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Gawyehnehshehgowa: Great Law of Peace What is the Great Law of Peace?     What are the Three Principles of the Great Law? Who are the Chiefs of the Confederacy? How Does the Grand Council Work? What are the Symbols of the Haudenosaunee? Where are the Haudenosaunee National Territories?   For discussion on the questions presented above, click here to go to sixnations.org Read The Great Law: The Constitution of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy The Great Law as a Model for U.S. Democracy The Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace is based on strength in unity and the power of "the good mind" over weaponry. Benjamin Franklin was the most vocal of 19th century leaders who admired the diplomatic and egalitarian nature of Six Nation's communities. That interest has sparked new controversy as historians debate how much influence the Haudenosaunee's Great Law had on the formation of the American Republic. See PDF Teaching Module from the PBS Documentary: 'Warrior in Two Worlds' The Great Law is the founding constitution of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. It is an oral tradition, codified in a series of wampum belts now held by the Onondaga Nation. It defines the functions of the Grand Council and how the native nations can resolve disputes between themselves and maintain peace. The Peace Maker travelled among the Iroquois for many years, spreading his message of peace, unity and the power of the good mind. Oral history says that it may have taken him forty some years to reach everyone. Born of a Huron woman who was still a virgin, the Peace Maker, grew rapidly and one day announced that he had to journey forth to deliver a message from the Creator. He selected a white stone canoe to carry him to the Iroquois as proof of the power of his message. But he was met with much skepticism and the men that he came across refused to listen to him. After Jikohnsaseh rejuvenated his spirit, he continued and was able to persuade fifty leaders to receive his message. He gathered them together and recited the passages of the Great Law of Peace. He assigned duties to each of the leaders. To honor the role of Jikohnsaseh, he selected women as the Clan Mothers, to lead the family clans and select the male chiefs. Women were given the right to the chief's titles and the power to remove dissident chiefs. Jikohnsaseh, by hearing of her actions, taught me to respect women and honor their role. Women are the connection to the earth and have the responsibility for the future of the nation. Men will want to fight. Women know the true price of war and must encourage the chiefs to seek a peaceful resolution. The Peace Maker then established clans among the Haudenosaunee as a way to unite the Five Nations and as a form of social order. It is said that after he had assembled the leaders together around the Tree of Peace, he bestowed Chieftainship and clan affiliation on the fifty men who stood in a circle. He would assign clans based upon the order of animals that he saw that day. Some say that he sent each chief out into the woods and would report back on the first animal that they encountered, and that animal became their clan. A clan is a group of families that share a common female ancestry. Members of one clan are considered relatives and intermarriage in the same clan is forbidden. Clans are named after animals that have special assistance to the people - water (turtle, eel, beaver); land (bear, deer, wolf), sky (snipe, heron, hawk) Clanship identity is very important to the Haudenosaunee.

The Great Law is like a Great White Mat of Law upon which the Chiefs sit as they deliberate on the affairs of the nations. Burning before the assembled chiefs is the council fire, called "the great light," that never dies as long as the people believe in the Great Law. The kindling the council fire, considered sacred in that it purifies the words of those assembled, obligates the Chiefs to speak the truth. Also holding a council only in the daylight is another cultural mechanism to assure clear thinking. Meeting held at night are considered inappropriate and meant for foster dissent. The Chiefs were to use the power of their mind to reason, to figure out what was best for the welfare of the people. The three main principles of the Great Law of Peace are: Righteousness (Good News), Civil Authority (Power), and also Mind (Reason) and the welfare work." We are to view the chiefs like a circle of standing trees, supporting the Tree of Peace that grows in the middle. They help to keep it from falling over. With each Chief was to be a helper, to keep the Chief standing tall. Take the word Gaihwiyo, which has been translated in this document to mean righteousness. It's meaning is more like a wholesome doctrine that is good to be heard, because it teaches ethical behavior and communal values. But it also denotes the idea of justice, of being right because of the customs, manners, beliefs and ritualistic summations of the past experiences of the people. It is putting words into action. The hardest part of the Great Law is to understand the meaning of the concept of peace. Peace is not simply the absence of war. In the Iroquoian mind, peace is a state of mind. Power, which can easily be thought of as military strength, but more appropriately, it means that one heart, one mind, one head, and one body allowed the Confederacy to remain united in the face of many enemies. Certainly, historians have painted a picture of the Iroquois as cruel expansionists. Iroquois fighting power was legendary. So the question arises: how can the Great Law promote peace if one of the conditions is to have power over weaker nations? Power can be the united strength of the Confederacy, standing together, negotiating together. Unity of action allowed the Iroquois to enjoy great success in dealing with the warring colonial powers. But there is also a different kind of power in the Iroquoian universe. Each individual has a base spiritual power. As you go through life as Haudenosaunee, experience different things, learn more, comprehend more and tap into other forms of spiritual power, your own spirit grows as well. The old timers called it orenda. Everyone is thought to have it to some degree. It effects how we do things. Good minds have strong orenda. So the ultimate power of the Great Law rests in how well the individual person develops their sense of self, but develops that sense in regard to the well-being of the others, in the clan, in the village, in the nation and in the Confederacy of the Six Nations. There have been several written versions of the Great Law, called Gawyehnehshehgowa. Today, no one version is preferred over the other and many traditional leaders feel that none of the written versions have all of the known oral history included. In examining the written versions the following common elements of the story of the Great Law of Peace become evident:

