[[NOTE 18—CANTO FOURTH, SECT. VII.]]
Temples that shield from vulgar sight
A thousand holy things,
Their idols, tombs, and images
Of great and ancient kings.
“In every territory of a werowance is a temple and priest; two or three or more.
“Upon the top of certaine red sandy hills in the woods, there are three great houses filled with images of their kings, and devils, and tombs of their predecessors. Those houses are near sixty foot in length, built arbor-wise, after their building. This place they count so holy as that but the priests and kings dare come into them; nor the savages dare not go up the river in boats by it, but they solemnly cast some piece of copper, white beads, or pocones, into the river, for fear their Okee should be offended and revenged of them.”—Smith’s Virginia.
[[NOTE 19—CANTO FOURTH, SECT. VII.]]
When lo! the solemn man comes forth
With slow and measured tread:
A crown of snakes and weasel skins
Is borne upon his head.
“Their chief priest differed from the rest in his ornaments, but inferior priests could hardly be knowne from the common people, but that they had not so many holes in their ears to hang their jewells at. The ornaments of the chief priest were certaine attires for his head, made thus. They took a dozen or sixteen or more snakes’ skins, and stuffed them with mosse, and of weazles and other vermines’ skins a good many. All these they tie by their tails, so as all their tails meet on the top of their head like a great tassell. Round about this tassell is as it were a crowne of feathers; the skins hang round about his head, necke and shoulders, and in a manner cover his face. The faces of all their priests are painted as ugly as they can devise; in their hands they had every one his rattle, some base, some smaller.”—Smiths Virginia.
[[NOTE 20—CANTO FOURTH, SECT. VII.]]
The sacred weed is in his hand,
That Okee’s favor wins,
Whose grateful odor hath the power
To expiate all sins:
He hurls it forth with sinewy arm
Into the hottest flame,
And thrice aloud in solemn tone
Invokes great Okee’s name.
“They have also another superstition, that they use in storms, when the waters are rough in the rivers and on the sea-coasts. Their conjurers runne to the water sides, or passing in their boats, after many hellish outcries and invocations, they cast tobacco, copper, pocones, or such trash into the water, to pacify that god, whom they think to be very angry in these storms.”—Smith’s Virginia.