rank, to sit on the seats of the eastern square, so that their backs are to the east, and faces to the west[[XXVI]]. The red square looks north; and the second men’s cabbin, as the traders term the other square, of course looks south, which is a strong imitation of Solomon’s temple, that was modelled according to the divine plan of the Israelitish camp in the wilderness. We find them also sanctifying themselves, according to the emblematical laws of purity, offering their annual sacrifice in the centre of their quadrangular temples, under the meridian light of the sun. Their magi are devoted to, and bear the name of the great holy One; their supposed prophets likewise that of the divine fire; and each of them bear the emblems of purity and holiness—while in their religious duties, they sing Aleluiah, YO He Wah, &c. both day and night. Thus different are the various gods, {112} temples, prophets, and priests of all the idolatrous nations of antiquity, from the savage Americans; which shews with convincing clearness, especially by recollecting the former arguments, that the American Aborigines were never idolaters, nor violated the second commandment in worshipping the incomprehensible, omnipresent, divine essence, after the manner described by the popish historians of Peru and Mexico; but that the greatest part of their civil and religious system, is a strong old picture of the Israelitish, much less defaced than might be reasonably expected from the circumstances of time and place.
——Lanatis animalibus abstinet omnis
Mensa; nefas illic fætum jugulare capellæ.
Juvenal, Sat. xv.
[XXVI]. The Hebrews had two presidents in the great synhedrion. The first was called Nashe Yo, “a prince of God.” They elected him on account of his wisdom: The second was called Rosh Ha-Yoshibbah, “the father of the assembly:” he was chief in the great council. And Ab beth din, or “the father of the consistory,” sat at his right hand, as the chief of the seventy-two, of which the great synhedrion consisted, the rest sitting according to their merit, in a gradual declension from the prince, to the end of the semicircle. The like order is observed by the Indians,—and Jer. ii. 27, God commanded the Israelites, that they should not turn their backs to him, but their faces toward the propitiatory, when they worshipped him. I remember, in Koosah, the uppermost western town of the Muskohge, which was a place of refuge, their supposed holiest consisted of a neat house, in the centre of the western square, and the door of it was in the south gable-end close to the white cabbin, each on a direct line, north and south.
Every spring season, one town or more of the Missisippi Floridians,[[40]] keep a great solemn feast of love, to renew their old friendship. They call this annual feast, Hottuk Aimpa, Heettla, Tanáa, “the people eat, dance, and walk as twined together”—The short name of their yearly feast of love, is Hottuk Impanáa, “eating by a strong religious, or social principle;” Impanáa signifies several threads or strands twisted, or warped together. Hissoobistarákshe, and Yelphòha Panáa, is “a twisted horse-rope,” and “warped garter[[XXVII]].” This is also contrary to the usage of the old heathen world, whose festivals were in honour to their chief idols, and very often accompanied with detestable lewdness and debauchery.
[XXVII]. The name of a horse-rope is derived from Tarákshe “to tie,” and Hissooba “an elk, or horse that carries a burthen;” which suggests that they formerly saw elks carry burthens, though perhaps not in the northern provinces.
They assemble three nights previous to their annual feast of love; on the fourth night they eat together. During the intermediate space, the young men and women dance in circles from the evening till morning. The men masque their faces with large pieces of gourds of different shapes and hieroglyphic paintings. Some of them fix a pair of young buffalo horns to their head; others the tail, behind. When the dance and their time is expired, the men turn out a hunting, and bring in a sufficient quantity of venison, for the feast of renewing their love, and confirming their friendship with each other. The women dress it, and bring the best they have along with it; which a few springs past, was only a variety of Esau’s small red acorn pottage, as their crops had failed. When they have eaten together, they fix in the ground a large pole with a bush tied at the top, over which {113} they throw a ball. Till the corn is in, they meet there almost every day, and play for venison and cakes, the men against the women; which the old people say they have observed for time out of mind.
Before I conclude this argument, I must here observe, that when the Indians meet at night to gladden and unite their hearts before Yohewah, they sing Yohèwà-shoo Yohèwà-shoo, Yohewàhshee Yohewàhshee, and Yohewàhshai Yohewàhshai, with much energy. The first word is nearly in Hebrew characters, יהושע, the name of Joshua, or saviour, Numb. xiii. 8. That ע is properly expressed by our double vowel oo, let it be observed, that as בעל is “a ruler,” or “commanding”—so the Indians say Boole Hakse “strike a person, that is criminal.” In like manner they sing Meshi Yo, Meshi Yo, Meshi He, Meshi He, Meshi Wah Meshi Wah; likewise, Meshi Hah Yo, &c.; and Meshi Wàh Háh Meshi Wàh Hé, transposing and accenting each syllable differently, so as to make them appear different words. But they commonly make those words end with one syllable of the divine name, Yo He Wah. If we connect this with the former part of the subject, and consider they are commonly anointed all over, in the time of their religious songs and circuiting dances, the words seem to glance at the Hebrew original, and perhaps they are sometimes synonymous; for ומו signifies oil; the person anointed משח, Messiah, and he who anointed משיחו, which with the Indians is Meshiháh Yo.
That these red savages formerly understood the radical meaning, and emblematical design, of the important words they use in their religious dances and sacred hymns, is pretty obvious, if we consider the reverence they pay to the mysterious divine name YO He Wah, in pausing during a long breath on each of the two first syllables; their defining good by joining Wah to the end of a word, which otherwise expresses moral evil, as before noticed; and again by making the same word a negative of good, by separating the first syllable of that divine name into two syllables, and adding U as a superlative termination, Y-O-U: all their sacred songs seem likewise to illustrate it very clearly; Halelu-Yah, Shilu Wah, Meshi Wah, Meshiha Yo, &c. The words which they repeat in their divine hymns, while dancing in three circles around their supposed holy fire, are deemed so sacred, that they have not been known ever to mention them at any other time: and as they are a most erect {114} people, their bowing posture during the time of those religious acclamations and invocations, helps to confirm their Hebrew origin.