(1) The Birth and Growth of the Peacemaker A boy is born to the virgin daughter of a Huron woman. Ashamed and depressed, the grandmother tries to destroy the baby three times, until she is told in a dream that the boy is destined to bring forth a good message from the Creator. He grows rapidly and is honest, generous and peaceful. (2) The Journey to the Mohawks The Peacemaker leaves in a white stone canoe for the land of the Mohawks where he finds war, killing, destruction and cannibalism. He announces that he is there to deliver a message from the Creator that war must cease. (3) Jikonsahseh Accepts the Message The Mother of Nations takes in the weary Peacemaker and feeds him. He explains the principles of Peace, Righteousness and Power and the concept of the longhouse as a metaphor for the Great Law. She accepts the message, and in doing so, women are given priority in the League as Clan Mothers. (4) Ayenwatha Converts to Peace Looking into the smoke hole of a house, the Peacemaker sees a man carrying a human body to the cooking fire. About to eat the flesh, the man appears into the pot but sees the face of the Peacemaker and is magically transformed. The Peacemaker teaches him to bury the body and eat deer meat instead. The antlers of the deer will be symbols of authority. The former cannibal, Ayenwatha, accepts the message of peace.

(5) Peacemaker proves himself to the Mohawks To prove his power, the Peacemaker sat in a tall tree that was chopped down into a deep ravine but emerged unharmed. The Mohawk chiefs accept the message. (6) The Confrontation with Tododaho An evil and deadly wizard of the Onondaga with a twisted body and snakes for hair, blocked the path to peace. Tododaho made it so that the chiefs could not gather, making the waterways tip over their canoes. (7) Ayenwatha's Daughters are killed A witch, Osinoh, transformed into an owl and killed the daughters, casting Ayenwatha into a deep depression. (8) Ayenwatha Leaves Onondaga He left his home at Onondaga and became lost in his sorrow. He "split the sky" heading southward. 9) Ayenwatha invents wampum Using either twigs, bird quills or shell beads, Ayenwatha makes strings of wampum that he hangs across a suspended wooden pole in an attempt to sooth himself. (10) Ayenwatha institutes protocols He visits a Mohawk community and is given a honored seat as a chief. He teaches them to make a signal fire at the edge of the clearing to announce the arrival of a peaceful visitor, how to make wampum, and how to use the wampum strings to deliver messages. He leaves to continue his search for consolation. (11) The Peacemaker Condoles Ayenwatha Using 8 of the 13 wampum strings made by Ayenwatha, the Peacemaker removes the pain and suffering of Ayenwatha and restores his mind so they can bring forth the message of the Creator. The Peacemaker decides that wampum will be used to carry that message. (12) Emissaries seek out Tododaho The Peacemaker sends transformed animals - crows, bears, deer - to locate Tododaho. (13) The Cayuga, Oneida and Seneca Join The two messengers visit the various nations as well as several visits with Tododaho. The other nations accepts the message. Tododaho still refuses. (14) Hai Hai - The Peace Hymn With the combined power of all the assembled leaders who had accepted the message, the two messengers lead a procession, singing a magic song to soothe Tododaho. The song thanked the League, the Great Peace, the Honored Ancestors, the warriors, the women, and the families. Tododaho shouted his objection as the procession approached his encampment.

(15) Tododaho is Transformed With all of the other chiefs assembled, the Peacemaker promised to give Tododaho a central position in the Confederacy and to make Onondaga the capital for the Grand Council. He finally accepted the message and the messengers combed the snakes from his hair, straightened his body and dressed him properly. Tododaho became a man of peace. (16) The Circle of Chiefs The messengers established the chieftainships as the protectors of peace. They were given instruction about what it takes to be a good chief. They announced the roll call of chiefs by nation and clan. The protocols for selecting chiefs, operating the council, and the role of the Clan Mothers was described. Warnings of the future were given. Deer antlers were placed on the heads of the chiefs, a wing fan to sweep dirt away from the council fire, and a pole to flick creatures away from the fire. The League was completed. (17) The Cultural Metaphors The Peacemaker established the symbols of the Great Law. The longhouse has five fireplaces but one family. Wampum will record the messages. The Tree of Peace was planted in the center of the circle of chiefs. An eagle was placed on top to watch out for enemies. The White Roots of Peace stretched out across the land. The weapons of war were buried under the Tree. A meal of beaver tail was shared. Five arrows were bound together. The council fire was kindled and the smoke pierced the sky. These are all symbols of power that comes from the unity of peace. (18) The Protection of the League Laws for adoption, emigration and rights of individuals and nations were established to allow those who seek peace to join. Warring nations would be given three warning they would be subdued. (19) The Condolence Ceremony The same procedure used on Ayenwatha will be used when a chief dies in order to console the mourners and reaffirm life. This Requickening Address will maintain the stability and mental health of the Chiefs and the Confederacy. (20) The Peacemaker Departs The message delivered and the Confederacy completed, the Peacemaker leaves but announces that in a future time of strife he will return. He also asked that his name not be used except in special cases. Source: sixnations.org   Go to sixnations.org for discussion of the following questions. What are the Three Principles of the Great Law? Who are the Chiefs of the Confederacy? How Does the Grand Council Work? What are the Symbols of the Haudenosaunee? Where are the Haudenosaunee National Territories?

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