“Never give up the Big House. If you do, there will be another earthquake, or something else just as bad.
“The earthquake stopped that time; that is why the Delawares have kept the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ and the Big House ever since. The Mask is left in charge of some family who will take good care of it, and burn Indian tobacco for it from time to time.”
It will be seen that, according to the above tradition, the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ was, first of all, a personal helper, or guardian Spirit, that afterward became more or less of a tribal deity, and that his cult became engrafted on the Annual Ceremony among the Unami, the rites of which were already ancient among them. That this engrafting really took place seems possible from the fact that among the Minsi there were no masked performers at the Big House ceremonies, and that, while the central post of the temple was provided with carved faces, the masks had an entirely different function among this people. The innovation, if it took place at all, must have been before Brainerd’s[52] time, however, for, as related in our first chapter, he found the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ and Big House in use, as among the Unami today, as early as May, 1745, while traveling among the Delawares living at that time on Susquehanna river.
MĬSIʹNGʷ‛ DANCE
Besides the part taken by the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ in the Annual Ceremony, he has certain rites peculiar to himself which were held every spring. As the Indians put it:
“When spring comes, the Delawares are glad, and they are thankful that their helper, the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ is still among them. For this reason they give a feast and dance to make him happy too.”
Notification.—So at the time of the full moon (about May), the keeper of the mask gives another Indian a yard of wampum to ride around to all the Delaware houses, wearing the mask and bearskin costume ([pl. II]) to let the people know that the time for the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ dance (Mĭsingkĭʹnĭkä) is at hand. The Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ rides horseback, and another man, also mounted, follows him to see that he comes to no harm. At each house the impersonator dismounts and enters, making known his errand by signs, but saying only “Hoⁿ-hoⁿ-hoⁿ,” and everywhere they give him tobacco, which he puts in his sack. At this time the people frighten disobedient children with the threat that, unless they behave, the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ will carry them away in a sack full of snakes.
Preparations.—The dance-ground customarily used for this purpose has meanwhile been put in order, a cleared place in the woods selected for good shade and pleasant surroundings, and the logs which serve as seats arranged to form the rectangle within which the dance takes place. A great pot of hominy is also prepared; this constitutes the main dish of the feast.
The Ceremony.—When the people have gathered on the night appointed, and the impersonator has returned from the bushes where he retired to dress, wearing the mask and bearskin suit ([pl. II]), the speaker addresses the people and relates the origin of the dance, then addressing the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛, says, “Take care of us while we are dancing, so that everything goes smoothly.” Then they have a dance in which the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ joins, but he dances around the outside of the circle of people, not with them. When they have finished, he dances twelve changes alone, which occupies the time until morning. When daylight appears, the hominy is brought out and everyone eats, including the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛, after which the speaker says, “Now we have eaten with our Mĭsiʹngʷ‛. We will have this dance again next spring.” The people then disperse to their homes, the Mĭsiʹngʷ‛ is put away and the impersonator paid a yard of wampum for his dancing. At this dance the singers keep time by striking with sticks on a dry deerhide rolled over and stuffed with dried grass, very similar to the “drum” used in the Big House.
Adams’ Account.—The only account the writer has seen of this ceremony is that of Adams’,[53] the chief inaccuracy of which is the statement that the dance is “only for amusement.” It furnishes, however, several additions to our knowledge of the “Solid Face.” It is as follows: