Nawadaha sings the songs of the epic of the hero Hiawatha, the friend of man:
“There he sang of Hiawatha,
Sang the songs of Hiawatha,
Sang his wondrous birth and being,
How he prayed and how he fasted,
How he lived and toiled and suffered,
That the tribes of men might prosper,
That he might advance his people.”
The teleological meaning of the hero, as that symbolic figure which unites in itself libido in the form of admiration and adoration, in order to lead to higher sublimations by way of the symbolic bridges of the myths, is anticipated here. Thus we become quickly acquainted with Hiawatha as a savior, and are prepared to hear all that which must be said of a savior, of his marvellous birth, of his early great deeds, and his sacrifice for his fellow-men.
The first song begins with a fragment of evangelism: Gitche Manito, the “master of life,” tired of the quarrels of his human children, calls his people together and makes known to them the joyous message: